Apple Wireless Keyboard - Russian

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Are Apple keyboards, with only a delete key, less efficient in making deletions than conventional keyboards with both a backspace and a delete key?

I have been using a Windows desktop at home and my office. Although I have never had a laptop, I have been planning to buy an Apple laptop for use when I travel. However, I recently used an Apple and found its keyboard, in one particular way, to be inferior to the standard keyboards that I have been accustomed to using. Do you agree?

A conventional keyboard has two keys to make deletions. The backspace key deletes characters to the left of the cursor. The delete key deletes characters to the right of the cursor. In contrast, the Apple keyboard has only one key to make deletions. It is the delete key and it deletes characters to the left of the cursor. It appears that if I want to delete characters to the right of the cursor, there is no way to do that directly and simply. Am I correct about that? I must either use a second key or I must first highlight the text and then delete it.

Using a non-Apple conventional keyboard, it is also possible to delete an entire word and one adjacent space in only two strokes by using a combination of the control key and the delete key. The same can be done in the other direction using the control key and the backspace key. How would these two types of deletion most efficiently be done with an Apple keyboard?

The reality seems to be that two keys to delete can operate more efficiently, in more directions, than only one (Apple). Do you agree that the Apple keyboard is less efficient in making deletions than the conventional keyboard when using Word software? What is the best way to get around that inefficiency in a MacBookPro? If there is no way around it, should this discourage me from getting an Apple since I do lots of word processing and deletions?

Does the Apple keyboard have any advantages over the conventional keyboard that I should be aware of?

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10 Answers from the Community

  • Best Answer

    The short answer is yes, but as with any other kind of switch, it takes a little getting used to.

    As we may already know, the Apple-style delete removes characters backwards, akin to PC's backspace. However, if you hold down the fn key on an Apple keyboard while you press the delete key, it removes characters forward, akin to the PC delete that we all know.

    I'm not sure if an Apple keyboard implements a PC keyboard's Insert, but then again to me it really doesn't matter, since I never use that key anyway.

    Other useful PC-to-Apple keyboard translations:
    Home on PC => fn + left arrow on Apple
    End on PC => fn + right arrow on Apple
    Page Up on PC => fn + up arrow on Apple
    Page Down on PC => fn + down arrow on Apple
    Windows Key on PC => Cmd Key on Apple (in Windows only)

    Naturally, all of these keystrokes on the Apple keyboard can be combined with Shift, Ctrl/Cmd, and/or Alt as necessary, so for example, Ctrl+Alt+Del on PC would translate to Ctrl+Alt+fn+Del to get the same effect using an Apple keyboard.

    I have not yet found a translation on an Apple keyboard for PC keyboard's Print Screen key, which is useful for capturing screenshots quickly. Does anyone here know how to send such a code with an Apple keyboard, assuming it can actually do that?

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  • George H from Dayton:

    In order to quickly take screen shots-it will save the image to the desktop:

    cmd-shift-3: screen shot of entire screen
    cmd-control-shift-3: screen shot will save in clipboard
    cmd-shift-4: crosshair will appear and allow you to capture a screen shot of anything on your screen
    cmd-shift-4 then spacebar: allows you to capture just a window on your screen. When the window is blue and cursor turns into a camera, click the screen with your mouse and it will save an image of the window to your desktop.

    (adding control to any of the above keystrokes will save the image to the clipboard)

    Hope that helps.

    Also, there is an app called Grab that comes with all Macs that does the same thing.

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  • To answer George H’s question about using “Print Screen” on a Mac keyboard: go to System Preferences / Keyboard / Keyboard Shortcuts / Screenshots. Select “Copy picture of screen to the clipboard”. The default keyboard shortcut is Shift/Control/Command/3, but you can change that to any key combination you want.

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  • MacBook keyboards require a fn-delete combination for the "delete-right" functionality. Deleting a whole word requires a double-tap on the trackpad to highlight the word followed by hitting the delete key. Having switched from Windows many years ago, these maneuvers are second nature and non-issues for me. As another poster commented, people can adapt to most things. I have not felt the need to research this, but I would expect there are key-mapping utilities that might offer other options.

    As for whether or not this should discourage you from getting a MacBook, what are the reasons you are considering a MacBook in the first place? Does the delete key issue (in addition to any other negative attributes you come up with) trump all other positive attributes of the MacBook? It is difficult to justify a switch from PC to Mac or vice-versa. My personal feeling is there are other aspects of the switching question that will ultimately have a much bigger impact on your experience than the keyboard.

    I am not a PC expert but I know there is some pretty hardware out there on the PC side. If I were considering a PC/Mac switch (in either direction), the hardware alone would not be enough to push me over to one side or the other. Much of the differences in Windows vs. OS X come down to personal preference. When I am forced to, I use a 4-year old Dell with Win XP at work, so I can't compare OS X with Win 7. But I am completely dependent on the implementation of various features in OS X that make it practical to have 30+ documents and windows open simultaneously across a dozen or more apps at the same time. I don't know what Win 7 offers as answers to Exposé and Spaces. Another big one is the ability to run Windows on the OS X desktop (via VMware Fusion or Parallels). I might actually consider switching the other way if I could run on the Windows desktop the few Mac-only apps that are essential for me.

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  • You can also highlight a whole word with a double click over it. There is as others have posted in response before me a trick with a mac that substitutes the same function on a PC. Also the extended full apple keyboard with the 9 key at home or work where ever you use the MacbookPro more the difference is unnoticeable, and when on the road for work a bluetooth 9 key pad is small and allows numeral work like entering quantities, dollar values, price adjustments, etc. to be done with ease. I am a contractor and have the small wireless bluetooth 9 key add-on and enter measurements into my construction cad software all the time and I love this product.
    Overall I would also tell you that the intuitive design of Apples Operating Systems is unparalleled and far outweighs any negatives you are describing above. The differences in how you execute a command are just the learning curve any person would encounter when changing OS or software. I said apple's setup is intuitive and by that I mean if you have a set of keys that performs one task in a program chances are the same set of keys performs similar tasks in other software written for apple products. Many of my friends have dismissed my suggestions to buy an apple always saying the main reason is the differences between systems and that It's not the same and the mac doesn't have a button for this function or that task. At the end of the day many of those friends have ended up with Apple computers . When they first get their apple I get that phone call with 20 million questions and I ask have you read your provide product info and in the programs read the help stuff know if they had I wouldn't be getting a call so they say "no". Read the literature, play with it, call with any questions you haven't been able to answer yourself in a week. Half the time I have to call them and when I do the express how happy they are with their Apple and that they answered their own questions easily. INTUITIVE DEFINES APPLE

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  • Before buying a MBP; i was concerned about it too.

    After some googling i found a program KeyRemap4MacBook. It remaps your eject button to a forward delete. Great!

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  • This is an old question but I wanted to set the record straight. Can't believe I'm wasting my time on this... I'm a software developer, Windows- and Linux-only until about 2 years ago when I got a MacBook Pro and now it's still my favorite personal computer.

    Yes, on the MacBook keyboard, in order to forward-delete you have to press Fn+backspace. This doesn't end up being a big deal, at least to me. I don't type things backwards, so I don't delete them forwards.

    Option+backspace deletes a word, option+arrow keys navigate by words. Same as Ctrl in Windows/Linux.

    Command+backspace deletes a line, command+left/right navigate to beginning/end of line, same as home/end. I haven't missed the home/end keys. Command+up/down go to the top and bottom of the text area, same as ctrl+home/end.

    These shortcuts became muscle memory to me in a matter of days from owning my MacBook, and they don't hinder my usage of PCs at all. Sometimes I come into work (to my Linux box) and the very first time I try to copy something I'll press alt+c, confusing it with command, but it's not like I spend the day mis-typing keyboard shortcuts.

    For what it's worth, I prefer using my thumb for major shortcuts like copy/paste. It's more comfortable than my pinky.

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  • I adore the Apple keyboard and just wanted to address the question regarding the print screen (the full keyboard does have both the delete key and the backspace - only the bluetooth small form factor one does away with the backspace requiring you to use the fn and delete for this). with the Apple you can not only print screen but with the use of the Cmd & Shift & number 3 buttons your cursor changes to a crosshair and from there you just use your mouse/trackpad to draw a box of what you want to take a screen-grab of. This is far better then the print-screen or the Alt & print screen button on Windows as you can take a screenshot of the part you need rather than the whole screen or the whole application window. I normally have lots of applications open and I do not want the screenshot to include bits that are irrelevant. Yes, I suppose i could take a screenshot in Windows and then open it with another program to cut out all around what I need but it is so much easier with Apple!

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  • Like in many other areas of human activity, typing on a keyboard takes some getting used to it...after muscle memory sets in, efficiency levels are comparable to the previous situation, and some time it's even higher...

    I'm also new to MacBook Pro keyboards and don't find them particularly more challenging that any other change I've gone through in my almost 30 years of using computer keyboards of all kinds.

    In short, it's just a matter of getting used to the new environment.

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  • I'll start by answering the question on your last paragraph with a resounding ** NO ** !!!

    Reasons: no del key forces you to use 2 keystrokes to delete; you are used to the conventional correct keyboard with even two del keys, you will find yourself swearing and having you blood pressure going up all the time.
    There is no home, end, pg-up, pg-down keys: you can however waste your pinky to hold the FN key to obtain similar effect however, it's just another incovenience.

    You want to select the entire line, you will have to memorize new key combination (if there is one for that).

    Take my word for that and buy a Lenovo Thinkpad: you won't be locked in proprietary closed over -priced sub-standards, and still unhappy... unless of course, you are willing to put up with those irritating issues.

    Yes, it will downgrade your productivity.

    Perhaps you could buy an external tradicional Apple keyboard with the complete full set (it are there such keyboards).

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