App shortcuts
Microsoft Teams keyboard shortcuts for Mac
The mute shortcut is the one everybody wants. It is ⇧⌘M — and it is worth knowing before the meeting, not during it.
Read the Mac column, not the Windows one
Microsoft's Teams reference lists Windows, Mac, Linux and web shortcuts side by side, and the Mac column is genuinely different — not a mechanical Ctrl-to-Command substitution. Several Teams commands keep Control on the Mac: ⌃L moves focus to chat options, ⌃0 resets the zoom level, and ⌃1 through ⌃9 open the tabs on a chat header while ⌘1 through ⌘9 open the apps on the app bar.
There is a second thing about the Mac list that surprises people, and it is not a mistake: some chords appear twice for different actions. ⇧⌘V accepts a video call and also accepts a screen share. ⇧⌘A accepts an audio call and also toggles live captions. ⇧⌘D declines a call and also declines a screen share. Which one fires depends on what Teams is currently asking you.
The fastest way to check any of this inside the app is ⌘. — Teams' own show-keyboard-shortcuts command.
General and app-wide
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| ⌘. | Show keyboard shortcuts |
| ⌘E | Go to Search |
| ⇧⌘F | Open filter |
| ⌘N | Start a new chat |
| ⇧⌘N | Start a chat in a new window |
| ⌘G | Go to a specific chat or channel |
| ⌘O | Open an existing conversation in a new window |
| ⌘, | Open Settings |
| F1 | Open Help |
| Esc | Close |
| ⌘= | Zoom in |
| ⌘- | Zoom out |
| ⌃0 | Reset the zoom level |
| ⇧⌘T | Pin the window on top |
| ⌥⌘Return | Move focus to the pane divider |
| ⇧⌘Return | Return the pane to its default width |
| ⌥⇧⌘R | Report a problem |
| ⌘⌥⇧1 | Download diagnostic logs |
Move around Teams
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| ⌘1 to ⌘9 | Open apps 1 to 9 on the app bar |
| ⌘L | Move focus to the chat and channel list |
| ⌃L | Move focus to chat options |
| ⌘P | Move focus to the message pane |
| ⌘R | Go to the compose box |
| ⌘Y | Open the history menu |
| ⌘F6 | Go to the next section |
| ⇧⌘F6 | Go to the previous section |
| ⌘[ | Go back |
| ⌘] | Go forward |
| ⌥⌘L | Add a Loop paragraph |
| ⌥⌘H | Filter activities to missed calls |
Messaging
The ⌥⌘ group is the one that pays off in a busy workspace: each chord filters the view down to one kind of unread item, and ⌥⌘Z clears the filters again.
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| ⌘F | Search the current chat or channel's messages |
| ⇧⌘L | Collapse all conversational folders |
| ⇧Esc | Mark all as read |
| ⌘J | Jump to the last read or newest message |
| ⌥⌘J | Mark all messages as read |
| ⌃1 to ⌃9 | Open tabs 1 to 9 on the chat header |
| ⌘D | Toggle the details pane |
| ⇧⌘R | Reply to the last message |
| ⌥⇧E | Edit the last sent or selected message |
| ⌥⌘R | React to the last message |
| ⌥⌘U | See all unread items |
| ⌥⌘M | See all items with mentions |
| ⌥⌘C | See all chat conversations |
| ⌥⌘A | See all channel conversations |
| ⌥⌘B | See all meeting chats |
| ⌥⌘Z | Clear all filters |
Write and format a message
⇧Return is the one to internalise early. Plain Return sends; Shift-Return starts a new line — which is the difference between one thoughtful message and four fragments.
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| ⇧⌘X | Expand the compose box |
| ⌘Return | Send from the expanded compose box |
| ⇧Return | Start a new line |
| ⌘B | Apply bold style |
| ⌘I | Apply italic style |
| ⌘U | Apply underline style |
| ⌃⌘X | Apply strikethrough style |
| ⌥⌘1 to ⌥⌘3 | Apply heading 1 to 3 styles |
| ⌥⌘P | Paragraph style |
| ⇧⌘I | Mark the message as important |
| ⌘K | Insert a link |
| ⇧⌘C | Insert inline code |
| ⇧⌘B | Insert a code block |
| ⌥⌘4 | Insert code |
| ⌥⌘O | Attach a file |
| ⌥⌘E | Open the video recorder |
| ⌃⌘A | Rewrite with Copilot |
Meetings and calls
⌥Space is the push-to-talk one: it unmutes you temporarily rather than flipping the state, which is what you want when you are answering a single question on a large call.
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| ⇧⌘M | Toggle mute |
| ⌥Space | Temporarily unmute |
| ⇧⌘O | Toggle video |
| ⇧⌘K | Raise or lower your hand |
| ⇧⌘E | Toggle the share content tray |
| ⇧⌘Space | Go to the sharing toolbar |
| ⇧⌘V | Accept a video call, or accept a screen share |
| ⇧⌘A | Accept an audio call, or toggle live captions |
| ⇧⌘D | Decline a call, or decline a screen share |
| ⌥⌘S | Start an audio call |
| ⇧⌘S | Start a video call |
| ⇧⌘H | End the audio or video call |
| ⇧⌘Y | Admit people from the lobby notification |
| ⌃⌘N | Schedule a meeting |
| ⌃⌘K | Join from the meeting details |
| ⌥⌘= / ⌥⌘- | Zoom into or out of shared content |
| ⌥⌘0 | Reset the zoom for shared content |
| ⌥⌘ + arrow keys | Pan shared content up, down, left or right |
Calendar
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| ⌘2 | Open the calendar view |
| ⌘N | Create a new appointment or calendar item |
| ⌘O | Open the selected item |
| Delete | Delete the selected item |
| ⌘T | Switch the view to include today |
| ⌥⌘← / ⌥⌘→ | Move to the previous or next day, week or month |
| ⌃⌘1 | Switch to Day view |
| ⌃⌘2 | Switch to Work week view |
| ⌃⌘3 | Switch to full Week view |
| ⌃⌘4 | Switch to Month view |
| ⌃⌘5 | Switch to three-day view |
| ⌃⌘0 | List view |
| ⇧⌘0 | Invite attendees |
| ⌘S | Save or send the meeting request |
| ⌥⌘S | Go to the suggested time |
| Tab / ⇧Tab | Move to the next or previous event or area |
Showing the shortcuts on a Teams call with Show KeyPress
On a Teams call, the shortcut you press is the one thing the room cannot see. You mute with ⇧⌘M and everyone sees the icon change; you press a chord in the application you are demonstrating and everyone sees a result with no cause attached.
Show KeyPress is a paid macOS menu bar app from the Mac App Store, requiring macOS 14 or later. It draws each key you press as a keycap on top of everything else on screen. There is nothing to install on the Teams side and no integration of any kind — it is an ordinary always-on-top window, which is precisely why a whole-screen share carries it.
That last point is also the failure case. A share scoped to a single application window carries that window's content, and the overlay is a separate window drawn above it. If participants cannot see the keys, switch the share from a window to a whole screen.
- Set it up before the call: the Input Monitoring prompt opens System Settings, which is not a thing you want to be doing while people watch.
- Use One Display rather than Follow Pointer so the overlay cannot wander onto the screen you are not sharing.
- Conferencing apps put floating toolbars near the top and centre — one of the eight edge presets near the bottom usually clears them, and ⌃⌥P opens the drag editor for anything unusual.
- ⌘⇧K toggles all the visualization mid-call, and a short status banner confirms the new state.
- The keyboard and pointer overlays are click-through, so nothing on the shared screen intercepts a click.
- While macOS Secure Input is active the keycaps are cleared and a Keyboard hidden — Secure Input banner appears instead, so a password field draws no keys for the call to see.
Sources and further reading
Product details and guidance were checked against these first-party pages on August 5, 2026. Re-check current listings before making an install or high-stakes decision.
- Keyboard shortcuts for Microsoft Teams
Microsoft
Microsoft's Teams shortcut reference, with a dedicated Mac column alongside the Windows, Linux and web ones.
- Control access to input monitoring on Mac
Apple
Apple's guide to the Input Monitoring privacy permission and how to grant or revoke it.
- Secure Keyboard Entry
Apple
How macOS Secure Keyboard Entry stops other apps from receiving key events.
FAQ
Questions people ask
What is the mute shortcut in Microsoft Teams on a Mac?
⇧⌘M toggles mute. If you only want to speak for a moment, ⌥Space temporarily unmutes instead of flipping the state, which avoids the classic mistake of leaving yourself unmuted afterwards.
Why does the same chord appear twice in the Teams list?
Because Microsoft assigns some chords to two context-dependent actions. ⇧⌘V accepts a video call and also accepts a screen share, ⇧⌘A accepts an audio call and also toggles live captions, and ⇧⌘D declines a call and also declines a screen share. Teams applies whichever fits what it is currently prompting you for.
How do I see the shortcut list inside Teams?
Press ⌘. — that is Teams' own Show keyboard shortcuts command on macOS, and it opens the same list Microsoft publishes.
Why can participants not see my keystroke overlay?
You are almost certainly sharing a single application window rather than a whole screen. The overlay is a separate window drawn above your applications, so it is not part of any one window's content. Re-share the screen instead.
Does Show KeyPress integrate with Microsoft Teams?
No. There is no plugin, add-in or integration, and nothing is installed into Teams. It draws an on-screen overlay, which any tool that shares or records a display will pick up without configuration.