How to remap keys on MacBook

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How to remap keys on MacBook

I've recently transitioned from Windows to MacBook, and the keyboard really messes you up.

Over the last few days, I've found myself using a keyboard designed for Windows on my Mac. The main reason behind this is that the MacBook's keyboard was causing wring pain.

The shallow key travel of the MacBook is partly there to blame.

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I happened to have a keyboard that I've been using for the past year, and I decided to use it on my MacBook. I could already sense the relief on my wrists,  but there was a little problem. Since it was designed for Windows, it didn't work quite good on Mac, and the switch presented a brand new problem for me.

Instead of the very friendly ⌃, ⌥, and ⌘ keys, I was presented with the Control, Windows and Alt keys. All of the keys on a Windows keyboard really map 1:1 with the keys on a MacBook in terms of functionality.

The Control(⌃) key does the very same thing on a MacBook that it does on Windows. The Option(⌥) is the same thing as the Alt key in Windows, and the Command(⌘) key does the same thing as the Windows key.

It's not the function but the order

The main problem is not the function of the keys, as we discussed above that they all map 1:1 on these terms. The main problem stems from their arrangement on the keyboard.

Modifier key arrangement differences between Mac and Windows:

Macintosh: ⌃ | ⌥ | ⌘

Windows:   ⌃ | ⌘ | ⌥

Such a little thing, the swapping of the Command and Option keys, can cause trouble for someone who’s been typing on a Mac for years. Fortunately, there is a dead-simple fix for this issue.

Here's how to remap modifier keys in OS X




Step 1: Go to System Preferences -> Keyboard -> Modifier keys.

System preferences
System preferences

Step 2: Select the keyboard via the Select keyboard drop-down box

Select your keyboard
Select your keyboard

Step 3: For the Option (⌥) Key setting, select ⌘ Command.

Step 4: For the Command (⌘) Key setting, select (⌥) Option.

Step 5: Click OK and close System Preferences.

But, the bottom line is that there are tons of great keyboards designed specifically to be used on Windows. There really is no reason why shouldn't use those particularly amazing keyboards on your MacBook.

You can take advantage of the provision to remap modifier keys inside of your OS X's System Preferences.




In the end, it'll just save you time and frustration – and keep you from having to retrain what may be years of muscle memory.

Well, this is how to remap keys on MacBook

Video Walkthrough