I just bought an iMac with a bluetooth keyboard. The F keys were brilliantly working to control the volume, but then I exchanged it for a wired keyboard to save batteries. Now my F keys have their old functions, and they don't adjust volume, toggle Spaces, etc.
The problem is not fixed by System Preferences → Keyboard → Toggle switch.
Any ideas?
34 Answers
For the Mac Googlers out there with PC keyboards, I highly recommend the free app Spark for controlling volume via shortcuts. I currently use Cmd + Alt + Q/W/E to control Down/Up/Mute on my keyboard.
5My best understanding so far is that there is no way to replicate the system-wide volume behavior of the built-in function keys using the keyboard properties window. I think you must have a mac keyboard or one designed to be used with a Mac.
If you're willing to use a third-party app to get the effect you want, then try the one suggested above.
2Keyboard Maestro did the trick for me. Just add a global hotkey and search for volume under actions. Super simple. I mapped my volume to command-shift-up/down. Seems to be working without conflict as far as I can tell.
1You can configure all of these things in System Preferences. For things like Spaces and Exposé, I believe the settings are under System Preferences → Keyboard → Keyboard Shortcuts → Exposé & Spaces if you are on Leopard or Snow Leopard. On Lion they are in System Preferences → Mission Control.
For things like adjusting volume, there are likely already shortcuts in iTunes (e.g. ⌘↑ and ⌘↓ for volume). You can also add custom Keyboard Shortcuts for any menu item in any application (or in all applications). Go to System Preferences → Keyboard → Keyboard Shortcuts → Application Shortcuts. Add a new shortcut, choose iTunes.app for the Application, enter the exact Menu Title (e.g. "Increase Volume"), and enter the shortcut you'd like.
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