Custom keyboard layout - Motorola Droid 4

Hey, I found OK and caps lock keys on the D4 keyboard useless - I just don't see any difference between using OK, mapped as D-pad center, and Enter, and caps lock can be substituted by double press of shift. So I decided to play with the layout a bit, mainly because I was irritated by a need to touch the screen to work with clipboard or to go back.
The result is attached - a custom layout which remaps OK button from DPAD_CENTER to ESCAPE and caps lock from CAPS to CTRL_LEFT.
Esc works as the Back button and Ctrl is tested working in combinations of Ctrl+A (Select all), Ctrl+X (Cut), Ctrl+C (Copy) and Ctrl+V (Paste). Unfortunately Ctrl+Z/Y (Undo/Redo) don't seem to work... Any suggestions for other combinations to try?
I have tested it all on rooted Eclipse ICS 1.2 ROM, but it should generally work on all rooted Android 4.0.4 ROMs.
How to get it working?
1. You probably need to have your phone rooted first.
2. Optional - you might want to backup your original /system/usr/keylayout/omap4-keypad.kl if you're on different ROM (it should be all the same, but I haven't tested it)
3. Unpack the attached custom_layout.zip to the root of your phone - it will put omap4-keypad.kl into /system/usr/keylayout
4. Reboot your phone.
In case you'd like to revert the changes, I put the original keylayout from my system in original_layout.zip, or you can use your own backed up file
Hope you enjoy my mod. Also, which key would you suggest to replace by Menu? I'm thinking about SYM, but I still think the day I'll actually need it might come, unlike with caps lock and OK
For those interested in changing values for themselves I've attached scancodes of all the buttons given out by safestarap's key test - see keycodes.txt. If you're gonna change any .kl files, be sure to open it with some program supporting UNIX formatting such as PSPad - I really don't wanna see what would happen after editing it with Notepad You should probably also see Android documentation article about it first.

This sounds rather good...i wasn't going to, but this may give me a reason to root my phone. Thanks f for your work. It does seem illogical having those buttons. Btw what happens to LED when you press caps lock now.
Still running stock ics on Vodafone UK.
Sent from my DROID4 using xda app-developers app

This doesnt seem to work on stock rooted.
it seems the physical keyboard runs off generic.kl and the omap4.kl, but i simply used root explorer to edit the KL's and got things how i wanted them. i missed my HTC G2 alt + del/backspace = delete whole line, so i made tab the ALT_LEFT and problems solved, also mapped OK as CTRL_LEFT for copy paste ext.. just my pref.
also changed all the qwerty keys to WAKE_DROPPED to wake the screen instead of having to hit the top power button, as i leave my phone on my desk open constantly so its annoying to always have to hit the power button to wake.

So do you have to change the 2 files or just the one?
Sent from my DROID4 using xda app-developers app

bustr85 said:
Btw what happens to LED when you press caps lock now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have Caps Lock mapped as Ctrl and it's not connected to the LED at all - seems the LED is working as normal Caps Lock signalization. However, after double-press of Shift the caps Lock is activated and the LED signalizes it fine.
wheeliest said:
This doesnt seem to work on stock rooted.
it seems the physical keyboard runs off generic.kl and the omap4.kl, but i simply used root explorer to edit the KL's and got things how i wanted them. i missed my HTC G2 alt + del/backspace = delete whole line, so i made tab the ALT_LEFT and problems solved, also mapped OK as CTRL_LEFT for copy paste ext.. just my pref.
also changed all the qwerty keys to WAKE_DROPPED to wake the screen instead of having to hit the top power button, as i leave my phone on my desk open constantly so its annoying to always have to hit the power button to wake.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Didn't know the Alt+BkSp combination, thanks What other combinations do you use?
BTW Alt+Tab works for switching apps (I have now SYM mapped as ALT_LEFT and TAB is left untouched - I like to use it when filling forms).
In my mod it already is WAKE_DROPPED, but not by me, it's probably one of the Eclipse mods to stock
bustr85 said:
So do you have to change the 2 files or just the one?
Sent from my DROID4 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What do you mean? Do you refer to wheeliest's post?

Ah, good idea mapping SYM to ALT_LEFT. Then we can go in and define Alt key combos for the rest of the alpha keys, to get all the other symbols that we need (e.g., brackets, curly brackets, vertical bar, backquote...)
Sent from my DROID4 using Tapatalk

I edited both .kl's to answer the above question,
I also changed the "/" to work as a "?" with out shifting first. (which i changed in the omap4 keychars)
system/usr/keychars/omap4-keypad.kcm
its about the middle of the code, you get into the symbols after the numbers.
key SLASH {
label. number: '?'
base: '?'
shift: '/'
ctrl. alt. meta: none
and thats the only useful key combos i know.

I've tried to edit the keyboard for my AOSP Unofficial CM10/JB ROM. No luck at all.
None of the changes take effect and the shift key stops functioning as it should. You have to hold the shift key down and press the additional key for it to work, the same as you do on a computer keyboard.
I've tried to edit both the generic and omap4 files. It always ends up with the same result. Not looking for a fix just notifying you guys.

Long press symbols
Hi, does anybody know where to change symbols and/or their order in long press popup window?
screenshot - imgur.com/joN15zH
CM10 or CM11

wild_a said:
Hi, does anybody know where to change symbols and/or their order in long press popup window?
screenshot - imgur.com/joN15zH
CM10 or CM11
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately I don't know, but I never use it.
My short story:
My old phone was a Motorola Milestone 1 (Droid 1) with physical QWERTY.
I used it with Smart Keyboard Pro (SKP). It has an option called “Physical Keyboard”, by this way I reach the special characters of SKP’s actual language (long press on short character then some short press for selecting).
I changed for Droid4, upgraded for SlimKAT 4.4.2 installed SKP, but it is not worked with new 5-row keyboard. I can’t reach the keyboard’s yellow and my language-specific characters. Shift is not working with yellow keys.
Solution:
Change SYM and CAPS LOCK buttons in /system/usr/keylayout/omap4-keypad.kl:
I changed SYM button for “ALT”:
KEY 162 ALT_LEFT
and the CAPS LOCK button to “CTRL”:
KEY 222 CTRL_LEFT
Than modify /system/usr/keychars/omap4-keypad.kcm as follows:
Defined yellow characters for ALT method, and some other characters for all available buttons. The original SYM function still available by ALT+Space.
I attached a picture about the ALT-characters.
Unfortunately the new CTRL-button not works with SKP “Phisical Keyboard” option so I must switch off this option. By this way I lost the language specific fonts, so I programmed the upper rows for this fonts. The selection is working by SHIFT and D-pad, than CAPS-LOCK + C is Copy and CAPS-LOCK + V is Paste.
I attached a picture about CTRL-characters too.
I used character codes at: fileformat.info
We must be use the C/C++/Java source codes.
Thats all.
Zavo

hi.
i wanna change my hardware keyboard of droid4. its qwerty ... and i want to have qwertz.
so i edited the /system/usr/keychars/omap4-keypad.kcm and changeg key "Z" { label base shift } with "Y" . reboot and it works me happy
by thinking myself that i missed Ä Ö Ü at the hardware keyboard and dont want to wait long with long push on a to wait for the popup and choose there ä, i tryed to edit the /system/usr/keylayout/omap4-keypad.kl:
CAPS LOCK button to “ALT”:
KEY 222 ALT_LEFT
and back into the /system/usr/keychars/omap4-keypad.kcm there under A { label: "A" / base : "a" / shift: "A" / cltr,alt,meta: "ä" }
reboot and now it works nothing -.-
also the y z is back to qwerty and not qwertz ?!?!?!??! in the files is all right.
why my changes are undone ????
can some help ? ideas ?
thx and sry 4 bad english

Felix241 said:
hi.
i wanna change my hardware keyboard of droid4. its qwerty ... and i want to have qwertz.
so i edited the /system/usr/keychars/omap4-keypad.kcm and changeg key "Z" { label base shift } with "Y" . reboot and it works me happy
by thinking myself that i missed Ä Ö Ü at the hardware keyboard and dont want to wait long with long push on a to wait for the popup and choose there ä, i tryed to edit the /system/usr/keylayout/omap4-keypad.kl:
CAPS LOCK button to “ALT”:
KEY 222 ALT_LEFT
and back into the /system/usr/keychars/omap4-keypad.kcm there under A { label: "A" / base : "a" / shift: "A" / cltr,alt,meta: "ä" }
reboot and now it works nothing -.-
also the y z is back to qwerty and not qwertz ?!?!?!??! in the files is all right.
why my changes are undone ????
can some help ? ideas ?
thx and sry 4 bad english
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the fault is that in the .kcm no ÄÜÖ alowed.
when i entered A {
label: "A"
base: "a"
shift: "ä"
}
reboot
the system dont work with the .kcm anymore... what do i have to fill in under shift : "" for an ä ?
thx 4 help

Felix241 said:
the fault is that in the .kcm no ÄÜÖ alowed.
when i entered A {
label: "A"
base: "a"
shift: "ä"
}
reboot
the system dont work with the .kcm anymore... what do i have to fill in under shift : "" for an ä ?
thx 4 help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think that for ÄÜÖ, in the stock kcm you press ALT+u and then the key that you want to have ' ': a,u,o......

Hi everyone
I know it's an old post but it really helped me solve the non CTRL problem.
I needed it to switch between languages on the hard keyboard as I installed the CM11 ROM. It's a little bit funny that it takes a CTRL button to switch, but no one bothered to notice that there isn't such button.
Anyhow, my current problem is this - I'm missing a letter on the Hebrew keyboard. I have all the letters except one. It's annoying to type with a missing letter.
I've tried to look for a way to add this letter on the ompam4-keypad.kcm file, but it doesn't contain the hebrew characters.
I really don't know where to go for that char map that contains other characters other than english.
Can anyone help me?

drornohi said:
I know it's an old post but it really helped me solve the non CTRL problem.
I needed it to switch between languages on the hard keyboard as I installed the CM11 ROM. It's a little bit funny that it takes a CTRL button to switch, but no one bothered to notice that there isn't such button.
Anyhow, my current problem is this - I'm missing a letter on the Hebrew keyboard. I have all the letters except one. It's annoying to type with a missing letter.
I've tried to look for a way to add this letter on the ompam4-keypad.kcm file, but it doesn't contain the hebrew characters.
I really don't know where to go for that char map that contains other characters other than english.
Can anyone help me?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Frankly I never updated it for CM11 and CM12 I've been using for over a year now, even though it always bugged me not to have Ctrl Good wake-up call I'll try to get to it through the weekend, no promises though.
@ZavoDroid's post (#10, last of previous page) looks golden, will try to make something similar working with CM11 and CM12. Will need you to report how the CM11 version works, I'm still at CM12 currently.
Edit: @drornohi - did you try custom layouts from this thread to see they did not work with CM11? And what is the specific character you miss from your Hebrew keyboard - could you post it here in lower case and upper case, ideally with Unicode codes as well?

LuH said:
Frankly I never updated it for CM11 and CM12 I've been using for over a year now, even though it always bugged me not to have Ctrl Good wake-up call I'll try to get to it through the weekend, no promises though.
@ZavoDroid's post (#10, last of previous page) looks golden, will try to make something similar working with CM11 and CM12. Will need you to report how the CM11 version works, I'm still at CM12 currently.
Edit: @drornohi - did you try custom layouts from this thread to see they did not work with CM11? And what is the specific character you miss from your Hebrew keyboard - could you post it here in lower case and upper case, ideally with Unicode codes as well?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sadly, it's not a layout problem.
I think that the keyboard doesn't take the characters from the .kcm file. The keyboard linked to another app that mapping the layout to a character map according to the current chosen language. i.e, when you press 'm', it links it to the app that checks which language is chosen, if english - it will type 'm', if hebrew it will type ׳צ׳ (a hebrew letter)
The problem is I don't know where is this app. I've been trying to look it up in the CyanogenMod11 source code but I'm not a developer so I didn't manage to load the project to eclipse.
Actually I have 2 missing letters.
The first one is ׳ף׳ unicode U+05E3 (source: http://unicode-table.com/en/05E3/)
The second one is 'ץ' unicode U+05E5 (source: http://unicode-table.com/en/05E5/)
If you want I have the full hebrew charmap with unicodes: http://unicode-table.com/en/blocks/hebrew/
Thanks for trying! Hope you'll save us all!

drornohi said:
Sadly, it's not a layout problem.
I think that the keyboard doesn't take the characters from the .kcm file. The keyboard linked to another app that mapping the layout to a character map according to the current chosen language. i.e, when you press 'm', it links it to the app that checks which language is chosen, if english - it will type 'm', if hebrew it will type ׳צ׳ (a hebrew letter)
The problem is I don't know where is this app. I've been trying to look it up in the CyanogenMod11 source code but I'm not a developer so I didn't manage to load the project to eclipse.
Actually I have 2 missing letters.
The first one is ׳ף׳ unicode U+05E3 (source: http://unicode-table.com/en/05E3/)
The second one is 'ץ' unicode U+05E5 (source: http://unicode-table.com/en/05E5/)
If you want I have the full hebrew charmap with unicodes: http://unicode-table.com/en/blocks/hebrew/
Thanks for trying! Hope you'll save us all!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey, I'm also no dev and never opened the CM11 project - wouldn't know where to start
By inspecting the CM11 build briefly I think I found where it loads language-specific layouts: cm-11-20150327-UNOFFICIAL-maserati.zip\system\priv-app\InputDevices.apk\res\raw\*.kcm - but there is 05E5 mapped to PERIOD ( . : ), are you sure you can't type it by period? Also regular period should be mapped to SLASH ( / ? ) according to keyboard_layout_hebrew.kcm.
I tried to set 05e3 as Alt+L. Try replacing your /system/priv-app/InputDevices.apk by attached file and use it in combination with some keylayout with Alt (ZavoDroid's maybe). Do a backup before - it's my first attempt on repacking a system apk so anything can go wrong
Edit: just realized I forgot to attach the APK. -_- Sorry, will do in several hours - it's almost 6 AM now so I need to catch some sleep, left laptop elsewhere.

...so here you are with the attachment
drornohi said:
Sadly, it's not a layout problem.
I think that the keyboard doesn't take the characters from the .kcm file. The keyboard linked to another app that mapping the layout to a character map according to the current chosen language. i.e, when you press 'm', it links it to the app that checks which language is chosen, if english - it will type 'm', if hebrew it will type ׳צ׳ (a hebrew letter)
The problem is I don't know where is this app. I've been trying to look it up in the CyanogenMod11 source code but I'm not a developer so I didn't manage to load the project to eclipse.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think what happens here is that as long as you have Settings - Languages & input - Physical keyboard - omap4-keypad set to default layout, /system/usr/keychars/omap4-keypad.kcm is used, but once you add any languages there, it uses language's kcm from /system/priv-app/InputDevices.apk for CM11, or /system/priv-app/InputDevices/InputDevices.apk for CM12.
Please let me know if the attached apk works (try signed first) installed or put into system directly - you should be able to type ף by pressing Alt+L (SYM+L with Zavo's custom kl - also attached).

LuH said:
Hey, I'm also no dev and never opened the CM11 project - wouldn't know where to start
By inspecting the CM11 build briefly I think I found where it loads language-specific layouts: cm-11-20150327-UNOFFICIAL-maserati.zip\system\priv-app\InputDevices.apk\res\raw\*.kcm - but there is 05E5 mapped to PERIOD ( . : ), are you sure you can't type it by period? Also regular period should be mapped to SLASH ( / ? ) according to keyboard_layout_hebrew.kcm.
I tried to set 05e3 as Alt+L. Try replacing your /system/priv-app/InputDevices.apk by attached file and use it in combination with some keylayout with Alt (ZavoDroid's maybe). Do a backup before - it's my first attempt on repacking a system apk so anything can go wrong
Edit: just realized I forgot to attach the APK. -_- Sorry, will do in several hours - it's almost 6 AM now so I need to catch some sleep, left laptop elsewhere.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually your'e right. I forgot I have already found ׳ץ׳ letter (It's my GF's phone so It's not near me all the time). The other one is still missing though.
Thanks for finding the apk file. I'll try edit it myself and let you know (I'm trying with notepad because I read that you can't open apk with eclipse)
I want to make the 'Q' letter assigned to ׳ף׳ because now it assigned to '/' but I already have that.
---------- Post added at 02:41 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:36 PM ----------
LuH said:
...so here you are with the attachment
I think what happens here is that as long as you have Settings - Languages & input - Physical keyboard - omap4-keypad set to default layout, /system/usr/keychars/omap4-keypad.kcm is used, but once you add any languages there, it uses language's kcm from /system/priv-app/InputDevices.apk for CM11, or /system/priv-app/InputDevices/InputDevices.apk for CM12.
Please let me know if the attached apk works (try signed first) installed or put into system directly - you should be able to type ף by pressing Alt+L (SYM+L with Zavo's custom kl - also attached).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll try it when I'll have the phone with me (it's my GF's)
How did you pack the apk again after unpacking it?
I want to change it to the 'Q' letter instead of Alt+L
I have some ideas to to improve the keyboard functioning with some keys.

drornohi said:
How did you pack the apk again after unpacking it?
I want to change it to the 'Q' letter instead of Alt+L
I have some ideas to to improve the keyboard functioning with some keys.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Searched xda for instructions, in some general android development forum on xda found a rom & apk kitchen (intended for different device though, apk kitchen is universal) and used the apk kitchen for proper unpack and repack. I think it's needed, because InputDevices.apk is signed so the kcm's crc would not match if I just overwrote it in the apk directly.

Related

[1/28/08] iPhone skin for PCM Keyboard - refined

After many months of tweaking this skin, I think it is about as good as it can get (for my personal use). For those of you not familiar with PCM Keyboard, it is a program being developed as a replacement on screen keyboard for PPC devices.
I am providing the skin and layout files only, please refer any program or device compatibility questions to the developers thread or website.
The latest version the application can be downloaded at this link (keep in mind the developer currently puts an expiration of 30 days on each version until it is commercially released. So plan on upgrading to the newest version each month or plan on purchasing the software when it is launched):
http://pocketcm.com/keyboard2.php
Support:
http://pocketcm.com/phorum/index.php?9
XDA thread with the latest version information:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=321712
There are two types of files that have to be loaded onto your device and selected in the options/settings for this skin to work: The keyboard layout file and the keyboard skin file. Choose either the Eng 2many or Eng 2many., layout (the second having the , and . next to the space bar) AND either the 2many GreyiPhone or 2manyiClone skin. I suggest restarting the device to make sure everything has changed correctly.
This design was done to allow almost any layout work with this skin, so check out the multi language layouts and a "azerty" layout created by ialu in this thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=330525
Here are some features of this skin:
Main screen:
-Numbers pop up if you press and hold the "123#?" key
-Basic symbols pop up from the space bar. Period with a space is the default pop up key, so if you press and hold too long and don't slide to another symbol, you will get a period and a space.
-If you press and hold a letter, you will get a caps letter (idea borrowed from my BlackBerry).
-Caps lock is still double press on the shift (up arrow) and double press to change back to lower caps.
On the symbol keyboard (one press of 123#?):
-If you press the internet explorer key you will get "http://www."
-If you press and hold the internet explorer key you can choose: https://, .net, .org, .com or www.
The Grey iPhone skin / layout also supports landscape. This was not easy and I had to compromise some eye candy to get all the buttons to look right in both orientations. It does take up a LOT of screen in landscape, but I didn't want to make the buttons smaller for portrait use.
Keep in mind all of this customization is set in the layout file and can be opened and modified in wordpad. The only trick is making sure it is saved as a .layout file. I suggest making a copy of the layout file you are changing, rename it, make your changes and then save it (not save as).
I made this skin for my personal use and am sharing because I haven't seen anything else that works as good - for me. I am not a developer or a designer, so again please try to search for questions in the thread links I have provided. Please feel free to modify, use, distribute any of the graphics or file settings - no need to ask
Newest Version has been posted in this thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=366987
If you prefer black keys with white letters, got to this post:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=1718149&postcount=26
If you like some color in your keyboard, try this version:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=1597831&postcount=21
Layout file with ( ) that pop up from the "." key:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=1724593&postcount=46
HTC Touch Style Skin, with help from Kin0Kin:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=1766908&postcount=2
Here is the eye candy:
Great look!
What about support cyrrilyc? (Russian?)
Tks for sharing...
very beautifull thank you man
preciate you
This is VERY nice
Many thanks.
iPhone12 files
I download the zip file but how do I install it on my PPC 6800 ?
PHP:
Excellent! Thanks! Though I will need to slightly mod it to add the "_". No one seems to put that on their layouts. Apparently, I'm the only one who ever uses it, and I do in my passwords sometimes...
EDIT: Just noticed that a hold of the "-" will also do a "_". Cool! I'll still add a dedicated button for it. I don't need the .com since I made the press and hold of the http button default to a .com, instead of .net, and also I use the "_" much more than .com as I have most of my sites bookmarked...
But awesome skin again! Thanks for the time and effort!
jomo25 said:
Excellent! Thanks! Though I will need to slightly mod it to add the "_". No one seems to put that on their layouts. Apparently, I'm the only one who ever uses it, and I do in my passwords sometimes...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Press and hold the "-" key and voilá...
radiototal said:
I download the zip file but how do I install it on my PPC 6800 ?
PHP:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. Download the program cab from the link on post one (v12 is the current).
2. Install onto the device
3. Using active sync, open the folder program files\PCMKeyboard
4. Drag all of the files in the zip (or just the iphone12 skin and eng iphone12 layout if you don't want the multi language options).
5. Go to settings, input and select PCM Keyboard as the input method
6. Click on the options button and change the keyboard layout and keyboard skin to Eng iphone12 and iPhone 12. See the screen shot. I alsot changed the feedback on letters to 30 ms from the default 100. This is how long it takes for the feedback graphic to pop up. Basically 30 is if you want it to show up quickly when you press letters (like the actual iPhone) or if you want to type faster and not have it show the pop up of the letter you pressed, leave it at 100.
7. Once the options are set, press OK and OK to exit the input screen.
8. I suggest restarting the device to make sure the layout and skin set correctly. If you do not have a SIP change program on your device, when you restart, it will default back to the standard keyboard. I recommend default IM and have attached the cab file in this post. Install it, run it and it should keep PCMKeyboard as your default, even after restarts.
just installed works great thanks!
Awesome
One word - AWESOME!!
is there a possibility to include a copy/cut/paste/undo button? would be handy.
or just a Control button to be used incombination with X/C/V/Z as in the default SIP
EDIT: very nice skin btw!!thx for sharing..
I Love it!!
This is Really good!
Just a view question,
Could you make the same thing only then change the colors
so, dark keys with light characters?
Would make it complete!
and is it costumizable?
because i have changed the order of the characters ever sinds i use pcm keyboard.
but now when i use your skin i don't get numbers but special characters when holding the 123 button.
and i don't have a . next to it so i lost the extra options when holding that.
can i change it my self in one of the files?
VOODOOS!L said:
is there a possibility to include a copy/cut/paste/undo button? would be handy.
or just a Control button to be used incombination with X/C/V/Z as in the default SIP
EDIT: very nice skin btw!!thx for sharing..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
2manyphones, I now see that keeping the 'RETURN' button pressed, gives a menu to copy/paste/cut!! so forget my request, this skin is perfect!! thx again!!
woooww
This keyboard is the best one i so far used..just so fast..red coloring is a great idea..thank you man
Ok!
I just downloaded the keyboard and installed it on my ETEN X500+
It's o so f..king great!
Great skin and it also supports Russian!
But!
Where are the commas, full stops etc????
What about a Greek layout??
Maybe I can helb about the greek layout
Thanks man.
Great work!
Absolutely Wonderful, Amazing F****G wORK Awesome My pocket Pc is now Final. Thank you
Great! Thanks a lot

Fn - Space. Help needed!!

I have been looking in the forum for a solution for the Tilt keyboard. Everytime I ask, someone usually responds pointing me to the Tilt Keyboard Fix cab, that was posted by Taurus Bulba. Installing the cab results in the keyboard being mapped with the ATT layout (enables the CWS layout in the registry). This makes every fn key work as it should, but it kills the Fn+Space combination.
When you key Fn and Space after a character, the characters changes as per what is defined in sym049.txt (or whatever symxxx.txt file you have in the windows directory, depending on your language).
For example, if you type an "a", press Fn and Space, you get an á, then à, and â, etc. Same with other characters. This is important for those that write in foreign languages that require accents or special characters like ñ, ç, € (Euro currency sign), "£" (British pound sign), and any other letter with an accent.
I think the issue is with the CWS layout (CWS being Cingular/ATT). That layout doesn't have the Fn+Space in it; the Hermes keyboard had a blue "á" and "ü" written on the top left corner of the Space bar, indicating that Fn and Space will result in accentuated characters. The Tilt doesn't have those and in fact, when you install an original ATT Rom (no need for keyboard fix there), the Fn+Space combination doesn't work.
The only way I've seen to get Fn-Space back to life is NOT to use the CWS layout. Using any non ATT Rom will allow you to get Fn-Space working, but at the cost of getting many of the other Fn keys mapped wrong: for example, the "!" and the "@" are swapped, the ";" gives you a "%", and so on.
Sounds like the solution would be a keyboard layout that is 99% like the CWS layout, but that adds the Fn-Space combination.
Any suggestions?
You could have just used the other thread my friend.
ChumleyEX said:
You could have just used the other thread my friend.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, but not getting any attention on that one...
Fixing "Fn Space" feature
This kills the word suggestion feature, but enables you to use the FN-Space function again:
SOLVED!!! - HTC WM6.1 ROM : Missing "Fn Space" function?
EDIT: Sorry, didn't see you responding there aswell
khals said:
This kills the word suggestion feature, but enables you to use the FN-Space function again:
SOLVED!!! - HTC WM6.1 ROM : Missing "Fn Space" function?
EDIT: Sorry, didn't see you responding there aswell
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You see...i'm all over the place on this issue...

Get MS keyboard back in WM 6.5

The HTC keyboards don't have a "Ctrl" key so I can't copy or paste in some programs - how can I get the default MS keyboard back?
mem2358 said:
The HTC keyboards don't have a "Ctrl" key so I can't copy or paste in some programs - how can I get the default MS keyboard back?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Has it ever had a Ctrl key?
Cheers, Rob.
Yes it has a Ctrl-key.
I want the keyboard also back
I have searched a long time for this, tried many regedits but never succeeded. Your best option is to pay for Resco Keyboard Pro.
TouchPal keyboard also has copy and paste functions.
Hey guys, I was looking for the MS keyboard too! I cant copy/cut paste or Ctrl z anymore with the HTC qwerty.
The free Finger Keyboard 2.1 has copy and paste facilities: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=501122.
Make sure you install the WVGA version.
Iphone like keyboard (HTC Topaz)?
I am looking for a keyboard that works well with fat fingers the iphone board is so much better then the one I have on my TOPAZ
To get MS keyboard, I do this:
Modify this registry first:
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{42429667-ae04-11d0-a4f8-00aa00a749b9}\IsSIPInputMethod]
"Default"="1" (by default it is "0")
Then install this program in phone memory:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=414422
Then modify the registry as follows:
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\HtcExtFun]
"StylusOutSipName"="Keyboard"
"StylusInSipName"="Touch Input"
Finally restart.
This way, when stylus is in, it will switch to HTC's Touch Input (Full, Compact or Phone pad depending on your last selection) then when you take out the stylus it will switch to the MS Keyboard.
Why use a keyboard for copy/cut/past?
Here is what I've done...
Install the keys controler from http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=555821
Change the behavior of the volume keys:
VOL DOWN :
- single click : default
- double click : Emulate CTRL+C to OS
- long click : Emulate CTRL+X to OS
VOL UP :
- single click : default
- double click : default
- long click : Emultate CTRL+V to OS
And it's working with all the applications....
And I quote:
This is for Topaz only! Do not try to install this on other devices!
Do not ask me to make a version for other device since my remappers are driver dependent and this can be very and very complicated without real device (if possible at all).
Nice one though romualdrichard, But I'd use it if I had a Topaz or a program just like that for my MDAcIV
omar302 said:
To get MS keyboard, I do this:
Modify this registry first:
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{42429667-ae04-11d0-a4f8-00aa00a749b9}\IsSIPInputMethod]
"Default"="1" (by default it is "0")
Then install this program in phone memory:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=414422
Then modify the registry as follows:
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\HtcExtFun]
"StylusOutSipName"="Keyboard"
"StylusInSipName"="Touch Input"
Finally restart.
This way, when stylus is in, it will switch to HTC's Touch Input (Full, Compact or Phone pad depending on your last selection) then when you take out the stylus it will switch to the MS Keyboard.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
TNX! Finally something that works! Do you know how I can get the big buttons with gestures mode on? I got the small kb buttons now...
VerusAmos said:
TNX! Finally something that works! Do you know how I can get the big buttons with gestures mode on? I got the small kb buttons now...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you go to Menu>Settings>Personal>Input and from there select "Keyboard" from the drop down menu.
By the way, the gestures will also work on the small buttons.
omar302 said:
If you go to Menu>Settings>Personal>Input and from there select "Keyboard" from the drop down menu.
By the way, the gestures will also work on the small buttons.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know they also work on the small kb, but my point is that I like the layout with the other two options on. The row with numbers is gone so it leaves more space for the letter buttons.
The reason I cant turn on these options is because I'm using Benko's v5.0ROM (6.5) and that ROM has only the Touch Input kb. I think the chef took out the settings from the drop menu. Also there's no input settings in the personal settings, so I cant change the ks settings.
Can I just add MS Keyboard without installing the additional code? I want MS Keyboard whether stylus is in or out.
akran said:
Can I just add MS Keyboard without installing the additional code? I want MS Keyboard whether stylus is in or out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Use the same procedure, but put "Keyboard" for both registry strings.
VerusAmos said:
I know they also work on the small kb, but my point is that I like the layout with the other two options on. The row with numbers is gone so it leaves more space for the letter buttons.
The reason I cant turn on these options is because I'm using Benko's v5.0ROM (6.5) and that ROM has only the Touch Input kb. I think the chef took out the settings from the drop menu. Also there's no input settings in the personal settings, so I cant change the ks settings.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can't seem to get the program to install in my Topaz WM6.5 WWE asia rom. Can you like make it nto a .cab?
I found out how to put the MS KB back to the drop menu again! Here's a a reg file...
VerusAmos said:
I found out how to put the MS KB back to the drop menu again! Here's a a reg file...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thaks for this....
Also I was thinking to go for WVGA version of http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=501122
Which one will be good for easy????
Can't really give an opinion on that... I always have prefered the MS kb. Other kb's that are finger friendly are the latest HTC kb's. Or the EzInput kb's which is simular to the HTC kb's.

Zero Button on Hardware Keyboard

Hi guys,
I've a Xperia with a German keyboard layout. So I'm a little bit confused, but I'm able to use the keyboard in Android. My problem is that I've not found the "0" button. All numbers are available with the blue (FN) button.
Is there any possibilty to get the the zero or to activate a virtual keyboard?
Thanks a lot
Thore
virtual keyboard, click anywhere with a text field?
sadly the android virtual keyboard is not available in terminal. So the only way i know of is to activate the linux kernel virtual keyboard by editing the startup.txt
Replace msmvkeyb_toggle=off by msmvkeyb_toggle=hide, and you will get a blue square always on screen. Tap that and you will get a virtual keyboard. That will work until someone maps a x1-key to the zero.
n00b3r said:
Edit2: Keys do not work with this key layout than original qwerty. I looked at the both files and they look hugely different in format. Also, its no point opening up and recompiling the sqsh, qwerty.kl is symlinked to /etc/keylayout/qwerty.kl, which is in /init.etc/keymaps/ in the rootfs.img.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With that final hint, we now can solve the zero issue For that, we have to modify the qwerty.kl in rootfs.img, so mount that file (see quote post for details) and open file with your favorite editor. Edit line
Code:
key 3 2
to
Code:
key 3 AT
That will map the @-hardware-key to @-char. And by pressing the blue button in addition to @ (like for the other numbers) we will get zero

Remapping Physical Buttons/Adding Alternate Keys

I am aware that there is a thread in the Droid 4 Dev Section but as I am a "New User" I can't post there
^^ And as I am a new user please excuse any mistakes I make in posting/formatting this
I am going to be redoing this guide soon for several reasons.
A few days after I made this thread the root functionality of File Expert became something you have to pay for. I also found a good hex editor which is much clearer then Notepad ++.
There are two parts to this guide, Remapping Physical Keys/Buttons and Alternate Keys(Using the SYM key as an ALT key as on previous Droid versions).
Things to download
File Expert (I use this as my root file explorer, permission editor, etc. it also lets me remount the /system as read write which I couldn't seem to do with adb remount or busybox remount.) You dont NEED this, you should theoretically be able to use terminal/adb shell but I couldn't get it to work so this guide uses it.
KeynrTracker.apk (For Remapping buttons not covered) Attached, From http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=850464 - the actual button remapping tool doesnt work with Droid 4 yet
Notepad++ I would recommend using Notepad++, but any editor that can handle binary/unix files - NORMAL NOTEPAD DOES NOT WORK, NOR DOES WORD
THE PHONE NEEDS TO BE ROOTED FOR THIS TO WORK - MAKE A BACKUP OF THE FILES THAT WE ARE GOING TO EDIT
Remapping Physical Keys
The files in /system/usr/keylayout are the configuration for physical buttons, you can edit all of them, but I would recommend only editing omap-keypad.kl(Physical Keyboard) for the time being, as you could disable the capacitive buttons. IF you do somehow mess up omap-keypad.kl (I didnt have the correct permissions at first) android has a default generic version it defaults on if omap-keypad.kl doesn't work correctly, you can tell it is using this as the Caps Lock key, Shift key, SYM key wont work properly and the Arrow buttons will all be rotated to the right so up = right, right = down etc.
This part of the guide is essentially this older guide for HTC Hero, but with more customization for the Droid 4.
Either download my uploaded copy of the original omap-keypad.kl or get your own from /system/usr/keylayout/omap-keypad.kl
Open omap-keypad.kl in a text editor either on your phone(touchqode is what I use) or on your computer (Notepad++)
For this example I am going to remap the SYM key to an ALT key so it can be used in the next part of this guide.
In your text editor find
Code:
key 162 SYM WAKE_DROPPED
(It should be at the bottom) 162 is the physical scancode, SYM is the action that happens and WAKE_DROPPED tells the OS that if the phone is off pressing key 162 will wake it but it will not send the keypress. We want to make this an alt button so all we do is change SYM to ALT_LEFT (You have it be ALT_RIGHT, I'm not sure theres a difference but I use ALT_LEFT). So it should look like
Code:
key 162 ALT_LEFT WAKE_DROPPED
If you want other keys, for example I remapped the OK key to be a SHIFT_RIGHT key, you need to find the scan code for the key using the attached KeynrTracker.apk
So in this case the scancode is 232, so we go into our omap-keypad.kl file and find key 232
We see that it is mapped to DPAD_CENTER and I want to make it a shift button so I'll change it to SHIFT_RIGHT
Now we need to get our keymap back onto the phone should be as simple as
Code:
adb remount
adb push omap-keypad /system/usr/keylayout
BUT, that did not work for me so I had to use File Expert to remount and copy the file. So transfer the file to the internal phone storage/sdcard, then use File Expert to remount the /system as rw.
Go to /system press the menu button -> More -> Mount -> Mount as Read Write
Then copy the edited file from your sdcard to /system/usr/keylayout it should prompt you that there is a file there called omap-keypad.kl, select overwrite.
Then long hold on the omap-keypad.kl file and select permissions from the menu.
Make sure the permissions look like below, and click apply.
Now reboot your phone and your custom key mappings should work!
Creating Alternate Keys
The biggest issue I have from switching from a OG Droid to the Droid 4 is the fact that you have to press SYM and select your symbol instead of alternate symbols for a key.
So we already set up the SYM key to act as an ALT key in the first part, but now we have to define the keys so they do something when our "ALT" key is pressed, this data is stored in /system/usr/keychars/omap-keypad.kcm.bin, like before you can use my uploaded versions or get your own from that directory. But unlike before these aren't straight forward text files they have been converted to binary, because it is faster for the system to read. So when we open it in Notepad ++ this is what it shows
Because this file is binary/hex the all the nul symbols really = 00 in hex = 0 in binary. If you feel comfortable editing the hex code directly you can convert the document from ASCII to hex in notepad ++ under the plugin menu, and use this to figure out the characters http://www.ascii-code.com/
But for the purpose of the guide we are going to ignore the NUL symbols and change the characters. If it helps you can make a copy and open it in normal notepad because it doesnt show the null characters, BUT YOU CAN NOT USE NOTEPAD TO EDIT IT. So to set a key so it will use an alternate key when ALT(SYM) is pressed you need to find 5th instance of that in the document, so in this case I want to make the "," and "." keys be "<" and ">" when SYM is held down, so I need to change the 5th definition for the , key to < so it should look like this
Code:
NUL,NUL,NUL,NUL;NUL<NUL;NUL
And the same for the "." key
Code:
NUL.NUL.NUL.NUL:NUL>NUL:
From what I understand from poking around on the files from my phone and looking at things on the internet the first two times the character appears is defining what key has what attributes, the 3rd one is the lowercase, 4th is the uppercase, 5th is the ALT and 6th is the ALT+Shift. So with out all the Nulls this is what the Key Character Map for A looks like, A A a A a A and for "," it is , , , ; ; ; but for our edited version it is , , , ; < ; because the 5th spot is the one that represents the character you will get when you do that key + ALT.
Now to get the file back onto your phone do what we did before but put it in /system/usr/keychars/omap-keypad.kcm.bin
Make sure your permissions are the same as the one for the omap-keypad.kl
Restart and you should have a working Alternate Key Character
Awesome, can't wait to try this out. I haven't looked at all of this quite yet, but i am hoping to be able to remap caps lock, the most useless key ever, to something better. Thanks for your work!
Sent from my DROID4 using XDA App
The guide was amazing helpful for binding >< and changing caps lock to be an alt key, but I was wondering if you had any idea which file would have the operations for alt + backspace to make it clear a whole line. Again thanks for the guide.
valhala.awaits said:
I haven't looked at all of this quite yet, but i am hoping to be able to remap caps lock, the most useless key ever, to something better.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? CAPS LOCK IS THE BEST KEY ON THE KEYBOARD. THIS IS BLASPHEMY.
(Sorry couldn't resist )
Keyboard maps out pretty well, I did
quote -> backquote
I -> pipe
O P -> { }
K L -> [ ]
/ -> \
, . -> < >
Q -> tilde
Used CAPS LOCK as my alt key.
Left the SYM key entirely alone.
Half tempted to make caps lock and OK shift keys, make sym key the OK key, and make shift key the ALT key.
BTW, ALT+arrows and backspace work as they did on the Droid 1/2/3.
Thanks so much for posting this, really has made the Droid 4 keyboard *SUBSTANTIALLY* better!
kasouti said:
The guide was amazing helpful for binding >< and changing caps lock to be an alt key, but I was wondering if you had any idea which file would have the operations for alt + backspace to make it clear a whole line. Again thanks for the guide.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure, neither of my phones(OG Droid, Droid 4) have had that functionality so I'm not sure what makes that work. If you want you can send me your keylayout and keychars folders from your old phone(Droid 2/3?)that had that, through a PM and I'll try to figure out how to add that.
kb remap
moah99 thank you thank you thank you. The one key I totally miss from my D1 is the @ key and thanks to you I have remapped the useless caps lock key to @. Caps lock would be useful except I use swiftkey that renders it inoperative on the D4.
After finding the correct key (222) with keynrtracker, I completed the rest using rootexplorer - backed up that file, mounted the containing folder as r/w, opened file in text editor, edited the correct line to show AT instead of CAPS, rebooted phone and it worked perfectly.
Tried this but....
I tried changing the key 222 (Caps lock) to power the phone off and on (when i text people and I'm watching tv i typically just leave the keyboard open and lock the phone, but the power button isn't exactly easy to find) so i wouldn't need to use the power button on top. It didn't work, is there anyway i can get it to work?
Thanks,
Jacob
moah909 said:
I'm not sure, neither of my phones(OG Droid, Droid 4) have had that functionality so I'm not sure what makes that work. If you want you can send me your keylayout and keychars folders from your old phone(Droid 2/3?)that had that, through a PM and I'll try to figure out how to add that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Looks like it does support it. For some reason it was just buggy at first and didn't seem to respond to alt then left. As for the delete, I was coming from an epic and my friend with a droid 2 had told me the alt then delete would wipe the line, apparently alt has to be held when it's hit and within texting you either need 2 blank spaces before pressing it or to have just finished deleting a word. Or some odd rules like that. Thanks for the help.
Hmmm. I'm running into some oddness here, the shifted number keys look right in the kcm.bin file, but they don't work in Connectbot. It looks like they're being treated like ANSI function keys instead. Anyone else know what's up here? I've never owned a Droid-anything before, my previous two phones (G1 and TP2) keyboards work fine in Connectbot.
highlandsun said:
Hmmm. I'm running into some oddness here, the shifted number keys look right in the kcm.bin file, but they don't work in Connectbot. It looks like they're being treated like ANSI function keys instead. Anyone else know what's up here? I've never owned a Droid-anything before, my previous two phones (G1 and TP2) keyboards work fine in Connectbot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
See (http ://code.google.com/p/connectbot/issues/detail?id=558) Issue 558 on ConnectBots site.
here is an untouched system/usr/keylayout incase anybody needs it:
http://www.mediafire.com/?mtsl53uus6qkwfz
Help me please
So you definitely seem to understand how this works. Well i tried making my caps lock key a power key because my power key sticks really bad, and all that did was screw up my dpad (like when i would press the left arrow it would go down, etc) and so i asked for a /system/usr/keylayout file which i got and tried pasting it into the usr file to fix all the things i may have screwed up and now nothing works. The capacitive buttons, all of the keyboard and the volume and power doesn't work. What do i have to do?
remap slash key to just question mark
What is the proper designation in Omap-kypad.kl for the question mark? I wanted to convert the slash / key to just the question mark. The D1 has one - I looked at the Omap-kypad.kl on my D1 but couldn't find anything that looked like "quest" or "question", etc. On the other hand I don't see that slash in the symbol set when the SYM key is pressed so maybe I shouldn't change it. Would be nice to know if its possible though.
H0H3N5T3RN said:
So you definitely seem to understand how this works. Well i tried making my caps lock key a power key because my power key sticks really bad, and all that did was screw up my dpad (like when i would press the left arrow it would go down, etc) and so i asked for a /system/usr/keylayout file which i got and tried pasting it into the usr file to fix all the things i may have screwed up and now nothing works. The capacitive buttons, all of the keyboard and the volume and power doesn't work. What do i have to do?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You should check the permissions of the files using adb shell/terminal emulator.
Code:
su
cd /system/usr/keylayout
ls -l *
It should look like (with your date of course)
Code:
-rw-r--r-- root root 3383 2012-02-24 23:20 omap-keypad.kl
-rw-r--r-- root root 245 2011-12-28 15:23 AVRCP.kl
-rw-r--r-- root root 75 2011-12-28 15:23 cpcap-key.kl
-rw-r--r-- root root 1834 2011-12-28 15:23 evfwd.kl
-rw-r--r-- root root 3609 2011-12-28 15:23 usb_keyboard_102_en_us.kl
-rw-r--r-- root root 4132 2011-12-28 15:23 qwerty.kl
If it doesn't say -rw-r--r-- that means the correct permissions aren't set, so run:
Code:
chmod 0644 *
and all your buttons should work!
Your original issue was probably the same thing the permissions on the file probably weren't set right which makes it default on a generic keylayout. I did the same thing when I first was remapping my buttons and I couldn't figure out what was wrong for a couple weeks
Although this looks like a very powerful tool for remapping keys, I'm a little overwhelmed. For my previous WM phone, HTC Touch Pro 2, there used to be a very intuitive, easy-to-use remapping tool.
Is there any chance that somebody will develop another key-remapping tool targeted for the technically challenged if I wait this one out?
Can somebody tell me how I can assign "!" to shift+1?
I know. "!" is assigned to shift+1 by default. But with Smart Keyboard Pro, all symbols are messed up so I have to reassign them all individually.
I am a total noob when it comes to coding and I just remapped my search key and made it a second power key! Two minutes, root explorer did the trick.This is my first post on these forums and this is a fantastic thread for noons and pros alike!
P.S. I tried the app first but the layout file is named as QWERTY.kl in CM 7.2 RC 1 so I had to do it manually.I used your helper app to find out what I needed to change!
Cheers to the contributors of knowledge to this thread!!!!!! :beer:
Sent from my LG-P500 using Tapatalk 2 Beta-5
greekchampion04 said:
here is an untouched system/usr/keylayout incase anybody needs it:
http://www.mediafire.com/?mtsl53uus6qkwfz
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Any way to PM me this file? It is no longer available at that link. Thanks in advance
Remmap a key to no function
Hi, I was wondering how to remmap a HArd Key to do nothing. I can eighter modify the .kl file or use ButtonRemapper, but what should I write in order to dissable this key.
The reason is because the volume down button is broken and keeps pressing itself when the phone heats up.
Thank you!
Change the keyboard layout
Hello,
I use a smartbook HP Compaq Airlife 100 with Android 1.6. This device has a physical keyboard with Spanish layout. I want to change it into a German layout. In /system/usr/keychars I find a German quertz_hawthorne_german.kcm.bin. In /system/usr/keylayout I find a quertz_hawthorne_german.kl.
At which place is the trigger for switching the used keyboard language? In the normal Android menu I can only choose English-uk, English-us and Spanish.
The only thing I have found is in /system/build.prop: ro.product.locale.language=es and ro.product.locale.region=ES
Regards Svgt99

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