The default keyboard settings on modern Mac OS versions include a shortcut for typing periods quickly. This means that hitting the spacebar twice will insert a period automatically at the end of a sentence or word.

Automatically typing periods comes to the Mac from the iPhone and iPad world, and while some the period typing shortcut can be desirable for some Mac users, others may not like it as much. If you do not like the automatic period typing keyboard shortcut on the Mac, you can turn this feature off.

How to Disable Auto Period Typing Shortcut on Mac

• Go to the  Apple menu and choose ‘System Preferences’
• Select the “Keyboard” preference panel, then choose the “Text” tab
• Locate the setting for “Add period with double-space” and toggle the checkbox to the OFF position

• Exit System Preferences

Now when you hit the space bar twice, or type a double-space, a period will no longer be inserted automatically. Instead, to type a period you must manually hit the period key on the Mac keyboard.

For some Mac users this is entirely a matter of personal preference, but there are situations where this period typing shortcut can be problematic. For example, if a Mac keyboard is double-typing spaces at random, you may find that periods are being inserted erroneously while typing and where you don’t want them to be placed. Turning this setting off can resolve that situation.

This obviously applies to the Mac, but the period shortcut setting also exists in the iOS world, where you can turn off the automatic period typing on iPhone and iPad too.

The double-space period shortcut setting is the default on new macOS versions and with new Macs, but some users may have made the change manually to enable automatic word capitalization at the start of a new sentence, and inserting periods after double-spacing. Whether you like this setting on or off is going to be up to the user and how they type, and like all system settings you can easily change it again at any time.