Every time you finish a sentence on your Mac, your finger has to dash to Shift to capitalize the next word. Over a day of emails and notes, that becomes genuine friction. But macOS has handled this automatically for years — you just have to switch the option on.
This is the same auto-capitalization iPhone users have long enjoyed. Apple documents the feature in its Mac support resources, and outlets such as MacRumors have noted how it carries Apple’s text-engine refinements from iOS to the Mac.
What automatic capitalization does
With the setting turned on, macOS watches what you type. The moment you end a sentence with a period and hit the space bar, the system capitalizes the first letter of the next word you type — no Shift required. It works in Apple’s own apps such as Notes, Mail, Pages, Reminders, and TextEdit, plus many third-party apps that use Apple’s standard text engine. If you spend your days in Mail, you may also enjoy our guide on how to mute Mail notifications for specific contacts in macOS to keep your inbox calm while you type.
Turn it on in modern macOS
- Open System Settings from the Apple menu in the top-left corner, or click its icon in the Dock.
- Select Keyboard in the left sidebar.
- Next to Text input, click the information button to open the text options.
- Switch on Capitalise words automatically and close the window. The change takes effect immediately — no restart needed.
Turn it on in older OS X versions
- Click the Apple menu and choose System Preferences.
- Open the Keyboard pane, then click the Text tab at the top.
- Tick the box next to Capitalize words automatically and close the window.
Try it out
Open Notes or TextEdit and type a sentence. End it with a period, press the space bar, and keep typing — the next word will appear with a capital first letter even though you never touched Shift. It works in the middle of paragraphs too, so long as each sentence is followed by a period and a space. Small quality-of-life settings like this pair well with bigger workflow tweaks, such as learning how to quickly open the list of installed apps in macOS 26.
Watch out for keyboard languages
In some macOS releases this setting is stored per input language. If you switch between keyboard layouts — say English and another language — and capitalization stops working in one of them, go back to the Keyboard → Text pane with that layout active and make sure the option is still on. Some users have to re-enable it once per language they use.
If it still doesn’t work
- Not every app respects the setting. Programs with their own custom text handling — many browsers, cross-platform editors, and Microsoft Office — may ignore it, while Apple apps like Mail and Pages follow it reliably.
- Password fields, code editors, and search boxes deliberately ignore auto-capitalization so they do not corrupt what you type.
- Make sure the keyboard language you are typing in matches the one you used when enabling the option.
- If an Apple app ignores it, quit and reopen the app so it picks up the new preference.
Frequently asked questions
Does the iPhone have the same feature?
Yes — iPhone owners have had it for years. On iOS, go to Settings > General > Keyboard and make sure Auto-Capitalization is on. The Mac version simply brings the same convenience to your desktop typing.
Can I turn it off again?
Absolutely. Return to the same Keyboard → Text pane in System Settings or System Preferences and switch the option off. Nothing else about your typing changes, and you can re-enable it any time.
Conclusion
Auto-capitalization after a period is one of those tiny macOS conveniences you miss the moment you use a Mac without it. Flip one switch in Keyboard settings and every sentence you type in Notes, Mail, and Pages starts correctly on its own. And if you are in the mood to keep polishing your Mac, try changing folder colors and adding emoji in macOS 26 next — your Finder will thank you.
