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Special characters and shortcuts on a Mac
On a Mac, a third of the characters are printed on no key at all. They exist all the same, hidden behind the Option key. Here is the method that finds any of them on your own layout, and the shortcuts worth knowing by heart.
The fastest way
- Hold the Option key and the whole keyboard changes meaning. Hold Option and Shift together and it changes again — that is where brackets, braces, the pipe and the backslash live.
- The exact combinations depend on your layout, so rather than memorise a list, put the keyboard on screen and read it live. That takes three seconds and always works.
The method that works on every layout
Instead of remembering combinations, display the keyboard on screen: it shows live what each key produces while you hold Option. It is the only answer that stays true whatever the language of your keyboard.
- System Settings, then Keyboard.
- Turn on Show Input menu in menu bar.
- Click the new icon at the top right, then Show Keyboard Viewer.
- Hold Option, then Option and Shift: the displayed keyboard changes and reveals every hidden character. Click one to insert it.
The viewer floats above other windows. Leave it open while typing anything technical — it saves more time than any list learned by heart.
The characters people look for most
Square brackets, curly braces, the pipe, the backslash, the euro and the at sign. Where each one sits depends on your layout, which is exactly why the viewer above beats a fixed table.
- Square brackets and curly braces sit on the same two keys on most layouts: one pair with Option, the other with Option and Shift.
- On a US keyboard the brackets are printed directly on their keys, to the right of the P.
- The at sign is a dedicated key on most European Apple keyboards, and Shift + 2 on the US layout.
- Accented capitals: turn on Caps Lock and type the letter. Holding a letter for a second opens its accent menu.
- The euro sign sits on Option + E on many European layouts and Option + 2 on the US one. When in doubt, the viewer settles it in a second.
The shortcuts that depend on no layout
These are identical on every Mac whatever the keyboard language. They are also the ones used a hundred times a day.
Command + C, X, V
copy, cut, paste
Command + Shift + V
paste and match the destination style
Control + click
the right-click equivalent, with no two-button mouse
Two-finger tap on the trackpad
right click, if enabled in settings
Control + Command + Space
open the emoji and symbol picker
Command + Space
Spotlight, the system search
Command + Tab
switch between applications
Command + W / Command + Q
close the window / quit the application
Command + Shift + 4
capture an area of the screen
Hold a letter for a second
the accent menu for that letter
A combination does nothing: it is not always a setting
If a correct combination has no effect, test the key on its own in a text document. A combination needs two to four keys at once, so a single dead key stops everything while seeming to work elsewhere.
- Test Option, Shift and Command separately: each must produce something visible, a capital letter or a menu.
- Try a USB keyboard. If the combination works with it, the internal keyboard is at fault.
- A stuck, sticky or dead key after a spill is a part, not a setting: a single keycap, the whole keyboard, or the top case depending on the model.
Read the model number engraved on the underside, an A followed by four digits: that determines the compatible part, not the year you bought it.
FAQ
How do I right-click without a two-button mouse?
Hold the Control key and click. On a trackpad, a two-finger tap does the same, provided the option is enabled in System Settings, Trackpad.
Where are the emoji on a Mac?
Control + Command + Space opens the emoji and symbol picker in any text field. The same window also holds mathematical symbols and arrows.
How do I type a character I cannot find anywhere?
Open the Keyboard Viewer and hold Option, then Option and Shift: every character on your layout appears. If it is still missing, the symbol picker (Control + Command + Space) holds the rest of Unicode.
Accents will not come out on my US keyboard.
Hold the letter for a second and an accent menu opens. You can also add the US International layout in System Settings, Keyboard, Input Sources, which puts accents on the Option key.
