Mac Command key on Virtualbox OS X Virtual Machine On Windows Not Registering

Question

So I was having a hard time with getting the command key to work when trying to use keyboard shortcuts in a OS X virtual machine on Windows 10.

So I was trying to see if the shortcut Command + Space to open Spotlight would work.

Pressing Ctrl + Space, Right Ctrl + Space, Alt + Space, Right Alt + Space, Windows + Space, and Right Windows + Space would not work. The host key was set to Right Ctrl in Virtual Box and changing this made no difference. Right Ctrl + Space was also not set as a shortcut key in VirtualBox.

The solution to the problem is below.

Answer 1

I stumbled upon this article .

Lo and behold, going to System Preferences > Keyboard > Modifier Keys in OS X and changing:

Option Key to Command Key

and

Command Key To Option Key

...fixed my problem!

Now all I have to do is press Alt + Space for Spotlight to show up. All other Mac shortcuts will now work as well.

Hope this helps others who may have the same problem.

Answer 2

Thanks @Kian for settings location (System Preferences > Keyboard > Modifier Keys).

While swapping Option and Command keys didn't work for me, assigning

Control : Command

Option : Command

Command : No action

made both Ctrl and Alt keys work properly