I just installed Microsoft Flight Simulator X on the windows partition of my mac. The problem is, I can't use any of the function keys as they seem to be tied to the mac os (ie: pressing F12 brings up dashboard, F11 hides all windows, etc). Is there any way around this?
You can try mapping the function keys to actual function keys and not the osx-specific shortcuts. Settings -> Keyboard & Mouse In the middle of the Keyboard tab there should be a checkbox that says "Use all F1, F2, etc. keys as standard function keys" Alternatively, you can just leave the settings alone and just use Fn + F12 to send an actual F12 keystroke instead of bringing up the dashboard.
that box is already checked. I have Apple's wireless keyboard, pressing fn + a function key does stuff like adjust brightness, play/pause/skip music, adjust volume, etc
Hmmm... But oh wait, you said you installed it on your Windows partition? So are you using bootcamp (running the simulator from windows or from osx?)
I'm using parallels. I fixed the problem, I just went to Keyboard and Mouse in the Parallels preferences and unchecked "Enable Mac OS X shortcuts"
