KeySnail plugin for firefox

I found that Ctrl-Left would go back when I was editing in Firefox - closing whatever page I was editing on and losing all my changes.

Installed KeySnail plugin and it fixes this problem rather nicely, if I configure the right keys. Also get Home and End keys doing what I want now.

Spark - keyboard shortcuts on mac

Spark V 3.0 allows you to make keyboard shortcuts for loads of different things. Works v well with F1->F5 mapped to iTunes keys.

Word 2008 Mac Option/Control Key and navigation

By default, Word uses the option key instead of Ctrl-key like I have set up Mac to do, to go one word left or right for example (and Shift combinations). 

Found I could change this behaviour by Tools/Customise Keyboard and then changing the WordLeft and WordRight behaviours. 

Also set ParaUp and ParaDown, and their xxxExtend variants.

Removed the FileNew shortcut, and unwanted EndOfLine and 

Changed Bold to Command+N, Normal to Command+L, Italic to Command+G

Dvorak keyboard layout for Advent 4211

Ukelele is a keyboard layout program. Download and run it from Desktop, seems to be able to do everything to do with keyboard layouts. This is the Apple kb document for the .keylayout files.

Could use Keyboard & Mouse/Keyboard preference pane to set Ctrl key to act as Cmd, which means that shortcut keys act when I press Ctrl, just like Windows. In Ukelele now when I press Ctrl it detects it as Cmd. So I need to set Cmd-Left and Cmd-Right to act as Word Left and Word Right. If possible.

Looking around, I think that it might not be possible by changing the layout file. The layout file doesn't really specify which command is done when Cmd is pressed - this seems to be in a key bindings file. But if that's the case then there is another way to do it, which works only for programs built on standard Cocoa text controls. That page also references a page for firefox key bindings which operate similarly.

I made the following key binding file for my system, which operates how I would like (with Cmd/Ctrl swapped so shortcuts are done with the physical Ctrl key):

{
/* Note that this file is also designed to work when Ctrl and Cmd are
swapped in keyboard preferences, so that pressing Ctrl key will
be seen as Cmd (@) here. */

/* home */
"\UF729" = "moveToBeginningOfLine:";
"$\UF729" = "moveToBeginningOfLineAndModifySelection:";
"@\UF729" = "moveToBeginningOfDocument:";
"@$\UF729" = "moveToBeginningOfDocumentAndModifySelection:";

/* end */
"\UF72B" = "moveToEndOfLine:";
"$\UF72B" = "moveToEndOfLineAndModifySelection:";
"@\UF72B" = "moveToEndOfDocument:";
"@$\UF72B" = "moveToEndOfDocumentAndModifySelection:";

/* page up/down */
"\UF72C" = "pageUp:";
"\UF72D" = "pageDown:";

/* up and down */
"$\UF700" = "moveUpAndModifySelection:";
"$\UF701" = "moveDownAndModifySelection:";
"@\UF700" = "pageUp:";
"@\UF701" = "pageDown:";
/* the ideal behaviour here would to move selection to bottom of
the paragraph, but that isn't supported. Instead, move selection
down a line, which is better than the native behaviour of
selecting to the end of the document.*/
"@$\UF700" = "moveUpAndModifySelection:";
"@$\UF701" = "moveDownAndModifySelection:";

/* left and right */
"@\UF702" = "moveWordLeft:";
"@\UF703" = "moveWordRight:";
"@$\UF702" = "moveWordLeftAndModifySelection:";
"@$\UF703" = "moveWordRightAndModifySelection:";
}

When I just created this myself and put it in ~/Library/KeyBindings/DefaultKeyBinding.dict, it didn't work. I had to use the KeyFixer script/app and then edit that file, to get it to work. Don't understand why. There were two files with apparently the same name there after running their script.

You can use 'pl -input filename' to check the property list file, it sort of compiles it.

This Windows kb article explains how to remap keys in Windows, looks like it would be possible to swap Ctrl and Alt there. But that's tricky and requires rebooting, so instead AutoHotkey is an option.

Download the AutoHotkey installer and use this script, with Cmd/Ctrl swapped in keyboard and mouse, and Ctrl, Alt and Windows keys work as they should do under Windows:

Ctrl::Alt
LWin::Ctrl
Alt::LWin

UK keyboard layout for Advent 4211

Paul @ Modaco made a keyboard layout that has the correct position of the @ and other keys, i.e. that matches what is actually printed on the keys. It's available here, and installed by following these instructions:

47. FIXING KEYBOARD MAP (UK keyboard layouts only): Change to the 'kaylayout' directory on my Wind driver and utility pack, and copy 'Advent 4211.keylayout' to '\Library\Keyboard Layouts'. Run 'System Preferences' -> 'International', and click 'Input Menu'. SCroll down the list until you see 'Advent 4211'. Click the checkbox, and you will see a flag appear in your menu bar. Click this to select the Advent layout.

Sorting out Dvorak keyboard layouts on OS X and parallels

I'm getting annoyed that the shortcut keys I'm used to on Windows, for navigating text and for Ctrl-key combinations, are different on the Mac. And different again on the Parallels VM.

I would like it to be like Windows:

Ctrl-arrows = word left or right
Alt-arrows = navigate forward and backward in browser
Shift = select text
Home/End = beginning/end of line
Ctrl-key = shortcut, where key is what it would be labelled if it was a Dvorak keyboard

Interestingly, os x applies the face letter of the key as a shortcut. On Windows you press Ctrl-B I think to get Ctrl-X; on OS-X it's actually Cmd-X.

In OS X, with Control and Command keys swapped in System Preferences - > Keyboard & Mouse -> Keyboard ->Modifier keys, I get this behaviour:

Ctrl-arrows = nothing
Alt-arrows = nothing
Command-arrows (Windows key) = word left/right
Ctrl-key = shortcut
Command-key = alternative character

Also, the Fn arrow keys should, according to the keyboard's labels, function as Home and End, but they don't. I can't get that functionality that I can see.

Alt = command key (funny cross thing)
Ctrl = ctrl key
Windows = option key

This page has a very good article from Apple's KB:

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=304270

It links to the MS keyboard layout creator tool:

http://www.microsoft.com/globaldev/tools/msklc.mspx

But now some people seem to have worked on the Home/End key problem:

http://www.starryhope.com/tech/2006/mac-os-x-home-and-end-keys/

The crux of the problem is that I want to press the Ctrl key and get left and right, but also get shortcuts. But while I can switch the Ctrl key to be the Option key (which on the Mac does the word-skipping), then I can't use it to be the command key (which on the mac does the commands). Worse, when I go to Windows, it interprets the Ctrl key as the Alt key (of course), and opens the menu bar. So Ctrl arrows doesn't work there.

Some help might be available here:

http://lists.apple.com/archives/projectbuilder-users/2002/May/msg00474.html

This gives information on the key bindings file and some actions and keys that you can use in it.

Switching keyboard layouts using keyboard shortcut

One thing that's being annoying me is that I can't change keyboard layouts by a shortcut, like I can with Windows (Shift-Alt etc.). In System Preferences - Keyboard and Mouse it looks like you can set all key shortcuts for the system in once place - a much better idea than Windows where it's all in one place.

In the Keyboard Shortcuts panel the Input Menu category is off by default - I turned it on and assigned Alt-`, which is actually labelled / on my british keyboard being used as a US keyboard.