How do I reassign a key to forward delete?

I have worked on my MBP for four years now. I used Karabiner to remap my Option key, but Sierra took that option out.

I, too, edit. And I hand code. And you are absolutely correct that forward delete is necessary for fast edits. (That, of course, is for people who look forward -- something Apple used to do -- and not those who settle for looking back.)

You are, correct, as well, that Apple has recognized the value of forward delete for years and thus it is/has been on some of their keyboards. But carrying one of those around is clearly not practical, so they dismiss the need and allow their sycophants to attempt to take down those of us who ask for more than "what we've always done." Sadly, I am seeing more and more of this type of dependence on their glory days from Apple. They are setting themselves up to be taken down by an upstart with a visionary leader and solid forward-thinking user-centric products. At Apple, that leader is, sadly, now missing.

Good luck with this issue. Please post here if you find a solution and not simply more of the above.

I am with you on this Mijo Lewis -- and Babowa, just saying "it's not a PC, get over it" is really not a helpful answer.
I have had plenty of Macs (granted, big desktops at my former job in publishing, not laptops) that had forward delete keys, so it's not as though Apple doesn't acknowledge the usefulness of it.

And I really can't stand when people ask why one would need a forward delete "to delete what you haven't written yet?" That would imply that no one ever re-reads what they write... Well, trust me, in publishing, we re-read everything, and more than once, so when you are reading along and you find a problem, you want to get rid of it as soon as you see it, not have to pass it and double back.

So yes, we can get used t it being a two-handed function if we actually have to, but for such an essential function to require two hands is actually a perfectly legitimate gripe in my book. (as is the fact that apple, who was the first to put the @ key on the keyboard, has tucked it away to an "alt" feature on the French Macbook keyboard. Seriously? They think the French don't do email or what?

Agree 100%. Also, something else I didn't see brought up is hotkeys. I've already come across a few apps with 2 or 3-key hotkeys requiring a 'normal' delete that add yet another key because of this.

And as a software developer I can absolutely get behind the idea that software should sometimes (or often) be opinionated in regard to how you can interact with it , but this is not one of those examples in any way. The mapping of a particular key on the keyboard is not integral to the main duties/function of an OS. It's ridiculous to say "This is the Mac way- you don't like it, go back to Windows". Is that really how low your bar for software is? This is a case where we should all expect (and it should be trivial to provide) that the software conform to the user rather than forcing the opposite. These 3rd party apps are created and suggested on threads like this for a reason...

You can do this with some third party macro software like Keyboard Maestro https://www.keyboardmaestro.com/main/

For my own curiosity I tried this with KM and remapped the \ key to forward delete. Works nicely.

You may be able to get Automator (which comes with your Mac) to do the same thing by imbedding an Applescript in an Automator workflow, and then using a keyboard shortcut to trigger the workflow, but 1) it's a lot more work to get Automator to do this type of thing and 2) I've never found Automator to be consistently reliable.

MiJoLewisIt ***** that Apple does not have a single delete key that will forward delete,

Really? If you hold the fn key (lower left of keyboard) and Delete. This interrupts your workflow? A lot of things on the key board, like typing require two hands. How do you capitalize the first letter of every sentence, two hands?

By all means submit Apple Feedback http://www.apple.com/feedback/

No, you're not missing anything. If you prefer the Windows way, you can install and run it on your Mac.

They are different operating systems and there are differences. As for myself: I find (backspace) deleting something that I've typed makes more sense than (forward) deleting something I haven't even typed yet.

MiJoLewis wrote:

It ***** that Apple does not have a single delete key that will forward delete, instead you have to use the Fn key which is located on the far side of the keyboard making it a two hand operation. The delete key is mislabeled and should be called backspace, because that is what it does. There doesn't appear to be a native means to reassign any keys to perform a forward delete function. Am I missing something?

No. You have a Mac not a PC. Things are different in this operating system than they are in Windows. When I finally got rid of my Dell Inspiron laptop 4 ½ years ago and bought the MacBook I'm currently typing this on, I had to get used to the Delete key doing what I knew the Backspace key to have done on every other keyboard I'd ever used. The same as I had to get used to doing Command + _____ for keyboard function instead of CTRL + _____.

FWIW, I'm a very fast touch-typist, around 100 wpm, so if I had to do fn + delete to do a forward delete, it's no more taxing than using my pinkie to press the Shift key. Obviously, if you're not a really fast touch-typist, it'll be annoying. However, IMHO, it's a minor annoyance.

My older Apple aluminum keyboard and my Matias Tactile Pro keyboard both have forward delete keys that work without having to reassign anything. I think the new Apple full-size keyboards still have forward delete, and I am sure the Matias ones do. If you need a one-key forward delete, why not get a keyboard that has one?

Griping about it here will not have the desired results - you are not addressing Apple here; you can use their feedback mechanism contained within the contact us link on any page. I read your gripe as wanting PC features on a Mac. Well, the two are different; therefore, their features and/or lack thereof are different as well. I can't see needing to forward delete - I simply highlight the area (forward if necessary) and hit delete. That is not a two handed operation.

And, please read the ToU for these forums. I prefer to step back when there is too much "griping" as you chose to call it. Good luck.

MiJoLewis wrote:

The fact that I am forced to work on a windoze machine all day where I can type >70wpm on a ergonomic keyboard, YES, it does inturrupt my workflow. My degree is in Computer Electronics and my first Mac was a 9600, so the question is not as stupid as seem of you may want to make it seem. It is hard to adjust in the evening when I have been hardwired to winoze all day. There are several infrequently used F keys on the A1314 mini keyboard, so it doesn't seem to far fetched to ask if and why Apple does not allow to reassign keys.

You can't do the assignment you want (your question is too broad for a specific answer) Apple do not say why. Like another I prefer to delete that which I have typed already, reverse delete is the perfect key for that

Fair enough, Babowa, this isn't apple, it's a support community. But as such, it seems to me that belittling another person's issue (or gripe) isn't very supportive. The fact is that people who edit text use forward delete all the time. And Jeff, although you're right, I may have to buy a different keyboard, but I do think it's fair (for myself and milo) to express shock that that key is missing -- having had it on every computer I've owned or been assigned at work for at least 15 years, I confess that it simply didn't cross my ind to check if this one had it, and it's a huge disappointment to me that it doesn't. I had high hopes for the fn key + delete that someone mentioned, but unfortunately, it doesn't work on this French macbook keyboard. Sigh...

I take it back. Although the first time I tried fn delete, it didn't seem to work, I just tried again and it did. I'm sorry it doesn't suit you, MijoLewis, but it is a relief to me to have that solution, however imperfect it may be... Thanks everyone

babowa wrote:

Interesting; my keyboards used to be wired (this was some time ago) - I've never had one with a second delete key (even though I had a number pad). Is that a newish feature?

Nope, not newish. The wired keyboard for my iMac G4 (Nov 2003) has both delete keys.

I can't remember the details of the older Apple keyboards I had as I decided at some point that I preferred the MacAlly keyboards and stuck with that for years (they used to have a NetKey with all sorts of extra keys/functions including scrolling but there never was a forward delete key). I finally gave up on it when they stopped issuing driver updates; still have it for emergencies.

http://www.cnet.com/products/macally-netkey-keyboard/