→ Link to the original post, “macOS Tips & Tricks,” by Saurabh
I came across this post through a toot from Jeff Johnson. If you’re like me and always looking for ways to operate your Mac more easily and efficiently, be sure to check it out.
Here are five useful tips I selected, arranged in the order they appear in the post:
- Press ⇧⌘/ to search all of the current app’s menu items. Then use the Up/Down arrow keys to navigate the results and press
Returnto execute the selected menu bar action. - Press ⌃⌘D while holding the pointer over a word to view an inline dictionary definition.
- After pressing ⇧⌘4, press the Space bar to select a window to screenshot. Hold down
Optionwhile taking the screenshot to remove the window’s shadow. - Press ⌥⌘C to copy the full pathname of the currently selected file.
- Press ⇧⌘A to select the output from the previous command.
I use the first keyboard shortcut most often—it’s so convenient for searching and executing commands. It works best for native apps. Alternatively, you can use this Alfred workflow, “Menu Bar Search.” (I wrote a paragraph about this workflow in this post in Traditional Chinese.)
The second and third tips are already well known. I can add something to the second one: you can choose dictionaries and arrange their order in the built-in Dictionary app’s settings.
The fourth tip is for Finder. It’s better than right-clicking the file, holding Option, and selecting “Copy [File] as Pathname” in the context menu. However, it’s quite annoying that macOS Sequoia now encloses the copied pathname in single quotes. I even made a Shortcut to clean it up. If you know a better way to get a “clean pathname,” please let me know!
Finally, the fifth tip is for the built-in Terminal, and it’s what I miss most when using Ghostty. Another terminal emulator, Warp, also provides this handy feature, but even better–it lets me copy the command, the output, or both using different keyboard shortcuts.
The original post contains many other useful tips and tricks. Although it’s an update for macOS 14 Sonoma, it’s still worth your time.
Back to where I found the post, the context actually is more important than the post itself. I agree with what Jeff Johnson said about “peak Apple”:
They used to be great at progressive disclosure. You don’t eliminate complexity, you just hide it from new users, progressively disclosing the complexity as users become more experienced and knowledgeable.
That’s exactly how I used to feel about Apple.
YPWU 