Credit: Daniel Korpai / Instagram

Take me for example. I’m no stranger to macOS, but after a lot of time using Windows computers, I found myself struggling while trying to figure out how to use my MacBook properly.

And the thing I missed the most about Windows was the keyboard shortcuts. They’re extremely handy if you know them.

Fortunately, you also have shortcuts with Mac computers. They’re similar to the ones on Windows, but you need to adjust a little bit.

So here are the most frequent keyboard shortcuts you’ll need in your mac and their Windows equivalent.

Mac Keyboard Shortcuts for Text

Keyboard Shortcut	Function	Windows Equivalent
Command + X	Cut	Control + X
Command + C	Copy	Control + C
Command + V	Paste	Control + V
Command + P	Print	Control + P
Command + A	Select all the text	Control + A
Command + Z	Undo	Control + Z
Command + Shift + Z	Redo	Control + Y
Command + S	Save	Control + S
Command + O	Open file	Control + O
Option + Delete	Deletes a word to the left of the cursor	Control + Backspace
fn + Delete	Deletes a letter to the right of the cursor	Delete
fn + Option + Delete	Deletes a word to the right of the cursor	Control + Delete
Option + Right Arrow	Moves the cursor one word to the right	Control + Right Arrow
Option + Left Arrow	Moves the cursor one word to the left	Control + Left Arrow
Option + Shift + Right Arrow	Selects one word to the right	Control + Shift + Right Arrow
Option + Shift + Left Arrow	Selects one word to the Left	Control + Shift + Left Arrow
Command + Shift + Right Arrow	Selects a whole line from the cursor to the right	Control + Shift + End
Command + Shift + Left Arrow	Selects a whole line from the cursor to the left	Control + Shift + Home
Command + Shift + Up Arrow / fn + Shift + Up Arrow	Selects a whole section from the cursor up	Control + Shift + Up Arrow
Command + Shift + Down Arrow / fn + Shift + Down Arrow	Selects a whole section from the cursor down	Control + Shift + Down Arrow

Mac Keyboard Shortcuts for Web Browsing

Keyboard Shortcut	Function	Windows Equivalent
Command + T	Open a new Tab	Control + T
Command + W	Close a Tab	Control + W
Command + Shift + T	Reopen a closed Tab	Control + Alt + T
Command + D	New Bookmark	Control + D
Command + “{” key	Go backwards	Backspace
Command + “}”	Go forward
Control + Tab Key	Switch Between Tabs	Control + Tab Key
Control + F / Control + G	Search a word in a page	Control + F / Control + G
Command + R	Refresh a page	Control + R
Command + B	Search your bookmarks	Control + B
Command + Shift + H	Open your browser history	Control + H
Command + J	Open your download history	Control + J
Command + L	Selects the URL address bar	F6
Command + N	Opens a new browser window	Control + N
fn + Down Arrow / Spacebar	Goes farther down in a page	PgDn
fn + Up Arrow	Goes farther up in a page	PgUp
Command + Down Arrow	Goes to the bottom of a page	End
Command + Up Arrow	Goes to the beginning of a page	Home
Command + “+” key	Zooms in a page	Control + “+” Key
Command + “-” key	Zooms out of a page	Control + “-” Key

Other Useful Mac Keyboard Shortcuts

Keyboard Shortcut	Function	Windows Equivalent
Command + Shift + 3	Takes screenshot	Prtscn key
Command + Shift + 5	Takes a screenshot to a selected part on the screen
Command + Tab	Switches between open applications	Alt + Tab
F4	Shows you all your applications	Windows Key
F3 / Control + Up arrow	Shows you all your open applications	Windows key + Tab
Command + Space Bar	Opens Spotlight Search to search for any application or document in your Mac	Windows key + Search Bar
Command + M	Minimizes your current application
Command + Q	Closes the selected application	Alt + F4
Command + H	Takes you to your desktop	Control + D
Control + Command + Q	Locks screen	Windows + L
Shift + Command + Q	Logs you out of your current session
Command + Option + Esc Key	Force Quit Applications	Control + alt + Delete

It seems like there’s a lot of them, but with practice, you’ll learn to use them to your advantage.

Of course, these are not all the keyboard shortcuts available. However, I think these are the ones you’ll use the most.

Share your commonly used keyboard shortcuts in the comments and on social media!