Russ Johnson Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 (This comes largely from a PM I had with a member who exhorted me to post it on the forum. Since the Questions board is the closest thing to a general discussion area, I figured this would be the place to post it. On the off-chance this gets me in some kind of trouble, I'm not going to try to throw him under the proverbial bus by using his name.) One of our members expressed some confusion over the ⌥ Option key. Wasn't it just another name for Alt? After all, both Alt and ⌥ are labeled on the physical key anyway. Or did it mean Alt was the same as ⌥⇧ (Shift)? From a purely technical standpoint, ⌥ and Alt do send the same key code back to the system. One still shouldn't use the term “Alt” to refer to the ⌥ Option key, however, since the buttons perform completely different functions. The best analogy might be if I (an American) went to London, and asked where to buy pants, wanting to pick up some new khakis. Technically, “pants” always refers to a unit of clothing covering the body from the waist down. But I would find no khakis, for in the UK, “pants” means “underwear.” The actual, functional difference between ⌥ and Alt, then, is thus: On Windows, Alt is used in Ctrl-Alt-Delete, Alt-tab, and Alt-F4. It also navigates on-screen menus, which keeps it from being used for much else, unless it's accompanied by Ctrl (the most common modifier) or Shift. On the Mac, ⌥ is used to enter international characters and special symbols. And while Windows Ctrl-shortcuts generally map to ⌘ (Command) on the Mac, ⌥ is very often used by itself as a modifier, especially in programs where typing is just another sometimes used feature. Additionally the ⌥ Option key has been used for decades on the Mac to tell the computer to resize a selection while keeping it centered. This was even implemented in the windowing UI itself when the Resize from Any Edge feature was added. As for the reason the Mac keyboard often has “Alt” labeled on the ⌥ Option key, it's because the ⌥ Option/Alt and Command/Windows keys are wired backwards between Windows and Mac machines. This isn't meant to imply that the names are interchangeable; it's meant to rescue the poor sucker who loads Windows on his Apple just to find it crashes so badly even Ctrl-Cmd-Del doesn’t work. Hope that helps! A_B_C, Andy05, bpedit and 1 other 4 Quote —Russ Jonson Still and video design, logos, branding, and more RussDoes.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A_B_C Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 Thanks for that, Russ … :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bpedit Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 Dang! That's been (somewhat!) annoying me as well. Mostly from the perspective that this key has been the Option key on the Macintosh platform since inception. Only in later years did they add the small print "alt". I don't know if this is for the benefit of emigres from Windows or for the sake of apps developed for both platforms but provide only one set of instructions. It seems ironic that an app developed solely for the platform that uses Option would consistently use the term Alt instead. Signed, Mac User Since 1986 Quote iPad Pro (12.9-inch) (3rd generation) iOS 17.6.1 iMac 24-inch, M1, 2021 macOS 13.4.1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staff Andy Somerfield Posted May 17, 2015 Staff Share Posted May 17, 2015 Hello all, Where do we say "Alt"? Other than in response to questions in the forum :) As far as I know, we say "Option" or "⌥" in the app / help! If this is not the case, it's a bug! Andy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russ Johnson Posted May 17, 2015 Author Share Posted May 17, 2015 @Andy: You’re right; this was a question that came up in the context of discussion on this forum. I haven't found “Alt” used anywhere in AD's UI. @ A_B_C, @bpedit: You're welcome. Quote —Russ Jonson Still and video design, logos, branding, and more RussDoes.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bpedit Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 Ugh, gulp here too. I guess I've seen in in forum posts but doesn't seem endemic to the design. Sorry. On the other hand, "Welcome to Mac, all you ex-windows users!". Mireille G 1 Quote iPad Pro (12.9-inch) (3rd generation) iOS 17.6.1 iMac 24-inch, M1, 2021 macOS 13.4.1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robertkeaghan Posted December 14, 2016 Share Posted December 14, 2016 @Russ Johnson that's a great explanation. I'm always discovering new stuff about Macs (tried the option-resize stuff in Sierra and it still does all sorts of neat stuff. I would add that the key is also used to access hidden/administrative preferences and utilities or different right-click menus. What's annoying is that many current Macs have "alt" written on the keyboard and the "option" symbol, but do not have "option" written on it. This is the case on my Canadian multilingual keyboard (I do a lot of translation) and others I have seen. I think many people read official and non-official forums and help files are left searching for the "option" key when following instructions—it's not intuitive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R C-R Posted December 14, 2016 Share Posted December 14, 2016 Just as an historic aside, there is nothing recent about Mac keyboards having "alt" printed on the key. I still have a Mac USB keyboard that came with a 1st generation 1998 iMac (back when they used CRT displays & the case had "Bondi Blue" translucent plastic parts). Its Option/Alt key has both items printed on it. The command key has the ⌘ symbol & the Apple logo printed on it but not the word "Command." But even before that, the circa 1990 "Apple Extended Keyboard II" that used the now obsolete ADB interface had the same markings. (I have a couple of those too ... somewhere.) Quote All 3 1.10.8, & all 3 V2.5.5 Mac apps; 2020 iMac 27"; 3.8GHz i7, Radeon Pro 5700, 32GB RAM; macOS 10.15.7 All 3 V2 apps for iPad; 6th Generation iPad 32 GB; Apple Pencil; iPadOS 15.7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richard gold Posted April 23, 2020 Share Posted April 23, 2020 Okay, I have read this entire thread and still do not know what key on a Windows keyboard comports to an Option command. Photodoc16 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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