Why do HOME and END ignore focus in text fields?

I just noticed that the HOME and END keys seem to ignore focus in a text field on webpages.
Normally, they go to the beginning and end of a webpage, which is perfectly fine with me. And in fact it's quite useful on really really long webpages.
However, when my cursor is in a text field (“focused”), I expect HOME to go to the beginning of the line and END to go to the end of the line. However, this is not the case.
1. Does anybody know why this is the case?
2. Does anybody know if this can be changed to my desired behavior?

Well, I'll be damned!
I feel a bit sheepish, but I'd never noticed that that was the way Home and End worked everywhere. For some reason I had assumed it was Safari-only. Once I read your post, I was purposely mindful about the keys I was using, and I realized that I'd learned to automatically use ⌘← and ⌘→ when editing text elsewhere. Weird.
I think this probably arose from the fact that my first Apple computer was a laptop, and since Home and End are built into the arrow keys on the smaller keyboard, I suppose it was enough to mask the difference.
*Follow-up question:*
Is there a technical / usability / official reason for this discrepancy? I remember being taught the function of Home and End in computer classes in Elementary School (late 80s and early 90s for me). Some of the computers in these classes were Apple and some where PCs. (I acknowledge that Apple during that time is not the same as Apple after Steve Jobs returned as CEO, but if the cause of this difference is Apple vs. Microsoft related, then I thought it was possibly relevant.)

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In the current screen keyboard shortcuts, it says you can use "home" and "end" to go to the top and bottom of the screen. But it only works if I use Cntrl. Why?

I am not using Firefox 20 on a new Sony Tap 20 with a wireless VAIO keyboard. All other keyboard shortcuts appear to work as usual. With my old computer, I did not have to hit cntrl to use home and end. (And yes -- I checked -- my num lock key is off.

You may have switched on caret browsing.
*http://kb.mozillazine.org/accessibility.browsewithcaret
You can press press F7 (on Mac: fn + F7) to toggle caret browsing on/off.
*Tools > Options > Advanced > General > Accessibility: [ ] "Always use the cursor keys to navigate within pages"
*http://kb.mozillazine.org/Scrolling_with_arrow_keys_no_longer_works
*http://kb.mozillazine.org/Accessibility_features_of_Firefox

Home and End Keyboard mapping in Flash ActionScript / Actions Editor

I'm just getting used to using an OS X machine for development rather than a Windows based PC and have hit upon a problem which I would love to solve...
On my full-size Mac keyboard I would like the Home and End keys to operate as they do in a Windows environment such that Home goes to the beginning of the current line and End goes to the end. By default OS X Home scrolls to the top of the window and End scrolls to the bottom. Lovely for web browsing. Useless for coding!
I found this post elsewhere which has helped. It's 'fixed' my problem in both XCode and TextEdit.
But both Flash and Terminal (e.g. vim) are still using Home and End for window scroll.
I'm assuming that Flash and Terminal hook the keyboard at a different level. The question is whether it's possible to alter this behaviour. I've looked through all the Preferences in Flash but cannot find anything regarding keyboard mapping.
Anybody solved this one?
Thanks.

Thanks ! ,
Probably it will be more interesting to have OS X by default behave smarter related to key bindings,
for example if this is a read-only doc ( pdf, webpage ) then Home goes to the beginning of the doc, if this is some text editing control then beginning of the line. Or integrate globally an option that will allow to propagate this globally. If any app needs to override this than will pop some system settings to allow the override for this app. There is no point in a text editor to have common used keys as dead keys. In the end I can use Ctrl + A / E to do the same I would with Home / End. This is one of those things that bugs me. Some unthinkable small blockers here and there ...
Why this is bugging people is because when you edit text you focus on a small area and you need you to navigate in that area quickly. In this context to press home to go to the beginning of the doc (or even do nothing) is not typical because to move away from things that interests you there are the page up/down or click on the scroll and move where you need.

How can I use the "home" and "end" buttons

I have an external apple keyboard (full style, with number pad and all) plugged into my macbook. However, the "home" and "end" buttons don't function the way I'd like (i.e. they don't go to the beginning or end of a line).
Can I ever get this to work or does it just not function with a laptop that doesn't have that function in the first place. I'd like to not have to use multiple keystrokes just to get a similar home/end result.
Thanks!

"on your hub dont use the phone it will cost you more.when i change over to bt they never told me that i would be charged for useing this phone so i dont now.crafty bt again.when my contract is up i will be leaveing bt for ever,georgesaa."
Not sure why you are charged for calls on this, as standard you would get free evening and weekends and there are packages for unlimited anytime.
(If I have helped you in any way to say "Thank You" please click on the star next to the message. Thank You)
If I have solved your Issue please click the "Mark as accepted solution" button.

Custom functionality for home and end keys?

I don't know anything about automate, but I was wondering if it's possible to do this:
I'm a former PC user and on PCs you could use the 'home' and 'end' keys to go to the beginning and end of one line (subsequently, you could hold shift + home/end to highlight from your current cursor position to the beginning or end of a line). This functionality is extremely helpful for text editing and programming. Luckily the versions of Word and Dreamweaver I have on mac do use this, but TextEdit, Flash, and others do not. Is there anyway to program this kind of functionality? And if so how? And why is basic functionality like this different program to program on macs? PC's were at least consistent. Thanks!

The Command and Option shortcuts will take some getting used to, but that will work. Thanks! an external text editor would be okay for some things, but not Flash ActionScripting within a flash file.
I just wish some of the more basic functions between mac and pc were the same. I think both platforms would have an easier time getting users to switch if they were a little more consistent and took some of the good features of each into consideration.

Mac Mini w/ Apple USB keyboard - question about home and end keys

I purchased a USB white Apple keyboard to go with my Mac mini.
My question concerns the home and end keys. When I put the cusor focus in a text field or text area, I would expect that hitting the home key would take me to the beginning of the line and hitting the end key would take me to the end of the line.
That's not the case?
If a vertical scrollbar is used in the window, then the home key takes me to the top of the window and the end key takes me to the bottom of the window.
Please forgive me, I've been on a PC for the last 10+ years, so I thought I should ask.
What key or key combo moves you to the start and end of a text in a text field or text area?
Thanks,

923/3369
Hi Todd,
Use the arrow keys with the command key (⌘):
command + left arrow -> beginning of the line
command + right arrow -> end of the line
command + arrow up -> beginning of the text
command + arrow down -> end of the text
Explore also the option key (⌥) possibilities, with the arrow keys:
very handy too.
Yes, the Home, End, Pageup and Pagedown keys are for controlling the whole document, not the text itself.
HTH
Axl

Anyone know how to use a 'home' and 'end' key on the Macbook pro keyboard?

I had a pc before, and the keyboard had home and end keys on the keyboard for quickly moving cursor to end or beginning of word or sentence. I can't figure out if there is something like that on the Macbook pro. It would be really helpful. So does anyone know if there is those keys and if so what do i use?
I'd appreciate any help.
Thanks

see if any of this works for you
On a smaller keyboard, such as the wireless, or on portables, you can use fn- left arrow for home and fn- right arrow for end.
On a Mac, 'home and 'end' take you to the beginning and the end of document, respectively. Getting to the beginning or end of a line is done with cmd- leftarrow and cmd- rightarrow. Emacs shortcuts, such a ctrl-a and ctrl- e also work in most places, where the app is done right.

My up and down arrows as well as page up and page down no longer work properly only when using firefox. Page up and down function more like the "home" and "end" keys as do the arrow keys.

Honestly I'm not sure if these began just after I updated FF to the current release, but it's been happening for at least 2 weeks. The arrow keys and page up and page down keys all work as if I'm pressing the 'home' and 'end' keys on my keyboard. This is only when using FF. Please contact me if you need more clarification. Thanks in advance!

Sounds that you have switched on caret browsing.
* http://kb.mozillazine.org/accessibility.browsewithcaret
You can press press F7 (on Mac: fn + F7) to toggle caret browsing on/off.
* Tools > Options > Advanced : General: Accessibility: [ ] "Always use the cursor keys to navigate within pages"
* http://kb.mozillazine.org/Scrolling_with_arrow_keys_no_longer_works
* http://kb.mozillazine.org/Accessibility_features_of_Firefox

Home and end buttons on keyboard.

Does the "home" and "end" and keys on the lower right side of the MacBook Pro keyboard function as "home" and "end" keys. I am able to move the cursor left and right using these keys, but have tried numerous key combinations without avail to get the "home" and "end" end functions to work. I'm sure it's an easy fix and I'm just missing the correct combination. Please help.
MacBook Pro Mac OS X (10.4.5)

I must be losing it. I could have sworn that I tried that. It works right now, though. Thanks

Windows equivalent "Home" and "End" keys?

Okay, if there was one keyboard shortcut I used in Windows all the time, it was Shift-Home or Shift-End to highlight an entire line quickly. Control-A and Control-B do something like that, but I can't use Shift at the same time to highlight. Is there anyway to change the function of "Home" and "End" so they don't go to the end of a paragraph, but rather to the end of the line? Is there another keyboard shortcut I can use to do this? Thanks!
iMac 20" 2.0Ghz 2gRAM 250gHD 256VRAM Mac OS X (10.4.7)

Hi, JAButler.
How keyboard shortcuts, such as those you cite, work are generally defined at the application level. Command-A, i.e. ⌘-A (not Control-A) is universally defined as "Select All."
I recommend consulting the Help for a given application to determine what keyboard shortcuts it defines.
For example, in my favorite text editor, Tex-Edit Plus, it defines the following keyboard shortcuts akin to what you describe:• Shift-arrow extends a selection.
• Shift-option-left/right arrow extends the selection one word at a time.
• Shift-command-left/right arrow extends the selection to the beginning/end of the line.However, in FileMaker Pro, another application I use often, one must useShift-Option-Command-left/right arrowto extend the selection to the beginning or end of the line vs "Shift-command-left/right arrow" in Tex-Edit.
General Information on Mac OS X Keyboard Shortcuts
• An official list of Mac OS X keyboard shortcuts is found in "Mac OS X: Keyboard Shortcuts."
• An important list of keyboard shortcuts for all Mac owners is: "Mac OS: Apple Pro Keyboard Shortcuts for Shut Down and Restart."
• If you have an Intel-based Mac, see also "Startup key combinations for Intel-based Macs.".
• A popular list of Mac keyboard shortcuts is Dave's Picks Mac Keys.
• Don't forget that Mac OS X's Help Viewer lists most of the keyboard shortcuts available. Just search for keyboard shortcuts in Help Viewer.
Good luck!
Dr. Smoke
Author: Troubleshooting Mac® OS X

Home and end key not working on ubuntu 14

I am on Firefox on Ubuntu 14.
Home and END keys do not work properly as they do not take me to the top or the bottom of a page. Caret browsing (F7) is not activated. This problem persists with all add-ons disabled.

Shortcuts just for reference:
[https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/keyboard-shortcuts-perform-firefox-tasks-quickly#firefox:linux:fx35]
I understand that there are two short cuts that do not work with caret browsing turned off. Please also see this menu:
Options > Advanced > disable "Always use the cursor keys to navigate within pages" option present in "General" tab.
If this is not the issue, please also contact the party that compiles Firefox specifically for Ubuntu, unless you are using the linux from [https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/install-firefox-linux here]?

Home and end key functionality on the keyboard

Hi.
i have a window with a table where the values will be populated from database.
on that table i want to make use of HOME and END and other key board functionalities on my table.
please suggest me or provide me a sample code.
thanks in advance

You must register your table to the KeyListener. A possible solution :
yourTable.addKeyListener(new java.awt.event.KeyAdapter() {
                    public void keyTyped(java.awt.event.KeyEvent e) {
                         if(e.getKeyCode()==e.VK_HOME){
                                              //do something
                    public void keyReleased(java.awt.event.KeyEvent e) {
                         System.out.println("keyReleased()");
                    public void keyPressed(java.awt.event.KeyEvent e) {
                         System.out.println("keyPressed()");
               });

Terminal key bindings for Home and End

I am recording this here in the hope of savings others some time.
It is often stated that the following Terminal key bindings have to be asserted to get Home and End keys working as intended:
\033OH
\033OF
I find this misleading as it is neither what most people would type nor what they would see.
I type:
escape O H
escape O F
This results in:
\033oh
\033of
which works as intended but using 'shift' to produce the capitals depicted in most notes about this will not work.

My default bindings did not work for home and end but page up and page down inexplicably worked with shift. The image below shows the keys and their bindings (eg \033[5~ and \033[6~ stated here for Google!) I applied to Terminal to make home, end, page up and page down behave in the same way as many other applications including iTerm. Remember to type 'esc' to get '\033'.
I started out trying to improve the readability of large manual pages (eg man bash). Whilst the changes above improved things considerably I have now found better alternatives.
I tried iTerm - the keys worked correctly but inconsistencies between the various window size settings did not inspire confidence.
I now use ManOpen.app which I have configured to open when I type eg 'm chmod' in Terminal - I changed the name of openman to m and put it together with openman.1 in /usr/bin. The pages scroll normally and have hot links to other manual items. This is a simple way to vastly improve manual reading. The only slight negatives I have found are:
1 - two preference panes will not open - defaults OK for me
2 - window positions not remembered - since size can be set I can live with this
3 - text cannot be set to soft wrap to window width (misnamed zoom by some applications).
I would be interested to hear if others have found better ways of viewing manuals.
Here are some interesting pages:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tableof_keyboard_shortcuts#Command_lineshortcuts
http://www.tuaw.com/2008/03/07/here-comes-your-man-viewer/

Home and End Buttons

Hello everyone. I'm a long time Windows user who recently decided to take the plunge and purchase an iMac. I'm figuring things out but one thing that's bothering me is the Home and End buttons on the keyboard. In Windows, pressing the Home or End button takes you to the beginning or end of the line of text that you're typing but in OS X, they take you to the beginning or end of the entire text. This is fine if that's the way it works, but it seems like there's got to be a way to get to the end of a single line of text without clicking there with the mouse or pressing the right arrow key a couple dozen times.
Any help you can provide would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Thanks for the fast replies! I see what you mean Barney. I was trying to do it in Mail and it doesn't work that way but you're right, in Microsoft Office it does work as I expected. In Windows it's pretty universal so I thought it would be the same in OS X as well. Oh well, it's something I'll get used to I guess.

MacBook keyboard -shortcut for HOME and END function on the keyboard?

Hi all,
I was wondering if anyone could tell me how to trigger the HOME and END button which normally is placed on a PC keyword, I can't find any shortcut for it?
I'm running bootcamp with windows vista on my MacBook 13'1
Hope that some can help
Cheers,
Jesper
Message was edited by: Jesper Sørensen

Not sure about Pro, but on my MacBook (Leopard 10.5.6):
In Word
= fn + right or left arrow keys only take me to the "home" or "end of the particular line I'm on.
= fn + up or down do the same as the MS "pg up" or "pg dn"
= fn + command + (arrow keys) take me to the very beginning or end of the document (Word or Excel).
In Excel
= command + right or left jumps to the next cell that has info in it (skips empty cells)
= command + up or down jumps to the beginning or end of adjacent cells with info in them.
= fn + right doesn't do anything
= fn + left takes me to the beginning of whatever row I'm in.
= fn + up and down are the same as pg up and pg dn. So is command + up or down arrow.
= fn + command + left arrow takes you to the beginning of the document (same as "Cntrl + Home")

Why do HOME and END ignore focus in text fields?

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