Windows shortcuts on Mac: the full translation table, and the five with no direct match
Most Windows shortcuts on Mac come down to one rule: swap Ctrl for
Command (⌘) and the shortcut you already know works. Copy is ⌘C,
save is ⌘S, new tab is ⌘T. The rule breaks in two places: anything
built on the Windows key, which maps to a system feature rather than a
modifier, and the handful of window shortcuts macOS never had. This page
is the whole translation in tables, with links to the longer guides
where a single row doesn't cover it.
The rule: Ctrl becomes Command, Alt becomes Option
On a Mac, ⌘ does the job Ctrl does on Windows: it's the modifier for
app commands. Option (⌥) is the Mac's Alt. Control (⌃) still exists,
but it mostly handles system navigation and Unix-style text shortcuts.
Here's what that rule covers without any surprises:
| Windows | Mac | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Ctrl-C / X / V | ⌘C / ⌘X / ⌘V | Copy, cut, paste |
| Ctrl-Z | ⌘Z | Undo |
| Ctrl-Y | ⇧⌘Z | Redo (a few apps also take ⌘Y) |
| Ctrl-A / S / P / F | ⌘A / ⌘S / ⌘P / ⌘F | Select all, save, print, find |
| Ctrl-N / O | ⌘N / ⌘O | New window or document, open |
| Ctrl-T / Ctrl-Shift-T | ⌘T / ⇧⌘T | New tab, reopen the tab you closed |
| Ctrl-L | ⌘L | Jump to the browser's address bar |
| F5 | ⌘R | Reload the page |
| Ctrl-Plus / Minus / 0 | ⌘+ / ⌘- / ⌘0 | Zoom in, out, reset |
| Ctrl-Tab | ⌃⇥ | Next tab (Control here, same as Windows) |
| Ctrl-click | ⌘-click | Select several items |
One that's better on a Mac: ⌘, opens the current app's settings in
almost every Mac app. Windows has no equivalent convention.
Closing, quitting and force quitting
This is where muscle memory does damage, because on a Mac, closing an app's last window doesn't quit the app.
| Windows | Mac | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Ctrl-W | ⌘W | Closes the window or tab. The app keeps running |
| Alt-F4 | ⌘Q | Quits the whole app |
| Ctrl-Shift-Esc | ⌥⌘Esc | Force Quit window. Activity Monitor is the full Task Manager |
| Ctrl-Alt-Delete | ⌥⌘Esc | There's no security screen to call up |
| Win-L | ⌃⌘Q | Lock the screen |
The ⌘W-or-⌘Q split gets a full post in
Alt-F4 on Mac, and the frozen-app routes are in
Task Manager on Mac. The lock shortcut, plus
sleep and shut down, is in
the Mac lock screen shortcut.
Windows-key shortcuts: no pattern, just the answers
The Windows key maps to ⌘ electrically, but Win-something shortcuts
call up Windows features, so their Mac versions are whatever macOS named
the matching feature. These need memorizing, so here they are in one
place:
| Windows | Mac | Feature |
|---|---|---|
| Win (search) / Win-S | ⌘Space | Spotlight |
| Win-E | ⌥⌘Space | Finder window, search field selected |
| Win-D | fn-H (Globe-H) | Show the desktop |
| Win-Tab | ⌃↑ | Mission Control, every window at once |
| Win-Ctrl-← / → | ⌃← / ⌃→ | Move to the previous or next Space (virtual desktop) |
| Win-V | ⌘Space, then ⌘4 | Clipboard history in Spotlight (macOS 26 and later) |
| Win-. (period) | fn-E or ⌃⌘Space | Emoji and symbols |
| Win-Shift-S | ⇧⌘4 or ⇧⌘5 | Screenshot a region, or open the capture bar |
| Print Screen | ⇧⌘3 | Full-screen screenshot, saved to the Desktop |
| Win-I | ⌘Space, type "System Settings" | No default shortcut |
Win-D has a few more routes, plus how to get your windows back, in
how to show the desktop on Mac. Screenshots
have a whole family of shortcuts, covered in
Mac screenshot shortcuts. If you're
also using a PC keyboard, read
using a Windows keyboard on a Mac:
it explains why the fn/Globe shortcuts above can't be pressed on most
of them.
Text editing: the Home and End trap
Text navigation follows a different pattern: Ctrl-arrow becomes Option-arrow, and Home/End become Command-arrow. Home and End still exist on a full keyboard, but on a Mac they scroll the page and leave the cursor where it was.
| Windows | Mac | Moves |
|---|---|---|
| Ctrl-← / → | ⌥← / ⌥→ | One word |
| Home / End | ⌘← / ⌘→ | Start or end of the line |
| Ctrl-Home / End | ⌘↑ / ⌘↓ | Start or end of the document |
| Ctrl-Backspace | ⌥Delete | Deletes the previous word |
| Delete (forward) | fn-Delete | Forward delete on a MacBook keyboard |
Add Shift to any of them to select as you move, same as Windows. The rest of the set is in Mac text editing shortcuts.
Files in Finder
| Windows | Mac | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| F2 (rename) | Return | Return renames in Finder. It doesn't open the file |
| Enter (open) | ⌘O or ⌘↓ | Open the selected item |
| Delete | ⌘Delete | Moves to the Trash |
| Shift-Delete | ⌥⌘Delete | Deletes immediately, skipping the Trash |
| Alt-Enter (Properties) | ⌘I | Get Info |
| Ctrl-Shift-N | ⇧⌘N | New folder |
| Right-click | Control-click or two-finger click | Same context menu |
One Mac-only bonus: select a file and press Space for Quick Look, which previews almost any document without opening an app.
The five with no direct match
These are the shortcuts Windows switchers miss most, because the Mac either does them differently or doesn't do them at all.
Win-arrow (snap)
macOS has had built-in tiling since Sequoia, but the shortcuts are
Globe-Control chords: fn-⌃-← and → for halves, fn-⌃-F to fill
the screen. You only get fixed halves and quarters, there's no Snap
Assist, and a PC keyboard usually has no Globe key to press. The
details and workarounds are in
how to snap windows on Mac like Windows.
If you want Win-arrow's speed with more layouts,
Let's Tile puts every layout behind one shortcut: ⌘↵ drops a
grid over the window, the arrow keys pick a cell, Return snaps it. The
free tier's 3 × 2 grid already gives you halves, thirds, two-thirds and
quarters, and it doesn't expire.
Alt-Tab
⌘Tab is the nearest built-in, but it switches between apps, not
windows. Three browser windows count as one entry, and it won't bring
back a minimized window. Alt-Tab on Mac covers
why, and the built-in workarounds.
To get the Windows behavior back, Let's Switch is built on
it: hold ⌥⇥ (literally Alt-Tab on a Mac keyboard) for a live preview
of every open window, most recent first. ⌥` cycles one app's
windows. Both are in the free tier. Pro adds an ⌥Space palette that
finds a window when you type a few letters of its name.
Win-Shift-arrow (move to another monitor)
macOS has no keyboard shortcut for sending a window to the next display. How to move a window to another monitor on Mac explains the hidden Window-menu command, and how to give it a shortcut.
Win-M (minimize everything)
The closest match is ⌥⌘M, which minimizes every window of the front
app. To clear everything except the app you're using, ⌥⌘H hides all
the other apps, and it's usually the better habit. We explain why in
how to hide other apps on Mac.
Win-Ctrl-D (new virtual desktop)
There's no default shortcut. Open Mission Control (⌃↑) and click the
+ at the top right. After that, ⌃← and ⌃→ move between Spaces.
The Spaces guide covers the
rest.
Should you remap the Mac to work like Windows?
Usually not. Swapping Control and Command makes copy and paste land
where your fingers expect, but every Mac tutorial, menu and app you meet
after that will name a key you've moved. Most switchers retrain the
⌘ reflex within a week or two. The shortcuts worth adding are the
ones the Mac never shipped (snapping and true window switching), not
the ones it renamed.
Frequently asked questions
Do Windows keyboard shortcuts work on a Mac? Most of the app ones
do, once you press ⌘ where you used to press Ctrl. Windows-key
shortcuts don't carry over. Use the table above instead.
What is the Alt key on a Mac? Option (⌥). It's labeled "alt" on
some Mac keyboards, and macOS maps a PC keyboard's Alt to it.
What's the Mac shortcut for Ctrl-Alt-Delete? ⌥⌘Esc opens Force
Quit. For everything else Task Manager does, open Activity Monitor from
Spotlight.
Is there a Mac equivalent of Win-arrow snapping? Yes, since macOS
Sequoia: fn-⌃ with the arrow keys. It covers halves and quarters.
For thirds and other layouts you need a tiler such as
Let's Tile.
New to the Mac? The blog has the long version of nearly every row above.