How to disable CMD+Q combination

keyboard

I am using WinOS at the office and MacOS at home. But I am more experienced on WinOS. While i am browsing (via Firefox), I use ⌘ CMD+Q accidentally to write "@" mark because of WinOS and keyboard habits. So, the browser quits and I lose all what I've written.

Is there a way to constrain this key combination on MacOS or do I have to look for it on Firefox? (I know, the best way is adapting MacOS but mostly I am working on WinOS.)

Best Answer

Unfortunately, Firefox (at least the 3.6 version I experimented with) does not disable the command shortcut for Quit when you change it in System Preferences.

I think the quick and easy fix for this is to add ⌘Q as a global shortcut to something else innocuous. In my experiments, I found this to work:

  1. Open System Preferences.
  2. Click on the Keyboard pane.
  3. Click Keyboard Shortcuts tab.
  4. Click Exposé & Spaces shortcuts in the left side list.
  5. Under "Exposé" change the shortcut for "Desktop" to ⌘Q

Now when you accidentally hit ⌘Q, your desktop will magically and amusingly appear reminding you of your folly. Hit ⌘Q again and you're back exactly where you were.

As a sidenote, after a while you may want to change this back after you "unlearn" your behaviour. ⌘Q, the Mac equivalent to "ALT-F4" has been the standard shortcut since the introduction of the Macintosh, and like the other "standard" shortcuts ⌘W,⌘Z,⌘C,⌘V and so on, it's best to learn them to ease use of other Mac computers or when you upgrade.

Related Question