Instead of the friendly ⌃, ⌥, and ⌘ keys, I was presented with Control, Windows, and Alt keys. All of the modifier keys on a Windows keyboard map 1:1 with the keys on a Mac from a. Tailor your mouse and keyboard to meet your unique needs and work style. Modify your mouse and keyboard settings to make it easier to use the unique features of most PC apps. Effortlessly transition to Mouse and Keyboard Center from existing device management.
The Problem RELATED: Mac keyboard layouts are subtly different from PC keyboard layouts. On a typical PC keyboard, the bottom-left corner of the keyboard contains keys in this order: Ctrl, Windows, Alt. On a Mac keyboard, you’ll see the following layout: Control,. In Boot Camp, these keys function as Control, Alt, Windows.
In other words, the Alt and Windows key are swapped from where you’d expect them to be. Worse yet, Mac users will have to use the Control key for various keyboard shortcuts that require the Command key on Mac OS X. There has to be a way to fix this — and there is. We’ll be using SharpKeys to remap these keys in Windows. SharpKeys is an easy-to-use, open-source graphical program that creates the appropriate Windows registry entries to remap keys. You could actually if you like — it just takes more work. This utility works on Windows 7, 8, 8.1, and even older versions of Windows.
Solution 1: If You’re Used to Mac Shortcuts RELATED: If you’re used to Mac keyboard shortcuts, you may want to make the Command key function as the Control key. You’ll then be able to use like Command+C, X, or V for Copy, Cut, and Paste in Windows. Pressing Command+L will focus the location bar in your web browser on Windows just as it does on OS X — without the remapping, that Command+L shortcut equals Windows Key+L, which will lock your Windows system.
To do this, install and launch it. Click the Add button and click “Type Key” under the “From key” column on the left. Press the left Command key.
Next, click the “Type Key” button under the “To key” column on the right. Press the Control key.
Click OK and click “Write to Registry.” Log out and log in or reboot to activate your changes. Your left Command key will function as a second Control key, which means many Mac Command key shortcuts will just work like you’d expect them to.
If you need to press the Windows key, press the Command key on the right side of your keyboard instead. Solution 2: If You’re Used to Windows Shortcuts RELATED: If you’re used to, you’ll probably want to swap the Option/Alt Key with the Command/Windows key. This will change the order from Control, Alt, Windows to Control, Windows, Alt — the same order you’ll find on a standard Windows keyboard. The muscle memory you’ve built up for keyboard shortcuts won’t fail you. To do this, install and launch it.
Click the Add button. Scroll down in the left column and select “Special: Left Alt.” Next, click the “Type Key” button under “To key” on the right. Press the Command key at the right side of your keyboard and then click OK. Next, click the Add button again.
Click “Type Key” under the “From key” column on the left. Press the left Command key. Scroll down in the “To key” column on the right and select “Special: Right Alt.” Click OK and click “Write to Registry.” Log out and log back in, or reboot your Mac.
![Program Windows Keyboard For Mac Controls Program Windows Keyboard For Mac Controls](/uploads/1/2/5/3/125392222/721463910.jpg)
The Alt/Option key will function as a Windows key and the Command key will function as the Alt key. This means the layout at the left side of your keyboard will be Control, Windows, Alt — just like on Windows. Solution 3: Make Mac OS X’s Keyboard Shortcuts Match Windows RELATED: You could instead adjust your keyboard shortcuts in Mac OS X so they work more like they do in Windows. For example, you could swap the Control and Command keys in Mac OS X — then you’d press Control+C, X, or V to Copy, Cut, and Paste in Mac OS X, just as you would on Windows.
To do this, boot into Mac OS X, click the Apple menu on the menu bar, and select System Preferences. Click the Keyboard icon, click the Modifier Keys button, and swap the Control and Command key functions. You can also easily from here.
If you decide you don’t like the keyboard remapping you chose, you can open SharpKeys up again, delete the rules you created, and click “Write to Registry.” Everything will be back to normal after you log out and log back in or reboot. Image Credit.
Hi larsrohr, I do use the Mac RDP client to connect to the Windows box, but that doesn't provide me with the ability to use the Windows machine with its own display output (HDMI connection to my HDTV). With RDP or VNC, I can only see the Windows box on my Mac's display.
That's the problem. I would like to use the MacBook's keyboard and trackpad to operate the Windows box over the LAN, while still viewing the Windows machine on the HDTV - not on the MacBook's display. I don't know if this is possible. Cheers, Steve.
Go here: Read all about Synergy. This is a cross-platform program that allow you to use the mouse and keyboard from one computer to control any number of computers on the same network. It's super easy to setup in windows, but needs to be run from the terminal in Mac OS. Synergy also supports Linux too! Since you're using Windows 7 I would recommend Synergy+ on that computer as Synergy has been out of development since 2006. I might also suggest that you install The Vista Syn on the Windows 7 box so you can still control it even if you lock the desktop (or after a reboot).
Well, despite following the instructions, I couldn't get Synergy+ to start its server on the Mac: Synergy+ 1.3.5 Server on Darwin 10.3.0 Darwin Kernel Version 10.3.0: Fri Feb 26 11:58:09 PST 2010; root:xnu-1504.3.121/RELEA SEI386 i386 cannot read configuration '/synergy.conf': read error: line 1: found data outside section synergys: no configuration available Obviously a problem with my synergy.conf file. I will continue to work with it as time permits. The VNC suggestions also seem promising.
![Control Control](/uploads/1/2/5/3/125392222/857191669.png)
I haven't touched VNC in years, and didn't know that it offered the specific facility I was looking for. I have experimented with it for a short while today. I am able to view the Windows machine with its own display using the Mac's keyboard and trackpad. The keyboard works well, but the pointer is very, very slow to respond on the Windows display, and seems to have a mind of its own (e.g., it moves itself all over the display with absolutely zero input from me). I would imagine that some tweaking with the prefs, and experimenting with various client/server combinations, will ultimately result in the desired outcome. Points for both suggestions - I appreciate everyone's time! Cheers, Steve.