Maybe I’m exaggerating a little, but knowing this simple keyboard shortcut removes a very frequent friction point from my workflow. Command-Option-L inside any dialog box for saving a file will move the dialog box location immediately to the Downloads folder.
Did you also know about the shortcuts to get to Desktop (⌘ + ⇧ + D) and Documents (⌘ + ⇧ + O)? Or the oft-used (/s) Utilities folder (⌘ + ⇧ + U)? How about using ⌘ + ⇧ + g to open the Go to Folder dialog?
Gosh, there are a lot I take for granted. Let’s make a table.
| Shortcut | Destination |
|---|---|
⌘ + ⇧ + A | Applications |
⌘ + ⇧ + C | Computer (top-level) |
⌘ + ⇧ + D | Desktop |
⌘ + ⇧ + G | Go to Folder Dialog |
⌘ + ⇧ + H | Home Folder |
⌘ + ⇧ + I | iCloud Drive |
⌘ + ⇧ + K | Network Locations |
⌘ + ⇧ + L | User Library |
⌘ + ⌥ + L | Downloads |
⌘ + ⇧ + S | Shared Folder |
⌘ + ⇧ + U | Utilities |
Pretty bizarre that the downloads shortcut is the only one that uses ⌘+ ⌥.
OP, not sure if you’re the type to go down the rabbit hole that is productivity and power apps on macOS, but in case you are, a few tips:
Alfred - I’ve used this for years but only paid recently. At its most basic, it is a launcher like that of Spotlight, so you can use it to launch apps, do custom searches on web sites etc. But with the paid powerpack, you can use workflows which are like scripts that do certain things. One example, toggle dark/light mode by starting the launcher and typing light/dark/toggle. But the great thing is that you can also assign a hotkey shortcut to this action and many other workflows that are available to Alfred.
Keyboard Maestro - more an automation/macro tool. I use this in conjunction with Alfred. So there is a macro that allows me to hide all windows. Somebody even made a toggle for this so that the same hotkey trigger can toggle between hiding all and unhiding all.
Hyperkey - this is a small app that makes any key you want turn to a Hyper Key. This is ⌘+⌥+⌃+⇧. Lots of apps don’t actually use this for shortcuts so you can make up your own shortcuts in the OS or other custom triggers/workflows. The best use of Hyper key is to make hold Caps Lock the Hyper Key and tap Caps Lock for its default action.
Examples of some quick shortcuts I’ve made for some actions/workflows.
Screenshot of active window - Hyperkey + ]
Toggle/Show Clipboard Manager (I use Maccy) - Hyperkey + C
Open Desktop in Finder - ctrl + D
Open Downloads in Finder - ctrl + L
Open most recent file in Downloads folder - ⌘ + ⌥ + ⌃ + L
There’s loads more customisation you can do with these apps or other apps as well.