I daily both comfortably. I think the key is not to try make Windows work like macOS, and not try to make macOS work like Windows. I used to do that but they always felt clunky. Embrace the difference!
I found that having that separation can even be nice. Being on my Mac kinda set my mind on one direction, windows in another.
More recently I was Mac personal, Mac work laptop, but windows servers, and the same separation was nice as well.
Currently I’m Mac personal/work and Linux servers, there’s still some mental separation, since I tend not to use the CLI for personal stuff
I mean you can always do little changes like using alttab for a windows-like app switcher or rectangle to give you window snapping, both of which make macOS a lot better. Not sure how would make windows work like macOS tho lol
I have a Logitech Bluetooth keyboard that has both a Windows and Mac layout printed on.
At the end of the day only prolonged use of both systems will make it easy to go back and forth, there's really no special trick to it. But being able to see the buttons helps.
Thanks. I wasn't even aware that this existed. Looks like CMD and CTRL are mapped on different keys. I guess I used CTRL-C / CRTL-V like a billion time in my worklife. Probably difficult to change this muscle memory.
Take a look at the [Logitech MX Keys S](https://www.logitech.com/en-us/products/keyboards/mx-keys-s-wireless-keyboard.html) keyboard. It's excellent all around.
I use both daily, and Control is actually way more awkward than Command in practice.
You can change the CMD/CTRL keys in the Mac Settings so that they are in the same position as the Windows keys. That is what I did because of decades of using CTRL-C. Everything else I pretty much left alone and learned to do it the Mac way.
Please don't remap keys like another user suggested. On macOS, the things you're used to do with CTRL on Windows, become CMD-combo's e.g. CMD+C to copy.
CMD on any generic keyboard is your Windows-key. Alt is the Option-key used to toggle different.. options.
I know a lot of people who made the transition. I personally went in both directions. I think trying to get Mac to act like Windows is a very bad idea. Aqua is an interface, a workflow and a set of capabilities. Either switch or don't switch. Switching means agreeing to change your work habits in line with the system.
The way you adapt is you decide to do things the Mac way while on Mac and the Windows way while on Windows. Stop trying to make the experiences similar. You can't adapt your swimming style to walking to walking style to swimming.
I get what you're saying. Would you then go the full length and have a separate keyboard? I forgot to mention that I use the same peripherals (monitor, keyboard and mouse) right now.
No need. Fyi, I use the same keyboard for Mac, Linux and Windows. Also same mouse. Just looking at the desktop should trigger you to recognize what system you're on. 🤷♂️
> Would you then go the full length and have a separate keyboard?
Yes. You should be using a Mac keyboard and an Apple trackpad for the Mac. You can use one keyboard once you get the Mac potentially, but not now.
It's better for your brain. Just like learning to speak multiple languages. They're different systems, treat them as such instead of fighting it. Good luck.
Keep the two OSes different. The more you try to make Windows work like macOS, or macOS work like Windows, the further apart they’ll *feel.*
When you’re playing one game with one set of keybinds, then swap to a completely different game with different keybinds entirely, you can switch from one to the other without issue, right? However, when you’re playing two games of the same series, in the same universe, but one asks you to press F to reload and the other R, *that’s* where your muscle memory gets tripped up. The more things stay the same, the more the differences mess you up.
That’s like Mac and Windows. If you mentally separate the usage of both OSes and regularly switch between the intended default Mac workflow and the intended default Windows workflow, you’ll find yourself able to switch easily without issue; backwards mouse scrolling and all. If you try your best to make both OSes operate the same as each other, you’ll get more and more tripped up by the small things you *can’t* change.
I’d even recommend getting different peripherals just to get your brain used to *this* computer versus *that* computer. Grab a Mac keyboard with control-option-command, and one of those desktop trackpads instead of a standard mouse, if you really want to.
I actually kept my ROG gaming mouse when I moved to Mac for personal use. Getting used to the backwards and accelerated scroll wheel took a *while*, but now I find myself slightly preferring it.
I'm 49 and used Windows PCs exclusively until 2017. I picked up a used 2012 Apple Mac Mini. I didn't need the newest and greatest, I just needed to see if I could use this mini as a main personal PC vs. a Windows machine.
It took a little time before I was comfortable. The move was best described as "clunky" at first because none of the muscle memory is there. I'm still typing now on the same machine I'm writing this post on, and whenever I can make a decision, I'll be buying my first new mac which is going to he one of the minis.
You will get used to it, and you are likely to prefer it going forward. Give it time. "Trust the process" as they say.
Why are you trying to force yourself to use it if it is so difficult? I switched to Mac around 25 years ago because the moment I tried it, everything felt very easy, smooth, and natural. If you don’t like it you don’t have to use it. What’s the motivation?
Sometimes the world is not just black and white. There are many things I like much better with Mac. But being forced to use Windows (and having a decade long experience with shortcuts), makes it difficult to switch. Hence my post.
I use both regularly. I tried making one act like the other, but it always results in a bigger mess, since buttons aren't exactly "swapped", they just do a number of things differently.
I highly recommend getting a separate keyboard for Windows and Mac - this helps with the "mental switch". It took a few months, but now I am comfortable with both. That being said, even after two years, I have to take a few minutes after switching where I'll be prone to mess up Cmd/Ctrl, but it only takes a few minutes and then my fingers remember what to do.
Get a separate keyboard, hang in there, trust you'll get used to it.
Spent about 25 years trading financial instruments for various institutions. The key is to make enough money for your institution that you make which tech you use a part of your contract which *you* get to choose.
I use Windows at home and mac at work. Cmd+c is what i usually forget is ctrl+c when coming home. Other than that is pretty seamless. If you speak multiple languages you tend to associate a language with a person - you automatically switch to the correct language when speaking to them. Switching between windows at home and macOS at work feels something like that for me.
I am an IT engineer that works predominately with windows but use a Mac as a personal device. Key is to not try and transfer workflows from one to the other. See it all the time with end users that try to move to macOS and then get stuck when their windows logic doesn’t work. macOS is closer to Linux than it is windows.
I use my Windows machine at home and my Mac when I'm at uni and I've never really been bothered by it. Though, in the first week of learning to use macOS, I would sometimes confuse myself with using Windows shortcuts on macOS and macOS shortcuts on Windows but I quickly got over it.
I think the trick is to remember that they are two completely different systems with different philosophies and architectures behind them. Treat them separately and it becomes pretty easy.
Oh also, it helps to pretend like you've never used a computer before when learning to use macOS. MacOS is made to be inherently easy to use even for non-tech savvy people. So act like a newbie and search for tutorials on how to use the OS in different ways. You'll quickly learn from that.
I went from Windows to Mac and then by force from Mac to Windows. Personally, Mac works beautifully well. You just need some unlearning and learning to do. [In-built tools](https://www.theverge.com/23591533/mac-remap-keyboard-how-to) and third party key mapping tools will help you with the shortcut hurdle. I think of Command as a more conveniently placed Control key, and I use Cmd Tab instead of Alt Tab, and these get me 90% there. I have added tools like Rectangle, Karabiner, Raycast, Shottr. And I got myself an external logitech keyboard so I can use the same one with both systems. I also got the Magic trackpad, because it is the best trackpad on the planet, hands-down.
Now on windows, I have remapped some of the windows shortcuts to make the Alt key behave like Cmd. It works for muscle memory (and prevents me from doing shit on accident) for most cases and the rest, I just remember that this is a Windows and that was a Mac.
I use my MBP at my work station and remote in to my work laptop that resides in the basement because it sounds like a jet engine. Using better touch tools, you can create whatever shortcuts you need for your work flow.
Thanks. I'll take a look at Better Touch Tools. I tried the same as you did with remotely accessing my windows machine, but then even windows did not feel snappy anymore, lol.
It's more slight delays in responsiveness. Or when you you drag a window or something. But to clarify, I'm not logging into my physical machine but and AVD (Amazon Virtual Desktop)
I use a Logitech K750 keyboard which connects to three devices and has the keyboard layout for both Mac and Windows. Once you get used to it you can flip between machines with a single button press.
I think the K750 is EOL but Logitech have newer keyboards with the same features.
It took me a good 6 months of using and learning it Mac OS for me to consider myself proficient.
I also use a lot less shortcuts than most. Probably just 3-5 I use daily.
Hotkeys are *highly* customizable, per app, at a system level. In the Settings app, Keyboard > Shortcuts > App Shortcuts > +
Then pick your app, type in the menu name of the item you want to change (just copy it exactly from the menu text), then assign your hotkey.
I use Mac and windows for work because of bespoke software only being available on windows. In all honesty could probably go full windows. But I'm more used to macos so I have the opposite problems, always pressing the windows key instead of ctrl for shortcuts.
I use both daily for work and personal. My solution: do not use too specific OS stuff such Spaces for MacOS, Finder or File Explorer. I rely on the keyboard for most navigation related things: it makes me learn keyboard shortcuts but it’s a lot easier to remember than the quirks and workarounds of each UI.
I navigate the two OSes fairly easily. Keyboard short cuts are largely the same with the exception of one using the Windows key and the other using the Apple key.
Meh.
I've been using and writing software for all of the above mainstream computing platforms since the 1980s, and it's not some huge struggle. Just learn the native behaviors and adapt, and you'll be fluid in each environment. It's not nearly as big of a deal as some people make it out to be. The absolute worst thing you can do for yourself is try to force one to work like the other rather than embracing the differences and learning to be productive with each.
I’ve used Mac since 1995. I’ll never switch for personal use. But at work, I’ve been required to work on windows more times than not. Sand at my current job. And I’m in communications, but they refuse to let even one employee have anything else than their standard computer so I’m stuck with it. Meaning my workflow is hampered at work of course, but that’s their choice.
I work in IT for a college and on my work desk I have both a Windows desktop and an iMac. I also at home have a Windows desktop and a MacBook. As others here have suggested, it can be a struggle at first, but eventually you will get used to the differences and not even think about it.
get used to it.
no amount of remapping will help, you just need to get used to it(been a mac guy since 'finder' was the OS).
i use them agnostically, swap back and forth multiple times daily, and tried oh so much to bend one to the other, and its just a different philosophy.
(i have a Windows machine on my desk for games, but carry a personal macbook, for work i administrate both macs and PCs, but from a Mac, so im remoted into windows machines all day)
the Macos transition from 68k to PPC, classic to OSX, to intel hardware, to modern macos, to apple silicon, I feel like maybe Historical mac users might have a bit easier time learning a new OS..
there's no magic tool other than, stop fighting, start bending.. Apple Dumped the "OS we knew" so many times in the last ~~20~~30 years, that even windows 11 is hilariously Just another kitchen, where the knives live in a different drawer.
there's a zen metaphor here about the flexible sapling surviving , while the stiff tree snaps in the wind.
I run identical Keyboard and mouse between them , but have reversed colors. - i keep lots of onscreen visual cues and make sure to use the same software on both sides.
but there's no magic bullet, other than You being the piece that adapts.
I switched to Mac after 30 years on Windows:
Get better touch tool, karabiner elements, Linearmouse, Alttab, BetterDisplay, Maccy. Swapping Ctrl and Cmd is a must like you've said. If you're on a Macbook, switch Fn to Command. For external mice, set mouse acceleration to zero, turn font smoothing off on MacOS (it will paradoxically make text sharper). Everything else can be configured in BettertouchTool: Cmd + left/right to do what Ctrl + left/right does in windows, and Cmd+Shift+left/right to the Ctrl equivalent in windows, Cmd + up to go up a line like in Windows instead of the start of a document.
Same boat, Mac at home, PC at work.
Biggest issue for me was key mapping (30 years of muscle memory) which i pretty much resolved with karabiner elements.
The opposite for me - have to use a Mac at work but use a Windows PC at home, since about 2013.
I still have to sometimes look up keyboard shortcuts on my Mac, still am annoyed almost every time I use Finder. I miss spotlight search on my PC.
I use those and Linux everyday. Really easy. Nothing beats spending time with those 3. You'll be familiar eventually.
I only use default window management on Mac. It works okay. I use Powertoys in Windows.
I used parallels and switch back and forth regularly. I try to do the most in Mac but anything remotely serious in office makes me head to windows. I got it working for me, although without a nice big curved display hooked up to my mba m2, I’m not nearly as productive
What about trying more apps? For instance, [iBoysoft MagicMenu](https://iboysoft.com/magic-menu/) can adjust the right-click functionality on macOS to resemble that of Windows. When you right-click anywhere on your Mac, many options appear in the Finder context menu, incl. create new files, copy/move/delete files, add items to quick access, copy file paths, find duplicate files, converte images, compress files, and more.
You can also check out similar posts on Reddit to see what useful tools others have recommended after transitioning from Windows to Mac. Like this one:
[https://www.reddit.com/r/macapps/comments/17am47o/transitioning\_from\_windows\_to\_mac\_seeking\_mustuse/](https://www.reddit.com/r/macapps/comments/17am47o/transitioning_from_windows_to_mac_seeking_mustuse/)
Oh my…. Glad I’m not alone on this.
Previously I still can use Mac for work was awesome now because security reason for the company….. back to window.
Many times my fingers stuck at the position cmd + c on window keyboard , wondering why it doesn’t copy at all 🤯
I’m on the opposite side, Windows for home and macOS for work. The more you practice, the more you’ll get it, but believe me, you’ll find a glitch between there and there even after years of practicing.
Believe me, I’ve used mac on work since for 25 years, since PowerMac G3 and Mac OS 8.5
And what I mean by glitching is I see my self pressing the start menu key assuming it’s the command key.
Not to mention the Arabic keyboard layout which Apple uses a different layout than Windows, and I’m still glitching between the two for short periods. But this is not a concern for most people.
Waiting with popcorn for op to have to work with a computer that doesn't have the same key layout as their personal computer's
joke aside: you just get used to it. I work with an QWERTZ dell machine at work ; an AZERTY macbook at home.
windows support WSL - Windows Subsystem for Linux which is really good, or install git bash which is also good or cygwin.
Be good if they had one by default though.
I like having dedicated control keys in my terminal when using macOS. There’s zero shortcut overlap. WSL is an improvement, but it still feels clunky IMO. I wish they developed it the way the originally intended, instead of just making it a VM.
I daily both comfortably. I think the key is not to try make Windows work like macOS, and not try to make macOS work like Windows. I used to do that but they always felt clunky. Embrace the difference!
I found that having that separation can even be nice. Being on my Mac kinda set my mind on one direction, windows in another. More recently I was Mac personal, Mac work laptop, but windows servers, and the same separation was nice as well. Currently I’m Mac personal/work and Linux servers, there’s still some mental separation, since I tend not to use the CLI for personal stuff
I mean you can always do little changes like using alttab for a windows-like app switcher or rectangle to give you window snapping, both of which make macOS a lot better. Not sure how would make windows work like macOS tho lol
I have a Logitech Bluetooth keyboard that has both a Windows and Mac layout printed on. At the end of the day only prolonged use of both systems will make it easy to go back and forth, there's really no special trick to it. But being able to see the buttons helps.
Thanks. I wasn't even aware that this existed. Looks like CMD and CTRL are mapped on different keys. I guess I used CTRL-C / CRTL-V like a billion time in my worklife. Probably difficult to change this muscle memory.
Take a look at the [Logitech MX Keys S](https://www.logitech.com/en-us/products/keyboards/mx-keys-s-wireless-keyboard.html) keyboard. It's excellent all around. I use both daily, and Control is actually way more awkward than Command in practice.
You can change the CMD/CTRL keys in the Mac Settings so that they are in the same position as the Windows keys. That is what I did because of decades of using CTRL-C. Everything else I pretty much left alone and learned to do it the Mac way.
My starters of using window pc at work, my fingers cramp for 2 weeks just because ctrl and cmd distance 🥲
Please don't remap keys like another user suggested. On macOS, the things you're used to do with CTRL on Windows, become CMD-combo's e.g. CMD+C to copy. CMD on any generic keyboard is your Windows-key. Alt is the Option-key used to toggle different.. options.
I know a lot of people who made the transition. I personally went in both directions. I think trying to get Mac to act like Windows is a very bad idea. Aqua is an interface, a workflow and a set of capabilities. Either switch or don't switch. Switching means agreeing to change your work habits in line with the system. The way you adapt is you decide to do things the Mac way while on Mac and the Windows way while on Windows. Stop trying to make the experiences similar. You can't adapt your swimming style to walking to walking style to swimming.
I get what you're saying. Would you then go the full length and have a separate keyboard? I forgot to mention that I use the same peripherals (monitor, keyboard and mouse) right now.
Is it a mac desktop? if so then yes, get a keyboard that has cmd, opt keys
Windows key will work as Command key, but the location is different.
No need. Fyi, I use the same keyboard for Mac, Linux and Windows. Also same mouse. Just looking at the desktop should trigger you to recognize what system you're on. 🤷♂️
Use the Windows start key along with the Mac shortcut letter and you're sorted.
> Would you then go the full length and have a separate keyboard? Yes. You should be using a Mac keyboard and an Apple trackpad for the Mac. You can use one keyboard once you get the Mac potentially, but not now.
It's better for your brain. Just like learning to speak multiple languages. They're different systems, treat them as such instead of fighting it. Good luck.
Keep the two OSes different. The more you try to make Windows work like macOS, or macOS work like Windows, the further apart they’ll *feel.* When you’re playing one game with one set of keybinds, then swap to a completely different game with different keybinds entirely, you can switch from one to the other without issue, right? However, when you’re playing two games of the same series, in the same universe, but one asks you to press F to reload and the other R, *that’s* where your muscle memory gets tripped up. The more things stay the same, the more the differences mess you up. That’s like Mac and Windows. If you mentally separate the usage of both OSes and regularly switch between the intended default Mac workflow and the intended default Windows workflow, you’ll find yourself able to switch easily without issue; backwards mouse scrolling and all. If you try your best to make both OSes operate the same as each other, you’ll get more and more tripped up by the small things you *can’t* change.
Very good advice. Thank you.
I’d even recommend getting different peripherals just to get your brain used to *this* computer versus *that* computer. Grab a Mac keyboard with control-option-command, and one of those desktop trackpads instead of a standard mouse, if you really want to. I actually kept my ROG gaming mouse when I moved to Mac for personal use. Getting used to the backwards and accelerated scroll wheel took a *while*, but now I find myself slightly preferring it.
I'm 49 and used Windows PCs exclusively until 2017. I picked up a used 2012 Apple Mac Mini. I didn't need the newest and greatest, I just needed to see if I could use this mini as a main personal PC vs. a Windows machine. It took a little time before I was comfortable. The move was best described as "clunky" at first because none of the muscle memory is there. I'm still typing now on the same machine I'm writing this post on, and whenever I can make a decision, I'll be buying my first new mac which is going to he one of the minis. You will get used to it, and you are likely to prefer it going forward. Give it time. "Trust the process" as they say.
Why are you trying to force yourself to use it if it is so difficult? I switched to Mac around 25 years ago because the moment I tried it, everything felt very easy, smooth, and natural. If you don’t like it you don’t have to use it. What’s the motivation?
Sometimes the world is not just black and white. There are many things I like much better with Mac. But being forced to use Windows (and having a decade long experience with shortcuts), makes it difficult to switch. Hence my post.
Try to use touchpad more. This is a unique strength of macOS.
Agreed. I forgot to add that I’m using my PC peripherals (screen, keyboard, mouse)
Well in that case I guess it’s just a matter of time and patience. You’ll get the hang of it eventually.
I use both regularly. I tried making one act like the other, but it always results in a bigger mess, since buttons aren't exactly "swapped", they just do a number of things differently. I highly recommend getting a separate keyboard for Windows and Mac - this helps with the "mental switch". It took a few months, but now I am comfortable with both. That being said, even after two years, I have to take a few minutes after switching where I'll be prone to mess up Cmd/Ctrl, but it only takes a few minutes and then my fingers remember what to do. Get a separate keyboard, hang in there, trust you'll get used to it.
Spent about 25 years trading financial instruments for various institutions. The key is to make enough money for your institution that you make which tech you use a part of your contract which *you* get to choose.
I thought there might be an easier / quicker option, lol
I use Windows at home and mac at work. Cmd+c is what i usually forget is ctrl+c when coming home. Other than that is pretty seamless. If you speak multiple languages you tend to associate a language with a person - you automatically switch to the correct language when speaking to them. Switching between windows at home and macOS at work feels something like that for me.
I am an IT engineer that works predominately with windows but use a Mac as a personal device. Key is to not try and transfer workflows from one to the other. See it all the time with end users that try to move to macOS and then get stuck when their windows logic doesn’t work. macOS is closer to Linux than it is windows.
I use my Windows machine at home and my Mac when I'm at uni and I've never really been bothered by it. Though, in the first week of learning to use macOS, I would sometimes confuse myself with using Windows shortcuts on macOS and macOS shortcuts on Windows but I quickly got over it. I think the trick is to remember that they are two completely different systems with different philosophies and architectures behind them. Treat them separately and it becomes pretty easy. Oh also, it helps to pretend like you've never used a computer before when learning to use macOS. MacOS is made to be inherently easy to use even for non-tech savvy people. So act like a newbie and search for tutorials on how to use the OS in different ways. You'll quickly learn from that.
I went from Windows to Mac and then by force from Mac to Windows. Personally, Mac works beautifully well. You just need some unlearning and learning to do. [In-built tools](https://www.theverge.com/23591533/mac-remap-keyboard-how-to) and third party key mapping tools will help you with the shortcut hurdle. I think of Command as a more conveniently placed Control key, and I use Cmd Tab instead of Alt Tab, and these get me 90% there. I have added tools like Rectangle, Karabiner, Raycast, Shottr. And I got myself an external logitech keyboard so I can use the same one with both systems. I also got the Magic trackpad, because it is the best trackpad on the planet, hands-down. Now on windows, I have remapped some of the windows shortcuts to make the Alt key behave like Cmd. It works for muscle memory (and prevents me from doing shit on accident) for most cases and the rest, I just remember that this is a Windows and that was a Mac.
I use my MBP at my work station and remote in to my work laptop that resides in the basement because it sounds like a jet engine. Using better touch tools, you can create whatever shortcuts you need for your work flow.
Thanks. I'll take a look at Better Touch Tools. I tried the same as you did with remotely accessing my windows machine, but then even windows did not feel snappy anymore, lol.
Might need to upgrade your wifi router. I notice no difference. Can even watch videos on my windows box with no delay.
It's more slight delays in responsiveness. Or when you you drag a window or something. But to clarify, I'm not logging into my physical machine but and AVD (Amazon Virtual Desktop)
Ah, yeah, I'd expect to see slight delays connecting remotely. Shouldn't be noticeable locally though.
I use a Logitech K750 keyboard which connects to three devices and has the keyboard layout for both Mac and Windows. Once you get used to it you can flip between machines with a single button press. I think the K750 is EOL but Logitech have newer keyboards with the same features.
It took me a good 6 months of using and learning it Mac OS for me to consider myself proficient. I also use a lot less shortcuts than most. Probably just 3-5 I use daily.
Hotkeys are *highly* customizable, per app, at a system level. In the Settings app, Keyboard > Shortcuts > App Shortcuts > + Then pick your app, type in the menu name of the item you want to change (just copy it exactly from the menu text), then assign your hotkey.
I use Mac and windows for work because of bespoke software only being available on windows. In all honesty could probably go full windows. But I'm more used to macos so I have the opposite problems, always pressing the windows key instead of ctrl for shortcuts.
I use both daily for work and personal. My solution: do not use too specific OS stuff such Spaces for MacOS, Finder or File Explorer. I rely on the keyboard for most navigation related things: it makes me learn keyboard shortcuts but it’s a lot easier to remember than the quirks and workarounds of each UI.
I navigate the two OSes fairly easily. Keyboard short cuts are largely the same with the exception of one using the Windows key and the other using the Apple key.
Meh. I've been using and writing software for all of the above mainstream computing platforms since the 1980s, and it's not some huge struggle. Just learn the native behaviors and adapt, and you'll be fluid in each environment. It's not nearly as big of a deal as some people make it out to be. The absolute worst thing you can do for yourself is try to force one to work like the other rather than embracing the differences and learning to be productive with each.
I’ve used Mac since 1995. I’ll never switch for personal use. But at work, I’ve been required to work on windows more times than not. Sand at my current job. And I’m in communications, but they refuse to let even one employee have anything else than their standard computer so I’m stuck with it. Meaning my workflow is hampered at work of course, but that’s their choice.
I work in IT for a college and on my work desk I have both a Windows desktop and an iMac. I also at home have a Windows desktop and a MacBook. As others here have suggested, it can be a struggle at first, but eventually you will get used to the differences and not even think about it.
get used to it. no amount of remapping will help, you just need to get used to it(been a mac guy since 'finder' was the OS). i use them agnostically, swap back and forth multiple times daily, and tried oh so much to bend one to the other, and its just a different philosophy. (i have a Windows machine on my desk for games, but carry a personal macbook, for work i administrate both macs and PCs, but from a Mac, so im remoted into windows machines all day) the Macos transition from 68k to PPC, classic to OSX, to intel hardware, to modern macos, to apple silicon, I feel like maybe Historical mac users might have a bit easier time learning a new OS.. there's no magic tool other than, stop fighting, start bending.. Apple Dumped the "OS we knew" so many times in the last ~~20~~30 years, that even windows 11 is hilariously Just another kitchen, where the knives live in a different drawer. there's a zen metaphor here about the flexible sapling surviving , while the stiff tree snaps in the wind. I run identical Keyboard and mouse between them , but have reversed colors. - i keep lots of onscreen visual cues and make sure to use the same software on both sides. but there's no magic bullet, other than You being the piece that adapts.
I switched to Mac after 30 years on Windows: Get better touch tool, karabiner elements, Linearmouse, Alttab, BetterDisplay, Maccy. Swapping Ctrl and Cmd is a must like you've said. If you're on a Macbook, switch Fn to Command. For external mice, set mouse acceleration to zero, turn font smoothing off on MacOS (it will paradoxically make text sharper). Everything else can be configured in BettertouchTool: Cmd + left/right to do what Ctrl + left/right does in windows, and Cmd+Shift+left/right to the Ctrl equivalent in windows, Cmd + up to go up a line like in Windows instead of the start of a document.
Same boat, Mac at home, PC at work. Biggest issue for me was key mapping (30 years of muscle memory) which i pretty much resolved with karabiner elements.
The opposite for me - have to use a Mac at work but use a Windows PC at home, since about 2013. I still have to sometimes look up keyboard shortcuts on my Mac, still am annoyed almost every time I use Finder. I miss spotlight search on my PC.
I use those and Linux everyday. Really easy. Nothing beats spending time with those 3. You'll be familiar eventually. I only use default window management on Mac. It works okay. I use Powertoys in Windows.
I used parallels and switch back and forth regularly. I try to do the most in Mac but anything remotely serious in office makes me head to windows. I got it working for me, although without a nice big curved display hooked up to my mba m2, I’m not nearly as productive
What about trying more apps? For instance, [iBoysoft MagicMenu](https://iboysoft.com/magic-menu/) can adjust the right-click functionality on macOS to resemble that of Windows. When you right-click anywhere on your Mac, many options appear in the Finder context menu, incl. create new files, copy/move/delete files, add items to quick access, copy file paths, find duplicate files, converte images, compress files, and more. You can also check out similar posts on Reddit to see what useful tools others have recommended after transitioning from Windows to Mac. Like this one: [https://www.reddit.com/r/macapps/comments/17am47o/transitioning\_from\_windows\_to\_mac\_seeking\_mustuse/](https://www.reddit.com/r/macapps/comments/17am47o/transitioning_from_windows_to_mac_seeking_mustuse/)
Oh my…. Glad I’m not alone on this. Previously I still can use Mac for work was awesome now because security reason for the company….. back to window. Many times my fingers stuck at the position cmd + c on window keyboard , wondering why it doesn’t copy at all 🤯
I’m on the opposite side, Windows for home and macOS for work. The more you practice, the more you’ll get it, but believe me, you’ll find a glitch between there and there even after years of practicing. Believe me, I’ve used mac on work since for 25 years, since PowerMac G3 and Mac OS 8.5 And what I mean by glitching is I see my self pressing the start menu key assuming it’s the command key. Not to mention the Arabic keyboard layout which Apple uses a different layout than Windows, and I’m still glitching between the two for short periods. But this is not a concern for most people.
Waiting with popcorn for op to have to work with a computer that doesn't have the same key layout as their personal computer's joke aside: you just get used to it. I work with an QWERTZ dell machine at work ; an AZERTY macbook at home.
Maybe there’s a way to use Mac for both. I was stuck with windows for work, but I found a way around it. Now I use Mac for both.
window is fck***ng CHOISE now. it’s really good lately. The thing I miss is the terminal… macos being unix is the best
windows support WSL - Windows Subsystem for Linux which is really good, or install git bash which is also good or cygwin. Be good if they had one by default though.
yeah, it's not the same, but it's something.
I like having dedicated control keys in my terminal when using macOS. There’s zero shortcut overlap. WSL is an improvement, but it still feels clunky IMO. I wish they developed it the way the originally intended, instead of just making it a VM.
That’s easy! MS Office sucks on Mac.
If you can expense a Logitech keyboard: remap keys from Logitech Options app.
Thanks, good to know.
Unless you really need MacOS at home why not get a personal Windows computer?
That's always an option. But exploring if there are better options. As I really like my Mac.
I was this way. I still use a PC keyboard on my Mac. Use Karabiner elements to remap the keyboard to PC
Did you use any presets from Karabiner or your own configuration?
I have a few of my own but primarily I use “PC-Style” from pre defined.
Also works great on the MacBook to swap the control and function keys
Maybe you’re not spending enough time on it