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#16
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On 07/01/2018 09:45 PM, Paul wrote:
[snip] If you were an "electronics hobbyist", you'd make a keyboard PCB with a regular keyboard controller, but only the Win key hooked up :-) Most of the chip wouldn't need to be hooked up (the 7+17 scan wires, you'd only need two of those). I might do that, but a new keyboard is likely to be easier and cost less. Â*Â* Paul -- Mark Lloyd http://notstupid.us/ "Go to Heaven for the climate, Hell for the company." [Mark Twain] |
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#17
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"Nil" wrote
| I was really hoping to find a built-in 2- or even 3-key combo, but I | guess it doesn't exist in Windows. This will work but it requires a shortcut on the Desktop. Put the following in Notepad and save as something like ShowDesktop.vbs: Set ShAp = CreateObject("Shell.Application") Shap.MinimizeAll Set Shap = Nothing Put the VBS file anywhere. Make a shortcut to it on the Desktop. Right-click the shortcut and set the shortcut combo. Note that it must be something that won't be valid in the active window. I used Ctl + Alt + 6. I first tried Ctl + Alt + D but Ctl+D was a shortcut in the active window and that took over. |
#18
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"Nil" wrote
| Is there any key combination that does NOT involve the Windows Key | that will minimize all windows and reveal the desktop? Win+D would be | the best solution of course, unless like me your keyboard does not have | a Win key. I posted this earlier and it hasn't shown up. Using AIOE. I'm also finding that ES is not working at all today. Anyway, I'm trying to post again. ---------------- This will work but it requires a shortcut on the Desktop. Put the following in Notepad and save as something like ShowDesktop.vbs: Set ShAp = CreateObject("Shell.Application") Shap.MinimizeAll Set Shap = Nothing Put the VBS file anywhere. Make a shortcut to it on the Desktop. Right-click the shortcut and set the shortcut combo. Note that it must be something that won't be valid in the active window. I used Ctl + Alt + 6. I first tried Ctl + Alt + D but Ctl+D was a shortcut in the active window and that took over. |
#19
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On 02 Jul 2018, "Mayayana" wrote in
alt.windows7.general: I posted this earlier and it hasn't shown up. Using AIOE. I'm also finding that ES is not working at all today. Anyway, I'm trying to post again. I must have escaped aioe because I saw it earlier. I'll give it a shot. It needs to be a toggle - activate it once to show the desktop, activate it again to restore all windows. We shall see... Thank you. ---------------- This will work but it requires a shortcut on the Desktop. Put the following in Notepad and save as something like ShowDesktop.vbs: Set ShAp = CreateObject("Shell.Application") Shap.MinimizeAll Set Shap = Nothing Put the VBS file anywhere. Make a shortcut to it on the Desktop. Right-click the shortcut and set the shortcut combo. Note that it must be something that won't be valid in the active window. I used Ctl + Alt + 6. I first tried Ctl + Alt + D but Ctl+D was a shortcut in the active window and that took over. |
#20
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On Mon, 02 Jul 2018 03:35:42 -0400, Nil
wrote: On 01 Jul 2018, Paul wrote in alt.windows7.general: There's a few more suggestions here. https://superuser.com/questions/3334...-windows-key-o n-an-old-keyboard The question asked there is exactly my question, too. I'm about to try one suggestion from there, remapping the Caps Lock key to Left Windows. There is a small utility to help do this, rather than editing the Registry directly. I rarely if ever use Caps Lock, so this might be acceptable. If you never use Caps Lock, a better solution is to turn it off entirely. I use and recommend the free Sharpkeys at http://www.randyrants.com/category/sharpkeys/ I use it to turn off the two keys I never want to use--Caps Lock and Insert--keys which I otherwise might hit accidentally. |
#21
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On 7/2/2018 1:48 PM, Ken Blake wrote:
On Mon, 02 Jul 2018 03:35:42 -0400, Nil wrote: On 01 Jul 2018, Paul wrote in alt.windows7.general: There's a few more suggestions here. https://superuser.com/questions/3334...-windows-key-o n-an-old-keyboard The question asked there is exactly my question, too. I'm about to try one suggestion from there, remapping the Caps Lock key to Left Windows. There is a small utility to help do this, rather than editing the Registry directly. I rarely if ever use Caps Lock, so this might be acceptable. If you never use Caps Lock, a better solution is to turn it off entirely. I use and recommend the free Sharpkeys at http://www.randyrants.com/category/sharpkeys/ I use it to turn off the two keys I never want to use--Caps Lock and Insert--keys which I otherwise might hit accidentally. another option is KewTweak -- Zaidy036 |
#22
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On 7/2/2018 1:48 PM, Ken Blake wrote:
On Mon, 02 Jul 2018 03:35:42 -0400, Nil wrote: On 01 Jul 2018, Paul wrote in alt.windows7.general: There's a few more suggestions here. https://superuser.com/questions/3334...-windows-key-o n-an-old-keyboard The question asked there is exactly my question, too. I'm about to try one suggestion from there, remapping the Caps Lock key to Left Windows. There is a small utility to help do this, rather than editing the Registry directly. I rarely if ever use Caps Lock, so this might be acceptable. If you never use Caps Lock, a better solution is to turn it off entirely. I use and recommend the free Sharpkeys at http://www.randyrants.com/category/sharpkeys/ I use it to turn off the two keys I never want to use--Caps Lock and Insert--keys which I otherwise might hit accidentally. another option https://keytweak.en.softonic.com/ -- Zaidy036 |
#23
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In message , Ken Blake
writes: [] If you never use Caps Lock, a better solution is to turn it off entirely. I use and recommend the free Sharpkeys at http://www.randyrants.com/category/sharpkeys/ I use it to turn off the two keys I never want to use--Caps Lock and Insert--keys which I otherwise might hit accidentally. I _rarely_ use caps lock, but not never - but I _do_ hit it by mistake. For which "toggle keys" is most useful - it makes a beep when you do. (Actually a high beep when you turn it on and a lower one when you turn it off.) It's built into Windows - for some reason, it's under the Accessibility menu (Ease of Access Center | keyboard). -- J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf You know what the big secret about posh people is? Most of them are lovely. - Richard Osman, RT 2016/7/9-15 |
#24
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On 7/1/2018 3:20 PM, Nil wrote:
Is there any key combination that does NOT involve the Windows Key that will minimize all windows and reveal the desktop? Win+D would be the best solution of course, unless like me your keyboard does not have a Win key. look at this cheap NewEgg offer https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=23-225-016&utm_medium=Email&utm_source=ShellShocker&cm_mm c=EMC-SD072018-_-SD070118-_-Item-_-23-225-016&et_cid=43995&et_rid=46997&et_p1=&email64=RXJpY 0BCbG9jaC5jb20= -- Zaidy036 |
#25
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Go to desktop - now noisy keyboard
In message , Nil
writes: On 02 Jul 2018, VanguardLH wrote in alt.windows7.general: [] last one just a few days ago. I "temporarily" went back to my good ol' IBM Model M. I have 4 of these that I retrieved from the dumpster when my company threw them all out in the late '90s. Typing on it is a pleasure, like going home to mom's comfort cooking. Plus, it's unkillable. It does everything I want... except the functionality of Win+D. So, no, I'm not in the market for a cheap keyboard, Windows key [] For those for whom the important thing is the audible feedback, I recommend Noisy Keyboard from http://leeos.tripod.com/. I first tried this just as a novelty, but have now grown so used to it that I miss it when I use another machine. Works with any keyboard, even ones _with_ Windows keys (-: -- J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf live your dash. ... On your tombstone, there's the date you're born and the date you die - and in between there's a dash. - a friend quoted by Dustin Hoffman in Radio Times, 5-11 January 2013 |
#26
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Go to desktop - now noisy keyboard
J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote:
In message , Nil writes: On 02 Jul 2018, VanguardLH wrote in alt.windows7.general: [] last one just a few days ago. I "temporarily" went back to my good ol' IBM Model M. I have 4 of these that I retrieved from the dumpster when my company threw them all out in the late '90s. Typing on it is a pleasure, like going home to mom's comfort cooking. Plus, it's unkillable. It does everything I want... except the functionality of Win+D. So, no, I'm not in the market for a cheap keyboard, Windows key [] For those for whom the important thing is the audible feedback, I recommend Noisy Keyboard from http://leeos.tripod.com/. I first tried this just as a novelty, but have now grown so used to it that I miss it when I use another machine. Works with any keyboard, even ones _with_ Windows keys (-: There are also mechanical keyboards if you want that style of tactile feedback. However, they're much more pricey than the rubber membrane keyboards if all you want is to get the Window keys on the keyboard. I had an old Northgate keyboard that I could bang on with a hammer. If I did ever manage to damage a key, it could be unsoldered from the PCB and replaced. Eventually PCs no longer came with the 5-pin DIN connector. At first, I missed the clackety clack of the Northgate but now I much prefer a quieter keyboard. I also rarely listen to my stereo these days. I turn it on occasionally to check it still works. |
#27
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"Nil" wrote
| It needs to be a toggle - activate it once to show the desktop, | activate it again to restore all windows. We shall see... | Now you tell me. That can be done, too, but it's a bit more sloppy. Below is an altered version. It writes a text file to C:\ and records 1 when minimizing or 0 when restoring. By checking what was recorded last time it can do the opposite the next time. But it restores windows to previous locations. In other words, the min step remembers the existing window locations. If you minimize, then do lots of things, then decide later in the day that you want all windows maxed then it probably won't fully work. Writing a file may seem like a lot of work for such a small task, but it's pretty much instant. I don't know of a better way to track which state is current. While Shell will min and max all windows, if you try to access all windows to see what state they're in, you only get IE and Explorer instances. In other words, Shell doesn't have a property to tell you the state of all currently open windows. You also need permission, of course, to write the file. But this works flawlessly on my system. The Shell object is a light wrapper around Explorer. It allows various operations in script or programming that mimic Explorer behavior. https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/lib...=vs.85%29.aspx '----Begin script ----------------------------------------- Dim s, ShAp, FSO, TS, IsMin Set ShAp = CreateObject("Shell.Application") Set FSO = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject") On Error Resume Next Set TS = FSO.OpenTextFile("C:\minrec.txt", 1, True) s = TS.ReadAll TS.Close Set TS = Nothing Set TS = FSO.OpenTextFile("C:\minrec.txt", 2, True) If Len(s) = 0 Or s = "0" Then IsMin = False TS.Write "1" Else IsMin = True TS.Write "0" End If TS.Close Set TS = Nothing Set FSO = nothnig If IsMin = False Then ShAp.MinimizeAll Else ShAp.UndoMinimizeALL End If Set ShAp = Nothing '--------------------------- |
#28
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Go to desktop - now noisy keyboard
On 02 Jul 2018, "J. P. Gilliver (John)" wrote
in alt.windows7.general: For those for whom the important thing is the audible feedback, I recommend Noisy Keyboard from http://leeos.tripod.com/. I first tried this just as a novelty, but have now grown so used to it that I miss it when I use another machine. Works with any keyboard, even ones _with_ Windows keys (-: The noise isn't very important to me, but the mechanical feel is. After re-acquainting myself with my old IBM keyboard, I'm loving its feel, but I'm starting to get a little annoyed with the noise. It didn't used to bother me, but maybe my previous (now dead) keyboard has me used to something quieter. The IBM is too loud, but worse is the little jingle of the springs. I don't hear that when there's music or other noise in the room, but when it's quiet it tends to put my teeth on edge after a while. Oh, and I remapped my Caps Lock the a Windows key, and it seems to be an acceptable workaround for me. If I find that I need Caps Lock more often, I'll try using another expendable key like Scroll Lock or Print Screen. The advantage of Caps Lock is that I can hit it and D with one hand. |
#29
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Go to desktop - now noisy keyboard
"Nil" wrote in message
... After re-acquainting myself with my old IBM keyboard, I'm loving its feel, but I'm starting to get a little annoyed with the noise. It didn't used to bother me, but maybe my previous (now dead) keyboard has me used to something quieter. The IBM is too loud, but worse is the little jingle of the springs. I don't hear that when there's music or other noise in the room, but when it's quiet it tends to put my teeth on edge after a while. I remember those noisy IBM keyboards. I think anyone using one of them in the earshot of anyone else would make themselves *very* unpopular. I find the noise of mechanical clicking almost as irritating as the sound of someone eating or cleaning their teeth with their mouth open, in the same way that other people find the noise of chalk on a blackboard irritating. My laptop has a nice quiet keyboard but unfortunately the touchpad mouse buttons are very noisy, with a very irritating mechanical click. What is frustrating is that when I tried a very similar model in a shop before ordering mine online, it had buttons that had plenty of travel but without any click. |
#30
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Go to desktop - now noisy keyboard
On 02 Jul 2018, "NY" wrote in alt.windows7.general:
I remember those noisy IBM keyboards. I think anyone using one of them in the earshot of anyone else would make themselves *very* unpopular. Well, I worked for years in an office with dozens of people tapping away on keyboards just like this, and it didn't seem to be a problem back then. I'm sure I'd feel differently now. In my case, my home office/studio is isolated enough that I don't think noise is much of a problem to anyone except possibly me. I type more accurately on a mechanical keyboard. Probably because I learned to type on a manual typewriter. |
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