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Doctor Q said:
If you mean ?, it's the symbol for the option key. Why? I've always wondered. It doesn't look like an option to me. On the other hand, what does an option look like? Maybe the symbol [] could have been used, since square brackets often mean optional in extended BNF and other syntax notations. But it's no use second guessing. Apple chose ? and that's what we get.
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A thought immediately came to my mind regarding that symbol when I read this post. Isn't it obvious that the symbol represents an optional path? The horizontal line represent one choice and it is broken, meaning that you chose an optional path or choice.
 
Zenith said:
A thought immediately came to my mind regarding that symbol when I read this post. Isn't it obvious that the symbol represents an optional path? The horizontal line represent one choice and it is broken, meaning that you chose an optional path or choice.
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You are responding to a post I made almost a year ago!

Since then, I've decided that the Option symbol represents a switch as in an electrical circuit. Optional parameters in a command shell are often called switches, so the words "option" and "switch" can mean the same thing, as least to Unix geeks.

Below is a drawing I made of a random section of a circuit, with a rectangle drawn around a single pole double throw switch, which I think is what the Option symbol represents. Compare it to
⌥
and see what you think!
 

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Doctor Q said:
Below is a drawing I made of a random section of a circuit, with a rectangle drawn around the "switch" part that I think the Option symbol represents.
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Wow...I'm totally familiar with the switch symbol you're talking about, and have seen them many times, and honestly never noticed the similarity of the Apple symbol before. I think because it's so squished, at least onscreen (and it doesn't appear on my keyboard anywhere, so I'm not so so intimately familiar with how it looks in print).

Here's a random picture off the web:

swabc.gif


I can totally see it now that you pointed it out. It would've been neat if they called the key switch instead of option. :D
 
option key switch or switch key option

mkrishnan said:
Wow...I'm totally familiar with the switch symbol you're talking about, and have seen them many times, and honestly never noticed the similarity of the Apple symbol before. I think because it's so squished, at least onscreen (and it doesn't appear on my keyboard anywhere, so I'm not so so intimately familiar with how it looks in print).

I can totally see it now that you pointed it out. It would've been neat if they called the key switch instead of option. :D
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Yes, but I think the general public (not familiar with switches) would be confused by switch, yet most people know an option means a secondary choice.

The option symbol does not appear on my PowerBook Pismo keyboard either, just the word option typed out on the two option keys (or switches actually ;) .
 
sacear said:
The option symbol does not appear on my PowerBook Pismo keyboard
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Which brings up a good question: Why doesn't Apple put the shift, control, and option symbols on the keytops, to reinforce the connection with the symbols shown in menus, as they do for the command key?

If fact, why not use symbols on tab and caps lock too? And while we're at it, put the word "command" on the command key since the other keys have their English names on them.

Here's a mockup with names and symbols on each of the keys. I didn't put much thought into the best symbols for tab and caps lock (they're like the ones in Keyboard Viewer), but you should get the idea. And we'd have to do something about "command" being a little too long in the point size used on other keys.
 

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symbols on key switches

Doctor Q said:
Which brings up a good question: Why doesn't Apple put the shift, control, and option symbols on the keytops, to reinforce the connection with the symbols shown in menus, as they do for the command key?

If fact, why not use symbols on tab and caps lock too? And while we're at it, put the word "command" on the command key since the other keys have their English names on them.

Here's a mockup with names and symbols on each of the keys. I didn't put much thought into the best symbols for tab and caps lock (they're like the ones in Keyboard Viewer), but you should get the idea. And we'd have to do something about "command" being a little too long in the point size used on other keys.
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Yes, why indeed? Also, why haven't I thought of that before? More importantly, why hasn't Apple thought of that before. That makes so much sense, labeling the keys with symbols and words. Simple, yet genius.

Well command could be cmd, as control is ctrl on my PowerBook.
 
sacear said:
Yes, why indeed? Also, why haven't I thought of that before? More importantly, why hasn't Apple thought of that before. That makes so much sense, labeling the keys with symbols and words. Simple, yet genius.
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Stranger still, my impression is that for *some* localizations, they *do*. IIRC, the UK keyboard *does* have the symbol on the key, and in fact doesn't have ALT on the key.
 
Different keyboard markings?

mkrishnan said:
Stranger still, my impression is that for *some* localizations, they *do*. IIRC, the UK keyboard *does* have the symbol on the key, and in fact doesn't have ALT on the key.
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Hmm, interesting. Can any UK Mac users confirm or deny this please? :)

TIA.

Edit:
I did find this image.
Which is backwards, or is that how British keyboards are? :p ;) :D
Anyway, it has symbols but no words, except for control and esc.
 
space bar symbol?

Doctor Q said:
Myspacebarisn'tlabeled.HowamIexpectedtoknowwhentouseit?;)
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Yeah, what does a space symbol look like? :rolleyes: :p ;) :D

That is a good point tho'. The only time I look at the keyboard is when I am not typing. I never look at the keyboard while typing, so actually I don't need the symbols or the letters. :cool:

Yet for those that don't know what keys the symbols for keyboard equivalents correspond to in the pull-down menus, then having the symbols on the keys would be helpful. :)
 
sacear said:
Hmm, interesting. Can any UK Mac users confirm or deny this please? :)

TIA.

Edit:
I did find this image.
Which is backwards, or is that how British keyboards are? :p ;) :D
Anyway, it has symbols but no words, except for control and esc.
Click to expand...

My new Apple British keyboard has an @ above the 2 and a € sign on it too. The caps lock key has an arrow like the shift key's arrow on it, with a rectangle under the base of the arrow.

Control is labeled with "ctrl", the option button has "alt" and ? on it, while command has ? and ? on it. Tab has a horizontal arrow with a vertical line at the point of the arrow.

Oh, and my keyboard isn't quite as backwards as that one ;)
 
Elijahg said:
Control is labeled with "ctrl", the option button has "alt" and ? on it, while command has ? and ? on it. Tab has a horizontal arrow with a vertical line at the point of the arrow.
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Yup and the option one has always puzzled me. We have the symbol and the word 'alt'. Surely if you were going to have a word it should be 'option' since I don't recall ever being told to press the Alt button on my Mac!
 
Applespider said:
Yup and the option one has always puzzled me. We have the symbol and the word 'alt'. Surely if you were going to have a word it should be 'option' since I don't recall ever being told to press the Alt button on my Mac!
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Maybe that's because Under Mac OS X you never need to press control-alt-delete! :)
 
Mitthrawnuruodo said:
Maybe not, but I've had to press cmd-option-esc aka apple-alt-esc a couple of times... :(
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An accidental Cmd-Ctrl-Eject here and there is always fun too.
 
sacear said:
Eject? Which keyboards have Eject?
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The Apple Pro Keyboard, its current replacement (just Apple Keyboard I believe) and Apple Bluetooth Keyboard have them. It's the one to the right of the volume and mute keys.
 
sacear said:
Yeah, what does a space symbol look like? :rolleyes: :p ;) :D
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I've actually seen one but not for a long time. A lower-case b with a forward-slash through it. Was used to indicate the number of spaces when that was significant.
 
Doctor Q said:
Which brings up a good question: Why doesn't Apple put the shift, control, and option symbols on the keytops, to reinforce the connection with the symbols shown in menus, as they do for the command key?
Click to expand...
They used to put those symbols on AZERTY keyboards, but I haven't seen one in a long time. Does anyone know if Apple are still doing that?

Answering myself: they do!
 
No Eject Key for my PowerBook

Applespider said:
The Powerbooks (not sure about the 12"s) have an Eject button too, next to the F12 one.
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Hmm, no Eject key on my PowerBook keyboard. :(
 
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