How to Create Custom Keyboard Shortcuts on Mac

macOS is a wonderful operating system. Unlike iOS, Apple allows all customization options on macOS. You can change the default browser and Mail app and make other changes to suit your preferences. Among them, the ability to create custom keyboard shortcuts for the most used macOS actions is my favorite addition.

By default, macOS comes with the most essential keyboard shortcuts to improve your productivity. But there might be times when you want to go to certain menus or functions like action center or do not disturb mode repeatedly and miss the lack of those quick keyboard shortcuts. Fortunately, you can still assign them custom keyboard shortcuts.

The functionality doesn’t end there. You can also create keyboard shortcuts for third party apps like Firefox, Pixelmator, etc.

In this article, we are going to talk about creating custom keyboard shortcuts on Mac. I’ll walk you through how you can simplify your workflow by setting up custom keyboard shortcuts for macOS menu, functions, and third-party apps. Let’s start.

Create keyboard shortcuts for frequently used words and phrases

This one is similar to iOS. You can create keyboard shortcuts for frequently used words and phrases. I cannot stress enough how much time this has saved me over the years.

You can set keyboard shortcuts for Email ID, Home Address, and other phrases that you use frequently. Follow the steps below to configure them.

Step 1: Tap the Apple logo in the upper left corner and open System Preferences.

2nd step: Go to Keyboard> Text.

Step 3: Tap the “+” icon in the lower left corner and add the phrase shortcut. For example, you can type “email” there and replace the phrase with your actual email ID.

You can create as many keyboard shortcuts as you want in macOS. I created keyboard shortcuts for special characters including degree, rupee, and added a few email addresses. I can just type in “degree” and macOS will replace it with the degree symbol.

Note: You can create a custom keyboard shortcut for email, but don’t try to do the same for the password. Anyone using your Mac can access the Keyboard menu without any authentication. It is therefore not a good idea to create custom keyboard shortcuts for passwords.

Assign keyboard shortcuts for the macOS menu

As mentioned earlier, macOS comes with a ton of keyboard shortcuts to improve your productivity. But it does not support all Mac menus and functions. This is where the Mac keyboard customization options come in. You can view the default keyboard shortcuts on Mac, remove them, and even assign new keyboard shortcuts for other macOS menus.

Follow the steps below to configure them.

Step 1: Open Spotlight Search (use the Command + Space keyboard shortcut) and enter System Preferences.

2nd step: Go to Keyboard> Shortcuts.

Step 3: You will see a bunch of options on the left side. You can take a look at the assigned keyboard shortcuts. You can turn off the corresponding keyboard shortcut and even double-tap it and assign a new keyboard shortcut.

In some options you will see “none” written on the sides. This means that the system has not assigned a keyboard shortcut to it, but you can add one according to your preferences.

For example, you can go to Mission Control and assign keyboard shortcuts to Show / Hide Action Center and Toggle Do Not Disturb Mode on / off.

macOS also lets you add keyboard shortcuts for other services such as Pictures, Messaging, Files and Folder, Search, Text, and Internet. For example, I use Pixelmator to edit images. Instead of selecting images and then opening them from the context menu, I can assign them a keyboard shortcut.

Go to Services> Pictures> Open with Pixelmator Pro and give it a keyboard shortcut. Next time, just select the images you want to edit in the app and use the keyboard shortcut to open them in the app and start editing.

Note: Do not assign a keyboard shortcut that is already enabled in macOS. Try to use a unique key combination that doesn’t interfere with other keyboard shortcuts on Mac.

Create app keyboard shortcuts

Most Mac applications come with out-of-the-box keyboard shortcut support. But that might not be enough for you as they don’t support keyboard shortcuts for every menu or function. In such cases, you can always create custom app keyboard shortcuts.

Step 1: Tap the Apple logo in the upper left corner and open System Preferences.

2nd step: Go to Keyboard> Shortcuts> Application Shortcuts and tap the “+” icon in the lower left corner.

Step 3: You can create a universal keyboard shortcut for all apps or go to a specific app.

Step 4: Now you need to enter the exact name of the menu command you want to add. Add a menu title and a keyboard shortcut for it.

That’s all. You can now use the keyboard shortcut assigned in the application to access the corresponding menu. Let me remind you again, be aware of defining a keyboard shortcut that can duplicate one that is already in use by another system function or application if they conflict with each other or fail. to perform an action at all.

The last thing you want is to go to the trouble of setting up a key combination that ultimately fails to perform the action.

Quickly navigate menus and options on Mac

macOS offers the ability to customize and assign a keyboard shortcut to each menu and option in the operating system. Follow the tips above and customize the keyboard shortcuts you like and experience your booming productivity. Have you created specific custom shortcuts and want to share them with others? Mention them in the comments below.