If you’ve got used to using Windows for a long time, then you must be familiar with the keyboard layout. Your pinky always puts on the shift key, and you can easily hit ctrl-alt-del keys without looking at them. However, if you have recently switched to Mac, then you might see the layout comes with a bit different, which can make you need to start from the scratch. But you should not worry since two are not too different after all. The PC and Mac keyboards are more the same in terms of layout. Here’s what you should know about these two keyboards.
- Layout
Letters
If you have a specialty keyboard, you’ll have a standard QWERTY keyboard, which means the Q letter at the top left and the M letter at the bottom right.
Punctuation
It still stays in the same place, “?” stays near shift, ” is next to Enter key, and the number row is the same in terms of what each one has its own function when pressing it with the Shift key. Press Shift +1 gives the exclamation point, while pressing Shift +4 shows a dollar sign, and so on.
Function keys
The space bar row might be the most important place on both the Windows and Mac’s keyboard. All the keys basically come with the same function, but they are slightly different in name.
The command key on the Mac keyboard is the same with the Ctrl key on the Windows keyboard. Simply execute all manner of commands, and the keyboard shortcuts have the similar functions. Press command-s (or Ctrl- s( to save, command-c (or Ctrl-c) to copy, and etc.
The Windows key to open the Start menu on Windows computer is replaced by the Dock on Mac keyboard. To search the files on Mac, you need to open Finder. But you can also do it by clicking its icon in the dock until you hit it.
- Actions
The daily actions you do with the keyboard on your Windows computer don’t work in the same way as on the Mac keyboard. Here is what you should know
Press Ctrl-Alt-Delete
On the Windows, pressing these keys will open the Task Manager. From here, you can kill the current processes to close programs not responding or free up the RAM space.
While you press command-option-esc on Mac keyboard, it will show up a force quit window, which allows you to force the apps opening. If you want to end the processes, you need to open the Activity Monitor app.
Close active apps
On the Windows computers, simply press the Ctrl-W command to close the currently the active app, or you can probably use Alt-F4 command instead. But on the Mac, you have to use command-Q to quit an app. The ‘command-w” combination just closes the window you’re in.
Special characters
On this point, the Mac keyboard is much easier than the Windows keyboard and you don’t have to hit Num Lock. On the Mac keyboard, just hold down Alt, and then press numbers. Many special characters can be done just by holding the Option key on the Mac keyboard.
Also read: How to Lock and Unlock Mac with iPhone
Screenshots
Mac gives you more options to take a screenshot than do it on the Windows PC. On the PC, you need to press Alt-print screen to take a screenshot of the app running on your computer. But MacOS offers a few options that don’t require you to have to open the snipping tool and mess with all.
- Press command-shift-3 to take a screenshot of the entire screen:
- Press command-shift-4 if you want to a screenshot of a specific app window. You will then see a cursor, just hit space button and click on the window to take the screenshot.
- Press command-shift-4 to free-capture the screen. Then you just click and drag the cursor over the area that you want to capture.
Switch between apps
Instead of pressing Ctrl-Tab keys on Windows, you need to hold command-tab on your Mac keyboard. Or you can also press the Mission Control button on the keyboard, which stays in the F row with three sized rectangles to view all active windows.
Make an app full screen
If you want the window to go full screen mode, just press command-control-F on your Mac keyboard. To return to the previous size, simple press the key combination again.