You just switched from Windows. Your fingers keep hunting for those dedicated keys on the right side of the board, but on a MacBook, they're gone. Vanished. It's frustrating because scrolling with a trackpad is fine for Instagram, but when you’re 40 pages deep into a legal PDF or a massive spreadsheet, you need raw speed. Finding page up and down on Mac isn't actually hard, but Apple hides the functionality behind modifier keys that aren't exactly intuitive for the uninitiated.
Most people think the arrow keys should just do it. They don't. At least, not by themselves.
If you’re staring at a compact Magic Keyboard or a MacBook Air, you’re looking at a layout designed for aesthetics and portability, not legacy navigation. Apple decided long ago that "Fn" was the gatekeeper to your productivity. It’s a design philosophy that prioritizes a clean deck over utility. But honestly? Once you memorize the physical "shape" of the shortcuts, you’ll probably find them faster than hunting for a dedicated key in the dark.
The Secret Combinations for Navigation
The primary way to trigger a page up and down on Mac experience is by using the Function (Fn) key in tandem with the Up and Down arrows.
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Hold Fn and tap the Up Arrow to jump up one full screen.
Hold Fn and tap the Down Arrow to head south.
It feels a bit clunky at first. You've got to move your left hand to the bottom corner while your right hand stays on the arrows. But there's a nuance here that messes people up: scrolling vs. moving the cursor. On a Mac, Fn + Arrows usually just shifts your view. It doesn't necessarily move the blinking vertical line (the insertion point) where you’re typing.
If you want to move the actual cursor to the top or bottom of the document—what Windows users call "Home" and "End"—you switch it up. Use Command (⌘) + Up Arrow to fly to the very start of the file. Use Command (⌘) + Down Arrow to hit the very bottom.
Why the Spacebar is Your Best Friend
Nobody talks about this, but if you’re just reading a long article in Safari or Chrome, you don't even need the arrow keys. The Spacebar is a built-in Page Down button.
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Tap it once. The page jumps down exactly one viewport.
Want to go back up? Hold Shift and hit Spacebar.
It’s arguably the most "Mac" way to browse because it requires zero precision. You can basically slap the keyboard and get where you need to go. This works in almost every web browser and even in some PDF viewers like Preview, though it’s less reliable in heavy-duty pro apps like Adobe Premiere or Logic Pro.
What About External Keyboards?
If you’ve plugged in a full-sized mechanical keyboard or an Apple Keyboard with a Numeric Keypad, you actually have real Page Up and Page Down keys. They sit in that little island above the inverted-T arrow keys.
But here is the weird part.
Even with physical buttons, macOS behaves differently than Windows. In Microsoft Word on a PC, hitting Page Down moves the cursor. On a Mac, it often just scrolls the window while the cursor stays stuck exactly where you left it. If you start typing again, the screen might suddenly "snap" back to the original position, which is enough to make anyone want to throw their computer out a window.
To fix this behavior and force the cursor to travel with you, you often have to use Option + Page Up or Option + Page Down. It’s these little inconsistencies that give Mac users a reputation for being obsessed with their trackpads—the hardware is just more consistent than the keyboard shortcuts.
Remapping for the Windows Refugees
Some people just can't deal with the Fn key. I get it. If you spend eight hours a day in Excel, those extra keystrokes add up to a lot of wasted energy.
There's a legendary piece of software called Karabiner-Elements. It's open-source and basically lets you rewrite how your Mac sees your keyboard. You can tell macOS that you want your right-hand "Option" key to act as a "Page Down" key. Or you can create complex rules where tapping a key does one thing, but holding it does another.
Another lighter option is BetterTouchTool. It's mostly known for trackpad gestures, but it has a robust keyboard remapping engine. You could set a three-finger swipe to trigger a "Page Down" command, which feels way more natural on a MacBook anyway.
The Chrome and Safari Exception
Web browsers are a different beast. Because we spend 90% of our time in them, Google and Apple have baked in some redundancies.
- Command + Up/Down: Jumps to the absolute top or bottom.
- Option + Up/Down: Usually scrolls in smaller increments than a full "page," acting more like a "scroll half-page" function.
- Home and End: On a Mac keyboard without these keys, you use Fn + Left Arrow for Home and Fn + Right Arrow for End.
It’s a lot to juggle. You’ve basically got three different "layers" of navigation keys tucked into four arrows.
Does it work in Excel?
Excel for Mac is the final boss of navigation frustration. The page up and down on Mac shortcuts often conflict with Excel's own internal workbook shortcuts. If you find that Fn + Arrows isn't working in your spreadsheet, check if "Scroll Lock" is accidentally engaged. Since Macs don't have a Scroll Lock light, you usually have to look at the status bar at the bottom of the Excel window.
If you’re working in a large sheet, try Control + Page Up/Down (or Control + Fn + Up/Down) to move between different tabs in the workbook. It’s a lifesaver for financial modeling.
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Actionable Steps for Faster Navigation
Stop fighting the hardware. If you want to master your Mac's navigation, start with these three habits:
- The Reading Habit: Use the Spacebar and Shift + Spacebar for all web browsing. It’s faster than reaching for the Fn or Arrow keys and keeps your hand in a more relaxed position.
- The Document Habit: Use Command + Arrows for "teleporting" to the start or end, and Fn + Arrows for "stepping" through the middle.
- The Selection Habit: If you need to highlight text while paging down, add Shift to the mix. Shift + Fn + Down Arrow will highlight one screen’s worth of text at a time.
If these shortcuts feel like they aren't sticking, consider getting a dedicated mouse with a "hyper-fast" scroll wheel, like the Logitech MX Master series. These mice have a toggle that lets the wheel spin freely, effectively giving you an analog version of Page Up/Down that is often more precise than the keyboard could ever be. For those sticking with the keyboard, open your System Settings, go to Keyboard, and crank the "Key Repeat Rate" to the maximum. This makes holding down the arrow keys a viable alternative to Page Down because the cursor will fly across the screen at a much higher velocity.