
- MODIFIER KEYS FOR WINDOWS KEYBOARD ON MAC DRIVERS
- MODIFIER KEYS FOR WINDOWS KEYBOARD ON MAC DRIVER
- MODIFIER KEYS FOR WINDOWS KEYBOARD ON MAC ISO
- MODIFIER KEYS FOR WINDOWS KEYBOARD ON MAC MAC
- MODIFIER KEYS FOR WINDOWS KEYBOARD ON MAC WINDOWS
MODIFIER KEYS FOR WINDOWS KEYBOARD ON MAC ISO
You don't actually need an ISO keyboard in order to use AltGr and to access those additional characters however, they make it much easier since they generally have have a the characters each key can produce printed on the key itself, like we do. Technically, the AltGr key is merely the one key which triggers the Alt and Control key simultaneously for the convenience of typists fingers. ISO Keyboards (European/foreign keyboards) often have a key called AltGr instead of the "right side" Alt key it stands for Alternate Graphics and it is used to map the additional symbols and accented letters required by other languages to a "regular" keyboard by making accessible another whole layer or two of the whole keyboard, which effectively doubles (or even triples or quadruples) the number of characters that can be typed. Technically, it can only function as a modifier key if used in conjunction with Control.
MODIFIER KEYS FOR WINDOWS KEYBOARD ON MAC WINDOWS
So, in Windows the Alt key is internally referred to as the Menu Key because it was initially used to access and navigate the command menus of applications in the days before Windows had adopted the use of a mouse.
MODIFIER KEYS FOR WINDOWS KEYBOARD ON MAC MAC
And I've been able to gain access to a Mac when I need to create/edit documents containing virtually any language besides English. This is mostly for fun though, so it hasn't been crucially urgent. I need to be able to type (without excessive difficult) many more characters and symbols than Windows seems to support. Why? Because I have a strong interest and background in foreign languages, linguistics, phonetics and writing systems. This is an absolutely unacceptable state of affairs for me! Why? I need to type WAY more characters than that! However, most of my personal computers have been Windows based, and when it comes down to it, Windows really only seems to support 1 true character modifier key: Shift. However, making use of them with a modern keyboard would require some remapping. *nix OSes can support a whopping 8 modifiers, I believe. In the modern era Macs can functionally have up to 5 modifier keys although there are some limitations on how they may be effectively utilized for various purposes. I think this distinction is an important one, although it is not typically, explicitly explained or mentioned. Macs have always had at least two, genuine "character" modifier keys as well as two "command" modifier keys. My first meaningful introduction to using personal computers was with a Mac during their early years. I have had been toying with this question for quite a while now.

And actually, technically, more modifiers actually exist but they are virtually undocumented and very rarely used. Let me first state that I can not fully answer the question you asked (what exactly would be involved with adding a modifier to the OS) other than to say that it would take much more work than what I believe any individual could accomplish-even within several years (except for some true computer genius) but depending on your reasons for asking, I can show you that it probably wouldn't be required for your purposes (although that's obviously speculation).

Do you actually wish to utilize and fully integrate the use of an additional modifier key in your daily computer usage? If so, in what way? (This is pure curiosity on my part I'm fascinated by the reasons or events leading up to your query! And I will explain why.) What use would it be to have this modded-keyboard after all if you application were ignorant of it's superpowers? The only thing you'd be able to do with your special keyboard would be to create hot-keys that incorporate your special modifier.
MODIFIER KEYS FOR WINDOWS KEYBOARD ON MAC DRIVER
So, in short you would need to provide a driver to extend the standard functionality of the standard keyboard much like you would need a driver if you bought one of those fancy mice that come with 19 special buttons and 3 scroll wheels instead of the standard two-or-three buttons and one scroll wheel.Īnd finally, you would need applications that are aware of your special keyboard. Fortunately, Windows and other operating systems Open Source or not, provide an extensible and also standard mechanism for this: drivers. So, if you wanted to add an extra key to the keyboard - whether it is a modifier key or not - you have to somehow make it useful which means that applications need to be aware of it and they need a way to be notified of this key's state. But that implies that keyboards and mice have to be standardized themselves in order to have them "just work".
MODIFIER KEYS FOR WINDOWS KEYBOARD ON MAC DRIVERS
It makes things "work" without needing special drivers or operating system patches. Well, there's benefit in having a standard for keyboards and mice.
