Remapping keys on Mac

[tlt]

I'm using my HHKB pro JP on my Mac and it's not for typing Japanese I would like to remap the dead bottom row keys to something useful. Has anyone done this and could give me a tip?

[Charlie_Brown_MX]

There’s a lot of good stuff about remapping keys on a Mac in this blog post by Steve Losh. Good luck!

[Icarium]

I used "Ukulele" to create a custom keyboard layout for my macbook.

[brdrgz]

Just out of curiosity, why'd you get the JP layout instead of the US one? Closer to swedish? PBT spacebar? I've always gotten the US layout because, well, I'm from the US, and the JP one is quite a bit more expensive because I have to import it.

[tlt]

I had to import anyway so that did not mater to me. And yes I'm using swedish layout on it and need keys for åäö. The only key I'm missing is the one left of z on iso with ><. The legends on the number row are closer the swedish layout. And I wanted proper arrow keys. On the US one you need to hold down the Fn with the pinky and use the other finger on the right hand to push the arrow keys, I think that is uncomfortable and puts stress on the hand. I don't have a problem with the non standard staggering on the bottom row I think it makes it easier to hit some keys like b and c. The only thing I have a little problem with is to reach the right shift which is just a 1 U key at the far right. But I have two great new bottom row keys to the right and left of the space bar that is very easy to reach, now I just need to remap them to something useful. I'm thinking of backspace and enter or maybe shift on the right one.

Is the space PBT? I can't tell.

And thanks for the tips! I'm going to try Ukulele.

[nathanscribe]

I use KeyRemap4Macbook (which is not just for macbooks) and PCKeyboardHack. Both are fine, as long as you don't mind dabbling with a smattering of light xml.

[tlt]

I used PCKeyboardHack now and it can activate and remap the nfer, xfer keys on the bottom row like I wanted. Ukulele seems ok but this remapping needed a low level hack that it does not do to work.

[Mrinterface]

I use keyremap4macbook

Strange name, but it's free and it has a *lot* of configuration options.

[TacticalCoder]

Just out of curiosity, why'd you get the JP layout instead of the US one? Closer to swedish? PBT spacebar? I've always gotten the US layout because, well, I'm from the US, and the JP one is quite a bit more expensive because I have to import it.

I'm hitting the key at the left of the spacebar with my left thumb (it's either option/win or ALT depending on a DIP switch setting on the HHKB Pro 2) and the key at the right of the spacebar with my right thumb.

I'm also hitting the space bar nearly in the middle.

So I figured out it would be just so much more ergonomic to not have to bend my thumb so far left and right if I had a JP layout...

The only reason I didn't order one was that I wasn't sure that under Linux I could configure the HHKB Pro2 JP so that the key physically at the left of the tiny japanese space bar would act as an ALT and key physically at the right of the space bar to act as HYPER.

If anyone can confirm it works I've got an HHKB Pro 2 US layout for sale