Hello Jürgen, I live in the US, and use the US English language input keyboard. But I like languages -- not a measure of proficiency, just liking -- so I keep a few different voices and keyboards active on my Mac. In fact, my first expensive software purchase for the Mac was VisioVoice, so I could use the Acapela French voices in Tiger, the first Mac OS X system that supported VoiceOver, before there was detailed support for languages other than English. Standard French input uses an "AZERTY" keyboard, which I never used often enough to get used to having the "a" and "q" characters swapped from the positions I normally use when touch typing. Anne Robertson uses the French and English keyboards with equal facility, and could simply switch to an account set up with French localization, input, and voices, back in Tiger. It was a revelation to me (thanks to a post by a Canadian French user on the pre-2009 macvisionaries list) that the Canadian French input keyboard kept all the letters and most of the punctuation in the places I was used to.
Originally, I explored the Option key combinations as a way of typing accented words and special symbols without changing input language keyboards. Under Lion it's possible, but still a little clunky, to explore the Option key combinations using the Keyboard Viewer on the status menu bar. It may not be shown by default, but it can be turned on in System Preferences > Keyboard on the Keyboard tab by checking the box for "Show Keyboard and Character Viewers in menu bar". This normally gets checked if you set up more than one language as a keyboard input source, since this is the way to check which input keyboard language is active. If you want to explore the Option key setups for your input language keyboard with the Keyboard Viewer, make sure that you have the box check to show these viewers in either the Keyboard tab in system preferences, or in "Input Source" table where you check the languages you want in System Preferences > Language & Text on the the "Input Sources" tab. Then use QuickNav mode, and navigate to the status bar menu (VO-M-M or Control-F8) to where the text input source is announced (e.g., I hear "US text input"). Arrow down to "Show Keyboard Viewer" and press return. Then use your arrow keys to move through the keys of your designated keyboard. You'll originally be positioned on the "Escape" key in the top left corner. If you press the Option key, VoiceOver will announce the character, accent, or special symbol associated with pressing Option+that key. You can also press other key combinations, like Option+Shift, or Option+Command, and VoiceOver will announce the corresponding character. To exit this mode, navigate back to the text input icon on the status menu bar, arrow down the menu to "Hide Keyboard Viewer" and press return. This will also handle non-Roman characters, just as TextEdit will. If I use a Russian input language keyboard, VoiceOver will announce the letters like "Cyrillic small letter u button" without my having to switch to my Russian voice. The way I checked the Option key combinations in Snow Leopard and earlier, was simply by typing through the keys with Option key combinations in TextEdit. The special symbols with option keys have been posted on this list before, but I think the most recent summary might be the one I sent to the mac-access list: • Special Symbols and Characters on the regular Mac Keyboard (current master list) http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/mac-access/2011-May/012345.html For typing accented characters without switching keyboards, here are links to a couple of recent posts from the macvisionaries list's Mail Archive: • "Re: how does one insert special characters?" http://www.mail-archive.com/macvisionaries%40googlegroups.com/msg44634.html • "Spanish accented characters [was Re: Inserting Accents In Text Documents]" http://www.mail-archive.com/macvisionaries%40googlegroups.com/msg59919.html The first linked post describes how to type accents (on an English input language keyboard) with Option key combinations. (The umlaut is described as "diaeresis", since the double dots can be used to accent characters other than "u", while the eszett or "sharp ess" in German is unique to that letter.) The second linked post is specifically for the accents and punctuations one might use for typing Spanish (and also describes the detailed differences between the "Spanish" and "Spanish -- ISO" keyboard layouts used by the Mac -- the latter is the same as the Spanish input keyboard used by Windows. This is probably more than you wanted to know! HTH. Cheers, Esther On Feb 23, 2012, at 9:56 AM, Jürgen Fleger wrote: > Hallo Esther, > > you are absolutely right: Option + period is the elipsis on a german > keyboard. I can imagine it's hard for you to know all the different keyboard > layouts. But as far as I could tell your tipps and tricks are always > perfectly right. Where do you live in the world and what keyboard layout do > you use? > > Could be it is a bug in Amadeus. I want to write Martin Hairer anyway and so > I could mention it. But of course it's a minor bug. :-) > > So, hope to read you soon and to get more of your great hints. > > All the best > Jürgen > > Am 23.02.2012 um 15:38 schrieb Esther: > >> Hello Jürgen, >> >> Great to hear you have your custom keyboard shortcuts working. One of the >> reasons I like to know how to type the ellipsis character with the Option >> key combination for my input language keyboard is just so that I can type >> combinations as well as use the VO-Shift-C shortcut to copy and then later >> paste the menu options. It's a little tricky to give the ellipsis shortcut >> combination in general, since it is specific to the input language that is >> used, and even the country layout (e.g. Swiss German vs. German, Canadian >> French vs. French, etc.) So I think that for you it is Option+period, but I >> would type the ellipsis with Option+semi-colon. I also usually paste to a >> TextEdit window so that I can check the copied menu strings character by >> character for where spaces are inserted. >> >> I wonder whether the two spaces before the ellipsis character is a small bug >> in the German language localization coding for Amadeus Pro. You might send >> a note to: mar...@hairersoft.com >> >> I recall that when the 4th generation iPod nano with support for Spoken >> menus was first released in 2009, there was initially a bug in the German >> language localization used in iTunes 8, so that when the Nano was synched >> with iTunes only the checkbox option on the Summary tab were announced by >> VoiceOver. The options for the other tabs for selecting music and >> playlists, or podcasts and audiobooks, simply weren't announced. Forcing >> iTunes to launch with an English localization just so that sync options >> could be checked worked as a stopgap until they fixed the German language >> localization for iTunes' VoiceOver performance. (This didn't affect the >> German language of the Spoken menus or anything else involving iTunes or >> Nano usage -- it was simply used so that VoiceOver would report the tab >> contents and let you control what you wanted placed on the device when the >> Nano was connected for synching.) >> >> Hope this gives you access to many more useful custom shortcuts! And thanks >> for reporting back. >> >> Cheers, >> >> Esther >> >> On Feb 21, 2012, at 10:39 PM, Jürgen Fleger wrote: >> >>> Hello Esther, >>> >>> thanks to you. You encouraged me to try it again and again. And so I found >>> out a funny thing: >>> >>> When I copy the last spoken phrase of VO to the clipboard by pressing VO + >>> c the following apears after pasting: >>> Normalisieren … >>> This is the german word for normalize. There's the command then two empty >>> spaces and the the elipsis sign. That doesn't work in the preferences of >>> keaboard short cuts. >>> Then I tried >>> Normalisieren… >>> That's what you used in your example, also no success. >>> Then I tried >>> Normalisieren … >>> just with one empty space and that worked. Isn't it strange? >>> >>> But anyway: I'm happy now to have the way free to define short cuts for all >>> commands in a menue. :-) >>> >>> All the best >>> Jürgen >>> >>> Am 21.02.2012 um 23:12 schrieb Esther: >>> >>>> Hello Jürgen, >>>> >>>> Make sure that the keyboard shortcut you are assigning does not conflict >>>> with an existing shortcut definition that applies either to that >>>> application or system wide on your Mac. One of the reason that I use so >>>> many modifier keys in the example shortcut, is that you quickly run out of >>>> unique combinations. That's also why I make new shortcut definitions >>>> sparingly, and delete the ones that I set up as test cases. >>>> >>>> Just out of curiosity, which command did you want to create a shortcut >>>> for? I'm working with a new installation under Lion, and don't have apps >>>> like Amadeus Pro loaded yet (this is a MacBook Air with less disk space >>>> than I had previously), so I can't run tests to answer questions while I'm >>>> still getting my system configured and transitioned to Lion. >>>> >>>> HTH. Cheers, >>>> >>>> Esther >>>> >>>> On Feb 21, 2012, at 12:01 PM, Jürgen Fleger wrote: >>>> >>>>> Hello Esther, >>>>> >>>>> thanks for your efforts. But still strange: I did it point by point as >>>>> you did and it doesn't work for me and Amadeus Pro. I can add a new >>>>> created short cut in system preferences and it doesn't apear in the menue >>>>> of Amadeus Pro and of course it doesn't work as well. >>>>> >>>>> I'm not sure why it doesn't work but will investigate that issue. But now >>>>> I know at least it works at all. >>>>> >>>>> Thanks again for your help and >>>>> all the best >>>>> Jürgen >>>>> Am 21.02.2012 um 21:40 schrieb Esther: >>>>> >>>>>> Hello Jürgen, >>>>>> >>>>>> To create keyboard shortcuts of those menu options which end with an >>>>>> ellipsis, in Snow Leopard and Lion you navigate to System Preferences > >>>>>> Keyboard > Keyboard Shortcuts (tab 2 of 2) and select the option from a >>>>>> table. >>>>>> >>>>>> 1. If the menu command is for a specific application, navigate to the >>>>>> "Shortcuts categories" table and interact, then select "Application >>>>>> Shortcuts". >>>>>> 2. Stop interacting and navigate to the "Add an application shortcut" >>>>>> button and press (VO-Space). >>>>>> 3. In the dialog window, change the pop up menu button for the >>>>>> application from "All Applications" to the one that you want (e.g., >>>>>> VO-Space and use arrow keys and/or type the first letters of the name, >>>>>> like "i t" for iTunes), and press return. >>>>>> 4. Then type in the name of the command you want in the text box for >>>>>> "Menu Title:". For example, I created a shortcut for the "Page Setup…" >>>>>> option in the File menu of iTunes this way. (It's something that I'd >>>>>> never want to use, and I'm going to get rid of it right away, but it >>>>>> shows this method works). I typed in "Page Setup…" using the >>>>>> Option+semi-colon shortcut to type the ellipsis at the end of "Setup". >>>>>> 5. Then I typed in a keyboard shortcut, Shift-Control-Option-Command-P, >>>>>> and pressed the "Add" button. >>>>>> 6. I closed the Keyboard window with Command-W. >>>>>> >>>>>> Sure enough, if I'm in the iTunes app, pressing this combination brings >>>>>> up the Page Setup window. However, I immediately went back to the page >>>>>> to delete this shortcut, since I'm never going to use it and just tried >>>>>> this out to make sure I could assign a shortcut this way. If the menu >>>>>> option only appears for a specific application, then you have to select >>>>>> that application before trying to assign the shortcut. I believe there >>>>>> are "Page Setup…" menu options for other applications, but you'll have >>>>>> to set up your shortcut again for those applications. >>>>>> >>>>>> HTH. Cheers, >>>>>> >>>>>> Esther >>>>>> >>>>>> On Feb 21, 2012, at 10:03 AM, Jürgen Fleger wrote: >>>>>> >>>>>>> Hallo Esther, >>>>>>> >>>>>>> Am 13.02.2012 um 16:19 schrieb Esther: >>>>>>> >>>>>>>> The ellipsis character is typed using a keyboard shortcut with the >>>>>>>> Option key. On a US or other English language input keyboard, this >>>>>>>> combination can be typed by pressing Option+semi-colon. Assuming that >>>>>>>> you are using a German input language keyboard, this combination can >>>>>>>> be typed by pressing Option+period. >>>>>>>> >>>>>>> Thanks for this. >>>>>>> >>>>>>>> However, a more general way to get the exact menu command you need for >>>>>>>> a keyboard shortcut is to use VO-Shift-C, which is the VoiceOver >>>>>>>> shortcut to copy the last spoken phrase to the clipboard. Then paste >>>>>>>> in this phrase with Command-V. I usually paste into a TextEdit window >>>>>>>> as an intermediate >>>>>>> >>>>>>> That's what I also do but in that special case it doesn't work. Of >>>>>>> course it works to copy the phrase to the clipboard so that I can paste >>>>>>> it. But what doesn't work is to create a functioning short cut when a >>>>>>> menue command has an elipsis. The chosen short cut apears in the system >>>>>>> preferences but not in the menue of the program. >>>>>>> >>>>>>> Do you have an idea how to solve that issue? Or is it just not possible >>>>>>> to create short cuts for menue commands with elipsisses? >>>>>>> >>>>>>> Thanks and all the best >>>>>>> Jürgen >>>>>>> >>>>>> >>>> >> -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MacVisionaries" group. To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en.
