What Is The Control Key On Mac

Estimator key

⌘
Control key
In Unicode	U+2318 ⌘ PLACE OF INTEREST SIGN

The Control key, ⌘ , formerly likewise known as the Apple tree key or open Apple central, is a modifier key present on Apple keyboards. The Control key's purpose is to permit the user to enter keyboard commands in applications and in the arrangement. An "extended" Macintosh keyboard—the most common type—has ii command keys, one on each side of the space bar; some compact keyboards have 1 merely on the left.

The ⌘ symbol (the "looped square") was chosen by Susan Kare subsequently Steve Jobs decided that the use of the Apple tree logo in the menu system (where the keyboard shortcuts are displayed) would be an over-use of the logo. Apple's adaptation of the symbol—encoded in Unicode at U+2318—was derived in function from its use in Nordic countries equally an indicator of cultural locations and places of interest.^[i] The symbol is known by various other names, including "Saint John's Arms" and "Bowen knot".

History [edit]

Apple'due south computers upward through the 1979 Apple 2 Plus did not accept a command key. The starting time model on which it appeared was the 1980 Apple III, where there are two monochrome Apple keys, both to the left of the space bar on the lowest row of the keyboard. Two other early Apple computers, the 1982 Apple IIe and the 1984 Apple IIc, also had ii such keys, one to the left and i to the right of the infinite bar; in these models, they mapped to the first 2 burn buttons of an fastened joystick. This immune for flexible combinations of a modifier cardinal and base key (such every bit Open-Apple with C for Copy) with just a few extra wires and no ROM changes, since the Apple II could only register 1 key printing at a time (Shift and Control keys were handled in the keyboard encoding hardware which generated ASCII codes). In all these cases, the left Apple key had an outlined "open" Apple logo, and the one on the correct had an opaque, "closed" or "solid" Apple logo key. The Apple Lisa had only the closed Apple logo.

When the Macintosh was introduced in 1984, the keyboard had a unmarried command central with a looped square symbol (⌘, U+2318), because Steve Jobs said that showing the Apple logo throughout the menus as a keyboard shortcut was "taking [it] in vain".^[2] Thus, the ⌘ symbol appears in the Macintosh menus as the principal modifier key symbol. The original Macintosh also had an Option fundamental, which was used primarily for inbound extended characters.

In 1986, the Apple IIGS was introduced. Like the newer Macintosh computers to come up, such as the Macintosh SE, information technology used the Apple tree Desktop Autobus for its keyboard and mouse. Nonetheless, it was nevertheless an Apple II. Apple changed the keys on the TwoGS's keyboard to Command and Option, as on Mac keyboards, merely added an open-Apple tree to the Command key, for consistency with applications for previous Apple Two generations. (The Pick key did not accept a closed-Apple, probably because Apple II applications used the closed-Apple key much more rarely than the open-Apple tree key; thus there was less demand to keep it around.) Because any ADB keyboard could exist used with the 2GS, all of Apple's ADB keyboards—even those intended for the Mac—as well required the open-Apple, and it stuck for more than than twenty years, causing confusion long later the Apple tree Two series went out of production.

The Apple symbol was removed in the keyboard's 2007 redesign,^{[ commendation needed ]} making room for the key's name to appear—the give-and-take "control" is now printed on the cardinal.

NeXT [edit]

NeXT keyboard command key

On the keyboard of the Next Computer that fundamental was marked command in green. The menus were not marked with a symbol denoting the command key.

Also being used equally a modifier key for keyboard shortcuts information technology was too used to modify the function of some keys. Control +⇧ Shift toggles alpha lock, control +return sends Enter and command +F11 🔉 toggles Mute.^[3]

The functions were printed in greenish on the front side of the modified keys. This was as well done on the Z, X, C and V keys (Undo, Cutting, Copy and Paste).

(Left) command -option-* triggers a non-catchable hardware reset thereby difficult rebooting the computer. (Contrary to Ctrl+Alt+Del on a PC compatible computer which triggers merely a software reset.)

On the Adjacent ADB keyboard, the Control keys were replaced by keys labeled assistance and the Command key morphed into a wide Command bar in forepart of the infinite bar.^[iv]

Part [edit]

The purpose of the Command key is to allow the user to enter keyboard shortcuts in applications and in the system. The Macintosh Human Interface Guidelines have e'er recommended that developers use the Command cardinal (and not the Control or Option keys) for this purpose. A pocket-size set of keyboard commands (such as cut and paste, open and save) are standard across nearly all applications, and many other commands are standardized (Find, Show Fonts). If an application needs more than shortcuts than tin can be obtained with the 20-6 letters of the Latin alphabet, double modifiers such as Command+Option are used.

One advantage of this scheme, as contrasted with the Microsoft Windows mixed utilize of the Control and Alt keys, is that the Control primal is available for its original purpose: entering control characters in last applications. (Indeed, the very outset Macintosh lacked a Control key; it was shortly added to allow compatible concluding software.)

The Macintosh keyboard'south other unusual modifier primal, the Selection key, serves as a modifier both for entering keyboard shortcuts and for typing text—it is used to enter strange characters, typographical symbols, and other special characters.

Origin of the symbol [edit]

Swedish road sign no. H22

The ⌘ symbol came into the Macintosh project at a late stage. The development team originally went for their old Apple fundamental, just Steve Jobs found it frustrating when "apples" filled up the Mac's menus next to the key commands, considering he felt that this was an over-use of the company logo.^[2] He then opted for a different primal symbol. With simply a few days left before deadline, the team'southward bitmap artist Susan Kare started researching for the Apple logo'southward successor. She was browsing through a symbol lexicon when she came beyond the cloverleaf-like symbol, ordinarily used in Nordic countries as an indicator of cultural locations and places of interest^[1] ^[5] (information technology is the official road sign for tourist attraction in Denmark, Finland,^[half-dozen] Iceland,^[7] Norway,^[8] and Sweden,^[9] and the computer cardinal has often been called Fornminne —ancient monument—past Swedish Mac users^[x] and Seværdighedstegn —landmark signs—by Danish users). When she showed it to the rest of the squad, everyone liked it, and so it became the symbol of the 1984 Macintosh control key.^[xi] ^[5] Susan Kare states that she has since been told that the symbol was picked for its Scandinavian usage due to its resembling the shape of a square castle with round corner towers equally seen from above looking down, notably Borgholm Castle.^[v]

The symbol was included in the original Macintosh font Chicago, and could be inserted past typing a control q fundamental combination.^[12]

In Unicode and HTML it is encoded as U+2318 ⌘ Place OF Involvement SIGN.^[xiii] ^[14] ^[15]

On other keyboards [edit]

On USB keyboards, the Command keys are mapped to standard keycodes reserved for GUI functions.^[16]

When using a Macintosh computer with a keyboard without Command keys, the ⊞ Windows keys used on Microsoft Windows oriented keyboards, or the ◆ Meta keys used on Lord's day and other Unix keyboards, can be used in identify of the Command keys.^[17] Conversely, when an Apple USB keyboard is used with other operating systems, the Command keys role as Windows keys or Meta keys.

On a Windows keyboard the position of the ⊞ Win and Alt keys are swapped compared to the position of Alt and ⌘ Command keys on an Apple keyboard. In macOS this tin be configured in the keyboard preferences (Modifier Keys ...^[xviii]) and then that the Windows Alt key (next to the space bar) becomes the Mac ⌘ Control key and vice versa then that users practise not take to change their Motor learning. All the modifier keys, along with the ⇪ Caps Lock, can exist remapped to whichever modifier key function the user wishes, and so users of traditional Unix way keyboards may cull to use the ⇪ Caps Lock key as a ⌘ Command key or other modifier.

References [edit]

^ ^a ^b "Susan Kare on Working on the Macintosh". Stanford University. Feb 20, 2001. Archived from the original on May 27, 2015. Retrieved May 27, 2013.
^ ^a ^b Hertzfeld, Andy. "Swedish Campground". Folklore.org: Macintosh Stories . Retrieved December 23, 2006. 'In that location are too many Apples on the screen! Information technology's ridiculous! Nosotros're taking the Apple tree logo in vain! We've got to stop doing that!'
^ NeXT User's Reference, four/90, Reorder Product #N6002
^ big film of a NeXT ADB keyboard showing the "Command bar"
^ ^a ^b ^c Grafik. "High Command". Grafik.
^ "Informative signs". Finnish Ship Agency. August 10, 2011. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved April 5, 2014.
^ "Road Markings, www.chill.is". Archived from the original on April 2, 2015.
^ "Serviceskilt". Vegvesen. Archived from the original on Oct 6, 2014.
^ "Sevärdhet". Transportstyrelsen. Archived from the original on August 23, 2010. (in Swedish)
^ "Fornminne på Mac". Hexmasters Faktoider. Archived from the original on April ii, 2015. (in Swedish)
^ Hertzfeld, Andy. "Swedish Campground". Folklore.org: Macintosh Stories. Archived from the original on May 12, 2015. Retrieved February 21, 2007. 'Xx years later, even in OS 10, the Macintosh withal has a footling chip of a Swedish campground in information technology.'
^ Apple Computer (October 1, 1993). "Technical Note TE505 – Font Managing director Q&As – Macintosh Reference Library". Apple. Retrieved September 2, 2008. Chicago Control-Q prints propeller or clover symbol
^ Allen, Julie D. (Oct 2006). "Unicode Names Alphabetize" (PDF). The Unicode Standard, Version 5.0.0. Unicode Consortium. p. 1214. Retrieved August 21, 2009.
^ "Unicode Character Name Index". Retrieved May 26, 2011.
^ "The Unicode Standard, Version half-dozen.0: Miscellaneous Technical" (PDF) . Retrieved May 26, 2011.
^ "USB HID usage table", FreeBSD Diary , retrieved September 30, 2014
^ Frakes, Dan (Jan 31, 2005). "Mac mini, Windows Keyboard". MacWorld. Mac Publishing. Retrieved December 23, 2006. Windows cardinal acts as Apple tree/control .
^ "How-To: Remap Windows keyboards to match the Mac keyboard layout".