Mar 07, 2018 Identify New Keyboard. Connect your Windows/generic keyboard to your Mac. A generic keyboard, whether it’s wired or wireless will connect with Mac without needing additional software. MacOS will automatically ask you to identify the new keyboard you’ve connected however, if it doesn’t you can force it to recognize the new keyboard.
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If you’re switching to a Mac from a PC, you don’t have to discard all your old PC equipment and buy new. In fact, you may even be able to connect your PC’s keyboard and mouse to your new Mac. When deciding whether you can use a keyboard or mouse you already have on your Mac, here’s the short version of the story:
A two-button scroll-wheel mouse with a wire coming out of it that has a USB connector — a flat rectangular metal plug about the size of a fingernail — at the other end is worth keeping.
A Windows keyboard with a USB connector will work fine, but a couple of keys are labeled differently from Mac keyboards, which may make it more trouble than it’s worth.
Mac keyboards have two special keys in the lowest row, to the left of the spacebar. One is labeled option, and to its right is a key with an Apple logo and a fan symbol, known as the Command key in Apple-ese. On PC keyboards, these two keys are the Windows key and the Alt key, respectively. If you just plug a PC keyboard into a Mac, the Windows key works as the Command key, and the Alt key works as the Option key. Unfortunately, their positions are reversed from where they are on Mac keyboardsYou can buy a piece of software called DoubleCommand that lets you reverse these keys.
If you have an old keyboard, buy something new. The mice and keyboards that came with computers in the 1980s used an RS-232 serial port connection. These are useless. Old Apple USB keyboards work fine on current Macs. If you have an older Apple keyboard or mouse with a round plug (Apple Desktop Bus), you can get an ADB-to-USB converter, but it is probably not worth the bother.
You should also consider how your keyboard and mouse connect to your PC. The three most common methods are a USB cable, a PS/2 cable, and wireless:
USB cablesshould work just fine with your Mac.
PS/2 connectors are round and have a pastel-colored shell. PS/2 won’t work with your Mac directly, but adapters are available. Be sure that you get the kind of adapter that converts PS/2 devices to USB and not the other way around, which is much more common. Also make sure that the manufacturer supports Macs.
These days, many manufacturers make only USB keyboards and mice and include an adapter that converts it to PS/2. So you should take a closer look at what you think is a PS/2 plug to see whether it is just one of these adapters, in which case you’re in luck — just pull the USB plug out of the adapter and plug it into your Mac.
Wireless devices have a built-in radio transmitter instead of a wire. The receiver is often in a finger-sized pod that plugs into the computer, or it can be built in. Some devices transmit using technology that’s proprietary to the maker; others use Bluetooth. Most Macs come with Bluetooth inside (it’s not included in the lowest-cost iMac, and it’s an option on the Mac Pro), and Bluetooth devices generally work with Bluetooth-equipped Macs, at least at some basic level. But you may need special software to take full advantage of this feature on a Mac. A wireless device that uses a USB receiver module and a proprietary transmission scheme may need special software as well. Check with the manufacturer in either case.
Over the last few days I’ve been finding myself using a keyboard designed for Windows users on my Mac. The reason behind such a change was that my MacBook Pro’s keyboard was causing wrist pain. The shallow key travel of the MacBook’s keyboard is partly to blame.
I just so happened to have an AmazonBasics wired keyboard available thanks to my recent Hackintosh build, so I decided to use it with my Mac. Immediately, I could sense relief in my wrists, but because this was a keyboard designed for Windows and not for Mac, the switch presented a whole new problem.
Instead of the friendly ⌃, ⌥, and ⌘ keys, I was presented with Control, Windows, and Alt keys. All of the modifier keys on a Windows keyboard map 1:1 with the keys on a Mac from a functionality standpoint. For example, the Control (⌃) key does the same thing on a Mac that it does on Windows, the Option (⌥) key on Mac does the same thing as the Alt key on Windows, and the Command (⌘) key on Mac does the same thing as the Windows key.
It’s the order not the function
The problem isn’t the function of the keys, because as we discussed, from a pure functionality standpoint, the modifier keys (Control, Option, Command) all map 1:1. The problem stems from their arrangement on the keyboard.
Modifier key arrangement differences between Mac and Windows:
Software To Configure Pc Keyboard On Mac Windows 10
Macintosh: ⌃ | ⌥ | ⌘
Windows: ⌃ | ⌘ | ⌥
Such a little thing, the swapping of the Command and Option keys, can cause trouble for someone who’s been typing on a Mac for years. Fortunately, there is a dead-simple fix for this issue.
Video walkthrough
How to remap modifier keys in OS X
Step 1: Open System Preferences → Keyboard → Modifier Keys.
Step 2: Select your third-party Windows keyboard via the Select keyboard drop down box.
Step 3: For the Option (⌥) Key setting, select ⌘ Command.
Configure Keyboard Settings
Step 4: For the Command (⌘) Key setting, select (⌥) Option.
Step 5: Click OK and close System Preferences.
Software To Configure Pc Keyboard On Mac Laptop
The bottom line is that there are plenty of great keyboards out there that are designed to be used on Windows machines. There’s no reason why you shouldn’t be able to use a great keyboard just because it was originally designed for Windows. Take advantage of the provision to remap modifier keys inside of OS X’s System Preferences. In the end, it’ll save time, frustration, and keep you from having to retrain what may be years of muscle memory.
Keyboard recommendations
The AmazonBasics wired keyboard is decent for how much it costs, but I’m a fan of mechanical keyboards with Cherry MX Brown switches. These switches produce a tactile “clicky” effect without being too loud. My favorite Cherry MX Brown keyboard is from Das Keyboard. Thankfully, Das Keyboard makes versions of its keyboards for both Windows and Mac users.
Configure Mac To Make Calls
For more on keyboards, be sure to have a look at Jeremy’s keyboard roundup. What type of keyboard do you use with your Mac?
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