I have been using hotkeys for as long as I can remember because it is much faster than using the menus for the same action. Therefor I have assembled a list of hotkeys that I use, and I find very useful. I think it is a very good idea to get accustomed with these hotkeys, as they will help speed up your workflow, and minimize the risk of getting damages caused by the use of mouse. If you have been using hotkeys at a PC, then a lot of these will look similar, only by mac you use cmd instead of ctrl.

While booting your Mac:

• Hold C key to startup from CD-ROM (change password)
• Hold T key to startup in Target Disk Mode
• Hold N key to startup in Net
• Hold cmd + shift + R + P to reset video settings (the startup sound will sound twice)
• Hold Shift key to enter Safe Boot
• Hold Alt key will bring up the startup disk selection mode, and you can choose which harddisk, external harddisk or CD to start from. (Can be extremely helpful when preforming repairs and the like)

While using OS X / Finder:

• cmd + TAB = cycle through apps
• cmd + M or double-click Title Bar = minimize
• cmd + H = hide window
• cmd + delete = move to trash
• cmd + I = get info
• cmd + alt + ESC = force quit apps
• cmd + alt = launch build-in media browser -> Frontrow
• cmd + C = copy
• cmd + V = paste
• cmd + X = cut
• cmd + A = select all
• cmd + Z = undo
• cmd + Z + shift = redo
• cmd + Q = close app
• cmd + W = close window
• cmd + N = new Finder window
• cmd + E = ejects the mounted device or application
• cmd + up arrow = go to the folder that contains the current folder
• cmd + down arrow = launches highlighted app
• cmd + shift + A = apps
• cmd + shift + U = utilities

Arrow Keys:

• cmd + left = beginning of line
• cmd + right = end of line

Screen Capturing:

• cmd + shift + 3 = captures whole screen
• cmd + shift + 4 = captures selected region
• cmd + shift + 4, spacebar = captures window with camera icon

Tagged: Finder, Hotkey, OS X