Is there a way to remap keys?

O

onetre

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I guess that's the best way to ask it. Here's what I'm talking about.

I have a 15" powerbook and when I hit the "f12" key it is the eject function. I have to hit fn+f12 to bring up dashboard. Is there anyway to switch it to where I fn+f12 is the eject function and I'll only need to hit 1 key to bring up dashboard?
 
It's not really what you want, but you can change Dashboard's button in the Exposé & Dashboard preference pane (and also in the Keyboard preference pane).

But...I don't think you should need to hold down fn to get Dashboard. On my machine, hitting F12 brings up Dashboard, and pressing and holding F12 for a second or so ejects a disk. And my sister's new iBook came with a little sticker on it that pointed to the F12 key and said "press and hold to eject". Hmm. Is this not standard behavior? :confused:
 
I am using a 12 inch Powerbook, and F12 is Dashboard.

When I saw a 15 inch Powerbook I noticed something odd about it... I could only use Expose if I held down fn. It had it's normal function as something else. Sorry, my memory is vague, it was a long time ago.

EDIT: Also, my powerbook has a seperate eject button.

The thing is, even if the F12 button acts as an eject when held down, this means you can't use Expose/Dashboard temporarily.

If you hold down F12, DB will appear, until you let go. Same for F9, F10, and F11.
 
onetre said:
I guess that's the best way to ask it. Here's what I'm talking about.

I have a 15" powerbook and when I hit the "f12" key it is the eject function. I have to hit fn+f12 to bring up dashboard. Is there anyway to switch it to where I fn+f12 is the eject function and I'll only need to hit 1 key to bring up dashboard?
Click to expand...

Your question was answered on MacOSXHints. Plus, any key can be change in the Keyboard & Mouse System Preference under the Keyboard Shortcuts tab.
 
Mikuro: It may be a standard feature now, but my powerbook is at least 2 years old and I don't think it was then. lightly tapping my eject/f12 key brings the eject icon on the screen, pressing it hard, or even holding it down does the same. I can hold down the f12/eject key forever, but DB never comes up.

Convert: I've had no trouble with expose because f9,f10, and f12 have no other functions attached to them. f1-f7 have alternate functions as does f12 (which is eject). These alternate functions override the f keys main purpose hence having to use the fn key in conjunction with them...and as stated to Mikuro, I can hold down f12/eject for an hour and DB isn't coming up. (also, maybe it was just worded wrong but "until you let go" isn't a good thing. I run a ton of things on dashboard that I wouldn't want to have to continue to hold the key in to use)

Satcomer: Yes and no. With that I can remap dashboard to something else like f8, but that's not what I'm wanting to do.

Right now the f12 key ONLY functions as an eject key regardless of how/how long it's pressed. FN+F12 brings up dashboard instantly...I want to change that to where FN+F12 is the eject function and F12 by itself brings up dashboard. In keyboard & mouse system preferences I can't find eject in order to remap it.

Maybe it's not possible...I just figured someone a lot smarter than I am may have gotten half as annoyed by this and decided to develop a hack for it.
 
Ah, sorry, a bit of a misunderstanding here. The 'hold down' feature on DB/Expose is an option. You can do it the normal way, too.
Also, holding shift while doing any of the processes does it slo-mo :D

I presume you mean F11 has no other function, and F12 does. That's odd, the 15 inch Powerbook I tried in the Apple store only worked (Expose) with Fn. But you'll know better of course.
Go to Preferences, Keyboard and Mouse. Click the Keyboard tab. Check the "Use F1-F12 keys to control software features."

This will mean that to use hardware features (eject, in this case), you'll have to hold down Fn and the corresponding key.

I hope this solves the problem!
 
I don't quite know but you may find your answer in the Universal Access pane of system preferences.

I hope you get a result.
 
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