can't switch control and command

I followed the instructions here: How to Switch the Control and Command Keys | Macinstruct

...yet the Ctrl and Command (windows keyboard) keys on my keyboard did not switch as expected. I thought I could now do Ctrl-C for copy and Ctrl-V for paste, but that doesn't work. I still have to use the Command (WIN) key for everything that I would normally use Ctrl for. Why didn't this work? Please help.

(I would love it if you didn't tell me to "just get used to the Mac way". I spend 99% of my time on a Windows PC and 1% on a Mac.)

Thanks!

Do you have a laptop hooked up to an external keyboard? If yes, then you might need to select the correct keyboard.

Did you try restarting after you made the change? If no, perhaps the change wasn't able to initialize system-wide.

Other than these possibilities, I have no idea why changing the setting as described in the article.

Good luck,

Z

I read this with interest, because the Matias keyboard I have messed up the function keys you're struggling with. My keys are marked Option/Start-Windows and Command/Alt when in fact Option=Alt and Start-Window=Command. Rather than struggle to remember that they keyboard was wrong, I went into System Preferences and switched Option and Command so that I can hit the keys so marked. (You know, I can't even recall if it was Command or Option that was designated as the "Apple key" on older Mac keyboards - or, for all I know, still is.)

What you are struggling with is different. You're wanting to make the Mac universe mesh perfectly with the Windows universe. I would suggest that this is a utopian ideal that is destined to fail. I would recommend that you embrace the Mac as a Mac, and continue using Windows if you must. I do quite well switching back and forth from home to work. Maybe the solution for you would be a different keyboard that is marked with Apple as well as Windows function key designations. Keyboards really aren't that expensive.

Yeah, I know that's not what you want to hear. If you get it the way you want via software tweaks, please share the solution here. There may be others who don't want to embrace change.

toMACsh,

Thanks for taking the time to write thoughtfully. However, I am amused, and smiling, because Mac enthusiasts seem to be utterly incapable of resisting the urge to convert PC people to their Mac religion. You say "embrace change" as though I'm stuck in the middle ages, and somehow Mac is superior in every way to PC. First, I like a lot of things about Mac. But I also hate a lot of things about it. There are some really legit reasons that I must remain primarily in PC land:

- I'm a windows .NET developer. Is there a mac path for this? Not a very good one!
- PCs are a whole lot cheaper than macs. I'm not rich.
- There is 100X more software for PC than mac.
- As a developer, it's a huge point for me that there are 50X more programming languages on PC than mac.

Anyway...this isn't a religious discussion. Let's stick to the topic at hand.

What model is your Mac? What version of OSX? What brand is your keyboard? Someone above asked if it was a Notebook Mac.

PS, I just tried that that site suggested and CTRl-C Ctrl-S ETC work using control.

please tell us exactly everything you are using there.

Macbook Air, OSX 10.7.4, Dell keyboard, plugs in via USB.

After rebooting, the keyboard remapping works!!

Thanks everyone...sorry I hadn't tried rebooting until now.

Very cool and thanks for reporting back. Using a Windows keyboard with OSX has always bugged me without remapping the keys, so I feel your pain! Glad it's working for you.

I think it's because it's an Air with internal keyboard that you had those issues. When I tried it here it was on an iMac with only one keyboard.

HerrimanCoder said:

toMACsh,

Thanks for taking the time to write thoughtfully. However, I am amused, and smiling, because Mac enthusiasts seem to be utterly incapable of resisting the urge to convert PC people to their Mac religion.

Click to expand...

I would give the same advice to someone who was switching from Mac OS to Windows.

HerrimanCoder said:

toMACsh,

Thanks for taking the time to write thoughtfully. However, I am amused, and smiling, because Mac enthusiasts seem to be utterly incapable of resisting the urge to convert PC people to their Mac religion. You say "embrace change" as though I'm stuck in the middle ages, and somehow Mac is superior in every way to PC. First, I like a lot of things about Mac. But I also hate a lot of things about it.
...CLIP

Click to expand...

All too often folks convert from Windows to OSX and then don't want to learn the new way of doing things that comes with that conversion. Hence, those of us who have made that switch earlier tend to say "embrace change" because we have learned the hard way that the longer one clings to the old way the longer it is before we derive the maximum benefit from our new devices. It's not that one is superior to the other (although that is the subject of endless debate) it is simply that they are different. It's like moving from the US to France and then objecting to the fact that everything is written in French and you have to learn a new language. That challenge comes with the territory. The sooner you learn it, the sooner your chosen path will become smoother. It's not religion, it's practicality.

Well said, MacInWin. I didn't have the time.