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Keyboard shortcuts and gestures in Photos on Mac
In the Photos app on your Mac, you can quickly accomplish many tasks using keyboard shortcuts and gestures. See the shortcuts and gestures below, as well as keyboard shortcuts in Photos menus in the menu bar. In app menus, keyboard shortcuts are represented by symbols.
Note: Keyboard shortcuts in apps may vary depending on the language and keyboard layout you’re using on your Mac. If the shortcuts below don’t work as you expect, look in the app menus in the menu bar to see the correct shortcuts. You can also use the Keyboard Viewer to see your current keyboard layout, known as an input source.
To use the tap or double-tap gestures in the table below, turn on “Tap to click” in Trackpad settings. To use the three-finger tap to look up information about the text object, turn on “Look up & data detectors.” To open Trackpad settings, choose Apple menu in the sidebar. (You may need to scroll down.)
View photos
Action | Shortcut or gesture | ||||||||||
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Go to an item in the sidebar (Library, Memories, People, and so on) | Control-[number], where the number corresponds to the order the items appear in the sidebar. For example, press Control-1 to select Library, the first item. Because items shown in the sidebar may vary, choose View > Photos to see the correct shortcut for each item. | ||||||||||
View all photos (in Library view) | Command-4 | ||||||||||
View days (in Library view) | Command-3 | ||||||||||
View months (in Library view) | Command-2 | ||||||||||
View years (in Library view) | Command-1 | ||||||||||
View all memories (in Memories view) | Command-1 | ||||||||||
View favorite memories (in Memories view) | Command-2 | ||||||||||
View the photos in a day, month, or year | Double-click the title, or tap or pinch open the day, month, or year | ||||||||||
Open an individual photo | Double-click or double-tap the photo, or select the photo and press the Space bar | ||||||||||
Close an individual photo and see more photos | Double-click the photo or pinch closed, or press the Space bar or the Esc (Escape) key | ||||||||||
Scroll through photos in the Photos window | Press the arrow keys, or swipe up or down with two fingers | ||||||||||
See the next or previous photo in a day or album | Press the Left Arrow or Right Arrow key, or swipe left or right with two fingers | ||||||||||
Stop viewing a photo, project, album, or shared album | Command-Up Arrow | ||||||||||
Start or stop playing a video | Option-Space bar | ||||||||||
Show or hide thumbnails below an open photo | Option-S |
Edit photos
Action | Shortcut or gesture | ||||||||||
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Open or close a selected photo in editing view | Return | ||||||||||
Crop a photo | C or Command-3 | ||||||||||
Adjust a photo | A or Command-1 | ||||||||||
Apply a filter | F or Command-2 | ||||||||||
Rotate a photo | Command-Option-R (clockwise), or Command-R (counterclockwise) | ||||||||||
Enhance a photo | Command-E | ||||||||||
Show the original unadjusted photo while editing | Press and hold M | ||||||||||
Show the unadjusted photo without additional editing changes, such as cropping or rotation | Control-M | ||||||||||
Go to the next photo | Right Arrow (press and hold to scroll through photos quickly) | ||||||||||
Go to the previous photo | Left Arrow (press and hold to scroll through photos quickly) | ||||||||||
Delete selected photos | Delete | ||||||||||
Play or pause a Live Photo or video | Option-Space bar | ||||||||||
Find photos | Command-F | ||||||||||
Zoom between the current zoom level and 100 percent | Z | ||||||||||
Zoom in or out | Command-Plus Sign (+) or Command-Minus Sign (–), or pinch open or closed | ||||||||||
Hide a selected photo | Command-L | ||||||||||
Adjust the view of a photo when zoomed in | Drag the photo | ||||||||||
Undo the last action | Command-Z | ||||||||||
Redo the last action | Shift-Command-Z | ||||||||||
While in editing view or viewing thumbnails, open a shortcut menu to change or get information about a photo | Control-click or tap a photo with two fingers |
Select and deselect photos
Action | Shortcut or gesture | ||||||||||
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Select a single photo | Click the photo | ||||||||||
Select all photos | Command-A | ||||||||||
Select all photos between the current selection and a nonadjacent photo | Press and hold the Shift key and click the nonadjacent photo | ||||||||||
Select photos that are not adjacent to one another | Select the first photo, then press and hold the Command key and click additional photos | ||||||||||
Select several photos located together | Click outside the photos and drag to enclose them within the selection rectangle | ||||||||||
Deselect specific photos in a group of selected photos | Press and hold the Command key and click the photos you want to deselect | ||||||||||
Deselect all photos | Shift-Command-A or click outside a photo |
Organize photos
Action | Shortcut or gesture | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Create a new album | Command-N | ||||||||||
Set a selected photo as the key photo for an album | Shift-Command-K | ||||||||||
Create a Smart Album | Option-Command-N | ||||||||||
Create a folder | Shift-Command-N | ||||||||||
Change the size of photo thumbnails | Command-Plus Sign (+) or Command-Minus Sign (–) | ||||||||||
Open or close a photo | Double-click or double-tap a photo thumbnail, or select a thumbnail and press the Space bar. Double-click, double-tap, or press the Space bar again to close. | ||||||||||
Move to the previous or next photo | Left Arrow or Right Arrow | ||||||||||
Enter or leave full-screen view | Control-Command-F | ||||||||||
Show or hide titles | Shift-Command-T | ||||||||||
Hide a selected photo | Command-L | ||||||||||
Show or hide photo information in the Info window | Command-I | ||||||||||
Duplicate a photo | Command-D | ||||||||||
Cut a photo | Command-X | ||||||||||
Copy a photo | Command-C | ||||||||||
Paste a photo | Command-V | ||||||||||
Make a photo a favorite | Period (.) | ||||||||||
Show or hide the Keyword Manager | Command-K | ||||||||||
Delete a photo or item from the library | Command-Delete | ||||||||||
Remove a photo from an album (but not from the library) | Delete |
Play slideshows
Action | Shortcut or gesture | ||||||||||
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Stop playing a slideshow | Press the Escape (Esc) key, or move the pointer to show the slideshow controls, then click the close button (X) | ||||||||||
Pause or resume playing a slideshow | Space bar | ||||||||||
Move through slides in a slideshow manually | Right Arrow or Left Arrow |
Import and export
Action | Shortcut or gesture | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Import photos | Shift-Command-I | ||||||||||
Export photos | Shift-Command-E or drag a photo to the desktop |
Print photos
Action | Shortcut or gesture | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Command-P |
General
Action | Shortcut or gesture | ||||||||||
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Open settings | Command-Comma (,) | ||||||||||
Close a window and quit Photos | Command-W | ||||||||||
Minimize the Photos window | Command-M | ||||||||||
Hide the Photos app (without quitting) | Command-H | ||||||||||
Quit Photos | Command-Q |