Windows 10 with MacOS-like key bindings

Ernest Iliiasov — Sun, 01 Nov 2020 17:42:43 +0000

As someone who's been using Mac for a while, I find it pretty annoying to switch between my work Mac and my home Windows PC. There's a lot of tiny differences in keyboard shortcuts and micro-interactions that just make using Windows so awkward.

Here's the list of what this article will help you to set up:

Use Cmd instead of Ctrl
Use Caps Lock to switch keyboard layout
Use Option+Left/Right to jump a word (unlike Ctrl+Left/Right on Windows)
Use Option+Backspace to delete a word (unlike Ctrl+Backspace on Windows)
Quit programs on Cmd+Q instead of Alt+F4
Use F10, F11, F12 for Volume control
Invert scroll wheel direction
Have something like Spotlight

Apps

PowerToys: https://github.com/microsoft/PowerToys
SharpKeys: https://github.com/randyrants/sharpkeys

Keyboard Mappings

Swap Cmd (Win) and Ctrl with SharpKeys
Left Ctrl → Left Windows
Left Windows → Left Ctrl

Set Key Mappings with PowerToys Keyboard Manager

Caps Lock → Win + Space (Change keyboard layout with Caps Lock)
F3 → Win + Tab
F12 → Volume Up
F11 → Volume Down
F12 → Volume Mute

Set Shortcuts in PowerToys Keyboard Manager

Alt + Backspace → Ctrl Backspace
Alt + Left → Ctrl Left
Alt + Right → Ctrl Right
Ctrl Q → Alt F4
Ctrl Shift 4 → Win Shift S (screenshot)

Add "Spotlight" to Windows: PowerToys Run

Windows Start Menu search panel does the job most of the time, but I still miss the convenience of Spotlight's position in the center of the screen. Fortunately, PowerToys includes a feature named Run - and it looks and works (almost) exactly like Spotlight on a Mac.

Choose PowerToys Run in the sidebar, and use these settings:

Enable: true
Shortcut: Ctrl + Space
Clear the previous query on launch: true
Disable drive detection warning: true

Reverse scroll wheel direction

These settings will bring "natural" scrolling direction to your Windows mouse. If you're lucky and never had to get used to the Mac-style scrolling, skip it.

Source and detailed instructions: https://appuals.com/how-to-reverse-the-scrolling-direction-in-windows-10/
Open Device Manager, find your mouse, find its Device Instant Path
Open Registry Editor, navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Enum\HID. Find the folder that matches the Device Instant Path of the mouse
Under Device Parameters set FlipFlopWheel to 1 Restart