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ScotHamedia · May 9, 2006, 03:13 PM

On the mac we have the little symbol that represents the "shift" key, we have them for command, control etc. Are these a universal symbol, or is this something Apple made up. I can find no trace of data on this, in Windows, they seem to just spell it out.

TETENAL · May 9, 2006, 03:36 PM

shift ⇧
command ⌘
option ⌥
control ⌃
escape ⎋

ScotHamedia · May 9, 2006, 03:59 PM

Yes, I know what they are, but I am wondering, are those Apple invented, or are they something you can universally refer to?

wataru · May 9, 2006, 04:02 PM

I know control is represented by ^ in the *NIX world as well. I don't know about the others.

Chuckit · May 9, 2006, 04:21 PM

I don't think anyone who doesn't use a Mac would know what you were talking about with any but ^.

Apfhex · May 9, 2006, 04:59 PM

Windows doesn't have a Command key, so that one is out. It also uses "alt", not option, so that's out too. Control is pretty universal. Shift is fairly self explanatory, but I don't think I've seen it or Escape used in Windows. They really should be universal.

There's also Caps Lock ⇪

monkeybrain · May 10, 2006, 03:22 AM

Originally Posted by TETENAL

shift ⇧
command ⌘
option ⌥
control ⌃
escape ⎋

Shift is a an arrow on my Apple keyboard, not that little T shape.

Chuckit · May 10, 2006, 03:52 AM

Check it out in Safari.

CharlesS · May 10, 2006, 04:04 AM

What I don't understand is how these symbols aren't on the Shift key, Option key, or Control key (at least on any Apple keyboard I've ever used), but everyone is supposed to know what they mean anyway when they see the shortcuts in the menus. Isn't that just a bit stupid? No one outside of veteran Mac users has any idea what those symbols mean.

Yeah, you can fire up Key Caps / Keyboard Viewer to see the symbols mapped onto the relevant keys, but since Panther Apple's done a pretty good job of hiding that to the point of invisibility as well.

siMac · May 10, 2006, 04:25 AM

Er, shift, option and alt all have those symbols on every Apple keyboard I have used, not sure what you've been using. Only Esc and Ctrl don't have symbols, but they're rarely used in standard shortcuts.

Big Mac · May 10, 2006, 10:03 AM

aint no option symbol on my keyboards. . . no control symbol either, carnsarnit. . .

CharlesS · May 10, 2006, 10:40 AM

Originally Posted by siMac

Er, shift, option and alt all have those symbols on every Apple keyboard I have used, not sure what you've been using.

Okay fine, here's what I've been using.

Apple Wireless Keyboard:

Apple Pro Keyboard:

PowerBook G3 Pismo Keyboard:

And of course those are only the ones I happen to have around to take a quick crappy cell phone picture of. I've used quite a few other Apple keyboards, and none that I can recall have ever had those symbols on those keys. I have seen some third-party keyboards with those symbols on them, but they don't count since almost all newbie users are going to be using the keyboard that comes with the machine (well, except for Mac mini owners).

TETENAL · May 10, 2006, 10:48 AM

CharlesS · May 10, 2006, 11:08 AM

^ Ah, so the European keyboards actually have those symbols? Okay, now that's really weird. So Apple seems to be aware that the keyboard needs those symbols - so why not put them on the US keyboards too?

siMac · May 10, 2006, 11:11 AM

I apologise, I have only ever used British and French keyboards which have always had the symbols on them. How strange that US keyboards don't...

Chuckit · May 10, 2006, 11:11 AM

I assume Apple puts the symbols on the European keyboards so they won't be covered in English and they don't want to nationalize for each country.

TETENAL · May 10, 2006, 11:21 AM

Originally Posted by Chuckit

they don't want to nationalize for each country.

CharlesS · May 10, 2006, 11:41 AM

^ In addition, siMac said that the British keyboards have the symbols. And the official language in England, of course, is English...

Originally Posted by siMac

I apologise, I have only ever used British and French keyboards which have always had the symbols on them. How strange that US keyboards don't...

Well, I didn't know that the European ones do have the symbols either, so I guess we're even.

monkeybrain · May 10, 2006, 12:08 PM

Yes it is very inconsistent of Apple.

My UK keyboard has 'help' (what's the point in this key anyway? It only works in Word that I have found) and 'del' written in English, but it doesn't do so for page up/down, jump to end/beginning of line, it only uses symbols. That's quite confusing, because I always forget what those symbols are. Therefore, I've never learnt to use those keys.

This is also inconsistent when people refer to the option key - no keyboard I have has this.

Personally, I think this is important enough to petition Apple to produce keyboards with standard symbols on, no matter what the country. If they want to put words on too, sure, but let's always have those symbols.

siMac · May 10, 2006, 02:24 PM

tooki · May 10, 2006, 03:10 PM

I don't remember what the source/governing body is (probably the ISO), but the symbols are standardized internationally. It's the group that also defines the symbols for ports (e.g. the little telephones and printers on old Macs' serial ports).

Note that the symbol we use for the command key is officially the "place of interest" symbol. Susan Kare, the original Mac's graphic designer, found it in use for Swedish campsites.

tooki

P.S. My Microsoft Internet Keyboard Pro, U.S. version, has the standard shift and tab symbols as well as the word.

Hal Itosis · May 11, 2006, 01:37 AM

Originally Posted by tooki

> Note that the symbol we use for the command key is officially the "place of interest" symbol.
> Susan Kare, the original Mac's graphic designer, found it in use for Swedish campsites.

At first I thought if I said "sevärdhet = sightworthy" that would pretty much cover it.

Then I dug a little deeper to find: Symbol 25:18 (see also symbols 29:19 and 32:20),

... a damn cool website.

P · May 11, 2006, 06:21 AM

The "hat" for control is an old UNIX mainstay, and Apple adopted it rather late. I don't think it was ever printed on a keyboard. The arrow for shift was common on typewriters, and is actually quite common PC keyboards as well. The option symbol is one Apple made up - it's supposed to be looking like someone taking a fork in the road. The command symbol is explained above. Don't know who made it first, but it's been in use throughout Scandinavia for years. It's supposed to be a stylized castle with four towers. The original Mac team picked it isntead of the Apple symbol when Jobs got annoyed at all the apples on screen (the original symbol was, like on the Apple II, an apple)

The reason for the symbols was to save space when printing the shortcuts in the menus on the small 9" screen of the original Mac. The keyboard was designed after that, and used the logos to be consistent with the onscreen interface. When the need arose to use terminal emulators and stuff like that on the mac, Apple began printing "alt" on the option key - overloading that function on an existing key. Note that it is not in the same position as the alt key on a PC, and PC keyboards weren't really standardized by the time the first Mac was made.

In general, I think Apple's current position, to print "control" on that key and both symbol and name on shift and option is rather good. The "name" on the command woudl be either meta (to be standard) or just printing command. In any case, anyone calling those keys alt and "that apple" will be understood.

moonmonkey · May 11, 2006, 06:56 AM

Originally Posted by P

The option symbol is one Apple made up - it's supposed to be looking like someone taking a fork in the road.

I think its a switch.

TETENAL · May 11, 2006, 03:11 PM

Yes, it's a railway switch.

tooki · May 11, 2006, 03:15 PM

How do you arrive that Apple "made up" that symbol, P? All the symbols Apple used for ports, for example, have been industry-standard symbols from day 1.

tooki

P · 08:41 AM

My old Mac SE manual said that the option symbol is supposed to indicate taking a fork in the road, but it may have been a mistranslation of the railway switch or even an electronic microswitch as Wikipedia suggests. The Unicode name for it is Option Key, so it looks like it was invented for that usage. If anyone used it before Apple, or if it was actually designed by some standardization organization is more than I can confirm right now, but I seem to remember seeing that it was an Apple invention.

EDIT: The first Mac keyboard apparently didn't have that symbol.