Keyboard shortcuts

Every keyboard shortcut in catu, on one page. The global shortcuts work from any app; the others work while a catu tool is on screen.

Global shortcuts#

These work wherever you are, whether or not the catu menu is open.

Shortcut	What it does
⇧⌘2	Take a screenshot: drag an area, press Space for a window, or Return for the whole screen
⌥⇧⌘2	Repeat the last area, without picking it again
⌃⇧⌘2	Scrolling capture of a long page
⇧⌘3	Record the screen. Press it again to stop
⌥⇧⌘3	Pause or resume the recording
⌃⇧⌘3	Record the last area again, straight into the countdown. The first time, you pick an area
⇧⌘5	Copy text from the screen
Hold ⌥Space	Dictate: talk, then let go to copy what you said, ready for ⌘V
Press ⌥Space twice	Dictate hands-free. One more press finishes
⌥⇧⌘P	Turn Private mode on or off

The menu-bar icon has two shortcuts of its own:

Action	What it does
Click the icon	Open the menu. While you record, a click stops the recording
Option-click the icon	Turn Private mode on or off

Dictation needs macOS 26 and a little setup first. See Dictation.

While you dictate#

While the dictation card is on screen:

Key	What it does
1	Write the text Formal: full punctuation. catu remembers it for this app
2	Write the text Casual: light punctuation, like a chat message. catu remembers it for this app
3	Edit: what you say becomes an instruction for the text you copied. Press 3 again to go back to dictating. Shown only when the last thing you copied is text
⌥Space	Finish, when you dictate hands-free

More in Dictation.

While you pick an area#

When the screen dims after ⇧⌘2, ⇧⌘3, ⌃⇧⌘2 or ⇧⌘5, a hint at the top tells you the keys.

Key	What it does
Drag	Select an area
Space	Switch to picking a window, and back
Return	Take the whole screen under the pointer (or the window under it, when picking a window)
Esc, or right-click	Cancel
Hold ⌥ as you let go	Copy text from the screen exactly as it is, without corrections. Best for code and keys (⇧⌘5 only)

Return for the whole screen doesn't apply to a scrolling capture: drag over the part that scrolls, or press Space to pick a window.

While you scroll a long page#

Key	What it does
Return	Finish and keep the capture (same as “Done”)
Esc	Throw it away (same as “Cancel”)

While you record#

When	Key	What it does
Recording bar, before you start	Return	“Start”
Recording bar, before you start	Esc	“Cancel”
During the 3, 2, 1 countdown	Return	Start straight away
During the 3, 2, 1 countdown	Esc	Cancel
Recording	⌥⇧⌘3	“Pause”, and “Resume” after a short countdown
Resuming after a pause	Return	“Resume now”, skipping the countdown. Esc stays paused
Recording	⇧⌘3, or click the menu-bar icon	“Stop”

More in Record your screen.

In the menu-bar menu#

Key	What it does
Type	Search your history
↑ ↓	Move through the list
Return	Copy the selected item, ready to paste
⇧Return	Copy the selected item as plain text
⌘1 to ⌘9	Copy the item in that row
⌘P	Pin or unpin the selected item
⌘⌫	Remove the selected item
Tab, ⇧Tab	Next or previous filter
⌘,	Open Settings
⌘Q	Quit catu
Esc	Close the menu

More in The menu-bar menu.

In the screenshot editor#

Press a single letter to pick a tool. Holding ⇧ works too.

Key	Tool
V	Select
C	Crop
A	Arrow
L	Line
R	Rectangle
O	Oval
P	Pen
H	Highlighter
T	Text
N	Step number
M	Magnifier
S	Spotlight
X	Pixelate
B	Blur
D	Hide text only
E	Remove object

Key	What it does
Return, or ⌘C	Copy the screenshot and close the editor. While cropping, Return applies the crop
⌘S	Save to the screenshots folder
⌘Z	Undo
⇧⌘Z	Redo
Delete	Remove the selected mark
Esc	Deselect. With nothing selected, close the editor
⌘W	Close the editor
⌘0	Actual size
⌘1	Zoom to fit
⌘+ and ⌘−	Zoom in and out
Hold ⇧ while drawing	Keep arrows and lines at 45° steps; keep rectangles, ovals and other boxes square
Hold ⌥ while drawing a rectangle	Fill the rectangle

When you are typing text on the screenshot, Return places it and Esc throws it away. A screenshot you pin to the screen closes with Esc.

More in Mark up a screenshot.

Change a shortcut#

Every catu shortcut can be changed:

1. Click the catu icon, choose “Settings…”, and click Shortcuts in the sidebar.
2. Click the shortcut you want to change, then press the new keys.

Esc keeps the old shortcut. Delete removes it, so that action has no shortcut. If macOS or another app already uses those keys, catu says so: pick others, or free them in System Settings › Keyboard › Keyboard Shortcuts.

When a shortcut doesn't reach catu#

macOS uses ⇧⌘3 and ⇧⌘5 for its own screenshot tools, and macOS always wins. To give them to catu:

1. Open System Settings › Keyboard and click “Keyboard Shortcuts…”.
2. Click Screenshots in the list.
3. Switch off “Save picture of screen as a file” (⇧⌘3) and “Screenshot and recording options” (⇧⌘5).
4. Click “Done”.

When catu starts and another app already owns one of its shortcuts, catu says so: “Shortcut taken by another app: ⇧⌘2”. Change or switch off the shortcut in that app, then quit and reopen catu.

If something doesn't work#

• ⇧⌘3 or ⇧⌘5 opens macOS's screenshot tools instead of catu's: switch those off in System Settings › Keyboard › “Keyboard Shortcuts…” › Screenshots, as above.
• Holding ⌥Space doesn't start dictation: another app may be using ⌥Space; catu says “Shortcut taken by another app: ⌥Space” when it starts. Pick a different dictation shortcut in Settings › Shortcuts. catu doesn't use the 🌐 key for dictation.
• The editor's letter keys type nothing: click the screenshot first, so the editor has focus rather than a text box.
• ⌘1 to ⌘9 copies but doesn't paste: that is expected. Press ⌘V.