Oliver,
I am going to second the recommendation to use the Apple Remote. However, Nerowolf has overlooked the fact (or perhaps isn't aware) that the new portable machines are not being sold with these handy little remotes. They used to be, but Apple stopped the practice a couple months ago. You must pick one up at an Apple store (or online) for $20. Without it, you're missing out on a lot of remote control functionality, packed into a tiny device.
This said, it makes perfect sense that your "presenter gadget" shows up as a keyboard. Mainly, because that's what it is, in essence. Whether you're using it in Windows or OS X, the concepts are the same, and its function is the same. In any "presentation" software, the controls for a presentation are all some form of keyboard input, whether that be "Alt-this," Control-that" in Windows, or "
Option-this" and "Control-that" in OS X. Any third-party device that is designed to send these signals when particular buttons are pressed is merely acting as a keyboard, albeit a very customized one.
The device itself might be configured to send the exact keyboard commands required by the Windows version of Powerpoint, with no additional configuration needed, or it might need its own drivers, which translate the device's "button B" to the correct keyboard shortcut for a given application (in this case, it might require a certain amount of configuration).
The same holds true for its use in OS X. All you need to do is understand that its buttons are sending, or attempting to send, keyboard shortcuts to the application that happens to be active. If it doesn't automatically work in OS X just like it would in Windows, your job is merely to configure it to send the the appropriate shortcuts. First, you'll need to determine what "native" signals the device is sending when you press a particular button:
To figure this out, connect the device, then go to
System Preferences>International. Switch to the "Input Menu" tab. At the top of the list you'll see, enable "Keyboard Viewer." At the bottom of the window, the option to "Show input menu in menu bar" should automatically be checked. If it is not, check it. Close System Preferences.
The previous action should have placed your country's flag in the menu bar. Look under the menu that this provides and select "Show Keyboard Viewer." Press a button on your device, and note what keys get highlighted in the "Keyboard Viewer." That's the signal that your device button is sending, whether it's a single key or a key combination (the most likely possibility). Write down the combination that is sent for each button on your device.
Next, open the application you want to control using the device. Note the keyboard shortcuts that produce the various
actions within that application. You can probably find these shortcuts noted in the menus that offer the same function (for example, Safari's "History" menu offers choices for "Back" and "Forward," with the keyboard shortcuts that function identically listed to the right). Again, write down each keyboard combination, but more importantly, write down the
exact name of the menu choice that is made using this keyboard combination (again using Safari as an example, this would be the "Back" and "Forward" menu options. That's what you'll write down).
Finally, open
System Preferences>Keyboard & Mouse. Switch to the "Keyboard Shortcuts" tab. At the bottom of the list of shortcuts, click the "+" button. Use the pull-down in the dialogue sheet that appears to choose the application you want to control with your device. Enter the exact name of a menu choice from your list for that app, then click within the field for "Keyboard Shortcut." Press the appropriate button on your device. If this doesn't automatically fill in the correct signal from that button, type it manually using your keyboard. Click "Add," and you'll have that functionality mapped for that button. Repeat this for each button that you want to use.
Now, this seems like a lot of work just to get that device "mapped," but as you can see above, you may be able to simply use the buttons on your device to quickly map its button signals to a given application's functions, using the "Keyboard Shortcuts" tab. That would take all of 3 or 4 minutes. However, I have given you the additional steps that are necessary to give you an understanding of just what the device is doing, and how OS X is interpreting the input it gives.
Scott
