Why is my keyboard being contrary?
October 14, 2013 3:53 AM Subscribe
I've had a new computer set up for me at work and the keyboard is being a pain. For some reason it is reversing the keys I need to strike to get @ and " as well as a few others. I've asked around and other people here have the same problem, but have just got used to reversing the keys. However I am too impatient and lazy and I want it to work right. Apologies for all the stupidity to follow but I know nothing of techy things.
The keyboard says Microsoft on it but the hard drive is an Apple mac mini. There is a Windows remote desktop which I access for some programmes. I have Googled solutions and the only one I seem to come across says to change to keyboard input to US English, which I did through the Windows control panel, but it didn't make any difference so I changed it back. Has anyone any idea what this might be and how to fix it? Thanks.
The keyboard says Microsoft on it but the hard drive is an Apple mac mini. There is a Windows remote desktop which I access for some programmes. I have Googled solutions and the only one I seem to come across says to change to keyboard input to US English, which I did through the Windows control panel, but it didn't make any difference so I changed it back. Has anyone any idea what this might be and how to fix it? Thanks.
Either that or you've got an American keyboard. Does it have a £ symbol on the 3?
posted by pipeski at 4:36 AM on October 14, 2013
posted by pipeski at 4:36 AM on October 14, 2013
Response by poster: It has a £ on the 3. I went to the System Preferences on the Apple taskbar and it said the keyboard wasn't recognised. When I went through the steps it identified it as European. I changed it to US but it didn't make any difference, and when I went back into the settings it was back to not recognising the keyboard.
posted by billiebee at 4:49 AM on October 14, 2013
posted by billiebee at 4:49 AM on October 14, 2013
You're in the UK right? If you're in the UK, the keys should show (as in what is printed on the physical keys) £ on 3, " on 2, and @ on the righthand side of the keyboard above '.
Is the problem that you type Shift+2 and get @ instead of ", and Shift+' gives you " instead of @? If so, the suggestion to set it to US English is a red herring, as US layout has exactly what you are getting already (2/@ and '/"). These suggestions are for people who have US keyboards (2/@ and '/") and have their US keyboard set to UK layout (2/" and '/@). You have the opposite problem to this.
What you want is to set the keyboard layout as UK English. That should give you the symbols as they are printed on the keys (2/" and '/@).
posted by EndsOfInvention at 5:17 AM on October 14, 2013
Is the problem that you type Shift+2 and get @ instead of ", and Shift+' gives you " instead of @? If so, the suggestion to set it to US English is a red herring, as US layout has exactly what you are getting already (2/@ and '/"). These suggestions are for people who have US keyboards (2/@ and '/") and have their US keyboard set to UK layout (2/" and '/@). You have the opposite problem to this.
What you want is to set the keyboard layout as UK English. That should give you the symbols as they are printed on the keys (2/" and '/@).
posted by EndsOfInvention at 5:17 AM on October 14, 2013
Best answer: Are you expecting the " or @ to be shift-2? Standard Mac layout is shift-2 for @. If you want Shift-2 to be ", you can change this by going into System Preferences, then Language & Text, then Input Sources, and ticking British-PC instead of British.
posted by corvine at 5:18 AM on October 14, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by corvine at 5:18 AM on October 14, 2013 [2 favorites]
It sounds to me like someone plugged a PC keyboard in your Mac. If so, your best chance of success is to use a keyboard remapper. I use keyremap4macbook. You just need to scroll down the list till you get to "For PC Users" and check the options that suit your needs.
posted by hariya at 5:46 AM on October 14, 2013
posted by hariya at 5:46 AM on October 14, 2013
Response by poster: Thanks all, and corvine your tip worked!
Now I can do some actual work...oh.
posted by billiebee at 6:06 AM on October 14, 2013
Now I can do some actual work...oh.
posted by billiebee at 6:06 AM on October 14, 2013
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by MuffinMan at 4:09 AM on October 14, 2013 [3 favorites]