If you do a lot of word processing, write a book, or do some coding replacement, sooner or later you’ll need a keymap. Some symbols or special characters are not indicated in the best way; by default, you won’t be able to enter them quickly.
For example, authors and editors often need: a long line, a non-breaking space, or herringbone quotes. You can solve this problem by installing a typographic layout in macOS.
Topic: Set the keyboard layout setting for macOS. I advise everyone, there are useful symbols
Currently the problem is solved, but then the representation is different – some often use characters entered differently in different languages. For example, a period and a comma in the English layout are located on separate keys “b” and “yu”, and in Russian – one click to the right. There is a similar problem with the symbols “@” and “””, for which you need to switch to the current language.
And in general, some people need some symbols, and others need others. Why not make a personal button layout with your own convenient arrangement of symbols.
How to make your own layout using the Ukelele app
We are already turning to useful applications Ukelele, which helps with button layout. Previously, we used it to change the assignment of keys and return layout flags to the menu symbol.
▶ download free app Ukelele from the developer’s website.
▶ Launch the application and select from the menu bar. File – new from current input source.
▶ Double-click the added layout in the side window and display the window editor.
▶ In the visual editor, press the desired keys and enter the required value for each button.
▶ Don’t be careful if you usually change rotary keys and other components (action of pressed keys). Option, Shift, Option+Shift and etc.).
▶ Save the changed layout to ~/Library/Keyboard Layouts/ (for all macOS users) or /Users/username/Library/Keyboard Layouts (for yourself only).
▶ Restart your Mac, carefully System Preferences – Keyboard – Input Sources and add the created layout.
Do the same for other language layouts used by international organizations. If you need to remove the standard English layout, here are the instructions.
Advantages of this method: after setting up the utility Ukelele can be removed, it does not need to be kept on the Mac for the reconfigured layouts to work.
How to make your own layout using the Karabiner application
There is another way to create your story. It is a little more complicated, because it does not have a graphical interface. All parameters will be carried through the application Carabinieri. This utility also happened often when it was advised to change the method of switching the language or change the assignment of keys on the Mac.
The utility will not change the key layout in the system. It is constantly activated in macOS and will change remapped characters on the fly.
▶ Install free application Carabinieri from the developer’s website.
▶ Launch the application and provide all necessary permissions in system components.
▶ On the tab Simple Modifications simple reassignments can be made, for example to CapsLock choose some more useful action.
▶ In the section Function keys You can reassign the top row of “effects”.
▶ The most interesting section in the application is Complex modifications. Here you can add entire scripts and complex reassignments.
▶ First, dig into the library where the modifications are located on the application developer’s website. There are already useful scripts there that can be imported into Carabinieri.
If you don’t find the modification you need, you can study the built-in help and write your own.
For example, I liked the modification that switches layouts by clicking on Team. If you hold the support on the edge, the English layout always turns on, and on the right – the Russian one. No cycling, just enough activation, even if it was already active before.
But I decided to swap the assignments of the buttons. To do this, we changed two lines of code and everything works. Believe me, it’s very convenient. Such cunning manipulations cannot be done through Ukelele.
Advantages of this method: Although the utility must be constantly running, it has more settings and parameters. For example, it allows you to bind an action to a spiral or vice versa – to pressing a button, attracting its default destination. Another application allows you to configure different behavior for different connected keyboards, for example, for the built-in one profile, and for the external one – another.
If you just need to change the designation symbols on the buttons, everything can be done through Ukeleleif you want advanced shorts, choose Carabinieri.
How to transfer a layout to another Mac or new macOS
If you plan to back up your configuration settings in the future, move settings to another computer, or restore them after reinstalling the system, you must do the following:
◈ For created through Ukelele Layouts – Save files from ~/Library/Keyboard Layouts/ or /Users/username/Library/Keyboard Layouts on a storage device or in the cloud, and then share them on another Mac or after a system reinstall.
◈ For layouts in Carabinieri – introduction to the application section Miscellaneous and press Open configuration folder. Save the file carabiner.jsonwho is responsible for setting up the program.
Now you know how to create the perfect treat that’s right for you.
Source: Iphones RU
I am a professional journalist and content creator with extensive experience writing for news websites. I currently work as an author at Gadget Onus, where I specialize in covering hot news topics. My written pieces have been published on some of the biggest media outlets around the world, including The Guardian and BBC News.
