How to Tame macOS Hot Corners Using Modifier Keys

[MacRumors]

In macOS, the Hot Corners feature turns each of the four corners of your screen into a designated action, allowing you to quickly access certain functions built into the system, such as Mission Control, Notification Center, the Screen Saver, and more. Many Mac users would agree, there's something satisfying about bringing up these commonly used functions with a simple, swift cursor movement.

What isn't so satisfying, however, is accidentally triggering a Hot Corner, which can lead to all kinds of unintended desktop behavior - like application windows flying all over the place. This can happen when you lose track of the mouse cursor, or when you're working within the confines of a small MacBook screen. Thankfully, there's a way to tame wayward Hot Corners using modifier keys. Here's how.


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Article Link: How to Tame macOS Hot Corners Using Modifier Keys

 

[LinusR]

That's really neat, thanks MR!

 

[tarsins]

Superb tip. That's what I like about Macs: no matter how long you've been using them there's always something new to learn.

 

[Scooz]

Ah, great column. Always with small details I hadn‘t thought about. Today’s is a perfect example.

 

[497902]

For a second I thought macOS Hot Corners would be the name of the next macOS version. lol

 

[Naaaaak]

I don't know anyone who knew of this. Nice writeup.

 

[martyjmclean]

Mine are so tame, they’re off.

 

[Mascots]

Wow! Nice tip for sure.

 

[R10k]

Great tip! I know a crazy amount about the Mac but this is new!

 

[dng]

Cool! Sounds like the feature isn’t very discoverable though. Maybe there should be text or footer somewhere about possibility of holding down modifiers

 

[jacjustjac]

Wow, I thought I knew everything... how long has this been around?

 

[mrgraff]

I use hot corners all the time, but do get confused for a second when I forget and bump the mouse and things disappear. This tip is great!

 

[ignatius345]

I don't know anyone who knew of this. Nice writeup.

[raises hand]

Generally in the Mac's UI, there are often alternate commands available when, aptly, you hold down the Option key. As a fun (for nerds anyway) experiment, click menus in whatever app you're using and hit Option, see what changes.

Here's Safari > Edit menu with and without Option pressed:

Many Mac users would agree, there's something satisfying about bringing up these commonly used functions with a simple, swift cursor movement.

Hot corners and screen edges are great for triggering things in a cursor-based interface because they're such an incredibly easy target to hit. This is one of the first things Apple did better than Windows, which always put your menu bar inside the window so you have to be way more careful with your cursor targeting. On the Mac, you just shove your cursor UP as much as you want and you know it'll stop on its own.

But yeah, it's a little too easy sometimes. What I really want is a tiny time delay for hot corners so they still work without extra key presses, but you're buffered against your cursor inadvertantly triggering something you don't want.

 

[MacBH928]

is there a way to temporary cancel the hotcorners, like a key combination or something similar

 

[saqib1397]

thanks for sharing cool informative stuff. you guys can get your mac OS from here. http://onesoftwares.net/category/software/operating-systems/mac-operating-system/

 

[mingravity]

aah awesome tip. something i use all the time and bothered be many a time.

 

[ls1dreams]

Here's how I handle this which some may prefer:

1. Preferences > Desktop/Screensaver > Set hot corner to 'start screen saver' (instead of lock screen)
2. Preferences > Security&Privacy > [x] Require password [5 seconds] after screen saver starts

It's not perfect, but if you want to lock you can just hit the bottom corner and let the screensaver run for 5 seconds. If you accidentally hit the hot corner just wiggle your cursor and screen saver goes away.