How to Use Hot Corners on a Mac (and Stop Quick Note)

Quick answer: Hot Corners on a Mac run an action when you push the pointer into a screen corner. Set them in System Settings > Desktop & Dock > Hot Corners, picking an action for each corner. Hold Command, Option, Control or Shift while choosing to require that key, and choose the dash to switch a corner off.

You move the pointer to the bottom right of the screen to close something, and a yellow note appears out of nowhere. You close it. It comes back the next time. That is a Hot Corner, and it was on before you ever touched it.

Set up well, Hot Corners are a very quick way to see your desktop or lock the screen. Left alone, they mostly explain why Quick Note keeps opening. Here is how to make them useful.

What are Hot Corners on a Mac?

A Hot Corner is a screen corner with a job. Apple's guide to using hot corners explains that you assign an action to a corner, and moving the pointer into that corner starts it. Its examples are starting the screen saver from one corner and locking the screen from another.

Corners work well as targets because the pointer stops at the edge of the screen. You can throw the mouse in that direction without aiming, which is quicker than finding a menu and easier than remembering a shortcut.

Where are the Hot Corners settings?

They live at the bottom of Desktop & Dock. In macOS Ventura and later, Apple's Desktop & Dock settings page puts them in the Mission Control section:

1. Choose Apple menu > System Settings.
2. Click Desktop & Dock in the sidebar.
3. Scroll to the bottom and click Hot Corners.
4. Choose an action from the pop-up menu for each corner, then click Done.

On older versions of macOS, which still had System Preferences, the same button sat under Mission Control or Desktop & Screen Saver. The rest of the Dock and desktop settings are in our guide to customising the Dock on a Mac.

Which actions can a Hot Corner run?

The list is short and fixed. Apple's guide names Notification Centre, Apps and Lock Screen as examples, alongside the screen saver and Quick Note. The menu also offers Mission Control, Application Windows, Desktop, putting the display to sleep and the dash, which means nothing happens. MacMost's walkthrough lists most of the same options, from an older version where Apps was still called Launchpad.

You can't add your own actions, run a shortcut or open a specific app from a corner. That is the trade for a setting that needs no app and no permissions.

The ones worth having:

• Desktop slides every window aside so you can grab a file. It pairs well with a tidy desktop; our guide to cleaning up your Mac desktop covers the other half.
• Lock Screen locks the Mac as you walk away. One flick and it is done.
• Mission Control shows every open window and space at once.
• Application Windows shows only the windows of the app you are using.

Notification Centre and Apps are fine too, but both are easy enough to reach already.

Why does Quick Note keep opening?

Because the bottom-right corner is set to Quick Note by default. Apple's hot corners guide says so directly. Anyone who parks the pointer down there, or moves towards a Dock on the right, will set it off.

To stop it, open the Hot Corners window, click the bottom-right pop-up menu and choose the dash. Or give that corner something you actually want, such as Desktop, so the habit becomes useful instead of annoying.

How do you stop Hot Corners triggering by accident?

Add a modifier key. Apple's settings page says that if you press and hold Command, Shift, Option or Control (or a combination of them) while viewing the pop-up menus, the options change to include that key. Choose one and the corner only fires when you hold the key as the pointer arrives.

So "Option + Lock Screen" in the top right means a stray pointer does nothing, but Option plus a flick locks the Mac. It is the simplest fix for corners you want to keep but keep hitting.

Pick corners that suit your Dock. If the Dock is on the left or right, the corners at that edge are where your pointer goes most often. Leave those empty, or put a modifier on them.

What if Hot Corners stop working?

Check the modifier first. A corner set with a key held does nothing without it. Open the pop-up menu and look at the label; it shows any key the action needs.

With several displays, the arrangement decides where the corners are. MacMost notes that a screen in the middle of a row has no outer corners, so its corners don't trigger. Check how the screens line up in System Settings > Displays.

If your changes don't stick, try the Spotlight route. In an Apple Community thread from 2023, a Ventura user found that changes made in System Settings had no effect, but searching Spotlight for "hot corners" opened a Hot Corners window where changes did apply. If nothing else helps, a restart is the next step.

A five-minute Hot Corners setup

1. Open System Settings > Desktop & Dock and scroll down to the Hot Corners button.
2. Clear the bottom-right corner by choosing the dash, unless you love Quick Note.
3. Put Desktop in the corner you reach most easily, so files are always one flick away.
4. Put Lock Screen in a top corner, with Option held if you hit it by accident.
5. Leave the corners near your Dock empty, then use it for a day before adding more.

A cauldron for the corner of your eye

If you care enough about your Mac to set up its corners, you probably care what the Dock looks like too. Spellbin is our small paid Mac app that puts a pixel-art cauldron beside the Bin. Drop a file on it and a green flame carries the thumbnail up and dissolves it, while the file goes to the real Bin underneath.

It does nothing for productivity. It unlocks skins and achievements as you go, and it makes deleting things slightly more fun. Download Spellbin if that sounds like your kind of Mac.

A Hot Corner is the cheapest shortcut on a Mac. The pointer always finds the corner.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I turn off Hot Corners on a Mac?

To turn off Hot Corners on a Mac, open System Settings, click Desktop & Dock, scroll down and click Hot Corners. Choose the dash from the pop-up menu for each corner you want to disable, then click Done. The dash means the corner runs no action at all.

How do I stop Quick Note on my Mac?

Quick Note opens because macOS sets the bottom-right Hot Corner to Quick Note by default. Open System Settings > Desktop & Dock > Hot Corners, click the bottom-right pop-up menu and choose the dash, or pick a different action such as Desktop. Quick Note then stops appearing.

Can you use a key with Hot Corners on a Mac?

Mac Hot Corners can require a key. In the Hot Corners window, press and hold Command, Shift, Option or Control while opening a corner's pop-up menu, then choose an action. That corner then fires only when you hold the same key as the pointer reaches it, which prevents accidents.

Can a Mac Hot Corner open an app?

A Mac Hot Corner cannot open a specific app or run a shortcut. Apple offers a fixed list: Mission Control, Application Windows, Desktop, Notification Centre, Apps, Quick Note, the screen saver, display sleep and Lock Screen. For anything else, a keyboard shortcut or a third-party app is the way.

Why are my Hot Corners not working?

Mac Hot Corners usually stop working because the corner needs a modifier key, the display arrangement leaves a screen with no outer corners, or settings changes failed to apply. Check the corner's label, check System Settings > Displays, try changing corners through Spotlight's Hot Corners window, then restart.

Final Takeaways

• Clear the bottom-right corner if Quick Note keeps appearing. It is set by default.
• Use Desktop and Lock Screen. They are the two most useful actions.
• Add a modifier key to any corner you trigger by accident.
• Keep corners near your Dock empty, because the pointer goes there all day.
• On several displays, check the arrangement. A middle screen has no outer corners.