Level 1

10 points

Command-Alt-Space shortcut to open new Finder window stopped working

Hi,

I bought my first MAC some months ago. I read somewhere that by default, the Command-Alt-Space shortcut opens a new finder window, and I've been using it with no problem for a couple of months. But yesterday the shortcut suddenly stopped opening a new Finder window, and started opening a Spotlight window instead. (??)

I checked the keyboard shortcuts and in fact the Command-Alt-Space shortcut was assigned to open a Spotlight window. Weird, because I didn't change it and noone else uses this compuer. I pressed "Restore defaults", to see if that could revert the change, but it didn't—now the Command-Alt-Space shortcut was not assigned to anything, and the Spotlight window allegedly default shortcut turned out to be Ctrl-Alt-Space.

So my questions are:

Why was I able to use the Command-Alt-Space shortcut to open new Finder window, and now I'm not?

How can I make it work again? It was really much more practical than going to Finder and pressing Cmd-N...

Thank you.

MacBook Pro (Retina, Mid 2012), OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.2)

Posted on Feb 4, 2013 5:45 AM

39 replies

Lanny

Level 6

13,225 points

Feb 4, 2013 10:43 AM in response to diego chamy

The command for opening a new Finder window is Command-n.

Command-Option-Space (not Command-Alt-Space, Alt is Shift-Option) opens a Spotlight window.

Aug 18, 2013 10:25 AM in response to diego chamy

Hi Diego,

Were u able to resolve this ? I'm facing the same issue. Option+Command+Space used to open finder. Now its opening spotlight.

Regards,

Avinash

Barney-15E

Level 10

122,084 points

Aug 18, 2013 9:12 PM in response to diego chamy

No, they said they used as a workaround. It opens a Finder window that happens to be a Search.

juan1688

Level 1

0 points

Oct 11, 2013 12:01 PM in response to bgast

ALT+CMD+T worked for me, thanks a lot !

ALT+CMD+SPACE and then ALT+CMD+T, i dont know how or when it turned off, that finder shortcut is pretty usefull.

diego chamy Author

Level 1

10 points

Dec 7, 2013 2:12 AM in response to kinglucentio

Great, let us know.

Barney-15E

Level 10

122,084 points

Feb 10, 2014 7:53 PM in response to GoldenBough

Cmd-Opt-t didn't do anything until I hid the Tab bar. Now it works with or without the tab bar hidden.

Feb 10, 2014 8:24 PM in response to Barney-15E

I couldn't reproduce it, but I believe you. Hope it stays working for you 🙂.

Jun 22, 2014 4:12 PM in response to diego chamy

Dont need to reinstall, I had the same problem. Spotight is Finder without ToolBar, you can test it:

Open Finder clicking in the Finder Icon in your Dock, then go to View->Hide ToolBar

You will have Spotlight.

To come back again to Finder you go View-Show ToolBar (Or: Alt + Cmd + T)

As You see Alt + Cmd + T is the short cut to convert Spotlight into Finder view and the inverse...

Regards..

catman25

Level 1

4 points

Aug 26, 2016 2:14 PM in response to bgast

THANK YOU!

This thread has been closed by the system or the community team. You may vote for any posts you find helpful, or search the Community for additional answers.

Command-Alt-Space shortcut to open new Finder window stopped working