Default layout on Capslock

Navigation and selection

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

The eight keys under your right hand, H J K L and U I O P, carry most of the layout. On the base plane they move the cursor; other planes turn them into selection, tab and app switching, Spaces, the mouse, and scrolling. The mouse and scroll planes are on Mouse and scrolling.

Move and select

Key	`⇪` move	`⇪ ⌘` select	`⇪ ⌥ ⌘` extended selection
H	←	⇧←	⌥⇧←, select a word left
J	↓	⇧↓	⇧↓ three times
K	↑	⇧↑	⇧↑ three times
L	→	⇧→	⌥⇧→, select a word right
U	Page Up	⇧Page Up	⇧Page Up
I	Home	⇧Home	End, then ⇧Home twice: select to the start of the line
O	End	⇧End	Home, then ⇧End: select the whole line
P	Page Down	⇧Page Down	⇧Page Down

⇪ I and ⇪ O send the Home and End keys, not ⌘← and ⌘→. Some Mac text views scroll on Home and End instead of moving the cursor; where you want the start or end of the line, rebind them in the editor.

Mouse and scrolling

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Capslock can drive the pointer from three places: the letter keys under your right hand, the arrow keys, and the numeric keypad. Movement and scrolling run smoothly for as long as you hold the chord. Mouse buttons are held while you hold the chord, so holding a click chord and moving drags.

On the letter keys

Key	`⇪ ⌥` mouse	`⇪ ⌥ ⇧` fast mouse	`⇪ ⌃ ⇧` scroll	`⇪ ⇧ ⌘` fast scroll
H	Move left	Move left, fast	Scroll left	Scroll left, fast
J	Move down	Move down, fast	Scroll down	Scroll down, fast
K	Move up	Move up, fast	Scroll up	Scroll up, fast
L	Move right	Move right, fast	Scroll right	Scroll right, fast
U	Left click	Left click	Scroll right	Scroll right, fast
I	Right click	Right click	Scroll up	Scroll up, fast
O	Back button (4)	Back button (4)	Scroll down	Scroll down, fast
P	Forward button (5)	Forward button (5)	Scroll left	Scroll left, fast

On the two scroll planes, U I O P scroll in the opposite direction to H J K L. Fast movement is twice the normal speed; fast scrolling is twice the normal scroll.

Editing, symbols and clipboard

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Delete

N M , . sit below the navigation keys and delete in both directions.

Key	`⇪`	`⇪ ⌘`	`⇪ ⌥`
N	Delete the previous word (⌥⌫)	Delete to the start of the line (⇧⌘←, then ⌫)	Delete to the start of the line (⌘⌫)
M	Delete the previous character (⌫)	Delete the previous word (⌥⌫)	Move the line down (⌥⇧↓)
,	Delete the next character (⌦)	Delete the next word (⌥⌦)	Move the line up (⌥⇧↑)
.	Delete the next word (⌥⌦)	Delete to the end of the line (⇧⌘→, then ⌫)	Delete to the start of the line (⌘⌫)

⌥⇧↑ and ⌥⇧↓ move a line in editors that use those shortcuts, such as Visual Studio Code. Elsewhere they extend a selection.

Windows and apps

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Window control

Tab, Q, W, A and S sit under the left hand, so you can switch and close while the right hand stays on the mouse or the navigation keys.

Key	`⇪`	`⇪ ⌘`	`⇪ ⌥`	`⇪ ⌃`	`⇪ ⇧`
Tab	Next app (⌘Tab)	Previous app (⇧⌘Tab)	Space to the right (⌃→)		Next tab (⌃Tab)
Q	Quit the app (⌘Q)	Quit the app (⌘Q)		Lock the screen (⌃⌘Q)	Log out (⇧⌘Q)
W	Close the window or tab (⌘W)	Close (⌘W)	Sleep the display		Sleep the Mac
A		Mission Control (⌃↑)	Show the desktop (F11)	Open Apps (Launchpad)
S	Next tab (⌃Tab)	Previous tab (⌃⇧Tab)	Next window of the app (⌘`)	Previous window of the app (⇧⌘`)

⇪ A on its own has no binding. Sleep the display and Sleep the Mac are built-in actions that run immediately; in the Playground's Safe Practice mode they are only previewed.

Function and media keys

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

The function row

Key	`⇪`	`⇪ ⌘`
F1	Brightness down	⌃1, switch to desktop 1
F2	Brightness up	⌃2, switch to desktop 2
F3	Mission Control (⌃↑)	⌃3, switch to desktop 3
F4	Open Apps (Launchpad)
F5	Keyboard light down
F6	Keyboard light up
F7	Previous track
F8	Play or pause
F9	Next track
F10	Mute
F11	Volume down
F12	Volume up
F13	Screenshot of the screen to the clipboard (⌃⇧⌘3)	Screenshot of the screen to a file (⇧⌘3)
F14	Screenshot and recording toolbar (⇧⌘5)	⇧⌘6
F15	Play or pause
`	Screenshot of an area to the clipboard (⌃⇧⌘4)	Screenshot of an area to a file (⇧⌘4)

These chords need the key to arrive as a real F-key. If the top row of your keyboard controls brightness and volume by default, hold fn as well, or turn on "Use F1, F2, etc. keys as standard function keys" in System Settings. ⌃1 to ⌃3 switch desktops only when those shortcuts are enabled in System Settings.