Command is undoubtedly one of the most functional and important keys on all computers and is essential for almost any major keyboard shortcut.
So why is the command key on Apple’s keyboards called Command and what is this symbol on it, which makes a unique difference with every product it offers?
Apple keyboards used to have control keys that allowed users to interact with large and host computers.
Just as now, there was an idea long ago that pressing and holding a key while pressing another could activate some kind of special function that cannot be achieved with just a single keypress. In this way, users would be able to control the computer via the keyboard instead of using only printable characters.
However, the functions in the control keys at that time could only display a limited number of text characters and did not include graphics. Of course, mouse support was also indispensable.
For this reason, Apple sought a solution so that its users could issue commands more quickly.
Apple thus went the way of putting a few special keys on their keyboards since the early 1980s. Most Apple keyboards of that time had two different keys called open Apple and closed Apple.
For example, commanding Apple + A would select everything in a window, unlike Control + A, which would move the cursor to the beginning of the line. In fact, the goal was to allow users to access menu items faster without having to open a menu.
So why did Apple change it to Command?
According to some claims, Steve Jobs was quite bored of seeing the Apple logo while developing his products, and it was not minimalist at all. Alongside the two Apple keys on the keyboard, this logo was also found in the operating system menus, and Jobs thought this made the company’s logo cheap, so to speak.
Thus, Apple revealed this circular and square-looking symbol called Command instead of the open Apple. Today this square command key acts as the master modifier key and functions similarly to the Windows control key.
Macs also kept the Control key, not only to enable more keyboard shortcuts, but also to preserve some of the original terminal functions often used by users making various programs.
Closed Apple, on the other hand, worked more like the Alt key on a computer and was not as functional as Command. Then on Macs, it turned into a key called Option.
Ok so far, but how did the square and circular shape on the Command key come about?
Actually, this story is quite interesting and accidental. After Steve Jobs decided he wanted a new symbol for open Apple, designer Susan Kare, who works for Apple, came across the loop square in a reference book. This symbol has also been used for a very long time on road signs in Scandinavian countries to denote cultural and tourist attractions.
Presented to the Mac development team at Susan’s suggestion, the idea of the symbol was accepted by them as interesting, and this square, circular shape has continued to be used as the Command icon on Apple keyboards ever since.
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