MacOS Setup Cheat Sheet II

In the previous post we checked out MacOS Setup Cheat Sheet to seamlessly transfer all keyboard shortcuts from Windows to Mac. Now we would like to transfer all Application navigation as M1 powered MacBooks are more appealing for companies than ever. Especially with the rise of A.I. requirements for faster data access.

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

The main issue is there doesn't seem to be generic shortcut mapping; navigation seems application specific!

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:

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:

{          "\UF729" =  "moveToBeginningOfLine:"  /* Home Button*/    "\UF72B" =  "moveToEndOfLine:"  /* End Button */    "$\UF729" =  "moveToBeginningOfLineAndModifySelection:"  /* Shift+ Home Button */    "$\UF72B" =  "moveToEndOfLineAndModifySelection:"  /* Shift+ End Button */    "@\UF729" =  "moveToBeginningOfDocument:"  /* Ctrl + Home Button */    "^\UF729" =  "moveToBeginningOfDocument:"  /* Alt + Home Button */    "~\UF729" =  "moveToBeginningOfDocument:"  /* Win + Home Button */    "@\UF72B" =  "moveToEndOfDocument:"  /* Ctrl + End Button */    "^\UF72B" =  "moveToEndOfDocument:"  /* Alt + End Button */    "~\UF72B" =  "moveToEndOfDocument:"  /* Win + End Button */    "@$\UF729" =  "moveToBeginningOfDocumentAndModifySelection:"  /* Ctrl + Shift + Home Button */    "^$\UF729" =  "moveToBeginningOfDocumentAndModifySelection:"  /* Alt + Shift + Home Button */    "~$\UF729" =  "moveToBeginningOfDocumentAndModifySelection:"  /* Win + Shift + Home Button */    "@$\UF72B" =  "moveToEndOfDocumentAndModifySelection:"  /* Ctrl + Shift + End Button */    "^$\UF72B" =  "moveToEndOfDocumentAndModifySelection:"  /* Alt + Shift + End Button */    "~$\UF72B" =  "moveToEndOfDocumentAndModifySelection:"  /* Win + Shift + End Button */    "@\UF702" =  "moveWordLeft:"  /* Ctrl + Left */    "^\UF702" =  "moveWordLeft:"  /* Alt + Left */    "~\UF702" =  "moveWordLeft:"  /* Win + Left */    "@\UF703" =  "moveWordRight:"  /* Ctrl + Right */    "^\UF703" =  "moveWordRight:"  /* Alt + Right */    "~\UF703" =  "moveWordRight:"  /* Win + Right */    "@$\UF702" =  "moveWordLeftAndModifySelection:"  /* Ctrl + Shift + Left */    "^$\UF702" =  "moveWordLeftAndModifySelection:"  /* Alt + Shift + Left */    "~$\UF702" =  "moveWordLeftAndModifySelection:"  /* Win + Shift + Left */    "@$\UF703" =  "moveWordRightAndModifySelection:"  /* Ctrl + Shift + Right */    "^$\UF703" =  "moveWordRightAndModifySelection:"  /* Alt + Shift + Right */    "~$\UF703" =  "moveWordRightAndModifySelection:"  /* Win + Shift + Right */  }

For completeness, here is a thorough KeyBindings tutorial explaining MacOS Keybinding Key Syntax and the Action Code. Detailed DefaultKeyBinding.dict examples shared online by users Belphemu, trusktr and zsimic.

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:

{        "key":  "alt+backspace",    "command":  "workbench.action.terminal.sendSequence",    "args":  { "text": "\u001b\u007f" },    "when":  "terminalFocus"  },      {        "key":  "cmd+backspace",    "command":  "workbench.action.terminal.sendSequence",    "args":  { "text": "\u001b\u007f" },    "when":  "terminalFocus"  },      {        "key":  "cmd+left",    "command":  "workbench.action.terminal.sendSequence",    "args":  { "text": "\u001bb" },    "when":  "terminalFocus"  },      {        "key":  "cmd+right",    "command":  "workbench.action.terminal.sendSequence",    "args":  { "text": "\u001bf" },    "when":  "terminalFocus"  },      {        "key":  "cmd+z",    "command":  "workbench.action.terminal.sendSequence",    "args":  { "text": "\u0003" },    "when":  "terminalFocus"  }

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.

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

IMPORTANT: typically use Alt + Left to Navigate Back but this is now doubled to Move Word left as priority!

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

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.

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.

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!