


If you press the Option key when the menu is visible, you'll notice the dots disappear from Restart, Shut Down and Log Out commands. Its menu lets you restart or shut down your Mac and view system information. On the other side of the menu bar, in the upper-left corner of your Mac, sits the Apple icon. Option-click the Dropbox icon, for example, and you can see how much of your storage allotment you have used. The Option key also works with third-party menu bar icons.
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For the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth buttons, Option-click reveals more in-depth information about your network and connected devices, respectively.

Option-click the volume icon and you'll get a menu that allows you to change the input source or output device. You can use the Option key with other menu bar items to access different or expanded menus. When the icon is grayed out, Do Not Disturb is on when the icon is black, Do Not Disturb is off. Just hold down the Option key when you click the Notification Center icon. You can reduce this click-swipe-click process to a single click by employing the Option key.
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You need to click the Notification Center icon in the upper-right corner of your Mac and then scroll down a bit to reveal the Do Not Disturb toggle switch at the top. Backup Books Documents Programs Recent Projects System Folder The Option - key trick doesn't close all windows on the Mac, by the way, only in the current. You can also use the Command-Q shortcut in the app switcher to quit the app you have highlighted.ĭo Not Disturb is oddly hidden in Notification Center. Just above the tab key is the ~ (tilde) key you can use it to move left through your open apps while continuing to hold down the Command key. While continuing to hold down the Command key, hit Tab again to move right through your open apps. Hit Command-Tab to open the app switcher. You can use the Dock to switch apps, but your Mac also has an app switcher. To perform this maneuver on a Mac, press Function-Delete. The delete key on a Windows keyboard does the opposite and deletes the character to the right of the cursor. That is, it deletes the character to the left of the cursor. The delete key on a Mac, however, acts like the backspace key on a Windows keyboard. On a Mac keyboard, you get only a delete key. Windows keyboards have a backspace key and a delete key. The missing backspace key on a Mac keyboard is another difference that might trip up Windows converts. To quit the app, use the keyboard shortcut Command-Q. Unlike with Windows, the X button on a Mac closes the window but does not quit the app. If you are coming to Mac after a long tenure with Windows, then you might get tripped up when you click the red X in the upper-left corner of a window only to discover that the app is still running after the window closes. Here are ten shortcuts for general Mac use that didn't fit in any of the above apps. It's also worth noting that their positions are reversed on the two types of keyboards.I've covered shortcuts for Finder, iTunes, Safari and Spotlight. a keyboard made for Windows PCs, use the Alt key instead of Option, and. For example, the Undo shortcut would use Windows+Z instead of Command+Z. To use a keyboard shortcut, hold down one or more modifier keys while pressing. When using a Windows keyboard on a Mac, the Windows key is used instead of the Command key, and the Alt key is used in place of the Option key. What are the main differences?Īlthough Windows and Mac keyboards feature most of the same keys, there are a few that differ. There's also a variety of custom keyboards available, with most of them made for Windows machines. Perhaps you recently switched from a Windows computer to a Mac and you prefer the feel of your old keyboard. Some people simply prefer to use Windows keyboards. You may also have one lying around the house from an older computer. In most stores, you'll find that there are more Windows keyboards than there are Mac keyboards. One of the main reasons you might choose to use a Windows keyboard on a Mac is that it's more readily available. You can use almost any Windows keyboard as long as it has either a USB or Bluetooth connection. If you want to use a Windows keyboard on your Mac, the good news is it's pretty simple. en/osxbasics/creating-smart-playlists-in-itunes/content/ Using a Windows keyboard with a Mac Lesson 14: Using a Windows Keyboard With a Mac
