PSA: Mac OS X Text Editing Shortcuts

These tips work in just about every modern app that lets you edit text.

If you hold down Option and press the left or right arrows, the cursor moves left or right one word instead of one letter. If you hold down Option while pressing up or down, the cursor moves up or down one paragraph instead of one line.

Hold down the Command key while pressing left or right to jump to the beginning or end of the current line. Hold down Command and press up or down to jump to the beginning or end of the file or field.

Holding down Shift at the same time will cause the corresponding span of text to be selected. In conjunction with the well known shortcuts for cut, copy, and paste, these controls provide a handy way to manipulate and navigate text right from the keyboard. If you’re into that kind of thing.

Posted on Thursday, March 1st, 2007. Tags: mac.