Numpad Pro: Alt ASCII Character Codes in Win 11?

[mhoopes]

I have a Numpad Pro and an MX Keys Mini on my Win 11 machine. When I say Alt +, I mean that I hold down Alt while entering 4 numbers into the Numpad on the Numpad Pro or On-Screen Keyboard, then release Alt. Num lock is on.

I cannot get ASCII character codes to work using any combo of those two, even if I involve the On-Screen Keyboard. I assigned [3] at the top of the Numpad Pro to be Alt, just in case it was a device/device modifier issue, but no, it's equivalent to pressing Alt on the other two options.

I can get the characters to come up in MS Word if I use Alt+4 digits then {space or Enter}, otherwise it's the Character Map, Win+; Symbols, or other graphical character choosers, which are quite flow-disruptive in comparison for me. All of the muscle memory I have with Alt+ASCII codes is out the window for now.

Google searches on the topic are quite discouraging. Any suggestions? Could we get an Alt Hold function in 3DxWare that works for this, or is it a Win 10/11 fundamental UI change (first digit when holding Alt is all that is supported?) that can't be worked around to re-enable the old entry method?

[Valdis]

In 3DxWare try creating macros for the ALT code in the text box, not command. Type the ALT code as you would on a keyboard, nothing will appear in the macros text box, but the macros will work.

[Valdis]

Could we get an Alt Hold function in 3DxWare that works

Unable to. You must create a macro for each ALT code character.

[jwick]

Hi Michael,

This rings a bell. I'll ask around to remind myself why it doesn't work.

Jim

[mhoopes]

Text or Command macro entries yield the same usage ID (E2 or E6), but there's no differentiation between press and release. I programmed an Alt Press in my G600 mouse, and I see that it gets automatically released after the first subsequent digit press. I'm assuming that's a Windows thing.

[Valdis]

Text or Command macro entries yield the same usage ID (E2 or E6), but there's no differentiation between press and release.

For example, create a macro for the letter µ (Alt+0181)
New Macro
In the "Command" box, You can only Alt+Num 0
The following numbers will not be possible, «Command» box does not work if the Alt code is two, three or four digits long
In the «Text» box, press and hold Alt, type 0 1 8 1 (numpad numbers), release Alt, µ appears in the «Text» box
Works with full keyboard, keyboard with numpad
Could it be that the Numpad Pro number keys are not mapped as numpad numbers, but as keyboard numeric row numbers?

[mhoopes]

Text or Command macro entries yield the same usage ID (E2 or E6), but there's no differentiation between press and release.

For example, create a macro for the letter µ (Alt+0181)
New Macro
In the "Command" box, You can only Alt+Num 0
The following numbers will not be possible, «Command» box does not work if the Alt code is two, three or four digits long
In the «Text» box, press and hold Alt, type 0 1 8 1 (numpad numbers), release Alt, µ appears in the «Text» box
Works with full keyboard, keyboard with numpad
Could it be that the Numpad Pro number keys are not mapped as numpad numbers, but as keyboard numeric row numbers?

Thanks - and yes, that's true. To clarify, I'm not trying to program full macros for these, as I can just copy them from the char map for one-time programming if I want that. I'm looking to see if I can restore the Alt+ASCII entry method to Windows that's imprinted in my brain from decades of Windows use. I probably have more then 30 of them still resident there, so none of these devices can really replace that.

Perhaps a better (more professional) version of the Win 11 Emoji Picker (Win+;), where it goes straight to recent symbols, would be able to fill this need. It surprised me that the venerable Alt+ASCII UX feature slipped out of the mainstream without very much pushback. The Character Map still references those codes (Alt+####).

Numpad key usage IDs are different than number row key usage IDs in the USB HID Usage Tables. For instance, Numpad 3 = 5B, number row 3 = 20. 3DxWare's macro Command differentiates them; Text does not.
Take a look in any of your .xml files in %appdata%\3Dconnexion\3DxWare\Cfg.
https://www.usb.org/sites/default/files ... 1_12v2.pdf

[mhoopes]

Here's another place (besides Outlook and Word) where the characters can be summoned via Alt+ASCII, provided you have Windows PowerToys Run activated. Hold Alt on the On-Screen Keyboard, type your 4-digit ASCII code, then hit space the way you would in MS Word. The special character shows up in the PowerToys Run interface.

Accented characters make up some of the codes taking up space in my head. Luckily, PowerToys Quick Accent emulates what's been available in iOS/macOS for a while, with a bit more configurability. Hold down the letter of interest (Shift+ or not), then hit one of the left or right arrow keys while still holding the letter key, but before repeat kicks in.

[Valdis]

Outlook and Word

For MS Word Unicode characters works well. Not all characters have Alt codes, but have Unicode. It can be useful in MS Word if You want to memorize. No need for numpad numbers, keyboard row numbers also work.
For µ
Type 00B5, then press and hold Alt, press X (Alt+X)
µ appears
Alt+X again and You see 00B5

[jwick]

This rings a bell. I'll ask around to remind myself why it doesn't work.

Windows requires the entire alt+0ddd packet to come in the same USB packet. This works when the NPP is paired to the KeyBoard Pro.
It does not work when the NPP has its own connection (USB, BT). Those two have separate connections to the system.

If the NPP could generate its own Alt key, it would work, but it can not. When you assign the "Alt key function" to an NPP key, the Alt key is sent from our KB emulator.

[mhoopes]

Thanks, Jim! Understood. No Numpad Pro standalone solution found, so I'm running an AutoHotkey script instead for my MX Keys Mini, using my number row:

Ctrl+Alt+num -> Alt+Numpad. This works. Script below:

Code: Select all

^!1::!Numpad1
^!2::!Numpad2
^!3::!Numpad3
^!4::!Numpad4
^!5::!Numpad5
^!6::!Numpad6
^!7::!Numpad7
^!8::!Numpad8
^!9::!Numpad9
^!0::!Numpad0

[mhoopes]

Windows PowerToys v0.76.0 has added a feature to the Keyboard Manager: "Added the feature to remap keys and shortcuts to arbitrary unicode text sequences."

This adds the ability to remap keyboard combos ("shortcuts") to other shortcuts, in addition to single-key remapping.

This can accomplish the same task as the AutoHotkey script above, if the user configures "Select:" shortcuts available on a TKL keyboard and "To send:" shortcuts using the on-screen Numpad or a dedicated Numpad (like the Numpad Pro). The TKL Alt button will work as a modifier to configure the "Send To:" to send Alt+Numpad ASCII codes.

They also have the option to filter each mapping for a single Windows application.

You can use my bindings that correspond to Ctrl+Alt+# -> Alt+Numpad# (same as the AutoHotkey mappings) by replacing the text in the following file with the code below: %localappdata%\Microsoft\PowerToys\Keyboard Manager\default.json

Code: Select all

{"remapKeys":{"inProcess":[]},"remapKeysToText":{"inProcess":[]},"remapShortcuts":{"global":[{"originalKeys":"162;164;48","newRemapKeys":"164;96"},{"originalKeys":"162;164;49","newRemapKeys":"164;97"},{"originalKeys":"162;164;50","newRemapKeys":"164;98"},{"originalKeys":"162;164;51","newRemapKeys":"164;99"},{"originalKeys":"162;164;52","newRemapKeys":"164;100"},{"originalKeys":"162;164;53","newRemapKeys":"164;101"},{"originalKeys":"162;164;54","newRemapKeys":"164;102"},{"originalKeys":"162;164;55","newRemapKeys":"164;103"},{"originalKeys":"162;164;56","newRemapKeys":"164;104"},{"originalKeys":"162;164;57","newRemapKeys":"164;105"}],"appSpecific":[]},"remapShortcutsToText":{"global":[],"appSpecific":[]}}

[Ayden Kuphal]

While holding the Alt key, enter the ASCII code of the desired character using the numeric keypad on the right side of your keyboard. Make sure to use the numeric keypad and not the numbers at the top of the keyboard.

[mhoopes]

Yes, that is the proper procedure with a keyboard that has a numpad. TKL (tenkeyless) keyboards, such as the MX Keys Mini, do not have an integrated numpad.

I prefer TKL keyboards, for ergonomic reasons, as they simultaneously allow my keyboard home row to be at the center of my desktop tray and the mouse controllers close at hand. An integrated numpad forces HID asymmetry and body contortions for those using a mouse with the right hand.

If one has a dedicated numpad (like the 3DConnexion Numpad Pro), the Alt modifier from another device (like the main keyboard, or the 3DConnexion virtual keyboard) will not work with the numpad; the modifier HAS to be on the same device. Thus, my workarounds that use Ctrl+Alt with the numbers row. The Microsoft PowerToys Keyboard Manager "remapping" function is the one I prefer, though AutoHotkey mappings work well, too.