If you are a laptop user, and don’t have a full sized extended keyboard or don’t want to travel with one, the Virtual Extended Keyboard may be just what you always wanted. This cool application allows re-mapping of your keyboard on the fly to emulate the NumPad or Function Keys. The best part is that this isn’t just limited to laptop users, but anyone who is not using a full size keyboard, like some Mac Mini users who may not use an extended keyboard.
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The Virtual Extended Keyboard is an app brought to us by Chi Kim, the same developer responsible for, Flo Mouse, and VOCR among other tools they have created to assist the blind community. This much like VOCR, is a stand alone app and doesn’t require Keyboard Maestro.
The best part is it appears that this app will allow you to use NumPad Key commands in Logic without needing a NumPad, as demonstrated in the tutorial with the scrubbing example.
Another Advantage of this is if you are on a Mac with a TouchBar. While MacOS allows us to do VoiceOver Commands with the FN key and the number row, this doesn’t work for example in a case where you will want to use a function key in a key command, etc. Now with Virtual Extended Keyboard, you no longer have to try to find the right function key you need on the TouchBar.
Virtual Extended Keyboard works by using the FN key to remap certain keys on the keyboard to a NumPad key or Function key on the Fly. Case in point the U, I, and O, keys when pressed while holding down FN will be 4, 5, and 6 respectively. J, K, and L will be 1, 2, and 3 respectively.
The Left side of the keyboard starting with the Numbers 1, 2, 3, and 4 turn into F1, F2, F3 and F4 when pressing the FN key, with Q, W, E, and R becoming F5, F6, F7, and F8 with the FN key. Check the read Me on the Virtual Extended Keyboard page and check the tutorial for all the details.
