macOS Sierra: The Missing Manual

Appendix D. The Master Secret Keystroke List

Here it is, by popular, frustrated demand: the master list of every secret (or not-so-secret) keystroke in macOS, including all the keys you can press during startup. Clip and post to your monitor (unless, of course, you got this book from the library).

Note

For the most part, the following list doesn’t include the keystrokes already listed in your menus, like -P for Print, -S for Save, and so on.

Startup Keystrokes

C	Starts up from a CD, DVD, or USB thumb drive
N	Starts up from a network server
T	Puts the Mac into FireWire or Thunderbolt Target Disk mode
X	Starts up from a startup volume
D	Starts up to diagnostic or hardware test mode
-D	Starts up to diagnostic or hardware test mode over the Internet
-R	Starts Recovery Mode
Option--R	Starts up from Recovery Mode over the Internet
Option	Shows icons of all startup disks and partitions, so you can choose one for starting up
Shift-Option--Delete	Starts up from external drive (or CD)
Option--P-R	Zaps the parameter RAM (PRAM) ...