What does the Globe key do on Mac? The 🌐 key, explained
If you bought a Mac in the last few years, the key in the bottom-left
corner of the keyboard probably shows a small globe (🌐) instead of the
word fn. It looks new, but it isn't — and if you've ever wondered
what the Globe key does on a Mac, the short answer is: it's the same
fn key you already had, given a new name and a few extra jobs. Here's
everything it actually does, and how to change it if you don't like the
default.
The Globe key is just the fn key, renamed
Apple started marking the fn key with a globe symbol back in the
Big Sur era, and every current Mac keyboard follows suit. Physically
and functionally it's the same key. Documentation and older
tutorials still call it fn; newer ones call it the Globe key. When a
shortcut says "Fn" and your keyboard shows 🌐, they mean the key in the
same spot.
The rename happened because Apple gave the key more standalone duties — especially around switching between languages and emoji — so a globe made more sense than an abbreviation most people never understood anyway.
What the Globe key does by itself
Tap the Globe key on its own and something happens — but what happens is a setting you control. In System Settings → Keyboard, look for "Press 🌐 key to". Your options are:
- Change Input Source — cycle between keyboard layouts and languages. This is the default if you have more than one input source installed, and it's the reason the key became a globe.
- Show Emoji & Symbols — open the emoji and symbol picker.
- Start Dictation — begin voice typing (you can also double-tap for this, described below).
- Do Nothing — if you keep hitting it by accident, turn the standalone press off entirely.
If you only type in one language and the emoji picker keeps popping up when you don't want it, this is the setting to change.
Feature keys vs F1–F12
The Globe key's oldest job is toggling the top row of your
keyboard. By default, those keys do their printed jobs — brightness,
Mission Control, volume, media playback. Hold Globe (or fn) and they
send the plain F1 through F12 signals that some apps rely on.
You can flip which behavior is the default. In System Settings → Keyboard → Keyboard Shortcuts → Function Keys, turn on "Use F1, F2, etc. keys as standard function keys." Now the top row sends F-numbers by default, and holding Globe gives you the brightness and volume controls instead. Set it to whichever you reach for more often; the other is always a Globe-hold away.
Globe key shortcuts worth knowing
Beyond the top row, the Globe key is a modifier for a handful of genuinely useful system shortcuts:
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| Globe-D | Start or stop Dictation |
| Globe-Globe (double-tap) | Open the Character Viewer (emoji & symbols) |
| Globe-N | Show or hide Notification Center |
| Globe-Shift-A | Show Apps (macOS Tahoe 26 or later) or Launchpad on earlier versions |
| Globe-Q | Start a Quick Note |
| Globe-Control-←/→/↑/↓ | Tile the front window to a half of the screen |
| Globe-Control-F | Fill the screen with the front window |
| Globe-Control-C | Center the front window |
On laptops and compact keyboards, the Globe key also stands in for keys you don't physically have:
- Globe-Delete — forward delete (deletes the character to the right of the cursor).
- Globe-← / Globe-→ — jump to the start / end of a line.
- Globe-↑ / Globe-↓ — Page Up / Page Down.
One limitation worth knowing: the Globe key generally can't be used in your own custom shortcuts. If you try to record a keyboard shortcut that uses it, most apps and System Settings simply won't register the press. It's Apple's modifier, reserved for Apple's shortcuts.
How to change what the Globe key does
Two settings cover almost everything people want to adjust:
- The standalone press — System Settings → Keyboard → "Press 🌐 key to" → pick Change Input Source, Show Emoji & Symbols, Start Dictation, or Do Nothing.
- The top-row default — System Settings → Keyboard → Keyboard Shortcuts → Function Keys → toggle "Use F1, F2, etc. keys as standard function keys."
That's it. There's no built-in way to remap the Globe key to an arbitrary action, and third-party remappers (like Karabiner-Elements) can only do so much, since macOS treats it specially.
Where the Globe key gets awkward: window tiling
Look again at those tiling shortcuts — Globe-Control-←, Globe-Control-F, Globe-Control-C. macOS's built-in window tiling is genuinely useful, but Apple bound it to three-key chords anchored on the smallest key on the keyboard, tucked in the corner. To send a window left you're pressing Globe and Control and an arrow — a stretch that's hard to do without looking, and one you have to memorize per layout. And the native layouts stop at halves, quarters, and corners: there are no thirds.
That awkwardness is exactly the gap Let's Tile is built to close. Instead of a corner-key chord per layout, you press one shortcut to summon a visible grid on screen, then snap your window into it — nothing to memorize, because you can see the target. The free tier gives you thirds (which macOS never offers natively) for as long as you like; Let's Tile Pro unlocks the full grid, reshaping, per-monitor defaults, and sending windows across displays — pay once, no subscription, no account. If the Globe-Control chords are the reason you've never really used native tiling, that's the point.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Globe key the same as the fn key?
Yes. It's one physical key. Newer Mac keyboards print a globe (🌐) on
it; older ones print "fn". Any shortcut written with fn works with the
Globe key and vice versa.
Why does my Mac have a Globe key instead of fn?
Apple relabeled it to reflect its expanded role in switching between input sources and languages — the globe represents "change language." The key's original functions didn't go away.
How do I stop the emoji picker from popping up?
Go to System Settings → Keyboard → "Press 🌐 key to" and change it from Show Emoji & Symbols to Change Input Source or Do Nothing.
Can I remap the Globe key to something else?
Not through System Settings beyond the "Press 🌐 key to" options, and most apps won't let you use it in a custom shortcut. macOS reserves it as a system modifier, so your options are limited.
What's the difference between the Globe key and Command for shortcuts?
Command (⌘) is the general-purpose app-shortcut modifier. The Globe key is mostly reserved for system-level actions — input switching, dictation, Notification Center, tiling — and can't be freely reassigned the way ⌘-based shortcuts can.
The Globe key is one of those small Mac details that quietly does more than it looks like. Once you've set the standalone press to whatever suits you and learned the two or three shortcuts you'll actually use, it mostly fades into the background — which is exactly what a good modifier key should do. If you want to go deeper on keyboard-first window handling, the Let's blog has guides on tiling, switching, and building a mouse-free Mac workflow.