Keyboard shortcuts and gestures in Photos on Mac

In the Photos app on your Mac, you can use your keyboard, trackpad, or Magic Mouse to quickly accomplish many tasks. In app menus, keyboard shortcuts are represented by symbols.

Note: Keyboard shortcuts in apps may vary depending on the language and keyboard layout you’re using on your Mac. If the shortcuts below don’t work as you expect, look in the app menus in the menu bar to see the correct shortcuts. You can also use the Keyboard Viewer to see your current keyboard layout, known as an input source.

To use the tap or double-tap gestures in the table below, turn on “Tap to click” in Trackpad settings. To use the three-finger tap to look up information about the text object, turn on “Look up & data detectors.” To open Trackpad settings, choose Apple menu > System Settings, then click Trackpad in the sidebar. (You may need to scroll down.)

Open Photos for me

View photos

Action				Shortcut or gesture
Go to an item in the sidebar (Library, Favorites, and so on)				Control-[number], where the number corresponds to the order the items appear in the sidebar. For example, press Control-1 to select Library, the first item. Because items shown in the sidebar may vary, choose View > Photos to see the correct shortcut for each item.
View the photos in a day, month, or year				Double-click the title, or tap or pinch open the day, month, or year
Open an individual photo				Double-click or double-tap the photo, or select the photo and press the Space bar
Close an individual photo and see more photos				Double-click the photo or pinch closed, or press the Space bar or the Esc (Escape) key
Scroll through photos in the Photos window				Press the arrow keys, or swipe up or down with two fingers
Stop viewing a photo, project, album, or shared album				Command-Up Arrow
Start or stop playing a video				Option-Space bar
Show or hide thumbnails below an open photo				Option-S

Edit photos

Action				Shortcut or gesture
Open or close a selected photo in editing view				Return
Crop a photo				C or Command-3
Adjust a photo				A or Command-1
Apply a filter				F or Command-2
Rotate a photo				Command-Option-R (clockwise), or Command-R (counterclockwise)
Enhance a photo				Command-E
Show the original unadjusted photo while editing				Press and hold M
Show the unadjusted photo without additional editing changes, such as cropping or rotation				Control-M
Go to the next photo				Right Arrow (press and hold to scroll through photos quickly)
Go to the previous photo				Left Arrow (press and hold to scroll through photos quickly)
Delete selected photos				Delete
Play or pause a Live Photo or video				Option-Space bar
Find photos				Command-F
Zoom between the current zoom level and 100 percent				Z
Zoom in or out				Command-Plus Sign (+) or Command-Minus Sign (–), or pinch open or closed
Hide a selected photo				Command-L
Adjust the view of a photo when zoomed in				Drag the photo
Undo the last action				Command-Z
Redo the last action				Shift-Command-Z
While in editing view or viewing thumbnails, open a shortcut menu to change or get information about a photo				Control-click or tap a photo with two fingers

Select and deselect photos

Action				Shortcut or gesture
Select a single photo				Click the photo
Select all photos				Command-A
Select all photos between the current selection and a nonadjacent photo				Press and hold the Shift key and click the nonadjacent photo
Select photos that are not adjacent to one another				Select the first photo, then press and hold the Command key and click additional photos
Select several photos located together				Click outside the photos and drag to enclose them within the selection rectangle
Deselect specific photos in a group of selected photos				Press and hold the Command key and click the photos you want to deselect
Deselect all photos				Shift-Command-A or click outside a photo

Organize photos

Action				Shortcut or gesture
Create a new album				Command-N
Set a selected photo as the key photo for an album				Shift-Command-K
Create a Smart Album				Option-Command-N
Create a folder				Shift-Command-N
Change the size of photo thumbnails				Command-Plus Sign (+) or Command-Minus Sign (–)
Open or close a photo				Double-click or double-tap a photo thumbnail, or select a thumbnail and press the Space bar. Double-click, double-tap, or press the Space bar again to close.
Move to the previous or next photo				Left Arrow or Right Arrow
Enter or leave full-screen view				Control-Command-F
Show or hide titles				Shift-Command-T
Hide a selected photo				Command-L
Show or hide photo information in the Info window				Command-I
Duplicate a photo				Command-D
Cut a photo				Command-X
Copy a photo				Command-C
Paste a photo				Command-V
Make a photo a favorite				Period (.)
Show or hide the Keyword Manager				Command-K
Delete a photo or item from the library				Command-Delete
Remove a photo from an album (but not from the library)				Delete

Play slideshows

Action				Shortcut or gesture
Stop playing a slideshow				Press the Escape (Esc) key, or move the pointer to show the slideshow controls, then click the close button (X)
Pause or resume playing a slideshow				Space bar
Move through slides in a slideshow manually				Right Arrow or Left Arrow

Import and export

Action				Shortcut or gesture
Import photos				Shift-Command-I
Export photos				Shift-Command-E or drag a photo to the desktop

Print photos

Action				Shortcut or gesture
Print				Command-P

General

Action				Shortcut or gesture
Open settings				Command-Comma (,)
Close a window and quit Photos				Command-W
Minimize the Photos window				Command-M
Hide the Photos app (without quitting)				Command-H
Quit Photos				Command-Q

Helpful?

Photos User Guide