Realforce 87U - NumLock on Mac OS X?

[blakespot]

I just got my Realforce 87U Tenkeyless -- exquisite keyboard. It has a shadow numpad in the main keyboard that is apparently activated with NumLock. I am using this board on a Mac, and Macs have no NumLock, and pressing it does nothing.

Is there a way to let it do it's thing so the kbd firmware will let the shadow numpad come to life?

Thanks.


bp

[noodles256]

there is no numlock for for macs. My meka g1 doesn't need numlock to use the numpad

[blakespot]

Am I correct in the belief that the Num Lock key is the method of activating the embedded numeric keypad in the Realforce 87U?

Has anyone out there got this working on the Mac?



bp

[FourOhFour]

I'm betting all you need to do is send the signal to the keyboard that turns on the numlock light. I'm not finding anything pre-compiled, but there is this: http://developer.apple.com/library/mac/#samplecode/HID_LED_test_tool/Introduction/Intro.html

Maybe someone who knows their way around xcode can work that into a small app that toggles the numlock light when clear (numlock) is pressed.

[woody]

I'm betting all you need to do is send the signal to the keyboard that turns on the numlock light.

I guess the same thing - upon pressing NumLock the keyboard sends NumLock event to PC, but to actually light the LED *and* switch layout it expects the "light the LED" command from PC.

[blakespot]

Ok, I took a few minutes and crudely generated two terminal commands from the suggested code, one which turns on the LED (and thus activates the embedded numpad) and one that turns it off. Given my lack of understanding of the USB keyboard id's in this code, it may not work if you have several HIDs hanging off your Mac. So, your mileage may vary and use at your own risk.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2122133/realforce87u_numpad_os_x.zip
http://blakespot.com/files/realforce87u_numpad_os_x.zip


Edit 1/13/18: Changed file location.

bp

[theferenc]

That's weird, since my macbook pro has a numlock, so I know the OS knows how to deal with it.

[FourOhFour]

I don't think the OS ever sees the numlock key on the laptops with embedded numpads.

[blakespot]

Apparently some OS X apps (certain spreadsheets, etc.) read the Num Lock on their own. Not sure if it lights up.

My Matias Tactile Pro has a Num Lock / Clear key that, when pressed, acts like the Clear key on the Apple keyboard. It will clear out the values in the calculator apps in OS X, for instance.



bp

[Mazora]

Is the numpad accessible by pressing the Left_Alt key?