keyboard

Android EditText inputType - XML formatting examples, options

When using Android with "soft" touchscreen keyboards, you can change how the keyboard looks, and how the EditText widget works by specifying an inputType when you create your EditText widget.

By Alvin Alexander on February 12, 2013

Mac Safari shortcuts

Mac Safari shortcuts FAQ: What are the most common Mac Safari shortcuts (Mac Safari keyboard shortcuts)?

Here's a quick list of the most common Mac Safari shortcuts (Mac Safari keyboard shortcuts):

By Alvin Alexander on October 20, 2012

Mac mouse and keyboard battery levels (How to check)

Mac mouse/keyboard battery FAQ: How can I check the battery level of my Mac mouse or Mac keyboard?

The easiest way I know to see the Mac keyboard/mouse battery level is to put the Bluetooth menu on your Mac menu bar, and check it from there. This menu will be in the upper-right corner of the Mac menu bar, and it looks like three small dashes with some other figure behind those dashes. (This is something like the normal Bluetooth icon, but a little different.)

By Alvin Alexander on October 20, 2012

Mac keystrokes and keyboard utilities

After responding to a recent comment about how to map keys/keystrokes on an Apple/Mac keyboard, I thought I'd share a list of Mac keyboard utilities I found. But first, before looking at paying for Mac utilities for your keyboard/keystroke mapping, it's important to know that you can perform some keyboard mapping functions using System Preferences. Just follow these steps:

By Alvin Alexander on October 20, 2012

The Mac Finder new folder keystroke command

Mac OS X Finder FAQ: How do I create a new Mac Finder folder using the keyboard? (Or, What is the Mac Finder new folder keystroke or keyboard command?)

Mac Finder keyboard tips - keystroke to create a new Finder folder

To create a new folder in the Mac Finder using the keyboard, make sure you're in the folder (directory) where you want to create a new folder, and then press the [Command][Shift][n] keystoke.

By Alvin Alexander on October 20, 2012

Mac Finder - how to open a new Finder window

Mac OS X Finder FAQ: How do I open a new Mac Finder window using the keyboard?

Mac Finder keyboard tips - keystroke to open a new Finder window

To open a new Mac Finder window using the keyboard, make sure a Finder window is currently the foreground application, then press the [Command][n] keystoke. This will open a new Mac Finder window, and is equivalent to clicking the File menu, and then clicking the New Finder Window menu item. (It's also much faster.)

By Alvin Alexander on October 20, 2012

Mac OS X Finder - delete files using keyboard keys

Mac OS X Finder delete FAQ: How can I delete a file or directory in the Mac Finder using the keyboard (keystroke)?

By now you've probably figured out that you can't just delete a file in the Mac Finder using the delete key. The solution?

By Alvin Alexander on October 20, 2012

Mac iTunes keyboard control (Mac OS X)

Mac iTunes keyboard control FAQ: How can I control iTunes from the Mac keyboard (Mac OS X)?

With your basic Mac hardware -- depending on the Mac OS X system you have -- you will be able to control iTunes from the keyboard to varying degrees. For instance, on my Apple Wireless Keyboard, I have the standard "play" and volume controls.

By Alvin Alexander on October 20, 2012

Mac OS X - How to put keyboard focus on the Mac menubar

For a long time I've read that you could use your Apple/Mac keyboard to access the menubar on Mac OS X systems using the [Control][F2] keystroke. Well, that never actually worked, so I logically assumed that everyone else was insane.

Well, it turns out that what really happened is that silly me was using Apple keyboards ... and as I was trying to figure this out again today, I looked over at that [fn] key on the keyboard, and thought, "No, surely I wouldn't have to press that too ..."

By Alvin Alexander on October 20, 2012

A Java Robot class mouse and keyboard/keystroke example

Java Robot FAQ: Can you show me an example of how to use the Java Robot class?

Answer: Um, yeah, sure ... I say that a little jokingly. Okay, what really happened is that while developing this Java Robot example code on my Mac, I had to reboot it about 10 times. When you use the Java Robot class, you're poking your head out into the native operating system, and if you mess up with your GUI events -- at least on a Mac OS X system -- a lot of bad things can happen.

By Alvin Alexander on October 17, 2012