How can I change CMD to CTRL in Linux Mint only in Terminal?

Question

I installed Linux Mint on my MacBook Air, and I prefer to use Cmd for copying/pasting, opening and closing windows, and general things like that. However, I would like to use Ctrl to input to the Terminal. So, pressing Ctrl+C would terminate whatever command I'm running, and Cmd+C would copy any text that's highlighted.  How can I do that?

Answer 1

I just did this myself in Linux Mint 20.2, Cinnamon, 64-bit.

Procedure:

1. Open Terminal

2. Click on Edit (in the menu bar at the top).

3. Click on Preferences

4. Click on Shortcuts

5. Double click on the shortcut you wish to change, then press the new key combination you want to use. For example, to replace copy double click on where it says Shift + Ctrl + C and then press Cmd + C on your keyboard.

NOTE: I had to disable the Clock app from opening, which was already mapped to Cmd + C by default, otherwise it conflicts with Cmd + C for Terminal Copy and it will not work.

How to disable Clock app from opening with Cmd + C:

1. Right click on your clock in your panel (lower right hand corner).

2. Left click on Configure...

3. Double left click on Super + C

4. You can now reassign the clock app to open with whatever keyboard shortcut you want, or you can simply remove the keyboard shortcut entirely by pressing the Backspace key (or the Delete key, as was true on my keyboard).

Hope this helps, and have fun with the keyboard shortcuts! :)

Answer 2

I found a satisfactory* solution built in to system settings within Linux Mint by enabling the following options under:

Keyboard > Layouts > Options...

Ctrl position:

• Swap Left Alt with Left Ctrl
• Swap Left Win with Left Ctrl
• Swap Right Win with Right Ctrl

*Doesn't map identical to the macOS keyboard layout for Cmd Ctrl and Alt, but it's pretty close for the most common operations one does with their left hand on the Mac.