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superblue · Dec 31, 2002, 08:14 PM

According to my Japanese Pro keyboard, "open brackets" is on key 8, and "close brackets" is on key 9. But in reality, they're on 9 and 10, as one finds on an English keyboard layout. This goes for most of the "shift + key" characters (@*^:"{...)

Am I missing some setting to get OSX to line-up with what I see on my keybaord? It gets very confusing, especially when other people try to use my computer!

British English is set as the default language (for menus etc) but I use Japanese a lot in e-mail and chat... The problem is the same on my UK iBook and Japanese G4 (10.2.3)

Gul Banana · Dec 31, 2002, 08:27 PM

System Preferences->International->Input Menu

superblue · Dec 31, 2002, 08:52 PM

And? I've already got Japanese and British checked (British is checked but greyed out) There are no additional options to address the issue I've mentioned...

rw · Dec 31, 2002, 09:34 PM

I suspect this is a difference between keyboards for Windows and those for Mac. My wife's Japanese laptop (Windows) indeed has the brackets on the 8 and 9 keys, but Japanese keyboards for the Mac (as best as I can tell from the low-resolution pictures I managed to find on the web) seem to have them on the 9 and 0 keys.

issa · Dec 31, 2002, 09:49 PM

As superblue wrote and as is standard with the JIS layout, the Japanese Pro keyboard has the "open brackets" on key 8 and "close brackets"on key 9.

I haven't used a desktop for a long time, but on a PowerBook one must reset the Power Manager in order to get the Mac to recognize the changed keyboard layout. You might want to give that a try.

superblue · Dec 31, 2002, 10:08 PM

OK, I'll give that a try, but where do I find the Power Manager, and how do I reset it?

issa · Dec 31, 2002, 11:23 PM

The reset varies according to the model. Search the support section of Apple's site for your model. One example for a PowerMac G4 is Knowledge Base Document #95037: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=95037,
However, you may get the results you want by simply zapping the PRAM. That's easy, so might be the place to start. (Sorry I don't know the defnitive answer for a desktop off hand.) You probably know the command, holding down the 4-key combination of <COMMAND - OPTION - P - R> immediately after hitting the power button/switch and keeping them held down until you hear the Mac restart itself.

superblue · Jan 1, 2003, 03:38 AM

I've got it! Went to a shop today and played with their Japanese Macs, and the keyboard was fine. The reason? Mine is set on British English, not American English. The latter sync's up with the Japanese keyboard fine. I'd never noticed it before. Now I've got to learn a new keyboard layout!!!

Thanks for the posts though.

issa · Jan 1, 2003, 03:54 AM

Glad to hear you worked that one out, superblue. And good luck with the JIS layout. Hope hitting <SHIFT - 7> every time you want to type a single quotation mark (or apostrophe) doesn't wear you down.

We're all different, but I despise the layout with a passion. You can find a few comments on the subject in this earlier thread.

Digressing, it still amazes me that stores in Japan are open on the 1st these days. There was a time *nothing* was open from the 1st to 3rd and one had to stock up carefully before December 31st.

niji · 04:48 AM

i dont find shift+7 for the apostrophe difficult at all.
on the other hand, we who use japanese keyboards find that the @ mark next to the p key is great, since it requires no shift at all.
to the original poster. dont give up british english just yet. it SHOULD sync.
you are right, the USAmerican variety snycs well, and, for some reason, automaticlly.
but, have you also dug into sys pref/intl/input and gotten to the options pane and actually checked the box that tells it to sync the language with the keyboard? that would mean that you could have britenglish and the japanese keyboard layout (which would be helpful if you were a touch typist), OR, you could make sure that box is NOT checked, and then it SHOULD regcognize that you have a jpnse keyboard hardware in spite of yr having britenglish as yr main os language, and it would leave the japanese keyboard matching yr key input. at least that is how APPLE intends it to work...
try it.
thnx

superblue · Jan 2, 2003, 06:12 AM

Originally posted by niji:
dont give up british english just yet. it SHOULD sync.

Well I'm puzzled. My UK iBook next to me, has (for example) brackets on 9 and 0, @ on SHIFT + 2 etc... So presumably this is what OSX has been giving me under the British English setting on my G4 with the external JP keyboard.

I don't know what I want now! Having the two different layouts is a bit of a strain... Ideally I'd like to change the iBook's keyboard for a Japanese one, but I bet that'll cost a bit. It's not really the layout I want to change, just the usefulness of the romaji/kana keys either side of the spacebar.

superblue · Jan 2, 2003, 06:30 AM

Originally posted by issa:
Glad to hear you worked that one out, superblue. And good luck with the JIS layout. Hope hitting <SHIFT - 7> every time you want to type a single quotation mark (or apostrophe) doesn't wear you down. We're all different, but I despise the layout with a passion. You can find a few comments on the subject in this earlier thread.

Digressing, it still amazes me that stores in Japan are open on the 1st these days. There was a time *nothing* was open from the 1st to 3rd and one had to stock up carefully before December 31st.

Interesting thread! Well yesterday there wasn't much open, but you can always rely on Yodobashi Camera! Went to Akihabara today and it was packed. The banks are still closed though...

Shift 7 is certainly taking some getting used to!