The Mac “Save As” keyboard shortcut allows you to quickly save a new version of an active document without re-writing the currently active document, which is perfect for many productivity situations where you’d want to save a current file as a different file type for compatibility reasons or as a backup version, or as a different copy in a new location, or any number of reasons.
“Save As” used to be a default option in the Mac OS “File” menu but now it’s hidden by default. Not to worry, with a simple keyboard app shortcut you can regain the uber convenient “Save As” option in the File menu along with the Command + Shift + S keystroke combo, just like what many longtime Mac users are accustomed to using.
How to Get a “Save As” Shortcut Keystroke & File Menu Item in Mac OS
- Open the Apple menu and choose “System Preferences”
- Select “Keyboard” and then choose the “Shortcuts” tab
- Select “App Shortcuts” then press the + plus button to create a new shortcut for All Applications
- Set the following for the keyboard shortcut:
- Application: All Applications
- Menu Title: “Save As…”
- Keyboard Shortcut: click into the field, then press COMMAND SHIFT S
Assuming you followed the instructions correctly, Save As will now appear by default in the ‘File’ menu of apps, and be available instantly as the Command Shift S keyboard shortcut.
You can test this out yourself by going to any app that supports file saving and you’ll find the File menu now includes the “Save As” option by default, along with the keyboard shortcut.
Is Save As not working? It’s likely a typo. Note how “Save As…” is written, with As followed by three periods and not an ellipsis, so type out ‘Save As…’ exactly as shown, along with precise capitalization.
Save As on Mac with Command Shift S vs Command Shift Option S
For what it’s worth, modern MacOS versions including Mojave do have the Save As option available by default but it’s hidden from the File menu unless you press the Option key modifiers to make it visible, where it replaces the Duplicate option as those keys are held down.
Thus the modern Mac OS default keyboard shortcut for Save As is the finger twisting combo of Command + Option + Shift + S.
All we’re doing in this particular App Shortcut is to remap that complex keystroke into the familiar and easier to manage Command Shift S keystroke, which was the default in Mac OS for much of Mac history.
This change may not be for everyone, but if you’re a fan of using Save As, you’ll undoubtedly appreciate knowing that you can get this great File saving feature back with a simple effort, and regain the handy keystroke too.
This guide is obviously geared towards modern Mac OS releases like Mojave or High Sierra, but if you have an older version of system software on another Mac, you can still go about enabling Save As in earlier Mac OS X versions too, even in Lion with an Export trick by remapping Export to the same keystroke combo. Versions prior to that will need no modification as the default for Save As was Command Shift S.
