VNC into Mac and keyboard layout

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Level 1

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VNC into Mac and keyboard layout

Hi,

I'm trying to get keyboard layout mapping to work between the mac mini which is the VNC server and any remote VNC clients (linux, windows, mac). Tried ultravnc, tightvnc, realvnc clients. And 10.5.x built-in as well as Vine VNC servers. The mini has an Alphagrip keyboard with US+Finnish layouts. The client PCs have Finnish layout typically, also US or German.

Problem is that any pipe, tilde, @ etc "special" characters typed through the clients end up as umlauts or other characters in the VNC.

Any suggestions how I could make VNC work so that the VNC keyboard layout is always the client layout?

Thanks,
- Jan

Mac Mini, Mac OS X (10.5.4)

Posted on Aug 24, 2008 6:21 AM

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Answer 1

BobHarris

Level 9

53,195 points

Aug 24, 2008 3:36 PM in response to janw1243

The Vine Server (aka OSXvnc) allow you to specify the "US Keyboard" layout or the "Current Keyboard", as in the keyboard attached to the Mac mini.

Would the US Keyboard work as a common middle ground?

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Answer 2

janw1243 Author

Level 1

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Aug 25, 2008 1:27 PM in response to BobHarris

Thanks for pointers!

Setting "US" in OSXvnc did not work with any local client-side layout, oddly not even EN/US local + EN/US remote with OSXvnc use either "US" or "Current Layout".

But the following nearly works. Client Finnish keyboard, server Mac Mini Finnish keyboard, for the ultraVNC client change Finnish/FI to US winxp locale (using XP's/Vista's Language Bar), in OSXvnc choose "Current Layout" and set global Mac layout to Finnish.

I.e. have same keyboard at both ends but set the "wrong" US locale in WinXP for the ultraVNC client.

Now nearly everything works (with this laptop and server) - all umlauts and special characters. The only and unfortunately also critical problem is that the key "|" does not "work", it outputs "'*" instead. On the Mac the key is on the left of spacebar, on the client on the right. I don't see how this alone could change the scancodes. But apparently it does. Because it does not work.

Is there not some UTF / Unicode version of VNC for all OS X, Windows, Linux? 😟

Or some VNC that would handle keyboard layouts smartly, transparent to the user?

Another option, IME with RDP (MS Terminal Services, rdesktop) there is no problem with keyboard layouts. Perhaps you guys know some RDP server for OS X?

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