Using Windows keystrokes on a Mac

Alas. I've been using Windows so long that now I go back to the Mac and want Ctrl-C to work. Sad, but there it is. At last I found Karabiner, which does keyboard remapping, and created a set of Karabiner rules to map the main Windows Ctrl-keystrokes to the matching ⌘-keystroke on Mac:

Karabiner Rules for main Windows Ctrl-keystrokes on MacOs

Okay, so Ctrl-W isn't strictly a windows keystroke. But who can work without Ctrl-W?

Karabiner Complex Rules Snippet

 
{
    "profiles": [
        {
            "complex_modifications": {
                "parameters": {  /* ... etc ... */ },
"README": "********************************************************************************************************",
"README": "*" COPY JUST THE ELEMENTS OF THIS "rules" array into your profiles.complex_modifications.rules array. "*",
"README": "********************************************************************************************************",
              
                "rules": [
                    {
                        "description": "Change Control+Z to Command+Z",
                        "manipulators": [ { "from": { "key_code": "z","modifiers": {"mandatory": ["control"],"optional": ["any"]}},"to": [{"key_code": "z","modifiers": ["command"]}],"type": "basic"}]
                    },
                    {
                        "description": "Change Control+X to Command+X",
                        "manipulators": [ { "from": { "key_code": "x","modifiers": {"mandatory": ["control"],"optional": ["any"]}},"to": [{"key_code": "x","modifiers": ["command"]}],"type": "basic"}]
                    },
                    {
                        "description": "Change Control+C to Command+C",
                        "manipulators": [ { "from": { "key_code": "c","modifiers": {"mandatory": ["control"],"optional": ["any"]}},"to": [{"key_code": "c","modifiers": ["command"]}],"type": "basic"}]
                    },
                    {
                        "description": "Change Control+V to Command+V",
                        "manipulators": [ { "from": { "key_code": "v","modifiers": {"mandatory": ["control"],"optional": ["any"]}},"to": [{"key_code": "v","modifiers": ["command"]}],"type": "basic"}]
                    },
                    {
                        "description": "Change Control+N to Command+N",
                        "manipulators": [ { "from": { "key_code": "n","modifiers": {"mandatory": ["control"],"optional": ["any"]}},"to": [{"key_code": "n","modifiers": ["command"]}],"type": "basic"}]
                    },
                    {
                        "description": "Change Control+S to Command+S",
                        "manipulators": [ { "from": { "key_code": "s","modifiers": {"mandatory": ["control"],"optional": ["any"]}},"to": [{"key_code": "s","modifiers": ["command"]}],"type": "basic"}]
                    },
                    {
                        "description": "Change Control+O to Command+O",
                        "manipulators": [ { "from": { "key_code": "o","modifiers": {"mandatory": ["control"],"optional": ["any"]}},"to": [{"key_code": "o","modifiers": ["command"]}],"type": "basic"}]
                    },
                    {
                        "description": "Change Control+Y to Command+Y",
                        "manipulators": [ { "from": { "key_code": "y","modifiers": {"mandatory": ["control"],"optional": ["any"]}},"to": [{"key_code": "y","modifiers": ["command"]}],"type": "basic"}]
                    },
                    {
                        "description": "Change Control+W to Command+W",
                        "manipulators": [ { "from": { "key_code": "w","modifiers": {"mandatory": ["control"],"optional": ["any"]}},"to": [{"key_code": "w","modifiers": ["command"]}],"type": "basic"}]
                    }
                ],
"README": "******************************************************************************************************",
"README": "******************************************************************************************************",
            /* ... etc ... */
            }
        }
    ]
}

Editing the Keyboard Map

This approach didn't work for me. I'm not sure what I missed.

AutoHotKey script for they who, being Mac Users and also equipped with an Apple keyboard, yet still they work at a Windows desktop

Surprising how much time you can spend on these little niggles…

  • Irritated that Windows doesn't have an ellipsis key?
  • Wondering how to do printscreen from your apple keyboard?
  • Really really fed up with swapping between Cut‘n’Paste is “⌘-C,⌘-V” and Cut‘n’Paste is “Ctrl-c-Ctrl-v”?

Help is at hand.

AutoHotKey

When I first came across I was a bit unsure about using AutoHotKey. But I have seen the light. It is the bee's knees. It is open source, widely used for years, free, small footprint and is the ultimate customise-all-the-things tool for Windows. It is a combined scripting tool & Keyboard/Mouse hotkey manager.

My AutoHotKey for a Mac User with an Apple keyboard on Windows Script

https://gist.github.com/chrisfcarroll/dddf32fea1f29e75f564

There you are. It's all you need. That, and a few hours to customise it yourself. Then a few more hours to… oh, never mind.

Disclaimer

When I said that AHK is the bee's knees, I didn't say that the language isn't arcane, unintuitive and bearing signs of organic growth over a decade or more…