Most tasks (open a file or an application, close a window, hide an application, put a window in the dock, save, quit, etc… ) can be done by the keyboard, which avoids passing by the menu. If a SwitchXS user puts those keyboard shortcuts in his scanning panels, he saves precious time and energy.

Keyboard shortcuts are done with modifier keys which are :

Shift
Command
Option
Control
Caps Lock

Note : on PC, Option is Alt. In SwitchXS Preferences, Keyboard section, tick “Auto turn off modifier keys (expect caps lock)”, so that after having typed a keyboard shortcut or a capital, you do not need to type the modifier key again.

Most applications have common keyboard shortcut. The main ones are :

Close active window
Open file or application
New window
Save
Save as
Print
Page setup
Hide
Hide others
Undo
Copy
Paste
Cut
Duplicate
Select all
Find
Quit
Minimize
Preferences
Pass to previous application
Pass to previous window in same application
Pass to next window in same application
Pass to previous window in any application	^F4
Activate floating window	^F6
Select Finder icon in dock	^F3

There are plenty of other keyboard shortcuts that can be found in :

System Preferences / Keyboard and Mouse / Keyboard Shortcuts

Cut = Copy + Move to Trash

Save as : lets you change the name of a file (then it is duplicated), choose where to put it, and eventually change it’s format.

Page setup : lets you see what will be printed, and eventually change presentation.

Select all : lets you select the hole text, or the hole list in the Finder.

Hide : hides the application in which you are without quitting, makes place on a crowded screen.

Undo : very useful after a wrong operation.

Minimize = put active window in dock

Save : as long as your work is not saved, it is not in your computer, and can be lost at any time, it is very important to save your work regularly.

The most important keyboard shortcuts of the Finder are :

Move to trash
Empty trash
Open Application folder
Open Computer folder
Open Home folder
Open Utilities folder
As icons
As list
As columns
Hide/Show Toolbar

In word-processing packages, the most important keyboard shortcuts are :

Pass to above line
Pass to lower line
Pass to left letter
Pass to right letter
Select above line
Select lower line
Select left letter
Select right letter
Pass to beginning of text
Pass to end of text
Pass to beginning of line
Pass to end of line
Pass to previous paragraph
Pass to next paragraph
Pass to previous word
Pass to next word
Activate/disable bold characters
Activate/disable italic characters
Activate/disablthe underlining
Bigger characters
Smaller characters
Erase last word