<s>
The	O
Option	B-Device
key	I-Device
,	O
,	O
is	O
a	O
modifier	B-Device
key	I-Device
present	O
on	O
Apple	B-Device
keyboards	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
located	O
between	O
the	O
Control	B-Device
key	I-Device
and	O
the	O
Command	B-Device
key	I-Device
on	O
a	O
typical	O
Mac	O
keyboard	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
two	O
Option	B-Device
keys	I-Device
on	O
modern	O
(	O
as	O
of	O
2020	O
)	O
Mac	O
desktop	O
and	O
notebook	O
keyboards	O
,	O
one	O
on	O
each	O
side	O
of	O
the	O
space	O
bar	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
(	O
As	O
of	O
2005	O
,	O
some	O
laptops	O
had	O
only	O
one	O
to	O
make	O
room	O
for	O
the	O
arrow	B-Device
keys	I-Device
.	O
)	O
</s>
<s>
Apple	O
commonly	O
uses	O
the	O
symbol	O
to	O
represent	O
the	O
Option	B-Device
key	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
From	O
1980	O
to	O
1984	O
,	O
on	O
the	O
Apple	B-Device
II	I-Device
series	I-Device
,	O
this	O
key	O
was	O
known	O
as	O
the	O
closed	B-Device
apple	I-Device
key	I-Device
,	O
and	O
had	O
a	O
black	O
line	O
drawing	O
of	O
a	O
filled-in	O
apple	O
on	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
the	O
1990s	O
,	O
"	O
alt	O
"	O
has	O
sometimes	O
appeared	O
on	O
the	O
key	O
as	O
well	O
,	O
for	O
use	O
as	O
an	O
Alt	B-Device
key	I-Device
with	O
non-Mac	O
software	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
Unix	O
and	O
Windows	O
programs	O
;	O
as	O
of	O
2017	O
,	O
the	O
newest	O
Apple	B-Device
keyboards	I-Device
such	O
as	O
the	O
Magic	B-Device
Keyboard	I-Device
no	O
longer	O
include	O
the	O
"	O
alt	O
"	O
label	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Option	B-Device
key	I-Device
in	O
a	O
Mac	O
operating	O
system	O
functions	O
differently	O
from	O
the	O
Alt	B-Device
key	I-Device
under	O
other	O
Unix-like	B-Operating_System
systems	I-Operating_System
or	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
this	O
regard	O
,	O
it	O
is	O
akin	O
to	O
the	O
AltGr	B-Device
key	I-Device
,	O
found	O
on	O
some	O
IBM-compatible	O
PC	O
keyboards	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
use	O
of	O
the	O
Option	B-Device
key	I-Device
is	O
similar	O
to	O
that	O
of	O
the	O
AltGr	B-Device
key	I-Device
on	O
European	O
keyboards	O
of	O
IBM-compatible	O
PCs	O
,	O
in	O
the	O
sense	O
that	O
it	O
can	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
type	O
additional	O
characters	O
,	O
symbols	O
and	O
diacritical	O
marks	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Option	B-Device
key	I-Device
can	O
also	O
provide	O
access	O
to	O
dead	B-Device
key	I-Device
functionality	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Notice	O
that	O
holding	O
the	O
shift	O
key	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
the	O
option	B-Device
key	I-Device
while	O
pressing	O
a	O
letter	O
key	O
may	O
create	O
"	O
capital	O
"	O
versions	O
of	O
what	O
results	O
when	O
the	O
same	O
letter	O
key	O
is	O
pressed	O
while	O
the	O
option	B-Device
key	I-Device
but	O
not	O
the	O
shift	O
key	O
is	O
held	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Option	B-Device
key	I-Device
is	O
often	O
used	O
in	O
conjunction	O
with	O
special	O
keys	O
like	O
,	O
,	O
and	O
to	O
provide	O
alternate	O
functions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
typically	O
produces	O
a	O
line	B-Algorithm
break	I-Algorithm
that	O
is	O
not	O
interpreted	O
as	O
a	O
paragraph	O
break	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Safari	B-Application
,	O
Finder	B-Application
–	O
the	O
Option	B-Device
key	I-Device
causes	O
the	O
"	O
Close	O
Window	O
"	O
menu	O
item	O
to	O
switch	O
to	O
"	O
Close	O
All	O
Windows	O
"	O
when	O
pressed	O
down	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Consequently	O
,	O
clicking	O
a	O
window	O
's	O
close	O
box	O
with	O
the	O
option	B-Device
key	I-Device
depressed	O
invokes	O
"	O
close	O
all	O
"	O
as	O
well	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Dock	O
–	O
the	O
Option	B-Device
key	I-Device
causes	O
the	O
"	O
Hide	O
"	O
and	O
"	O
Quit	O
"	O
menu	O
items	O
in	O
the	O
context	O
menu	O
of	O
a	O
Dock	O
icon	O
to	O
switch	O
to	O
"	O
Hide	O
Others	O
"	O
and	O
"	O
Force	O
Quit	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
iTunes	B-Operating_System
–	O
the	O
Create	O
Playlist	O
button	O
switches	O
to	O
a	O
Create	O
Smart	O
Playlist	O
button	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Holding	O
Option	O
and	O
clicking	O
the	O
green	O
Window	O
Zoom	O
( +	O
)	O
button	O
at	O
the	O
top-left	O
forces	O
the	O
iTunes	B-Operating_System
window	O
into	O
fullscreen	O
view	O
,	O
rather	O
than	O
switching	O
between	O
the	O
user-set	O
window	O
size	O
and	O
the	O
iTunes	B-Operating_System
Mini	O
Player	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
iPhoto	B-Operating_System
–	O
the	O
rotate	O
image	O
button	O
toggles	O
between	O
a	O
"	O
rotate	O
right	O
"	O
and	O
a	O
"	O
rotate	O
left	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Menu	O
bar	O
items	O
–	O
the	O
Sound	O
icon	O
will	O
show	O
Audio	O
Device	O
input	O
/	O
output	O
settings	O
instead	O
of	O
the	O
volume	O
control	O
slider	O
,	O
the	O
battery	O
item	O
will	O
show	O
the	O
condition	O
of	O
the	O
battery	O
,	O
the	O
MobileMe	B-Application
sync	O
item	O
will	O
show	O
the	O
last	O
sync	O
date/time	O
of	O
individual	O
synced	O
items	O
and	O
will	O
offer	O
additional	O
menu	O
items	O
such	O
as	O
Sync	O
Diagnostics	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
Wireless	O
icon	O
will	O
show	O
extended	O
wireless	O
network	O
information	O
and	O
,	O
in	O
Mac	B-Application
OS	I-Application
X	I-Application
Lion	I-Application
,	O
offer	O
an	O
item	O
for	O
launching	O
a	O
Wi-Fi	O
diagnostic	O
application	O
(	O
when	O
AirPort	O
is	O
connected	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
iPhoto	B-Operating_System
example	O
is	O
an	O
example	O
of	O
a	O
control	O
whose	O
behavior	O
is	O
governed	O
by	O
a	O
preference	O
,	O
which	O
is	O
temporarily	O
inverted	O
by	O
holding	O
down	O
the	O
Option	B-Device
key	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
text	O
areas	O
,	O
the	O
Option	B-Device
key	I-Device
can	O
be	O
used	O
for	O
quick	O
keyboard	O
navigation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Terminal	B-Application
equivalent	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Without	O
the	O
Option	B-Device
key	I-Device
,	O
the	O
keys	O
let	O
the	O
page	O
view	O
scroll	O
up/down	O
a	O
page	O
without	O
moving	O
the	O
caret	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
dragging	O
an	O
item	O
(	O
file	O
in	O
the	O
Finder	B-Application
,	O
or	O
layer	O
in	O
Adobe	B-Operating_System
Photoshop	I-Operating_System
,	O
for	O
instance	O
)	O
,	O
keeping	O
Option	O
pressed	O
will	O
Duplicate	O
it	O
instead	O
of	O
moving	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
browsers	O
such	O
as	O
Safari	B-Application
and	O
SeaMonkey	B-Language
,	O
the	O
option	B-Device
key	I-Device
can	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
download	O
a	O
file	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Pressing	O
down	O
the	O
option	B-Device
key	I-Device
when	O
hitting	O
return	O
in	O
the	O
address	O
bar	O
causes	O
the	O
URL-specified	O
file	O
to	O
be	O
downloaded	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Also	O
,	O
pressing	O
the	O
option	B-Device
key	I-Device
when	O
clicking	O
a	O
hyperlink	O
causes	O
the	O
link	O
target	O
to	O
be	O
downloaded	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Besides	O
the	O
option	B-Device
key	I-Device
methods	O
,	O
other	O
ways	O
of	O
downloading	O
includes	O
right-clicking	O
(	O
or	O
ctrl	B-Device
( ^	O
)	O
clicking	O
,	O
in	O
Macs	O
)	O
a	O
hyperlink	O
to	O
bring	O
up	O
a	O
context	O
menu	O
,	O
then	O
selecting	O
the	O
appropriate	O
download	O
command	O
,	O
or	O
pasting	O
a	O
URL	O
directly	O
into	O
Safari	B-Application
's	O
Downloads	O
window	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
applications	O
make	O
unique	O
uses	O
out	O
of	O
the	O
option	B-Device
key	I-Device
:	O
</s>
<s>
Terminal	B-Application
(	O
including	O
at	O
least	O
version	O
1.4.6	O
–	O
no	O
longer	O
true	O
as	O
of	O
2.0.1	O
,	O
works	O
.	O
)	O
</s>
<s>
–	O
arrows	O
navigates	O
between	O
open	O
Terminal	B-Application
windows	O
in	O
a	O
loop	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Usually	O
,	O
programs	O
use	O
and	O
,	O
which	O
are	O
also	O
supported	O
for	O
Terminal	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Scroll	O
bars	O
(	O
including	O
at	O
least	O
OS	B-Operating_System
X	I-Operating_System
10.3.x	O
)	O
–	O
Option-clicking	O
a	O
scroll	O
bar	O
arrow	O
can	O
cause	O
the	O
view	O
to	O
jump	O
to	O
the	O
next	O
page	O
instead	O
of	O
moving	O
by	O
a	O
few	O
lines	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Startup	O
Disk	O
–	O
Holding	O
the	O
Option	B-Device
Key	I-Device
at	O
boot	O
time	O
activates	O
a	O
boot	O
manager	O
built	O
into	O
the	O
firmware	O
,	O
where	O
the	O
user	O
may	O
choose	O
from	O
which	O
drive/partition	O
to	O
boot	O
the	O
computer	O
from	O
,	O
including	O
Mac	B-Application
OS	I-Application
and	O
Mac	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
X	I-Operating_System
partitions	O
or	O
drives	O
on	O
PowerPC-based	O
Macs	O
,	O
and	O
Mac	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
X	I-Operating_System
and	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
partitions	O
or	O
drives	O
on	O
Intel-based	B-Device
Macs	I-Device
(	O
running	O
Mac	B-Application
OS	I-Application
X	I-Application
10.4.6	I-Application
and	O
later	O
with	O
Boot	B-Application
Camp	I-Application
from	O
Apple	O
Inc	O
.	O
installed	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
built-in	O
bootloader	O
can	O
also	O
boot	O
other	O
operating	O
systems	O
such	O
as	O
Linux	B-Application
;	O
however	O
,	O
these	O
are	O
labeled	O
as	O
"	O
Windows	O
"	O
in	O
the	O
bootloader	O
.	O
</s>
