Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

# key on 12" PB?

D

darraghsmyth

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 26, 2004
25
0
London, UK
I've just received my 12" PB configured for the UK, to discover that it doesn't appear to have a # character on keyboard.

Since this is potentially more than mildly awkward for a Perl developer, does anyone have any suggestions?

I've added the # char to my "Special Characters" palette in TextEdit but I can't find a way of specifying a keyboard-shortcut to this character.

In contrast, I can set up a keyboard shortcut to # in MS Word but I certainly don't want to be writing Perl programs in MS!

If there isn't a GUI way of mapping it, is there a Terminal way of setting it in some config file?

Thanks in advance for all the help

darragh
 
Try typing option-3. On the US keyboard, shift-3 is #, and option-3 is £. On the UK keyboard, these are reversed.
 
On that note, from a complete mac noob, what is the difference between a wintel backspace key and the apple delete key seeing as wintels have both and they perform a different function i.e. backspace erases backward and delete erases forwards?
 
They are exactly the same (that is, same location and function), just sometimes with a different name. So delete = backspace, and forwards delete (delete with a right pointing symbol, available on extended keyboards) = delete.
 
HexMonkey said:
Try typing option-3. On the US keyboard, shift-3 is #, and option-3 is £. On the UK keyboard, these are reversed.
Click to expand...

When you say "option", you mean the key with the apple symbol?
 
Just looking at the "high res photos" from the mac site, I would say that the option key is the one that says "option" and "alt" whereas the apple and the squiqqly line square is on the other.
 
win_convert said:
Just looking at the "high res photos" from the mac site, I would say that the option key is the one that says "option" and "alt" whereas the apple and the squiqqly line square is on the other.
Click to expand...
win_convert is correct - the option key referred to says 'option' on it. The key with the Apple symbol is called the Command key and is used for keyboard shortcuts (equivalent to Windows shortcuts with the Control key). For example, Command-V is paste on the Mac; Control-V does the same function on Windows. The option key is used to type special/extended characters. Here's an example: option-8 (on a Mac, of course) will produce a bullet. Option and Shift can be used together to produce even more symbols.
 
srobert said:
I miss the good ol "key caps" app.
Click to expand...

The Mac OS X equivalent is Keyboard Viewer. To use it, you must first go to System Preferences->International->Input Menu, then tick "Keyboard Viewer" and "Show input menu in menu bar". Then you can open the Keyboard Viewer at any time by choosing it from the input menu (menu with a flag icon).
 
HexMonkey said:
The Mac OS X equivalent is Keyboard Viewer. To use it, you must first go to System Preferences->International->Input Menu, then tick "Keyboard Viewer" and "Show input menu in menu bar". Then you can open the Keyboard Viewer at any time by choosing it from the input menu (menu with a flag icon).
Click to expand...

Thanks. Good thing to know. I wonder why they burried it sooo deep in the system pref. And not quite the first place I would have been looking for it.
 
NusuniAdmin said:
on jaguar...maybe not panther...goto applications > utilities, then there is key caps app
Click to expand...
Yes, on Jaguar - but definitely not Panther. The only way to access that utility now is via the method HexMonkey mentioned - it doesn't have the same name, either.
 
Someone was talking about this in a different MR forum juuuuust last week. There's an easy way to remember some of these shortcuts. Say if you press Shift+8, it will produce a * symbol. If you press Option+8, you'll produce a • character. Look at the similarity between the * and • symbols.

Also, Shift+3 will give you #, which many people call the pound symbol. If you press Option+3, you get the currency for pound sterling, £. So both pound symbols are attached to 3.

This is why you don't actually have to memorize some characters keyboard shortcuts.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back