MacBooks, like every Apple product, are different than other laptops and desktops that run on some other OS, even the keyboards. Yes, Apple has tried to make their creations unique in any way possible. And that’s the reason why regular keyboards used in other computers and the ones in Mac are different. Though all the functions are the same, some buttons are different. For example, Mac keyboards do not have a Ctrl button but instead have a Command button.
Similarly, the flawed butterfly keyboards designed by Apple do not have End and Home button on MacBooks. So, users tend to use an external Windows keyboard on Macbook. Not just because the butterfly keyboard is inefficient, but also because these external keyboards tend to provide better comfort, especially for those who write content or play games. But again, Apple is Apple. If you try to use End or Home button on Mac, they won’t perform the same functions as in Windows PC.
So, to end this trouble of these two buttons, we have a hack that can let you use End and Home buttons on Mac just like you are using them on a Windows computer’s keyboard.
What End and Home Buttons Do?
Well, the primary use of these buttons is to navigate through a long menu, skipping files in a cluttered folder, or in text editing. As the name says, Home suggests the Start of a path and End, well it means the end.
In a folder, when you press End, you’ll be directed to the last folder or file in that menu. And when you press Home, you’ll head back to the first one. Let’s try that out on the Desktop.
In this GIF below, when I press End, the selection moves on to the last icon on the menu, whereas after pressing Home, the selection is redirected back to the first icon on Desktop.
Similarly, when you do that on a text document, the Home button moves the cursor to the beginning of the line; whereas the End button moves it to the end of the line.
But, when you are using Windows keyboard on Mac and then try to use these keys for the same function. You don’t get the same result. Sometimes they do not perform any function at all. Sometimes the concerned Apple desktop/laptop fails to acknowledge other associated command with End and the Home button on Mac.
So, how to use End and Home button on Mac as you do in Windows. Well, there is a simple hack for that; you just need to follow some steps.
Make End and Home Buttons on Mac Function as in Windows
Step 1: Follow the path Go>>Utilities.
Step 2: In the Utilities menu, select Terminal.
Step 3: Open Terminal and type the following commands
mkdir KeyBindings
cd KeyBindings
nano DefaultKeyBinding.dict
cd ~/Library
With these commands, you’ll create a folder “Key Bindings” in the “Library.”
Step 4: Now, through the Terminal, you need to create another file. In the terminal again, type the following command:
{
“\UF729” = moveToBeginningOfParagraph:; // home
“\UF72B” = moveToEndOfParagraph:; // end
“$\UF729” = moveToBeginningOfParagraphAndModifySelection:; // shift-home
“$\UF72B” = moveToEndOfParagraphAndModifySelection:; // shift-end
“^\UF729” = moveToBeginningOfDocument:; // ctrl-home
“^\UF72B” = moveToEndOfDocument:; // ctrl-end
“^$\UF729” = moveToBeginningOfDocumentAndModifySelection:; // ctrl-shift-home
“^$\UF72B” = moveToEndOfDocumentAndModifySelection:; // ctrl-shift-end
}
Step 5: Save the file as DefaultKeyBinding.dict in Key Bindings folder; at location ~/Library/KeyBindings.
Step 6: Reboot your Mac, or just log out and then log back into your Mac account to activate these settings.
Changes These Commands Would Make
- Home will take the cursor to start point of the paragraph.
- End will take the cursor to the endpoint of the paragraph.
- Shift+Home will select the start point of paragraph; Shift+End will select the endpoint of the paragraph.
- Ctrl+Home and Ctrl+End would move the cursor to the start/end of the document.
- Shift+Ctrl+Home and Shift+Ctrl+End would select the start/end of the document.
Note: If you look closely at the commands, it says, “Move to the beginning/end of the paragraph.” If you change Paragraph to Line in these commands, then using the End or Home button on Mac would move the cursor to the end/beginning of the line rather than moving to the end/beginning of the paragraph.
Using an external Windows keyboard on Mac is a bit tough. There are different keys, and it gets confusing in the beginning. With this hack, at least one of your concerns would be solved, and the End and Home buttons on Mac wouldn’t be rendered useless on your keyboard.