CrackMacWhere is the Apple menu on a Mac, and how to open it when you can't see it
The Apple menu is the Apple logo in the top-left corner of your Mac's screen, at the left end of the menu bar. Click it for About This Mac, System Settings, Sleep, Restart and Shut Down. If you can't see it, press Control-F2, with Fn on most MacBooks, and the keyboard jumps to the menu bar, starting at the Apple menu. Arrow keys open and move through menus, Return chooses. And Command-Shift-/ lets you search every menu command by name. Both work even when you can't see the menu bar at all.
First: is it hidden on purpose?
If the menu bar vanished on a Mac whose screen is fine, it's usually a setting, not a fault.
- Auto-hide is on. Move the pointer to the very top of the screen. If the menu bar slides down, open System Settings, then Menu Bar, or Control Center on macOS 15 and earlier, and set "Automatically hide and show the menu bar" to Never.
- An app is in full screen. Full-screen apps hide the menu bar until the pointer touches the top. Press Globe-F or Control-Command-F to leave full screen.
- It's on another display. With a monitor connected, the menu bar may be on the other screen. Drag the white bar in System Settings, Displays, Arrange, to choose where it lives. More on moving the menu bar.
If the menu bar is there but under a cracked or dead part of the screen, the rest of this guide is for you.
Route 1: move focus to the menu bar
- Press Control-F2. On most MacBooks the top row is media keys, so press Fn-Control-F2.
- The Apple menu is now highlighted. Press Down Arrow to open it, or Right Arrow to move to the app's menus.
- Press Return to choose, Escape to leave.
If nothing happens, check System Settings, Keyboard, Keyboard Shortcuts, Keyboard, and make sure "Move focus to the menu bar" is turned on.
Route 2: search the menus
Press Command-Shift-/. The Help menu opens with a search field. Type a few letters of any command, say "export", and the matching menu items appear. Use the arrow keys and Return. This is often faster than any mouse.
Apple menu items you can reach another way
- Sleep, Restart, Shut Down: Control-Power button, or Control-Media Eject, shows the shutdown dialog.
- Force Quit: Command-Option-Escape.
- System Settings: Command-Space, type "Settings", Return.
- Lock screen: Control-Command-Q.
If the damage covers the top-left corner for good
Shortcuts get you through the day, but a permanently broken top-left corner means the Apple menu and the app's name menu will always be under the damage. macOS can't move the menu bar. CrackMac draws a working copy of it just inside the good glass, with every menu and its items live, and gives you a searchable palette of every command on Control-Option-Command-M.
If the damage runs along one edge, CrackMac can keep windows, menus and the pointer off it. There's a free 30-minute trial.
More shortcuts for a damaged display are in keyboard shortcuts for a Mac with a broken screen.
Quick answers
Where is the Apple menu on a Mac?
It's the Apple logo at the far left of the menu bar, in the top-left corner of the screen. If the menu bar is hidden, move the pointer to the top edge, or press Control-F2, with Fn on most MacBooks, to open it from the keyboard.
How do I open the Apple menu without the mouse?
Press Control-F2 (Fn-Control-F2 on most MacBooks) to move focus to the menu bar. The Apple menu is selected first; press Down Arrow to open it and Return to choose an item.
How do I use a menu command I can't see?
Press Command-Shift-/ to open the Help menu's search, type part of the command's name, and press Return. It searches every menu of the frontmost app.
Damage along an edge?
CrackMac keeps windows, the menu bar and the pointer on the part of the screen that still works, and paints the dead strip black. You draw the line once, on a picture of your screen, and it stays out of your way after that.
- Works on macOS 13 or later, Apple silicon and Intel.
- Free for 30 minutes of use, then a one-time price. No subscription.
- A refund within 7 days, no questions asked.