Option key
Encyclopedia
The Option key is a modifier key
present on Apple keyboard
s. It is located between the Control key
and Command key
on a typical Mac keyboard. There are two option keys on modern Mac desktop and notebook keyboards, one on each side of the space bar.
Apple commonly uses the symbol (U
+2325, "OPTION KEY") to represent the Option key. From 1980 to 1984, on the Apple II family, this key was known as the closed apple key, and had a black line drawing of a filled-in apple on it. (See command key
for information about the history and the "open apple".)
Since the 1990s, "alt" typically appears on the key, as well, for use as an Alt key
with non-Mac software, such as Unix and Windows programs. However, the Option key in a Mac operating system functions differently from the Alt key under other Unix-like
systems or Microsoft Windows
. Most notably, it is not used to access menus or hotkeys, but is instead used as a modifier for other command codes, and also to provide easier access to various accents
and symbols. In this regard, it is akin to the AltGr key
, found on some IBM-compatible PC keyboards.
on European keyboards of IBM-compatible PCs, in the sense that it can be used to type additional characters
, symbol
s and diacritical marks. The options available differ depending on the keyboard input locale that the user has selected. For example, in the U.S. English keyboard input, Option+a produces the "å
" character, and Option+4 produces the cent sign "¢".
The Option key can also provide access to dead key
functionality. For example, holding down
which will be added to the next letter if possible – so if an
The highlighted orange keys show the accents available from the combination of the key and the keyboard characters . The accent then can be applied to associated letters both lower and uppercase. The additional characters a Mac will produce are a combination of both the key and the key pressed down together. With this combination pressed the keyboard will now produce a different set or an uppercase version of the previous set in some cases.
The Option key is often used in conjunction with special keys like tab
, delete
, and return to provide alternate functions. For example, Option+Return typically produces a line break
that is not interpreted as a paragraph break.
The iPhoto example is an example of a control whose behavior is governed by a preference which is temporarily inverted by holding down the Option key. The preference in this case is which way to rotate the image: If the user changes the default rotation direction in the Preferences to clockwise, holding down Option will make the button rotate counterclockwise instead, and vice versa. It is common for such controls — that is, those whose behavior is governed by a preference — to be invertible in this way.
, the option key can be used to download a file. Pressing down the option key when hitting return in the address bar causes the URL-specified file to be downloaded. Also, pressing the option key when clicking a hyperlink
causes the link target to be downloaded. Besides the option key methods, other ways of downloading includes right-clicking a hyperlink to bring up a context menu
, then selecting the appropriate download command, or pasting a URL directly into Safari's Downloads window.
s:
Modifier key
In computing, a modifier key is a special key on a computer keyboard that modifies the normal action of another key when the two are pressed in combination....
present on Apple keyboard
Apple keyboard
The Apple Keyboard is a keyboard designed by Apple first for the Apple line, then the Macintosh line of computers. It is available in both wired and Bluetooth models.- Layout :...
s. It is located between the Control key
Control key
In computing, a Control key is a modifier key which, when pressed in conjunction with another key, will perform a special operation ; similar to the Shift key, the Control key rarely performs any function when pressed by itself...
and Command key
Command key
The Command key, also historically known as the Apple key, open-Apple key or meta key is a modifier key present on Apple Keyboards. The Command key's purpose is to allow the user to enter keyboard shortcut commands to GUI applications...
on a typical Mac keyboard. There are two option keys on modern Mac desktop and notebook keyboards, one on each side of the space bar.
Apple commonly uses the symbol (U
Unicode
Unicode is a computing industry standard for the consistent encoding, representation and handling of text expressed in most of the world's writing systems...
+2325, "OPTION KEY") to represent the Option key. From 1980 to 1984, on the Apple II family, this key was known as the closed apple key, and had a black line drawing of a filled-in apple on it. (See command key
Command key
The Command key, also historically known as the Apple key, open-Apple key or meta key is a modifier key present on Apple Keyboards. The Command key's purpose is to allow the user to enter keyboard shortcut commands to GUI applications...
for information about the history and the "open apple".)
Since the 1990s, "alt" typically appears on the key, as well, for use as an Alt key
Alt key
The Alt key on a computer keyboard is used to change the function of other pressed keys. Thus, the Alt key is a modifier key, used in a similar fashion to the Shift key. For example, simply pressing "A" will type the letter a, but if you hold down either Alt key while pressing A, the computer...
with non-Mac software, such as Unix and Windows programs. However, the Option key in a Mac operating system functions differently from the Alt key under other Unix-like
Unix-like
A Unix-like operating system is one that behaves in a manner similar to a Unix system, while not necessarily conforming to or being certified to any version of the Single UNIX Specification....
systems or Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
. Most notably, it is not used to access menus or hotkeys, but is instead used as a modifier for other command codes, and also to provide easier access to various accents
Diacritic
A diacritic is a glyph added to a letter, or basic glyph. The term derives from the Greek διακριτικός . Diacritic is both an adjective and a noun, whereas diacritical is only an adjective. Some diacritical marks, such as the acute and grave are often called accents...
and symbols. In this regard, it is akin to the AltGr key
AltGr key
AltGr is a modifier key found on many computer keyboards and primarily used to type characters that are unusual for the locale of the keyboard layout, such as currency symbols and accented letters...
, found on some IBM-compatible PC keyboards.
Alternative keyboard input
The use of the Option key is similar to that of the AltGr keyAltGr key
AltGr is a modifier key found on many computer keyboards and primarily used to type characters that are unusual for the locale of the keyboard layout, such as currency symbols and accented letters...
on European keyboards of IBM-compatible PCs, in the sense that it can be used to type additional characters
Character (computing)
In computer and machine-based telecommunications terminology, a character is a unit of information that roughly corresponds to a grapheme, grapheme-like unit, or symbol, such as in an alphabet or syllabary in the written form of a natural language....
, symbol
Symbol
A symbol is something which represents an idea, a physical entity or a process but is distinct from it. The purpose of a symbol is to communicate meaning. For example, a red octagon may be a symbol for "STOP". On a map, a picture of a tent might represent a campsite. Numerals are symbols for...
s and diacritical marks. The options available differ depending on the keyboard input locale that the user has selected. For example, in the U.S. English keyboard input, Option+a produces the "å
Å
Å represents various sounds in several languages. Å is part of the alphabets used for the Alemannic and the Bavarian-Austrian dialects of German...
" character, and Option+4 produces the cent sign "¢".
The Option key can also provide access to dead key
Dead key
A dead key is a special kind of a modifier key on a typewriter or computer keyboard that is typically used to attach a specific diacritic to a base letter. The dead key does not generate a character by itself but modifies the character generated by the key struck immediately after...
functionality. For example, holding down
option while pressing ` will create a highlighted grave accentGrave accent
The grave accent is a diacritical mark used in written Breton, Catalan, Corsican, Dutch, French, Greek , Italian, Mohawk, Norwegian, Occitan, Portuguese, Scottish Gaelic, Vietnamese, Welsh, Romansh, and other languages.-Greek:The grave accent was first used in the polytonic orthography of Ancient...
which will be added to the next letter if possible – so if an
e is then pressed, the resultant character is è. If an r is pressed instead, the two characters are not compatible so the result is `r.The highlighted orange keys show the accents available from the combination of the key and the keyboard characters . The accent then can be applied to associated letters both lower and uppercase. The additional characters a Mac will produce are a combination of both the key and the key pressed down together. With this combination pressed the keyboard will now produce a different set or an uppercase version of the previous set in some cases.
The Option key is often used in conjunction with special keys like tab
Tab key
Tab key on a keyboard is used to advance the cursor to the next tab stop.- Origin :The word tab derives from the word tabulate, which means "to arrange data in a tabular, or table, form"...
, delete
Delete key
The delete key , known less ambiguously as forward delete, performs a function when struck on a computer keyboard during text or command editing, which is to discard the character ahead of the cursor's position, moving all following characters one position "back" towards the freed letterspace. The...
, and return to provide alternate functions. For example, Option+Return typically produces a line break
Soft return
In word processing and text-oriented markup languages the term soft return can mean a line break due to word wrapping. Alternatively it can mean a stored line break that is not a paragraph break. For example, it is common to print postal addresses in a multiple-line format, but the several lines...
that is not interpreted as a paragraph break.
Alternative buttons and menu items
The key is also used to provide for alternative menu items and buttons when pressed down. Examples:- SafariSafari (web browser)Safari is a web browser developed by Apple Inc. and included with the Mac OS X and iOS operating systems. First released as a public beta on January 7, 2003 on the company's Mac OS X operating system, it became Apple's default browser beginning with Mac OS X v10.3 "Panther". Safari is also the...
, FinderMacintosh FinderThe Finder is the default file manager used on Mac OS and Mac OS X operating systems; it is responsible for the overall user-management of files, disks, network volumes and the launching of other applications...
- the Option key causes the "Close Window" menu item to switch to "Close All Windows" when pressed down. Consequently, clicking a window's close box with the option key depressed invokes "close all" as well. This functionality is a de facto Macintosh standard and available in numerous other programs. - DockDock (computing)The Dock is a prominent feature of the graphical user interface of the Mac OS X operating system. It is used to launch applications and switch between running applications...
- the Option key causes the "Hide" and "Quit" menu items in the context menuContext menuA context menu is a menu in a graphical user interface that appears upon user interaction, such as a right mouse click or middle click mouse operation...
of a Dock icon to switch to "Hide Others" and "Force Quit." - iTunesITunesiTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
- the Create Playlist button switches to a Create Smart Playlist button. Holding Option and clicking the green Window Zoom (+) button at the top-left forces the iTunes window into fullscreen view, rather than switching between the user-set window size and the iTunes Mini Player. - iPhotoIPhotoiPhoto is a digital photograph manipulation software application developed by Apple Inc. and released with every Macintosh personal computer as part of the iLife suite of digital life management applications...
- the rotate image button toggles between a "rotate right" and a "rotate left." - Menu bar itemsMenu extraA menu extra, menu item, menulet, or status item in Mac OS X is a small icon or sometimes a word that appears at the right of the menu bar. They often provide quick ways to use applications or display information , or control system-level variables...
- the Sound icon will show Audio Device input / output settings instead of the volume control slider, the battery item will show the condition of the battery, the MobileMeMobileMeMobileMe was a subscription-based collection of online services and software offered by Apple Inc. Originally launched on January 5, 2000, as iTools, a free collection of Internet-based services for users of Mac OS 9, Apple relaunched it as .Mac on July 17, 2002, when it became a paid subscription...
sync item will show the last sync date/time of individual synced items and will offer additional menu items such as Sync Diagnostics, and the Wireless icon will show extended wireless network information and, in Mac OS X LionMac OS X LionMac OS X Lion is the eighth and current major release of Mac OS X, Apple's desktop and server operating system for Macintosh computers....
, offer an item for launching a Wi-Fi diagnostic application (when AirPort is connected).
The iPhoto example is an example of a control whose behavior is governed by a preference which is temporarily inverted by holding down the Option key. The preference in this case is which way to rotate the image: If the user changes the default rotation direction in the Preferences to clockwise, holding down Option will make the button rotate counterclockwise instead, and vice versa. It is common for such controls — that is, those whose behavior is governed by a preference — to be invertible in this way.
Common Keyboard navigations
In text areas, the Option key can be used for quick keyboard navigation.- Option-Left/Right - navigate to the previous/next word.
- Windows equivalent: Ctrl-Left/Right
- Option-Up/Down - navigate to the head/end of current paragraph.
- TerminalTerminal (application)Terminal is a terminal emulator included in Apple's Mac OS X operating system. It originated in Mac OS X's predecessors, NeXTSTEP and OPENSTEP, and allows the user to interact with the computer through a command line interface. By default it provides a bash shell, which allows the OS X user to...
equivalent: Shift-Home/End - Windows equivalent: Home/End
- Terminal
- Option-Page up/Page down - navigate caretCaretCaret usually refers to the spacing symbol ^ in ASCII and other character sets. In Unicode, however, the corresponding character is , whereas the Unicode character named caret is actually a similar but lowered symbol: ....
up/down a page. Without the Option key, the Page up/Page down keys let the page view scroll up/down a page without moving the caret.- Windows equivalent: Page up/Page down
Alternative Mouse actions
When keeping the Option key pressed when using the mouse, the mouse action can change behaviour- option-mouse clicking an application other than the current one, automatically hides the current application and switches to the clicked application.
- When dragging an item (file in the Finder, or layer in Adobe PhotoshopAdobe PhotoshopAdobe Photoshop is a graphics editing program developed and published by Adobe Systems Incorporated.Adobe's 2003 "Creative Suite" rebranding led to Adobe Photoshop 8's renaming to Adobe Photoshop CS. Thus, Adobe Photoshop CS5 is the 12th major release of Adobe Photoshop...
, for instance), keeping Option pressed will make sure you Duplicate something instead of moving it.
File downloads
In browsers such as Safari and SeaMonkeySeaMonkey
SeaMonkey is a free and open source cross-platform Internet suite. It is the continuation of the former Mozilla Application Suite, based on the same source code...
, the option key can be used to download a file. Pressing down the option key when hitting return in the address bar causes the URL-specified file to be downloaded. Also, pressing the option key when clicking a hyperlink
Hyperlink
In computing, a hyperlink is a reference to data that the reader can directly follow, or that is followed automatically. A hyperlink points to a whole document or to a specific element within a document. Hypertext is text with hyperlinks...
causes the link target to be downloaded. Besides the option key methods, other ways of downloading includes right-clicking a hyperlink to bring up a context menu
Context menu
A context menu is a menu in a graphical user interface that appears upon user interaction, such as a right mouse click or middle click mouse operation...
, then selecting the appropriate download command, or pasting a URL directly into Safari's Downloads window.
Miscellaneous
Some applications make unique uses out of the option key:- TerminalTerminal (application)Terminal is a terminal emulator included in Apple's Mac OS X operating system. It originated in Mac OS X's predecessors, NeXTSTEP and OPENSTEP, and allows the user to interact with the computer through a command line interface. By default it provides a bash shell, which allows the OS X user to...
(including at least version 1.4.6 - no longer true as of 2.0.1, Cmd-L/R works.) - Option-L/R arrows navigates between open Terminal windows in a loop. Usually, programs use Cmd-` and Cmd-Shift-`, which are also supported for Terminal.
- Scroll bars (including at least OS X 10.3.x) - Option-clicking a scroll bar arrow can cause the view to jump to the next page instead of moving by a few lines. Option-clicking in the scroll bar can cause the view to jump to that position instead of jumping to the next page. This behavior can be reversed in System Preferences: Appearance.
- Startup Disk - Holding the Option Key at boot time activates a boot manager built in to the firmware, where the user may choose from which drive/partition to boot the computer from, including Mac OS and Mac OS XMac OS XMac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
partitions or drives on PowerPCPowerPCPowerPC is a RISC architecture created by the 1991 Apple–IBM–Motorola alliance, known as AIM...
-based Macs, and Mac OS XMac OS XMac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
and Microsoft WindowsMicrosoft WindowsMicrosoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
partitions or drives on Intel-based Macs (running Mac OS X 10.4.6Mac OS X v10.4Mac OS X v10.4 Tiger is the fifth major release of Mac OS X, Apple's desktop and server operating system for Macintosh computers. Tiger was released to the public on 29 April 2005 for US$129.95 as the successor to Mac OS X Panther , which had been released 18 months earlier...
and later with Boot Camp from Apple Inc. installed). The built in bootloader can also boot other operating systems such as LinuxLinuxLinux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
; however, these are labeled as "Windows" in the bootloader.
See also
Other modifier keyModifier key
In computing, a modifier key is a special key on a computer keyboard that modifies the normal action of another key when the two are pressed in combination....
s:
- AltGr keyAltGr keyAltGr is a modifier key found on many computer keyboards and primarily used to type characters that are unusual for the locale of the keyboard layout, such as currency symbols and accented letters...
- Alt keyAlt keyThe Alt key on a computer keyboard is used to change the function of other pressed keys. Thus, the Alt key is a modifier key, used in a similar fashion to the Shift key. For example, simply pressing "A" will type the letter a, but if you hold down either Alt key while pressing A, the computer...
- Command keyCommand keyThe Command key, also historically known as the Apple key, open-Apple key or meta key is a modifier key present on Apple Keyboards. The Command key's purpose is to allow the user to enter keyboard shortcut commands to GUI applications...
- Control keyControl keyIn computing, a Control key is a modifier key which, when pressed in conjunction with another key, will perform a special operation ; similar to the Shift key, the Control key rarely performs any function when pressed by itself...
- Shift keyShift keyThe shift key is a modifier key on a keyboard, used to type capital letters and other alternate "upper" characters. There are typically two shift keys, on the left and right sides of the row below the home row...
- Dead keyDead keyA dead key is a special kind of a modifier key on a typewriter or computer keyboard that is typically used to attach a specific diacritic to a base letter. The dead key does not generate a character by itself but modifies the character generated by the key struck immediately after...
- Compose keyCompose keyA compose key, available on some computer keyboards, is a special kind of modifier key designated to signal the software to interpret the following sequence of two keystrokes as a combination in order to produce a character not found directly on the keyboard...