Using a Windows keyboard and mouse with your Mac: how to make it work

An ordinary Windows keyboard and a Logitech or Microsoft mouse work on a Mac straight away. Just not the way you’re used to. The keys next to the space bar are the wrong way round, your shortcuts don’t match, the scroll wheel goes the other direction and the side buttons on your mouse do nothing in many apps. This whitepaper is part of the series Mac and the rest of the world, about the friction between a Mac and devices or services that aren’t made by Apple. I’ll show what you can fix in macOS itself and when an extra app is worth it.

Which key is which

macOS translates the keys on a Windows keyboard like this:

• Ctrl becomes Control. On a Mac you mostly use it for right clicking, not for copy and paste.
• Windows key becomes Command. This is the most important key on a Mac, it does what Ctrl does on Windows.
• Alt and AltGr become Option, which you use for special characters and accents.

The problem is the order. On a Mac, Command sits right next to the space bar. On a Windows keyboard that spot belongs to Alt, so Option. Your thumb lands on Option when you mean Command. You’ll want to swap them.

Swapping keys in macOS

No extra software needed. Go to System Settings > Keyboard, click Keyboard Shortcuts and choose Modifier Keys in the sidebar. Pick the right keyboard at the top first: the setting is per keyboard, so your MacBook keeps its normal layout. Then, for your Windows keyboard, set:

• Option key to Command
• Command key to Option

Now Command is back next to the space bar. You could also make Ctrl act as Command so Ctrl+C copies, but then you lose Control and your muscle memory gets confused the moment you type on the MacBook itself. The same screen lets you turn off Caps Lock. Restore Defaults puts everything back.

When you connect an unfamiliar keyboard for the first time, macOS sometimes asks you to press the key to the right of the left Shift key. That tells it whether you have an American or European model. Don’t skip it.

Shortcuts: Windows next to Mac

Rule of thumb: where you use Ctrl on Windows, you use Command on a Mac. But not everything maps one to one.

Home, End, Page Up and Page Down

This is where most switchers trip up. On Windows, Home puts your cursor at the start of the line. On a Mac, Home jumps to the top of the document in many apps while the cursor stays put. Apple says so itself: for the start and end of a line you use Command with the arrow keys. Page Up and Page Down usually just scroll the view. Word and most browsers behave more like Windows, so it depends on the app. If you want Windows behaviour for Home and End everywhere, you’ll need Karabiner-Elements.

Delete, Backspace and Print Screen

Backspace is called Delete on a Mac and deletes to the left. The separate Del key on your Windows keyboard deletes to the right, just like on Windows. Print Screen does nothing on a Mac by default; the key usually comes in as F13. Under Keyboard Shortcuts > Screenshots you can assign a screenshot to it: double click the existing shortcut and press Print Screen.

Accents and the euro sign

Most Dutch people use the US International layout on Windows, with dead keys: ‘ followed by e gives é, ” followed by e gives ë. The euro sign is AltGr+5. On a Mac you choose under System Settings > Keyboard > Input Sources from:

• U.S. or ABC: the default. Accents go through Option, for example Option+E then e for é, Option+U then e for ë. The euro sign is Shift+Option+2. Or hold down a letter and pick the accent.
• ABC Extended: the same with even more characters via Option, handy for Polish or Turkish.
• U.S. International PC: mimics the Windows layout with the same dead keys. If you’ve typed on Windows for years, you’ll feel at home here fastest.

Not sure where a character lives? Turn on the Keyboard Viewer from the input menu in the menu bar and hold Option or Shift. I couldn’t confirm whether AltGr+5 also gives a euro sign in U.S. International PC on a Mac, so check it there.

The mouse

Scroll direction

macOS defaults to Natural scrolling: you move the content, like on a phone. With a mouse wheel that feels backwards. You turn it off in System Settings > Mouse. But this setting is still linked between mouse and trackpad: turn it off for the mouse and your trackpad flips too. As far as I could find, that hasn’t changed in Golden Gate. Setting them separately takes an app.

Acceleration

macOS accelerates the pointer: the faster you move, the further it goes. Since macOS Sonoma you can switch that off with the pointer acceleration toggle under Advanced in the mouse settings. Turn the tracking speed up a bit afterwards, because without acceleration everything feels slow at first.

Side buttons

The back and forward buttons on the side are the biggest stumbling block. macOS doesn’t assign them a fixed function itself. Chrome and Firefox usually pick them up, in other apps they work sometimes or not at all. Without the manufacturer’s software or a tool like LinearMouse, you can’t count on them.

Apps that fill the gap

• Logi Options+ from Logitech. Free, native on Apple silicon and according to Homebrew supported on Golden Gate (version 2.8). Sets buttons, scroll direction and the Mac layout of Logitech keyboards. It is a heavy app that wants a Logitech account, and in January 2026 it wouldn’t start on Macs for a while until a patch arrived.
• Karabiner-Elements. Free and open source, version 16.3.0, with Golden Gate support. The most complete tool for remapping keys, also per app or per keyboard. You have to allow a system extension and input monitoring. Powerful, but not for everyone.
• LinearMouse. Free and open source, version 0.12. Scroll direction separate from the trackpad, acceleration, and side buttons as back and forward. For most people the best first step. I didn’t see official Golden Gate support in writing, but the app is actively maintained.
• Mos. Free, makes wheel scrolling smooth and sets the direction separately. The latest version I could confirm is 3.5.0; I couldn’t verify whether it runs well on Golden Gate.

Bluetooth or a receiver

Bluetooth works without extra hardware and is convenient on a MacBook. A receiver such as the Logi Bolt often gives a more stable connection in a busy office and works right from startup. The downside: most receivers have a USB A plug, so on a recent Mac you need an adapter. Bolt and the older Unifying receivers aren’t interchangeable. Pairing is done through Logi Options+.

If a Mac and a Windows laptop share your desk, get a multi device keyboard. Many models from Logitech, Keychron and Microsoft switch between three devices at the press of a button, and some recognise a Mac and remap the keys themselves. Then you don’t need to swap anything in macOS.

What I recommend

• Ordinary keyboard and mouse, minimal fuss: swap Option and Command and turn off natural scrolling if you don’t use a trackpad.
• Mouse and trackpad side by side: LinearMouse.
• Logitech MX mouse or keyboard: Logi Options+.
• Home, End and Print Screen exactly like Windows: Karabiner-Elements, allow an hour to set it up.
• Mac and Windows on one desk: a keyboard and mouse with multiple channels.

Step-by-step plan

1. Connect the keyboard and mouse or pair them over Bluetooth. Answer the keyboard question if it appears.
2. Go to System Settings > Keyboard > Keyboard Shortcuts > Modifier Keys, choose the external keyboard and swap Option and Command.
3. Under Input Sources, choose ABC, U.S. or U.S. International PC.
4. Optionally assign a screenshot to Print Screen.
5. Set natural scrolling and acceleration to your liking in the mouse settings.
6. If the side buttons don’t work, install LinearMouse or, for Logitech, Logi Options+.
7. Practise Command+Tab, Command+W and Command with the arrow keys for a week.

And with Apple?

With Apple’s own gear, most of this isn’t needed. The Magic Keyboard has the Mac layout and, in the pricier version, Touch ID, which only works with a Mac with Apple silicon. The Magic Trackpad is the real reason to give it a try, in my view: all the gestures of a MacBook on your desk, and natural scrolling actually makes sense there. The Magic Mouse is the least convincing: no middle button, no side buttons and it charges from the bottom. My advice: keep your trusted keyboard, but try a Magic Trackpad next to your mouse for a few weeks. Chances are the mouse ends up in a drawer.

This whitepaper describes the situation in October 2026, with macOS Golden Gate (macOS 27). Names in System Settings, app versions and support for new macOS versions can change. Always check the current information from Apple and the app makers before you install or buy anything.

This article is part of the Mac and the rest of the world series, where you’ll find every part in one place.