01-08-2008, 10:41 AM

Hi all,

I am an eight-years Windows user who has just today taken delivery of a Mac Mini with OS X Leopard 10.5.

I have to say I am very very impressed, especially with the quality and attributes of the Mini and also how Leopard is stunning and easy to use.

My problem is with my keyboard. Being a PC user I have just unplugged my PC and connected up the DVI monitor, LAN, audio, USB mouse and keyboard.

The problem is the keyboard is not working correctly, and I have tried two, one of those nasty Dell Quiet Key ones which came with my PC and a MS USB Ergonomic keyboard I have spare.

I have set up Leopard with English UK regional settings with no other localisations enabled.

When you plug in a USB keyboard you will know it takes you through a set up process to "identify" it. The problem is I am using a UK keyboard and most of the character keys are not working correctly as if they are mapped for a US keyboard.

I have run the wizard a couple of times with each keyboard and have tried changing from Apple/ISO (Europe) to ASNI (US and others) keys with no improvement.

Is this just me being an idiot or is there a driver or something I need to download?

Thanks for any help.

01-08-2008, 11:09 AM

They are being mapped to UK keyboard correctly - but its apple UK keyboard which is different to windows layout - with @ and " swapped and # at alt+3. You have a choice, either get used to it (which is what I have done and I have to say have come to prefer this layout even after 12 or more years on a windows machine, or you can install a new layout from Here, this will give you a more comfortable/familiar layout with a few minor bug but works well.

01-08-2008, 11:21 AM

Thanks for the swift reply.

Being a naive Windows user I didn't appreciate that Apple keyboards were that different to Windows keyboards. The only thing I knew was different was having a command key or something.

I would agree for the sake of simplicity it is probably best to adjust with the default mappings. I knew from past experience of UK/US muddles that @ and " get swapped but it was all the other keys which were getting iritating since I use them in passwords and could only enter them using the Special Characters window.

Thanks for clearing that up, but here is one simple follow up question - can I go on the likes of eBay and buy any Apple USB keyboard and expect it to work correctly?

When I bought the system I wasn't really prepared to spend the extra £70 odd on a keyboard and mouse set. I see you can pick up a keyboard from eBay for a fraction of the price.

01-08-2008, 12:30 PM

ebay is a good place to pick up the older white keyboards- in fact its just about the only place at the moment lol - but because of this they're still fetching a good price. Expect to pay around £20 for the older white keyboards (those have now been replaced by the thin aluminium ones which I really don't like).
It will behave in exactly the same way as your current keyboard but the main difference will be that the keys are labeled correctly - and this might help the transition from windows layout to mac layout?

01-08-2008, 05:29 PM

I have won an official keyboard on eBay as new, boxed for a shade under £30 which I was happy enough to pay to spare me using this Dell one with my Mac.

I now see the point you were making - an UK apple keyboard is technically identical, but with characters on the keys labelled in different places to mainstream Windows keyboards, and so match up with where they are presently mapped with my old keyboard.