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From: kupfer@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU (Mike Kupfer)
Newsgroups: net.internat
Subject: Re: keyboard design
Message-ID: <11070@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU>
Date: Sun, 24-Nov-85 14:23:02 EST
Article-I.D.: ucbvax.11070
Posted: Sun Nov 24 14:23:02 1985
Date-Received: Tue, 26-Nov-85 08:21:03 EST
References: <795@inset.UUCP>
Reply-To: kupfer@ucbvax.UUCP (Mike Kupfer)
Distribution: net
Organization: Xerox Corporation
Lines: 26
Keywords: Keyboard design, character sets
Summary: overview of Xerox Star keyboard

If you have a good enough display, you can put an image of the keyboard
layout on the screen.  In Star, you press the Keyboard key, and a row
of keyboard choices appears at the bottom of the screen, with a special
indication of what the current keyboard is.  You can either temporarily
change the keyboard layout (i.e., it stays changed as long as you hold
Keyboard down), or you can make the change permanent (until you next
use Keyboard).  You can also ask for a window to appear showing the
current keyboard layout.  In the new-and-improved Star (called
"Viewpoint"), you can resize or move the window around so that it
doesn't get in your way.

Now, as somebody pointed out, if I want the "German" keyboard, I as an
American want characters with umlauts and I want an esszett.  But I
don't want the Y and Z keys to be switched.  And if you buy a Star in
the U.S., that is indeed what you get.  On the other hand (so I've been
told), if you buy a Star in Germany, both the German and American
keyboards have the Y and Z the way the Germans expect it (switched from
American custom).

How is this all done?  By having very flexible low-level software and
using lots and lots of conversion tables.
-- 
Mike Kupfer
Xerox ISD
kupfer.pa@xerox.ARPA
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