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MacBook Pro Q&A - Published May 8, 2006
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With Windows XP on a MacBook Pro, how do you click as if you had a second mouse button? What is the substitute for Ctrl-Alt-Delete?
According to the Microsoft Help & Support Site, by default, Windows XP provides a keyboard-only equivalent for the second mouse button by typing "Shift+F10". This "opens a shortcut menu for the selected item [which] is the same as right-clicking an object."
If you are accustomed to "Control Clicking" on the Mac, you likely would find it more convenient to download and install the archived "Apple Mouse Utility", a tiny 15k freeware third-party program that makes Windows behave as if you have clicked a second mouse button when you hold down "Control" and click the mouse. Just like on MacOS X.
You can quit the program by pressing the "ScrollLock key". If you find the Apple Mouse Utility to be helpful, it would be kind to support the author by making a contribution to its continued development.
For more extensive options, you might like to evaluate "Input Remapper". This program automatically detects a MacBook Pro running Windows XP, and provides the following functionality/key remapping:
- The default keypad like in OS X. Includes num-lock functionality
- fn+Left Click = Right Click
- fn+Backspace = Delete
- fn+Eject = PrintScreen
- fn+F1 = Decrease Brightness
- fn+F2 = Increase Brightness
- fn+F3 = Toggle Mute
- fn+F4 = Decrease Volume
- fn+F5 = Increase Volume
- fn+F6 = Toggle Num-Lock
- fn+Up = Page Up
- fn+Down = Page Down
- fn+Left = Home
- fn+Right = End
- Eject = Eject all optical discs
- Enter = Right mouse button
The author notes that the program is still in beta and that it and "the accompanying driver may well crash your computer and otherwise wreck havoc. Use it at your own peril."
For the "Control+Alt+Delete" key combo, which is required to reboot Windows after a crash, an author of the WinXPOnMac wiki recommends the following:
After installing, go to Start: Run. Enter remapkey. A nice GUI utility pops up to let you remap keys on your keyboard. You can use it to remap the delete key. I recommend using the. . . Right Command on [the] MacBook Pro. After saving, reboot and you'll be able to use Ctrl-Alt-(Right Command) to do a Ctrl-Alt-Delete.
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