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I have an Apple Wireless Keyboard that has an eject key on the top right. It is useless because my Retina MacBook Pro does not have a CD-ROM.

My MacBook is running OS X Mavericks and I expected eject key to do some power operations, just like the power key on the top-right of MacBook keyboard.

This key is useless now. How can I get it mapped?

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  • Asking why Apple make the decisions they make is rarely a constructive question here. This could be edited so it is about solving a problem, but as it is written, it's really just a rant.
    – Daniel ♦
    Sep 30, 2014 at 3:20

3 Answers 3

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The wireless keyboard can be used with systems that do still have an optical drive, and if you had an external USB SuperDrive for your MacBook Pro, it would function for that.

Your power operations have always been on the eject key using modifier keys; only recently was the power key introduced as part of the keyboard itself.

  • controleject will give you a dialog box where you can choose to go to sleep, restart or shut down.
  • commandoptioneject will go straight to sleep.
  • controlcommandeject will restart.
  • controloptioncommandeject will shut down.
  • controlshifteject will sleep your display only.
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You can use Karabiner (formerly KeyRemap4MacBook) to remap the eject key. Short presses of eject won't get registered unless you also install NoEjectDelay though.

This private.xml maps the eject key to a power button or key:

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<root>
  <item>
    <name>test</name>
    <identifier>test</identifier>
    <autogen>__ConsumerToKey__ ConsumerKeyCode::EJECT, KeyCode::VK_IOHIDPOSTEVENT_NX_POWER_KEY</autogen>
 </item>
</root>

This makes pressing eject open Finder: 

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<root>
  <vkopenurldef>
    <name>KeyCode::VK_OPEN_URL_FINDER</name>
    <url>file:///System/Library/CoreServices/Finder.app</url>
  </vkopenurldef>
  <item>
    <name>Eject to Open Finder</name>
    <identifier>Eject to Open Finder</identifier>
    <autogen>__ConsumerToKey__ ConsumerKeyCode::EJECT, KeyCode::VK_OPEN_URL_FINDER</autogen>
 </item>
</root>
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  • Note that this won't help you turn on your computer.
    – bot47
    Sep 4, 2014 at 5:22
  • Definitely use the application Karabiner, as Daniel recommended. There are so many useful ways to repurpose an unused key when using that app. On my old Macbook Pro, I remapped the eject button so that it makes windows full screen. I really miss having that full screen button . . . time to remap the Launchpad key.
    – codester
    Sep 30, 2014 at 2:27
  • I want my EjectKey to jump to the end of the line. In the UI of Karabiner I cannot select "elect" in the simple modification dialog.
    – Martin Braun
    Jan 11, 2018 at 14:00
  • You can simply remap the eject key to an unavailable key. I remapped mine to F18, then proceeded to select F18 in the keyboard shortcuts mapping to map to the notification pane (and option F18 to DND mode).
    – CMW
    Mar 2, 2020 at 11:19
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Ejector is a paid app that repossesses the eject key for other storage volumes e.g. USB drives, SD cards and mounted disk images etc.

Ejector Image: Ejector

I have no affiliation with the developer. I discovered the app reading a Cult of Mac article.

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    $9.99?! The whitespace isn't even symmetric!
    – Aleksandr Dubinsky
    Mar 31, 2020 at 18:23

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