Today I learned
Navigate OS X with the keyboard
April 20, 2015
After switching to OS X, one thing I've always missed in Windows and Linux is the ability to spawn menus using Alt F. Today I realized that OS X has two ways to accomplish this.
Use Ctrl + F2 to navigate menus with arrow keys, or use ⌘ ⇧ / will get you the help menu.
Useful shortcuts
Spotlight for menus
The ⌘ ⌥ / shortcut is essentially a Spotlight for menu items—it opens the help menu where you can type in the menu item you want. Not all applications support it, though.
Full keyboard access
Under the Keyboard preference pane, there's an option for Full Keyboard Access. I suggest enabling this, as this lets you navigate through file save windows with just the keyboard.
More shortcuts
| Key | Description |
|---|---|
^ F1 | Turn keyboard access on/off |
^ F2 | Menu bar |
^ F3 | Dock |
^ F5 | Toolbar |
^ F6 | Floating window |
^ F8 | Status menu |
⌘ ⇧ / | Help |