Deeper dive: Keyboard differences between Windows and Macs

Over the years, I learned about many gotchas and strange differences between keyboard handling on Mac and Windows – pertinent especially to web apps, which use the same codebase to cater to both. I thought it might be helpful to someone if I compile them all in one place. This post is meant to be a reference, and there aren’t any cute or riveting stories hiding inside – if this seems boring to you, feel free to skip to the next one! Different names for keys What Windows calls Backspace, Mac calls Delete. What Windows calls Delete, Macs call Forward Delete. (This means saying “Delete” without specifying the platform might actually be confusing.) What Windows calls ⏎ Enter, Mac calls ⏎ Return. However, Macs also have an ⌤ Enter, although only on a numeric keypad (previously, it was even there on laptops!). On keyboards without the physical Enter key, you can simulate it via Fn+Return. In most Mac software, Enter and Return do the same thing. There are a few exceptions – for example,…