How do I control the volume with a non-Mac keyboard?

Question

I just bought an iMac with a bluetooth keyboard. The F keys were brilliantly working to control the volume, but then I exchanged it for a wired keyboard to save batteries. Now my F keys have their old functions, and they don't adjust volume, toggle Spaces, etc.

The problem is not fixed by System Preferences → Keyboard → Toggle switch.

Any ideas?

Answer 1

You can configure all of these things in System Preferences. For things like Spaces and Exposé, I believe the settings are under System Preferences → Keyboard → Keyboard Shortcuts → Exposé & Spaces if you are on Leopard or Snow Leopard. On Lion they are in System Preferences → Mission Control.

For things like adjusting volume, there are likely already shortcuts in iTunes (e.g. ⌘↑ and ⌘↓ for volume). You can also add custom Keyboard Shortcuts for any menu item in any application (or in all applications). Go to System Preferences → Keyboard → Keyboard Shortcuts → Application Shortcuts. Add a new shortcut, choose iTunes.app for the Application, enter the exact Menu Title (e.g. "Increase Volume"), and enter the shortcut you'd like.