Problem with Non-US Keyboard Layout

[shushens]

Hello! For a long time I have not posted anything! Seems like Softimage has undergone some changes.

I live in Germany nowadays, and for many reasons, I need to use a German keyboard with my PC. As all shortcuts default to the US keyboard layout, a lot of them no longer work. I cannot seem to get Softimage to display keyboard mapping based on my keyboard and language settings. My language is DE and keyboard is also DE. But Softimage is stuck to US layout. How can I solve this problem? I am surprised this problem still persists (I have noticed it years ago, but then I was using US keyboard anyway so did not care). Is there no solution other than purchasing a US keyboard?

Thanks in advance!

[Hirazi Blue]

Schön, dass du wieder da bist...

Check if the German Windows you are using offers the option to add "US-international" keyboard. For that follow the link with instructions below. If so:
Go out and buy yourself an additional "US-international" keyboard and follow these instructions. Face Robot wants you to additionally set the "Windows Regional Settings" to English, in that it uses decimal points and not European commas. (source)

[shushens]

Vielen Dank für die prompte Antwort, wie immer!

So there is no way to even reprogram the shortcuts so that I could use them with a German keyboard? I do not mind if a couple shortcuts change here and there.

[shushens]

But that is the point! If I want to do the work manually, still I can't if the correct layout does not show up in the keyboard mapper. Seems like the software is explicitly coded to display US layout only and nothing else!

[Hirazi Blue]

Hmm, I was afraid of that (and hinted at it in my deleted post ).
But a US-international keyboard should work, I've using it for years...

[shushens]

I really do not want to get rid of this keyboard. I love it totally. Using two keyboards is such a pain.
But thank you very much for the response. Now I know it is not gonna work. That helps too.

[luceric]

But that is the point! If I want to do the work manually, still I can't if the correct layout does not show up in the keyboard mapper. Seems like the software is explicitly coded to display US layout only and nothing else!

it is, it's a hard-coded picture of a US keyboard. so just ignore what it looks like on screen. If you press the keys on the keyboard, I think it will highlight what keys that it thinks it is.

[shushens]

Seems like Softimage has its own internal keystroke detection system, which works at such a low level, that remapping keystrokes using some Windows application has no effect on it. I can remap Alt+F4 and that can shut Softimage down, probably because it receives TERM signal from its parent, but inside the software's own environment, remapped strokes are not recognized. Softimage, much like Windows itself, does not recognize AltGr by default, and when I set RAlt to function as AltGr using AutoHotKey, it worked everywhere else, but not in Softimage. I guess I will just get a printout of new combinations, setting German keyboard as US keyboard, and get used to them.

But that is the point! If I want to do the work manually, still I can't if the correct layout does not show up in the keyboard mapper. Seems like the software is explicitly coded to display US layout only and nothing else!

it is, it's a hard-coded picture of a US keyboard. so just ignore what it looks like on screen. If you press the keys on the keyboard, I think it will highlight what keys that it thinks it is.

It would totally solve my problem if that happened. If pressing AltGr+8 (which should produce "[") highlighted something weird on that Softimage map, I would just set that thing to knife tool, and then I would still use "[" to invoke the tool. But this is a no go. Softimage does not even recognize it as a valid keystroke.

I think this keyboard mapper is really frigid (I liked the mapper of Softimage|3D better!) and requires some change, even more so considering the fact that it was not an American software to begin with, and even now a greater percentage of users are non-American.

[Hirazi Blue]

Not sure, but maybe this post from the German xsiforum.de helps a little (and yes it's in German..)

[shushens]

Very interesting (ja, natürlich spreche ich deutsch )

So, I have found this handy map of all virtual codes on a German keyboard:



But the big difference is the modifier keys. Softimage does not recognize VK_LMENU and VK_RMENU. Instead, both of these get translated to DSCMD_ALT. This is where it gets stuck. When you look at all the mappings. Most special characters that were individual keys before in US are accessed with AltGr in German keyboards. So, stuck again

I guess, if support for AltGr is not added somehow, this cannot be fully solved.

____EDIT_____

Until then, I will stick to this and keep adding more shortcuts as I get stuck and translate them

xsi.jpg