I did not know! 10 Things You Can Do With Your Mac's Option Key

If you've been using a Mac for a long time, you might be familiar with the secret of the Option key.

The Option key is a one-click access to useful functions, such as displaying hidden menus or expanding nested folders.

If you're new to Macs or haven't touched a keyboard much, this might be a good time to learn about the mysterious Option key.

This time, I will introduce 10 macOS features that the Option key "shows".

Contents

1. Show important information about your Mac
2. Show hidden menus in Safari
3. Show all menus in Finder
4. Expand nested folders with one click
5. View detailed information of paired Bluetooth devices
6. View input devices with one click
< li>View detailed information about Wi-Fi networks
7. Turn on/off Do Not Disturb
8. More formats to choose from when exporting files
< li> That's not all! List of shortcuts using the Option key

1. Display important information about your Mac

Click the "Apple logo" at the top left of the screen, then long-press "Option". When I press it, I get "System Information" instead of "About This Mac".

System Information gives you detailed information about your Mac, such as the number of charge cycles in your battery.

2. Show hidden menus in Safari

There are many hidden options in Safari's menus that can be accessed with the Option key.

The best way to find secret options is to hold down the Option key on your Mac and open the Safari menu: Safari, File, View, History, or Window.

When you release the Option key, these menus will reveal more options.

For example, if you hold down the Option key and open the Safari menu, "Clear History", "Keep Website Data", "Quit", "Keep Windows", etc. appear.

3. Show all Finder menus

Like Safari, Finder menus have some secret options hidden under the Option key.

Open any of the File, Edit, View, Window, or Go menus and hold down the Option key to display all menus.

For example, the Edit menu shows an option to copy the pathname of the selected file, and the Go menu shows a hidden Library option.

Finder and Safari aren't the only apps with hidden menus like this.

Open your favorite app and hold down the Option key to open various menus. You may find useful hidden features. It was the same with apps like Ulysses.

4. Expand nested folders with one click

Another handy Finder secret is about nested folders.

Hold Option and click the right arrow next to a folder to expand all nested folders and get all the information you need in one click.

This one-click method saves time, but it only works if you're viewing items as a list, so before trying this method go to the Finder's View menu and select "As List". please.

5. View detailed information about paired Bluetooth devices

Hold down "Option" and click the "Bluetooth" icon in the menu bar to view paired information such as the AirPods firmware version. Additional information about the identified Bluetooth device is displayed.

Option-Shift-click Bluetooth for more information, including the ability to remove all connected Bluetooth devices.

6. Show input devices with one click

Hold Option and click the Volume icon in the menu bar to show input and output devices below the normal volume bar. It shows.

This is an especially useful shortcut when troubleshooting new microphones or video calls.

7. Display detailed information about the Wi-Fi network

Hold down "Option" and click the Wi-Fi icon in the menu bar to display the details of the connected Wi-Fi network. Information is displayed. This includes IP addresses, country codes, channels, etc.

There is also an option to quickly create a diagnostic report.

8. Toggle Sleep Mode On/Off

Hold down "Option" and click the "Clock" icon (the icon that displays the date and time) in the menu bar to switch to Sleep Mode. can be quickly switched on/off.

All notifications are paused so you can focus and wait in Notification Center until you are ready.

9. More formats to choose from when exporting files

You can choose from more formats than those provided by default.

Open the file in Preview (Mac's default app for opening images) and select File > Export.

Next, hold Option and click the dropdown menu next to Format to reveal a few more formatting options.

10. That's not all! List of Shortcuts Using the Option Key

There are some other useful shortcuts using the Option key. Here are some of the most recommended ones.