Keyboard settings on Mac
On your Mac, use Keyboard settings to set keyboard shortcuts, adjust backlighting, add layouts for typing in other languages and set up Dictation.
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View and customise keyboard shortcuts
Browse through the options below for details about customising your settings.
To open Keyboard settings, choose Apple menu 
in the sidebar. (You may need to scroll down.)
Keyboard
Option | Description | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Key repeat rate, Delay until repeat | Set how quickly characters repeat when you press and hold certain keyboard keys, and how long to wait before repeating them. See Set how quickly a key repeats. | ||||||||||
Adjust keyboard brightness in low light | If your Mac has a backlit keyboard, automatically adjust the level of backlighting in low-light conditions. See Turn your Mac keyboard’s backlighting on or off. | ||||||||||
Keyboard brightness | Adjust the level of backlighting. | ||||||||||
Turn keyboard backlight off after inactivity | If your Mac has a backlit keyboard, choose how long your Mac is idle before the keyboard backlighting is automatically turned off. | ||||||||||
Press fn key to or Press | Choose what happens when you press the key on the keyboard:
| ||||||||||
Keyboard navigation | Use keyboard navigation to move focus between controls. See Use your keyboard like a mouse. | ||||||||||
Touch Bar Settings | If your Mac has a Touch Bar, customise the Touch Bar and Control Strip. See Change Touch Bar settings. | ||||||||||
Keyboard Shortcuts | Browse keyboard shortcuts, turn them on or off or customise them. | ||||||||||
to Text Input
Option | Description | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Edit | Add input sources that allow you to type in other languages and change options for specific sources. See Change Input Sources settings. | ||||||||||
Text Replacements | View the list of words and phrases you want to replace when you type them and what to replace them with. See Replace text and punctuation in documents. | ||||||||||
Dictation
Option | Description | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dictation | Turn Dictation on and off. See Dictate messages and documents. | ||||||||||
Languages | Choose one or more languages. If you no longer want to use a language you downloaded, you can remove it. Note: Dictation is not available in all languages. | ||||||||||
Microphone source | Choose a microphone. If you choose Automatic, your Mac listens to the device you’re most likely to use for Dictation. | ||||||||||
Shortcut | Choose a shortcut to start Dictation. See Set the Dictation keyboard shortcut. | ||||||||||
Auto-punctuation | Automatically insert commas, full stops and question marks as you dictate. Note: Auto-punctuation is not available in all languages. | ||||||||||
About Ask Siri, Dictation & Privacy | Click to learn when Dictation may send things you say and other information to Apple to process your requests and how you can control what data is stored. To learn how to share or stop sharing audio recordings with Apple, see Change Privacy & Security settings. | ||||||||||