Xcode Keyboard Shortcuts

Leela Krishna
Sep 1, 2018 · 4 min read

The better we know the SDK, the more we benefit…

  • Navigator Pane in the left → The Project folders shows in hierarchy.
  • Standard Editor → Where we edit the code, use Interface Builder visuals etc.
  • Utility Pane in the right → Shows needed utility options like file inspector, scale inspector, connecting inspectors and object library, media library, etc depends on the selections from navigator pane and standard editors.
  • Debugger Area → Shows debugging and print statements on the console. it is divided into two sections, one for display logs and the other one for object descriptions.

→ We can hide and unhide all the navigator, utility, debugger sections and can split the standard editor with an assistant editor.

  • At the top of the window, we have Toolbar, with various actions to interact with the Xcode. to hide and unhide the toolbar, select Xcode, and then from ‘view’ menu choose ‘show toolbar’ and ‘hide toolbar’.
  • Above the editor, we have jump bar where we can quickly find the files within the project and functions and properties within the current files.

We use Modifier keys for the shortcuts. Here are those we have on Mac keyboard.

To get all the shortcuts for Xcode, Press Command + , to open Xcode preferences, and then select key-bindings.

Shortcuts:

  1. To Build the Xcode Project → Command + B
  2. To Run the Xcode Project → Command + R
  3. To stop the Execution of Xcode Project → Command + .
  4. To show and hide the debug console, use Shift + Command + Y
  5. For the assistant editor:

To Show: option + Command + Return

To Hide: Command + Return

Shortcuts for Navigator Pane:

  • To hide and unhide the navigator pane, press Command + 0
  • To select the navigator pane options like project navigator, source control navigator, symbol navigator, find navigator, issue navigator, Test, Debug, Breakpoint and Report navigators use the numbers from 1 to 9 with Command Button.

For example, with Command + 5 will show the issue navigator

Shortcuts for Utility Pane:

  • To hide and unhide the utility pane, press option + Command + 0
  • When a view object is selected in the Interface builder, you can navigate to the different inspectors like file, quick help, identity, attribute ,scale and connections inspector by using 1 to 6 numbers with option + Command

For example, with option + Command + 5 will show the scale inspector for that selected view object on the scene.

  • To jump around the words on Mac, use option with Right arrow(Opt + ->) to jump the word towards right and option with Left arrow(Opt + <-) to do the same towards left.
  • With the above Option with arrows, if we hold the shift button at the same time Those words will be highlighted.
  • Control With numbers will show the previously edited files and the path with folder hierarchy.
  • Control + Command with left and right arrows, go backwards and forwards to the files in the editing history.
  • Shift + Command + o’ opens a dialog box to search for the Xcode files
  • Shift + Command + j’ to jump to the navigator pane to select the currently showing file on the standard editor.
  • Command + j’ to jump out from the navigator pane and then press Return to get into the editing area
  • Command + ⬆️’ (Command + top arrow) to go all the way top to the file and ‘Command + ⬇️’ to go to all the way to the bottom of the file.
  • ‘Option + Command + N’ To create a new folder but make sure the selection is appropriate in the hierarchy in the navigator pane.
  • ‘Control + Command + Space’ will bring the emoji popup to insert at the current cursor position.✋
  • Shift + Command + 0(zero)’ opens a Developer documentation in a new window.

— — — — — — — — — *********************** — — — — — — — — —

If you like my tutorials please follow me on medium, twitter & linkedIn accounts.

Thanks for reading…

****************************!!!See you!!!****************************

Leela Krishna

Written by

A day time coder and a night time dreamer…

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade