Keyboard layout, switched option keys?

[Fabian5]

Hi,
I recently got a MacBook Pro M2 Max. I installed Parallels and Windows 11 on ARM. Before I had a MacBook Pro Intel i9 (2019) and Windows x64.
Nearly everything works fine, but one thing is really driving me nuts. The keyboard mapping isn't as before and as I expected. With my old MacBook, I used the left option key to input characters like @, {}, [] and so on as in macOS. This doesn't work anymore now. After some hours I found out that the right option key does what I wanted. I like to have it switched so using the left option key for this. Is this a bug or did I've done anything that changes the default behavior? How can I fix that?

I'll attach some screenshots of my macOS and Windows settings. If you need any further information feel free to contact me Thanks for your help!

 

[Fabian5]

Further information but I can't find the option to edit my start post. I live in Germany, speak German but my

 

[Adeboye Adeotan]

Further information but I can't find the option to edit my start post. I live in Germany, speak German but my

Hello Fabian5,

We have opened an internal Ticket having ID#3994202 and will contact you via your email f****************@i***********.de to address this issue.

 

[apaksoy]

Hi Adeboye,

I have exactly the same problem but with a 13" 2019 MacBook (TouchBar) with a Turkish keyboard (physical and layout). I have macOS 13.3 and Parallels Desktop 18 running Windows 11 Pro 21H2. No such issue on the macOS side.

I would prefer to be able to use both of the option keys in the keyboard under Windows as well, or at least the left one instead of the right one. Can you pls help?

Attached are screenshots of my Language & Region settings on the Windows side. Pls let me know if any other information is needed.

 

[Maxim Rasulov]

Hello.

In case of Mac keyboards, right and left "Option" keys are identical and perform the same functions.

For Windows layouts, the modifier Alt key is different for special symbols, it is called AltGR and is located on the right side of the keyboard.

You can, however, make it so, that both buttons perform the function, by mapping an altGR to alt button in Parallels Desktop Preferences:

1. Click on the Parallels Desktop icon in the Mac menu bar -> select "Preferences".

2. Select "Shortcuts" tab -> select your virtual machine in the list on the left.

3. Create a shortcut by pressing "+".

4. In the opened Window, in the field "From" select the combination you would like to use, in this case "Alt".

5. In the field "To", select the combination you wish to trigger, in this case select "AltGR" from the drop-down menu.

6. Click "Ok" and close "Preferences".

7. Check if you can use left "Alt" to type special symbols.

Please note, however, that certain functionality like using alt to select menu in the opened window may no longer function. This does not impact shortcuts like Alt+Tab.

 

[apaksoy]

Hello.
In case of Mac keyboards, right and left "Option" keys are identical and perform the same functions.
...

Thx for the explanation and the suggestion. But while this solves one significant problem (I tried it), it creates even a bigger one (at least for me) because I use the ALT-based menu shortcuts extensively in the MS Office programs.

I then tried mapping the SHIFT+ALT combination to ALTGR based on the procedure you described but it did not work. So I deleted it. Then I noticed that the CONTROL+(LEFT)ALT combination already works the same as (RIGHT)ALT which is great.

However, I can't see the CONTROL+(LEFT)ALT under the Windows 11 VM shortcuts in Parallels Desktop Preferences. I am glad it works but do you know why and how can I change it if I wish to?

 

[Maxim Rasulov]

Hello.

Some keyboard layouts, like German or others that contain special symbols often have specific shortcuts related to the layouts themselves, that act as altGR modifier.

Moreso, such shortcuts can differ between macOS layouts and Windows, and are specific to the layout in question.

So it's not surprising it's not under our settings. To remap, you can perform the same actions as described for alt -> altGR, but map the field "From" what you wish to press, and the field "To" would be "Ctrl+Alt" or indeed altGR.

As an additional note, when setting custom shortcuts, check if the combination is not already used as a shortcut in macOS, Windows or Parallels Desktop preferences as they may interfere with each other, which may be the reason shfit+Alt didn't function as intended. In Windows, this combination is often default for switching language layouts.