Remapping the enter key
Apple PowerBooks don't have extended keyboards - not even the 17" model which clearly has room for one. While I don't really miss the lack of a numeric keypad (as far as I'm concerned they are primarily used as as direction keys in games!) on my 15" 667Mhz model, I've always wished that Apple had managed to squeeze dedicated page-up and page-down keys onto the PowerBooks, rather than making you press the 'Function' key and an up/down arrow key. But what is really aggravating is that there is only one 'Function' key, and it is on the left side of the keyboard! This means that you need two hands to page-up or page-down.
As a result, ever since I got this laptop, I've been trying to remap my Enter key to a Function key so I could page up and down with one hand. I thought I had found a clue in this MacOSXHints story, but it turned out to be aimed at remapping Exposé activation keys. After more searching on the same site I eventually discovered this old story, which led me to DoubleCommand. What can I say - this kernel extension has answered my prayers and is a must-have for any PowerBook owner! It can not only remap the Enter key to a Function key, it can also remap other modifier keys as well as the caps-lock key. Not only that it can make your Mac react like a PC when you press the Home and End keys. On the Mac the Home and End keys have traditionally moved to the beginning and the end of the document, while on the PC they move to the beginning and end of a line. I've always found the PC behaviour to be more useful. Note: this seems to work in all apps I've tried, except TextEdit.
Related entries
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Butler acting strangely - 11 November 2004
Ars reviews launchers and docks - 17 November 2004
Dock icon visual feedback - 3 July 2005
Tiger notes, vol. 2 - 5 May 2005
Tiger Notes, vol. 3 - 24 May 2005
Powerbook G4! - 16 August 2002
Comments
by: Dan Sauve at July 9, 2004 3:48 AM
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Thanks Tims! EXACTLY what I was looking for! I don't think I could do my job without having the home and end keys hit the beginning and end of lines. Rock on brother.