If you want to type special characters or accents, change your keyboard language to US International PC (thanks, Steve!) and use the map below to get them. MacBook Keyboard Special Characters and Accents Map Newest MacBooks Pros don't have upper F keys row, instead, they have a touchscreen which changes displayed options based on context. MacBook Air 11' has slightly different keyboard, with smaller top and bottom row keys to accommodate smaller laptop size.

If you're unsure about the localization you have, go and check it with this guide. Of course, MacBook keyboards have lots of localizations, the most common - US English - is shown above. On the diagram, this is shown by dashed lines. Return and left Shift has two variants, one used in the US and Eastern Asia (horizontal Return and long Shift), and second, used in Europe, Middle East and Africa (vertical Return and short left Shift). Command and Alt/Option are used in keyboard shortcuts, as well as the Control key, which is used almost exclusively by Mac OS X and Apple programs. Shift allows to type uppercase letters and other additional characters. The second section is the modifier keys (in light yellow). By combining them with the FN key, you'll get access to F1 - F12 keys, which can be associated with particular application features (useful in Photoshop for example).

MacBook keyboard has few distinctive sections: Function keys (in light blue), which provides access to various functions in MacBook itself or Mac OS system.

MacBook keyboard special characters and accents map.

Click on the list below to jump to an appropriate section. This is the ultimate guide for working with MacBook keyboards, including accessing special functions, characters, accents, and using keyboard shortcuts in Mac OS system.

Mac control key