CmdF

CmdF, commonly written as Cmd+F, is a keyboard shortcut used on macOS to invoke the Find function in many applications. It combines the Command key (⌘) with the F key to open the app’s search interface, which may appear as a Find dialog or an inline search field. The convention is part of Apple's Human Interface Guidelines, designed to provide a consistent method to locate text within documents, web pages, or UI content.

In practice, pressing Cmd+F in macOS apps such as TextEdit, Preview, Finder, and many third-party programs opens a search feature that allows the user to enter a query. In web browsers on macOS, Cmd+F typically activates a page-level search field to locate text on the current page. Some apps support incremental search, highlighting matches as you type. The Find interface may offer options such as match case, whole words, or regular expressions, depending on the application.

Related shortcuts: Cmd+G commonly moves to the next match, and Cmd+Shift+G or Cmd+Option+G can move to previous matches in many apps; exact mappings vary by application. Not all programs use Cmd+F, and on non-macOS platforms the equivalent shortcut is often Ctrl+F.

Origin and scope: Cmd+F has become a ubiquitous macOS shortcut, widely documented and taught as the standard way to begin a local search. Its behavior can differ slightly across apps, but the core concept is consistent: initiate a search for text within the current context.