The Little Mac Book, Tiger Edition [Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

Keyboard shortcuts

To the right of the commands in the menus you often see a little code, such as N (pronounced "Command N"). This is a keyboard shortcut you can use instead of using the menu. You memorize the shortcut, then the next time you need that command you use the shortcut instead of picking up your mouse and pulling down the menu.

Often a keyboard shortcut includes other symbols representing other keys, as described below.

Modifier keys and their symbols

A modifier key is a key that doesn't do anything when you press it all by itself. For instance, when you press Shift, nothing happens; when you press the Command key, nothing happens. A modifier key makes other keys perform special functions. For instance, when you hold down the Shift key and type the number "8," you get an asterisk (*).

These are the symbols that represent the keys you will see in the menus for shortcuts.

How to use a keyboard shortcut

To use a keyboard shortcut instead of the menu command, hold down the modifier key or keys you saw in the menu. While you hold down this key or keys, type the letter key you also saw in the menujust tap the letter, don't hold it down! The computer reacts just as if you had chosen that command from the menu.

For instance, if you single-click on a file to select it and then press
O, the selected file will open just as if you had chosen that command from the File menu with the mouse. Thought-fully, many of the keyboard shortcuts are alliterative:
O opens files;
P prints;
D duplicates a selected file;
W closes windows; etc.

You'll often see keyboard shortcuts spelled out with a hyphen, a plus sign, or perhaps a comma between the keys. Don't type the hyphen, plus sign, or comma! Just press the keys!

For instance, if you see a shortcut written as:

Command + Shift + B

ignore the plus signsjust hold down the Command and Shift keys, then tap the letter B.

Exercise 1:

Exercise 2: