[JustenBias]

Hi all,

In the Sun world, they have a nifty keyboard that they call Type-6. The keyboard and mouse are both USB, and by plugging them in under Tiger, all of the main keys map perfectly. (See a picture of the pre-USB version.)

However, there are a series of ten special function keys along the left side of the keyboard (see this graphic), which map, under Solaris, to functions like Undo, Copy, Paste, Cut, Open, Find, etc. Unfortunately, the standard keyboard mapping that Mac OS X decides for this keyboard seems to ignore any input from these keys.

I've searched Google and these forums, and haven't had much luck. There are a few utilites that allow you to remap keys, but that doesn't appear to have any effect if the system doesn't even recognise the original mappings to begin with.

Anybody? Thanks!

justen

[JustenBias]

So I just happened to be checking out today's hints at Mac OS X Hints, and what do I find? But a hint for enabling ignored keys!

It actually references a shareware utility called ControllerMate. It's usually used for properly enabling and mapping joysticks and such. But, after enabling ControllerMate (through its preferences) to also acknowledge and manage keyboards, I was able to map most of the keys on the Sun Type-6. One-touch Stop, Redo, Undo, Copy, Open, Paste, Find, Cut, and Help are all enabled! And, I mapped the blank pseudo-Escape key to Screensaver-Activate, allowing me to lock the Mac without having to drag the mouse to the corner of the screen.

I'm excited. What can I say?

Unfortunately, Mac OS X Hints is currently down, but here's a link directly to the shareware:

http://www.orderedbytes.com/controllermate/

(And, in this case, the Sun keyboard only has ten recognised keys, so it's within the limits of the shareware's restrictions. Still, I'm certainly buying it, for good karma.)

justen