My kingdom for a disabled Windows key

September 1, 2010 2:34 PM

How do I disable the left Apple/Windows/"Command" key? Bonus points if I can enable/re-disable quickly.

I use emacs a lot and so use the Alt key a lot. Unfortunately, I plug my laptop into a Windows keyboard at work, and the positions of the Alt and Windows/Apple/"Command" keys are switched.

So whilst running Terminal, I often (for example) pull up the Print dialog box (Apple-P) instead of flipping through shell commands. Frustrating!

I'd like to know if there is a way to disable this Apple/Windows/"Command" key when I come into work, and then re-enable it before I go home.

Is there a way to do this that doesn't involve asking the IT dude for a non-Windows keyboard or buying a regular Apple keyboard out-of-pocket? Thanks for your advice.

posted by Blazecock Pileon to Computers & Internet (3 answers total)

Best answer: You can remap modifiers for each keyboard you connect to your Mac in the "Keyboard" System Preferences pane. Just click "Modifier Keys..." in the bottom right and select your keyboard from the dropdown.

It won't let you individually map left versus right command keys, but you can swap the Alt and Windows keys so that the Windows keyboard is mapped equivalently to a Mac keyboard.
posted by SemiSophos at 2:41 PM on September 1, 2010 [1 favorite]

Also, if you haven't already, try mapping Control onto the Caps Lock key. Makes C- commands far, far more comfortable.
posted by SemiSophos at 2:43 PM on September 1, 2010

Response by poster: You can remap modifiers for each keyboard you connect to your Mac in the "Keyboard" System Preferences pane. Just click "Modifier Keys..." in the bottom right and select your keyboard from the dropdown.

It's mapped to the keyboard — nice. So I don't need to do anything special, it does it for me automagically. Thanks for the pro tip.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 3:04 PM on September 1, 2010