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Q: Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000 won't work on OS X El Capitan

Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000 won't work on OS X El Capitan--why?

 

The shortcuts don't work since upgrading to El Capitan on the Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000, but will work on an Apple keyboard.

 

I've used the Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000 for years and like the keyboard and I'm used to it.  Any suggestions on other ergonomic keyboards would be appreciated.

 

Thanks!

Mac Pro (Late 2013), OS X El Capitan (10.11)

Posted on Oct 7, 2015 12:24 AM

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Q: Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000 won't work on OS X El Capitan

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  • by Kurt Lang,

    Kurt Lang Kurt Lang Sep 21, 2016 11:20 AM in response to JMcKee
    Level 8 (37,994 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 21, 2016 11:20 AM in response to JMcKee

    We're likely talking about the same one, but you don't drop the preference pane itself into the Login Items. Just one item within that pane. The MicrosoftKeyboardHelper .

     

    Screen Shot.png

     

    At least that's what I do, and is suggested on various web sites. I've never tried dropping the prefPane into the Login Items to see what it would do … And trying it just now, you don't get the correct result. It should look like this:

     

    Screen Shot 1.png

  • by spydercapriani,

    spydercapriani spydercapriani Sep 21, 2016 11:48 AM in response to JMcKee
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Sep 21, 2016 11:48 AM in response to JMcKee

    I was unable to figure out how to add the visual feedback to the applescripts but I just settled for adding the old "pop" sound when adjusting the volume.  If you do figure out, I'd love to know.

     

    Here are the example AppleScripts that I used:

     

    Volume Up:

    do shell script "afplay /System/Library/Sounds/Pop.aiff"

     

    set vol to output volume of (get volume settings)

    if vol > 90 then # 100 max

    set volume output volume 100

    else

    set volume output volume (vol + 10)

    end if


    Volume Down:

    do shell script "afplay /System/Library/Sounds/Pop.aiff"

     

    set vol to output volume of (get volume settings)

    if vol < 10 then # 0 is min

    set volume output volume 0

    else

    set volume output volume (vol - 10)

    end if


    Mute:

    set vol to output muted of (get volume settings)

    if (vol = true) then

    set volume without output muted

    do shell script "afplay /System/Library/Sounds/Pop.aiff"

    else

    set volume with output muted

    end if



  • by Kurt Lang,

    Kurt Lang Kurt Lang Sep 21, 2016 12:50 PM in response to Kurt Lang
    Level 8 (37,994 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 21, 2016 12:50 PM in response to Kurt Lang

    Oh, #*%$@*!

     

    They're NOT working. They were in all beta versions of Sierra, and in the GM release. But in the official release, those keys don't work. Talk about a last minute change!

     

    The really dumb part is the keys DO work if you're in the utility.

     

    Screen Shot 2016-09-21 at 2.47.28 PM.png

     

    They'll pop up the settings when you press those keys, but as soon as you close the preference pane, they don't respond at all.

     

    So is MS finally going to get off their butts and update this thing? They sure keep IntelliType up to date for Windows users, but all of we Mac users who've purchased their keyboards don't seem to matter. This utility hasn't changed since Lion.

  • by spydercapriani,

    spydercapriani spydercapriani Sep 21, 2016 1:09 PM in response to Kurt Lang
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Sep 21, 2016 1:09 PM in response to Kurt Lang

    What's ironic is that if you uninstall the IntelliType software, the media keys are the only keys that DO work.

  • by JMcKee,

    JMcKee JMcKee Sep 21, 2016 1:31 PM in response to Kurt Lang
    Level 1 (19 points)
    Sep 21, 2016 1:31 PM in response to Kurt Lang

    Ahh, that's a shame Kurt. Apple obviously did something then to stop this from working. Very strange.

  • by JMcKee,

    JMcKee JMcKee Sep 21, 2016 1:40 PM in response to spydercapriani
    Level 1 (19 points)
    Sep 21, 2016 1:40 PM in response to spydercapriani

    Mine are similar:

     

    Increase Volume

    tell application "Finder"

    set curVolume to output volume of (get volume settings)

    if curVolume < 96 then

    set newVolume to curVolume + 6

    else

    set newVolume to 100

    end if

    set volume output volume newVolume

    beep

    end tell

     

    Decrease Volume

    tell application "Finder"

    set curVolume to output volume of (get volume settings)

    if curVolume > 1 then

    set newVolume to curVolume - 6

    else

    set newVolume to 0

    end if

    set volume output volume newVolume

    beep

    end tell

     

    Mute Volume

    tell application "Finder"

    set curVolume to output volume of (get volume settings)

    if curVolume > 1 then

    set volume with output muted

    end if

    end tell

  • by JMcKee,

    JMcKee JMcKee Sep 23, 2016 12:26 PM in response to Kurt Lang
    Level 1 (19 points)
    Sep 23, 2016 12:26 PM in response to Kurt Lang

    Final thoughts on this issue: I restarted my Mac this afternoon and all of a sudden none of the IntelliType  software features worked. The only keys listed in the Preference Pane were the F1 - F15 keys—none of the media keys were listed. That was the last straw. I uninstalled IntelliType and switched to USB Overdrive, which is Sierra compatible. The only keys that don't work with USB O are the 5 "My Favorites" keys. Oddly enough, the single star button below the 5 "My Favorites" keys can be programed—just not the 5 keys themselves. But the volume keys do work just fine again. In fact, with USB O, even the Zoom toggle now works properly in Adobe InDesign, which Adobe broke (confirmed bug). All in all, I would say, move to USB O. Definitely worth the small price! (and actually, you can use it for free, although it's nag-ware).

  • by Kurt Lang,

    Kurt Lang Kurt Lang Sep 23, 2016 1:33 PM in response to JMcKee
    Level 8 (37,994 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 23, 2016 1:33 PM in response to JMcKee

    Thanks for the tip, JMcKee! The only keys that won't work for me are the four grouped keys to the right of the 5 Favorites keys. If I leave the right one on the default to launch iTunes, it works. As soon as I change it to my preference of Eject for the optical drive, it stops responding.

     

    I never use the Favorites keys, so I don't care about those. It doesn't look like MS is ever going to touch the Mac version of this utility anymore, even though they still sell several keyboards for the Mac that use it. Don't know what their problem is that they keep ignoring it.

     

    I've used Logitech mice for as long as I can remember and have always preferred how the feel in my hand. But I finally had to give up on their mouse driver and use SteerMouse. Even when Logitech released what was supposed to be the El Capitan compatible version, my mouse would still randomly freeze. The Mac itself was still working, but the cursor would be permanently locked on the screen at whatever position it stopped at, and the Activity Monitor would show that the Logitech driver had stopped responding. That even on a clean install of El Capitan on an erased drive. There was no way to blame it on some other utility.

     

    Looks like it's time to do the same with IntelliType and ditch it for something that's kept up to date.

  • by Kurt Lang,

    Kurt Lang Kurt Lang Sep 25, 2016 8:29 AM in response to JMcKee
    Level 8 (37,994 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 25, 2016 8:29 AM in response to JMcKee

    This is all very strange. Different users getting different results with the same software. So I started over to test what happens with a default install of the official release of Sierra on an erase drive.

     

    Right off the top, we have a "problem". None of the top row of keys on an Ergonomic 4000 should do anything without a third party driver installed. They never have before. And yet, in Sierra, the only four keys that won't work when I have IntelliType installed, do! Mute, volume decrease, volume increase and iTunes play/pause all work. None of the others respond.

     

    That tells me there's now a conflict between the OS itself and the third party drivers. No matter which one I tried (one at time and uninstalling in between); IntelliType or USB Overdrive, those four keys stop working while all others do work. Which makes basic sense because now the OS is getting two commands to follow for the same key. It doesn't matter that they're the same command, the OS still has a conflict of which one to do, so it does neither.

     

    Filing a bug report so we'll hopefully see a 10.12.1 bug fix.

  • by d_ht_john,

    d_ht_john d_ht_john Sep 30, 2016 10:42 AM in response to llemilio
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Sep 30, 2016 10:42 AM in response to llemilio

    Thank you, thank you! Works like charm.

  • by Kurt Lang,

    Kurt Lang Kurt Lang Oct 3, 2016 7:47 AM in response to Kurt Lang
    Level 8 (37,994 points)
    Mac OS X
    Oct 3, 2016 7:47 AM in response to Kurt Lang

    Just got a response on the bug report. It was closed as a duplicate. So Apple is already aware of it and are, hopefully, working on a fix for 10.12.1 when that's ready.

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