[Question] Holding down multiple keys for repeats?

[ViciousWhiskers]

Hi guys! I have an inquiry,

Some keyboards can accomplish holding down 1 or more keys and have it repeat steadily in the order of the press, but how come some keyboards can't?

For example, one of my keyboards can have it's keys repeat like this: Press down 'a', then press down 'b', repeat pattern: ababababababababababababababababababababab

Another keyboard: Press down 'a', then press down 'b', abbbbbbbbbbbbbbb.

[dorkvader]

some keyboards accomplish a higher key rollover by presesting more usb devices to the OS. I think that is what the choc mini does. The expected behaviour is #2, and behaving as #1 does is an oddity most often caused by messing around with how the usb presents itself, as the noppoo does.

[laffindude]

Case 1 is probably an USB device, also likely a wireless board. Windows will repeat the last pressed key. If the keyboard firmware incorrectly send another key down down event on all the currently pressed keys, it will trigger the 2nd case, since the OS will just repeat all the keys from the last key down event.

Dorkvader's explanation is unlikely to trigger this behavior.

[ViciousWhiskers]

However, both of these keyboards used as examples are USB and are wired... I am not sure why it happens differently on these two keyboards. Should I be aware of anything? Like, out of these two patterns, which one of them is supposed to happen, and which one is not supposed to happen?

[Daniel Beardsmore]

Dorkvader is correct. This came up recently, and I confirmed that if I hold a key down on one keyboard, and another key on a second, you do get that alternating pattern — Windows approaches key repeat on a per-keyboard basis, not on a session basis. This is an issue with Windows where Microsoft never considered how to handle anyone typing on two keyboards at once. (Like, why would anyone do that? Kali maybe?)

Noppoo are (in)famous for their multiple USB endpoint approach to NKRO (the keyboard appears to the OS as multiple keyboards) and you do get this repeat behaviour.

[laffindude]

I don't agree. Read his posts. He doesn't have a mechanical board, therefore he never had a board that needs to use NKRO trickery. So you two are talking about a separate issue that result in the same behavior.