Using a Windows keyboard on a Mac without going mad
· 5 min read
Any USB or Bluetooth keyboard works on a Mac without drivers. What it will not do is put the modifier keys where your hands expect them, and that single difference is what makes a perfectly good keyboard feel unusable.
Two minutes of remapping resolves nearly all of it.
The core problem
On a Mac keyboard, the order beside the space bar is Control, Option, Command.
On a Windows keyboard it is Control, Windows, Alt.
macOS maps Windows to Command and Alt to Option, which puts Command and Option in the opposite order from a Mac keyboard. Since Command is the shortcut key you use constantly, everything feels wrong.
The fix
System Settings, Keyboard, then Keyboard Shortcuts, then Modifier Keys. Choose your keyboard from the dropdown at the top, which matters: the setting is per keyboard, so you can remap the external one and leave the laptop’s alone.
Then swap:
- Option key → Command
- Command key → Option
Now the key physically beside the space bar is Command, matching a Mac layout.
That is the whole fix for most people. The remapping persists per device, so plugging in a different keyboard does not disturb it.
The keys that are missing
No Eject key. Rarely needed now.
No Fn key on many PC keyboards, which affects little on a Mac.
Print Screen does nothing. Use Command-Shift-4 or Command-Shift-5. The screenshot tool covers what those do.
Delete behaves differently. On a Mac, Delete is a backspace. A PC keyboard’s Backspace does the same thing, and its Delete key acts as forward delete, which is what Fn-Delete does on a Mac laptop. This is arguably better.
No Media keys, or they may work depending on the keyboard. Many PC keyboards’ media keys are recognised.
The other keys worth knowing
Windows key becomes Command after remapping, or before it if you leave the defaults.
Alt becomes Option. Option is used for special characters and hidden menu items on a Mac far more than Alt is on Windows, so it is worth having somewhere comfortable.
Menu key does nothing useful.
Num Lock may not behave as expected on a Mac. The numeric keypad generally works.
Function keys
A PC keyboard’s F keys usually send actual F1 to F12, rather than the brightness and volume controls a Mac keyboard sends by default.
If you would rather they controlled brightness and volume, there is no direct equivalent for a third-party keyboard in System Settings. Third-party remapping tools handle it, and most people find real function keys more useful anyway.
Mechanical keyboards specifically
Most work perfectly. Two things worth checking.
Mac mode. Many mechanical keyboards have a hardware switch or key combination that swaps to a Mac layout, which does the remapping in the keyboard itself. If yours has one, use it and skip the macOS setting.
Software. Keyboards with configuration software often have Windows-only versions. The keyboard still works; you may not be able to change its lighting or macros from a Mac. Check before buying if that matters.
Keycaps
Cosmetic, and if the printed legends bother you, Mac keycap sets exist for standard layouts. Not necessary, and pleasant if you look at the keyboard.
What about a Mac keyboard on a PC?
The reverse works too, with the same modifier confusion in the opposite direction, and no Windows key unless you remap.
Questions
Will the remapping affect my laptop’s built-in keyboard? No, if you select the external keyboard in the dropdown first. The setting is per device.
Does a wireless PC keyboard work? Bluetooth ones pair normally. Ones using a proprietary USB dongle generally work, since they present as a standard keyboard.
Why do some shortcuts still not work? A few are genuinely different between platforms rather than being a key position problem. Command-Q to quit, Command-W to close a window, and Command-Space for Spotlight are worth learning explicitly. The keyboard shortcuts worth learning in the first month covers the set.
Can I remap other keys, not just modifiers? Not in System Settings beyond the modifier keys. Third-party tools handle arbitrary remapping.