Using alt key on mac how to#
Using alt key on mac Pc#
Using alt key on mac windows#

Using alt key on mac Pc#

The default shortcut for creating a new tab is Command-T, but now that you’ve switched the Command and Control key functions in System Preferences, using the Control-T shortcut should result in the appearance of a new tab in the Safari window.īy switching the Command and Control keys, those who frequently use both a Mac and a PC - for example, someone who uses a PC at work but a Mac at home - can train their fingers to rely on the Control key for most important shortcuts, and count on the fact that the same key will provide the same basic functions from the same location on their keyboard. For example, launch Safari and press the keyboard shortcut Control-T to create a new tab. To test the new configuration, head to an application that uses a shortcut with, by default, the Command Key (which is virtually any application).

Once you’ve made your changes, just press OK to save them and close the window, then close System Preferences. In our example, we’ll set the Command Key entry to Control and the Control Key Entry to Command. Next, click the drop-down menu to the right of the same key you chose in the drop-down of the first entry and change it to match the first key. To remap any of these keys, such as our example of switching the function of the Command and Control keys, click the drop-down menu to the right of the first key you’d like to change and select its new desired function. This will display a list of your Mac’s four modifier keys, which by default are each set to their own function. To remap your keyboard’s “modifier keys” - the name of keys that change the function of other keys or shortcuts, such as Command, Control, Option, and Caps Lock - in OS X, head to System Preferences > Keyboard and click the button labeled Modifier Keys in the bottom-right side of the window. Thankfully, users can solve this problem by optionally remapping the functions of their keyboard, effectively switching the Control and Command keys.

Using alt key on mac windows#

This makes switching back and forth between using a Mac and PC a bit frustrating, as the user must adjust the position of their fingers after each switch to utilize all of the important keyboard shortcuts in Windows and OS X. Beyond this difference, Mac and PC keyboards also feature unique layouts, with the Alt/Option Key on a PC keyboard occupying the location of the Command Key on a Mac keyboard (immediately adjacent to the left and right of the Space Bar). On a PC/Windows keyboard, however, many of the same keyboard shortcuts utilize the Control Key (⌃) instead of the Command Key. The most important key on a Mac’s keyboard is arguably the Command Key (⌘), which is used in a tremendous number of important keyboard shortcuts, from Command-C to copy, to Command-P to print, to Command-Shift-3 to take a screenshot.

Using alt key on mac how to#

How to Switch the Command and Control Keys on Your Mac Keyboard