Using "+Left/Right" to move between words in an editing window I've recently switched to a MacBook as my main platform for doing work. Previously, I was an all-Linux sort of person (I now run Linux under VMware). But there are still a few UI differences that are driving me crazy, and one of them is this:

I am used to being able to use ctrl+&#x2192;/&#x2190; when in a web form, or even in most editing apps, to move left and right by a whole word. However, on my MBP those keys switch between desktops in Spaces. And where MacOS tends to use the &#x2318;-key for common control-isms (like ctrl+C, etc.), &#x2318;+&#x2190; and &#x2318;+&#x2192;` do start-of-line and end-of-line, respectively.

Is there a modifier for moving by words, under MacOS?
⌥ + arrow keys will let you navigate by word. As you said, ⌘ + arrow keys will move to the end/beginning of the line or document. Both of these can also be used with ⇧ to select, or the delete key. Furthermore, you can double-click to select a word and triple-click to select a paragraph — and if you double-click-drag or triple-click-drag, you can select multiple words or paragraphs.

Also useful, and perhaps familiar to you coming from Linux:


ctrl A moves to the beginning of a paragraph
ctrl E moves to the end of a paragraph
fn ⌫ deletes forwards (and can be combined with ⌘ or ⌥;
you can also use ctrlD which doesn't work with the other modifiers)
ctrl K deletes to the end of the paragraph (kill)
ctrl Y pastes that text back (yank)
ctrl L scrolls so the selected text is visible
ctrl T transposes the two characters next to the cursor
ctrl O inserts a newline after the cursor


More interesting shortcuts and uses of the keyboard can be found here and elsewhere on the internet.