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This is my first Mac, and there have been quite a few positives since converting. However, one thing that has been bothering me comes when typing. In short,

How do I reassign option+ -> to control + -> such that hitting that combination will skip to the next word when editing text??

It's physically annoying to hit option and I often switch between Windows and Mac machines and there was nothing apparent to me in the Keyboard Shortcut settings.

Josh Ribeiro
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2 Answers2

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Here is how I essentially made it so my Macbook Pro keyboard operated like a Windows keyboard in regards to navigating words in a text editor

  1. Navigate to System Settings -> Keyboard -> Keyboard Shortcuts
  2. Mission Control in left -> Expand Mission Control in right pane -> uncheck Move left a space and Move right a space
  3. Install Karabiner (free)
  4. Under Simple Modifications Swap fn with left_control
  5. Under Complex Modifications select Add Rule
  6. Select Import more Rules from the Internet
  7. Download and add all rules from Windows-like word movement selection/deletion

It's now a lot less frustrating coming from a Windows computer, and quite frankly, more ergonomic to use the bottom left most key instead or option to navigate words

Josh Ribeiro
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This is my first Mac, and there have been quite a few positives since converting [from Windows]

The keyboard navigation short cuts are based on Emacs key bindings and this has been the case since the very beginnings of macOS.

→ Why emacs commands work everywhere on macOS?

The Bash and Zsh shells (available for macOS, FreeBSD, Linux, Solaris etc.) uses Emacs bindings. It's best to become familiar with these rather than adapt a Unix operating system to act like Windows.

Below is an abbreviated list of common navigation shortcuts

Entity Backward Forward
Character ^ Controlb ^ Controlf
Word ^ Control ⌘ Command b ^ Control ⌘ Command f
Line ^ Control p ^ Control n
Sentence ^ Control ⌘ Command a ^ Control ⌘ Command e
Go to beg/end of line ^ Control a ^ Control e
Page ^ Control x [ ^ Control x ]

GNU provides an excellent Quick Reference card with these and the rest of the standard keybindings. Remember that ◆ Meta is equivalent to ^ Control ⌘ Command.

It's physically annoying to hit option and I often switch between Windows and Mac machines

This is common for new users coming from a Windows world where they now live in both worlds. Don't try to reassign one to work like the other. Apps (both native and 3rd party) develop with the expectations that keyboard shortcuts are respected. The adjustment period to be able to switch between the two environments is shorter than most people expect.

I personally use macOS, Windows, and FreeBSD with a little Linux thrown in for good measure. It's almost seamless switching between all three and if it took me a month to become proficient I would genuinely be surprised.

Allan
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