website metrics
Universal Access: Making life easier
Recently I’ve been playing around with built-in tools that I infrequently use, in order to reacquaint myself and also to see if I can’t make use of them now: Older and wiser.

One tool in particular that I’ve found useful now, and that other may as well (especially laptop users) is located under the Keyboard tab of Universal Access: the Sticky Keys. What do they do? Well, as the name implies, it makes keys “sticky,” in that when you press the Modifier Keys, they’ll remain in a state of “on” with a single tap of the key, so you don’t have to do finger gymnastics to do key combinations, such as ones mentioned earlier, like ⌘-Shift-3, et al.

They can be kind of tricky to get used to, but if you force yourself to live with it turned on for a week and get accustomed to the few quirks, you may find it invaluable. Since I have a couple weeks’ experience under my belt, I’ll walk you through the options and what they do, so you can gauge whether or not they’ll really be of any use to you in the first place. I’ll maybe throw in an example, too ☺

Once you navigate to the menu and turn it on, you’ll see 3 more options become selectable. The first allows you to quickly turn off and on Sticky Keys by pressing shift 5 times in quick(-ish) succession. This is
Picture 8
useful to have turned on I find, beyond just being able to turn it off/on as it frustrates you, and I’ll explain why in a minute. Moving on, the second option allows you to select whether the computer will make an audible mention when you have pressed a Sticky Key, or Modifier Key. I found this rather annoying and turned it off immediately. The third option is to have the computer put a visual cue in the upper right corner of the screen of what keys you have “pressed,” or rather, “Stuck” on. I keep this turned on, as I find it’s not too obtrusive, but lets me know with a glance whether the right key is selected, and what mode it’s in. Mode, you say? Yes, there’s modes, and there’s also no mention of them in the Universal Access Pane. But luckily, you read this site, so you have my experience behind you, meaning that I’ve found about about it first-hand, and now you can just read & learn!

Once you press a key – say, the ⌘ key – it shows on your screen in the upper right corner like so,
Apple-Key onscreen cue
like mentioned earlier. At first it’s a Bold White, then quickly fades to a semi-translucent shade. However, you’ll notice that it does not go away. This is is telling you that you’ve activated that key, and the system is waiting for your input, expecting that you intend to do some key combination like copy (⌘-C) or maybe Paste (⌘-V). Once you press that other key to complete the command, the system will perform it as if you’d held that Modifier Key and pressed the other at the same time, and the symbol onscreen will vanish. This is Mode 2. What was Mode 1, you ask? We’ll say Mode 1 was “Nothing’s been pressed,” and therefore nothing’s onscreen.

Mode 3 is when you press the modifier key twice in a row (not necessarily fast). When you do this, you’ll notice that the outline of the key stays Bold White. This means that the key is “locked” on, and even once you press other keys, the key will stay on. This is useful if you’re selecting multiple files in a folder to move or modify, for instance. You may recall from this article that holding the ⌘ Key and clicking on an item in the finder selects it, and keeps any other selected items still selected. So if you were pulling things out of a folder that were not grouped together, rather than doing each file individually you could use ⌘-click to select each file, then just move all the files that you’ve highlighted at once. Easy as pie. Well, this 3rd mode makes that a snap. Rather than worry about holding the key or slipping off of it accidentally, hit it twice and now you can click away, without having to worry about that!

Now, what if you didn’t intend to push one of the keys in the first place? How do you get out of it? How do you revert back to Mode 1 if you accidentally pushed the button, or if you’re done selecting items and are ready to just click & drag? How do you revert back to Mode 1? Easy. Hit the button a 3rd time. Once you press the key the 3rd time, the symbol on the screen goes away, symbolizing that the computer is no longer holding that key for you, waiting for further input.

Which keys do the Sticky Keys work on? Which are the Modifier Keys? Here’s a list
  • Shift
  • ⌘ (Apple)
  • Option
  • CTRL
  • FN (Laptops & 2007-newer iMacs ONLY)

Try it out. Turn it on, and remember you can select to have it switch on/off with 5 presses of the Shift Key in a row to make getting used to it easier. I find it to be more useful when I’m without a mouse, using the track pad on my laptop, though I’m starting to appreciate it when used with the mouse as well. Who knows, you may find it as useful as me, maybe more! I caution you once more though, it takes getting used to. I have had to get used to pressing the keys an additional 2 times to turn them off when I accidentally press them (I’m kind of “Shift”-Happy for whatever reason I’ve discovered). But minus that little annoyance (which I’m training myself to correct), I find that it’s a useful feature to have at my fingertips.

After all, no messy residue – the keys aren’t really sticky, it’s just that the system holds them down for you. Maybe they should have named it “Assistive Depressed Keys.” Eh, maybe not. Sticky Keys has a better ring to it, no?