# Keyboard and mouse tips

## Mouse modifiers

These modifiers will help you play DOS games on a trackpad or one-button mouse:

Action | Shortcut
--- | ---
Click the right mouse button | `Ctrl ⌃`+`click`
Click the left and right mouse buttons simultaneously | `Ctrl ⌃`+`Opt ⌥`+`click` or three-finger tap on trackpad
Lock/unlock the mouse from the window This will also reveal the menu bar in full screen mode | `Cmd ⌘`+`click`

If these mouse shortcuts conflict with a game’s own controls, you can change them for that game from the Mouse Inspector.

## Keyboard shortcuts

Action | Shortcut
--- | ---
Skip the default program and start up at the DOS prompt | Hold `Opt ⌥` while gamebox is loading
Show/hide the Inspector panel | `Cmd ⌘`+`I`
Toggle the numeric keypad | `Cmd`+`U` or hold `Fn`
Switch to/from full screen mode | `Cmd ⌘`+`F`
Pause the emulation | `Cmd ⌘`+`P` or ``
Fast-forward the emulation | Hold `Cmd ⌘`+`Opt ⌥`+`⇢` or hold ``
Speed up/slow down the emulation | `Cmd ⌘`+`Opt ⌥`+`⇡`/`⇣`
Switch to previous/next CD | `Cmd ⌘`+`Shift ⇧`+`⇠`/`⇢`
Take a screenshot | `Cmd ⌘`+`Shift ⇧`+`S`

Additional keyboard shortcuts can be found alongside each item in Boxer’s application menus.

## Simulating the numeric keypad

Many DOS games rely on a numeric keypad, which does not exist on Macbooks or Apple Wireless Keyboards.
Instead, you can hold down `Fn` to make part of the keyboard act as a numpad:

The 7-8-9 numpad keys match up to the same numbers on the regular keyboard: you can use this to orient your fingers to the simulated numpad.

If you don’t want to keep `Fn` held down to access the numpad, you can also turn the numpad behaviour on or off with Emulation ▸ Simulate numeric keypad. This will take effect until you toggle the option again.

## Common keyboard troubles

### Accessing the function keys on a Mac keyboard

Mac keyboards adopt the `F1`–`F12` keys as hotkeys to control volume, screen brightness and other system functions. To make those keys act as regular function keys, hold down `fn` as you press the function key.

You can also send function key signals directly to DOS using the Emulation ▸ Send Key menu.

### Keeping OS X hotkeys from interfering with games

Some OS X hotkeys overlap with the control schemes for DOS games, and can get in the way when playing. This is especially common with the `Ctrl ⌃`+`⇠`/`⇢` shortcut to switch Spaces.

If possible, Boxer will disable these OS X hotkeys while you’re playing so they won’t interfere. To let Boxer do this, you must have “Enable access for assistive devices” turned on in your OS X Universal Access preferences pane.

### Can’t find a particular key?

Boxer emulates an MS-DOS PC keyboard layout, and special characters (such as punctuation) are often in different places than where they’re labelled your Mac keyboard.

Try nearby keys and `Shift ⇧`-ed keys to find the character you’re looking for. On non-US keyboards, you can also hold down the right-hand `Opt ⌥` key to access additional special characters.

Some keys found on DOS-era PC keyboards don’t exist at all on a Mac keyboard. If you have a game that needs such keys, you can send them using the Emulation ▸ Send Key menu.