The keyboards for Mac and Windows PC are largely the same, however there’s one key difference (no put intended) that has annoyed users who switch between these two platforms for years. Yes, we are talking about the difference in position for the modifier keys. On any Mac keyboard you find Control – Option – Command keys while on PC keyboard you find Control – Windows – Alt keys.
While the Control key is at the same position on both platforms, its Option and Command keys that cause the confusion. The Command key is equivalent to Windows logo key while the Option key is equivalent to Alt key in functionality. So instead of pressing pressing Command-Shift-3 for screenshot you have to press Windows-Shift-3. The flipped positions can take a while to get used to.
The difference in position not only causes problem for users who switch from Windows to Mac and vice versa on regular basis, for example you may be using Mac at work but Windows at home. But is also annoying for those who are using a keyboard designed for Windows PC on a Mac or a Hackintosh machine.
Good news is you can switch what these keys do by going to Mac’s Settings preferences. Read on to learn how you can configure a windows keyboard for Mac or Hackintosh. By the end of this guide you will be able to remap Windows keyboard for Mac.
Configure Windows Keyboard For Mac or Hackintosh
- On your Mac open Settings Preferences.
- Now go to Keyboard > Modifier Keys and select your keyboard from the keyboard drop down list.
- Now for the Option key select ‘⌘ Command’ and for Command (⌘) key choose ‘⌥ Option’.
- Click on the OK button and exit.
After making this change your Windows keyboard will act the same as a normal Mac keyboard would do. Pressing the Windows key will perform the same function as Option key whereas pressing the Alt key should perform the same function as pressing Command on a normal Mac keyboard.
After this change now Mac Command key on Windows keyboard will be the Windows key where as Mac Option Key on Windows keyboard will be Alt key.
So this is how you can configure your Windows keyboard to better working with your Mac or as a hackintosh keyboard. If you have any questions, then feel free to let us know in the comments section below.
