PC keyboard on Mac

Change the Windows and ALT keys on PC keyboards to use it smoothly on Macs

Renato Nitta Renato Nitta
30/05/2020
 | 
Technology
PC Keyboard on Mac

The Apple keyboards are great, but sometimes we want to test something else.

After buying a PC keyboard, this one: Corsair K55.

I found myself missing the copy paste shortcuts very often.

The point is: The Command (⌘) key is not there.
I know… the Windows key should do the work, and it does.

But the problem is that the Windows and ALT keys are inverted when compared with Apple keyboards, Command and Option.

Inverted keys PC Windows vs Mac Command

So, what is the matter?

Command (⌘) + C e Command (⌘) + V, the copy paste shortcuts gets messy.

The good news is: There is a solution for that.

How to inverse Windows and ALT keys to use PC keyboards on Mac

Here comes the magic! 🧙‍♂️

System Preferences on PC Keyboard configs
  1. Open System Preferences
  2. Choose Keyboard
  3. Modifier keys…
  4. Select the correct Keyboard (device)
  5. On the Option Key, select ⌘ Command
  6. On the Command Key, select ⌥ Option

That’s it! No more missing when copy paste.

Switching the key caps

Once the software step is done, it is time to change the Key Caps, inverse the Windows and ALT keys.

Switching the key caps - Windows and ALT

Done!

Now I can use the PC Keyboard smoothly on Mac (macOS).

Do you know the Emoji panel present on macOS system by default?

Input Emojis directly from Mac