Keyboard remappings for your typing pleasure

[Timur]

Hey everyone!

For the lazy among you I prepared a customized build of KeyRemap4You by Takayama Fumihiko: http://www.pqrs.org/tekezo/macosx/keyremap4macbook/index.html

My build includes the following keyboard remappings, is mainly interesting for users of Macbooks and the Bluetooth wireless keyboard and can be downloaded here:

http://www.zshare.net/download/626864800e6ab6b7/

Customizations:

Right-Shift + Backspace = Forward Delete.

Right-Alt + F10-F12 controls volume, since using the left-side FN in combination with right-side F-Keys always needs two hands, now I can control volume with one hand easily. I left the F-Keys to standard functions for Ableton Live and Firefox and use the rest of the special functions in combination with FN.

Right-Alt + Cursors do Home/End/Page Up/Down again allowing me to use one hand for those instead of two hands in combination with FN (No customization needed, it's already part of KeyRemap4Macbook).

Eject does F13, Right-Shift + Eject does Shift-F13 (can be mapped to Spaces) while ALT-Eject and FN-Eject can still be used for ejecting CDs.

Use the KeyRemap4Macbook Preference Pane to switch mapping on or off.

 

[ajpl]

Thanks for pointing out this piece of software. Having a laptop with keys in stupid places or simply missing is very frustrating and the clumsy two handed workarounds are not exactly ergonomic.
Your mods also seem quite sensible.
Big problem now is how to make Win7 use the crippled keyboard in the same way.

 

[Timur]

You can try KeyMapper, Key Tweaks and Randy Rants for remapping keys in Windows. You wont be able to remap the FN key kombinations though.

On my own Windows installation I did the following remappings:

I switched CTRL and CMD around, which also allows using the right CMD key for single-handed shortcuts.

Furthermore I'm using the Backquote key left of Backspace as Forward Delete.

And Caps Lock is my Pause key which is useful for games like Civilization 4 and allows to use CTRL + CAPS LOCK as substitute for WIN + CAPS LOCK to quick access system settings.

Even better the combination of both the OS X remapping and the Windows remappings work flawlessly inside Parallels running on OS X.

Last but not least I wrote a script that allows me to change the function of the F-Keys via a keyboard shortcut (so that you don't have to press FN), I'm not using that one alot though.

 

[ajpl]

More useful advice Ta.

First thing I do on my Macs is swap Cmd+ Cntrl as it's way more ergonomic. Particularly as I use shortcuts a lot.
Now if I can make the the stupid Fn key be the Cmd key for Mac and the Cntrl key for Windows then my MBP will be sooo much easier to use.
When buying a PC laptop any that had Fn key where Cntrl should be was crossedoff list immediately as it's so clumsy.

Funny as people always say Fitt's law 'yadda yada' when taking about Apple GUI design, yet Apple don't place the main modifier key at corner of keyboard.