Same keyboard, different names. Apple prints symbols in its menus instead of words; this is the decoder.
| Windows key | Mac key | Symbol | Where it sits, what it does |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ctrl | ⌘ Command | ⌘ | Next to the space bar, where Alt is on a PC. Does what Ctrl did: ⌘C copies, ⌘S saves. |
| Alt | ⌥ Option | ⌥ | Between Ctrl and ⌘. Types special characters and modifies clicks and menu items. |
| Win | ⌘ Command | ⌘ | On a PC keyboard plugged into a Mac, the Win key is ⌘ and Alt is ⌥. |
| Ctrl (the real one) | ⌃ Control | ⌃ | Far left. Rarely used outside Terminal, where ⌃C still cancels a command. |
| Shift | ⇧ Shift | ⇧ | Same. |
| Backspace | ⌫ Delete | ⌫ | Labelled "delete", works like Backspace. |
| Delete | fn⌫ | ⌦ | Laptops have no forward-delete key: hold fn and press delete. |
| Enter | ↩ Return | ↩ | Same key. In Finder it renames a file instead of opening it. |
| Home / End | ⌘← / ⌘→ | Line start and end. The Home and End keys themselves scroll the document. | |
| PgUp / PgDn | fn↑ / fn↓ | ⇞ ⇟ | fn plus the arrows on laptops. |
| PrtSc | ⌘⇧3 | Whole screen to a file. ⌘⇧4 selects an area, ⌘⇧5 opens the screenshot toolbar. | |
| F1 to F12 | F1 to F12 | Brightness, volume and media by default; hold fn for the function key, or switch them in System Settings. | |
| Insert | none | Does not exist on a Mac. |
Menu symbols, in the order they appear in a Mac menu: ⌃ Control, ⌥ Option, ⇧ Shift, ⌘ Command. "⇧⌘S" means hold Shift and Command, press S.