[guzzisport]

In reply to:

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matheau
Stranger
Reged: 12/07/05
Posts: 1
Re: Mac 911 Weblog: When you can't use Key Caps, try... new [re: Macworld_Weblogs]
12/07/05 11:45 AM
Art Directors Toolkit gives you that info. Check out its Symbol utility. Comes free on PowerMacs and PowerBooks.

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I don't see any evidence of Art Directors Toolkit on my G5, but it does seem to list for $29.95 on their website.

[azhie]

I don't see the problems mentioned in this thread. I regularly use Am English, German, Spanish, Russian, and Chinese on my Mac without any problems. Keyboard viewer will switch to whatever language you want (Chinese works differently). You do have to set it up properly: Go to System Preferences and click on International. Highlighting Language tab, click on edit, then select the language(s) you want from the drop down. Then highlight Input Menu tab. Check character palate, keyboard viewer, and the language keyboard(s) you want (Note: some languages have different keyboards for different countries). Click on the options button and be sure to check try to match keyboard with text. I believe you have to restart finder to enable the changes. When restarted, you will see a (country) flag in the menu bar. You can click on the flag to drop down a list of your languages as well as keyboard viewer and character palette. When you check on, say, German, the flag will become the German flag and the keyboard will be a German keyboard with umlauts as single characters: plus a deadkey for grave accents. Spanish has and plus deadkeys. You can switch between two languages by cmdspace. If you have more than two languages, holding down the optioncmd and tapping the spacebar will cycle through all the options. I hope this helps. BTW, you can also use keycaps if you have it.

[sokolikm]

I am using Mac OS 10.4.3 Tiger and I also do not have any "Keyboard Viewer" option on the bottom of the International panel, Input Menu tab of the System Preferences. Under the Input source options section there is a checkable option: "Show input menu in menu bar", that's it. No access to a Keyboard Viewer in the input menu.

[TheTSArt]

For a the longest time I just used an old copy of Key Caps, which worked fine, even though it was from an older version of the OS. (I see that it has now disappeared from my drive, so I don't know what that means...)
The problem I have with Keyboard Viewer is that nearly 75% of the fonts I have do not show in the app. When you switch to that font, nothing happens--the currently shown font does not change.
I also hate that you have to have an extra menu to use it.

[Carlicky]

you know, Matias Corporation makes some great keyboards that have the Option-key symbols printed right on the keycaps, so you don't have to hunt around in Key Caps or Keyboard Viewer:
http://matias.ca/usb2keyboard/
http://matias.ca/osxkeyboard/
http://matias.ca/tactilepro/
Of course, different country layouts may have some different glyphs, but definitely very handy for most cases!
And, in the interest of full disclosure, yeah, i do work for the company.
Happy typing!

[Chris Breen]

I don't work for the company and I'll say that having the symbols printed on the keys of my Tactile Pro is convenient. The symbols aren't intrusive though easy to discern. And the feel of this keyboard is fantastic (but it's noisy).
Chris

[Dan Frakes]

In reply to:

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I am using Mac OS 10.4.3 Tiger and I also do not have any "Keyboard Viewer" option on the bottom of the International panel, Input Menu tab of the System Preferences. Under the Input source options section there is a checkable option: "Show input menu in menu bar", that's it. No access to a Keyboard Viewer in the input menu.

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How about at the top of that tab, where it says "Select the keyboard layouts, input methods, and palettes for the input menu"? There should be a "Keyboard Viewer" item in that list (near the top).

[sokolikm]

No keyboard viewer in the scrolling list below the "Select the keyboard layouts, input methods, and palettes for the input menu" line.
I'm wondering if my install of Tiger somehow neglected to install something. Mac Help doesn't seem to work. You can click on the links on the home screen and nothing happens.

[whitedog]

I have been using PopChar since system 7 days to find the special characters I need. And, yes, there is an OS X version. It places a movable icon in the menu bar from which you can get a floating window with a variety of display options. You can drag on the window to change its vertical and horizontal size and the size of the font displayed therein. Unlike the old Key Caps and the Keyboard palette in OS X, you don't have to press the control keys to see what they enable. Instead, the complete character set is displayed and you can hover over the special character you want to use to view its corresponding key combination or click on the character to have it placed in an open document at the insertion point. In some applications it will sense the font you are using; if it does not, you can change the font in the PopChar tool bar at the top of the window.
The only caveat with PopChar is the developer's upgrade policy: it guarantees free updates and upgrades for two years when you purchase a license. But there were no updates or upgrades to the program until just after my two year guarantee expired - a strategy which penalizes loyal users and early adopters. As a result, I will be waiting awhile before upgrading to the latest version this time around. That issue aside, PopChar is the best tool I've found for getting at hidden font glyphs.

[sokolikm]

Finally figured this one out.
For me, in Tiger, there is no button at he bottom for keyboard viewer. When I looked in the list I didn't see keyboard viewer at the top, BUT when I clicked in the "Name" heading to sort by name the Keyboard Viewer appeared. Now it is always there, regardless of the column I sort by.
Must be some sort of bug.

[scr14]

I write in French a lot, but I can touch type only with an American English keyboard. With the old Macs I set up macros in ClarisWorks so I could type an accented letter by typing an assigned key with one hand while holding down the option and command keys with the little finger of the other hand. Since OS X and AppleWorks I no longer have those convenient macros and have to use the long way round. It's very tedious -- but a French keyboard layout with all the numbers as upper case, etc. would be far worse. Is there any easier way?
(I guess I'm off topic. I'm running 10.4.3 and have no problem with the keyboard viewer.)
Sydney

[pnorton]

I can still use keycaps as an Apple Menu item under classic. It's version 8.2.1 with the latest copyright dated 2001.
I tried keyboard viewer, per CB's suggestion, but it seems to have a flawwhen I select the Symbol typeface it still shows a, b, c, etc, rather than Greek alpha, beta, gamma, etc. Other than being incorrect, it is handy up there under the flag.

[Chris Breen]

Check out this entry for information on revealing Symbol's hidden characters.

[azhie]

Chris, do you know about U.S. Extended? If you add U.S. Extended (from the input menu in International) and then press the option key, you will see 14 more combos (orange keys) to use with a character in more arcane circumstances: . Note also that if clicking on the green button (upper left) will toggle between small and large keyboard.