In general, unless you are using Excel all day on a Mac, you will probably find it more convenient to leave the default behavior alone and learn to use the Fn key for certain shortcuts in Excel. If you check the checkbox, F1 - F12 will behave as standard function keys, and you will need to press Fn in order to perform the actions indicated by special icons. When unchecked, function keys will perform as described in #1 above. keys as standard function keys unchecked'. The setting is a checkbox labeled 'Use all F1, F2, etc. Changing default behaviorĪ setting in System Preferences, in the Keyboard pane, controls default behavior for function keys. For example, Fn-F10 will perform the action assigned to the F10 key instead of toggling mute on or off. If you want to instead use F1 - F12 as standard function keys, hold the Fn key while pressing the function key.

For example, the function key F10 has a small picture of a speaker, and pressing this key mutes and un-mutes the system volume. The default behavior of Mac function keys is to perform the action indicated by the icon printed on the key. In this case, the action performed will vary depending on (a) the application you are currently using or (b) the keyboard shortcuts listed in the Keyboard & Mouse pane of System Preferences. (1) to perform special actions that correspond to the icon printed on the key, such as dimming or brightening the screen, showing the Dashboard, increasing or decreasing speaker volume, and so on. On a Mac, function keys can be used in two ways: These keys (F1 - F12) are called function keys. Modern Mac computers using an Apple keyboard have icons printed on some of the keys on the top row of the keyboard. This is especially important with Excel, which uses a number of function keys for shortcuts. If you want to master Excel keyboard shortcuts on a Mac, you need to take a moment to understand how the Mac keyboard is arranged, and how it can be configured through system preferences.

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