I've just bought a HHKB for my mac....

Scott_Tarlow · 27 Sep 2015, 21:26

what do I need to know?

Muirium · 27 Sep 2015, 21:30

Open up the dip switch panel, and turn on switches 2 and 6. Then it's the perfect keyboard.

Good choice, of course!

Scott_Tarlow · 27 Sep 2015, 22:11

thanks...

I've been wanting one for the past 3 years... I went with the ducky YOTD over it last time I bought a keyboard (3 years ago), couldn't resist when I saw the pricing at elite keyboards.

Do all the mac shortcuts work?

Muirium · 28 Sep 2015, 02:38

Of course. As much as they work on any USB keyboard. The media keys are all part of the USB standard and need no software to run… except for Eject. Which is useless anyway on modern Macs without those ancient "discus drives". Whatever those were about!

mj45 · 28 Sep 2015, 13:35

One of Hasu's HHKB Alt Controllers can be the best option for any HHKB. After using mine almost a year I couldn't and wouldn't be without a programmable HHKB.

Muirium · 28 Sep 2015, 13:44

Because? Got some examples of your customisations.

I find that the HHKB is already perfect on the Mac. The only programming I'd do to it is make a macro so both Shifts = Caps Lock (something I do with all my Soarer keyboards) and maybe try Fn+Backspace = Delete. Slim pickings really, and if I felt I needed either of them I would have bothered getting off my arse and installing Karabiner anyway!

I'm usually all about programmable controllers. But the HHKB is a unique exception. I program my other boards to be more like the HHKB. Hard to improve on that.

Hasu's Bluetooth HHKB controller is more appealing, but it needs days of battery life for me to be able to use it. I'm not regimented enough to charge a keyboard so frequently, and I really don't need a bricked HHKB!

Hypersphere · 28 Sep 2015, 20:36

I mostly agree with Mu on this. However, I turn on three of the DIP switches: 2, 3, and 6. I am then good to go. I use the same settings for OS X, Linux, and Windows.

When I use other keyboards, I use remapping software to give them something as close as possible to the HHKB Pro 2 layout.

Muirium · 28 Sep 2015, 20:51

Well, it's true that no one's perfect!

mj45 · 28 Sep 2015, 21:25

@Mu because; mouse keys, ability to toggle or tap toggle FN layers and NKRO on Macs. I have a num pad layer that is like the one on a Realforce TKL. Function row keys that mimic stock Apple OS positions (media & vol) etc. I have the USB version I really don't need the Bluetooth. The stock HHKB is great with Mac's but with Hasu's controller its Superb.

Muirium · 28 Sep 2015, 22:00

Yeah, most of those reasons are legit. (NKRO, what 7+ keys are you needing to hold simultaneously? Capsense keyboards don't have blocking and ghosting to worry about, so 6KRO is always adequate, I find. Unlike certain other diode-free mechs!) Bluetooth is still the big one for me, though. The HHKB's form factor is perfect for it.

Funny you should mention the Realforce 87U. That's a damn nice keyboard which would be just as good as the HHKB if its controller wasn't flawed in a few ways. For instance: the numpad layer doesn't work on Macs, while even my IBM SSK's does! (Topre implemented it the wrong way by relying on the host's recognition of Num Lock. Macs don't do Num or Scroll Lock. The better way is to internalise the layer handing on the keyboard, like every other layer of course! Which is just what IBM did in the first place.) Another thing that feels super buggy: the Realforce will often disappear from OS X's view entirely whenever I use it to wake the Mac. Literally the only keyboard I have that fails such a simple thing as wake. Yikes!

mj45 · 28 Sep 2015, 23:00

The Realforce firmware and Mac OS don't mesh, but if you wake the Mac with a mouse click instead the Realforce will work fine. The RF TKL num pad will work on Mac's using Karabiner remapping software, the num lock light even lights up.

ShivaYash · 29 Sep 2015, 00:14

Welcome.

Nyolcadik · 21 Aug 2017, 15:38

does the HHKB has a play/pause key for media control?

wobbled · 21 Aug 2017, 15:45

Nyolcadik wrote: ↑does the HHKB has a play/pause key for media control?

No it doesn't, but doesn't the space bar usually act as a play and pause key in most media applications?

Nyolcadik · 21 Aug 2017, 16:21

Not if e.g. iTunes runs in the background.

cookie · 22 Aug 2017, 10:59

Nyolcadik wrote: ↑does the HHKB has a play/pause key for media control?

They do , but skipping tracks is missing:

wobbled · 22 Aug 2017, 19:25

cookie wrote: ↑
Nyolcadik wrote: ↑does the HHKB has a play/pause key for media control?
They do , but skipping tracks is missing:

So where is it? I only see Volume control, mute, and eject keys.