Every time I need to overwrite files on my macOS Sierra Macbook when saving from a different location, I have to necessarily click on the Replace button. Is there a way to do this via the keyboard? I tried enabling All controls in the keyboard options but I can't seem to get it to work. The button focus shifts when I press Tab but pressing Enter does not do anything.
MacOS – Keyboard shortcut for “replace” on the dialog box
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Related Solutions
Go to...
- System Preferences→Keyboard→Keyboard Shortcuts
and select All controls under Full Keyboard Access
- Now you can use ⇥ (tab) to switch between the dialog boxes.
- Note: Unlike in Windows, you need to hit space to trigger a highlighted box that is not the default one! (If this is not natural to you, here's something that helps many to remember tab and space rather than just enter. The space bar is the keyboard version of a one button mouse with the tab moving the mouse's pointer for you.)
The Spotlight search box is the one in the top-right of the menu bar (commandspace). The Find search box is the one I think you're talking about, within a Finder window.
To get focus back to the search field, hit controltab or commandf.
Another option is found in System Prefs > Keyboard > Shortcuts. There's a radio button near the bottom labeled "Full Keyboard Access". "All Controls" will let you tab through the other search fields without modifier keys.
That said, in my testing, there're some flaws. Some of the fields aren't selectable, and if you try to select one of those and then hit commandf, you can no longer tab through the other fields anymore—you have to open a new Finder window and start over.
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Best Answer
When All controls is enabled, a border is wrapped around the focused button. Press Select to select the focused button. Enter always select the default button in the dialog which may not be the one with focus.