Getting started

Keyboard shortcuts

Storage Studio's keyboard shortcuts in one place — the global shortcuts that work from any app (the Apps grid and the Junk Yard), plus the shortcuts inside the Storage Studio window, the Apps grid and the Advanced popover.

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Storage Studio has a handful of global shortcuts that work from any app, and a few more that work inside its own windows. The global ones can be changed or switched off in Settings… → Shortcuts — see Changing keyboard shortcuts. The Hot Keys chip on the Home screen shows your current set at any time.

Global shortcuts (work from any app)

Shortcut (default)What it does
⌃SpaceOpen the Apps grid
⌃⇧JOpen the Junk Yard
⌃⇧CSave what's on the clipboard to the Junk Yard
⌃⇧NStart a new note in the Junk Yard
⌃⇧DMove the Junk Yard strip between the top and the right of the screen

The four Junk Yard shortcuts only do something while the Junk Yard is switched on. macOS uses ⌃Space for switching keyboard input sources on some Macs; if the Apps grid doesn't open, pick another combination.

In the Storage Studio window

ShortcutWhat it does
⌘1Home tab
⌘2Apps tab
⌘3Junk Yard tab, when it's switched on
⌘4Delta Drive tab
⌘]Next tab
⌘,Settings
EscapeClose the window

In the Apps grid

KeyWhat it does
Arrow keysMove the selection between apps
ReturnOpen the selected app
Return in the search boxOpen the top match
EscapeClose the window

More about the grid: The All Apps grid and its shortcut.

In the Advanced popover

ShortcutWhat it does
⌘LOpen the log
⌘IInspect your external drive
⌘?Open Help
⌘RRefresh the status
⌘WClose the popover
⌘QQuit Storage Studio

In the Junk Yard

The Junk Yard has its own keys and gestures for copying, previewing and deleting scraps, and for formatting notes. They're listed in Junk Yard shortcuts.

Where each kind of shortcut works

See also: The Home screen, The menu bar icon and popover.

keyboard shortcutsappsjunk yardgetting started

How do I move apps to an external drive on a Mac and still launch them?
Dragging an app to another drive can break it, because macOS expects it in /Applications. Storage Studio relocates the app to your external drive and leaves a shortcut in place, so it still launches normally from Launchpad, Spotlight, and the Dock — and you can move it back in one click.
How do I use an external SSD as extra storage on a MacBook?
Plug in a USB-C or Thunderbolt SSD and let Storage Studio pair it with your internal drive as one workspace. It moves big folders, libraries, and apps to the SSD with a shortcut left behind, so your MacBook behaves like it has a much bigger disk — fast enough to work directly off the external drive.
Can I move my Photos or Final Cut library to an external drive?
Yes — large Photos, Final Cut, and iMovie libraries are common space hogs. Storage Studio relocates them to an external drive while keeping them usable, leaving a shortcut so your apps still find them. Moving a folder to your fast drive keeps its files' modified and created dates, permissions,…
Will moving files to another drive break my apps or Spotlight?
Not the way Storage Studio does it. It leaves a shortcut (symlink) at the original location, so apps, Finder, and Spotlight resolve everything as if it never moved — and the move is fully reversible.

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