Best mail apps for mac. In macOS, there are many ways to launch an application. You can click an icon in the Dock or the Launchpad, or type the name of the app in the Spotlight search box. However, in macOS, there is no built-in way to launch an application by pressing a keyboard shortcut.
Using the macOS Automator, you can create a custom service to launch the application of your choice, and bind a keyboard shortcut to it. When you press the keyboard shortcut, the chosen application launches automatically.
- If you want to launch an app using a single key press, you can do it by creating an Automator Quick Action and assigning it a keyboard shortcut in System Preferences. This isn't usually needed for apps we always have running, but can be useful for apps we frequently bring up and then quit when not in use. You have to be careful not to use a name or shortcut that conflicts with any other.
- Mar 16, 2019 Google introduced this feature for Mac users in version 73. So, update your browser on Mac to use this desktop shortcut feature. It works exactly like Windows version, however on Mac you can’t add the shortcut in desktop. You can only add the shortcut as an app and access through “chrome://apps” or from the “Apps” bookmark.
Follow the steps below to configure a keyboard shortcut to launch an application in macOS 10.15 Catalina.
Sep 06, 2015 The selected keyboard shortcut has now been assigned to launch the app that you have selected above. Try it to see if it works. For the keyboard shortcut to work everytime you boot up your Mac, you need to launch the Quicksilver app every time you do that. To get rid of that hassle, simply allow the app to automatically start at login. If you create a keyboard shortcut that is already in use for another app or another command, the new shortcut will not work. To solve that, you have to change your new shortcut or the other shortcut. Read Also: How to Transfer or Sync Files between Android and Mac; How to Use TouchBar Functionality on Any Mac.
Create an Automator service
First, create an Automator service to launch your app.
- In the macOS Finder, open the Applications folder. Double-click Automator.
- If this is the first time you are running Automator, your Automator documents open in a Finder window. Click the New Document button, or double-click the New Document icon.
- Click the Quick Action document type, then click Choose.
- In the Workflow receives currentdrop-down menu, select no input.
- On the left is a list of Actions from your Actions Library. Scroll down to Launch Application. Drag this action from the list and drop it in the gray area of the window, as indicated.
- The new action appears on the right, outlined in blue.
- In the Launch Application drop-down menu, select the application you want to launch. If your app is not listed, choose 'Other' to locate it manually. In this example, we have chosen the terminal application iTerm.
- Configuration is complete. Open the File menu and choose Save.
- Type a name for your quick action and click Save.
Close the Automator window.
Create a shortcut for the service
![Desktop Desktop](/uploads/1/2/6/3/126335406/839340561.png)
Follow these steps to create a keyboard shortcut for your new service.
- Open the Apple menu and choose System Preferences.
- Click Keyboard.
- Click Shortcuts. On the left, click Services. Scroll down to the service you created, and click to select it. Click Add Shortcut.
- A text box opens. Press the desired key combination for your shortcut. In this example, we've held down the Command key ⌘ and pressed the backslash key .
You can choose any combination of Command/⌘, Shift, Option/Alt, and the alphanumeric keys. If your chosen shortcut conflicts with an existing shortcut, you will be alerted.
Mac App Shortcut
NoteChoose a keyboard shortcut that you do not use in any other application. If you're running another application that uses the same shortcut, your custom shortcut will not work.
- Close the System Preferences. When you press the key combination, your app launches. If your app is already running in the background when you press the shortcut, it comes to the foreground of your other applications.
Additional information
Create Shortcut On Mac Desktop
Every Mac user knows the Dock—it sits at the bottom of the screen, giving you quick access to your favorite and currently open apps and folders. Using the Mac Dock shortcuts, you can launch Finder and Launchpad, throw files into the Trash folder, as well as access your Downloads folder directly.
To keep your Dock icons tidy, you can begin to categorize the apps onto your Dock into shortcut folders. This will let you organize the Dock better, reducing clutter and letting you focus on your most important apps. Here’s how you can create Mac Dock shortcuts quickly, as well as some tips on how to use the Dock more effectively.
Customizing Mac Dock Shortcuts
Before you begin adding Mac Dock shortcuts, you should customize it to suit your needs. You can change the size of the Dock, including the size of the icons, as well as reposition the Dock from the bottom to the left or right side of your screen. You can also set the Dock to automatically hide when you’re not using it.
- To access the settings for the Dock, right-click the Dock area and click Dock Preferences. Alternatively, click the Apple menu in the top-right, then click System Preferences > Dock or launch System Preferences from the Launchpad.
- Modify the sliders to increase the size of your Dock app icons, or use the radio buttons to change the position of the Dock. Click the Automatically hide and show the Dock checkbox if you want the Dock to disappear when it isn’t being used.
Once you’ve made your changes, close the Dock settings window. Pro apps education bundle mac download. The changes you make will be applied automatically.
Adding New Mac Dock Shortcuts
When you first set up a Mac, a few default apps are already in place as Dock shortcuts. These include Launchpad, Finder, and various Apple apps like FaceTime and Photos. Any software that is currently running will appear next to these icons in the Dock.
- To add running apps to your Dock permanently, right-click on an app icon in the Dock, hover over Options, then click Keep in Dock.
- You can also remove surplus apps from your Dock using the same menu. For system apps, right-click the app icon, then click Options > Remove from Dock. For non-system apps, simply uncheck the Keep in Dock icon to remove it.
Once your app icons are in place, you can move them around using your mouse or touchpad to suit your needs by dragging the icon and moving it to a new position.
Adding New Mac Dock Shortcut Folders
Shortcut folders help you categorize your Mac Dock shortcuts into categories. Work apps, for instance, could be placed in a single folder, while games could be separated into another.
While Dock shortcut folders won’t hide running apps, they can give you easy access to launch any software you run often without cluttering the Dock or having to launch the app from Finder or Launchpad instead.
- To start, open Finder by clicking the Finder icon in the Dock. Head to your Desktop folder, then right-click and press New Folder to create a new folder. Give this a name like Dock Folders. Inside this folder, create another folder (or several new folders) to match the app groupings you want to create on your Dock, giving them a suitable name as you do.
- With your folders created, open a second Finder window by right-clicking the Finder icon, pressing New Finder Window, then open the Applications folder in the left-hand menu. Right-click (or press Control + click) on any app you wish to create a shortcut of, then click Make Alias.
- A new listing for your chosen app will appear in the Applications folder, with the word alias attached to the name. With both Finder windows visible on your screen, drag the alias app from your Applications folder to the shortcut folder you’ve created on your Desktop.
- Repeat the step until you’ve created shortcuts for all of your chosen Dock apps and placed them in suitable folders. Once the Dock shortcut folders are ready, drag the shortcut folders using your mouse onto the Folders area of the Dock, next to your Trash icon.
How To Use Shortcuts App
- With the shortcut folder in place, you can access your apps by clicking on the shortcut folder icon and pressing one of the app shortcuts within.
Create Shortcut To Launch App Mac Free
As the Dock shortcut folder is itself a shortcut to a folder, you can open it in Finder to add or remove apps by retracing the steps above. Right-click any app in your Dock shortcuts folder in Finder and press Move to Trash to remove it.
Using Keyboard Dock Shortcuts
If you want to start using your Dock better, then consider using keyboard shortcuts. These time-saving shortcuts will help you interact with the Dock using only your keyboard, saving you the extra time it would take you to use your mouse or trackpad.
- Option + Command + D: Hides the Dock or makes it reappear if it’s already hidden.
- Command + M: Minimizes an open window to the Dock.
- Control + Shift + Command + T: Adds an item in Finder as a Dock shortcut quickly.
- Control + F3 (or Control + Function + F3): Assume keyboard control of the Dock, allowing you to move around it with your keyboard keys.
- With the Dock keyboard control shortcut above used, press the Up arrow to access the Dock menu, or Return to open an app or shortcut folder. With an app icon selected, press Command + Return to open the location of that app or shortcut in a new Finder window.
- To hide all open windows except for the app icon selected, use the arrow keys to select an app icon, then press Command + Option + Return. This will minimize other apps, leaving only your chosen app in view.
How to Use the Dock More Effectively
Adding Mac Dock shortcuts and organizing them into folders is just one way you can use the Dock more effectively on macOS. Reviews torrent software for mac. As we’ve mentioned, you could decide to use macOS keyboard shortcuts to quickly launch apps from your Dock, or customize the Dock to list recent apps in their own folder.
Mac Create Shortcut Folder
If you’re running Windows, you can install your own third-party Windows app docks instead.