program function keys for mac

How to Remap Your Mac's Function Keys to Do Anything You Want

Here's how to remap your Mac keyboard to boost the function keys, which can do so much more with some customization.

Are there any function keys on your Mac’s keyboard that seem useless to you? You can reprogram them to be more useful!

Remap a function key to take a screenshot instead of revealing active apps in Mission Control. Or change a key that normally opens Launchpad to instead bring up the emoji viewer, or a menu bar calendar of your choice.

Such changes are easy to make, as we’ll see below. But first, let’s take a closer look at function key behavior itself.

The Dual Role of Function Keys

By default, the function keys on your Mac’s keyboard trigger the actions indicated by the icons printed on them. Accordingly, the F1 and F2 keys adjust the screen brightness, the F3 key triggers Mission Control, the F4 key opens Launchpad, and so on.

They can also operate as regular function keys (F-keys) though, which are keys that can be programmed (or reprogrammed) to perform certain actions on your computer or in particular applications.

To use the old-fashioned F-keys, you have to hold down the Fn key as a modifier. macOS doesn’t have a default action linked to any F-keys except F11 and F12 when you do this, so they won’t do anything when pressed.

That’s where remapping these keys come in. We’ll tell you how to add actions to these empty keys in the sections below.

Meanwhile, would you prefer your function keys to default to being regular F-keys? That’s pretty easy to accomplish.

How to Use Function Keys as Standard F-Keys

Visit System Preferences > Keyboard > Keyboard and select the checkbox for Use all F1, F2 etc. keys as standard function keys .

Now the F1 , F2 , and other keys work as regular function keys, and you’ll have to use the Fn key modifier to access the printed symbol functions.

Actions to Assign to Function Keys

You can program many different actions onto your Mac’s function keys to make using your Mac a lot easier. It’s good to think about what specific actions you’ll want on each key so you can plan out your function key remapping efficiently.

Some actions we’d consider putting on F-keys are ones with hard-to-remember shortcuts, like the emoji viewer ( Control + Cmd + Space ).

You could also have a function key launch Calendar, Mail, or the Notification Center for you, if you use those a lot.

A word count F-key to run a macOS word counter script when you select text is another useful idea. As is a key that activates Spoken Content on your Mac , and a page reload key.

Many special macOS services also make great candidates for function key shortcuts, which you can assign from System Preferences > Keyboard > Shortcuts > Services .

Remapping Function Keys in System Preferences

To remap individual function keys to do your bidding, visit System Preferences > Keyboard > Shortcuts . That’s the same location for customizing keyboard shortcuts on macOS .

Here you’ll find two panes: one shows a menu of different macOS functions and settings and the other shows the list of actions you can perform with a keyboard shortcut or function key under that menu listing.

To alter or add a function key to an existing action, it must have the box beside it checked.

Once it does, you can click into the text box containing the function key, shortcut, or none text to the right of the action name, and hit the F-key you want to program the action onto.

As an example, say you want to toggle the Do Not Disturb mode using the F10 key. To program the F10 key, go to Mission Control in the settings pane, and ensure the box next to Turn Do Not Disturb On/Off is checked.

Click on none or the current shortcut, and hit F10 on your keyboard. Go ahead and hit F10 again—you’ll now be toggling Do Not Disturb on and off!

Some actions need to be added into your Shortcuts tab before you can assign them to a function key. This can include actions for specific apps, as well as actions that can apply to your entire computer.

Perhaps you want to be able to enter full-screen mode in any app on your Mac by hitting the F11 key. This action doesn’t exist in the macOS system settings, but it does exist in basically every app.

To add this action, head to App Shortcuts in the settings pane, and hit the plus (+) button below the actions pane. A window will appear for adding an action.

We’ll want the Application dropdown in this window to be All Applications for this example, but you can set it to specific apps for other actions.

The text in Menu Title needs to perfectly match the way and action is labeled in menus of applications. In this case, going into full-screen mode usually reads as Enter Full Screen under the View tab of most apps, so that’s what we’ll type into the box here.

Finally, to set Keyboard Shortcut , click on the text box beside it, and hit F11 on your keyboard. Click Add , and now when you hit F11 your active app will go into full-screen mode!

If you want to exit full-screen mode with F11 as well, you’ll need to add exiting full-screen mode as a separate action. Simply follow the steps above with Exit Full Screen in Menu Title instead, and now F11 will let you toggle full-screen mode.

Remapping Function Keys With Third-Party Apps

You can also program actions onto your function keys with third-party applications like Keyboard Maestro and Karbiner-Elements.

Keyboard Maestro and Karbiner-Elements both let you assign actions to function keys like you can in System Preferences, but they also let you design macros which you can assign to function keys as well.

Another app you might want is FunctionFlip, which lets you keep some function keys operating with its default actions while turning others into regular F-keys for you to program.

The best app to use depends on how much you want to customize your Mac’s keyboard behavior . But for more involved or complicated actions, a third-party app will give you more options than adjusting options in System Preferences.

Download: Keyboard Maestro ($36, free trial available)

Download: Karabiner-Elements (Free)

Download: FunctionFlip (Free)

Troubleshooting Function Key Issues

You might run into a few problems while remapping function keys, but there are workarounds for them:

• The key is already in use: You can disable or remap the shortcut for the clashing action, then map that function key to the new action.
• You want to launch an app with a function key, but you can’t do so from System Preferences: Visit the Preferences pane of the app you want to launch and program the shortcut from there. Or create a new Quick Action in Automator that’s just the Launch Application action and assign that file a shortcut from within Services in the settings pane in Keyboard System Preferences .
• You can’t assign function keys to certain actions: Install BetterTouchTool, the ultimate Mac productivity app . This can solve the problem where, say, an app insists that you use a function key only with a modifier. You can also use BetterTouchTool to trigger other keyboard shortcuts.
• You’re out of function keys to assign actions to: Start using modifier keys like Option and Command with the function keys to double or triple their usage.

Download: BetterTouchTool ($9 for 2 years or $21 for lifetime access, free trial available)

Make the Function Keys More Useful

The function keys on your Mac’s keyboard are an underused resource. We hope we’ve inspired you to use yours more with our instructions and tips for remapping them. And we hope programming your function keys makes using your Mac easier than ever!

Tips & Tricks

Troubleshooting, what do the f1, f2, f3, through f12 keys do on mac keyboards.

If you’re sat in front of your Mac now, take a look down at your keyboard. Sure, it has all of the characters you’d expect from a keyboard, but there are some keys along the top of the keyboard that might not be familiar to you. These are called function keys and all have Fx written on them, where x x is replaced with a number, like F1, F2, F3, F4, F5, F6, F7, F8, F9, F10, F11, F12. So what do the the F keys on a Mac do?

Glancing at the F keys on a Mac keyboard, you’ll see an icon if you look above the function key number, and that icon shows what  else the key can do. And with 12 keys to choose from, they can do quite a bit. Additionally, standard function keys can be used within different apps in different ways, so be sure to check the keyboard shortcut options for your favorite apps to see if there are any that you should be making use of.

Below is a list of the functions available for all of the Mac function keys. They should all be present and correct if you’re using an Apple keyboard on almost any modern Mac, except for any Mac with a Touch Bar anyway which uses a little screen instead of the F keys. Of course some much older Macs may have different functions assigned to the F keys too, so we’re assuming you’re on modern hardware.

What the F Keys Do on Mac Keyboards

These are the primary defaults of what function keys do on an Apple keyboard when connected to a Mac:

• F1 – Decrease display brightness
• F2 – Increase display brightness
• F3 – Open Mission Control
• F4 – Open Launchpad
• F5 – Decrease keyboard brightness (On compatible notebooks only)
• F6 – Increase keyboard brightness (On compatible notebooks only)
• F7 – Skip back (Audio)
• F8 – Pause / Play (Audio)
• F9 – Skip forward (Audio)
• F10 – Mute
• F11 – Volume down
• F12 – Volume Up

Pressing a function key will invoke its secondary function by default.

To use the Fx keys as standard function keys, press and hold the Fn button and then press the required function key.

If you’re using a non-Apple keyboard that doesn’t have an Fn key, try pressing and holding the Control key instead.

Changing Function Key Behavior on Mac

You can change the default behavior of the function keys on Mac too, however. This basically inverts their function away from defaulting to things like brightness and audio controls to standard F keys.

• Open System Preferences from the  Apple menu
• Click “Keyboard” from system preferences
• Select “Use F1, F2, etc. keys as standard function keys” to make the change.

If you make this change, you’ll need to press down the “FN” key on the keyboard and then press the F1, F2, F3, etc keys to perform the action that is on the keys icon (for example, changing brightness, or muting system volume). Some users on older Macs in particular prefer this, as we covered previously some time ago.

Similarly, if you’re using a MacBook Pro with a Touch Bar, press and hold the Fn key to see the F1 through F12 keys and then tap the screen to use them.

Where is the FN key on a Mac keyboard?

The FN key is in the lower left corner on modern Mac keyboards with a US layout. It is labeled with ‘fn’ and a globe icon on the newest Macs, or simply ‘fn’ on slightly older machines.

The FN key is necessary to access the alternate function row key options, depending on how your Mac keyboard is configured. The fn key is also sometimes used in keyboard shortcuts.

If the Mac has a Touch Bar but you’d like to always see the function keys, you can actually disable the Touch Bar on MacBook Pro so that the Touch Bar remains the same all of the time, you can set it to either show an F key row or the actions row, whatever you prefer.

If you’re new to the Mac you may not know about some of the other cool tricks you can do with the Fn key, like move “Home” and “End.”  

If your keyboard isn’t working properly you can also enable a software-based virtual keyboard , too, but often cleaning the Mac keyboard can improve key press issues.

This obviously is aimed at Mac keyboards either from Apple or third parties, but if you’re using a third party PC keyboard and you have a different set of F keys (or even none at all), you can consult your keyboard’s manufacturer for more information about the function row.

There are a ton of other keyboard shortcuts, like navigating text amongst many others that are well worth learning if you spend a lot of time typing on a Mac as well. They’ll completely change your game once you master the ones that you use most.

Do you use the function keys often? Have you changed the behavior of any of the F keys for any other purpose? Let us know your experiences and thoughts in the comments.

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Related articles:

• Opinion: Shiny Keys on MacBook Air & Pro Are Ugly and Shouldn’t Happen
• How to Use a Windows PC Keyboard on Mac by Remapping Command & Option Keys
• How to Show F1, F2, F3, etc Keys on Touch Bar for Mac
• How to Enable & Use the Virtual Keyboard in Mac OS X

18 Comments

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On my old Mac, standard keys Fn9 and F11 were particularly useful for lining up a sample of photos you’d worked on and comparing the previews. F11 also got rid of all open apps/windows on desktop so you could see behind. Press it again and they appeared. I am mourning these having disappeared and nobody has yet been able to say how to get them back. I have tried setting to ‘use as standard keys’ but nothing happens. Old computer was desktop circa 2011 El Capitan. Brand new M2 mac air running Ventura but keyboards look pretty similar. Thanks

I found the tips explanatory and very helpful for me. Thank you

is there a Screen print key on the MacBook Air

Thank you for listing the uses for the F keys.F3 at Mission Control and F4 at Launch pad sound like I should be able to send space ships off to the moon. I assume there is something much more practical for these? I don’t have light on my keyboard so assume that F 5 and F6 would thus be useful for some other function? I am possibly going to find pause and play audio with some information that is from the Great Courses when I figure out how to access them . Hope for me yet, Dorothy at 79

Finally, a good communicator, but where is the Fn button?

In the pictured keyboard, and most current Macs, at the lower left corner.

Years ago – on a BBC-computer – I could perform a Change Case command on the character next to the cursor just by typing Ctrl D After performing the change of case the cursor moved up one position so that you could repeat the action on and on. Very handy indeed. How to implement such a desire on an iMac?

Actually, neither of my Macs (Air and Macbook) has all of the characters I’d expect from a keyboard. There’s no forward delete, only a backspace key. Forward delete must be emulated by Fn + backspace.

Press the ‘fn’ key with the ‘delete’ key forward delete.

I found out that if you press the esc key you exit fullscreen mode. Not on all apps tho… the cmd+ctrl+F shortcut works always to enter and exit fullscreen mode.

Anyways I want to think you were being a bit sarcastic because of how basic and obvious this article was.

The first half of your comment is constructive, but the second half is not. I am actually getting tired of reading backhanded compliments like this for a resource you get for free; if you have thoughts like this, do us a favor and keep it to yourself.

Awesome,if you wouldn’t have said it, I was completely ignorant..

Really useful – thanks yet again…

Don’t suppose you have a list of the other hidden characters – such as the # – which I use a lot for writing music – and I always forget the combination!

! is shift 1 @ is shift 2 # is shift-3

use the Shift key plus the numerical key on the keyboard to type those characters. Lots of hidden special characters too in MacOS available through the option key.

 is option + shift + K

For years and years I’ve ignored that row of F keys because I never knew what they were for. I’m going to save the list so I can refer to it. I’m so glad you have taken the time to explain them!

Both interesting & helpful!

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Home > Wiki Tips

How to Use Function Keys on Mac With or Without Fn Key

Updated on Thursday, May 16, 2024

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Use Function Keys on Mac or MacBook Pro with Touch Bar

Summary:  This article from  iBoysoft  tells you how to use function keys on Mac. You will learn the primary function of each F key on Mac and how to access function keys on MacBook Pro with Touch Bar.

While function keys, also known as F keys, have been a fixture on Mac keyboards for years, their usage and understanding seem to be declining among users. This article aims to demystify the functionality of each function key and provide guidance on how to effectively use them on your Mac or MacBook .

If you find it challenging to remember the specific features of each F key control and the key combinations on your Mac keyboard, consider bookmarking this page for convenient reference.

What are the function keys on a Mac keyboard?

On the top row of your Mac keyboard, you'll find the F1 through F12 keys. These 12 F keys are known as function keys designed to perform keyboard shortcuts or to control system features. The icon printed on top of each function key indicates the system feature it controls. For example, pressing the keys with speaker icons adjusts the volume. The system features that the F4, F5, and F6 keys control vary across different compatible Mac models. 

• F1 - Decreases display brightness
• F2 -  Increases display brightness
• F3 - Launches  Mission Control
• F4 - Opens Launchpad or open  Spotlight search  
• F5 - Decreases keyboard brightness or activates  dictation on Mac
• F6 - Increases keyboard brightness or toggles  Do Not Disturb
• F7 - Skips back audio
• F8 - Pause/play
• F9 - Skip forward audio
• F10 - Mute / unmute
• F11 - Volume down
• F12 - Volume up

What is the fn key on a Mac keyboard?

The 'fn' key is short for 'function'. It serves as one of the  modifier keys on a Mac , located at the bottom left of the keyboard beneath the Shift key and to the left of the Control key.

For a long time, this key didn't have a designated function but was used to enable the standard functions of the function keys at the top of the keyboard. Until lately, Apple uses the same key as the global key and you can customize the settings for the fn/Global key.

Here is how:

Step 1. Choose the Apple menu > System Settings > Keyboard .

Step 2. Next to " Press 🌐 key to ", choose one of the options:

• Change input source
• Show Emoji  & Symbols
• Start Dictation (Press 🌐 Twice)

If you find the information in this article helpful, please help us share it. 

How to change the default behavior of the F keys

"I've found this annoying problem where if I press function keys they don't perform as expected. F12 opens up Chrome's inspector while F11 just hides windows to  show Mac desktop . The only way I can click to, say, change brightness is to click the Fn key. What is causing this and how do I change it back to standard function key functionality? And what causes it in the first place?" - From Superuser

By default, keyboard function keys are used independently to control system features. To use the function keys as standard function keys for keyboard shortcuts, you must press the Fn key and the desired F key together. For example, pressing both Fn and F12 (speaker icon) performs the action assigned to the F12 key which is to open Chrome's inspector instead of raising the audio volume of your speakers.

To make the F keys work as standard function keys without holding the Fn key on your Mac, you need to change the default behavior of function keys on your Mac. Moreover, this change in function behavior may resolve any issues related to the  function keys not working on Mac  and  Mac volume function keys not working .

How to change function key behavior on Mac

On macOS Ventura or later :

Step 1. Choose the Apple menu > System Settings .

Step 2. Click Keyboard in the sidebar.

Step 3. Click the Keyboard Shortcuts button on the right.

Step 4. Click Function Keys in the sidebar.

Step 5. Turn on " Use F1, F2, etc. keys as standard function keys ". 

On macOS Monterey or earlier :

Step 1. Choose the Apple menu > System Preferences .

Step 2. Click Keyboard .

Step 3. Mark the checkbox next to " Use F1, F2, etc. keys as standard function keys ".

Now, to use the feature printed on each function key, you must press and hold the Fn key or the 🌐key if you are using a Magic keyboard and then press the required function key. For example, to decrease the display brightness, you must press Fn-F1 or 🌐-F1.

If you're using a non-Apple keyboard that doesn't have an Fn key, try pressing and holding the Control key instead when pressing a function key.

We thank you in advance for sharing the article to help other understand the function keys on their Mac keyboard.

How to use function keys on MacBook Pro with Touch Bar

If you own a MacBook with a Touch Bar, you may have noticed that traditional F keys are removed from the keyboard. 

Since the Touch Bar provides icons for adjusting display brightness and changing audio volume, the F buttons become unnecessary for the system feature controlling purpose. However, if you prefer to use the F keys on your MacBook Pro across different apps as standard function keys, there are two manual methods to enable your MacBook Pro's Touch Bar to display the F1 through F12 keys.

Temporarily show F keys on Touch Bar

Simply press and hold the fn key or 🌐 key on your MacBook Pro keyboard.

Permanently show F keys on Touch Bar

Step 1. Open the Apple menu > System Settings .

Step 3. Click the Touch Bar Settings button on the right.

Step 4. Next to " Touch Bar Shows ", choose " F1, F2, etc. keys ". 

Step 5. Click Done .

Step 1. Open the Apple menu > System Preferences > Keyboard .

Step 2. Under " Touch Bar shows ," select " F1, F2, etc. keys ".

Mac keyboard shortcuts with function keys

Below are the Mac keyboard shortcuts involving the function keys.

• Control-F2 or Fn-Control-F2: Move focus to the menu bar
• Control-F3 or Fn-Control-F3: Move focus to the Doc
• Control-F4 or Fn-Control-F4: Move focus to the active window or next window
• Control-F5 or Fn-Control-F5: Move focus to the window toolbar
• Control-F6 or Fn-Control-F6: Move focus to the floating window
• Control-Shift-F6: Move focus to the previous panel
• Control-F7 or Fn-Control-F7: Change the way Tab moves focus—between navigation of all controls on the screen, or only text boxes and lists
• Control-F8 or Fn-Control-F8: Move focus to the status menu in the menu bar
• Option-Command-F5: Show the  Accessibility Shortcuts panel
• Fn-Delete: Forward delete on keyboards that don't have a Forward Delete key
• Fn–Up Arrow: Scroll up one page
• Fn–Down Arrow: Scroll down one page
• Fn–Left Arrow: Scroll to the beginning of a document
• Fn–Right Arrow: Scroll to the end of a document
• Command - F5: Turn  Voiceover  on or off

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Jessica Shee is a senior tech editor at iBoysoft. Throughout her 4 years of experience, Jessica has written many informative and instructional articles in data recovery, data security, and disk management to help a lot of readers secure their important documents and take the best advantage of their devices.

No. 308, 3/F, Unit 1, Building 6, No. 1700, Tianfu Avenue North, High-tech Zone

Copyright© 2024 iBoysoft ® . All Rights Reserved.

How to remap a keyboard on a Mac

Use free software to swap keys around, reassign shortcuts, and even control your mouse cursor with your keyboard..

By Nathan Edwards , a senior reviews editor who's been testing tech since 2007. Previously at Wirecutter and MaximumPC. Current fixations: keyboards, DIY tech, and the smart home.

Share this story

Say you’re a Mac user who just got a fancy new keyboard, but it has a Windows layout. Or you want to use the same keyboard with both Windows and Mac machines. Or you’ve gotten used to a specific layout, and now your muscle memory is all wrong.

The biggest differences between Macs and Windows PCs are in the bottom row modifier keys. Windows computers have Ctrl, Win, and Alt, whereas Macs have Control, Option, and Command. macOS automatically maps the Alt to Option and Win to Command. But Windows uses the Control key for most of the shortcuts that Macs use the Command key for, which means you have to remember to copy / paste using your pinkie on one computer and using your index finger on another. Who wants that?

You could try to rewire your brain — and there’s something to be said for neuroplasticity — or you could remap your keyboard so the modifiers are where your fingers want them to be. 

If you have a fancy mechanical keyboard , it might come with software to let you remap the keys at the hardware level . Or your keyboard might have a Mac / Windows switch that flips the modifier positions. But you can remap any keyboard, including the one on your MacBook, with a couple of free macOS tools. 

How to remap modifier keys in macOS Ventura or Monterey

If you just want to put the modifier keys where your fingers expect them to be, you can do that within macOS. 

If you’re using macOS Ventura:

• Open System Settings , scroll to Keyboard , and select Keyboard Shortcuts…  
• Hit Modifier Keys at the bottom of the left menu pane. 
• Select your keyboard from the dropdown menu. 

If you’re using macOS Monterey:

• Open System Preferences and select Keyboard . 
• Hit the Modifier Keys … button on the lower right 

Here you can swap the locations of Caps Lock, Control, Option, Command, and Function (or Globe) keys. On my MacBook’s built-in keyboard, I use this to put the Command key where Caps Lock usually goes since that’s where I put it on my other keyboards. On my external keyboard, I’ve already changed Caps Lock to Control in the firmware, so I use this tool to swap Control and Command, which puts Command on the Caps Lock key on that keyboard, too. 

Yes, this is weird. But not as weird as dedicating a giant key on the home row to Caps Lock. 

Remap your entire keyboard in macOS using Karabiner Elements

For more complex modifications or to remap other keys, you can use a free program called Karabiner Elements . Karabiner can assign just about any keycode to any key, as well as perform more complex modifications. I use it to swap the Backspace and backslash keys on my MacBook’s internal keyboard to match my external keyboard and swap Command and Control on my external keyboard in lieu of the built-in tool. 

Karabiner can do much more than just swap key positions, though. You can change the functions of the function keys, assign hotkeys to launch specific programs or send multiple keycodes with one key — turning Caps Lock into Cmd + Control + Option + Shift, for example. You can make keys do one thing when tapped and another when held, use the keyboard to control the mouse cursor, and more. And you can assign different behaviors to different keyboards. 

The easiest way to mess around with complex modifications using Karabiner is to download a few that other users have submitted . You can also write your own in a JSON file, but that’s way outside the scope of this article. Even the web GUI that was built to make it easier is not exactly beginner friendly. 

One word of caution: make sure you don’t double-dip. I couldn’t figure out why my Command and Control keys weren’t swapped until I realized that I had set up the same swap in both macOS and Karabiner Elements. To paraphrase Mitch Hedberg : I remapped a remap; it was back to normal. 

I’ve barely scratched the surface of Karabiner Elements myself. Though my preference is still for keyboards where you can do all of the above in firmware, Karabiner works on any old keyboard, and that’s why it’s great. 

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How can I program the function keys on my MacBook?

I'd like to assign basic tasks to the function keys (or other keys if it's easier) on my MacBook. For example I'd like the following to happen when F1 (or whatever key) is pressed:

• Launch Safari
• Open a new window
• Navigate to some specified site

Another example could be:

• Launch Xcode
• Open some specific project

I've experimented with the Automator for things like re-naming dozens of files in a particular directory but I don't know where to start for the above examples.

3 Answers 3

It's quite easy in OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, by creating a new service. This is not supported in earlier versions of OS X. For example:

• Start Applications » Automator.
• Select "Service" for the template of the new Automator workflow.
• In the top of the right pane, select "Service receives no input in any application ".
• Drag action "Run AppleScript" from the left pane into the workflow on the right pane.
• Replace the default with:

• Optional: click the Run button to test.
• Hit Cmd-S to save. The name you type will be the name in the Services menu. The workflow will be saved in ~/Library/Services .

Or, to have the default application open the file or location † :

• Instead of dragging action "Run AppleScript" into the workflow, use "Run Shell Script".
• Leave Shell at its default "/bin/bash", and replace the default command cat with: open "http://superuser.com" or open "/Developer/Examples/OpenGL/Cocoa/CocoaGL/CocoaGL.xcodeproj"
• Open System Preferences » Keyboard » pane Keyboard Shortcuts.
• Select "Services" in the left pane.
• Scroll down to General in the right pane.
• Double-click to the right of the Automator workflow you just created.
• Press the keys you want to use (and if applicable, remove existing associations if you get a warning "Shortcut used by another action"), and switch panes to ensure the new shortcut is saved.

Unfortunately, it seems that this way Services cannot be assigned a function key (the key is displayed but remains in "edit mode", and when clicking elsewhere, it's lost, which is different from assigning function keys to built-in things like Exposé, or when adding an application shortcut).

To assign a function key, there are two options:

• Assume that most applications have a Services menu, and hence will find the name like it appears there. So, if the service is named "Open Super User" then map the menu item Services » Open Super User:
• Select "Application Shortcuts" in the left pane.
• Select "All Applications" in the right pane.
• Add an entry for the exact name "Open Super User" and assign some function key.
• Or, use the command line:

Find its hexadecimal keycode: F1 = \UF704 , F2 = \UF705 , ..., F6 = \UF709 , F7 = \UF70A , etc .

Prefix that with any combination of @ for Command, ^ for Ctrl, ~ for Option, and $ for Shift.

Open Terminal. If the name of the service is Open Super User , then to map that service to F1, run:

To make all running applications aware of the change you made using Terminal:

† There must be some AppleScript version of this as well, but I'm no expert... Anyone?

• 1 AppleScript for opening URLs: open location "http://superuser.com" . The same with file paths, but prefix with file:// , e.g. open location "file:///Users/danielbeck/Desktop" . This command is part of StandardAdditions in the AppleScript Editor library. Both this and System Events are full of really useful stuff. –  Daniel Beck ♦ Jan 10, 2011 at 17:52

I don't believe there is a way to do so in Mac OS X without resorting to third party applications.

Quicksilver is one of these third party applications, and there is an excellent tutorial on settings up triggers in Quicksilver . With Quicksilver you can then set it up to activate whatever program you want to activate, and or even run external scripts that then do things such as Automator scripts.

You can use FastScripts to assign keyboard shortcuts to AppleScripts or Automator actions.

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for browse other questions tagged macbook automation automator ..

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How to Remap the Fn Keys on macOS

All of the Fn keys on a Mac are mapped by default to perform specific functions that can be quickly accessible by users. For example, the F1 and F2 keys, when pressed, increase and decrease your screen’s brightness respectively. While some of the Fn keys and their associated functions are used regularly, some of them, like F3 – Expose view, might not be used that much, and it will be more useful to remap it to perform another function. Here we’ll show you how to remap the Fn keys on your macOS.

Also read: How to Add Options to macOS’s Services Menu

The first thing we need to do is to disable the default actions assigned to the Function keys. To do this:

1. Open System Preferences on your Mac.

2. Select Keyboard.

3. From the “Keyboard” menu, enable the option to “Use F1, F2, etc. keys as standard function keys.”

Once this option is enabled, you’ll see that the Fn keys, when pressed, will not perform the normal actions that are inscribed on them.

We’ll now assign our own custom shortcuts to them.

1. In the same window, open the “Shortcuts” tab.

2. Using the first and second tab, you can select a specific function you want and click on the keyboard shortcut in front of it to remap the function to a Fn key.

For example, if you want to use the F5 to turn “Do Not Disturb” on/off, simply click on the shortcut in front of it and press the F5 key on your keyboard.

Also read: How To Set a Do Not Disturb Keyboard Shortcut on Your Mac

It’s simple to assign one of the functions listed by default to a specific Fn key, but if you want to assign a custom function from an app’s menu, you can do so as follows:

1. In the “Shortcuts” section, select “App Shortcuts” from the left-hand pane and click on the “+” icon.

2. Here you have a few options. Firstly, you can choose to create a shortcut that is common to all applications that offer the function. In this example, we’ll be creating a custom shortcut to enter “Full Screen” mode. Since I’d like that to happen in all applications, I’ll select “All Applications.” If you would like to create a shortcut for a specific app, you can choose that specific app from the list.

3. We now need the exact function we want the keyboard shortcut to perform. Keep in mind that the shortcut will perform the specific function from the app menu, so we need to know the exact function name.

To check this, simply navigate to the app menu and note down the exact name of the function you want. Since we want our keyboard shortcut to enter full-screen mode on any app when pressed, we’ll find the option from the app menu and take note of it.

The function name is “Enter Full Screen.” We’ll enter this in the “Menu Title” section of the System Preferences tab.

4. Simply specify the Fn key you want to use as the shortcut. You can specify any other keyboard key combinations as well.

Using the tutorials specified above, you can disable the default functions assigned to the Fn keys and replace them with custom functions of your own.

If you’d like to use a few of the default Fn key functions, while remapping a few for your custom shortcuts, you’ll need to install a third-party program to do so. We recommend using Karabiner . It is free and gets the job done.

In the application, you’ll find the option to remap the Fn keys to perform some different functions as well as work as another key. For any Fn key whose function you want to leave as is, don’t change any setting.

However, for the key you’d like to change, select the particular Fn key (for example, F8) from the list in front of it and use the guide mentioned above to assign a shortcut to it from your keyboard settings. Keep in mind, for this you’ll need to keep the “Use F1, F2, etc. keys as standard function keys” option disabled .

It is easy to remap the Fn keys in macOS. Did you find the guide useful? Let us know in the Comments section below.

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Shujaa Imran is MakeTechEasier's resident Mac tutorial writer. He's currently training to follow his other passion become a commercial pilot. You can check his content out on Youtube

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How to program the function keys

• Thread starter Mosey
• Start date Aug 31, 2007
• Sort by reaction score

macrumors member

• Aug 31, 2007

I'm switching from a PC to a Mac. I have a PC utility called "My Function Keys" that allows me to "program" the function keys to do a combination of keystrokes. For example, I can set up F9 to do a copy and F10 to do a paste, so I don't have to do the Ctrl-C and Ctrl-V, or I can set up F2 to type my address, etc. Is there a similar utility for the Mac? I did find some information at this link: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=60432 Which states: iBook: How Programmable Function Keys Work This article describes the programmable function key operation for iBook and the PowerBook (FireWire) computers. The programmable function keys were created to help simplify common, everyday tasks performed on the computer. You can use these keys to open a browser, an email application, or any other frequently used application or server by pressing a single key. To set up a programmable function key, open the Keyboard control panel. Or, if the keys have not been programmed yet, simply pressing one of them brings up a dialog box that leads you to the Keyboard control panel. Apple has preprogrammed F1 through F6 with such common control functions as screen brightness, speaker volume, and so on. F7 through F12 can be programmed for your personal choices. To help you identify what the function keys were programmed to do, Apple includes with iBook a variety of durable stickers with preselected icons. Once the keys are programmed, you can select the stickers that will best remind you of the assigned functions. Note: The stickers should not be placed on the keycap itself, rather above them on the iBook case. To remove the sticker, use a fingernail or other non-abrasive tool to remove them and avoid scratching the plastics. The function keys F1 through F12 can be easily reset to have primary functionality. Simply open the Keyboard control panel and select Options. Then check the box that says Use F1 through F12 as Function keys. Note: Programmable function keys are not a feature of Mac OS X 10.0 So, it appears the iBook will do what I'm looking for, but not the iMac!  

Moderator emeritus

mkrishnan said: Does any of that make sense? Click to expand...

Mosey said: Mohan, Yes, it does make sense. Thanks for all the info, I can't wait to get home and try this (I'm at work now, I know - I'm supposed to be working!). Let me make sure I understand your example. You have set it up so when you press the F11 key, it will do a "Copy" and copy the selected text into a buffer so it can be pasted later, that is the same thing as if you press Command-C. Is that right? So, I can use this same procedure to make, say F12, do a "Paste" that does the same thing as pressing Command-V? If so, then this is what I'm looking for. I would like to do this for MS Word, TextEdit, etc. I'll take a look at Global Hotkey and AliasKeys. I also came across a utility called SimpleKeys http://www.pidog.com/SimpleKeys/ Thanks! Click to expand...

Mosey said: Let me make sure I understand your example. You have set it up so when you press the F11 key, it will do a "Copy" and copy the selected text into a buffer so it can be pasted later, that is the same thing as if you press Command-C. Is that right? So, I can use this same procedure to make, say F12, do a "Paste" that does the same thing as pressing Command-V? If so, then this is what I'm looking for. I would like to do this for MS Word, TextEdit, etc. Click to expand...

macrumors regular

• Jan 13, 2009
• Mar 8, 2010

TheJae said: Please accept my apologies for fishing back an old topic. My question is, how do you chang the hardware function keys? I have the latest MBP and expose is now gone from the keyboard and I would like to replace dashboard shortcut with expose. Click to expand...

Introducing Copilot+ PCs

May 20, 2024 | Yusuf Mehdi - Executive Vice President, Consumer Chief Marketing Officer

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An on-demand recording of our May 20 event is available .

Today, at a special event on our new Microsoft campus, we introduced the world to a new category of Windows PCs designed for AI, Copilot+ PCs.    

Copilot+ PCs are the fastest, most intelligent Windows PCs ever built. With powerful new silicon capable of an incredible 40+ TOPS (trillion operations per second), all – day battery life and access to the most advanced AI models, Copilot+ PCs will enable you to do things you can’t on any other PC. Easily find and remember what you have seen in your PC with Recall, generate and refine AI images in near real-time directly on the device using Cocreator, and bridge language barriers with Live Captions, translating audio from 40+ languages into English .  

These experiences come to life on a set of thin, light and beautiful devices from Microsoft Surface and our OEM partners Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP, Lenovo and Samsung, with pre-orders beginning today and availability starting on June 18. Starting at $999, Copilot+ PCs offer incredible value.  

This first wave of Copilot+ PCs is just the beginning. Over the past year, we have seen an incredible pace of innovation of AI in the cloud with Copilot allowing us to do things that we never dreamed possible. Now, we begin a new chapter with AI innovation on the device. We have completely reimagined the entirety of the PC – from silicon to the operating system, the application layer to the cloud – with AI at the center, marking the most significant change to the Windows platform in decades.  

YouTube Video

The fastest, most secure Windows PCs ever built  

We introduced an all-new system architecture to bring the power of the CPU, GPU, and now a new high performance Neural Processing Unit (NPU) together. Connected to and enhanced by the large language models (LLMs) running in our Azure Cloud in concert with small language models (SLMs), Copilot+ PCs can now achieve a level of performance never seen before. They are up to 20x more powerful [1] and up to 100x as efficient [2] for running AI workloads and deliver industry-leading AI acceleration. They outperform Apple’s MacBook Air 15” by up to 58% in sustained multithreaded performance [3] , all while delivering all-day battery life.  With incredible efficiency, Copilot+ PCs can deliver up to 22 hours of local video playback or 15 hours of web browsing on a single charge. [4] That is up to 20% more battery in local video playback than the MacBook Air 15”. [5]

Windows now has the best implementation of apps on the fastest chip, starting with Qualcomm. We now offer more native Arm64 experiences than ever before, including our fastest implementation of Microsoft 365 apps like Teams, PowerPoint, Outlook, Word, Excel, OneDrive and OneNote. Chrome, Spotify, Zoom, WhatsApp, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Lightroom, Blender, Affinity Suite, DaVinci Resolve and many more now run​ natively on Arm to give you great performance with additional apps, like Slack, releasing later this year. In fact, 87% of the total app minutes people spend in apps today have native Arm versions. [6] With a powerful new emulator, Prism, your apps run great, whether native or emulated.

Every Copilot+ PC comes secured out of the box. The Microsoft Pluton Security processor will be enabled by default on all Copilot+ PCs and we have introduced a number of new features, updates and defaults to Windows 11 that make it easy for users to stay secure. And, we’ve built in personalized privacy controls to help you protect what’s important to you. You can read more about how we are making Windows more secure here .

Entirely new, powerful AI experiences   

Copilot+ PCs leverage powerful processors and multiple state-of-the-art AI models, including several of Microsoft’s world-class SLMs, to unlock a new set of experiences you can run locally, directly on the device. This removes previous limitations on things like latency, cost and even privacy to help you be more productive, creative and communicate more effectively.  

Recall instantly  

We set out to solve one of the most frustrating problems we encounter daily – finding something we know we have seen before on our PC. Today, we must remember what file folder it was stored in, what website it was on, or scroll through hundreds of emails trying to find it.   

Now with Recall, you can access virtually what you have seen or done on your PC in a way that feels like having photographic memory. Copilot+ PCs organize information like we do – based on relationships and associations unique to each of our individual experiences. This helps you remember things you may have forgotten so you can find what you’re looking for quickly and intuitively by simply using the cues you remember. [7]

You can scroll across time to find the content you need in your timeline across any application, website, document, or more. Interact intuitively using snapshots with screenray to help you take the next step using suggested actions based on object recognition. And get back to where you were, whether to a specific email in Outlook or the right chat in Teams.

Recall leverages your personal semantic index, built and stored entirely on your device. Your snapshots are yours; they stay locally on your PC. You can delete individual snapshots, adjust and delete ranges of time in Settings, or pause at any point right from the icon in the System Tray on your Taskbar. You can also filter apps and websites from ever being saved. You are always in control with privacy you can trust.

Cocreate with AI-powered image creation and editing, built into Windows

Since the launch of Image Creator, almost 10 billion images have been generated, helping more people bring their ideas to life easily by using natural language to describe what they want to create. Yet, today’s cloud offerings may limit the number of images you can create, keep you waiting while the artwork processes or even present privacy concerns. By using the Neural Processing Units (NPUs) and powerful local small language models, we are bringing innovative new experiences to your favorite creative applications like Paint and Photos.

Combine your ink strokes with text prompts to generate new images in nearly real time with Cocreator. As you iterate, so does the artwork, helping you more easily refine, edit and evolve your ideas. Powerful diffusion-based algorithms optimize for the highest quality output over minimum steps to make it feel like you are creating alongside AI. Use the creativity slider to choose from a range of artwork from more literal to more expressive. Once you select your artwork, you can continue iterating on top of it, helping you express your ideas, regardless of your creative skills.

Take photo editing and image creation to the next level. With Restyle Image, you can reimagine your personal photos with a new style combining image generation and photo editing in Photos. Use a pre-set style like Cyberpunk or Claymation to change the background, foreground or full picture to create an entirely new image. Or jumpstart your next creative project and get visual inspiration with Image Creator in Photos. On Copilot+ PCs you can generate endless images for free, fast, with the ability to fine tune images to your liking and to save your favorites to collections.

Innovative AI experiences from the creative apps you love

We are also partnering with some of the biggest and most-loved applications on the planet to leverage the power of the NPU to deliver new innovative AI experiences.

Together with Adobe, we are thrilled to announce Adobe’s flagship apps are coming to Copilot+ PCs, including Photoshop, Lightroom and Express – available today. Illustrator, Premiere Pro and more are coming this summer. And we’re continuing to partner to optimize AI in these apps for the NPU. For Adobe Creative Cloud customers, they will benefit from the full performance advantages of Copilot+ PCs to express their creativity faster than ever before.

DaVinci Resolve Studio    

Effortlessly apply visual effects to objects and people using NPU-accelerated Magic Mask in DaVinci Resolve Studio.  

Remove the background from any video clip in a snap using Auto Cutout running on the NPU in CapCut.  

Stay in your flow with faster, more responsive adaptive input controls, like head movement or facial expressions via the new NPU-powered camera pipeline in Cephable.  

LiquidText  

Make quicker and smarter annotations to documents, using AI features that run entirely on-device via NPU, so data stays private in LiquidText. 

Have fun breaking down and remixing any music track, with a new, higher-quality version of NeuralMix™ that’s exclusive to NPU in Algoriddim’s djay Pro.  

Connect and communicate effortlessly with live captions  

In an increasingly connected and global world, Windows wants to bring people closer together. Whether catching up on your favorite podcast from a different country, or watching your favorite international sports team, or even collaborating with friends and colleagues across the world, we want to make more content accessible to more people.   

Live Captions now has live translations and will turn any audio that passes through your PC into a single, English-language caption experience, in real time on your screen across all your apps consistently. You can translate any live or pre-recorded audio in any app or video platform from over 40 languages into English subtitles instantly, automatically and even while you’re offline. Powered by the NPU and available across all Copilot+ PCs, now you can have confidence your words are understood as intended.   

New and enhanced Windows Studio Effects  

Look and sound your best automatically with easily accessible controls at your fingertips in Quick Settings. Portrait light automatically adjusts the image to improve your perceived illumination in a dark environment or brighten the foreground pixels when in a low-light environment. Three new creative filters (illustrated, animated or watercolor) add an artistic flare. Eye contact teleprompter helps you maintain eye contact while reading your screen. New improvements to voice focus and portrait blur help ensure you’re always in focus.   

Copilot, your everyday AI companion

Every Copilot+ PC comes with your personal powerful AI agent that is just a single tap away on keyboards with the new Copilot key. [8] Copilot will now have the full application experience customers have been asking for in a streamlined, simple yet powerful and personal design. Copilot puts the most advanced AI models at your fingertips. In the coming weeks, get access to the latest models including GPT-4o from our partners at OpenAI, so you can have voice conversations that feel more natural.

Advancing AI responsibly

At Microsoft, we have a company-wide commitment to develop ethical, safe and secure AI. Our responsible AI principles guided the development of these new experiences, and all AI features are aligned with our standards. Learn more here .

New Copilot+ PCs from Microsoft Surface and our partners

We have worked with each of the top OEMs — Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP, Lenovo, Samsung — and of course Surface, to bring exciting new Copilot+ PCs that will begin to launch on June 18. Starting at $999, these devices are up to $200 less than similar spec’d devices [9] .

Surface plays a key role in the Windows ecosystem, as we design software and hardware together to deliver innovative designs and meaningful experiences to our customers and fans. We are introducing the first-ever Copilot+ PCs from Surface: The all-new Surface Pro and Surface Laptop.

The new Surface Laptop is a powerhouse in an updated, modern laptop design with razor-thin bezels, a brilliant touchscreen display, AI-enhanced camera, premium audio, and now with a haptic touchpad.

Choose between a 13.8” and 15” display and four stunning colors. Enjoy up to 22 hours of local video playback on Surface Laptop 15” or up to 20 hours on Surface Laptop13.8” on top of incredible performance and all-new AI experiences.

The new Surface Pro is the most flexible 2-in-1 laptop, now reimagined with more speed and battery life to power all-new AI experiences. It introduces a new, optional OLED with HDR display, and ultrawide field of view camera perfect for Windows Studio Effects. The new Surface Pro Flex Keyboard is the first 2-in-1 keyboard designed to be used both attached or detached. It delivers enhanced stability, with Surface Slim Pen storage and charging integrated seamlessly, as well as a quiet, haptic touchpad. Learn more here.

New Copilot+ PCs from the biggest brands available starting June 18:

• Acer : Acer’s Swift 14 AI 2.5K touchscreen enables you to draw and edit your vision with greater accuracy and with color-accurate imagery. Launch and discover AI-enhanced features, like Acer PurifiedVoice 2.0 and Purified View, with a touch of the dedicated AcerSense button.
• ASUS : The ASUS Vivobook S 15 is a powerful device that brings AI experiences to life with its Snapdragon X Elite Platform and built-in Qualcomm® AI. It boasts 40+ NPU TOPS, a dual-fan cooling system, and up to 1 TB of storage. Next-gen AI enhancements include Windows Studio effects v2 and ASUS AiSense camera, with presence-detection capabilities for Adaptive Dimming and Lock. Built for portability, it has an ultra-slim and light all-metal design, a high-capacity battery, and premium styling with a single-zone RGB backlit keyboard.
• Dell : Dell is launching five new Copilot+ PCs, including the XPS 13, Inspiron 14 Plus, Inspiron 14, Latitude 7455, and Latitude 5455, offering a range of consumer and commercial options that deliver groundbreaking battery life and unique AI experiences. The XPS 13 is powered by Snapdragon X Elite processors and features a premium, futuristic design, while the Latitude 7455 boasts a stunning QHD+ display and quad speakers with AI noise reduction. The Inspiron14 and Inspiron 14 Plus feature a Snapdragon X Plus 1and are crafted with lightweight, low carbon aluminum and are energy efficient with EPEAT Gold rating.
• HP : HP’s OmniBook X AI PC and HP EliteBook Ultra G1q AI PC with Snapdragon X Elite are slim and sleek designs, delivering advanced performance and mobility for a more personalized computing experience. Features include long-lasting battery life and AI-powered productivity tools, such as real-time transcription and meeting summaries. A 5MP camera with automatic framing and eye focus is supported by Poly Studio’s crystal-clear audio for enhanced virtual interactions.
• Lenovo : Lenovo is launching two AI PCs: one built for consumers, Yoga Slim 7x, and one for commercial, ThinkPad T14s Gen 6. The Yoga Slim 7x brings efficiency for creatives, featuring a 14.5” touchscreen with 3K Dolby Vision and optimized power for 3D rendering and video editing. The T14s Gen 6 brings enterprise-level experiences and AI performance to your work tasks, with features including a webcam privacy shutter, Wi-Fi 7 connectivity and up to 64GB RAM.
• Samsung : Samsung’s new Galaxy Book4 Edge is ultra-thin and light, with a 3K resolution 2x AMOLED display and Wi-Fi 7 connectivity. It has a long-lasting battery that provides up to 22 hours of video playback, making it perfect for work or entertainment on the go.

Learn more about new Copilot+ PCs and pre-order today at Microsoft.com and from major PC manufacturers, as well as other leading global retailers.

Start testing for commercial deployment today

Copilot+ PCs offer businesses the most performant Windows 11 devices with unique AI capabilities to unlock productivity, improve collaboration and drive efficiency. As a Windows PC, businesses can deploy and manage a Copilot+ PC with the same tools and processes used today including IT controls for new features and AppAssure support. We recommend IT admins begin testing and readying for deployment to start empowering your workforce with access to powerful AI features on these high-performance devices. You can read more about our commercial experiences here .

AI innovation across the Windows ecosystem  

Like we’ve always done with Windows, we have built a platform for our ecosystem partners to build on.  

The first Copilot+ PCs will launch with both the Snapdragon® X Elite and Snapdragon® X Plus processors and feature leading performance per watt thanks to the custom Qualcomm Oryon™ CPU, which delivers unrivaled performance and battery efficiency. Snapdragon X Series delivers 45 NPU TOPS all-in-one system on a chip (SoC). The premium integrated Qualcomm® Adreno ™ GPU delivers stunning graphics for immersive entertainment. We look forward to expanding through deep partnerships with Intel and AMD, starting with Lunar Lake and Strix Point. We will bring new Copilot+ PC experiences at a later date. In the future we expect to see devices with this silicon paired with powerful graphics cards like NVIDIA GeForce RTX and AMD Radeon™, bringing Copilot+ PC experiences to reach even broader audiences like advanced gamers and creators.  

We are at an inflection point where the PC will accelerate AI innovation. We believe the richest AI experiences will only be possible when the cloud and device work together in concert. Together with our partners, we’re setting the frame for the next decade of Windows innovation.  

[1] Based on snapshot of aggregated, non-gaming app usage data as of April 2024 for iGPU-based laptops and 2-in-1 devices running Windows 10 and Windows 11 in US, UK, CA, FR, AU, DE, JP.

[2] Tested April 2024 using Phi SLM workload running 512-token prompt processing in a loop with default settings comparing pre-release Copilot+ PC builds with Snapdragon Elite X 12 Core and Snapdragon X Plus 10 core configurations (QNN build) to Windows 11 PC with NVIDIA 4080 GPU configuration (CUDA build).

[3] Tested May 2024 using Cinebench 2024 Multi-Core benchmark comparing Copilot+ PCs with Snapdragon X Elite 12 core and Snapdragon X Plus 10 core configurations to MacBook Air 15” with M3 8 core CPU / 10 Core GPU configuration. Performance will vary significantly between device configuration and usage.

[4] *Battery life varies significantly by device and with settings, usage and other factors. See aka.ms/cpclaims*

[5] *Battery life varies significantly based on device configuration, usage, network and feature configuration, signal strength, settings and other factors. Testing conducted May 2024 using the prelease Windows ADK full screen local video playback assessment under standard testing conditions, with the device connected to Wi-Fi and screen brightness set to 150 nits, comparing Copilot+ PCs with Snapdragon X Elite 12 core and Snapdragon X Plus 10 core configurations running Windows Version 26097.5003 (24H2) to MacBook Air 15” M3 8-Core CPU/ 10 Core GPU running macOS 14.4 with similar device configurations and testing scenario.

[6] Based on snapshot of aggregated, non-gaming app usage data as of April 2024 for iGPU-based laptops and 2-in-1 devices running Windows 10 and Windows 11 in US, UK, CA, FR, AU, DE, JP.

[7] Recall is optimized for select languages (English, Chinese (simplified), French, German, Japanese, and Spanish.) Content-based and storage limitations apply. Learn more here .

[8] Copilot key functionality may vary. See aka.ms/keysupport

[9] Based on MSRPs; actual savings may vary

Tags: AI , Copilot+ PC

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How to use the function keys on your Mac

The top row of keys on your Apple keyboard can control built-in Mac features or be used as standard function keys.

Use the keys to control features

By default, the top row of keys on your Apple keyboard control many different features on your Mac. For example, pressing the keys with speaker icons adjusts the volume.

If your Mac has a Touch Bar, learn about using function keys on MacBook Pro with Touch Bar .

Use the keys as standard function keys

Change the default behavior of the keys

If you want to change the top row of keys to work as standard function keys without holding the Fn key, follow these steps, depending on the version of macOS you're using :

macOS Ventura

Choose Apple menu  > System Settings.

Click Keyboard in the sidebar.

Click the Keyboard Shortcuts button on the right.

Click Function Keys in the sidebar.

Turn on “Use F1, F2, etc. keys as standard function keys”. 2

Earlier macOS versions

Choose Apple menu  > System Preferences.

Click Keyboard.

Select “Use F1, F2, etc. keys as standard function keys”. 2

1. Standard function keys work differently depending on the app and the keyboard shortcuts that you've set up. Some apps have their own keyboard shortcut settings that you can customize.

2. If you don't see this setting, you might be using a keyboard not made by Apple, and you might need a third-party keyboard utility to change the keyboard functions. Check with your keyboard manufacturer for more information.

Related topics

Contact Apple Support

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What Is a Crypto Wallet? The Ultimate Guide for 2024

A fter some hard trading and some good profits, what you want is to smile at your earnings, secure in the knowledge that you got what you worked for.

However, what happens when you lose these hard-earned funds? Tough, right? 

A crypto wallet can save you much of the hassle by helping you to take your funds off an exchange, where they remain perpetually at risk of a hack.

In this article, we’ll answer the burning question “what is a crypto wallet”, get into the types, and how you can make the best use of them as a trader.

Introduction to Crypto Wallets

Crypto wallets are digital tools that store the keys you use to receive, send, and manage cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum. Unlike what many people think, they don’t actually store your crypto coins.  Rather, they manage the access to them on the blockchain, where all transactions are recorded. 

There are two main types of crypto wallets: hot wallets and cold (hardware) wallets. Hot wallets are connected to the internet, making them convenient for quick transactions but more vulnerable to hacks. Hardware wallets, on the other hand, are offline and much more secure, suitable for storing crypto over a long period.

The essential role of a crypto wallet is to enhance security and control. This helps you have full control over your funds, conduct transactions, and verify your balance anytime. 

This autonomy is central to the decentralized nature of cryptocurrencies , removing the need for traditional banking systems and third-party intermediaries.

How Crypto Wallets Function

Crypto wallets work by interacting with various blockchains to enable users to manage their cryptocurrency holdings. They do this primarily through two key components: public keys and private keys. 

Public and Private Keys: The Core of Crypto Wallets

The public key can be shared with others and is what people use to send you cryptocurrency. On the other hand, crypto private keys are confidential and act like a password that allows you to access and control your cryptocurrencies.

When you initiate a transaction, such as sending Bitcoin, the wallet software generates a digital signature by processing the transaction with your private key. This signature proves that you own the crypto associated with the transaction and prevents others from altering the transaction once it’s issued to the blockchain. 

The blockchain, a public ledger that records all transactions, then checks the validity of the transaction using the public key. If everything checks out, the transaction is added to the block, and the changes in balances are reflected on the network.

Diverse Types of Crypto Wallets Explained

Crypto wallets come in various forms, each offering unique features and levels of security. 

Software Wallets: Convenience and Accessibility

Software wallets, which include mobile and desktop versions, are known for their convenience and accessibility. They’re constantly connected to the internet, allowing for quick transactions and easy management of assets through user-friendly interfaces. 

However, their online nature makes them susceptible to security breaches. Examples of software wallets include Exodus , BitGo and MetaMask .

Hardware Wallets: Enhanced Security for Your Digital Assets

Hardware wallets provide a robust security solution for storing digital assets. These physical devices store your private keys offline, shielding them from online threats such as hacking or phishing. 

They are ideal for long-term investors seeking to protect large amounts of cryptocurrency.

Paper Wallets: The Original Cold Storage Solution

Paper wallets were once the standard for cold storage. They’re as simple as printing out your public and private keys on a piece of paper. 

While they eliminate digital threats by being completely offline, they require careful handling and storage to prevent physical damage or loss. If you don’t trust yourself enough to keep your private keys in paper, it’d be best for you to go for a software or hardware wallet. 

Hot Wallets vs. Cold Wallets

Hot wallets and cold wallets differ primarily in their connection to the internet and the level of security they offer. 

For one, hot wallets are digital wallets that are connected to the internet. This constant connectivity provides a high level of convenience, allowing users to quickly access and transact their cryptocurrencies. However, this feature also makes them more vulnerable to online security threats such as hacking, malware, and phishing attacks. 

Hot wallets are best suited for small amounts of cryptocurrency or for transactions that require quick access to funds.

On the other hand, cold wallets are offline storage solutions and aren’t connected to the internet, which significantly reduces their vulnerability to online threats. Cold wallets, such as hardware wallets or paper wallets, are considered much safer for storing large amounts of cryptocurrency over the long term. 

While they offer superior security, they lack the immediacy and convenience of hot wallets, as accessing funds usually requires more steps and cannot be done instantly.

Custodial vs. Non-Custodial Wallets

Custodial wallets are managed by a third party, such as a cryptocurrency exchange or a financial service. 

When using a custodial wallet, the private keys are held by the service provider. This setup offers convenience, as you don’t have to manage the security of their keys themselves. This also means quicker transactions and recovery options if you forget your access details. However, there’s a catch.

Because the private keys are controlled by an external party, users have less control over their funds. There is also an increased risk of losing assets if the provider is hacked.

With non-custodial wallets , you get full control over your private keys—and thus over your crypto assets. No third party has access to these keys. This way, you get top security and are guaranteed that no one else can move your funds.

Still, this also means all responsibility for security falls on you. If your private keys are lost, the funds cannot be recovered by a third party. Non-custodial wallets are ideal for those who prioritize control and security over convenience.

Navigating Crypto Wallet Security

One of the best practices for securing your crypto assets is to use a combination of hot and cold wallets. 

For this, you can store a small amount of cryptocurrency in a hot wallet for everyday transactions and keep the bulk of your assets in a cold wallet, which is significantly less vulnerable to online threats. 

Additionally, you should always use strong, unique passwords for wallet accounts and enable two-factor authentication (2FA) where possible to add an extra layer of security.

Another important in the security framework of crypto wallets is the seed phrase . A seed phrase, typically a series of 12 to 24 words generated when you first set up a wallet, acts as a master key to your assets. It is crucial for the recovery of your funds if your device is lost, damaged, or if you forget your password. 

As such, it’s imperative to store your seed phrase securely and offline—consider using a safe or a deposit box. Also, don’t store it on any online platform or take digital photographs, as these methods are susceptible to hacking.

Factors to Consider When Selecting a Crypto Wallet

When selecting a crypto wallet, several key factors must be considered to ensure the security and accessibility of your digital assets. 

• The type of wallet—hot, cold, custodial, or non-custodial—plays a crucial role in determining the level of security and control you have over your cryptocurrencies. Hot wallets offer convenience for frequent transactions, while cold wallets provide enhanced security for long-term storage.
• Look for wallets that offer strong encryption, two-factor authentication (2FA), and multi-signature options, as these features help protect against unauthorized access and theft.
• The wallet interface should be user-friendly, especially if you are new to cryptocurrencies. It should offer a straightforward way of managing your assets, viewing transaction history, and transferring funds.
• Choose wallets that are well-reviewed by other users and have a track record of reliability and good customer support. This can be crucial in resolving any issues that may arise with your wallet.

Advanced Wallet Features

Advanced wallet features can significantly enhance the security and functionality of managing digital assets, particularly through multi-signature wallets and NFT wallets.

Multi-Signature Wallets for Enhanced Security

Multi-signature wallets, often referred to as multi-sig, require multiple private keys to authorize a single cryptocurrency transaction. 

Thhis ensures that no single person can access funds unilaterally, which is particularly useful for organizations or partnerships where asset control must be shared responsibly. 

It’s a great option, as it reduces the risk of theft or misuse, seeing that all involved parties must agree to any transaction.

NFT Wallets: Storing and Managing Digital Collectibles

NFT wallets, are specialized for storing and managing Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), which represent ownership of unique digital items like artwork, collectibles, or even real estate in virtual worlds. 

These wallets not only store NFTs but also facilitate the safe transfer and verification of ownership of these digital assets. With the booming interest in digital collectibles, having a dedicated NFT wallet helps users securely manage and showcase their digital treasures.

Comparing Crypto Wallets and Crypto Exchanges

It’s essential to understand the differences between crypto wallets and crypto exchanges as a crypto trader or investor. 

Crypto wallets are digital tools designed primarily for the secure storage and management of cryptocurrencies. 

Crypto exchanges , on the other hand, are platforms where users can buy, sell, and trade cryptocurrencies. While exchanges may offer wallet-like functionalities by storing your crypto for trading purposes, they fundamentally operate as a marketplace. This means they control the private keys of the assets held on the exchange, which can introduce risks, particularly if the exchange is compromised.

If security and control over your assets are priorities, a non-custodial wallet is preferable. For active trading and liquidity, an exchange might be more suitable, though it’s wise to transfer assets not immediately needed for trading to a more secure wallet.

Emerging Trends in Crypto Wallet Technology

One significant trend is the development of smart contract-enabled wallets, which let you interact directly with decentralized applications (dApps) and engage in complex financial activities like staking, lending, and yield farming directly through their wallet interface.

Another trend is the integration of biometric security measures, such as fingerprint scanning and facial recognition, to provide an additional layer of security beyond traditional passwords and seed phrases. 

This helps mitigate the risk of unauthorized access and makes wallet security more robust and user-friendly.

There’s also been a move towards multi-currency wallets that can manage various types of digital assets beyond traditional cryptocurrencies, including stablecoins, utility tokens, and NFTs. 

These wallets simplify the user experience by allowing the management of diverse assets in a single interface, reflecting the evolving landscape of digital assets.

Wrapping Up

From the security-focused design of cold wallets to the innovative features of smart contract-enabled wallets, each tool offers unique benefits tailored to various user needs. 

It’s important to stay informed about these tools and the security practices essential to protect your digital assets, and make empowered decisions that align with your financial strategies and security requirements.

Retrace your steps with Recall

Search across time to find the content you need. Then, re-engage with it. With Recall, you have an explorable timeline of your PC’s past. Just describe how you remember it and Recall will retrieve the moment you saw it. Any photo, link, or message can be a fresh point to continue from. As you use your PC, Recall takes snapshots of your screen. Snapshots are taken every five seconds while content on the screen is different from the previous snapshot. Your snapshots are then locally stored and locally analyzed on your PC. Recall’s analysis allows you to search for content, including both images and text, using natural language. Trying to remember the name of the Korean restaurant your friend Alice mentioned? Just ask Recall and it retrieves both text and visual matches for your search, automatically sorted by how closely the results match your search. Recall can even take you back to the exact location of the item you saw.

Note:  Recall is optimized for select languages (English, Chinese (simplified), French, German, Japanese, and Spanish. Content-based and storage limitations apply. For more information, see https://aka.ms/nextgenaipcs .

System requirements for Recall

Your PC needs the following minimum system requirements for Recall:

A Copilot+ PC

8 logical processors

256 GB storage capacity

To enable Recall, you’ll need at least 50 GB of storage space free

Saving screenshots automatically pauses once the device has less than 25 GB of storage space

How to use Recall

To open Recall, use the keyboard shortcut +J , or select the following Recall icon on your taskbar:

Your timeline in Recall is broken up into segments, which are the blocks of time that Recall was taking snapshots while you were using your PC. You can hover over your timeline to review your activity in a preview window. Selecting the location on the timeline or selecting the preview window loads the snapshot where you can  interact with the content .

Search with Recall

Maybe you wanted to make that pizza recipe you saw earlier today but you don’t remember where you saw it. Typing goat cheese pizza into the search box would easily find the recipe again. You could also search for pizza or cheese if you didn’t remember the specific type of pizza or cheese. Less specific searches are likely to bring up more matches though. If you prefer to search using your voice, you can select the microphone then speak your search query.  

By default, results are shown from all apps where Recall found matches. You can narrow down your results by filtering the matches to a specific app by selecting an app from the list.

When the results are displayed, they will be listed under the headings of text matches and visual matches . Matches that are closer to your search are shown first. You’ll also notice that some items are listed as one of the following types of matches:

Close match : Close matches typically include at least one of the search terms or images that are representative of a term in your query.

Related match : Matches that share a commonality with the search terms would be considered related. For instance, if you searched for goat cheese pizza , you might also get related matches that include lasagna or cannelloni since they are Italian dishes too.

Interacting with content

Once you’ve found the item you want to see again, select the tile. Recall opens the snapshot and enables screenray, which runs on top of the saved snapshot. Screenray analyzes what’s in the snapshot and allows you to interact with individual elements in the snapshot. You’ll notice that when screenray is active, your cursor is blue and white. The cursor also changes shape depending on the type of element beneath it. What you can do with each element changes based on what kind of content screenray detects. If you select a picture in the snapshot, you can copy, edit with your default .jpeg app such as Photos , or send it to another app like the Snipping Tool or Paint . When you highlight text with screenray, you can open it in a text editor or copy it. For example, you might want to copy the text of a recipe’s ingredients list to convert it to metric.

Note:  When you use an option that sends snapshot content to an app, screenray creates a temporary file in C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Local\Temp in order to share the content. The temporary file is deleted once the content is transferred over the app you selected to use.

Below your selected snapshot, you have more snapshot options. In many cases, you can have Recall take you back to exact location of the item, such as reopening the webpage, PowerPoint presentation, or app that was running at the time the snapshot was taken. You can also hide screenray, copy the snapshot, delete the snapshot, or select … for more snapshot options.

Pause or resume snapshots

To pause recall, select the Recall icon in the system tray then Pause until tomorrow .  Snapshots will be paused until they automatically resume at 12:00 AM. When snapshots are paused, the Recall system tray icon has a slash through it so you can easily tell if snapshots are enabled. To manually resume snapshots, select the Recall icon in the system tray and then select Resume snapshots .  You can also access the Recall & snapshots settings page from the bottom of this window.

What if I don’t want Recall to save information from certain websites or apps?

You are in control with Recall. You can select which apps and websites you want to exclude, such as banking apps and websites.  You’ll need to use a supported browser for Recall to filter websites and to automatically filter private browsing activity. Supported browsers, and their capabilities include:

Microsoft Edge: blocks websites and filters private browsing activity

Firefox: blocks websites and filters private browsing activity

Opera:  blocks websites and filters private browsing activity

Google Chrome: blocks websites and filters private browsing activity

Chromium based browsers:  For Chromium-based browsers not listed above, filters private browsing activity only, doesn’t block specific websites

To exclude a website:

Select … then Settings to open the Recall & snapshots settings page.

You can also go to Windows Settings > Privacy & Security > Recall & Snapshots to manage Recall.

Select Add website for the Websites to filter setting.

Type the website you want to filter into the text box. Select Add to add it to the websites to filter list.

To exclude an app:

Select … then Settings to open the Recall & snapshots settings page

Select Add app  for the Apps to filter setting.

From the app list, select the app you want to filter from Recall snapshots.

In two specific scenarios, Recall will capture snapshots that include InPrivate windows, blocked apps, and blocked websites. If Recall gets launched, or the Now option is selected in Recall, then a snapshot is taken even when InPrivate windows, blocked apps, and blocked websites are displayed. However, these snapshots are not saved by Recall. If you choose to send the information from this snapshot to another app, a temp file will also be created in C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Local\Temp to share the content. The temporary file is deleted once the content is transferred over the app you selected to use.

Managing your Recall snapshots and disk space

You can configure how much disk space Recall is allowed to use to store snapshots. The amount of disk space you can allocate to Recall varies depending on how much storage your PC has. The following chart shows the storage space options for Recall:

You can change the amount of disk space used or delete snapshots from the Recall & snapshots settings page. 

To change the storage space limit:

1. Expand the Storage settings.

2. Change the Maximum storage for snapshots limit by choosing the limit from the drop-down list. When the limit is reached, the oldest snapshots are deleted first.

To delete snapshots:

Expand the Delete snapshots settings.

You can choose to delete all snapshots or snapshots withing a specific timeframe.

To delete all snapshots, select Delete all .

To delete snapshots from a specific timeframe, select a timeframe from the drop-down list, then select Delete   snapshots.

Keyboard shortcuts for Recall

You can use the following keyboard shortcuts in recall:, when interacting with a snapshot with screenray, you can use the following keyboard shortcuts:, microsoft’s commitment to responsible ai and privacy.

Microsoft has been working to advance AI responsibly since 2017, when we first defined our AI principles and later operationalized our approach through our Responsible AI Standard. Privacy and security are principles as we develop and deploy AI systems. We work to help our customers use our AI products responsibly, sharing our learnings, and building trust-based partnerships. For more about our responsible AI efforts, the  principles that guide us, and the tooling and capabilities we've created to assure that we develop AI technology responsibly, see Responsible AI .

Recall uses optical character recognition (OCR), local to the PC, to analyze snapshots and facilitate search. For more information about OCR, see Transparency note and use cases for OCR . For more information about privacy and security, see Privacy and security for Recall & screenray .

We want to hear from you!

If there's something you like, and especially if there's something you don't like, about Recall you can submit feedback to Microsoft by selecting … then the  Feedback icon  in Recall to submit feedback on any issues that you run into. 

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How to Fix It When a Keyboard Won't Type

It could be as simple as a disconnected or dirty keyboard, but it might be a software or driver problem

• Shoreline Community College

In This Article

Jump to a Section

• Solutions to Try
• Frequently Asked Questions

This article explains how to fix an unresponsive keyboard. This guide covers built-in keyboards as well as wired and wireless keyboards.

Why Won’t My Keyboard Type?

Some of the reasons a keyboard might be unresponsive include:

• The computer is frozen : If the computer or an app is frozen or locked up, you won’t be able to type.
• The keyboard is disconnected : The keyboard may have been unplugged, ran out of batteries, or the wireless connection may have been disrupted.
• The intended text field isn’t selected : If the text field you’re trying to type in has been deselected, your keyboard will either not type or it will be typing somewhere off-screen (so it appears to not work).
• Software or driver problems : Your keyboard driver or some other software issue may be preventing the keyboard from working.

First things first: Check to see if your keyboard has an on/off switch and be sure it's switched to the On position. If it's on and is battery-powered, be sure it has working batteries or is at least somewhat charged.

8 Ways to Fix The Problem

A number of issues could be causing the keyboard to stop typing. Here are some solutions we've seen work:

Make sure you have the correct text field selected. Click directly in the section where you want to type, then try typing again.

If you have accidentally clicked outside the text field where you want to type, your computer won't be accepting any key presses or it will send the type to the wrong place. Even if the app you want to type in is on the screen, it may not be the focus app.

Check your keyboard connection. Unplug it and plug it back in if you’re using a USB keyboard. If that doesn’t work, try plugging it into a different USB port or a different computer to see if that works.

You can also check to see if a different USB cable works if your keyboard uses a detachable USB cable.

Restart your computer . If your computer is responsive, use the mouse to restart it. After it reboots, check to see if the keyboard has started to work.

If the computer isn’t responsive, then you’ll have to try to fix your frozen computer before you can proceed. Once the computer is responsive again, you can proceed with the restart.

Disable sticky and filter keys . If your keyboard seems to work but is behaving unexpectedly and doesn't type the keys you're pressing, you may be able to fix it by disabling sticky, filter, and toggle keys.

Navigate to Settings > Accessibility > Keyboard , and disable sticky keys , filter keys , and toggle keys .

Try selecting a different text field. Open a new app, and try to type in that app.

For example, if you were trying to type in a word processor, open a web browser, click the URL bar, and see if you can type there. If you can, close and restart the first app to see if that fixes the problem.

Check the wireless connection, if your keyboard is wireless. If the keyboard connects using a wireless USB dongle, remove the dongle and plug it back in.

If it connects via Bluetooth, toggle Bluetooth on your computer on and off, and make sure your keyboard connects. You may need to pair your keyboard again if it doesn’t connect.

Clean the keyboard . If your keyboard is dirty, that can keep it from working correctly. This could be why some keys work but others don't.

If you find sticky residue under the keys, it may have failed due to spilled liquid. Cleaning may help, and you can sometimes even save a laptop keyboard after a spill , but it’s also possible it may have suffered permanent damage.

Update your drivers . A driver installation is almost always necessary if you have an advanced keyboard that hasn't been able to type right out of the box. However, even older keyboards that used to type just fine could use a driver update if the existing driver was deleted or needs a bug fix.

If your keyboard stopped working after an update, you may need to roll back your driver instead.

It's unlikely that your laptop's keyboard is suffering from a connection problem since it's built into the system, but it is possible that the keyboard lock may have accidentally been turned on. The steps to unlock a locked laptop keyboard can differ depending on the make and model, but look for a function key with a keyboard icon and press it to see if that solves the problem. If not, look up the process for unlocking your specific laptop model's keyboard and try that.

Restart your Chromebook and try typing again. The issue could also be caused by an error with your using account, so sign out and sign back in with Guest Mode to test the keyboard again. If the keyboard works in Guest Mode, delete the problem account and reconnect it.

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