How to Add Custom Keyboard Shortcuts for Specific App Menu Items in macOS

Professional users rely on keyboard shortcuts to work quickly and efficiently. While most major applications have shortcuts assigned to common actions like Saving (Cmd + S) or Copying (Cmd + C), there are almost always obscure menu items buried deep within an app that lack an assigned hotkey.

If you find yourself constantly reaching for your mouse to click “File > Export > Export as PDF” or “View > Show Inspector”, you are wasting valuable time. Fortunately, macOS has a deeply integrated, highly powerful feature that allows you to map a custom keyboard shortcut to absolutely any menu bar item in any application on your system.

Step 1: Identify the Exact Menu Name

Before you create the shortcut, you must know the precise, exact spelling of the menu item you want to trigger.

1. Open the application you want to customize (e.g., Apple Pages, Safari, or a third-party app).
2. Navigate the top menu bar to find the action.
3. Write down the name of the menu item exactly as it appears, including capitalization, spaces, and punctuation (like ellipses “…”). For example, if it says Export as PDF…, you must type the three dots at the end.

Step 2: Create the Shortcut in System Settings

We will use the native macOS keyboard settings to intercept this command.

1. Click the Apple Logo in the top-left corner of the screen and select System Settings…
2. Scroll down the left sidebar and select Keyboard.
3. In the right pane, click the Keyboard Shortcuts… button.
4. In the new window that appears, select App Shortcuts from the left sidebar.
5. Click the small + (plus) button below the right-hand list to create a new rule.

Step 3: Configure the Binding

A small dialog box will appear asking for the shortcut details.

1. Application: Click the dropdown menu. By default, it says “All Applications”. If you want the shortcut to work universally (like mapping a shortcut for “Zoom In”), leave it. Otherwise, scroll down and select the specific application you are targeting.
2. Menu Title: Type the exact name of the menu item you wrote down in Step 1 (e.g., Export as PDF...).
3. Keyboard Shortcut: Click inside this text box, and physically press the combination of keys you want to use (e.g., hold down Command + Option + Shift + P).
4. Click Done.

Step 4: Test the Shortcut

The shortcut is instantly active. Return to your application and press your new key combination. The corresponding action will execute immediately, and if you open the menu bar with your mouse, you will actually see your new keyboard shortcut permanently listed next to the menu item text.