User

12.06.2007 16:08:08

Hi, 
i was wondering if it is possible to assign modifier keys(ALONE)with no other button(which would make it a keystroke/shortcut not a modifier) to the apple remote?? 
i use a wacom tablet with my mac and input all information through the tablet and pen, at least i try to! i am trying to do away with having to use a keyboard and my tablet together as it not only takes up a lot of space but its also awkward to keep swapping between the two (if your wondering, i input all my text through apples inkwell handwriting recognition software built into mac os x).The modifier keys i need are already provided in apples inkwell 'ink window' in the form of clickable buttons that 'hold' each modifier key/modifier key combination as they are pressed until another key is pressed, or in my case until i draw a letter-to activate a shortcut, or until the button is clicked again, like when you enable sticky keys in universal access but without the big floating icon that tells you which modifier key is pressed until you press another key(which by the way would be very useful in this scenario!). Although this solution is useful it would be much better if i could just use my tablet with my right hand and use the apple remote in my left to perform modifier key clicks. 
is this possible with this program or do you think adding modifier sticky key support to the apple remote buttons is possible in a future release?? 
Thanks alot, 
acam 

User

12.06.2007 17:17:02

Hello acam,

thanks for asking.

You can indeed do this already with the virtual keyboard in two ways:

1) by invoking the virtual keyboard with the remote (you can assign 
this it to any button as you please) - it works with a mouse, too, 
so it should just as well with a tablet.

2) by using the shift/command/alt/ctrl toggle actions provided by the 
Virtual Keyboard. This will emulate holding the respective modifier 
keys until you press the same button on your remote again.

Please have a look at the Online Help's "How-To" section for a 
general description on how to change the mapping of actions to the 
buttons on your remote in different contexts.

Best regards, 
Felix 

User

13.06.2007 13:29:44

Hi Felix, 
Thanks for the speedy reply! 
although involking the virtual keyboard is a solution, i would prefer to just be able to press the modifiers with the remote without popping the keyboard up first(this is why apples sticky keys icons are so useful!) Plus whenever i try to program the hold buttons they always revert to curser key up/down etc, even when i change the default curser key up option to any other action, for eg the toggle shift option, it still reverts to being curser key up when the virtual keyboard is showing?? 
Also the virtual keyboard 'toggle modifier key' actions dont appear in the default behaviour option or any of the other app behaviour options,only a limited list appears without the modifier key actions-unlike the complete list of actions that appear in the virtual keyboard behavious option?! 
So i think the only way round is to make custom actions for the default behaviours and other app behaviours for the button mapping, but im still having problems with this, ive managed to make custom actions for all the modifier keys (shift, ctrl, alt, cmnd) by checking their relevent checkboxs without anything else in the keystroke field (which by the way, you cant do in any other program ive found!) and this creates the right keys i need but whenever i press the remote button to activate a modifier all actions except for the ctrl action seem to press another key automatically to create a keystroke before ive entered a key myself! 
i have each action set to single key press between press and release with auto repeates, i dont know if this is causing my problems because i dont really understand what it means!(as with the other operation options!) 
bassically i just want to click a remote button to activate a hold modifier key until i choose another key(draw letter) to create a keystroke, Please Help!! 
Thanks, 
acam 
ps i dont think i have the kernal thingy installed if that helps! 

User

14.06.2007 16:59:01

Hello Acam,

thanks for your reply.

So do I get you right in that you want to map the modifier toggle 
actions in a different place than the virtual keyboard? (directly 
assigning modifier toggling actions to buttons of your remote when 
activating the virtual keyboard is already possible)

Or do you want to just have the modifiers being pressed for the 
duration of the button press itself?

Keystroke actors have not been designed for using them to press just 
the modifier keys, btw, so this approach will not work here. They 
currently will always also emulate a regular keypress with them. I'll 
see what can be done for the next version, though.

Best regards, 
Felix 

User

15.06.2007 12:00:01

Hi Felix, 
Thanks again for the reply,

i need to be able to toggle the modifier keys without the virtual keyboard showing by 'pressing and releasing' the remote button, not holding for the duration because i need to make combination keystrokes which isnt possible with the remote because you cant press two buttons at once- for example the plus and the minus together which would be programed to shift and alt. 
the function im talking about(toggle [modifier] until a key is pressed/drawn) works fine when the virtual keyboard is showing and you press the virtual keys manually, but i want to assign the 'toggle modifier' actions to the remote buttons without the virtual keyboard showing. 
for example i could click the minus button to toggle alt, then click the right button to toggle cmnd(so that both are toggled on simultaneously without holding them), and then draw the gesture for 'esc' to force quit someting. 
or if i had three items on the desktop i could click the top item with the wacom/mouse to select the first item, then click the remote plus button to toggle shift on, then click the Last item with the wacom/mouse to select all 3 items, this should then toggle all modifiers off because the keystroke has been performed just like it does when the virtual keyboard is showing.(or you could perform the same thing by just click the right remote button to toggle cmnd on and the draw the letter 'a' to select all) 
i basically want to use my apple remote buttons instead of my keyboard modifier buttons (to toggle the modifiers not hold them because for some reason the computer cant enter wacom information and remote information simultaneously like it can with the keyboard modifiers and because of the reason i mention above about combination button presses on the remote. 
the funny thing is i think i got it to work when i first set the buttons up, apples keyboard viewer was showing that remote buddy was toggling the right buttons when i pressed them on the remote, but as soon as i performed the first keystroke('select all' by pressing and releasing the right button on the remote to toggle cmnd on and then pressing the a button on the apple keyboard viewer to complete the keystroke) it would then seem to repeat the press of the letter 'a' automatically any time i pressed a modifier with the remote(before entering a letter myself manually by drawing a letter or typing a letter!) 
is it possible to send you 2 screen grabs of my remote buddy settings ive made,these might help you more than my gibberish! 
ive currently have these settings in the default behaviours:

plus = shift

minus = alt

left = ctrl

right = cmnd

play = space - by the way it would be really helpful if you could toggle space on/off for keystrokes as well as the modifiers!

play (held) - return

Thanks again for all your help, i really do appreciate it! 
Acam 

User

17.06.2007 22:53:02

Hello Acam,

ah, I think I see the problem now. Please follow these steps:

1) Go to Preferences > Behaviours > Virtual Keyboard > Options

2) Untick the checkbox in front of "Show keyboard when Behaviour is 
activated" (or similiar)

3) Go to Preferences > Behaviours > Virtual Keyboard > Mapping

4) Select the respective actions for toggling the status of the 
respective modifier keys for the respective buttons.

5) Now, if you choose "Virtual Keyboard" from the Remote Buddy menu, 
you'll no longer be presented with the virtual keyboard per se, but 
you can now use your remote's buttons to toggle the state of the 
modifiers.

If you want a shortcut to the Virtual Keyboard, you can map the 
"Activate Virtual Keyboard Behaviour" action (found in the Behaviours 
submenu of the mapping context menu) anywhere.

Best regards, 
Felix 

User

18.06.2007 11:00:53

Hi Felix, 
That sounds like a good solution, but i cant get remote buddys virtual keyboard button mapping to do anything but its default actions (curser up, down ect) when the virtual keyboard is showing no matter what i set the buttons to, also despite your clear instructions, i still cant get the keyboard to NOT show, it still shows when i uncheck the option box! 
if i could get the button mapping and hide keyboard to work im sure this would be a perfect solution, except for the absence of a 'toggle space' command which you could easily add in the future hey!!! 
if i did get it to re-map would it be possible to do combination keystrokes, with two or three modifiers at once by simply pressing one button and then another before completing the keystroke? 
also would it be possible in a future release for remote buddy to invoke the same floating icons apple uses in its sticky keys in the universal access option, to see which modifiers are toggled on? this would be quite helpful when the keyboard is set not to show! 
Many Thanks...AGAIN!! 
Acam

User

19.06.2007 22:10:01

Hi Acam,

I've just tried and the option to not show the keyboard actually 
works fine (no matter whether the desktop is localized in German or 
English).

It's exact name in English is

"Show virtual keyboard on activation of Behaviour"

and you can find it by:

1) Opening the prefs 
2) Clicking on "Behaviours" 
3) Selecting "Virtual Keyboard" from the list on the left 
4) Selecting the "Options" tab 
5) Then, turn off the checkbox in front of "Show virtual keyboard on 
activation of Behaviour"

From that point on, when you activate the Behaviour via the menu, 
the virtual on screen keyboard should no longer show up.

You could "combine" several modifiers by subsequently pressing 
different buttons - yes. The modifiers will not reset automatically, 
though, but only as you press the buttons again. Let me know, if you 
need an action that resets the modifiers with a single press - it's 
not hard to implement.

Best regards, 
Felix 

User

20.06.2007 14:20:47

Hi Felix, 
I still cant get the virtual keyboards actions to map to anything other than the default actions (curser up, curser down, return ect)

Also you said "You could "combine" several modifiers by subsequently pressing different buttons - yes. The modifiers will not reset automatically, though, but only as you press the buttons again. Let me know, if you need an action that resets the modifiers with a single press - it's not hard to implement."

- does that mean that a single toggled modifier would reset itself after a letter was pressed to complete the keystroke but a combination modifier toggle would not? if so the action you suggested would be useful!

Could you not just invoke the virtual keyboard (not showing) with a default behaviour button map(instead of going into the menu)i.e. press plus on the remote, in any app or in the finder, to enter virtual keyboard(not showing) or better yet just program the buttons to perform the virtual keyboard 'toggle modifiers' action themselves without even invoking the virtual keyboard.

I Know it sounds silly but i dont need any of the menu funtions, i just need quick access to the modifiers i.e. one click to toggle a modifier on, and one click to toggle off if i want to cancel it or one click to toggle alt, another to toggle cmnd so you would have both alt and cmnd toggled ready to perform a keystroke, if you really had to enter the virtual keyboard first then it would be two clicks to get a shift toggle from anywhere in the system.

Last of all would it be possible to create a toggle space bar action as this would be useful when you have to use the space bar to drag a page in some apps!

Thanks again! 
Acam 

User

21.06.2007 22:17:01

Hello Acam,

all toggle actions always toggle only one modifier - and only "toggle 
back" as you make them perform again. They work completely 
independant from one another.

I've just sent you a ZIP file of the settings for an Apple Remote 
resulting from the steps I previously outlined. With Toggle Command, 
Shift, Alt, Ctrl mapped to the +/-/<</>> buttons (could be in a 
different order, though) and space mapped to the play button. Space 
is being pressed as long as you press the Play button (the RB kernel 
extension needs to be installed for this to work - Apple's driver 
does not send any events as to the actual length of a Play button 
press to apps. RB is the only way to make use of this hardware 
feature of the AR.).

Also, the setup I send you is so that the Virtual Keyboard is 
automatically activated on startup, so you'll not need to use the 
menu at all unless you choose to do so.

Four easy steps will bring you to the destination:

1) Quit Remote Buddy 
2) Make a backup of your com.iospirit.RemoteBuddy* files in ~/Library/ 
Preferences, then remove them from that directory. 
3) Place the .plist files contained in the ZIP file into ~/Library/ 
Preferences 
4) Start Remote Buddy

Best regards, 
Felix 

User

05.07.2007 16:03:56

Hi Felix,

OH MY GOD IT WORKS!!!!!!!

I'm definitely going to purchase Remote Buddy for this functionality alone. 
It is the perfect 'plug in' for working with a wacom efficiently, without the need for a keyboard getting in the way! 
but i still have a few last questions/suggestions!...

1)Please could you write the action for the 'reset ALL modifiers' action you said you could write, this would be really really helpful if i could set it to the Plus (hold) button action for example.

2)i know this is a bit far fetched but could you involk apples 'sticky keys' icons for when a modifier is pressed with the Remote Buddy virtual keyboard not showing?

3)Theres no actions for 'cmnd key' 'shift key' or 'alt key' in the virtual keyboard actions, theres only one for 'ctrl key'!? im not sure why these actions are missing.It might be useful if you could hold these buttons as well as toggle them-like the ctrl and space buttons.(by the way theres also no 'toggle space' action, not that i need it!)

4)Ive noticed that when i use these actions with remote buddy, i can get the keystroke to perform BEFORE i repress the relevant remote button to release the toggle/s if i use the KEYBOARD, but if i try to complete the keystroke with the WACOM gesture the keystroke wont perform until AFTER i repress the relevant remote button to release the toggle/s.Im not sure what causes this, and you probably wont have a wacom to test it out for yourself, but its only a very minor issue.This could possibly be solved by having a 'toggle then auto release(when keystroke is completed)' action, which would work the same way as when you manually press a modifier on the virtual keyboard and then a letter to complete the keystroke and release the modifier automatically.

5)This bug doesnt affect me because i have the virtual keyboard set to HIDE but when the virtual keyboard is SHOWING the actions set for the virtual keyboard revert to 'curser key up', 'curser key down', 'curser key left', 'curser key right' and 'return'.When its HIDING the actions work perfectly as you set them!? im not sure if this is supposed to happen.

Many Thanks again for all your help, you can expect my purchase very shortly!

Acam

Last edited: 05.07.2007 17:15:38

Last edited: 05.07.2007 17:33:30

Last edited: 05.07.2007 17:51:23 

User

05.07.2007 18:48:40

Hi Felix,

Scratch everything i just said!!! (apart from the bit where i said i was going to purchase, im doing that now!)

All my problems would be solved if instead of the 'toggle key' actions there were 'toggle key then auto release(when there is a letter key press/event to complete the keystroke)' actions so that the modifiers are auto released instead of having to repress the relevant remote button to release the toggle.

This should also allow for combination keystrokes like the ones i can already perform with the default actions you sent me by pressing each remote button in turn and then entering a letter key press/action to complete the keystroke, but instead it would also release all modifier toggles.

You could also add the functionality to invoke the apple 'sticky keys' floating icons whenever the keys are toggled on so you'd know which buttons are pressed, just to make it easier on my brain!

[Edit] I Know this would work because i have just installed boinx softwares Mousepose and it works perfectly with remote buddy to tell you which modifier/s remote buddy is toggling on. 
I think mousepose hooks into apples 'sticky keys' floating icons some how because i had to check the box to 'enable assistive devices' in the osx universal access system preferences to get it to work, maybe you could use this same method in your program to bring up the same icons??

Thanks alot, 
Acam

Last edited: 05.07.2007 19:11:49

Last edited: 05.07.2007 19:57:38

Last edited: 06.07.2007 21:51:41 

User

11.07.2007 15:46:17

Hi Felix, 
I Just bought your program! 
But about these toggles!!...

All my problems would be solved if instead of the 'toggle key' actions there were 'toggle key then auto release(when there is a letter key press/event to complete the keystroke)' actions so that the modifiers are auto released instead of having to repress the relevant remote button to release the toggle. 
This should also allow for combination keystrokes like the ones i can already perform with the default actions you sent me by pressing each remote button in turn and then entering a letter key press/action to complete the keystroke, but instead it would also release all modifier toggles.

Please let me know if you will consider adding these adaptations as it would be extremely useful!

Thanks alot, 
Acam 

User

11.07.2007 20:18:02

Hello Acam,

auto-release is a bit of a problem insofar as Remote Buddy would have 
to either run with root priviledges (which would be a bad idea) or 
support for supportive devices has to be turned on in System Prefs 
(so this wouldn't work out of the box), so I'm not sure whether I'll 
add that one in particular.

I'll add an action though, that will allow you to release all of the 
modifiers Remote Buddy holds at once.

Best regards, 
Felix 

User

12.07.2007 12:02:54

Hi Felix,

Thanks for adding the release all modifiers action, i cant wait to use it in a future release, it will be a lot quicker than manually releasing them all one by one! 
(Although i still cant see whats wrong with enabling assistive devices!? ;) Its a lot less Scary than installing something to the Kernel! honestly i really wouldn't mind checking the box for assitive devices if it would enable this functionality!)

Also, please could you consider adding the option to show floating Icons to show which action, in which program, you have just performed? (like remotes do on a normal TV!) 
It could be helpful as a training mode that would help to train your memory to which functions you have programed to which buttons, or it would just be good way to keep the user informed of what they are actually doing! (and it would also solve my problem of knowing which mods are toggled on, as it can be a bit problematic when you've forgotten that you have a mod toggled on!)

By the way, kudos for the iPhone functionality, it looks fantastic! 
I cant wait to get my hands on one !!!

Thanks again, 
Acam 

User

13.07.2007 12:44:02

Hi Acam,

hehe, true about the kernel extension vs. a checkbox - but it's the 
only way to give the user some functionality and work around bugs in 
Apple's code they don't seem to feel like fixing themselves ;-)

In fact, though, enabling support for assistive devices support is 
actually far more scary, as it allows any app to get all key presses 
you perform on a low level, opening up a huge security hole, because 
then any app can - without you noticing - log your keypresses. There 
isn't any malicious software for OS X I know of, but from a security 
standpoint, it's something to keep in mind.

Excellent idea with the floating icons. Not hard to do at all and 
definately an idea I like a lot! There's already the "legend" to help 
you out with the current mapping (I actually use it a lot with apps I 
rarely use), but a default visual confirmation certainly is a good 
thing to add, still.

Best regards, 
Felix 

User

13.07.2007 13:10:47

Hi Felix,

Thanks for the heads up on the enable assistive devices risk, im going to disable it now and delete moseposé (which is what i was using to show which modifier was toggled on),i still think auto releasing toggles are an essential addition but i now understand why you wouldnt want to implement the actions in this way!, anyway i shouldnt need mouseposé anymore if you decide to add foating icons!! ;•) (would these also show toggled mods?)

I also noticed there was an action for ctrl in the virtual keyboard behaviour actions list but no actions for cmnd, shift, or alt, is it not possible to add these actions?

Thanks again, 
Acam

User

17.07.2007 16:30:02

Hi Acam,

please don't get me wrong: there's nothing wrong with Mouseposé and I 
wouldn't discourage anyone from using it. In fact, I believe that 
Boinx have done a very good job with this tool.

The only thing to keep in mind, and that's unrelated to Mouseposé, is 
that enabling the support for assistive devices will enable all apps 
to gain access to all keyboard input being made without having to be 
root. It's a convenience function - and the only alternative to 
providing that is to run that application as root - which is even 
less desirable from a security standpoint as a single bug in such an 
app could *potentially* open up unlimited access to any aspect of 
your system. So Apple simply made a compromise with providing this 
option. The alternative of providing a white list for apps allowed to 
access the global keyboard event stream would certainly have been 
better than an "all or nothing" option, but then again: nobody's 
perfect.

The icon popups would show the name of the action, so, since the 
modifiers are port of the name of the action, they'd also get 
displayed this way.

The virtual keyboard already has actions for cmd, shift, alt and ctrl.

Best regards, 
Felix 

User

25.07.2007 10:48:37

Hi Felix,

I don't know why but i still cant see the actions for 'hold' cmnd, shift or option, i have definitely only got one for ctrl in my virtual keyboard behaviour action options???

There are actions for 'toggle' cmnd shift ctrl and option but only one 'hold' action for ctrl, unless im going mad!

Can you tell me where i am going wrong?

Thanks, 
Acam 

User

26.07.2007 14:39:01

Hello Acam,

the toggle actions are exactly what you are looking for. They toggle 
the state of the respective modifiers on each press (f.ex. on first 
press => keep modifier pressed, on second press => stop pressing 
modifier).

Best regards, 
Felix 

User

26.07.2007 14:55:13

Hi Felix, 
Thanks for the reply,

I know the toggle actions are the ones i need, and im extreamly greatful of them! please dont remove them!!, but there are also additional press and hold actions i was referring to...

Why is there an additional 'ctrl' action as-well as a 'toggle ctrl' action (which isn't visible in the virtual keyboard behaviour context menu mapping options, but visible in the virtual keyboard behaviour button mapping options) , but no addition 'cmnd', 'shift', 'alt' actions aswell as their 'toggle cmnd', 'toggle shift' and 'toggle alt' actions? not that it matters much!

I think the problem is that the full selection of actions for each app behaviour are not fully availiable to all the other app behaviours button mapping or even to the context menu mapping options for its own behaviour.Let me know if im still talking gibberish, and ill try to explain myself better!

Is there any rough ideas when an update might contain the 'release all modifier toggles' action, or the floating icons feature, i cant wait!!!

Thanks again, 
Acam

Last edited: 27.07.2007 13:46:18

Last edited: 27.07.2007 13:50:16 

User

29.07.2007 20:14:02

Hi Acam,

thanks for asking.

I'll just answer with a cause and effect overview for the two:

toggling a modifier: 
first button press => modifier key is held 
first button release => nothing 
second button press => modifier key is released 
second button release => nothing

holding a modifier: 
first button press => modifier key is held 
first button release => modifier key is released 
second button press => modifier key is held 
second button release => modifier key is released

Hope that explains it.

Best regards, 
Felix 

User

30.07.2007 12:44:42

Hi Felix,

Thanks for the reply, I've successfully assigned the toggle actions to the remote buttons 'button press' mapping but i ALSO need to assign the hold version of the same actions to the 'button held' version of the button mapping.

I understand how the toggle and hold actions differ but can you tell me why remote buddy only gives me the option to use the 'holding a modifier action' with the ctrl key, i need to be able to assign this action to the cmnd, shift and option keys as well as the ctrl key.

on a different note, is there any rough ideas when an update might contain the 'release all modifier toggles' action, or the floating icons feature, i cant wait!!!

Thanks again, 
Acam

Last edited: 30.07.2007 13:07:40

Last edited: 30.07.2007 13:37:29 

User

31.07.2007 16:17:01

Hi Acam,

the next update will contain it. I don't comment on release dates, 
sorry.

Best regards, 
Felix 

User

31.07.2007 16:36:20

Hi Felix, 
Thanks!, and keep up the good work! 
Acam 

User

15.05.2008 07:03:53

I use a tablet too. I think this would be very useful. How can I get the modifier functions on my Apple remote? 

User

15.05.2008 11:44:09

Thanks for asking.

1) Go to Remote Buddy > Preferences > Mapping

2) Select "Global mapping table" on the left (that selection will 
"hardwire" your buttons to the modifier key actions)

3) In the table, now use the dropdown to select the respective actions 
(in the Virtual Keyboard section) to toggle your modifier keys

You can find more info on mapping tables, changing mapping, etc. in 
the Online Help.

Best regards, 
Felix Schwarz