Control accessibility options with your keyboard and Siri
You can use these keyboard shortcuts to control accessibility options, or ask Siri to perform these functions. For example, ask Siri to 'Turn VoiceOver On.'
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Display Accessibility Options | Option-Command-F5 or triple-press Touch ID (power button) on supported models1 |
| Turn VoiceOver on or off2 | Command-F5 or Fn-Command-F5 or hold Command and triple-press Touch ID on supported models1 |
| Open VoiceOver Utility, if VoiceOver is turned on2 | Control-Option-F8 or Fn-Control-Option-F8 |
| Turn zoom on or off3 | Option-Command-8 |
| Zoom in3 | Option–Command–Plus sign (+) |
| Zoom out3 | Option–Command–Minus sign (-) |
| Invert colors4 | Control-Option-Command-8 |
| Reduce contrast | Control-Option-Command-Comma (,) |
| Increase contrast | Control-Option-Command-Period (.) |
Google Docs's keyboard shortcuts will allow you to create numbered lists, start a comment and view word count, among other actions. May 13, 2013 Simply tell users to Control-Option-Command-Shift-Period when they have these problems. Doing so will run the sysdiagnose command and then open a Finder window with the output of the command. If command extensions are enabled, the shift command supports the /n command-line option. The /n option specifies to start shifting at the Nth argument, where N is any value from 0 to 8. For example, SHIFT /2 would shift%3 to%2,%4 to%3, and so on, and leave%0 and%1 unaffected. Command extensions are enabled by default. To fix this, just press Option-Shift-Command-Period at the Startup Manager window. Do this each time you want to start from the external device or from a startup disk connected to it. If you don't want to do this and you're using an older Mac model (2015 and before), you can can disable this security feature and allow your Mac to load Option ROM firmware.
1. MacBook Pro (15-inch, Late 2016), MacBook Pro (13-inch, Late 2016, Four Thunderbolt 3 Ports)
2. To use VoiceOver and VoiceOver Utility, you might need to turn on 'Use all F1, F2, etc. keys as standard function keys' in Keyboard preferences. You might also need to make VoiceOver ignore the next key press before you can use some of the other Mac keyboard shortcuts.
3. To use the zoom shortcuts, you might need to turn on 'Use keyboard shortcuts to zoom' in Accessibility preferences.
4. To enable this shortcut, choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then click Keyboard. In the Shortcuts tab, select Accessibility on the left, then select 'Invert colors' on the right.
Use your keyboard like a mouse
You can use your keyboard like a mouse to navigate and interact with items onscreen. Use the Tab key and arrow keys to navigate, then press Space bar to select an item.
- Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then click Keyboard.
- Click Shortcuts.
- From the bottom of the preferences window, select 'Use keyboard navigation to move focus between controls.' In macOS Mojave or earlier, this setting appears as an 'All controls' button instead.
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Switch between navigation of all controls on the screen, or only text boxes and lists | Control-F7 or Fn-Control-F7 |
| Move to the next control | Tab |
| Move to the previous control | Shift-Tab |
| Move to the next control when a text field is selected | Control-Tab |
| Move the focus to the previous grouping of controls | Control-Shift-Tab |
| Move to the adjacent item in a list, tab group, or menu Move sliders and adjusters (Up Arrow to increase values, Down Arrow to decrease values) | Arrow keys |
| Move to a control adjacent to the text field | Control–Arrow keys |
| Choose the selected menu item | Space bar |
| Click the default button or perform the default action | Return or Enter |
| Click the Cancel button or close a menu without choosing an item | Esc |
| Move the focus to the previous panel | Control-Shift-F6 |
| Move to the status menu in the menu bar | Control-F8 or Fn-Control-F8 |
| Activate the next open window in the front app | Command–Grave accent (`) |
| Activate the previous open window in the front app | Shift–Command–Grave accent (`) |
| Move the focus to the window drawer | Option–Command–Grave accent (`) |
Navigate menus with your keyboard
To use these shortcuts, first press Control-F2 or Fn-Control-F2 to put the focus on the menu bar.
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Move from menu to menu | Left Arrow, Right Arrow |
| Open a selected menu | Return |
| Move to menu items in the selected menu | Up Arrow, Down Arrow |
| Jump to a menu item in the selected menu | Type the menu item's name |
| Choose the selected menu item | Return |
Use Mouse Keys to move the mouse pointer
When Mouse Keys is turned on, you can use the keyboard or numeric keypad keys to move the mouse pointer.
Use your keyboard like a mouse
You can use your keyboard like a mouse to navigate and interact with items onscreen. Use the Tab key and arrow keys to navigate, then press Space bar to select an item.
- Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then click Keyboard.
- Click Shortcuts.
- From the bottom of the preferences window, select 'Use keyboard navigation to move focus between controls.' In macOS Mojave or earlier, this setting appears as an 'All controls' button instead.
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Switch between navigation of all controls on the screen, or only text boxes and lists | Control-F7 or Fn-Control-F7 |
| Move to the next control | Tab |
| Move to the previous control | Shift-Tab |
| Move to the next control when a text field is selected | Control-Tab |
| Move the focus to the previous grouping of controls | Control-Shift-Tab |
| Move to the adjacent item in a list, tab group, or menu Move sliders and adjusters (Up Arrow to increase values, Down Arrow to decrease values) | Arrow keys |
| Move to a control adjacent to the text field | Control–Arrow keys |
| Choose the selected menu item | Space bar |
| Click the default button or perform the default action | Return or Enter |
| Click the Cancel button or close a menu without choosing an item | Esc |
| Move the focus to the previous panel | Control-Shift-F6 |
| Move to the status menu in the menu bar | Control-F8 or Fn-Control-F8 |
| Activate the next open window in the front app | Command–Grave accent (`) |
| Activate the previous open window in the front app | Shift–Command–Grave accent (`) |
| Move the focus to the window drawer | Option–Command–Grave accent (`) |
Navigate menus with your keyboard
To use these shortcuts, first press Control-F2 or Fn-Control-F2 to put the focus on the menu bar.
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Move from menu to menu | Left Arrow, Right Arrow |
| Open a selected menu | Return |
| Move to menu items in the selected menu | Up Arrow, Down Arrow |
| Jump to a menu item in the selected menu | Type the menu item's name |
| Choose the selected menu item | Return |
Use Mouse Keys to move the mouse pointer
When Mouse Keys is turned on, you can use the keyboard or numeric keypad keys to move the mouse pointer.
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Move up | 8 or numeric keypad 8 |
| Move down | K or numeric keypad 2 |
| Move left | U or numeric keypad 4 |
| Move right | O or numeric keypad 6 |
| Move diagonally down and to the left | J or numeric keypad 1 |
| Move diagonally down and to the right | L or numeric keypad 3 |
| Move diagonally up and to the left | 7 or numeric keypad 7 |
| Move diagonally up and to the right | 9 or numeric keypad 9 |
| Press the mouse button | I or numeric keypad 5 |
| Hold the mouse button | M or numeric keypad 0 |
| Release the mouse button | . (period) |
Learn more
- Change the behavior of the function keys or modifier keys
Alternatively referred to as a full stop or dot, a period ( . ) is a punctuation mark commonly found on the same US QWERTY keyboard key as the greater than ( > ).
Where is the period on the keyboard?
Below is an overview of a computer keyboard with the period keys highlighted in blue. With U.S. keyboards, the period is next to the question mark key. With keyboards with a numeric keypad a period is also next to the Enter key.
How to create a period
Creating the period symbol on a U.S. keyboard
On English PC and Mac keyboards, the period is on the same key as the greater than ( > ) symbol. Pressing the period key with no other key creates a period.
Creating the period symbol on a smartphone or tablet
To create a period on a smartphone or tablet, open the keyboard, go into the numbers (123) or symbols (sym) section, and then tap the '.' symbol.
What is a period used for on a computer?
Computers use a period in the following ways.
Option-shift-command-period
- With IBM compatible computers and their operating systems, a period is used to separate the file name from the file extension. For example, with the file 'somefile.pdf' the 'somefile' file name is separated from the 'pdf' file extension.
- In Linux, when listing files in a directory, a single period represents the current directory and a '..' (double period or 'dot dot') represents the parent directory.
- Two periods can be used with the cd command in the Windows command line and Linux to move back one directory.
- The period is used to help create a URL and break up important portions of the URL. For example, with https://www.computerhope.com the https is the protocol, and the rest of the URL is the address accessed using that protocol.
- It is used as or part of a wildcard in programming code.
Option Shift Command Period
What is the other symbol on the period key?
On U.S. keyboards, the period key is shared with the greater than key, which may be shown next to or above the period symbol. If the keyboard has a numeric keypad, the period on the numeric keypad functions as a Del key when Num Lock is not enabled.
Related pages
Dot, Ellipsis, Keyboard terms, Three periods
