Desperate plea for (2) keyboard enhancements

[David Graham]

#1: For those of us Mac users who are also heavy Windows users (yeah, we do exist), the default mapping options tease us by providing options so close to what we really need! The one mapping still missing is also the most important to us: swamp Command and Option. This is due to the Windows Alt key placement on all Windows keyboards being positioned where the Mac Command key is. The fact that Apple prints Alt on the Option key only serves to confuse the issue, because Parallels assumes that this is the proper key to provide Alt functionality. I cannot tell you how much a hindrance it is to have to resort to exotic hacks so that I can rely on years of keyboard navigation muscle memory.

#2: I applaud that recent builds have removed many of the menu shortcuts. There are still some really unnecessary shortcuts that conflict with daily operation. These are the Quit and Hide options in the Parallels menu. It seems harmless enough until (as another poster mentioned recently), you accidentally hit the equivalent of Alt-Q in some application only to have your Parallels environment shut down/suspend; potentially causing damage or loss to open network files caught in the process.

I already can't live with Parallels. Here's to hoping that my dreams come true so I can fall completely in love!

- Dave

 

[Lohmeyer]

Yes, it would be nice if Parallels added the option to swap the Mac Option and Command keys, but they should not remove or get rid of (unless it is an option) the Command-key combos like Command-Q and Command-H. In fact, they need to improve things significantly in this area.

I wish Parallels would make Command work like it did in Virtual PC. Anytime the Mac Command key is pressed, keyboard focus is diverted to Mac OS and the Virtual PC menu bar became visible. As long as you hold down the Command key, you can type any Command-<key> combo, and you can use the mouse to access any item in the menu bar.

As it is now, there are two issues with Command-<keys> in Parallels.

1) Command-Tab (to switch to a Mac OS app) only works if "Enable access for assistive devices" is turned off. Some programs require this to be turned on, which kills the ability to Command-Tab out of Windows to a Mac OS application. This is a bug.

2) Command-<anything> should work as a Mac OS key, not a "Windows" key so that custom command key combos or other uncommon Command key combos also work. As it is now, the option to enable Command-blah only works on certain keys (Command-A,C,Z,X,C,V).

Fixing 1 and 2 above does not conflict with the option to swap the Command and Option keys for the sake of keyboard position. But, doing what I'm talking about does remove the Command key as a "Windows" key. Some Windows users may find that bad, but Windows can easily be used without a "Windows" key, but Mac OS cannot so easily be used without a Command key.

 

[aer]

1) Command-Tab (to switch to a Mac OS app) only works if "Enable access for assistive devices" is turned off. Some programs require this to be turned on, which kills the ability to Command-Tab out of Windows to a Mac OS application. This is a bug.

THANK YOU! This has really been bothering me since whenever this started. I went and turned off "Enable access..." and everything is good now. Nice.

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For me, the ideal keyboard layout would be this:

Ctrl = Windows Control
Alt = Windows Alt
AppleKeyLEFT = Windows Control / AppleKey functions (OSX task switching, etc)
AppleKeyRIGHT = WindowsKey / AppleKey functions

(All keys should stay in the same place)

This would allow me to have the maximum functionality while retaining pretty much the same muscle memory. Even things as they are now (with "Enable access..." off) are pretty nice, though - especially since I mapped Alt+left arrow and Alt+Right arrow in Word to select/move whole word.

 

[mhb]

Agree - option to swap alt and apple key

Couldn't agree more with the original appender (David Graham).

Please provide an option to swap the 'option' and 'apple keys'.

Mark

 

[barefootguru]

Y2) Command-<anything> should work as a Mac OS key, not a "Windows" key so that custom command key combos or other uncommon Command key combos also work. As it is now, the option to enable Command-blah only works on certain keys (Command-A,C,Z,X,C,V).

Yes! Command-tab being sent to Windows instead of switching to another app is my single biggest peeve about Parallels. It is *so* annoying to hit command-tab from muscle memory and have the stupid Windows menu appear instead of switching to another app.

Command should be reserved (or configurable, whatever) for the host OS; as per RDC, Virtual PC, Terminal, etc.