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geekhack Marketplace => Vendor Forums => Matias => Topic started by: Canut on Mon, 16 June 2014, 02:59:27
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Hi all,
This is my first thread, so excuse any noob-ness on my part:
TL;DR: Does the Fn key generate a code?
On my Apple alu keyboard, I have various functions mapped to key combinations using the Fn key (useful OS, mouse, navigation, and trackpad functions in Better Touch Tool, for example).
However, on my Matias mini I can't get [Fn+whatever] to output anything (in BTT at least).
One reason for buying this keyboard (and prospectively the forthcoming Matias 60% also) was to map user-defined "functions" to (...logically enough...) the "Fn" key. I presumed that because Matias has got the Apple media keys etc. to work nicely, they had also cloned the behavior of the Fn key from the native Apple boards.
Am I out of luck?
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fn by itself is usually all in the keyboard's controller and sends no scancode to the computer.
however once you use the fn+key, it sends the scancodes for that task. Depending on how the keyboard was programmed, it'll either send a specific scancode for the task or a combination to do it
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Thanks for your reply.
Yes, that seems to be the problem:
Better Touch Tool in Mac isn't registering any key [FN+x] combinations from the Matias, whereas it does when sent from the native keyboard.
Also, [Fn+x] shortcuts that are assigned using the Apple keyboard are not then triggered by the Matias.
Basically, it seems I can only use my pre-assigned shortcuts with the chiclet board, not the Matias.
Rebooting into Windows 7 in Bootcamp, Auto Hot Key logger shows that Fn works as expected (e.g., modifies page up/down to home/end, etc.).
I haven't run an actual key-logger in OSX yet.
But whichever way the Matias controller is programmed, it doesn't produce the same result as the Apple keyboard (using BTT in OSX at least).
I was hoping it would. :(
Maybe this is a noob question that will open a whole Pandora's Box of programming complexity (:-[).
But:
Is it so difficult to get a Mac-specific keyboard to produce the same results as the one that Apple sells?
[Edit: That's not meant to be a criticism of Matias specifically. It could equally be a software issue in BTT. I'm just asking]