Programming Tips for Kinesis Products

Terminology:

We will follow a few shorthand conventions for describing user-interface procedures.

Multi-key presses: Pressing combinations of multiple key will be presented like this: Ctrl+Alt+Delete, which means that you should press and hold down the Ctrl key, the Alt key, and the Delete key at the same time. It is usually important to press them in order (e.g. press Ctrl first, then add Alt, and finally add Del).

Modifiers bracketing a key: Holding down a modifier key while pressing another key may be shown as XXX y xxx, where the down stroke ("key on") is all caps, then key to be pressed and released is shown. Finally, the release of the key(s) being held down is shown as lower case. For example, ESC 5 esc means hold the Esc down, tap the 5 key, then release the Esc key. Similarly, ALT b alt means hold the Alt down, tap the b key, then release the Alt key.

• Kinesis contoured keyboards - General features...
• Kinesis contoured keyboards - New features on the latest models...
• Kinesis Evolution keyboards...
• Savant programmable keypad...
• Programmable foot switch...

Kinesis contoured keyboards - General features
Brief programming instructions on bottom label.
For future reference, recent keyboards have a label on the bottom which describes briefly how to reset and program your keyboard. Check to see if your keyboard has one.

Determining keyboard firmware version.
Keyboard firmware is like the bios of your computer. The version determines what features are available. Firmware can be upgraded on all Model 120 and more recent contoured keyboards (serial number 20,000 or greater).

To determine the firmware version of your Model 120 or more recent keyboard, open Windows Notepad, Wordpad or an equivalent text editor in a non-Windows systems. Press both Shift keys plus F12: Shift + Shift + F12.  The keyboard produces a sentence which ends with the version number and version date.

Resetting the keyboard memory.
Press Progrm + Ctrl + F10, (Progrm + Shift + F10 for USB models). Note that you have to press Progrm first, then add Ctrl, and finally add F10. With Model 120 and more recent keyboards, the keyboard lights (LED,s) will FLASH for several seconds (release all the keys as soon as the flashing begins). With Model 100 and Model 110, the keyboard's lights will flash only once or twice.

If you are not successful in getting the lights to flash, you may need to individually reset the Ctrl key first. See "Re mapping a key" below and re map the Ctrl key to its factory setting.

Re mapping a key:
Press Progrm + F12. Note that you must press Progrm first, then briefly press and release F12. With Model 120 and more recent keyboards, the lights flash rapidly at first, until you press and release the key whose action you want to copy somewhere else. Note that in "re mapping mode" the keyboard reverts to its factory settings for each key.

When you have briefly pressed and released the key whose action you want to copy somewhere else, the lights will begin to flash slowly. Now press and release the "destination" key--the key where you want that action to play. You can re map a single pair of keys or a long sequence of keys using this approach. When you are done re mapping, hold the Progrm key and tap F12. The lights should immediately stop flashing. For details and examples, go to remapping.

Resetting a remapped key: You can reset a key to its factory setting by "re mapping it to itself." Entering re mapping mode and press the key twice, then exit from re mapping mode.

Re mapping from/to the embedded level: If you want to move or copy a key action from the keypad (embedded) layer to the top layer, you can do so using re mapping. Use the Keypad key (not the foot pedal Keypad shift action) after you have pressed the source key and before you press the destination key.

Re mapping note for Dvorak keyboards: Remember that in "re mapping mode" the keyboard reverts to its factory settings for each key. This can be confusing if you have set the keyboard to the Dvorak layout, since when re mapping, you select the source action using the gray-blue QWERTY key legends. You then select your destination key based on its Dvorak legend. Besides being confusing, when "QD" keyboards are switched between Dvorak and QWERTY, all re mapping is erased.  Therefore it is generally advisable to do all programming of Dvorak keyboards using macros, since macros are preserved when switching between Dvorak and QWERTY layouts.

Creating a macro:
Press Progrm + F11. Note that you must press Progrm first, then briefly press and release F11. The keyboard's lights flashing rapidly at first, until you press and release the "macro trigger" key or keys. The macro trigger can be a single key (but not the modifier keys, Shift, Control, or Alt), or it can be combined with one or more modifier key.

After selecting the macro trigger, the lights will flash slowly while you enter the macro contents.  Macro contents can be a single key action of many keys (basically any key sequence you can type), up to 55 key actions for Classic and Ergo Elan keyboards, up to 144 key actions for Professional keyboards.  

When you are done typing the macro contents, press the Progrm key firmly while you briefly press and release the F11 key. The lights should stop flashing on the first try.  If not, you have inadvertently added F11 to the end of your macro and you should reprogram it.

If you have changed the default macro memory configuration (24 macros) to either 36 or 48 macros, the maximum size of each macro will smaller. For details and examples, go to creating macros.

Erasing a macro: You can erase a single macro by programming the trigger key with no macro contents (e.g. enter an "empty" macro). Enter "macro programming mode", press the trigger key, the exit from macro programming mode.

Disabling macros: Press Progrm + F10. Note that you must press Progrm first, then briefly press and release F10. This turns off all macros without erasing them.  To turn them on again, repeat this process.  The keyboard lights flash will NOT flash when you perform this action, so you will have to test a macro trigger if you are not sure whether macros are enabled or disabled.

Setting repeat rate and/or repeat delay:
The repeat rate is how fast a key repeats when held down.  Repeat delay is how long a key must be held down until it starts to repeat. Note: Kinesis USB keyboards and PS/2 keyboards connected through PS/2-to-USB adapters do not support modification of the repeat rate or the repeat delay.

Repeat rate: Using a PS/2 Contoured keyboard, the repeat rate can only be set from the keyboard and not from the computers operating system.  Hold down Progrm and tap F9. The keyboard lights will start flashing rapidly. Tapping a function key (F1 - F12) will set a repeat rate and stop the flashing. F1 gives the slowest and F12 gives the fastest rates. On non-PC systems, set the repeat rate as you normally would, typically using a control panel.

Repeat delay: With recent keyboards (firmware 5/97 or more recent), the repeat delay is set by the computers operating system.

Key click and tones:
On Model 120 and more recent contoured keyboards, the electronic key click may be disabled by pressing and holding the Progrm key, then pressing and releasing the pipes / backslash key. Toggle tones are disabled by pressing and holding the Progrm key, then pressing and releasing the underscore / hyphen key.

On earlier keyboard models, turn on the keypad layer and press Progrm plus the underscore / hyphen key.

Remapping embedded Insert key to top layer:

The insert key on newer Contoured keyboards is located in the embedded layer of the keyboard (to activate the embedded layer, press and release the Keypad key). If you would like to remap the embedded Insert key to the top layer, follow these instructions:

1). Turn Keypad On.
2). Press and hold the Progrm key and tap F12 (LED's on keyboard will flash rapidly).
3). Press and release the "Insert" key (LED's will slow down).
6). Press and release the Keypad key.
7). Press and release the Insert key again (LED's will speed up).
8). Exit by repeating step 2 (LED's will stop flashing).

Remapping bottom layer windows key to top layer:

For PS/2 Contoured keyboards, the Windows key (or Command for Mac users) is located in the embedded "PrintScrn" and "Scroll Lock" keys. If you would like to remap the embedded Windows key to the top layer, follow these instructions:

1). Turn Keypad ON.
2). Press and hold the Progrm key and tap F12 (LED's on keyboard will flash rapidly).
3). Press and release the “PrintScrn” key. (LED's will slow down).
4). Press and release the destination key, for example- Right Alt (LED's will speed up).
5). Press and release the “PrintScrn” key (LED's will slow down).
6). Press and release the KEYPAD key.
7). Press and release the SAME destination key, example- Right Alt (LED's will speed up).
8). Exit by repeating step 2 (LED's will stop flashing).

Now, in this example, the Right Alt key will function as the Windows/Apple Command key when keypad is ON or OFF.

NOTE: For older PS/2 Contoured keyboards, the Windows key is located in the embedded "h" and "n" keys.

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Kinesis contoured keyboards - new features of the latest models...
Changing macro memory configuration (24, 36, or 48 macros).
Your keyboard should default to 24 macros with a maximum of 56 (Classic, Ergo Elan) or 142 (Professional) characters per macro. If you select the "36 macro" mode, the maximum macro size is 38 (Classic, Ergo Elan) or 94 (Professional) characters, and with "48 macro" mode the maximum macro size is 28 (Classic, Ergo Elan) or 70 (Professional) characters.

Important note: After selecting 36 or 48 macros, program a single simple macro and type rapidly for a while to be sure you don't type faster than the keyboard can process. Fast typists will often lose keystrokes from certain common words with the 48 macro setting, and very fast typists may even lose keystrokes using the 36 macro setting.

To change the macro memory configuration, perform Program + Ctrl + F2 (for 24 macros) or F3 (for 36 macros) or F4 (for 48 macros). The keyboard lights will flash for several seconds as the memory is erased and reconfigured. For details, go to macro memory page.

Changing between QWERTY and the on-board Kinesis Dvorak layouts:
This feature is only available with recent programmable contoured keyboards. Important note: Changing this setting will ERASE ANY REMAPPING you have done to your keys. If you want to customize your keyboard and switch back and forth between QWERTY and Dvorak, use macros to program even single key changes.

Press Progrm+ Ctrl + F5. (Progrm + Shift + F5 for USB models). Note that you have to press Progrm first, then add Ctrl, and finally TAP the F5 key. The keyboard lights will NOT flash, so you will have to type briefly to see if the change occurred. If you hold down the F5 key, the keyboard may switch twice. To see the Kinesis Dvorak key layout, go to Dvorak layout page.

Programming Mouse Clicks for foot switch: Most operating systems (including all operating systems from Microsoft and Apple) include a package of "Accessibility Options" which provide an alternative way to assign a mouse click to a key or foot switch.

One of these utilities is called "mouse keys" and can be used to convert your keyboard's numeric keypad into a pointing device. When MouseKeys is activated, the keypad "5" becomes a left mouse click. With a programmable keyboard or programmable foot switch, you can re map the keypad 5 action to a more convenient location. Refer to your operating system's documentation or experiment with other keypad keys to find other useful actions.

Memory locking:
Professional keyboards produced after August, 1998 contain a special feature that includes firmware features and a hidden slide switch to lock the keyboard's memory. When the switch is positioned to the right, the keyboard is programmable. When the switch is positioned to the left, the keyboard's memory is locked. Any re mapping or macros which have been programmed at active, but no changes can be made. For example, if you attempt to enter re mapping mode by pressing Progrm + F12, the keyboard lights will not begin flashing.

Using "windows keys":
On recent keyboards, Windows keys (win, app) are available as embedded key actions. With the keypad turned on, the "Scroll Lock" and "PrintScr" keys become Lwin and Rwin, respectively, and the apostrophe/quotation marks key becomes the Application key. If you use these key actions frequently, you will want to consider re mapping them to top level keys. Note: On older keyboards, with the keypad turned on, the "H" and "N" keys become Lwin and Rwin.

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Kinesis Evolution™ keyboards - General Features

Determining keyboard firmware version:
Keyboard firmware is like the bios of your computer. The version determines what features are available.

To determine the firmware version of your keyboard, open Windows Notepad, Wordpad or an equivalent text editor in a non-Windows systems. Press both Shift keys plus F12: Shift + Shift + F12. The keyboard produces a sentence which ends with the version number and version date.

Resetting the keyboard memory:
Press Scroll Lock + Ctrl + F10. Note that you have to press Scroll Lock first, then add Ctrl, and finally add F10. The keyboard lights (LED,s) will FLASH for several seconds (release all the keys as soon as the flashing begins).

If you are not successful in getting the lights to flash, you may need to individually reset the Ctrl key first. See "Re mapping a key" below and re map the Ctrl key to its factory setting.

Re mapping a key:

Press Scroll Lock + F12.  Note that you must press Scroll Lock first, then briefly press and release F12. Note that in "re mapping mode" the keyboard reverts to its factory settings for each key.

When you have briefly pressed and released the key whose action you want to copy somewhere else, the lights will begin to flash slowly. Now press and release the "destination" key--the key where you want that action to play. You can re map a single pair of keys or a long sequence of keys using this approach. When you are done re mapping, hold the Scroll Lock key and tap F12. The lights should immediately stop flashing.

Creating a macro:
Press Scroll Lock + F11. Note that you must press Scroll Lock first, then briefly press and release F11. The keyboard's lights flashing rapidly at first, until you press and release the "macro trigger" key or keys. The macro trigger can be a single key (but not the modifier keys, Shift, Control, or Alt), or it can be combined with one or more modifier key. Note: The "Alt" key will not work correctly in Windows as a modifier key.

After selecting the macro trigger, the lights will flash slowly while you enter the macro contents. Macro contents can be a single key action of many keys (basically any key sequence you can type), up to 70 key actions.

When you are done typing the macro contents, press the Scroll Lock key firmly while you briefly press and release the F11 key. The lights should stop flashing on the first try. If not, you have inadvertently added F11 to the end of your macro and you should reprogram it.

Erasing a macro: You can erase a single macro by programming the trigger key with no macro contents (e.g. enter an "empty" macro). Enter "macro programming mode", press the trigger key, the exit from macro programming mode.

Disabling macros: Press Scroll Lock + F10. Note that you must press Scroll Lock first, then briefly press and release F10. This turns off all macros without erasing them. To turn them on again, repeat this process. The keyboard lights flash will NOT flash when you perform this action, so you will have to test a macro trigger if you are not sure whether macros are enabled or disabled.

Setting repeat rate and/or repeat delay:
The repeat rate is how fast a key repeats when held down. Repeat delay is how long a key must be held down until it starts to repeat.

Repeat rate: Using a PC, the repeat rate can be set from either the keyboard or from the computers control panel. Hold down Scroll Lock and tap F9. The keyboard lights will start flashing rapidly. Tapping a function key (F1 - F12) will set a repeat rate and stop the flashing. F1 gives the slowest and F12 gives the fastest rates. On non-PC systems, set the repeat rate as you normally would, typically using a control panel.

Repeat delay: The repeat delay is set by the system on recent keyboards.

Note: For users that would like to activate the Scroll Lock function - press the "Shift" and the "Scroll Lock" key.

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Kinesis Programmable foot switch
Set repeat rate slow before programming your foot switch. Otherwise you may inadvertently program it to produce duplicate or multiple keys.

Programming driver for USB Footswitches is only compatible with Windows 2000 and XP operating systems. Vista and Mac users must program the device on a Windows 2000 or XP computer if user does not want to use default actions.

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