Daring FireballMar 12
★ Modifier Key Order for Keyboard Shortcuts
https://daringfireball.net/2026/03/modifier_key_order_for_keyboard_shortcuts
Modifier Key Order for Keyboard Shortcuts

The correct order is Fn, Control, Option, Shift, Command — regardless if you’re using the words or the glyphs.

Daring Fireball
Show threadpmoeMar 12
@daringfireball Yep, @jsnell is wrong 😂
Show threadJason SnellMar 12
@pmoeser @daringfireball Command forever!
Show threadGlenda AdamsMar 13

@jsnell @pmoeser

This was driving me nuts when I read @daringfireball’s post, because in my memory of the original Mac, we always said Command-Shift-3 to screenshot. Sure enough, I dug up a scan of the 1984 Mac user manual on Vintageapple.org and that’s how it’s listed. In the index and spelled out in the description of saving the screen.

Maybe sometime later Apple adopted the shift-command order for the style guide? But all through the 80’s and 90’s it was cmd-shift to me. 🙂

Show threadKen Ryall
@Gmatom @jsnell @pmoeser @daringfireball Me too! My sister edited one of the early Mac magazines and I remember her telling me that was the correct style.
Mar 13 at 4:37amWeb