Using keyboard shortcuts is key of being productive and efficient when working with a development environment like Xcode. In this article, I'll show you my favorite Xcode shortcuts.
Before we start, here is a quick key reference:
Let's jump in.
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1. Product
Let's start with some basic shortcuts which we can find in Xcode's Product menu:
If you are working with Xcode for some time now, you most certainly use them already.
2. Navigate
Quickly navigating back and forth when working on different files is a real time saver:
3. Open quickly and jump to definition
Another essential shortcut is one for opening a file quickly with ⇧ ⌘ O.
After doing so, the jump to definition ⌃ ⌘ J shortcut comes in handy to jump to that file in the project navigator.
4. Find
Whether it's within the currently opened file or throughout the project/workspace, searching is another essential action:
5. View
Being able to show and hide different Xcode areas quickly is really useful especially when working on smaller screens:
- ⌘ 0 to show and hide the project navigator
- ⌘ ⇧ Y to show and hide the debug console
- ⌘ ⌥ 0 to show and hide the inspectors
6. Quickly open two files side by side
I already mentioned the Open quickly ⌘ ⇧ O command - which becomes even more powerful when using it with ⌥.
- Use ⌘ ⇧ O to open the dialog
- Enter the file name you are searching for
- Use ⌥ in combination with enter to select the file. The new file will open in a separate editor allowing us to continue working on our current file while having access to the new opened file.
The ⌥ tip also works when selecting a file in the project navigator.
7. Quickly jump to a specific method in a file
This shortcut comes in particularly handy for larger files with numerous methods, where scrolling quickly becomes tedious.
- Use ⌃ 6 to open the documents structure
- Start typing the methods name
- Use enter to jump to the method.
You can skip letters when typing, Xcode will do the work for you.
8. Repeat the last test
The ⌃ ⌘ ⌥ G shortcut is especially useful when writing tests to repeat the last test we were running.
9. Reindent code
We can re-indent selected code in Xcode by pressing ⌃ I - which is useful when code is out of place, for example after refactoring.
10. Disable / enable breakpoints
This ⌘ Y shortcut comes in handy when debugging code to toggle between enabling and disabling breakpoint.
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