Tutorial Tech

To use a keyboard shortcut, or key combination, you press a modifier key with a character key. For example, pressing the Command key (the key with a symbol) and the "c" key at the same time copies whatever is currently selected (text, graphics, and so forth) into the Clipboard. This is also known as the Command-C key combination (or keyboard shortcut).

A modifier key is a part of many key combinations. A modifier key alters the way other keystrokes or mouse clicks are interpreted by Mac OS X. Modifier keys include: Command, Control, Option, Shift, Caps Lock, and the fn key (if your keyboard has a fn key).

Some keyboard shortcuts perform different functions based on cursor location (focus). For example, if you press Home on Windows while viewing a web page, Mozilla will move to the top of the web page. However, if you press Home on Windows while the cursor is in a text field, the cursor will go to the beginning of the text field.

To perform a command, press the buttons listed together at the same time. For example, to copy in Windows, press Ctrl and C at the same time.: