Mac 101: Reclaim your function keys

Is it just me, or does that fn key seem a little too far away? I'm just saying--an fn key on either side of the top row of f keys... I would like that. I could live with that. As it is, I have to use two hands to do one keystroke... and it's different than a simple shift+letter or cmd+whatever.

Note that this tip is laptop-specific; regular keyboards don't have "fn" keys.

It was good that I could do this when I got a slim aluminum Apple keyboard last year.

It's still a handy tip, so don't knock it kids.

To those who dissed this article: actually, yes, this is important. If you use Parallels and a PC app or two - a necessary evil to work in the corporate world – the function keys become extremely important. The need to quickly pull out a function can be grueling if you have to hit the Fn combo over and over.

I asked this question a while back and didn't get an answer, so I'll try again:
I'm wondering if anyone knows of a script or something that would adjust volume and screen brightness when the appropriate F-keys are pressed? I'd like to have one-button access to Exposé/Dashboard *and* volume/screen brightness, since I'm not really using the keys for anything else.

I had to start using this option when I hated pushing "FN + F9" for expose... and "FN + F8" for spaces. I use those a whole lot more than controlling the brightness on my MacBook Pro keyboard. It's just more practical that way.

I always have to explain to everyone who wants to turn down the volume on my keyboard to hit the function key first though...

I personally think f-keys are quite useless on the Mac, and they will eventually disappear with other vestiges of days gone by (print screen, pause, system request, num-lock, etc.)

However, I also think Apple should treat a Cmd+F-key (or Cmd+Opt) stroke as if it was an F-key even when this option is not checked. This idea makes the combinations unambiguous and also useful for Exposé, Spaces and other shortcuts. If not implemented, these valuable key combinations are unreachable when this option is unchecked.

Maybe it's worth putting this functionality into DoubleCommand..?

Or maybe this is how it already works, and I have a broken keyboard?

-Kuy

This is news?

This is news, exciting news? I've had this option checked for ages... It's been there forever.

I mean, I just got a new laptop, and one of the first things I did was check that box so I could play WoW properly.

Good to know about, though.

Actually, this has been around for a while. I never liked having other functions take up my F keys, so I turned this on back when I got my iBook with 10.4.