The Complete Guide To Mac Keyboard Symbols

The Mac keyboard symbols should be intuitive, but some are completely hidden from the user. Example: Many shortcuts for various actions are organized using various confusing symbols in the menu bar of the keyboard.

 

What do Arrows, Waves, and other Symbols mean ?

 

You may know that “corresponds to command keys in the same way that they appear on keyboard keys, but what is the difference between “^” and “⇧”, basically both arrows? Is it? ⌥ “?

If you want to learn Mac keyboard shortcuts, that are a problem, so here’s a quick reference. To get started, here are the main modifier keys: These are probably the most frequently seen.

 

⌘ means command

 

⌥ stands for Option (also known as “Alt”)

 

^ Means control

 

⇧ means shift

 

Remembering these four symbols should be enough to learn most of the keyboard shortcuts. It is especially important to remember that “Shift” is a built-in arrow and “Control” is the simplest form. At least they are the two that make me the most stumble.

 

There are some other symbols that Mac OS uses to represent keys, but these are also worth learning. The complete guide to Mac keyboard symbols is as follows:

 

⌫ means delete (called backspace on Windows keyboard)

 

<Abbreviation for Next Delete (called Delete on Windows keyboards)

 

⏎ means return (also known as “Enter”)

 

⎋ means escape

 

⇥ means the right tab

 

⇤ means tab on the left

 

⇪ means Caps Lock

 

means eject

 

There are also some commonly used symbols to refer to navigation keys. The first four simple arrows are very intuitive.

 

↑ means above

 

↓ means down

 

← means left

 

→ means correct

 

However, there are four other similar symbols, including arrows, which are used to mean completely different.

 

⇞ means page up

 

⇟ means page down

 

↖︎ means higher (called startup on Windows computers)

 

↘︎ means end

 

By learning these symbols, you should be able to understand the keyboard shortcuts highlighted in the menu bar or elsewhere online.

 

Why do these Symbols appear on the Keyboard ?

 

You may be wondering: why does Apple use them? An operating system symbol, not a physical keyboard? Answer: They once placed these symbols on their keyboards everywhere and continue to do so in many parts of the world.

As you can see, the keyboard has the “⌥” and “⇧” symbols, completely replacing the words “Option” and “Shift”. Other countries use these symbols to varying degrees. It is not sure why this is no longer standardized, but it’s a good idea for Apple to place the symbols used in the operating system everywhere on the physical keyboard. The current situation is not always user-friendly.

 

How to change Keyboard Layout on Mac ?

 

Many people prefer the QWERTY keyboard layout because it is more popular. But that doesn’t mean that this input source can adapt to the needs of everyone. Now you need to customize it. MacOS supports a number of languages ​​and their accepted input sources. You can also change the Mac keyboard layout to your liking and type faster in a particular language. Therefore, if you want to write comfortably in Dutch or Chinese, there is a layout. We will guide you through the simple steps.

 

How to change the Default Keyboard Layout on Mac ?

 

Steps 1. Perform system settings on your Mac.

 

Step 2. Then click Keyboard.

 

Step 3. On the next screen, click the Input Source tab, then click the + button at the bottom left.

 

Step 4. Then select the desired language on the left side. The corresponding keyboard layout options are displayed on the right.

For example, if you select Dutch, you will see two options on the right: Belgian and Dutch input options. Select the layout you like and click Add. You should now see the layout you just added.

 

Note: One thing to note is that you can add as many languages ​​as you need and their available layouts.

Now you can choose to switch the keyboard layout to the document input source automatically. See options at the bottom. Also, make sure Show Input Menu in Menu Box is turned on. It helps you quickly switch between multiple input options. Come out of the window.

 

How to Switch Keyboard Layout on Mac ?

 

Step 1. Check the input menu in the upper right corner of the menu bar. Then click on it.

 

Step 2. This will display the selected keyboard layout. Choose what you want to use, and it’s done!

 

Go ahead and type on the keyboard. Keys have different roles to play. If you no longer need to use certain input options, you can easily remove them from the list.

 

How to Remove Keyboard Layout on Mac ?

 

Step 1. Open the [System Settings] → [Keyboard] → [Input Source] tab.

 

Step 2. Select the input source you want to delete and click the [-] button at the bottom left and it’s removed.

Take advantage of these little tricks to get the most out of your keyboard. However, if you want to go further, create some custom keyboard shortcuts to speed up your typing.