input-sourcekeyboard
I would like to be able to type the character ~ directly, without having to follow up with a space.
Currently, if I type the tilde character, at first I get a ˜, which becomes a ~ only if I follow it up with a space.
The same question extends to ', " and `, but I presume the solution is the same for all of them.
I am using a M1 Macbook Air, with a "U.S. International PC" keyboard layout.
f=~/Library/Preferences/ByHost/com.apple.HIToolbox*.plist; plutil -convert xml1 $f; open $f -e.
Edit: the method above seems to have stopped working in 10.9. This worked in both 10.9 or 10.8 though:
~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.HIToolbox.plist (in 10.9) or ~/Library/Preferences/ByHost/com.apple.HIToolbox.*.plist (in 10.8 and earlier). You can convert the plist to XML with plutil -convert xml1.AppleEnabledInputSources dictionary. If there is an AppleDefaultAsciiInputSource key, remove it.The "~" key is located between the "left shift" and "Z" keys on the international english keyboard.
Many users are used to have this key under the escape key (the US layout), and they (including me) use the KeyRemap4MacBook software to swap those keys.
Edit: KeyRemap4MacBook is now called Karabiner. Here is a screenshot of the configuration I'm using to remap Section to Backquote key.
Edit: Karabiner does not work on macOS Sierra, however a new project is in development: Karabiner Elements. As of now, it can do the replacement in question:
Best Answer
Get rid of the "US International PC" layout and instead use "US" or "ABC". You do this in system preferences > keyboard > input sources.
(US International PC is a special layout adopted from Windows which is intended to make it easy to write the accents needed in common European languages.)