Creating a Custom Mac Shortcut for Moving Windows Between Monitors

Keywords: Creating Custom Mac Shortcut, Monitor, Windows, Between Monitors
Aliases: MacOS Hotkey

First make sure that all monitors are already plugged in before trying to add the shortcut, you will need to see what the computer names the monitor.
Select any window and open the Window drop down.
There is an option which says "Move to (MONITOR NAME)", copy this down case sensitive.

Move that window to the other monitor by clicking and dragging it over to the other display, repeating the steps above.

Now click the apple icon on the top left of the screen and open system preferences.
Click Keyboard

Click the Shortcuts Tab

Select App Shortcuts and click the plus on the bottom/middle left of the window.

This is the point where you will need the case sensitive names of the monitors we took down earlier, type in "Move to (MONITOR NAME)" into the Menu Title field.

Then click into the Keyboard Shortcut field and hit all keys you would like to be in the shortcut at the same time, this should populate the shortcut field with your desired shortcut. Then click Add.

Now click the plus and repeat the above two steps for your other monitor, make sure that you choose a different hotkey for each monitor. You can choose your own shortcut, but make sure it's different from already existing shortcuts or it will produce some weird behavior. The one I show here is unique, so feel free to use that.

To verify that your shortcuts are working, go back up to the window tab and look at your "Move to " option. There should be your shortcut grayed out right next to the option like this. If it looks like this, try your shortcut and it should work!

Troubleshooting:

If it doesn't appear in this menu, go back to the shortcut settings and make sure you named the monitors correctly.
If your shortcut is moving your window but it quickly snaps back to its original position, make sure your shortcuts are different from one another.

Auto Reviewed on 03/25/2026