deskthority

[...] As you were saying?
~250 keys *4?
I think the reasons and methods would be enlightening. What I really want to know:

Sorry for the delay, I’m very busy at the moment.

First off: for professional reasons I need at least some programmable keys.

Using a French keyboard and mainly typing French, but also German, I see no point in constantly repeating routines like "Alt+NumPad2,NumPad5,NumPad5" every time I need a German "ß" (a very frequent German letter).

And I very often need routines which are a pain in the ass because in specific programms which I use you have to repeatedly go through several menu points, using either the mouse or the keyboard ("Alt" and several keypresses).

An example of such a routine in a data base: suppose you often use Deskthority’s advanced search function in order to find a specific (but each time different) word in any thread in the "Photos" sub-section of the "Photos and Videos" section.
Depending on where you are on a specific DT page, you would have to scroll to the top of the page and then click on the small triangle in the "Search" button and then on "View the advanced search options" to access the page, then enter your keyword, click in the box "Search in forums" and scroll down to the desired sub-section and click on it, then either click "Search" or hit "Enter".

Instead of that, you can have the whole process programmed as a single keypress. Edit: corrected typo.

How I came to using a Tipro keyboard?

Having used a Cherry G80-2100 (with 24 programmable keys) for decades, I started adding different programmable keypads to enhance its usability, but was not really satisfied with any of them for different reasons.
At some point I discovered Tipro and the fact that they also had staggered keyboards. And that their programming capability was far, far beyond anything I had experienced before. And that they had Cherry blacks switches like the G80-2100 (that’s about the time I became aware there are different technologies in keyboards). And that you even can physically assemble several modules.

And, of course, that in Tipros "programmable" doesn’t simply mean that you can reassign some keys or choose between different layouts, but that you can program any key (even the space bar) as you like.
One of the features I most appreciate in my keyboard is the num pad at the upper right of my main module, which makes it much more comfortable to access.

Oh, by the way, the coffee key (which has since been replaced by another key but without change of its function) simply deactivates the keyboard (so I can rest my head on the board when pausing )

Hey Tiproman,

Some Tipro models, e.g. the one in the middle above are in short supply in the secondhand fleabay sites.
I need them for a proper post on the Cappening thread. Perhaps I have to keep watching for another 4-6 months.

Menuhin wrote: Hey Tiproman,

Some Tipro models, e.g. the one in the middle above are in short supply in the secondhand fleabay sites.
I need them for a proper post on the Cappening thread. Perhaps I have to keep watching for another 4-6 months.

I’m not really aware of what the Cappening thread is about.
But in any case, I am most certainly a better source than eBay

Ok wow, that is even more programmability than I would have imagined. Is it all done through external tooling or when you say you can do it on the fly you can record a macro directly on the tipro? If that is the case I can imagine the syntax for the programming would include notation to denote delays etc, which presumably you could go back in with an editor and "clean up".

NVM: Now reading manuals. lots of good ideas. wow, thanks! I can see how flexible these are.

Its done via a windows app called changeme.

http://www.tipro.net/ecatalogue/free-software-drivers/

You need 32bit windows if its the PS/2 version but the USB version works on 64 bit windows.

It needs direct USB access to the device so unless you pass the whole USB controller its plugged into to a VM you would have to be running native windows.