

In it, Hertzfeld explains how that symbol came to be chosen for the command key.
#What are modifier keys on mac keyboard windows
The ⌘ wasn’t difficult at all because it’s printed right on the command key but when you look up its name you find “PLACE OF INTEREST.” Huh? What does that have to do with command or Apple or anything else? I just put it down to one of the mysteries of the universe until I saw this post by Andy Hertzfeld over at . Control key on Mac is used for right mouse click (IIRC) - this is not used on Windows as they support. Frequently needed modifier keys are good. Amongst the many flaws in the standard keyboard design is the large spacebar in centre of the keyboard, with most modifiers offset to the extreme left and right. If you're new to Mac you may have already figured out that you need to use these keys with other keys, such as letters, to perform certain commands. The ⌥ key is the hardest one to figure out until you look it up in a unicode chart and discover that its name is “OPTION KEY.” So that symbol makes sense once you learn its name. This page discusses improved usage of modifier keys - Shift, Alt, Ctrl, Extend, Win/Super/Command, and CapsLock. The modifier keys on the keyboard are the Command key, Option key, the Control key, the Shift key, and also the fn key.

The function keys can be activated in the session by.

Use the following dialog to map your keys into place. To perform actions that use the Command button on the Mac, you will need to use the control button in Windows (for example Copy Ctrl+C). Go to System Preferences > Keyboard & Mouse and click Modifier Keys. The Command key on the Mac keyboard equals the Windows key.
#What are modifier keys on mac keyboard for mac
The ⇧ is obvious and the ^ is the usual symbol for the control key the ⌫ is almost as obvious as the first two. Following are examples for Mac keyboard layouts differ from the Windows keyboard layouts. When I first started using Macs, one of the things most confusing to me were the symbols that OS X uses on the menus to indicate the keyboard short cuts:Įventually, I learned what these symbols meant Symbol
