title: “How To Remap A Keyboard On A Mac” ShowToc: true date: “2023-01-20” author: “Frank Ferguson”
How Do You Reassign Keys on a Mac Keyboard?
Your Mac’s System Preferences app contains various ways to add shortcuts and other features to your keyboard.
Select the Apple menu on your Mac, and then click System Preferences. Select Keyboard. If you’re using a MacBook with a Touch Bar, you’ll see an important option on the first screen: Press Fn key to:. You can use the Function key to do other things using this menu – Expand Control Strip, Show Quick Actions, and Show Spaces – but you should leave it at Show F1, F2, etc. Keys to make the next step work better. Click Shortcuts to see more options. In the left column, you’ll see the different categories of shortcuts you can set. Browse them to create and change shortcuts for screenshots, accessibility, and the Function keys. When you find a shortcut you want to change, click the existing key combination on the right. With the key command highlighted, press the new combination you want to use. Add one or more modifiers like Fn, Shift, Control, Option, and Command to create a unique shortcut. The new shortcut will replace the old one, and you can start using it immediately. Repeat these steps for all of the shortcuts you want to create or change. A command with no active shortcut will say none on the right side. To disable a shortcut without deleting it, click the checkbox next to its name.
What Kinds of Shortcuts Can I Create?
The Shortcuts tab includes several categories of commands you can set. Here’s a quick rundown of each of their contents.
Launchpad & Dock: Call up the Mac Dock and Launchpad app. Mission Control: Perform tasks like opening macOS’ Notification Center, toggle Do Not Disturb, and show the Desktop. Screenshots: Set shortcuts to take, save, copy, and paste all or part of your screen. Services: Quickly send emails, post on Twitter, do internet searches, and more. Spotlight: Open Spotlight Search to search both the web and your computer. Accessibility: Turn on the Zoom feature, activate VoiceOver, and adjust display settings to make documents and applications easier to see. Function Keys: Add applications to this window to show the F1, F2, etc. , keys on a MacBook’s Touch Bar instead of having to press the Fn key to reveal them.
Can I Reassign Keyboard Keys?
While you can use keyboard keys like letters and numbers in your shortcuts, you can’t completely reassign them (for example, type in a different language). Instead, you can go to the Input Sources tab in Keyboard Preferences and use the plus button to add a different layout.
