[mduell]

None of the function keys on my MacBook Air perform their labeled function under OS X: F1 and F2 don't change the screen brightness, F5 and F6 don't change the keyboard brightness, F10-F12 don't change the volume.
I assigned F3/F4 to Expose and Dashboard through their Preferences, but I didn't see anything in the Keyboard and Mouse Preference to assign the rest of the keys to what they're supposed to do.

[Chuckit]

Do you by any chance have the the "Use F1, F2, etc. as standard function keys" box checked?

[OnTheKeys]

Apple ->System Preferences ->Keyboard & Mouse ->Keyboard.

Make sure "Use all F1, F2, etc. keys as standard function keys" is unchecked. Otherwise you will have to use the Fn button to utilize the keys in the way that you want to.

[mduell]

Ok, that works for F1-F6 and F10-F12, but I don't want F7-F9 to perform their labeled function. After unchecking the "use as standard keys" box on the Keyboard tab, there's no option in the Keyboard Shortcuts tab to unassign those keys.

[Chuckit]

The way it works right now is all or nothing. But you can always get the other behavior by holding the "fn" key while you press one of the function keys.

[mduell]

That's annoying; is there some plist hack or similar to work around this limitation?