windows 7 - MacBook Pro Keyboard - How to Swap / Remap Keys?

25
2014-03
  • Jon Erickson

    I know this may be asked before in a different manner, but I still haven't really seen a solid answer. I'm hoping that providing these 2 specific needs will make it more clear.

    I specifically want 2 behaviors that will make my transition from a long time PC user to being able to use a MacBook Pro.

    Background:

    • I am a windows user that just got my first mac ever (in my life) this past weekend.
    • I am dual booting the MBP with Snow Leopard and Windows 7 x64

    What I want to do (in both Windows 7 and Snow Leopard):

    • Swap the fn and control keys (not physically)
    • Be able to tap the eject key for a forward delete, but keep the ability of holding down the eject key to actually eject the disc.

    Are these possible, if so what is the best way (software?) of accomplishing this in both Windows 7 and Snow Leopard?

    • Answers
  • Beetle 952580

    Mystery of the Fn key - A guide to remapping the Fn key in Windows

  • 8088

    On OS X: DoubleCommand

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    On Windows: SharpKeys

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    For anything more extensive, you'll want AutoHotkey (Windows) or IronAHK (AutoHotkey rewrite that works with Mono for cross-platform compatibility - Linux, Mac, etc).

  • porneL

    On the Snow Leopard side you can swap Control and Fn with KeyRemap4MacBook.

    If you're dual-booting, a good idea is to swap Command and Control in OS X's preferences. You'll get physically same keyboard shortcuts on both.

  • Juri

    Just as a sidenote you may also consider taking a look at the normal OS X system preferences under Keyboard there is a button on the lower-right named "Modifier keys" where you can define which actions should be taken by the modifier keys (caps-lock, ctrl, cmd,...). Could also be enough in some situation without installing 3rd-party software.

  • Cawas

    As John T pointed out, AutoHotKey does everything on Windows, and that's it.

    For Mac, I guess IronAHK should be good too. And there's another option that, while I could never really use, seems to do what you need. Although it's very very technical, it's highly customizable. I'll just quote the website:

    Ukelele is a Unicode Keyboard Layout Editor for Mac OS X

    Ukelele aims to simplify keyboard layout editing by providing a graphical interface to .keylayout files, where the desired characters can simply be dragged onto keys as needed. (The Character Palette, available in the Input menu if it has been enabled in System Preferences, is a great place to find the characters.)

    In addition to simple assignment of single character codes to keys, Ukelele can assign multiple-character strings and can create "dead keys", where a keystroke sets a new state that modifies the output of the following keystroke.

    Hope it can help you where it couldn't for me back when I found it. ;)

  • slhck

    There is keyboard maestro that does this


    • Related Question

    osx - How to remap eject key on MacBook keyboard to "delete"?
  • LeakyCode

    I own a first generation MacBook Air and this has bothered me since the beginnings.

    When I bought this thing, I was sure I'm not going to carry a DVD drive. I don't use it. WiFi has worked pretty well for me so far and in fact, lack of optical drive was the least problem I had with it (the worst was the heat and CPU frequency reduction).

    But there's a useless eject key right in a place suited for a great delete key (the real delete, in PC terminology, of course). It'll help a lot when you're developing in Xcode. I feel it's handled at a lower level than standard keyboard shortcuts. Is there any way to remap it to delete?


    • Related Answers
  • cobbal

    Not related to remapping, but Ctrl D will do a forward delete in most OS X text fields.

  • Daan

    I have no experience with the application myself, but perhaps DoubleCommand can help you?

    Update

    According to their website, KeyRemap4MacBook should be able to map the Eject button to a forward delete.

    This MacRumors forum also has a thread on the same subject.

  • Arjan

    I also dislike using fn for any key, so I basically stopped using Forward Delete altogether. When I need the Forward Delete I often hold down Shift and use the cursor keys to make a selection, and then press Delete. Actually, I do this for every text I want to delete -- those cursor keys go into all directions. :-)