Spotlight keyboard shortcuts on Mac
On your Mac, you can quickly search with Spotlight using the keyboard shortcuts below.
Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
Open or close the Spotlight window | Command-Space bar |
Show the preview area | Tab key |
Move to the next result | Down Arrow |
Move to the previous result | Up Arrow |
Move to the first result in the next category | Command-Down Arrow |
Move to the first result in the previous category | Command-Up Arrow |
Show the path of a result (such as a file) on your Mac (if the preview area’s displayed, the path is shown at the bottom of the preview) | Command |
Open a result | Return key |
See a file in an app or the Finder | Command-R or Command-Double-click |
Open a Finder window with the search field selected | Option-Command-Space bar |
If you use multiple input sources and have designated Command-Space bar and Option-Command-Space bar as shortcuts for switching between input sources, you must change the Spotlight shortcuts. On your Mac, choose Apple menu 
in the sidebar, then click Keyboard Shortcuts on the right. (You may need to scroll down.) Then click Spotlight and follow the onscreen instructions to set different shortcut keys.