I think the calculation is a little different. It's the same for everyone when it comes to writing, and maybe I'm just a very specific type of geek, but for me, the best keyboard layout in the world of technology is the standard Macintosh keyboard layout.
Here's why: Did you know that I often use characters like long dashes and curly quotes in my writing, like in this article? Some operating systems, such as Windows, use standard keyboard layouts to display these characters. I found that generating the characters was actually quite difficult and required using the number pad to access them. As with Linux, it is possible to change settings relatively effortlessly.
But on a Mac, you just press the option key, which is in the same place as the Windows key on a standard PC. I don't begrudge Microsoft for putting such an important key in its place, but as a writer I think it's more important to be able to access em-dash without having to navigate through additional menus.
I've been using Windows for many years, but I've never been satisfied with the options. Emoji menus put special characters within reach, but they also require you to go through a visual menu, which interrupts your flow. Excessive use of curly quotes can be very disappointing.
There are certainly reasons why some operating systems prefer other layouts. Not everyone is a writer or typographer. For example, a programmer doesn't want to insert curly quotes in her JavaScript files.
But all is not lost. You see, English is not the only language in the world, there are actually many other countries. I need Special characters for expressing linguistic thoughts. That means his AltGr key serves essentially the same role as his Option key on the Mac. (It's not in the same place, but you can move it.) And with a few programs and a little tweaking, you can actually make a Windows keyboard behave like a Macintosh keyboard.
So here's an easy way to get it working on Windows and Linux.
windows
On Windows, you have to use a few tools to do this, both of which are a bit old and don't have the polish of modern Windows 11 apps.
A while back, a guy named Andrew Dunning developed a set of keyboard layouts using a tool called Microsoft Keyboard Layout Creator. This is a fairly old tool that works with most versions of Windows.
Microsoft's Keyboard Layout Creator lets you quickly work through your Mac's keyboard layout.
Embedded deep within the Microsoft website, the Microsoft Keyboard Layout Creator exports the final result to an application file that can be installed on your operating system. The result is a keyboard layout with your Mac's special characters mapped to a “third level.” ” they call it. If you want to turn it off, please switch back to your original keyboard. You can also fine-tune the keys to suit your own desires.
However, Keyboard Layout Creator isn't perfect, as it doesn't even touch the Control, Alt, or Windows keys, let alone AltGr, which this setup relies on. There are several options for replacing these.
Personally, I use a tool called SharpKeys. You can also use Microsoft's own PowerToys to do this, but SharpKeys makes changes within the registry to give it a more permanent feel. PowerToys' process is similar, but less sophisticated as it essentially remaps keys in memory. This means you may experience random application compatibility issues or strange key presses.
The problem is that SharpKeys doesn't work well with AltGr, which is not a standard key, but if you change the key layout in standard US keyboard mode and switch to the Macintosh layout you just created, it should work. If I map the right Alt key to where the left Windows key is, it will work.
Below is a screenshot of the mapping I personally use for Mac key settings.
A few small changes will make your Windows login experience more pleasant.
(I don't really use the correct Ctrl/Alt keys, but you can easily switch between them if you need to.)
But where should you put the Windows key? My recommendation is to move it to where Caps Lock is. I'll admit I don't use Caps Lock much anyway. Caps Lock is actually a much more convenient place to put the key that brings up the menu. You don't have to get that far. Additionally, other operating systems such as ChromeOS already do this. That makes sense.
Now the keys will no longer match the labels, but if you have muscle memory, they will work fine.
There's one last change we need to make. By default, Windows changes the keyboard layout each time you press the Alt and Shift keys. This means that when you try to press certain third-level keys, the keyboard layout changes. However, if you go to the Settings app,[時間と言語]>[入力]>[キーボードの詳細設定]Go to[入力言語ホット キー]You can turn this off by selecting . Either remove the key command so it doesn't default to Alt+Shift, or don't type the key command at all.
The result is a keyboard that lets you type many special characters without ever taking your fingers off the keyboard.
Linux
On the Windows side, I'll admit it was a bit complicated. On the plus side, it's a little easier to do this on Linux since you can use the default Macintosh layout.
Admittedly, I'm a GNOME user, so the recommendations here are aimed at that windowing interface (and derivatives such as Pop!_OS), but there are many other interfaces, and they all work the same way. Not that I will. If you have a particularly arcane Linux installation, you may need to manually modify configuration files to make it work. I had to do this on my JingPad, but anything more standard wouldn't be a hassle at all in most cases.
First, go to Input Sources in the settings menu and add a new keyboard layout. What Americans like me want is “English (Macintosh)”, but other languages also have the advantage of having his Macintosh layout.
A “third level” Macintosh keyboard layout on Linux.
Select a layout, switch between them, and you're halfway done.
There are a lot of layout changes here, but don't be scared too much.
Next, we'll discuss a tool called GNOME Tweaks. This may or may not come with your distribution by default. If you don't have it, download it from Software Center or using other means. Once you have it, load it and go to the “Keyboard and Mouse” section. Now make some changes.
- Ctrl key: Swap left Ctrl and left Alt
- Key to select third level: Left-handed winner
- caps lock: Make Caps Lock an extra super
Menus can be long and complex, and there are many changes that can be made, but if you know what you want, you can make changes quickly.
Once you've made these changes, your Mac keyboard layout is complete.
Keyboard switcher considerations
Please note that this setup can sometimes come with some quirks. I have an old 104-key Mac keyboard that I use for typing occasionally, and it swaps the option and command keys without me having to ask. You may need to tweak these settings to fit your keyboard behavior.
Also, unlike macOS, where the option key does double duty, the third-level keys and the AltGr key can only be used to enter special characters, which can limit their usefulness in some ways. For example, you can't have the Super key or the Windows key, so you have to put the Windows key somewhere else.
Finally, there may still be important settings to change. On Linux, you'll need to manually change the screenshot settings to match your Mac, but this is very painless and can be done in the setup menu. You can take this quite far if you want.
But eventually, regardless of the interface you use, you should be able to use long dashes, currency symbols like £, €, ¢, and accent marks without having to learn weird key combinations for numbers. is. pad.
If you're a frequent writer like me, you might wonder why the Mac keyboard layout isn't used everywhere.
Third level links
One of the HTML hacks In my article on this topic, I did not mention “tracking pixels”, which are still widely used. Blogger Terence Eden decided to test how small he could get things based on the format he used. Particularly esoteric formats can compress it down to just 23 bytes.
It's rude to think That majestic cover of Cowboy Junkies' “Sweet Jane'' is over 35 years old. I feel like I made it yesterday.
Disasters sometimes create fascinating situations. Hence the story of the man who discovered an undamaged and still functioning iPhone during the recent door incident on Alaska Airlines Flight ASA 1282. It would be a shame not to linkEven if it's Twitter.
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Do you have a frustrated Mac fan? Share this piece with them. See you on the weekend!
