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The Capacities of Ukelele

Theoretically, Ukelele is able to transform many ordinary (non control) keys, on all positions — lower case, upper case, caps lock, plus a few more — into dead keys. Of course such an undertaking would be senseless and counterproductive. Yet just the thought of it makes us realize the power of Ukelele.

Available Keyboards

Whenever we think of creating or personalizing a keyboard, we remember that the application Ukelele (Applications → Ukelele → System Keyboards → Roman) contains some eighty ready made keyboards suitable for Western use. Another choice of keyboard layouts becomes available to us by clicking the colored flag next to the blue Q-Spotlight symbol at the right upper corner of the screen → Open International. Locating the keyboard which is close to what we want at the outset will save us effort and time.

Note that some of this is different if you are using Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard). The Spotlight symbol is not blue, and the keyboards supplied with the system are not available for Ukelele to use.

The Character Palette

Ukelele and the Character Palette work as a team. The Palette becomes available to us by clicking the colored flag next to the blue Q-Spotlight symbol at the right upper corner of the screen → Show Character Palette. Its choice of unaccented and accented letters, numbers punctuation and other symbols is impressive. By dragging and dropping one of its items on an ordinary (non function) key of our keyboard-to-be, we “knock off” the letter, number, punctuation etc. which has been there before. We remember, after we have done with our key substitutions, to logout and login in order to have the keyboard recognized by the System.

Why have we neglected the accent Tilde

Without the tilde we cannot type Hispanic and Portuguese languages. If this is what we want, we include the tilde in the program of our dead keys. In our comments on Procedure we have not only “neglected” the tilde, but numerous other accent-plus-letter combinations, even letter-plus-letter combinations Ukelele can produce. We have limited ourselves to the use of Ukelele in typing Western languages in Roman print.

By sacrificing our numbers, did we the right thing?

Indeed, some programs do require the numbers at the left side of our keyboard. However, this does not disturb us, since a simple keystroke (menu bar, flag next to the blue Q at the upper right corner of the screen) makes one or several other non Ukelele keyboards equipped with number pads available to us. Once we go back to TextEdit or Word we return to our Ukelele keyboard.

What if we have no number pads?

The solution proposed here will satisfy those among us who require numbers sometimes. Those who do it often will have their number pads anyway. Here is what we are going to do. After lower case, upper case and cap locks we are going to open up one more position. We press the Option Key of our keyboard-to-be. Here we are confronted with a keyboard which is filled with mostly useless items. We leave a finger of our left hand on the Option Key. With the right hand we drag and drop, from the numbers contained in the Character Palette, 1234567890 onto the top row of our new Option Key level. Perfectionists among us may repeat the same procedure keeping the option key simultaneously with the lower case key (even the upper case key) pressed. Henceforth our ten digits will be available to us by pressing the Option Key.

Erasing

When we drag and drop something from the Character Palette on an ordinary non control key, the new key content takes the place of the old one. Occasionally, however, we have to erase a given key content, dead key or not. Some key contents may even show up at places were we expect them least; for instance on the space bar. If this happens, we double-click the unwanted symbol. A Dialog box says There is a dead key state with this key combination → There is a dead key state combination... → delete → change the output of this key combination - delete - OK. If necessary we repeat the last step.

Ukelele Errors

The example of an unwanted symbol on the space bar may make us suspect Ukelele of an erratic behavior. At this point we shall remember that even the most expensive programs, the very pillars of computerdom, behave at times strangely. Over the years, the author of Ukelele has ironed out a number of bugs. In the rare instances Ukelele insists on misbehaving, we move the application into the Trash. On our hard disk we run a version of “Disk Warrior” or “Norton” that is compatible with our System. We reinstall Ukelele (of which we have kept a copy at a safe place) and we start anew.

A Few No-Nos

We don’t try to use the usual Copy and Paste because they will not work. We never make Ukelele intervene in the area of control keys and in that of the number pad at the right side of most keyboards. We only work on ordinary keys. If, by error, we disturbed a control key or a key of the number pad, we close the keylayout we are working on, we click Don’t save and we start anew.

Once we have completed

Even after a careful planning and executing our keylayout we might discover — after having put it through is paces — that it needs some retouching. If this happens, we take the new Ukelele keyboard out of the System and make the necessary adjustments. After having put it back again we won’t forget to logout and to login so as to have the keyboard recognized by the System.

Bridging the difference between the electronic and the physical keyboard

The electronic keyboard is the one we see on the screen; the physical keyboard is the one we put our fingers on. While Ukelele changes the electronic keyboard, the physical keyboard remains unchanged. The way of bridging this disparity will depend on us. “Hunt-and-peck” typists may glue stickers (with the appropriate writing) onto the keys of their physical keyboard whose contents have been altered. Others will place the small representation of their electronic keyboard (“Visor”?) permanently next to the TextEdit or Word page they are typing. Others again may use both methods simultaneously.

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