Mapping F13, F14, F15

Question

I am a programmer and I would like to map all the unused function keys (from F13 to F19) on my Apple Keyboard to some useful chars like parenthesis: {, }, [, ] and quotes

Is there a free software for Mac OS X 10.7+ that I can use?

Thanks!

Answer 1

You can use a private.xml like this with Karabiner (previously named KeyRemap4MacBook):

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<root>
  <item>
    <name>test</name>
    <identifier>test</identifier>
    <autogen>__KeyToKey__ KeyCode::F13, KeyCode::BRACKET_LEFT, VK_SHIFT</autogen>
    <autogen>__KeyToKey__ KeyCode::F14, KeyCode::BRACKET_RIGHT, VK_SHIFT</autogen>
    <autogen>__KeyToKey__ KeyCode::F15, KeyCode::BRACKET_LEFT</autogen>
    <autogen>__KeyToKey__ KeyCode::F16, KeyCode::BRACKET_RIGHT</autogen>
  </item>
</root>

Change for example KeyCode::BRACKET_LEFT, VK_SHIFT to whatever key combination inserts { in your keyboard layout.

Answer 2

Just try BetterTouchTool, you can do almost everything you want!

Better Touch Tool

Just download and install it. Then run it and select "Keyboard" tab where you can configure buttons. Click on "Add new shortcut" and then just specify your shortcut - in your case "Keyboard shortcut" will be F13 and "Trigger other Keyboard shortcut" will be { And do it for next keys like F15 etc...

You also can configure this shortcuts only for your IDE. In left panel "Select Application" click on "+" and select your IDE, then just configure your shortcuts for your IDE..

Ohh and you can have a problem to mapping F14-F15 keys, because in default OS X use it for monitor brightness.. So you have to go to the Mac Preference - keyboard - shortcut - monitor/display - uncheck f14 and f15 keys and enjoy!

I'm using it also for my Magic Mouse configuration. For example middle click and other shortcuts and gestures that I was missing. It also supports window snapping and much more. It's just on of the must have application on your Mac.

My recommendation is to go to the BetterTouchTool settings and check "Launch BetterTouchTool on startup"

Happy Coding ;-)

Answer 3

What about karabiner app?

https://pqrs.org/osx/karabiner/

Hope it will help