There are a number of different ways to lock or sleep your screen in macOS. Before we show them to you, however, it's important to make the distinction between locking your screen and just putting it to sleep.
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If you lock your Mac you'll put it to sleep and need to type in your login password on your Mac's lock screen (or unlock it with TouchID on a MacBook Pro with Touch Bar, or with an Apple Watch). If you put it to sleep, you won't necessarily lock it. In order to lock your screen, you need to set up the password in System Preferences. Here's how to do that.
How to set up a password to lock the screen
- Launch System Preferences either by clicking on its icon in the Dock or by choosing it from the Apple menu.
- Click on the Security & Privacy pane.
- Choose the General tab and check the option that starts ‘Require password…'
- Choose an option from the dropdown menu.
Now, whenever your Mac goes to sleep or a screensaver starts, it will lock and you'll have to authenticate with your user password, Apple Watch or TouchID to gain access.
Worried about your Mac's security in public places? Get Beepify, a Setapp app that protects your Mac from theft.
Download Beepify FreeHow to lock your Mac
If you have a MacBook, a MacBook Air or a MacBook Pro, the quickest and easiest way to lock your Mac is just to shut the lid. When you do that, the Mac goes to sleep and when you open it again you'll need to unlock it.
However, there are occasions when you'll want to prevent anyone from seeing the screen without actually closing it. And, in any case, if you have an iMac, Mac mini or Mac Pro, it's not an option. Here are some other ways you can lock your Mac's display. Blazing 7 slots free online play.
1. Use Apple menu
Go to the Apple menu and choose Sleep. Movie converter software. This will display the login screen for your account and won't unlock with a password (unless you're wearing an Apple Watch when you do it and then it will lock and unlock immediately)
Tip: If you want your Mac to remain locked even when you're close by and you have an Apple Watch, go to System Preferences>Security & Privacy>General and uncheck the Allow your Apple Watch to unlock your Mac option.
2. Use shortcuts
If you're using a Mac that's running macOS Catalina, go to the Apple menu and choose Lock Screen or press Command+Control+Q. This will lock your Mac and return you to the Login screen.
For older versions of the operating system, press Control+Shift+Power button (or Control+Shift+Eject if your Mac has an optical drive). It will lock the screen.
You can also use a keyboard shortcut to put your Mac to sleep. Press Command+Option+Power (or Eject). This works in a similar way to the previous one, but rather than just lock your Mac it powers down the hard drive, puts the CPU into low power mode and stops background tasks in order to save energy.
3. Set up a hot corner
Apple numbers for dummies. Hot corners allow you to drag to the mouse pointer to one of the four corners of the screen to initiate an action – you can use one as a sleep shortcut on your Mac. To set it up:
- Launch System Preferences.
- Choose the Desktop & Screen Saver pane.
- Click the Hot Corners button at the bottom right of the window.
- In the drop down window, choose a corner.
- Click on the menu and choose either Start Screen Saver or Put Display to Sleep.
4. Use fast user switching
Fast user switching allows you to quickly log into another user account on your Mac. But you can also use it to return to the log in window, which locks your Mac. Got to System Preferences>Users & Groups and click the padlock, then type in your password. Click Login Options and check the box next to ‘Show fast user switch menu as.' You can also choose whether to show the menu as your full name, the account name or an icon.
Macbook Pro Shortcuts Keyboard
To lock your Mac, click the fast user switching menu at the right of the menu bar and choose Login Window…
5. Add Keychain Access to the menu bar
This option was removed in macOS Mojave but works on versions before High Sierra:
- Go to Finder.
- Choose Applications > Utilities.
- Launch Keychain Access.
- Click in the Keychain Access menu and select Preferences.
- Check the box next to Show keychain status in menu bar.
- You'll see a lock in the Finder menu bar. Click it and choose Lock Screen to lock your Mac.
Other ways to protect your privacy
First of all, fet a Finder-like Terminal for Mac that will help you completely control the login settings. It's called MacPilot. The app covers over 1,200 hidden macOS features. For privacy, you can go into the Login tab and customize access by users, enable the option of automatic screen locking, and edit launch items.
If you're looking for physical protection of your Mac, Beepify is the app you need. Whenever you have to step away from the computer in a public place, activate Beepify and it will be set to produce a loud sound in case someone tries to close the screen or disconnect charger.
One of the main reasons for locking your Mac when you step away from it is to stop prying eyes accessing your files, browser history, or anything else you don't want them to see. CleanMyMac X has a tool that gives you even more privacy protection.
CleanMyMac's Privacy tool allows you to quickly delete your browser history in Chrome, Firefox, and Safari. But it also allows you to delete message threads and attachments in Messages, and to remove entries from macOS' recent files lists.
Also, CleanMyMac's Shredder is a quick and easy way to securely delete sensitive data. You can download CleanMyMac for free and give it a try.
As you can see, putting your Mac to sleep or locking it is very easy. There are lots of different ways to do it, although some are dependent on the version of macOS you're using. If you regularly lock your Mac to prevent others accessing it, you should ensure your login password is strong and secure.
Finally, if privacy is important, CleanMyMac has a couple of tools that can help delete sensitive data.
These might also interest you:
This is the ultimate guide for working with MacBook keyboards, including accessing special functions, characters, accents, and using keyboard shortcuts in Mac OS system. Click on the list below to jump to an appropriate section.
MacBook Keyboard Diagram / Map
MacBook keyboard has few distinctive sections: Function keys (in light blue), which provides access to various functions in MacBook itself or Mac OS system. By combining them with the FN key, you'll get access to F1 - F12 keys, which can be associated with particular application features (useful in Photoshop for example).
The second section is the modifier keys (in light yellow). Shift allows to type uppercase letters and other additional characters. Command and Alt/Option are used in keyboard shortcuts, as well as the Control key, which is used almost exclusively by Mac OS X and Apple programs.
Return and left Shift has two variants, one used in the US and Eastern Asia (horizontal Return and long Shift), and second, used in Europe, Middle East and Africa (vertical Return and short left Shift). On the diagram, this is shown by dashed lines. Of course, MacBook keyboards have lots of localizations, the most common - US English - is shown above. If you're unsure about the localization you have, go and check it with this guide.
MacBook Air 11' has slightly different keyboard, with smaller top and bottom row keys to accommodate smaller laptop size. Newest MacBooks Pro with TouchBar don't have upper F keys row, instead, they have a touchscreen which changes displayed options based on context.
MacBook Keyboard Symbols Chart
3. Set up a hot corner
Apple numbers for dummies. Hot corners allow you to drag to the mouse pointer to one of the four corners of the screen to initiate an action – you can use one as a sleep shortcut on your Mac. To set it up:
- Launch System Preferences.
- Choose the Desktop & Screen Saver pane.
- Click the Hot Corners button at the bottom right of the window.
- In the drop down window, choose a corner.
- Click on the menu and choose either Start Screen Saver or Put Display to Sleep.
4. Use fast user switching
Fast user switching allows you to quickly log into another user account on your Mac. But you can also use it to return to the log in window, which locks your Mac. Got to System Preferences>Users & Groups and click the padlock, then type in your password. Click Login Options and check the box next to ‘Show fast user switch menu as.' You can also choose whether to show the menu as your full name, the account name or an icon.
Macbook Pro Shortcuts Keyboard
To lock your Mac, click the fast user switching menu at the right of the menu bar and choose Login Window…
5. Add Keychain Access to the menu bar
This option was removed in macOS Mojave but works on versions before High Sierra:
- Go to Finder.
- Choose Applications > Utilities.
- Launch Keychain Access.
- Click in the Keychain Access menu and select Preferences.
- Check the box next to Show keychain status in menu bar.
- You'll see a lock in the Finder menu bar. Click it and choose Lock Screen to lock your Mac.
Other ways to protect your privacy
First of all, fet a Finder-like Terminal for Mac that will help you completely control the login settings. It's called MacPilot. The app covers over 1,200 hidden macOS features. For privacy, you can go into the Login tab and customize access by users, enable the option of automatic screen locking, and edit launch items.
If you're looking for physical protection of your Mac, Beepify is the app you need. Whenever you have to step away from the computer in a public place, activate Beepify and it will be set to produce a loud sound in case someone tries to close the screen or disconnect charger.
One of the main reasons for locking your Mac when you step away from it is to stop prying eyes accessing your files, browser history, or anything else you don't want them to see. CleanMyMac X has a tool that gives you even more privacy protection.
CleanMyMac's Privacy tool allows you to quickly delete your browser history in Chrome, Firefox, and Safari. But it also allows you to delete message threads and attachments in Messages, and to remove entries from macOS' recent files lists.
Also, CleanMyMac's Shredder is a quick and easy way to securely delete sensitive data. You can download CleanMyMac for free and give it a try.
As you can see, putting your Mac to sleep or locking it is very easy. There are lots of different ways to do it, although some are dependent on the version of macOS you're using. If you regularly lock your Mac to prevent others accessing it, you should ensure your login password is strong and secure.
Finally, if privacy is important, CleanMyMac has a couple of tools that can help delete sensitive data.
These might also interest you:
This is the ultimate guide for working with MacBook keyboards, including accessing special functions, characters, accents, and using keyboard shortcuts in Mac OS system. Click on the list below to jump to an appropriate section.
MacBook Keyboard Diagram / Map
MacBook keyboard has few distinctive sections: Function keys (in light blue), which provides access to various functions in MacBook itself or Mac OS system. By combining them with the FN key, you'll get access to F1 - F12 keys, which can be associated with particular application features (useful in Photoshop for example).
The second section is the modifier keys (in light yellow). Shift allows to type uppercase letters and other additional characters. Command and Alt/Option are used in keyboard shortcuts, as well as the Control key, which is used almost exclusively by Mac OS X and Apple programs.
Return and left Shift has two variants, one used in the US and Eastern Asia (horizontal Return and long Shift), and second, used in Europe, Middle East and Africa (vertical Return and short left Shift). On the diagram, this is shown by dashed lines. Of course, MacBook keyboards have lots of localizations, the most common - US English - is shown above. If you're unsure about the localization you have, go and check it with this guide.
MacBook Air 11' has slightly different keyboard, with smaller top and bottom row keys to accommodate smaller laptop size. Newest MacBooks Pro with TouchBar don't have upper F keys row, instead, they have a touchscreen which changes displayed options based on context.
MacBook Keyboard Symbols Chart
Symbol | Meaning | Notes |
Screen brightness down | ||
Screen brightness up | ||
Launches Mission Control | Icon available on MacBooks Unibody | |
Launches Mission Control | Icon available on MacBooks pre-unibody | |
Launches Dashboard | Icon available on MacBooks Unibody | |
Launches Dashboard | Icon available on MacBooks pre-unibody | |
Keyboard backlight down | ||
Keyboard backlight up | ||
Rewind | ||
Play / Pause | ||
Fast Forward | ||
Sound: mute | ||
Sound: volume down | ||
Sound: volume up | ||
Eject | Available on MacBooks with CD/DVD drive | |
Power | Available on MacBooks without CD/DVD drive | |
Command | On MacBooks 1st generation this is replaced by Apple logo | |
Alt / Option | Available on European/ISO keyboard layouts | |
Tab | Available on European/ISO keyboard layouts | |
Backspace | Available on European/ISO keyboard layouts | |
Shift | Available on European/ISO keyboard layouts | |
Caps Lock | Available on European/ISO keyboard layouts | |
Return | Available on European/ISO keyboard layouts | |
Enter | Available on European/ISO keyboard layouts, accessed with FN key | |
Delete | Not on MacBooks, but worth knowing | |
Clear | Not on MacBooks, but worth knowing | |
Home | Not on MacBooks, but worth knowing. Can be substituted by CMD + up arrow shortcut. | |
End | Not on MacBooks, but worth knowing. Can be substituted by CMD + down arrow shortcut. | |
Page Up | Not on MacBooks, but worth knowing | |
Page Down | Not on MacBooks, but worth knowing | |
Arrows | Used to move things or pointer |
MacBook Keyboard Special Characters and Accents Map
If you want to type special characters or accents, change your keyboard language to US International PC (thanks, Steve!) and use the map below to get them. You can also check out our solution to the two languages on one keyboard problem.
Where is the Print Screen Button?
Unlike PC keyboard, there is no Print Screen key on MacBook keyboard. This functionality is accessed by keyboard shortcuts and - on Mac - you have greater flexibility:
- Command + Shift + 3 - captures entire screen;
- Command + Shift + 4 - captures selected region. Your cursor turns to crosshair and by clicking and dragging you can specify which area you want to capture;
- Command + Shift + 4 + Space - captures selected window. First press the shortcut from above, then - when you have crosshair - hit Space. The cursor will turn to the camera and the active window will have a blue overlay. Click on it to get it captured.
In some apps, like Photoshop, you need to add Control into the mix, to paste the screenshot into the app.
MacBook Keyboard Tricks
There's a lot you can do in Mac OS by using the keyboard only. Lizard wifi scanner. Here's a list of highly useful and not-so-useful keyboard shortcuts:
Shortcut | Action |
Command + W | Quickly closes the active window in Safari or any other browser. Works also with many applications, like Pages, Numbers, Photoshop. Great way to quickly close something when your boss is coming around :) |
Command + H | Hides the active application. Useful for hiding something quickly ;) |
Option + Shift + F11/F12 | Makes tiny changes in volume level instead of standard jumps. |
Control + Option + Command + 8 | Reverses colors on the screen. |
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 | When watching YouTube video, this will advance you to 10%, 20%, 30%. of movie completion. |
Option + Delete | Deletes whole word in text editors |
Control + Command + V | Pastes copied text without formatting. Useful when copying something from Pages and pasting into eg. Wordpress :) |
Control + Command + Option + Eject/Shutdown | Shuts down the MacBook without the need to provide username and password. |
Command + Shift + A | Opens the Applications folder in Finder. |
Command + Shift + U | Opens the Utilities folder in Finder. |
Command + Shift + D | Opens the Desktop folder in Finder. |
Command + Shift + I | When in Safari, this shortcut copies the URL, opens Mail app and creates a new email with the copied URL pasted as a link in a message. |
Command + Option + M | Minimizes all open windows, showing Desktop. |
Command + Option + Shift + Esc | Hold for 3 seconds to force quit any app. |
Command + Tab | Cycle through opened apps from left to right. |
Command + Shift + Tab | Cycle through opened apps from right to left. |
Command + ` | Cycles through active app windows. |
Command + Q | Quit active app. |
Command + T | Opens a new tab in Finder. Opens a new tab in a web browser. |
Command + N | Creates new Finder window. |
Command + Shift + N | Creates new folder in Finder. |
Command + Space | Launches Spotlight. |
Command + Option + Space | Switches to next keyboard language (if you have more than one). |
Command + Control + Space | In some websites and apps this will give you the emoji keyboard. |
Command + Delete | Sends selected files/folders to trash. |
Fn + Delete | Deletes text from left to right. |
F10 + Shutdown | Hold while launching MacBook to get a silent start. |
Command + up arrow/down arrow | Jump to the beginning or end of a page. This is equivalent to PC's Home and End keys. |
Command + up arrow + L | Highlights the address bar in a web browser. |
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