Let's check it out!
Navigation
In the previous post, we began looking at using keyboard shortcuts on Mac. Now we would like to compare document shortcuts that we are used to for navigation on Windows however now using Ctrl instead of Cmd:
| Home | Move to beg of line | Ctrl + Home | Move to beg of file |
| End | Move to end of line | Ctrl + End | Move to end of file |
| Ctrl + Left | Move to prev word | Ctrl + Shift + Left | Select the prev word |
| Ctrl + Right | Move to next word | Ctrl + Shift + Right | Select the next word |
| Shift + Home | Select to beg of line | Ctrl + Shift + Home | Select to beg of file |
| Shift + End | Select to end of line | Ctrl + Shift + End | Select to end of file |
TextEdit
The Mac text system uses generalized key bindings mechanism that is completely re-mappable by all users. The standard bindings include all system defaults but you can override bindings in your own custom dict file:
| SYSTEM | /System/Library/Frameworks/AppKit.framework/Resources/StandardKeyBinding.dict |
| CUSTOM | ~/Library/KeyBindings/DefaultKeyBinding.dict |
Here is how to override MacOS key bindings: Launch Terminal and create new a DefaultKeyBinding.dict file:
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sudo bash mkdir -p ~/Library/KeyBindings touch ~/Library/KeyBindings/DefaultKeyBinding.dict open -e ~/Library/KeyBindings/DefaultKeyBinding.dict |
Typically, the default key bindings for the Home and End keys in MacOS are different to any other operating system. Thus you may like to fix the Home and End buttons first and in combination with Shift and Ctrl keys.
Next key bindings that may not be working is to move cursor from word to word. Integrate Keycode Modifier learnt from the previous post to complete custom dict file to change all MasOS key bindings. Here is my file:
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Finally, in researching Default Key Bindings many posts promote Karabiner-Elements as a powerful keyboard customizer for macOS. However, it has been recommended not to use on M1 hardware due to kernel panics.
Terminal
Ideally we would like to update navigation on Terminal due to frequent use: Terminal | Settings... | Profiles. Keyboard tab customize Key and Action settings. Check Use Option as Meta Key to "backward delete word". Unfortunately, Terminal navigation not aligned therefore will prefer IDEs like VS Code or PyCharm terminals.
VS Code
Visual Studio Code is a cross-platform code editor available on Windows, Linux and Mac. However, unlike the TextEdit, VS Code does not respect DefaultKeyBinding.dict on MacOS. Therefore, change keyboard shorcuts!
Customize VS Code keybindings to align navigation: Launch VS Code | Settings | Keyboard Shortcuts | Add:
| Command | Keybinding | Description |
| cursorTop | Ctrl + Home | Move to beg of file |
| cursorBottom | Ctrl + End | Move to end of file |
| cursorWordLeft | Ctrl + Left | Move to prev word |
| cursorWordRight | Ctrl + Right | Move to next word |
| cursorTopSelect | Ctrl + Shift + Home | Select to beg of file |
| cursorBottomSelect | Ctrl + Shift + End | Select to end of file |
| cursorWordLeftSelect | Ctrl + Shift + Left | Select the prev word |
| cursorWordRightSelect | Ctrl + Shift + Right | Select the next word |
| deleteWordLeft | Alt + Backspace | Delete the prev word |
Continue to customize Menu keyboard shortcuts that one is accustomed to aligning VS Code navigation e.g.:
| Command | Keybinding | Description |
| File: Open Folder... | Ctrl + K Ctrl + O | workbench.action.files.openFolderViaWorkspace |
| Terminal: Clear | Ctrl + L | workbench.action.terminal.clear |
| Terminal: Create New Terminal | Ctrl + Shift + T | workbench.action.terminal.new |
The keybindings for VS Code are updated in ~/Library/Application\ Support/Code/User/keybindings.json file. Update keybindings.json directly for Terminal keyboard shortcuts like delete word prior + cursor movement:
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PyCharm Community
Align PyCharm Keymap to VS Code Keymap for consistent keyboard shortcuts and developer IDE experience. In the "Welcome to PyCharm" popup choose Plugins | VSCode Keymap | Install. Navigate back to Customize. Under Keymap change default value VSCode (macOS). Now most VS Code shortcuts will work like Windows.
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However, in order to better align full navigation, update the following from PyCharm | Settings... | Keymap:
| Editor Actions | Move Caret to Text Start | Ctrl + Home |
| Editor Actions | Move Caret to Text End | Ctrl + End |
| Editor Actions | Move Caret to Text Start with Selection | Ctrl + Shift + Home |
| Editor Actions | Move Caret to Text End with Selection | Ctrl + Shift + End |
| Editor Actions | Move Caret to Previous Word | Ctrl + Left |
| Editor Actions | Move Caret to Next Word | Ctrl + Right |
| Editor Actions | Move Caret to Previous Word with Selection | Ctrl + Shift + Left |
| Editor Actions | Move Caret to Next Word with Selection | Ctrl + Shift + Right |
| Editor Actions | Move Up and Scroll with Selection | Ctrl + Shift + Up |
| Editor Actions | Move Down and Scroll with Selection | Ctrl + Shift + Down |
| Editor Actions | Delete to Word Start | Alt + Backspace |
| Main Menu | Navigate Back | Alt + Up |
| Main Menu | Navigate Forward | Alt + Down |
NOTE
If Ctrl + Shift + O launches Symbols then remove duplicate: Choose Settings | Keymap | filter as "symbol". Double click Navigate | Go to Symbol | Edit | Remove Ctrl+Shift+O | Apply | OK. Repeat this as necessary.
Excel
Keyboard shortcuts in Excel like Ctrl+Home and Ctrl+End won't work so prefer to use arrow keys to navigate
| Ctrl + Left | Move to first cell of selected row |
| Ctrl + Right | Move to last cell of selected row |
| Ctrl + Up | Move to first cell of selected column |
| Ctrl + Down | Move to last cell of selected column |
PostgreSQL
PostgreSQL is preferred by companies because it offers data types not found in MySQL. Plus MySQL can be used for web-based/online or mapping functions, whereas PostgreSQL is recommended for large analytical processes.
Postgres
Setup a local PostgreSQL database server on Mac OS/X. Download Postgres.app PostgreSQL 16 (Universal).
pgAdmin
Download and install local pgAdmin database client on Mac OS/X to administer and PostgreSQL instances.
PyCharm Professional
After installing Postgres server one can use pgAdmin client for data access. However, it seems challenging to customize navigation here. An excellent alternative is Database Tools + SQL plugin available from PyCharm.
This plugin is available only in PyCharm Professional but may prove to be a valuable investment longterm J
| PyCharm Community | PyCharm Professional |
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Download and install PyCharm Professional for macOS. Launch PyCharm Professional. Import Settings from PyCharm Community Edition. Thus you should have all navigation aligned! Note the Database Tools + SQL plugin will be enabled by default. Interesting plugins PostgreSQL Debugger and SQL Optimizer + Indexing.
Connect to database: View menu | Database | Click "+" | Data Source | PostgreSQL. Enter credentials | OK.
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Checkout the PyCharm documentation to Run queries. Align F5 to Execute queries similar to SQL Server Mgt Studio: Settings | Keymap | Database | Console Toolbar | Execute. Right click | Add keyboard shortcut | F5.
Checkout the PyCharm documentation to update Word Case as per SQL convention: Settings | Editor | Code Style | SQL | PostgreSQL. Inherit general SQL style DISABLE | Word Case | Keywords To upper. Also update Code Completion as Ctrl + Space: Settings | Keymap | Main Menu | Code | Code Completion | Ctrl + Space.
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Finally in Settings | Editor | General | Code Completion enable the following options: Automatically insert single suggestions, Sort suggestions alphabetically, Show suggestions as you type, Match case: First letter.
Summary
To summarize, armed with this knowledge we have setup the MacOS to better align keyboard shortcuts and application navigation techniques accumulated from years of Windows development experience. From here, we are in now an excellent position to leverage the M1 chip for faster data access as per A.I. requirements!
