There are a few methods you can use to select text or items on Mac computers. We’ll go over the various ways you can do so below.
The Fastest Ways to Select All on Your Mac
The quickest way to select all text is with the keyboard shortcut Cmd + A. In a macOS application, this will usually highlight all available content. You’ll then be able to carry out further actions like copying and pasting everything you’ve selected.
Another method that’s just as quick is clicking on the Edit menu at the top of the application you’re in and clicking Select All.
Once again this will highlight everything on the page or in your document, including text, images, and tables. You’ll then be able to perform actions on what you’ve selected.
More Advanced Ways to Select All on a Mac
Another way you can select text is by clicking to the left of the first word, then Shift + clicking to the right of the last word.
This is useful for selecting webpage text, when using the keyboard shortcut also selects ads on a page. With this method, you can select specific text, but it’s still easy to select large blocks.
This clicking method works in Finder too. You can click on a file in a list view, then use Shift + Click on a file further down to select those two files and everything between them.
How to Select All on Mac With Click and Drag
You can also select a block of text or a set of items by dragging around them with your mouse. To do so, click on a page, hold down your mouse button, and drag the cursor across the text or items.
This method isn’t very fast, but you’ll be able to see what you’re highlighting as you go, and select things in pieces rather than all at once.
You can click and drag to select all the files in a Finder window as well. How the click and drag works depends on what Finder view you’re using.
In Icons and Gallery view, click above or to the left of a file, and drag your cursor to the right and down to select everything. You’ll see a box showing you the dimensions of your selection as you do this, like when you click and drag on your desktop.
In List and Columns view, click below the last file in the list, and drag your cursor up to select everything.
Select All Is a Simple but Important Action
It’s useful to quickly select a block of text or all the files in a folder you have open, to use your Mac at maximum efficiency.
We hope the above methods help you use “Select All” whenever you need it in any of your Mac applications, and we hope it speeds up your work!
