new keyboard, can't use hotkeys etc.

I got this new dell sk-8135 keyboard hooked up to my mac mini. All keys letters/numbers and other 'normal' keys work fine but this keyboard has about 15 short/hotkeys for mail, sound, browser (really cool scroller for volume!), movies etc. that don't work.

does anybody know if there is a place from where I can download a driver for this keyboard for os x? or is there some setting within os x that I can play around with to get it working?

thanks in advance.

emery

Why did you get a Windows keyboard? Why not a Mac one?

I don't think there is a Mac driver for that keyboard. It's a Windows keyboard, after all.

I got this dell keyboard from my dad's office. They just got new dell servers and had some new left over keyboards. I told my dad to bring one home because my apple keyboard had just stopped working. (lots of keys hard to press, not working anymore).

It's a nice keyboard and has better keys than the white apple keyboard that I had before.

too bad there isn't a way to get these multimedia hotkeys working..

thanks for your help though.

emery

anybody else got ideas? I thought mac mini's were able to use non-mac hardware. is there some kind of driver available for os x to use other keyboards with different key functions than the normal white apple keyboard?

thanks,
emery.

emery said:

anybody else got ideas? I thought mac mini's were able to use non-mac hardware. .

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Yes, they can use other hardware. Your mini is using the keyboard in its most basic and simplest form.

The keys you are trying to use are proprietary for Dell systems and/or are Dell/Windows OS based. Those keys might work if you were running Windows on your Mac, but won't run under its native OS.

No matter how hard you try, you can't fit a square peg in a round hole.

Ok, thanks for the info. But it's weird that some of the multimedia keys do work, like the mute and pause/play button. Why does os x recognise these and not the other keys like sound scroller and mail buttons?

I thought it would be all keys working or none, not 3 of the 15.

I ran a search here for Windows keyboard that hauled up a buncha stories that might help.

thanks for that list. i found a few programs to change the control and alt and windows buttons but none for the hotkeys.

thanks anyway for all your help!

emery

D3v1L80Y said:

No matter how hard you try, you can't fit a square peg in a round hole.

Click to expand...

Windows being the square. Square = not cool. HAR HAR HAR!