BS: Keyboard ignorance, Help please?

Subject: BS: Keyboard ignorance, Help please?
From: GUEST,ragdall sans biscuit
Date: 08 Sep 10 - 06:30 PM

My friend has a new keyboard that has 4 different characters on each of some keys. I've tried using various combinations of shift, Ctrl, Alt, Fn, etc., but can't get those characters to appear in Notepad, (there is no MS Word processor to use).

On a PC, with Windows 7, how the heck can we use those characters? It's an HP KU-0841 keyboard, if that matters.

Thanks very much for any help.

rags

Subject: RE: BS: Keyboard ignorance, Help please?
From: Arthur_itus
Date: 08 Sep 10 - 06:59 PM

Well I am not completely sure about your keyboard as you mention fn and that sounds like a laptop keyboard not a PC

However, I have a keyboard where one of the keys has 3 characters on it.

Pressing the key once gives me `
Holding the shift key down and pressing the same key gives me ¬
Holding the Ctrl & Alt key down together and pressing the same key gives me ¦

I used Notepad to test it and it worked and also on this post.

So try using combination of keys.

Good luck

Subject: RE: BS: Keyboard ignorance, Help please?
From: artbrooks
Date: 08 Sep 10 - 07:05 PM

Not sure - I junked my HP keyboard just as soon as I got my PC up and running far enough to install a Microsoft wireless one. One thought...go to control panel>devices and printers and see if there is a keyboard icon there. If so, explore what options you have under right and left clicks.

Subject: RE: BS: Keyboard ignorance, Help please?
From: bobad
Date: 08 Sep 10 - 07:08 PM

Look around the installed programs, there may be one associated with the keyboard or it may have come with a CD.

Subject: RE: BS: Keyboard ignorance, Help please?
From: GUEST
Date: 08 Sep 10 - 07:27 PM

Arthur,
Thank you. That worked great for the number row of keys that had only three cahracters on each. BUT I must have accidentally hit something else because now it doesn't work anymore :( Now nothing happens when I press a key at the same time as Ctrl and Alt. I have no idea what I changed.

Art, Thanks for your suggestion. I tried the keyboard options. Couldn't find anything about this there.

Bobad, Thank you. There is no CD with it. There is some kind of assistant that comes up but it seems to be more for troubleshooting problems, not explaining how thew heck to use the provided hardware.

Thanks for trying, guys,
rags

Subject: RE: BS: Keyboard ignorance, Help please?
From: Greg F.
Date: 08 Sep 10 - 08:07 PM

You betcha- computers & microspawnofsatansoft software- real time savers!

Try a pen & paper & a postage stamp. You'd be amazed how much time that actually saves.

Machines are in the saddle, and ride mankind.

(with apologies to Ralph Waldo Emerson)

Subject: RE: BS: Keyboard ignorance, Help please?
From: Bill D
Date: 08 Sep 10 - 08:12 PM

If there is a "f-lock" key, it can affect what happens. (I use a Microsoft keyboard with all sorts of tricks)

I know several shortcuts to use odd characters, including a clever little program, AllChars

Subject: RE: BS: Keyboard ignorance, Help please?
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 08 Sep 10 - 08:32 PM

I went to the HP web site (http://welcome.hp.com/country/us/en/welcome.htm) and searched for "KU-0841" and it tells me "No search results were found that match KU-0841." What's up with that?

Subject: RE: BS: Keyboard ignorance, Help please?
From: Bill D
Date: 08 Sep 10 - 08:41 PM

enter KU-0841 in Google, and you get a 'few' results, but nothing that seems helpful...

Subject: RE: BS: Keyboard ignorance, Help please?
From: GUEST
Date: 08 Sep 10 - 10:03 PM

Thanks everyone, for trying.

I googled too and found many tales of frustration using this keyboard. Are we having fun yet?

I don't suppose that my friend really needs to be able to use the extra characters, but they are on there and it's puzzling that there doesn't seem to be an easy way to us them. If you lot don't know how to do it, there probably isn't any way to do it.

rags

Subject: RE: BS: Keyboard ignorance, Help please?
From: ragdall
Date: 09 Sep 10 - 12:11 AM

Sorry, I'm not used to being on someone else's computer and typing in my name. Those two guests really were me. I think that HP is even more annoying, frustrating, and less helpful than Microsoft.

Greg F, While your pen & paper & a postage stamp suggestion may have great merit, it doesn't allow me to access the Mudcat.

rags

Subject: RE: BS: Keyboard ignorance, Help please?
From: Greg F.
Date: 09 Sep 10 - 08:12 AM

Admittedly that is a shortcoming.

One word: MAC

Subject: RE: BS: Keyboard ignorance, Help please?
From: EBarnacle
Date: 09 Sep 10 - 11:14 AM

Last night, I noticed that various third characters are highlighted in blue on my keyboard on this laptop. When pressing the Function key[also marked in blue], I get the "third character" on the key. Since most of the characters are already present in other locations on the keyboard, I have no idea why this feature is there.

Subject: RE: BS: Keyboard ignorance, Help please?
From: open mike
Date: 10 Sep 10 - 06:03 AM

i discovered something today...when looking for the symbol for cents..and finding none on the keyboard...i ofund instructions for finding the character map...by going to start-all programs-accessories (i think that is how i got there...am on a diff. 'puter now) oh, yeah, system tools was in there somewhere too.then you can copy and paste...¢...♫.....♪.....and more