- How To Use Mac Keyboard Shortcuts
- How To Use Mac Keyboard With Windows
- How To Use Mac Keyboard On Garageband
- How To Use Mac Keyboard On Windows 10
![How to use mac keyboard on pc How to use mac keyboard on pc](https://cnet2.cbsistatic.com/img/T_hl_gJh3ocI-HzD6HFTjoQ126U=/724x407/2017/06/21/8bde86c3-8051-4aa2-82af-25cf61782369/ipad-pro-v-surface-pro-01.jpg)
This search box is the key to using Mac menus from the keyboard. The search box has two uses. One is to look up subjects in the Mac’s various help files. In this episode I'll show you how to successfully pair an Apple Wireless Magic Keyboard (first generation, MC184B/A) with Windows 10 (Version 1809). How to Use Your Mac’s Function Keys You may wonder what those function keys running along the top of the keyboard do. These function keys are labeled F1 through F12/F19 (how many you have depends on your keyboard), along with an Escape key and an Eject key that looks like a triangle on top of a horizontal line.
There are several reasons you might need to resort to using the virtual keyboard, or Keyboard Viewer as it’s called in macOS, on your Mac. Perhaps one of the keys on your keyboard no longer works properly (I have a problem with a very reluctant tab key), or you need to type a character in a language that’s not supported by the language setup for your current keyboard. Or maybe you just need an obscure character and can’t remember the keyboard shortcut.
In all those circumstances, Keyboard Viewer can help.
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Tip:
If your Mac’s keyboard is unresponsive or takes a long time to show characters on the screen, you can boost its performance using the Maintenance tools in CleanMyMac X. Once you’ve downloaded and installed the app (free trial available), launch CleanMyMac X, choose the Maintenance module in the sidebar and try out the tools on the list. It’s very easy!
How to set up the Mac’s virtual keyboard
- Go to the Apple menu and choose System Preferences.
- Select the Keyboard pane then choose the Input Sources tab.
- Check the box next to “Show input sources in menu bar.”
- Quit System Preferences.
How To Use Mac Keyboard Shortcuts
You will now see that an icon has been added to the Finder menu bar that looks a bit like a keyboard with the Command symbol in it. Click on that and choose Show Keyboard Viewer to pull up the virtual keyboard.
How to use a virtual keyboard on Mac
Now you can click on any key on the virtual keyboard and it will place that character in a currently active document, web browser, or anything else that takes text input. You can press the Shift or Option keys on the virtual keyboard and see the characters change to their shifted or alternative versions. But you can only click on one button at once, so can’t select those characters. You can use Caps Lock to hold shifted characters while you select them. If you want to click on alternative characters such as the ˚ or ® symbols, you can hold the Option key on your physical keyboard and select the symbol from the virtual keyboard.
In fact, the Keyboard Viewer virtual keyboard is a good way to discover where obscure character are on the physical keyboard. If you press Shift, Control, Command, or Option, the virtual keys’ labels will change to show their alternative versions. So you can teach yourself, for example, that the degrees symbol ˚ is Option-k by pressing the Option key and scanning the virtual keyboard.
If you only have one keyboard listed in System Preferences, Keyboard Viewer will use that. If you have more than one it defaults to the one you selected in System Preferences. However, you can change that, even when the virtual keyboard is on screen, by clicking on the Input Sources menu bar item and choosing another keyboard.
To add another keyboard in System Preferences, click on the Input Sources tab and then press the “+” at the bottom of the left sidebar. Select the keyboard you want to add from the list, and then press Add. It will now appear in the menu bar item.
You can’t use Keyboard Viewer to type emojis or other symbols like pictographs. To do that, click on the Input Sources menu bar item again, but this time, choose Show Emoji & Symbols. This pulls up the Character Viewer. From there, you can navigate to the section you need, locate the emoji or symbol, and double-click on it to add it. Pressing Command-Control-Spacebar also shows the Character Viewer, albeit a more compact version of it. Like the virtual keyboard, the Character Viewer isn’t treated as an active window by macOS. So, although you can click on it and and select symbols or characters, the document underneath remains active, so you can continue typing and working on it with the Keyboard or Character Viewer on the screen.
To hide the Keyboard Viewer or the Character Viewer once you’re finished with them, you can either choose “Hide Keyboard Viewer” or “Hide Character Viewer” from the input sources menu bar item, or click on the red traffic light in the top left of the window.
The Keyboard Viewer virtual keyboard on Mac is a useful tool for discovering where obscure characters live, or for invoking keys when your physical keyboard is proving problematic. Learning how to use it is a useful skill, especially if you regularly switch between keyboards in different languages or geographical locations.
When pixel precision is required, the trackpad or the USB mouse aren’t that efficient. That’s not because of the technical limitation, is it our hand that cannot do pixel precision movement correctly. This level of accuracy is required especially when you are designing something on your Mac. If you find yourself in such a situation, let me tell you that you can move and control the mouse pointer using the Mac Keyboard.
Mouse Keys is an accessibility feature included in macOS that allows you to do everything with the keyboard that you ideally do with the trackpad or the mouse. In this detailed guide, we will show you how to use it correctly and get the most out of it. Stay tuned.
How to Move and Control Mouse Pointer with Mac Keyboard
Step #1. Head over to System Preferences → Accessibility → Mouse & Trackpad. How to add text box in pdf mac.
Step #2. In here, check the box beside “Enable Mouse Keys.”
This will enable the Mouse Key feature on your Mac. But you will need to customize it a little to suit your requirement. To do so, follow the steps given below.
Step #3. In the same window, click on “Options…”
How To Use Mac Keyboard With Windows
Here you can customize the following things:
- Press the Option key five times to toggle Mouse Keys
- Ignore built-in trackpad when Mouse keys are on
- Initial delay
- Maximum speed
Now that you have customized the preferences as per your requirement let’s see how you can actually use it.
How to Use Mouse Keys on Mac Keyboard
How To Use Mac Keyboard On Garageband
Once the Mouse Keys option is enabled, you can use it everywhere. The cursor controls are as given below:
- If you have a numeric keypad, you can use 2,4,8, and 6 number keys to move the cursor down, left, up, and right respectively. While the 1,7,9 and 3 number keys will allow you to move the cursor diagonally
- On a Mac keyboard without a numeric keypad, K, U, 8, and O keys will move the cursor down, left, up, and right respectively. While the J,7,9, and L keys will move the cursor diagonally
- To click anything, press 5 on the numeric keypad. On the standard keyboard, you need to press “I”.
- In order to hold the mouse button, press “0” key on the numeric keypad and press “.” (period) to release it. On the keyboard, you need to press the “M” key to hold the mouse button and “.” (period) to release
That’s a lot of keys to remember, but with overtime and regular practice you’ll master it and appreciate the precision it can achieve.
Signing off…
Mouse Keys feature is not for an average user that do regular work on the Mac. It is mainly for artists and designers who need extreme perfection. Besides that, this can come in handy if your trackpad isn’t working and also you don’t have a mouse; that’s more of a patchwork rather than a permanent solution.
Whatever is the reason, you only need to follow the guide above to get started.
How To Use Mac Keyboard On Windows 10
You may also like to refer to:
How likely are you to use Mouse Keys? Do you like it already? Share your thoughts in the comments.
Jignesh Padhiyar is the co-founder of iGeeksBlog.com who has a keen eye for news, rumors and all the unusual stuff that happens around Apple products. During his tight schedule, Jignesh finds some moments of respite to share side-splitting contents on social media.
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