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geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: futurecrime on Sun, 14 January 2018, 09:43:50

Title: What is this key supposed to be?
Post by: futurecrime on Sun, 14 January 2018, 09:43:50
I got my Matrix Abel out recently because I've been thinking of selling it and I remembered that I never figured out what this key is supposed to be (circled in pic). I have two Abel PCBs and it doesn't register on http://www.keyboardtester.com/ on either of them. I checked with a multimeter and everything seems in order. It doesn't seem to work as an Alt Gr (at least it doesn't seem to modify anything) and the keyboard is not programmable so I can't assign the key to something else. Can anyone help?

(https://i.imgur.com/FByAwLw.jpg?1)
Title: Re: What is this key supposed to be?
Post by: fohat.digs on Sun, 14 January 2018, 09:51:54
Kind of a weird catch-all key that is like "File" at the top left in Windows.
Title: Re: What is this key supposed to be?
Post by: futurecrime on Sun, 14 January 2018, 10:03:02
Quote from: fohat.digs on Sun, 14 January 2018, 09:51:54
Kind of a weird catch-all key that is like "File" at the top left in Windows.

Oh but it doesn't do anything! I just put the menu cap on there to have a cap on it. If it is indeed a menu key, how would I test it?
Title: Re: What is this key supposed to be?
Post by: nugglets on Sun, 14 January 2018, 10:15:13
I don't know how to program the Abel or anything about it, really, but generally speaking that key is a keyboard version of right-click. It typically (always? can't say I've used it much) opens up the exact same context-menu that right-click does in whichever application is active at the time.
Title: Re: What is this key supposed to be?
Post by: fohat.digs on Sun, 14 January 2018, 10:22:14
Quote from: nugglets on Sun, 14 January 2018, 10:15:13

but generally speaking that key is a keyboard version of right-click.


Oh, that's cool! I never thought of it that way.
Title: Re: What is this key supposed to be?
Post by: Photoelectric on Sun, 14 January 2018, 10:22:28
Searched the site and found this discussion:
https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=86048.msg2402712#msg2402712
Title: Re: What is this key supposed to be?
Post by: futurecrime on Sun, 14 January 2018, 10:33:21
Quote from: nugglets on Sun, 14 January 2018, 10:15:13
I don't know how to program the Abel or anything about it, really, but generally speaking that key is a keyboard version of right-click. It typically (always? can't say I've used it much) opens up the exact same context-menu that right-click does in whichever application is active at the time.

Yeah I thought that but it doesn't seem to work in that way.

Quote from: Photoelectric on Sun, 14 January 2018, 10:22:28
Searched the site and found this discussion:
https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=86048.msg2402712#msg2402712

Ha! Yeah I'm in that thread but forgot about that little discussion. Maybe it's for LED control and it does nothing for me cos I don't have any LEDs on the board.
Title: Re: What is this key supposed to be?
Post by: futurecrime on Tue, 13 February 2018, 21:55:59
In case anyone is looking for answers and ends up finding this thread, I finally found out what this key is for. Nothing. Apparently it was supposed to be AltGr but the Matrix guys never bothered to bind it to anything in the end and the board isn't programmable so that's that. It's just a dead key. I got the answer from Frostylove. Wish I'd known sooner, I spent so long trying to figure this out and wondering if it was something I'd ****ed up. Anyway, I don't have this board anymore so it's not my concern, but it's nice to have an answer, finally.
Title: Re: What is this key supposed to be?
Post by: Puddsy on Tue, 13 February 2018, 22:23:47
Quote from: futurecrime on Tue, 13 February 2018, 21:55:59
In case anyone is looking for answers and ends up finding this thread, I finally found out what this key is for. Nothing. Apparently it was supposed to be AltGr but the Matrix guys never bothered to bind it to anything in the end and the board isn't programmable so that's that. It's just a dead key. I got the answer from Frostylove. Wish I'd known sooner, I spent so long trying to figure this out and wondering if it was something I'd ****ed up. Anyway, I don't have this board anymore so it's not my concern, but it's nice to have an answer, finally.

wow

not what i would have expected

just aesthetics

very matrix