Option Mac Keyboard

This is the ultimate guide for working with MacBook keyboards, including accessing special functions, characters, accents, and using keyboard shortcuts in Mac OS system. Click on the list below to jump to an appropriate section.

• Option Button Mac Keyboard
• Option Key On Mac Keyboard
• Apple Keyboard And Mouse Set
• Option Mac Keyboard Symbol

To see all Mac key symbols, you need to select Show Emoji & Symbols option from the same language flag menu, or use a shortcut Control + Cmd + Space. Here, you'll see all kinds of categories on the left: Emoji, Arrows, Currency Symbols, etc. You can use any USB keyboard on a MAC you just have to have it plugged into the correct USB slot, which is on the back of the tower, the lowest one. Put your USB mouse on the one above. Hold down on a windows USB keyboard the following - Windows = CMD Alt = Option.

MacBook Keyboard Diagram / Map

MacBook keyboard has few distinctive sections: Function keys (in light blue), which provides access to various functions in MacBook itself or Mac OS system. By combining them with the FN key, you'll get access to F1 - F12 keys, which can be associated with particular application features (useful in Photoshop for example).

The second section is the modifier keys (in light yellow). Shift allows to type uppercase letters and other additional characters. Command and Alt/Option are used in keyboard shortcuts, as well as the Control key, which is used almost exclusively by Mac OS X and Apple programs.

Return and left Shift has two variants, one used in the US and Eastern Asia (horizontal Return and long Shift), and second, used in Europe, Middle East and Africa (vertical Return and short left Shift). On the diagram, this is shown by dashed lines. Of course, MacBook keyboards have lots of localizations, the most common - US English - is shown above. If you're unsure about the localization you have, go and check it with this guide.

MacBook Air 11' has slightly different keyboard, with smaller top and bottom row keys to accommodate smaller laptop size. Newest MacBooks Pro with TouchBar don't have upper F keys row, instead, they have a touchscreen which changes displayed options based on context.

MacBook Keyboard Symbols Chart

MacBook Keyboard Special Characters and Accents Map

If you want to type special characters or accents, change your keyboard language to US International PC (thanks, Steve!) and use the map below to get them. You can also check out our solution to the two languages on one keyboard problem.

Where is the Print Screen Button?

Unlike PC keyboard, there is no Print Screen key on MacBook keyboard. This functionality is accessed by keyboard shortcuts and - on Mac - you have greater flexibility:

• Command + Shift + 3 - captures entire screen;
• Command + Shift + 4 - captures selected region. Your cursor turns to crosshair and by clicking and dragging you can specify which area you want to capture;
• Command + Shift + 4 + Space - captures selected window. First press the shortcut from above, then - when you have crosshair - hit Space. The cursor will turn to the camera and the active window will have a blue overlay. Click on it to get it captured.

In some apps, like Photoshop, you need to add Control into the mix, to paste the screenshot into the app.

MacBook Keyboard Tricks

There's a lot you can do in Mac OS by using the keyboard only. Here's a list of highly useful and not-so-useful keyboard shortcuts:

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This page discuss differences between Apple Keyboard and Windows keyboard.

On the PC keyboard, you have the Ctrl (Control key), ❖ Window (Windows logo key), Alt (alternate key).

On Apple keyboard, you have Ctrl, ⌥ option (alt/option), ⌘ command (command) keys.

Control Key

Control Key in Microsoft Windows

The Control Key in Windows is used for keyboard shortcuts. For example, Copy is Ctrl+c, Paste is Ctrl+v.

On the Mac, Command key is used for keyboard shortcuts. Copy is ⌘ command+c, Paste is ⌘ command+v.

Control Key in Mac OS X

The Control key under Mac is rarely used.When used, it is as a modifier in combination with other modifier keys. For example,in Safari (as of 2018-05-01)Ctrl+⌘ command+1 show bookmarks sidebar.

Mac OS X by default supports emacs basic cursor movement keybindings.You can try it in TextEdit.They are:

Mac OS X's default emacs keybindings:

• Ctrl+f → move forward
• Ctrl+b → move backward
• Ctrl+n → move down a line
• Ctrl+p → move up a line
• Ctrl+a → beginning of line
• Ctrl+e → end of line
• Ctrl+k → delete current position to end of line
• Ctrl+y → paste

Alt/Option Key

⌥ option on Apple keyboard and Alt on PC keyboards both send the same USB scancode.

Alt Key Use in Microsoft Windows

The Alt key in MS Windows has several different uses:

• It is used to invoke graphical menus. For example, pressing (and releasing) Alt by itself will activate the graphical menu, then the user can press a alphabetic key to invoke a menu command or use arrow keys to navigate the menu.For example,Altec invokes the copy command in edit menu, in Notepad and most other Microsoft Windows apps.
• When pressed simultaneously with a key, it invoke a command directly. For example, Alt+F4 closes the current window.
• When held down then type a number on the numeric keypad, it enters a special character. For example, hold Alt then type 0225 on numeric keypad will insert 'á'.[see How to Input Unicode]
• If your Windows's keyboard layout is set to a European language, then right Alt plus a letter key inserts special characters.[see International Keyboard Layouts][see Alt Graph Key, Compose Key, Dead Key]

Option Key Use in macOS

The ⌥ option key is used for:

• Cursor control, with arrow keys. For example, ⌥ option+→ moves cursor by word.
• Option key is used to insert special characters, such as '• ™ ©'. For example, ⌥+8 will insert the bullet character '•'. [see Mac Keyboard Viewer]
• Option key is used as a modifier key together with the ⌘ command key. For example, in ⌘ command+⌥ option+h invokes the command 〖Hide Others〗 in all Apple applications.

Windows Logo Key and Apple Command Key

❖ Window and ⌘ command both send the same USB scancode.

Their behaviors are different in Mac and Windows.

In Windows:

• Microsoft logo key invokes the Start menu.
• When pressed with letter key, it invokes a command that's meaningful system-wide. For example, ❖ Window+d gets you the desktop.

[see Windows Keyboard Shortcuts]

Under Mac, the Command key is used as a modifier key to invoke shortcuts. For example, ⌘ command+c is Copy. It is similar to MS Window's use of the Ctrl key.

Menu/App Key

[see Microsoft Keyboards Gallery]

The ▤ Menu key, also called Application key, is invented by Microsoft. Typically only on the right side. It is used for Context Menu. The key's function is similar to the mouse's right button, or pressing Shift+F10 in most applications.

[see Keyboard Menu/App Key]

Mac doesn't have ▤ Menu key. If you use a Windows keyboard on a Mac, the ▤ Menu key does Ctrl+p.

[see Mac Keyboard Tools]

Main Return/Enter Key

On PC keyboard, the main enter key is labeled 'Enter ↵'.

Option Key On Mac Keyboard

On Apple's keyboards, the main enter key is usually labeled 'return' or just by a symbol '↩'.

Note: the main enter/return key is different from the Enter on number keypad. (it sends a different key signal.)

Enter/Return Key Conventions

In Microsoft Windows desktop (Explorer), when a file is selected, Enter will open the file.(To rename the file, press F2.)

In Mac desktop (Finder), when a file is selected, Enter will activate file rename.(⌘ command+o to open the file.)

Backspace Key

On PC keyboards, there is a Backspace key on the main section.

On Apple keyboards, this key is labeled 'delete'.

Backspace Key Conventions

When in text editing, the Backspace is used the same way in both OS X and Windows. It delete texts to the left of the cursor.

In browser, Windows useBackspace key to 'go back' to a previous visited page.For some time around 2005 to 2013, Mac OS X's Safari browser also started to do the same, but removed this shortcut again when gesture with touchpad becomes popular. Use 2-finger swipe to the left to go back.

Delete/Del Key

The Delete ⌦ key is located in the Home/End key cluster. This key sometimes labeled 'Del'.

On Mac, this key is labeled 'delete' or ⌦.

On Windows, Delete ⌦ is often used to delete things. For example, on desktop, select a file, pressing Delete ⌦ will put the file to the 'Recycle Bin'. In a text editor, the key will delete to the right of the cursor.

On the Mac, from early 1990s to 2006, the Delete ⌦ key is almost never used, even in text editors. When there is a function assigned to it, it is used to delete to the right of the cursor.

Insert Key

On PC keyboards, there is the Insert key (sometimes labeled Ins). Apple keyboards doesn't have this key.

PrtScn ScrLk Break vs F13 F14 F15

The PC has these keys:PrintScreen/SysRq,ScrollLock,Pause/Pause.

These keys have old history back to the 1980's (or earlier) and in generalare not used since 1990, except on Windows the PrtScn key is for screenshot.

[see Print Screen, SysRq, ScrLk, Pause, Break Keys]

Apple's keyboards do not have these keys. On some Apple keyboards, they have F13, F14, F15 instead. 'Apple Keyboard with Numeric Keypad' of 2009, has F16 to F19.

The {PrintScreenScrollLockBreak} are different keys than {F13F14F15}. They do not send the same signals. In any case, when either PC keyboard or Apple keyboard is plugged in on a Mac running Mac OS X 10.4, these keys have the same behavior (could be due to operating system).

Numeric Keypad Keys

The numerical keypad keys send different USB scancode than the samekeys at top row of the main key section.

However, on macOS, the number pad keys are remapped to be the same as the number keys on the main section of keyboard.

The difference between PC and Mac keyboard's number pad are:

Apple Keyboard And Mouse Set

• The arrangement of plus minus multiply divide keys are different.
• PC keyboard has NumLock key. Apple keyboard does not have Number Lock toggle.
• Apple keyboard has clear.
• Apple's Numeric keypad has a equal = key.

Option Mac Keyboard Symbol

back toKeyboard Shortcut/Layout Tutorial

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