Command key

<p>The Command key (sometimes abbreviated as Cmd key), ⌘, formerly also known as the Apple key or open Apple key, is a <a href="/facts/Modifier_key/uMKHvSHe">modifier key</a> present on <a href="/facts/Apple_Keyboard/wfyDI9Ly">Apple keyboards</a>. The Command key's purpose is to allow the user to enter <a href="/facts/Keyboard_shortcut/mjeb82kI">keyboard commands</a> in applications and in the <a href="/facts/Operating_system/8XTuvMh2">system</a>. An "extended" Macintosh keyboard—the most common type—has two command keys, one on each side of the <a href="/facts/Space_bar/tjj7t61S">space bar</a>; some compact keyboards have one only on the left.
</p><p>The ⌘ symbol (the "<a href="/facts/Looped_square/9kmX5gMB">looped square</a>") was chosen by <a href="/facts/Susan_Kare/dvHDoH7I">Susan Kare</a> after <a href="/facts/Steve_Jobs/fQpja1hx">Steve Jobs</a> decided that the use of the <a href="/facts/Marketing_of_Apple_Inc./8q8pgrn5">Apple logo</a> in the menu system (where the keyboard shortcuts are displayed) would be an over-use of the logo. Apple's adaptation of the symbol—encoded in <a href="/facts/Unicode/DDu3MfPV">Unicode</a> at U+2318—was derived in part from its use in <a href="/facts/Nordic_countries/uaqX7z81">Nordic countries</a> as an indicator of cultural locations and places of interest. The symbol is known by various other names, including "Saint John's Arms" and "<a href="/facts/Bowen_knot/NBhNozAK">Bowen knot</a>".
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Command key open-in-new

Command key