OS X Mavericks: Set how quickly a key repeats
If you hold down certain keyboard keys (the Delete key for example) the key’s character begins to repeat when the insertion point is in a text area. You can set how long you must hold down the key before it starts repeating and how fast it repeats once it starts.
- Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then click Keyboard.
- Drag the Delay Until Repeat slider to set how long to wait before the character begins repeating.
- Drag the Key Repeat slider to set how fast characters repeat.
You can add accent marks and special characters to some letters, vowels for example, by holding down the key and choosing an accent mark or character.
If you set the Key Repeat slider to Off, special characters won’t appear when you hold down a key.