Summary

Gruber addresses the correct order for listing modifier keys in Mac keyboard shortcuts, referencing Dr. Drang's 2017 post and noting that Apple has since formally documented the order in their Style Guide: Fn, Control, Option, Shift, Command. He also adds his own pet peeve: when using modifier glyphs (⌘, ⌥, etc.), hyphens between keys are incorrect — ⌘C is right, ⌘-C is wrong. He supports this with the practical example that Zoom Out (⌘-) would become absurdly ambiguous with a hyphen separator. The post is a brief but characteristically precise style correction with historical grounding.

Key Insight

Apple's style conventions for keyboard shortcuts — both modifier key ordering and hyphen usage — are formally documented and the details matter for clarity and consistency.

Spicy Quotes (click to share)

• 7

  ⌘C is correct, ⌘-C is wrong.

• 3

  The shortcut for Copy has been shown as ⌘C since 1984.

• 5

  Both of those would look weird if connected by a hyphen, but Zoom Out in particular would look confusing: Command-Hyphen-Hyphen?

• 4

  The correct order is Fn, Control, Option, Shift, Command — regardless if you're using the words or the glyphs.

• 6

  Pay no attention to Drang's follow-up post, or this one from Jason Snell.

Tone

opinionated, precise, pedantic in the best sense