Questions

Sticky Keys on a Mac

Yes, a Mac has Sticky Keys. The switch is in System Settings, Accessibility, Keyboard, and it lets you press the modifier keys of a shortcut one at a time instead of all together: Command, then Shift, then 4, with one finger. If modifier symbols have started appearing on your screen, or a modifier seems to stay held after you let go, Sticky Keys is probably on.

I make InputConfig, a free Mac app that puts a whole shortcut on one controller button, pedal or spare key, which is the other way to stop pressing keys together. This page covers Sticky Keys first.

On this page: 8 sections
  1. Steps
  2. Turn Sticky Keys on or off
  3. Use the five-press shortcut, or switch it off
  4. Set what you hear and see
  5. If you meant keys that physically stick
  6. Put the whole shortcut on one button instead
  7. The short version
  8. Questions

Steps

  1. Open the Apple menu and choose System Settings.
  2. Click Accessibility in the sidebar, then Keyboard.
  3. Turn Sticky Keys on or off.
  4. With it on, press the modifier keys of a shortcut one at a time, then the last key.
  5. To toggle it from the keyboard, turn on the option to press Shift five times.

Turn Sticky Keys on or off

  • You: Open the Apple menu, choose System Settings, click Accessibility in the sidebar, then Keyboard.
  • macOS: Shows the Sticky Keys switch, with its options behind the button beside it.
  • Check: With it on, press Shift, let go, then press a letter. The letter comes out as a capital.

Apple's own description is a set of modifier keys pressed one at a time in sequence, instead of all at once.

Download InputConfig on the Mac App StoreInputConfig is free on the Mac App Store. macOS 14 or later, no account, no tracking, open source.

Use the five-press shortcut, or switch it off

The first option under Sticky Keys is Press the Shift key five times to toggle Sticky Keys. With that turned on, five quick presses of Shift switch Sticky Keys on or off from anywhere, and they can switch it on when you did not mean to. Turn the option off if that keeps happening.

macOS also has an Accessibility Shortcuts panel for switching features on and off. It opens with Option Command F5, or with three quick presses of Touch ID. If Sticky Keys keeps turning itself on, the five-press option is the reason.

Set what you hear and see

  • Beep when a modifier key is set. The Mac makes a sound when you press a modifier.
  • Display pressed keys on screen. Symbols show which modifiers are waiting. These are the symbols people notice when Sticky Keys is on by accident.
  • Screen area for display. Chooses where those symbols appear.

The on-screen symbols are the quickest way to tell that Sticky Keys is on.

If you meant keys that physically stick

That is hardware, and no setting fixes it. The keyboard tester on this site lights each key while it is held down, so you can see whether a key registers at all, and whether it stays down after your finger has left it. A key that stays lit with no finger on it is stuck, and that is a cleaning or repair job.

Put the whole shortcut on one button instead

Sticky Keys turns one shortcut into several presses. A mapper turns it into one:

  • A key combination on one input. In InputConfig a row's output can be a whole shortcut, and the input can be a controller button, a pedal, a spare mouse button or a key such as F13.
  • A modifier that stays down. The press menu's Toggles on and off holds an output until you press again, which keeps Shift or Command down without a finger on it.
  • Three jobs on one control. A press, a hold and a double tap can each send something different. See hold and double-tap actions.

The one-handed Mac guide uses both approaches together. Sticky Keys spreads a shortcut over time, and a binding collapses it into one press.

The short version

  • Where. System Settings, Accessibility, Keyboard, Sticky Keys.
  • Shortcut. Shift five times, when that option is on.
  • On by accident. Turn the five-press option off.

Sticky Keys is a switch in Accessibility settings, and one option decides whether Shift can flip it.

Questions

Does a Mac have Sticky Keys?

Yes. It is in System Settings, Accessibility, Keyboard. With it on, the modifier keys of a shortcut can be pressed one at a time instead of all at once.

How do I turn off Sticky Keys on a Mac?

Open System Settings, click Accessibility, then Keyboard, and turn Sticky Keys off. If the option to toggle it with Shift is on, pressing Shift five times turns it off too.

What is the shortcut for Sticky Keys on a Mac?

Press the Shift key five times, once that option is turned on under Sticky Keys. The Accessibility Shortcuts panel, opened with Option Command F5 or three presses of Touch ID, can switch it as well.

Why do symbols appear on my screen when I press Shift or Command?

Sticky Keys is on with Display pressed keys on screen turned on. The symbols show which modifier keys are waiting for the next key. Turn Sticky Keys off in System Settings, Accessibility, Keyboard.

Can one button press a whole shortcut on a Mac?

Yes, with a mapper. In InputConfig a controller button, a pedal or a spare key can send a full key combination in one press, so no keys are pressed together.

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Download InputConfig on the Mac App StoreFree. macOS 14 or later. No account, nothing leaves your Mac. Open source on GitHub.