Remap Copy and Paste shortcuts on a Mac

Question

I use Windows at work and a Mac at home. One of the biggest issues is the difference between the copy paste shortcuts on Windows vs the Mac i.e. Ctrl + C & Ctrl + V on Windows and on the Mac its Command + C and Command + V. Invariably its hard because of learnt motor skills where my hand always shapes itself to the Windows Ctrl + C configuration(I have been using Windows longer)

I would like to remap the Copy and Paste to the Fn + C and Fn + V on the Mac. Why? Because the Fn key is actually the key that corresponds to where the Ctrl key is on Windows keyboards and since its the last edge key its easy to find. I have tried Double Command but it doesn't seem to have an option of turning Fn to the Command key.

Solution 1

I was able to get this to work by using a combination of DoubleCommand and jtbandes hint from here. First check the function key acts as control key box in Double command. Then save the file ~/Library/KeyBindings/DefaultKeyBinding.dict with the contents

{"^c" = "copy:";}
{"^v" = "paste:";}
{"^x" = "cut:";}

After you logout and log back in you should be able to use fn-c to copy etc. There are obvious drawbacks to this approach. You have to explicitly define every command you want to use fn for and mapping to control and then fn is really hacky. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get it to work another way. At first I thought you might be able to select both the "command key acts as control key" check box and the "fn key acts as control key" but that didn't seem to work. Ditto for changing to control with Alex's method above. I was also unable to find the modifier for assigning commands to fn, and Apple's documentation seems to indicate that it's done at a lower level than keybinding has access to. If someone knows a better way of doing this I would love to see it.

Solution 2

Go System Preference > Keyboard > keyboard shortcuts and set Application Keyboard Shortcuts > All Applications

Add shortcut

Copy ^C

Undo ^Z

Redo ^⇧Z

Cut ^X

Paste ^V

Select All ^A

Done :)

Solution 3

You could try to map Command to the Control key, and vice-versa. It's much easier to do and, in my opinion, is almost identical to Windows keyboards.

Just go to System Preferences -> Keyboard & Mouse -> Keyboard. On the lower left side is a button, Modifier Keys... Just switch Control and Command around.

Solution 4

1 - Go to "apple"
2 - Go to "system preferences"
3 - Go to "keyboard"
4 - On "keyboard", go to the "keyboard" tab
5 - Go to "modifier keys.."
6 - Change the "Control ( ) Key" drop down box to "Command"
7 - Click "ok"
Done!

Now:

Control+C = copy
Control+V = paste, and
Control+Z = undo

Solution 5

Try IronAHK. It's a complete rewrite of AutoHotkey which you can use to remap keys and make shortcuts.

View more solutions

Comments

[HikeMike]

Read the question to the end.

[Alex]

This has a bad effect if you RDP into Windows.

[Alex]

worked like a charm for the actions listed. Doesn't have a negative effect on RDP like remapping Command <-> Control buttons.

[Jherico]

This is also not a good solution if you use a lot of Java apps in Mac (which typically use the <kbd>Control</kdb> key as it's used in windows) or if you use Terminal a lot, which also uses the <kbd>Control</kdb> in more traditional ways.

[Matthew]

It's not a complete rewrite - unfortunately far from it. It may do what the OP wants however.

[Mark Cooper]

This is the answer. Works on Mac, RDP, VMWare Fusion and Parallels.

[Liam]

This is amazing, and works very well for other applications as well. For example, in Chrome I can now manage tabs using the same shortcuts I use on my PC. I had been previously trying to do this through an extension, but this way is much more reliable. Thank you!

[Ryan Anderson]

So happy! This works like a champ!

[ef2011]

The question asked for the fn key, isn't this only for control?

[Karthik T]

This doesn't work for me, for some reason, it looks like it should, "Edit" lights up when I press ^A, but cursor just moves to the beginning, it doesn't select all.

[Karthik T]

It seems to work now after restart, at least in some places.. firefox still not working

[Braden Anderson]

This also has the unfortunate effect of swapping ctrl+tab and command+tab.

[Drew]

In Mavericks, those shortcuts can be added here: Launchpad -> System Preferences -> Keyboard -> Shortcuts tab -> select App Shortcuts in the left panel -> click the + icon. Another shortcut to add: Save ^S. Also, the above solution will not work in programs that change the menu text, like how Sublime Text changes the entry for “Undo"

[Arckain]

@Drew, I noticed the Sublime Text problem with Undo too. The menu entry says Undo [previous action]. Do you think maybe we can use wildcards in the shortcut definition? Probably a new questions...

[Alexander Mills]

yes but some programs have pre-existing mappings for ctrl-c/ctrl-v on a mac. if you make ctrl-c/ctrl-v map to command-c/command-v then you will have an issue.

[deltree]

Your link is broken

[jpierson]

I thought about this issue as soon as I read the solution.

[Andi Mohr]

In case the link goes dead, this app's name is Karabiner, previously KeyRemap4MacBook

[Krazy Glew]

Q: what programs have pre-existing mappings for ctrl-c/ctrl-v on a mac? Seriously... if I knew, I could possibly arrange for a multi-step mapping to handle them.

[Charles]

A: Terminal maps Control-C on a mac. Although mapping the copy function to Control-C does not appear to affect the operation.

[demon101]

Not work for me in Mac os 10.11

[TimC]

OMG... my life is going to be soooo much better now!

[Dan]

This also totally breaks Vim.

[CaldeiraG]

Why do you think that your suggested app is the best solution? Have you tested yourself?

[Ton Snoei]

Yes, for me this is the best solution to work with. I use it right now. I tried solutions above but they don't work out the way I need (as a former Windows guy).

[SeF]

Thanks! This is the best solution I found so far for the issues of passing from ubuntu to mac!

[thecr0w]

Some apps works fine, but my desktop does not. I can select all by ^+A, but still copy by command+c

[Ulincsys]

Consider adding description of the steps you are taking in the screenshots.

[Duncan]

Good answer, but not exactly correct. On Mojave (10.14) at least, you need to specify the menu commands as "Edit->Copy", "Edit->Cut", etc.. Also, the OP was asking to remap the function keys. This does not seem to be possible with this method.

[Slava]

The best solution is to avoid Mac

[nomadSK25]

you can also add redo by: Redo ctrl+shift+z

[wheeler]

For some reason, this does not work for Firefox, even if I set it for all apps.