A typical PC keyboard's keys.
Xah Lee, 2007
This page discusses some difference of keysets and their function in Apple Computer's keyboards and IBM PC keyboard.
A typical PC keyboard's keys.
A typical Apple keyboard's keys.
On the PC keyboard, you have the Control, Windows, Alt keys. On Apple keyboard, you have Control, alt/option, Command keys.
Although both Mac and Windows has the Control key, but their use is different. Also, both have the Alt key, their use is also different.
The Control Key in Windows is mostly used forkeyboard shortcuts. For example, Copy is Ctrl+c, Paste is Ctrl+p. (On the Mac, Cmd key is used for keyboard shortcuts. Copy is ⌘+c, Paste is ⌘+p)
The control key under Macintosh is rarely used. When used in applications, it often function as a modifier in combination with other modifier keys. For example, Ctrl+⌘+z in iTunes will iconify the window.
The Alt key in MS Windows has 3 different uses:
The menu key on PC keyboards.
The Menu key, also called Application key, exist on PC keyboard only. It is used for Context menu. The key's purpose is equivalent to pressing mouse's right button.
The Option key (often labeled option, ⌥, alt) is used to type special characters, such as •™©“”. For example, 【⌥+8】 will type the bullet character “•”. The Option key is also used as a modifier key together with the Command key. For example, in ⌘+⌥+h invokes the command “Hide Others” in all Apple applications.
The Windows key invokes the Start menu under Microsoft Windows. When pressed with letter key, it invoke a shortcut. For example, “Start+D” gets you the desktop. (See: Windows Shortcuts.)
The Command key (labeled “⌘” or “cmd”) on the Mac is used as a modifier key to invoke shortcuts. For example, 【⌘+c】 is Copy. It is somewhat similar to MS Window's use of the Ctrl key.
On Apple's keyboards, there is the Return key on the main section, and there is a Enter key key on the numeric keypad. On PC, both these keys are labeled “Enter”. The difference here is purely a matter of labeling. The two Enter keys on PC actually send different scancodes.
On the Mac, the Return key and the Enter key usually serve the same function, but sometimes different. For example, in Mathematica since at least version 2 (early 1990s), the Return key is used to insert a line break, but the Enter is used to execute the code in the current cell (Shift+Return does the same). On many chat clients such as Adium and Colloquy (IRC client), user can set it up in so that the Return will insert a line break while the Enter key will send out the message.
PC keyboard's keys. The “Backspace” labeled “delete” on Apple keyboards. The Delete key is labeled “delete⌦” on Apple. The PrtScn/SysRq, ScrLk, Pause/Break is F13 F14 F15 on Apple's keyboards.
On PC keyboards, there is a Backspace key on the main section, and a Delete key (often labeled Del) on the Home/End key block. On Apple keyboards, both of these are labeled “delete”. This difference is just the key labeling and nothing more.
The key located at the upper right corner 【Backspace/Delete】 are used pretty much the same in both operating systems when in a text editing application. Specifically, it is used to delete texts to the left of the cursor. However, MS Windows also use the key to “go back”, such as going to a previous visited page in a browser. Only in recent years, Mac OS X's browsers also started to let the key do the same thing.
The key located to the left of the End key, labeled Delete or Del, have different purposes. On Windows, that key is often used to actually delete things. For example, selecting a file, pressing Del, will put the file to the trash can. If in a word processor, the key will delete to the right of the cursor. On the Mac, from early 1990s to 2006, the Del key is usually a dead key (i.e. not used), even in a word processing environment. When there is a function assigned to it, it is used to delete to the right of the cursor.
On PC keyboards, there is the Insert key (often labeled Ins). On Apple keyboards, this key is labeled Help. This is just a labeling difference; They both send the same scancode.
The PC has these keys: PrtScn/SysRq, ScrLk, Pause/Break.
Apple's keyboards do not have these keys. On some Apple keyboards, it have F13, F14, F15 instead. “Apple Keyboard with Numeric Keypad” of 2009, has F16 to F19.
These keys have old history back to the 1980's (or earlier) and in general are not used since 1990, except on Windows the PrtScn key is for screenshot. These keys are basically never used in Mac (as i know of from 1992 to 2007), except that in recent years with OS X, Apple started to use F14 and F15 to decrease/increase the display's brightness.
On the Numeric keypad. Apple's numeric keypad added a equal “=” key.
