How can I make my Windows keyboard shortcuts work on a Mac, exactly how they do on Windows?

Question

I've yet to find a guide that is both (a) complete, and (b) compatible with recent macOS releases. I have a Windows keyboard that I'd like to set up on my Mac to work with the same shortcuts. Some things I've tried include setting Application Shortcuts, and modifying key actions in the keyboard settings (i.e., setting ⌘ to take the action ⌥) -- these sort of work, but still leave me without several shortcuts.

Shortcuts I'm specifically hoping to get on my Mac:

- ctrl + c : copy
- ctrl + v : paste
- ctrl + x : cut
- ctrl + a : select all
- ctrl + s : save
- ctrl + shift + s : save all
- end : end of line
- home : front of line
- ctrl + end : end of document
- ctrl + home : front of document

I know there are tons more that I'd like, but I assume if I can get the Ctrl, Shift, End, and Home keys working, then the rest of my normal keyboard shortcuts will kind of fall into place from there.

So basically, I'm looking for a way to get my Windows keyboard to act like a Windows keyboard, on a Mac. Is this possible?

Answer 1

1. Install https://pqrs.org/osx/karabiner/
2. Find PC-style shortcuts complex_modifications rules here https://pqrs.org/osx/karabiner/complex_modifications/?q=%20PC-Style%20Shortcuts
3. Click import.
4. Enable all rules that you need in Karabiner-Elements app.
5. If you want to customize shortucts, edit ~/.config/karabiner/assets/complex_modifications/[some-number-here].json, which will be the imported file. You can learn from the other examples and do your own stuff.

Answer 2

This question has already been asked (Windows shortcut support for macOS Sierra) and (quasi) answered in a comment by @Tetsujin

Honestly, you will be better off long-term learning the difference rather than trying to force the Mac to behave like Windows. I've been working cross-platform for 25 years & I've found no better system than 'just work with it, not against it'

To further expand on this, it's important to note that the shortcuts in macOS are not just universal, they are part of the standards for UX/UI design for macOS. Every application (developer) expects this to be the case and may use the shortcuts you referenced above for app specific functions. Remapping those to conform to Windows will undoubtedly cause issues.

From Apple's macOS Human Interface Guidelines under Keyboard:

Respect standard keyboard shortcuts and create app-specific shortcuts for frequently used commands. Keyboard shortcuts let people activate menu items and actions by pressing specific key combination.

And finally, as I have said in the comments of the same linked question:

I came from Windows (on the Desktop, UNIX on the server) background and I still use 3 platforms (Mac, Windows, BSD) almost daily. After a little while, you easily switch from Windows to Mac shortcuts and vice-versa.

Answer 3

Just go to System Preferences > Keyboard > Modifier Keys and change Control (^) Key: to ⌘ Command. All your windows shortcuts should work. I needed the same thing.