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The useful Mac keyboard eject button
2023.06.07 • 2 min read
Apple stopped releasing keyboards with the eject button years back. But those keyboards are still perfectly useful and, in my opinion, one of the best slim profile keyboards. There are options to change this button to perform other actions, with a straightforward example below.
(I have no idea why keyboard manufacturers think we need high elevated keyboards for ergonomics. Do a test: lay your hand on a table. Is it easier to rest the fingers on the horizontal surface at the same height as the wrist, or do the fingers want to raise up into space? Where a typical keyboard would be. But I digress.)
What Mac keyboards do lack is a forward delete button. The eject could serve that purpose beautifully.
On Windows, there is a paid solution: Magic Utilities. It can reassign the Eject key as well as others (Windows key, alt, control) to make the experience seamless. I have all those buttons modified to no matter what I have to use, a mac or PC, the same keyboard works. A "⌘ - c" (Mac) or a "command - c" (Windows) is the same key shortcut for me, after the modifications. By default, the ⌘ (command) key becomes a Windows key and messes up all the simple useful shortcuts that I automatically remember.
On Mac, the solution is free: Karabiner Elements. Under "Simple Modifications" there is an "Add item" button. From the dropdown, the eject button lives under "Media controls" → "eject". The new function can be selected as many things, but if you happen to be looking for the forward delete, that’s under Controls and symbols → delete_forward. Karabiner needs permissions that you will set in System Preferences and then it is all set.
On Linux it might be as simple as going through System Settings → Keyboard → Shortcuts → Sound and Media → Eject (reference). I have no way to test that currently.
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