Enable/Disable Fn keys from the command line on the Mac

user_184373 0
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I hardly ever use the function keys on my macbook pro. I mostly just use them for volume, brightness, etc. Now that I've started playing Starcraft 2 a bunch, I want to use them without having to press the fn key down.

I want to write a little shell script that will flip the "Use all F1, F2, etc keys as standard function keys" check box. I was thinking I could use the defaults command to change it but I wasn't sure what values to use. This way I don't have to change the the preferences every time I want to play. I can just run the script that'll switch the keys and even launch the game.

Any ideas?

defaults macos shell
4 Answers

For anyone else trying to make this work - I've finally gotten my solution to work. Tested with: MacOS Big Sur, 11.4, June 2021.

The code is based here: https://github.com/MrSimonC/Toggle-Mac-Function-Keys

but for brevity, here is the contents of the apple script file:

-- Apple Script (i.e. Use in Apple's Script Editor Application) to Toggle Function Keys / Media keys on/off
-- Tested on MacOS Big Sur (11.4) June 2021
-- Project Path: https://github.com/MrSimonC/Toggle-Mac-Function-Keys

tell application "System Preferences"
    set current pane to pane "com.apple.preference.keyboard"
end tell

tell application "System Events"
    if UI elements enabled then
        tell application process "System Preferences"
            repeat until exists tab group 1 of window "Keyboard"
                delay 0.5
            end repeat
            click radio button "Keyboard" of tab group 1 of window "Keyboard"
            click checkbox "Use F1, F2, etc. keys as standard function keys" of tab group 1 of window "Keyboard"
        end tell
        tell application "System Preferences" to quit
    else
        -- GUI scripting not enabled.  Display an alert
        tell application "System Preferences"
            activate
            set current pane to pane "com.apple.preference.security"
            display dialog "UI element scripting is not enabled. Please activate this app under Privacy -> Accessibility so it can access the settings it needs."
        end tell
    end if
end tell

Hope someone finds it useful!

user_23890180
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