The Command key is also labeled ⌘ The Option key is also labeled ⌥ The Shift key is also labeled ⇧ and as mentioned by Styfle, the ' delete' key is called ' Backspace' on other operating systems. Learning the keyboard shortcuts takes time, but many of the steps in the Finder can become natural, almost 'automatic' with enough practice. o Select one character at a time by holding down the 'Shift' key and and using either arrow key (right or left).
Press the right arrow key to select the word to the right, or press the left arrow key to select the word to the left. Hold down the 'Ctrl' key and the 'Shift' key. Optionally, Command- Shift- Delete to empty the trash. Select one word by placing your cursor at one end of the word. To highlight the icon, type the first few letters of the icon's name, or press the arrow keys until it is selected (highlighted) Ĭommand- Delete to send the icon to the trash If any Finder windows are currently open, press Command- Shift- D to open a new window containing the Desktop folder, or Option- Command- W to close all active Finder windows and make the Finder's desktop active The full procedure to delete a file from the desktop, without the mouse, that should work almost anywhere in OS X, includes the following.Ĭommand- Tab to switch applications until the Finder is the active application.