无论您使用的是 Windows PC 还是Mac机器，您的键盘顶部都有所有标准功能键(standard functions keys at the top)。这些按键由计算机的操作系统分配了各种功能。
这些键执行的一些操作包括增加和减少亮度级别、增加和减少音量级别、打开某些功能等等。在Mac机器上，这些键会触发一些 macOS 的默认操作，例如打开任务控制(Mission Control)视图。
这里的问题是，虽然其中一些键经常使用，但其他键仍然未使用，只是因为它们的功能不那么常见。在Mac(Mac)上使用这些未使用的 fn 键的最佳方法是重新映射它们。
重新映射键可让您将自定义功能分配给键。然后，这些键将执行您在Mac上分配给它们的操作。
禁用默认功能键行为(Disable The Default Function Keys Behavior)
在为按键分配任何自定义操作之前，您要做的第一件事是禁用按键的默认操作。这也会禁用有用的键(disable the useful keys)，但您始终可以通过按住键盘上的fn按钮来使用它们。(fn)然后它将使您的键执行打印在它们上的操作。
在Mac(Mac)上禁用功能键很容易。这是你如何做到的：
单击(Click)Mac 屏幕左上角的Apple标志，然后选择(Apple)System Preferences。
当系统首选项窗格打开时，找到显示键盘(Keyboard)的选项并单击它以将其打开。它将打开您的键盘设置菜单。
在以下屏幕上，您将找到一些可以启用和禁用的选项。找到显示使用 F1、F2 等键作为标准功能键(Use F1, F2, etc. keys as standard function keys)的选项并将其打开。
您已成功关闭 fn 键的默认行为。
重新映射功能键(Remap Functions Keys)
现在默认功能键操作已关闭，您可以继续为这些键分配自定义操作。这样做很容易，您不需要第三方应用程序来完成这项任务。
您将使用相同的System Preferences窗格来完成此任务。
在 Mac 上启动系统偏好设置(System Preferences)，然后单击键盘(Keyboard)选项。
当键盘窗格打开时，找到并单击顶部显示“快捷方式”的选项卡。(Shortcuts)它可以让你在你的机器上自定义你的快捷方式。
以下屏幕将列出您在Mac上拥有的所有键盘快捷键。您可以通过单击左侧菜单中的类别名称来访问各种快捷方式。让我们将这些快捷键之一分配给您的功能键。
单击左窗格中的屏幕截图(Screen Shots)，然后单击第一个标题旁边已分配的快捷方式，即Save picture of screen as a file。按(Press)键盘上的任何功能键，它将被分配给快捷方式。
您无需保存任何更改，因为它会由 macOS 自动完成。
从现在开始，每当您按下键盘上指定的 fn 键时，它都会截取屏幕截图，而不是执行通常的操作。您可以将任何功能键分配给您在其中找到的任何快捷方式。
映射功能键以执行特定操作(Map Functions Keys To Perform Specific Actions)
虽然内置键盘(Keyboard)菜单有很多键盘快捷键供您使用和分配给 fn 键，但它没有所有快捷键。您可能希望通过按 fn 键来使用某些快捷方式，但此处未列出这些快捷方式。
列出自定义快捷方式的一种方法是将它们添加到列表中。下面显示了它是如何完成的：
打开您要为其创建自定义 fn 键操作的应用程序。例如，我将打开Google Chrome以创建用于启动隐身窗口的 fn 键快捷方式。
单击(Click)顶部的应用程序菜单项，记下要分配 fn 键的项目的全名。对我来说，它将是New Incognito Window。
进入System Preferences > Keyboard > Shortcuts菜单，单击左窗格中的应用程序快捷方式，然后单击右窗格中的(App Shortcuts)+（加号）。它可以让您添加自定义快捷方式。
在以下屏幕上，将选项设置如下，然后点击Add。
应用程序(Application)- 选择您要为其创建快捷方式的应用程序。如果它是通用快捷方式，请选择All Applications。
菜单标题(Menu Title)- 这是您之前记下的项目的确切名称。在这里输入。
键盘快捷键(Keyboard Shortcut)- 按您要分配给操作的 fn 键。
从现在开始，当您按下上面使用的 fn 键时，它将执行您刚刚在“菜单标题(Menu Title)”框中输入的操作。就我而言，它会在Google Chrome中打开一个新的隐身窗口。
在 MacOS 上使用第三方应用程序重新映射 Fn 键(Use A Third-Party App To Remap Fn Keys on MacOS)
默认情况下，macOS 为您提供了大量选项来自定义功能键的行为。但是，如果您想要更多功能，则可能需要使用第三方应用程序。
Karabiner是流行的应用程序之一，可帮助您自定义各种键盘快捷键在Mac机器上的工作方式。它允许您创建多个配置文件，以便您可以在一个配置文件中拥有一组键盘快捷键，而在辅助配置文件中拥有另一组。
您可能想要探索应用程序中的其他几个功能。
功能键的新用途(New Uses For Your Function Keys)
如果您无法为您的按键指定任何特定功能，您可以将以下一些功能分配给您的按键(some of the following functions to your keys)。大多数 Mac 用户都使用这些。
- 浏览器新标签
- 浏览器新的隐身标签
- 截图
- 请勿打扰模式
- 关闭应用
- 隐藏和取消隐藏 Dock
随意(Feel)发挥您的创造力和想象力，让这些按键按您想要的方式工作。
结论(Conclusion)
对于大多数Mac用户来说，最上面一行的键仍未使用，因为这些不是您不时想要使用的功能。使用 fn 键重新映射，您可以让这些键执行您想要的任务，从而使它们变得有用。
How To Remap Fn Keys On Your Mac
Whether you υse a Windows PC or a Mac machine, your keyboard has all the standard functions keys at the top. These keys are assigned with various functions by the operating system of your computer.
Some of the actions these keys perform are things like increasing and decreasing brightness levels, increasing and decreasing volume levels, opening certain functions, and so on. On a Mac machine, these keys trigger some of the macOS’ default actions, such as opening the Mission Control view.
The issue here is that, while some of these keys are used frequently, others remain unused simply because their functions aren’t as common. The best way to put these unused fn keys on Mac into use is to remap them.
Remapping keys lets you assign custom functions to the keys. These keys will then perform the actions that you assign to them on your Mac.
Disable The Default Function Keys Behavior
Before you assign any custom actions to your keys, the first thing you’ll want to do is disable the default actions of your keys. This will disable the useful keys as well but you can always use them by pressing and holding down the fn button on your keyboard. It will then make your keys do the action that’s printed on them.
Disabling the function keys is easy on a Mac. Here’s how you do it:
Click on the Apple logo at the top-left corner of your Mac’s screen and select System Preferences.
When the system preferences pane opens, find the option that says Keyboard and click on it to open it. It’ll open your keyboard settings menu.
On the following screen, you’ll find a few options that you can enable and disable. Find the option that says Use F1, F2, etc. keys as standard function keys and turn it on.
You’ve successfully turned off the default behavior of your fn keys.
Remap Functions Keys
Now that the default function key actions are turned off, you can go ahead and assign custom actions to these keys. It’s pretty easy to do this and you don’t need a third-party app to do the task.
You’re going to use the same System Preferences pane to get this task done.
Launch System Preferences on your Mac and click on the Keyboard option.
When the keyboard pane opens, find and click on the tab that says Shortcuts at the top. It’ll let you customize your shortcuts on your machine.
The following screen will list all the keyboard shortcuts you have on your Mac. You can access various shortcuts by clicking on their category names in the left menu. Let’s assign one of these shortcuts to your function keys.
Click on Screen Shots in the left pane and click on the already assigned shortcut next to the first title that says Save picture of screen as a file. Press any of the function keys on your keyboard and it’ll be assigned to the shortcut.
You don’t need to save any changes as it’ll be automatically done by macOS.
From now on, whenever you press the fn key specified above on your keyboard, it’ll take a screenshot instead of performing the usual action it does. You can assign any of your function keys to any of the shortcuts you find in there.
Map Functions Keys To Perform Specific Actions
While the built-in Keyboard menu has a lot of keyboard shortcuts for you to use and to assign to the fn keys, it doesn’t have all the shortcuts. There are certain shortcuts that you may want to use by pressing your fn keys but those aren’t listed here.
One of the ways to have your custom shortcuts listed there is to add them to the list. The following shows how it’s done:
Open the app for which you want to create a custom fn key action. As an example, I’ll open Google Chrome to create an fn key shortcut for launching an incognito window.
Click on the app menu items at the top and note down the full name of the item you want to assign an fn key. For me, it’ll be New Incognito Window.
Head into System Preferences > Keyboard > Shortcuts menu, click on App Shortcuts in the left pane, and click on the + (plus) sign in the right pane. It’ll let you add a custom shortcut.
On the following screen, set the options as the following and hit Add.
Application – choose the app you want to create a shortcut for. If it’s a universal shortcut, choose All Applications.
Menu Title – this is the exact name of the item you noted down earlier. Type it in here.
Keyboard Shortcut – press the fn key you want to assign to the action.
From now on, when you press the fn key you used above, it’ll perform the action that you just entered in the Menu Title box. In my case, it’ll open a new incognito window in Google Chrome.
Use A Third-Party App To Remap Fn Keys on MacOS
macOS, by default, gives you plenty of options to customize the behavior of your function keys. However, if you want even more power, you may need to use a third-party app.
Karabiner is one of the popular apps that helps you customize how various keyboard shortcuts work on your Mac machine. It lets you create multiple profiles so you can have one set of keyboard shortcuts in one profile and another set in a secondary profile.
There are several other features in the app that you may want to explore.
New Uses For Your Function Keys
If you can’t think of any particular function for your keys, you can assign some of the following functions to your keys. These are used by most Mac users.
- Browser new tab
- Browser new incognito tab
- Screenshots
- Do not disturb mode
- Close app
- Hide and unhide the Dock
Feel free to use your creativity and imagination to make these keys work the way you want.
Conclusion
For most Mac users, the top row of the keys remains unused as those aren’t the functions you may want to use now and then. With fn key remapping, you can make those keys useful by letting them do the tasks that you want.
