How to Customize Keyboard Shortcuts on macOS

Step by step

1. 30 sec

   Open Keyboard settings

   Click the Apple Menu in the top-left corner of your screen and select System Settings. Navigate to the Keyboard section in the sidebar. Click the Keyboard Shortcuts button.

2. 1 min

   Select App Shortcuts

   Within the Keyboard Shortcuts window, locate App Shortcuts in the left-hand navigation list. Click the plus (+) icon located below the list to begin creating a new shortcut.

3. 1 min

   Assign the application and command

   Select an application from the Application dropdown menu. Type the exact menu command name into the Menu Title field. Ensure the spelling and punctuation match the application's menu bar item exactly.

   Note: Case sensitivity and ellipses symbols are critical for recognition.
4. 30 sec

   Record your key combination

   Click into the Keyboard Shortcut field and press the desired combination of keys on your keyboard. macOS will capture the key sequence and display it in the field.

5. 30 sec

   Save the shortcut

   Click the Done button to finalize the assignment. If the application is currently open, you may need to quit and relaunch it for the new shortcut to become active.

6. 30 sec

   Test the new command

   Open the target application and navigate to the menu bar. Locate the command you modified to see the new shortcut listed next to the menu item. Press the keys to trigger the action.

   Note: If the shortcut does not trigger, verify that it does not conflict with an existing system-wide shortcut.