I’ve memorized all my favorite Mac shortcuts, so I typically open new tabs, copy text and paste without having to look at my keyboard. Sometimes, though, my finger slips and I hit the wrong key. And there’s one instance where that mistake isn’t always easy to undo.
By default, Command-W on a Mac closes the current tab in your browser. I use this shortcut often to help me manage my many, many open tabs. (Hey, I need them for emotional support.) But every now and then, my finger strikes Command-Q instead, which performs a very different function.
Command-Q closes all my windows and quits the app I’m using. Since the Q and W keys are right next to each other, I’ve triggered this function by mistake on multiple occasions. Imagine my horror when dozens of my Safari tabs suddenly disappear.
I can always restart my browser or the app that I accidentally closed. But sometimes I’ll find myself logged out of my bank account while I’m in the middle of filling out a form, erasing my progress. Or worse, I’ll return to a Google Doc and find that my work wasn’t automatically saved.
I can’t stop myself from triggering the wrong key combination by mistake. But I’ve found an easy solution to the problem: Remap my Ctrl-Q keyboard shortcut. Here’s how I did it.
How to remap your keyboard shortcuts in MacOS
Remapping is a quick way to make your keyboard shortcuts follow your own preferences.
Maybe you’re a lifelong Windows user navigating a Mac for the first time, and some of the default shortcuts don’t feel intuitive.
Or maybe you’re like me, and you have a habit of mistyping certain key combinations. I fixed my Command-Q issue by assigning the shortcut to do something that doesn’t interfere with my current app.
After opening my Mac Settings, I navigated to Keyboard > Keyboard Shortcuts > Accessibility. I toggled on Invert colors. Then, I double-clicked in the key combination field and typed in Command-Q.
Voilà. Now, when I type Command-Q, all that happens is my screen’s colors invert. It’s a little jarring visually, but the function has no effect on the app I’m currently using. I can simply hit the same shortcut again to change colors back to normal.
You can remap key combinations or disable them to suit your workflow. In the Keyboard Shortcuts sub-menu, you’ll see options to change key combinations for screenshot captures, accessibility features and more. One thing to note: You need to use the Control, Option or Command keys or a combination of those keys for any new shortcuts you want to create.
How to remap your keyboard shortcuts in Windows
Windows users can also remap their default keyboard shortcuts through a free set of system utilities called Microsoft PowerToys. If you don’t already have PowerToys, you’ll need to install it via the Microsoft Store, GitHub, or a Windows package manager like Chocolatey or Scoop.
Once you have PowerToys installed, open the Settings page, go to Keyboard Manager and select Remap a key or Remap a shortcut.
Click the + (plus sign) to assign a new shortcut to a key or combination of keys. Then click OK to save the changes.
Your machine has many hidden keyboard shortcuts, and not all users will find them intuitive. If you’re frequently mistyping a combination of keys, you don’t necessarily need to unlearn the habit — instead, you can make your machine learn yours.
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