Amaya Toman Most of us are used to adapting to our keyboard rather than trying to customize it to our own needs. However, your keyboard in combination with the Mac represents a strong pair whose potential it would be a shame not to use. That's why we present six applications with which you can perfectly customize it.
The app, formerly known as “keyremap4macbook” or just “Karabiner” for short, brings great integration with macOS Sierra and later in its latest update. Karabiner-Elements will help you tame any keyboard, whether it's a MacBook keyboard, an Apple Magic Keyboard or a keyboard from a completely different manufacturer. Karabiner-Elements offers really wide customization options, starting from assigning any functions to all keys and ending with complex modifications based on your own rules. The application allows you to turn off the functions of the keys for controlling the volume or brightness of the screen and then assign any other function, or the possibility of controlling the brightness and volume with completely different keys, such as Caps Lock or Shift. In Karabiner-Elements you can also create profiles for your keyboard and switch between them depending on what you're working with. The app is free.
Thor is a simple, lightweight tool that allows you to set keyboard shortcuts for switching between applications. One of the most striking advantages of the Thor application is its simplicity: you only need to select an application, set up recording of a hotkey and specify a combination of keys. Thor will allow not only to switch between already running applications, but also to launch new applications. You can also choose a keyboard shortcut that will disable Thor if necessary. The app is free.
Keyboard Maestro is among the most powerful keyboard management and control applications. In addition to classic keyboard shortcuts, Keyboard Maestro offers the possibility of replacing text, which you may know from, for example, iOS devices. Keyboard Maestro also offers a clipboard manager function, AppleScript and XPath support, the ability to control windows and the mouse cursor, an application launcher and iTunes driver function, macro support, integration with the Touch Bar and much more. The price of the application, $36, corresponds to the scale and quality of the services offered, but there is also the option of a free trial version.
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Similar to Thor, Fluor is a simple application with one well-defined goal, which is to define the behavior of the function keys depending on the currently running application, which will be appreciated by both Mac users for work and, for example, gamers. You can create various rules and profiles in the application and switch between them via the icon in the menu bar at the top of your Mac screen. The app is free.
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Kawa is among the basic applications that allow you to assign keyboard shortcuts. It is especially adapted to the needs of developers who often switch between different keyboard layouts. The Kawa app will allow users to record specific keyboard shortcuts for quick switching. The app is free.
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Shortcat promises to save time and increase user productivity. It solves the problem with the delay that occurs when you have to move your hands from the keyboard to the mouse or trackpad. After installing the Shortcat application, you just need to activate it and then just start entering the name of the object that is on your screen - Shortcat will mark all the objects that match the input, and you just choose the one you need to work with. A mouse click is replaced by a long press of the Ctrl key. You can try the application in the free trial version.
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