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Thorogrimm

16 Jul 2021, 19:10

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This feature sucks and I don't know why anyone decided it was a good idea to put backspace on the left of the split space bar. But it's incredibly awkward to use for someone who exclusively hits space with their left hand.

Does anybody know how to swap it around to the right space bar or just make both halves function as space?

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hellothere

16 Jul 2021, 19:26

https://www.randyrants.com/category/sharpkeys for Windows
https://karabiner-elements.pqrs.org for Mac

EDIT: You can also do this with Linux and I don't think you even need to download anything. I just don't remember the name of the program(s).

If SharpKeys doesn't detect the key, that's going to be a bit more of a problem. I'm pretty sure there's a walk-through somewhere on this forum.
Last edited by hellothere on 16 Jul 2021, 19:31, edited 1 time in total.

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Thorogrimm

16 Jul 2021, 19:31

Thanks! I'll give this a go

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Bjerrk

16 Jul 2021, 19:44

Are you sure that'll work? If the keyboard simply sends a backspace scancode when the "left spacebar" is pressed, then you'll have a hard time remapping it in software. I will look identical to the "true backspace" from the perspective of the computer. I don't own one of these keyboards, though, so I can't check if that's the case.

If it is, then your best bet may be to physically rewire it.

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hellothere

18 Jul 2021, 19:58

Bjerrk wrote:
16 Jul 2021, 19:44
Are you sure that'll work? If the keyboard simply sends a backspace scancode when the "left spacebar" is pressed, then you'll have a hard time remapping it in software. I will look identical to the "true backspace" from the perspective of the computer. I don't own one of these keyboards, though, so I can't check if that's the case.

If it is, then your best bet may be to physically rewire it.
You're correct. If the scancodes are identical, SharpKeys is probably not going to be able to help much ... maybe. If that's the case, QMK or even a Soarer's Converter might be the way to go.

I recently acquired an IBM 5576-001. It sorta has 5 split space bars. One's really a caps lock key. Two are read as space bars in Windows 10 non-Japanese. I don't remember if the other two do anything, as the keyboard is currently on my bench and taken apart, I can't check. I'm really hoping I can re-map stuff with just SharpKeys and/or SharpKeys + AutoHotKey.

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an_achronism

20 Jul 2021, 01:35

hellothere wrote:
18 Jul 2021, 19:58
I recently acquired an IBM 5576-001. It sorta has 5 split space bars. One's really a caps lock key. Two are read as space bars in Windows 10 non-Japanese. I don't remember if the other two do anything, as the keyboard is currently on my bench and taken apart, I can't check. I'm really hoping I can re-map stuff with just SharpKeys and/or SharpKeys + AutoHotKey.
1. I'm jealous

2. If you mean the keys I think you mean then they're basically for cycling through the "autocorrect" suggestions that IME brings up in Japanese input mode, but Idk if they will do anything in another logical layout in the OS. On my JIS boards, there is only ever one bar that produces the Space scancode, IIRC; the rest do other things all related to JIS/IME input and nothing on UK layout. I just flip back and forth between UK and Japanese with Alt + LShift as needed.

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hellothere

20 Jul 2021, 02:35

an_achronism wrote:
20 Jul 2021, 01:35
hellothere wrote:
18 Jul 2021, 19:58
I recently acquired an IBM 5576-001. It sorta has 5 split space bars. One's really a caps lock key. Two are read as space bars in Windows 10 non-Japanese. I don't remember if the other two do anything, as the keyboard is currently on my bench and taken apart, I can't check. I'm really hoping I can re-map stuff with just SharpKeys and/or SharpKeys + AutoHotKey.
1. I'm jealous

2. If you mean the keys I think you mean then they're basically for cycling through the "autocorrect" suggestions that IME brings up in Japanese input mode, but Idk if they will do anything in another logical layout in the OS. On my JIS boards, there is only ever one bar that produces the Space scancode, IIRC; the rest do other things all related to JIS/IME input and nothing on UK layout. I just flip back and forth between UK and Japanese with Alt + LShift as needed.
1. Good :D. I need to do some cleaning -- maybe including retr0bright -- and replace at least two switches. Two key caps are also missing. One's the > key, so I'm going to have to replace both <> to make it look even.

2. Yup. I've seen the "autocorrect suggestions" in operation on Japanese keyboards before. I don't read or speak Japanese, so that functionality is somewhat useless. However, the actual space bar, as detected by Windows is exactly in the spot I hit when I'm using a "normal" keyboard, so no adjustment needed on my part. It's kinda-sorta between C and V.

One thing I'd really like is to have a translation of all the legends on all the keys. Just because.

The odd thing to me is the, oh, 6" x 4" plastic cover over the lock lights. Why do that? I can see at least num lock through the cover, anyhow.

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an_achronism

20 Jul 2021, 03:02

hellothere wrote:
20 Jul 2021, 02:35
One thing I'd really like is to have a translation of all the legends on all the keys. Just because.
I can do that if you like. Chuck me a clear photo or two of your particular board just in case there's any individual variation and I'll see what I can do.

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hellothere

23 Jul 2021, 20:02

5576-001 Keyboard.jpeg
5576-001 Keyboard.jpeg (197.66 KiB) Viewed 1327 times

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