To hard refresh safari, there is one simple way to do it: Hold the Control key, press the F5 key. Or, hold the Control key, click the Refresh button. Thanks for reading and we hope this helps anyone who is looking to hard refresh their browser. On a Mac running OSX this does not function by default however it is easy to add a key combination to simulate this so it functions as it would in Windows. Use the information below to set up a key combination configuration to allow you to click fn-F5 on your Mac running OSX to refresh web pages in Chrome.
One of the most annoying things to me about switching over to OSX was that F5 no longer did a full refresh. I do my fair share of web projects, so I’m constantly refreshing pages. For the first month of owning my Mac, I hit F5, nothing happened, and then I begrudgingly grabbed the mouse and clicked the refresh button. I know that ‘command – R’ is the Mac equivalent to F5 for a browser refresh, but I’m just so used to F5 (and I like just hitting one key), so I really wanted to have F5 work as the reload button.
F5 Doesn't Refresh
I was complaining to Dan about this and he quite easily walked me through how to make this happen. They say, “Its the little things in life”, and this is one of those little things that makes me smile when I use it. I primarily use Google Chrome, so that is what these instructions are for. A slightly modified version could be worked out to do this in Safari (if you really want that, just leave a comment and I’ll figure out and post the exact steps).
Follow the steps below and you’ll be F5’ing it up just like me.
Open System Preferences (I usually use Spotlight)
Select Keyboard
Select the Keyboard Shortcuts button at the top
Select Application Shortcuts
Select ‘Google Chrome’. Type ‘Refresh This Page’ for the menu title. Press F5 when in the Keyboard shortcut area. Click add.
Now, go straight to Chrome and refresh the page by clicking F5.
Show the function keys
Press and hold the Fn (Function) key on your keyboard to see F1 through F12 in the Touch Bar.
You can also make the function keys appear automatically when you use specific apps:
Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then click Keyboard.
Click Shortcuts at the top of the window, then select Function Keys from the list on the left.
Click the add button (+), then select an app and click Add. For each app that you add, the function keys will automatically appear in the Touch Bar whenever you're using that app.
Or use the onscreen keyboard
As an alternative to showing the function keys in the Touch Bar, you can use the function keys in the onscreen keyboard.
How To Make F5 Refresh
Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then click Keyboard and complete one of these steps:
If you're using macOS Big Sur, select 'Show Input menu in menu bar' in the Input Sources pane.
If you're using macOS Catalina or earlier, select ”Show Keyboard and emoji viewers in menu bar” in the Keyboard pane.
Click the viewer icon in the menu bar, then choose Show Keyboard Viewer.
Click the Fn key in the onscreen keyboard to make it show all function keys.
Show the function keys when using Microsoft Windows
Press and hold the Fn (Function) key on your keyboard to see F1 through F12 in the Touch Bar.
You can also make the function keys appear continuously in the Touch Bar:
From the notification area on the right side of the Windows taskbar, click the up arrow to show hidden icons.
Click the Boot Camp icon , then choose Boot Camp Control Panel from the menu.
If you're asked whether to allow this app to make changes, click Yes.
Click the Keyboard tab.
Select ”Use all F1, F2, etc. keys as standard function keys”.
Or use the onscreen keyboard
As an alternative to showing the function keys in the Touch Bar, you can use the onscreen keyboard:
F5 Refresh Key
From the Windows menu, select Windows Ease of Access.
Click On-Screen Keyboard.
Click the Fn key in the onscreen keyboard to make it show all function keys.
How To Set F5 Key For Refresh Mac Os
Learn more about the onscreen keyboard in Windows.