Mac envy: How to use an Apple keyboard with Windows
With Macs now controlling 14% of the US market share (up from 9% in 2006), it’s clear that the world is quickly going Mac.
This is especially evident here at FreshBooks. When I joined last year, we were a strictly PC/Windows shop. Since then, we’ve added 6 iMacs to the grid — and more are on the way.
Resistance is futile
I, for one, welcome our new Mac overlords. To help kick-start the indoctrination process, I’ve begun using an Apple keyboard with my Windows box here at work. Sure, the buttons don’t match up perfectly (where’s the print screen button?), but with a few easy steps, you can re-map your Windows keys such that you’ll hardly notice.
Introducing AutoHotKey
AutoHotKey is freeware software for Windows XP that lets you create easy-to-write scripts that define alternate key mappings in Windows. You can do the same by hacking the Windows registry yourself – but that’s just plain silly.
The script
After you’ve installed AutoHotKey, download this script and run it (either by double-clicking or right-click -> “Run Script”). This will load a set of pre-defined rules that will make your Apple keyboard operate like a Windows one — but way sexier.
Here’s the rules I’m using:
; Swap Windows (Command) and Alt keys ; These button locations are reversed on Mac keyboardsLAlt::LWin LWin::LAlt ; Map F13 to Print screen ; Mac keyboards don't have a print-screen button! F13::PrintScreen
To have this script run every time Windows boots up, save it in your Startup folder (Start -> All Applications -> Startup).
That’s it! Happy typing.
Copyright © 2000-2009
12:33 pm
Funny enough, I prefer using a PC keyboard with my Apple.
12:50 pm
Oh wow – my wife is going to love this. She uses a Mac at work – and a PC at home – and she has equal likes and dislikes about both.
We keep this approach at our IT services company as well – we like to consider ourselves platform agnostic
However, my wife prefers her Mac keyboard for it’s compact size and feel – but hates having to rethink the keys when she comes home – this will help big time. Thanks!
Joe-
1:22 pm
I’m pretty much an all windows user. However, I’ve done programming and web hosting in linux in the past and I like linux. I’ve never had an opportunity to really work with a mac since i refuse to buy a mac. They may look really nice and the operating system might be really nice, but frankly I dont understand how people get suckered into buying hardware with limited/no upgradeable parts. I still dont understand why people would buy an iphone, no matter how cool the interface is, with no memory expansion slot and no user replaceable battery.
If someone gave me a mac to work with, I would gladly take the chance to become more familiar with the mac OS. But i doubt I would ever pay for one.
1:36 pm
Dave: have you tried the new keyboard? It’s amazing.
Ian: you get used to it.
I used to be a complete tweaker. Building my own machines, reading HardOCP et al daily, slipstreaming RAID drivers and hotfixes into my XP CD, overclocking, soft mods, constant little upgrades, hated Macs… the whole nine yards really.
Now I’ve never seen the insides of my machines. And when I say “you get used to it,” I should really say, you wind up liking it a lot better this way.
10:04 pm
MmmMmm… pretty soft Mac keyboards. Still a designer working on PCs. Maybe some day I’ll run both, but till then, having a swanky keyboard is a bonus. Though it doesn’t have to be a Mac keyboard at all.
2:36 am
I absolutely LOVE using my little Apple bluetooth keyboard whenever I have a chance. I keep it in my laptop bag in the mini-file-storage, it is thin and sleek, portable and delicious.
When I pace back and forth in front of multple monitors, typing furiously, I feel a bit like Jonathan Pryce, evil technology baron, in whatever that totally forgettable Bond flick was (Two Days After Yesterday This Movie Will Still Be Awful?)
10:53 am
[...] use AutoHotKey, Eric F. Savage shares an alternate way to get extended functionality. Ben Vinegar also has an article along the same [...]
11:41 am
this is great info. Doe’s anyone know if the new Apple bluetooth keyboard will work with Windows XP? thanks
12:28 pm
Your script is missing
RAlt::RWin
RWin::RAlt
The keys are swapped on the right side of the space bar, too.
Also mapping the Insert key might come in handy:
F14:Insert
(Or somesuch.)
8:02 am
[...] Mac envy: How to use an Apple keyboard with Windows [...]
2:00 pm
I use a MAC Bluetooth keyboard with Vista Ultimate on my HP laptop …. LOVE’N it….I’m a MS man all the way but Apple makes some cool ass hardware. I use KeyTweak (it’s Free just do a search on google for it) to rectify the button problems.
11:45 am
Hi — this is great. Thanks for posting!
I am experiencing a case where alt-tab leaves the little window that displays the various app-choices.
I can hit escape to make it go away once I’ve chosen a window to focus, but it seems strange. Anyone else have that?
12:04 am
yup, I got the same problem as jproxy.
3:18 pm
The “S” key on my Dell Inspiron laptop stopped working after I used some compressed air to clean the funk out of it. I just picked up a new Mac keyboard even though the lady at the Mac store said it wouldn’t work on my XP rig. Glad to see she was totally wrong!
Thanks for the link to AutoHotKeys!
3:35 pm
Hi jProxy, Bobby – it would appear I’ve had the same problem all along, but never really noticed it. Once I start clicking around in the window I’ve just switched to, it goes away.
11:24 pm
Aaron Adams: dude it just sounds like you’ve become old and uninspired. Thanks for giving me another reason not to buy Apple products.
9:36 pm
As a long time freshbooks users, I just should have guessed that after getting a new mac keyboard for xmas, you guys would have the info to get my print screen button back.
11:10 am
This was just what I needed, thanks for the script! It worked out great but for one thing… The alt-tab is “sticky” and doesn’t work properly when you release.
After looking at their support docs, I found the answer. In case anyone else runs into this problem, add this to your script:
*Tab::Send {Blind}{Tab}
I found it here:
http://www.autohotkey.com/docs/misc/Remap.htm#AltTab
1:41 pm
Thanks for the info! I just got one of these and I was frustrated with the Windows compatibility. I found some more tips on Autohotkey here:
http://www.isyougeekedup.com/apples-awesome-short-stroke-aluminum-keyboard-review/
7:29 am
It works follows in windows -Alt+Capslock+F14 and you wil get Alt+Print Sreen
5:20 am
see here:
http://www.autohotkey.com/docs/misc/Remap.htm#AltTab
if your alt tab doesn’t work on this!
1:25 pm
Does anyone else’s ctrl+alt+delete not work, for some reason i have to press option(alt) which should be set as a the Win key. However, alt tab with what i remapped as alt (command) does work, i cant figure out whats wrong.
9:50 pm
Hi all,
I need help on my mac keyboard. I may have accidentally press some fun tabs and my number key pads on the right hand side of my mac keyboard does not work at all. Is that a way to remove the number lock on my mac keyboard? Please help! Thanks a lot!
2:41 pm
Apple will never be welcome in my home. I bought an iPod 5.5G and its battery was completely dead after 2 years of average usage. Apple is, and always will be, a company dedicated to the most attractive scams ever to be permitted in a store.
Their operating system really is crap after all. I’ve taken several hours to begin my study of MacOS’s by using the Macbooks in my school’s bookstore, and I am mesmerized by how skimpy the Operating System is, and even more by how few applications it has. I went to the Mac Store in Memphis Tennessee, and it was the most hilarious thing to me when I walked in. They fit the entirety of their available software in one neat little neck-high bookshelf. That’s not a scarcity–that’s a video-game hero army: 1 soldier against a million oncoming combatants.
As for their keyboards, there are few tactical cues as to where you are on the keyboard, and the keys catch your fingers when moving from one to the other, causing you to hit the wrong keys.
3:10 am
[...] desk space, and I took this full size keyboard to work connecting to a Windows machine, have to use AutoHotkey to map some keys to the regular Windows keyboard [...]
3:03 pm
Thanks so much for this script. Helped me out a lot!
8:46 am
Awesome article. This one helped me out a lot too when I was trying to make the transition from PC to Mac.
http://www.freemacblog.com/mac-server-series-install-wordpress-on-your-mac-using-mamp/comment-page-2/#comment-148530
2:31 pm
Hey guys. did some more research and also found this site. It might be even better than the first one I posted!
life123.com/technology/computer-hardware/mac/how-to-use-a-mac-computer.shtml
12:03 pm
works on win7! appreciate it!
11:03 am
Haha, wow. I love it when people who don’t know what they are talking about post about Mac OSX.
AMDphreak: Just because you have had one bad experience doesn’t mean everyone does. My 5.5G iPod is still going strong. Long battery life still with average use. Not sure why you’re having such problems.
What exactly do you mean by skimpy? You mean that it has the power of the Unix command prompt behind it as well as all of the OSX window system AND X11? G’dam! You’re right! Also, that bookshelf isn’t all the Mac apps!!! Hahaha. There are lots you can find online. You ever use Google before? Oh wait… I bet you’re a Bing guy.
As far as being able to customize your computer…
I am in the same boat, that is not to say I don’t own and enjoy Macs. How much customizing and building of Laptops do you do? Really? I have a desktop that I tweak out daily. Rarely keep an OS on there for a couple months (I currently have Ubuntu 9.10 and Win7). When I’m messing around with that I definitely appreciate having my MBP and iMac running quickly and smoothly.
So go ahead and not buy a Mac. Stick with your Windows 7 computer and enjoy it. Just wanted to let you know that you’re missing out.
To those who say “there are no apps for Macs,” you are ignorant and ill-informed.