What is the ` key on a Mac French (Canada) keyboard?

3

I was a bit annoyed that Cmd-Tab, in Mac OS, cycled between applications, not windows, on Macs, and I was looking for a way to do this with windows instead. For example, if I have 2 Finder windows and one Firefox window, a shortcut that would bring me from the first to the second Finder window instead of Firefox.

I think I found something like this in the Finder's application menu. Well, when I clicked it, at the first glance, I think it did more or less that. The shortcut mentioned was ⌘+`. I can find the ⌘ key all right, but what the heck is `? I'm pretty sure I've tried the whole keyboard.

EDIT: The Macs I have tried this with are running Snow Leopard in French (Canada), and their keyboard configuration is very much akin to the Canadian multilingual standard one that I use on my PC, except for the fact that "complicated" characters are performed with Alt+key instead of Ctrl+Alt+Key/AltCar+Key, as it is on Windows.

Ariane

Posted 2013-01-10T21:32:05.350

Reputation: 1 907

out of curiosity, how are you writing that if you don't know where it is? :D – ataulm – 2013-01-10T21:38:35.140

@ataulm: I'm 1. on a Windows computer; 2. using Ctrl+alt+[the key on the right of the P] on my keyboard. My keyboard layout is Canadian multilingual standard. – Ariane – 2013-01-10T21:45:33.823

Answers

4

Check your keyboard layout in System Preferences » Language & Text » Input Sources, where you can also activate the Keyboard Viewer shown below.

  • With the Canadian French (CSA) layout, the back tick key is to the left of Return while you hold the Option key (not the "highlighted" one — it's a dead key —, the one to its lower right).

    Screenshot of Keyboard Viewer

  • With the Canadian English layout, it's to the right of the left Shift key, without modifiers.

  • For other layouts, enable Keyboard Viewer in the Input Sources screen of System Preferences, then open it via the the Input Sources menu bar item on the right, and try a combination of Opt, Ctrl, and Shift to find the back tick key.

Note that in System Preferences » Keyboard » Keyboard Shortcuts, you can change the keyboard shortcut for the window switching command.

Daniel Beck

Posted 2013-01-10T21:32:05.350

Reputation: 98 421

On Windows I press AltGr+^ for this key. I must then also press SPACE to get the character. This is because the key is also an accent key, used to make accented characters such as ò and ì which are not already on the CSA keyboard but are needed for typing in some international languages. – D Coetzee – 2020-01-29T21:51:28.060

http://notavailablein.ca/2011/03/death-to-the-canadian-multilingual-bilingual-keyboard/ – ataulm – 2013-01-10T21:54:14.647

1that keyboard looks like it's for opening portals to stargates. – Sirex – 2013-01-10T21:54:31.913

@Sirex Any OS X keyboard layout looks like then when you're holding down Option. – Daniel Beck – 2013-01-10T21:56:31.053

is one of the options opening a portal to a stargate ? – Sirex – 2013-01-10T21:59:01.327

Uhm, so the final keyboard shortcut is Cmd+Alt+^? 1. Why the heck doesn't it display that instead, if that's the case? 2. I think I remember trying that too. 3. "Option" is Alt, right? – Ariane – 2013-01-10T22:01:22.810

@ataulm: Lol. I hate keyboards with a "short and wide" Enter key. Those are the evil ones. Most of the time, they even lack the key for French quotes next to left shift key, too! D: – Ariane – 2013-01-10T22:02:07.550

@Ariane No, Command-Option-à if that's the correct layout. Cmd-` is the shortcut independent of keyboard layout (most layouts are much saner, that's why I explain how to simply change it) – Daniel Beck – 2013-01-10T22:03:36.857

Independent of keyboard, meaning it actually is the key next to 1, according to you? And uhm, I'm guilty of having half-heartedly read your answer. Sorry. But as for changing shortcuts, it's so-so, since the Macs at school are Deep Frozen. – Ariane – 2013-01-10T22:05:56.640

@Ariane No, it means it's always Cmd-` no matter what your layout. While Cmd-Opt-à would be easier to find for you, it would change the actual key combination of the shortcut for all other keyboard layouts. Custom keyboard shortcuts are a personal preference per user account (similar to wallpaper, screensaver, etc.), unless they mess with that, it should work. – Daniel Beck – 2013-01-10T22:09:10.990

Well, we don't have user accounts on the computers. Only on the network, for files. (That thing you log in to with Cmd+K.) – Ariane – 2013-01-10T22:42:24.037

2

It's next to the "1" key, on the left.

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ataulm

Posted 2013-01-10T21:32:05.350

Reputation: 307

Heh. On my keyboard as well as those at school (Canadian multilingual standard), this key displays | # \ or | / , depending on whether the keyboard is printer for Canadian multilingual standard or French (Canada). Though the Mac being configured in French as well, I sort of doubt it would point to -that- key. @Kruug read this as well. – Ariane – 2013-01-10T21:48:36.970

0

Kruug

Posted 2013-01-10T21:32:05.350

Reputation: 5 078

I don't even have the said Mac to test it (the only Macs I use are those at school, and not by choice), but since I pretty much mashed every key, or so I believe, let's assume it's not this, that I've just tried it and it's not the right key. What can it be? (Gonna add a few possibly useful details to the question in a second.) – Ariane – 2013-01-10T21:39:50.123

@Ariane See edited post. – Kruug – 2013-01-10T22:09:10.420

Alt Gr + É does nothing on my present keyboard. But then again, contrary to that image, AltGr + È does not do anything. Nor does it do a "micro" symbol upon pressing it with M. Looks like you have the wrong layout. – Ariane – 2013-01-10T22:40:39.330

Asked: 2013-01-10T21:32:05.350

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