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How to Use Hot Corners on a Mac

Customize Hot Corners actions in Mission Control

By Sandy Writtenhouse Sandy Writtenhouse Writer Kaplan University Sandy has been writing about technology since 2012. Her work has appeared on How-To Geek, MakeUseOf, iDownloadBlog, groovyPost, and many other websites. lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on August 25, 2022 Reviewed by Jessica Kormos Reviewed by Jessica Kormos Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College Jessica Kormos is a writer and editor with 15 years' experience writing articles, copy, and UX content for Tecca.com, Rosenfeld Media, and many others. lifewire's editorial guidelines Tweet Share Email Tweet Share Email

In This Article

Expand Jump to a Section Setup Using Hot Corners How to Remove Actions What Are Hot Corners Frequently Asked Questions

What to Know

In System Preferences, go to Mission Control and select Hot Corners.Use the drop-down lists to select the action for each corner you want to use and click OK.Move your cursor to one of the four corners you activated to invoke the action you selected. This article explains how to set up and use hot corners on Mac. This feature lets you perform actions quickly by moving your cursor to the corner of your screen.

Set Up Hot Corners on Mac

You can use one or all four hot corners per your preference and decide which action to take from a list of options. Open your System Preferences by going to the Apple icon in the menu bar or using the icon in the Dock. Choose Mission Control. Select Hot Corners at the bottom. You’ll likely see dashes for each hot corner except for the bottom-right corner. By default, that corner opens Quick Note since the release of macOS Monterey. But you can change it if you like. Use the drop-down menu for each corner you want to activate and select the action. You have ten different options: opening Mission Control or the Notification Center, starting or disabling the screen saver, or locking your screen. If you want to include a modifier key, hold that key as you make your selection. You can use Command, Option, Control, Shift, or a combination of these keys. You’ll then see the key(s) displayed next to the action for that hot corner. For any corner you don’t want to activate, keep or select the dash. When you finish, select OK. You can then close the System Preferences and try your hot corners.

Using Hot Corners on Mac

Once you set up hot corners, it’s good to give them a test to make sure the actions you picked work for you. Move your cursor using your mouse or trackpad to one of the corners of the screen you set up. It should invoke the action you picked. If you included a modifier key in the setup, hold that key or the key combination as you move your cursor to the corner.

Remove Actions From Hot Corners

If you decide later that the actions for the hot corners aren’t working for you, you can remove them.
Return to System Preferences and Mission Control. Choose Hot Corners. Then, use the drop-down list for each hot corner to select the dash. Click OK when you finish. You’ll then return to ordinary screen corners without any actions.

What Are Hot Corners

Hot corners on macOS let you invoke actions by moving your cursor to a corner of the screen. For instance, if you move your cursor to the top-right corner, you can start your Mac's screensaver, or if you move to the bottom-left corner, you can put your display to sleep. Plus, you can add a modifier key such as Command, Option, Control, or Shift. So, you can set up a hot corner to require a key press when you move your cursor to that corner. It stops you from accidentally invoking an action if you move your cursor to a corner for another reason or by mistake. FAQ Why are my Hot Corners not working on my Mac? If nothing happens when you hover your cursor over a corner to trigger your Hot Corner action, there may have been a glitch with a recent macOS update. To fix the problem, try turning off Hot Corners, restarting your Mac, and turning on Hot Corners again. You can also try restarting the Dock and using the Mac's Safe Boot option. How do I use Hot Corners in iOS? On your iPhone or iPad, go to Settings > Accessibility > Touch > Assistive Touch. Scroll down and tap the Dwell Control slider to turn it on. Then, tap Hot Corners and tap each corner option to set your preferred Hot Corner action. Can you use Hot Corners in Windows? No. Windows doesn't have a Hot Corners feature, although Windows keyboard shortcuts allow you to quickly trigger actions. However, there are third-party tools like WinXCorners that mimic Hot Corner functionality. Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Subscribe Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit More from Lifewire How to Find the IP Address on a Mac How to Lock a Mac How to Use the F Keys on a Mac How to Lock a MacBook How to Search in Google Sheets Windows Keyboard Equivalents for the Mac's Special Keys How to Open the Emoji Keyboard on a Mac How to Change a Login Picture on Mac How to Use Your iPad as a Second Monitor The 5 Best macOS Monterey Features How to Reset Your Mac's PRAM or NVRAM (Parameter RAM) How to Use Apple Stage Manager How to Move a Window That Is Off-Screen How to Resize Your Mac's Windows How to Right-Click on a Mac How to Turn Off VoiceOver on a Mac Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. Cookies Settings Accept All Cookies