# sign on iMac keyboard

missile

having no delete key frustrates me

Me too. I did find a shortcut for delete posted on the Mac forum, key cmd + space, but that does not work on my keyboard either.

InsideInsurance

If you dont like the smaller keyboard why not buy a full keyboard which gives you the numberpad and delete key etc?

They are wired if you get the Apple official version but personally I prefer that to wireless and having batteries to recharge etc

Mr_Toad

missile wrote: »

Me too. I did find a shortcut for delete posted on the Mac forum, key cmd + space, but that does not work on my keyboard either.

That's because cmd + space is the shortcut to open spotlight.

The correct shortcut for the delete key is Fn + Backspace

Mr_Toad

Katexx wrote: »

The bigger keyboards have a delete key, page up/down, numpad, etc. I hate the smaller ones, having no delete key frustrates me. Still no # symbol though! Not sure why - especially when the 2 key has both @ and € symbols on it.

What symbol do you get when you press the alt key and 3 at the same time?

As I said in my other post Delete is fn + Backspace on the small keyboard.

Have a look at

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1343
http://www.danrodney.com/mac/

RobTang

if you open keyboard preferences and check "show keyboard and char viewers in menu bar"... then open the keyboard viewer it will show you all the actual keys that will be typed when you hold the modifiers (ctrl, option, shift etc)

Katexx

Mr_Toad wrote: »

What symbol do you get when you press the alt key and 3 at the same time?

As I said in my other post Delete is fn + Backspace on the small keyboard.

Have a look at

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1343
http://www.danrodney.com/mac/

I have the bigger keyboard, so I have a delete key anyway. And I get a # when I press Alt+3 - when I said 'still no # symbol though' I just meant that even on the larger keyboards the # symbol isn't actually printed above the 3 on the keyboard, even though the 2 key has @ and € both printed on, so there's enough space for them to add #.

InsideInsurance

But most keys have tertiary and more functions and you have to draw the line somewhere on what you print on the keys....

My iMac keyboard is an Apple Spanish ISO layout and so does actually have the # printed on the 3, to get a £ however it is alt + shift + 4 which isnt

Mr_Toad

InsideInsurance wrote: »

But most keys have tertiary and more functions and you have to draw the line somewhere on what you print on the keys....

My iMac keyboard is an Apple Spanish ISO layout and so does actually have the # printed on the 3, to get a £ however it is alt + shift + 4 which isnt

Exactly, it's a compromise. For most most people in the UK the # key was rarely used unless you were a programmer. In the US the # is their equivalent of No, the abbreviation for number, #1 means number 1.

These days it has become more common especially in social media like Twitter where the hash tag is regularly used. I'm sure that Apple will eventually catch up and make it easier to use.

If I had to choose a symbol to replace with the # I'd go for the ~ symbol as I can't ever remember using it.

As a programmer I use it a lot on my Mac but I've got used to alt + 3 now and do it without thinking.

InsideInsurance

I do find it amusing how quickly you can learn to adapt to new keyboards.

We have a Spanish Mac keyboard on the iMac, UK Mac keyboard on the MBA, US Windows keyboard on the work laptop and UK Windows keyboard on the work desktop/ docking station.

Whilst remembering where < > is and that the key between the 0 and Enter on the number pad is a , on the iMac rather than . is a pain the rest if fairly effortless and find myself easily switching between them all (several times a day typically)

Mr_Toad

InsideInsurance wrote: »

I do find it amusing how quickly you can learn to adapt to new keyboards.

We have a Spanish Mac keyboard on the iMac, UK Mac keyboard on the MBA, US Windows keyboard on the work laptop and UK Windows keyboard on the work desktop/ docking station.

Whilst remembering where < > is and that the key between the 0 and Enter on the number pad is a , on the iMac rather than . is a pain the rest if fairly effortless and find myself easily switching between them all (several times a day typically)

How true.

When I was coding full time I had a Das keyboard with blank keys.

http://www.daskeyboard.com/model-s-ultimate/

I used it to improve my touch typing, no good looking at the keyboard if it's blank

I used it for a couple of years then my job became more consulting and meetings than coding and I put it away. I tried it a few months ago and I'm not bad but I don't spend enough time at the keyboard to make it worthwhile. I can still touch type but my speed and accuracy are nowhere near what they were