How can I remap windows and alt keys in OS X?

I sometimes hook up my macbook to a windows keyboard. The annoying thing is that on windows keyboards the modifier keys at the lower left are layout as

ctrl - windows - alt

while apple keyboards use

ctrl - alt - apple

The windows key functions as the apple key, the problem is that they are located at a different location, and my muscle memory is so set on finding the 'command' key next to the spacebar that I keep executing my shortcuts with alt i.s.o. apple key (and vice versa)

Short of buying an Apple keyboard, does anyone know a way to remap both keys in osx?

Pieter

Posted 2010-06-30T10:23:33.390

Reputation: 543

Answers

In System Preferences | Keyboard | Modifier Keys you can swap these two keys.
Double Command is a PrefPane that offers many options for using Windows-keyboards (see the 3d & 4h checkboxes in the screenshot on that page). I'm not sure it offers advantages over the standard keyboard preferences, but perhaps it includes automatic sensning or a quicker way (hot key?) of changing back and forth.

JRobert

Posted 2010-06-30T10:23:33.390

Reputation: 6 128

This solution may no longer be effective - I could not get the built-in Modifier Keys solution to work on Yosemite (OS X 10.10) with a Corsair K70 keyboard. This answer provides an external solution which I found worked well, and is the suggested replacement for the linked Double Command.

– Adam S – 2015-05-25T13:37:41.500

1For what it's worth, making the changes under Modifier Keys worked for me. I'm using a Logitech K350 and running OS X El Capitan 10.11.4. – Mike Branski – 2016-04-06T18:31:56.827

Working for Sierra, too. – Benjamin R – 2017-08-19T00:55:52.820

10What I find interesting is that you can change it per keyboard (so you can make it different for the laptop keyboard and the external keyboard) – Wim Deblauwe – 2012-05-23T10:56:31.963

Under the Keyboard System Preferences pane there is a button for "Modifier Keys" which allows you to remap command/option/control on a per-keyboard basis. There is no need to use an external tool to switch the keys.

I'm using OSX El Capitan and Microsoft Sculpt keyboard.

saritmishra

Posted 2010-06-30T10:23:33.390

Reputation: 101