Singin' the keyboard blues

November 27, 2006 3:13 AM

Help me customize my OS X keyboard for my strained, RSI-inflicted fingers.

A touch of RSI turned me into a left handed mouser a few years back. No major hassles on the conversion. Being a leftie is cool.

However, I'd like to relocate frequently used OS X hotkeys, such as "Command-copy" "Command-paste" and "Quit," to keys on the right side of my QWERTY keyboard. The key customization program Keyboard Maestro, while it has its benefits, can't handle these three commands (and many others). And OS X's Keyboard & Mouse preferences would require customization for each individual app, and don't seem to be workable with apps like Firefox, which "overrides" customization with its builtin hotkeys (in my experience).

Are there any third-party programs that enable simple, works-for-all-apps customization of OS X hotkeys? (Searches on Google, Apple forums, and AskMefi have failed me.)

Even more radical, perhaps: can the OS X keyboard *itself* be customized? I'd love to place the backspace key on the caps lock key, as I did once via xmodmap on Linux.

posted by Gordion Knott to computers & internet (5 comments total)

Have you considered the Dvorak keyboard layout? It is supported by Mac OS X natively, and reduces finger movement. While I don't think it has made my typing faster, it has eliminated the cramps I sometimes got when typing for hours. Apple has an article describing how to replace a keycap. To remove a key, just lift the upper side (i.e. the furthest away from the trackpad) with a small wide screwdriver.

You can turn Caps Lock into something else in System Preferences > Keyboard & Mouse > Keyboard > Modifier keys (the button at the bottom left). However this won't let you change it to a delete key - people usually turn it into a ctrl key. You could suggest that as a DoubleCommand feature or try to hack it yourself.
posted by stereo at 4:03 AM on November 27, 2006

i second dvorak
posted by localhuman at 5:21 AM on November 27, 2006

Searching VersionTracker for keyboard or remap brings up a few possibilities. For example, DoubleCommand might do what you need.
posted by ardgedee at 6:53 AM on November 27, 2006

How about Ukelele?
posted by djgh at 7:11 AM on November 27, 2006

Quicksilver triggers will do this
posted by bonaldi at 7:17 AM on November 27, 2006