Apple’s layout in the picture
The picture follows the keyboard of current MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models, which Apple lists as 78 keys (79 on ISO keyboards):
- A top row with esc, F1 to F12 and Touch ID, which is also the power button.
- delete and return instead of Backspace and Enter, and no Home, End, Page Up, Page Down or forward delete keys: those are fn with the arrows and with delete.
- A bottom row with fn (🌐), control, option and command, the space bar, command and option, then four half-height arrows in an inverted T.
The compact Magic Keyboard has the same keys, with full-height ← and → and, on some models, a lock key instead of Touch ID. fn and Touch ID are drawn dashed: macOS handles them, so a web page doesn’t get a key press from them. A UK or European Mac has a tall return key and one more key by left shift; the ISO button draws that shape.
In the event log, command shows up as MetaLeft or MetaRight and option as AltLeft or AltRight; the table under this text lists every Mac key’s code.
The function row
Out of the box, F1 to F12 are brightness, Mission Control, Spotlight, dictation, media and volume keys. macOS acts on those itself, so pressing one usually does nothing in the tester. Apple’s own rule applies here too: to use them as standard function keys, hold fn (or 🌐) with them. With fn held, each key should light up as F1 to F12. If you’d rather not hold fn, turn on the function-key option in System Settings, under Keyboard, Keyboard Shortcuts, Function Keys.
Two more Mac quirks
- Command hides the release of any key pressed while it’s down. The tester releases those keys when you let go of command, so they don’t stay stuck in the picture.
- fn with the arrows gives Home, End, Page Up and Page Down, and fn with delete gives forward delete. The event log shows those names instead of the arrow or delete key, which is the quickest way to check that fn works.
When a key doesn’t work or repeats
If a key stays white here, check the settings Apple lists for keys that don’t respond. In System Settings, Accessibility, Keyboard, make sure Slow Keys is off: with it on, a key has to be held longer than usual before it counts. Mouse Keys (under Pointer Control) turns some keys into pointer controls, so switch it off too. A Magic Keyboard needs charge, Bluetooth on and, if keys still drop, disconnecting and reconnecting. A MacBook whose keys all stop may be showing a low-battery alert you can’t see.
Keys that repeat come in two kinds. If a held key repeats too soon, adjust Delay until repeat in System Settings, Keyboard. If one press types a letter twice, the chatter detector above shows it with the gap in milliseconds, which is useful evidence for a repair. Apple once ran a Keyboard Service Program for MacBook, MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models from 2015 to 2019 whose keys repeated characters, dropped them or felt sticky. It covered each laptop for four years after its first sale, and Apple now lists it as ended.
What this layout leaves out
The keyboard above has 78 keys, and the score counts 76 of them (the dashed keys don’t reach the browser). The tester’s full-size Mac layout has 106. These are the ones this layout doesn’t draw; if you press one through an Fn combination, it appears under “Other keys detected” instead of lighting up the picture.
- Function keys: F13, F14, F15, F16, F17, F18, F19
- Navigation keys: Home, Page Up, forward delete (⌦), End, Page Down
- Number pad: all 18 keys
Mac keys and their browser names
Browsers name keys after their position on a PC keyboard, so the event log shows Mac keys under PC names.
| Mac key | Browser code | Windows keyboard |
|---|---|---|
| command ⌘ | MetaLeft, MetaRight | Windows key |
| option ⌥ | AltLeft, AltRight | Alt |
| control ⌃ | ControlLeft, ControlRight | Ctrl |
| delete | Backspace | Backspace |
| return | Enter | Enter |
| fn / 🌐 | usually none: the keyboard and macOS handle it | Fn |