AccentMap 1.0 (30.12.96)
========================

INTRODUCTION

This is a replacement Amiga keymap (keyboard driver) for US-style keyboards.
It is fully identical to the default USA keymap built into the KickStart ROM
except that accents and somer other internation characters are easier to reach.



USAGE

In addition to all existing key combinations (the ones I added were previously
unused), you now have the following "dead" keys to get an accent over the next
letter you type:

                                                        Applies to letters
Dead key                Meaning                        "AaCcEeIiNnOoUuYy "
>------------------------------------------------------------------------------<
Alt-`                   Accent grave                    Àà  ÈèÌì  ÒòÙù  `
Alt-~ (alt-shift-`)     Tilde                           Ãã      ÑñÕõ    ~
Alt-^ (alt-shift-6)     Accent circonflexe              Ââ  ÊêÎî  ÔôÛû  ^
Alt-'                   Accent aigu                     Áá  ÉéÍí  ÓóÚúÝý'
Alt-" (alt-shift-')     Umlaut/trema                    Ää  ËëÏï  ÖöÜüÿ "
Alt-,                   Cedille                           Çç

Of course this will only work if that particular combination of accent and
letter is available; otherwise you get the letter without accent.  Note that any
of these accents can also be applied to the space bar.

The old accents under alt-f, alt-g, alt-h, alt-j, and alt-k are still there if
you are used to them, so if you need to type accents regularly there's really no
reason not to use my new keymap.

Also available are the following simple international characters:

Key combination         Symbol
>------------------------------<
Alt-! (alt-shift-1)     ¡
Alt-? (alt-shift-/)     ¿


And just for consistency with those two I threw in some extras as well:

Key combination         Symbol
>------------------------------<
Alt-\                   /
Alt-/                   \



INSTALLING

No Installer script is provided because installation should be very easy.
Regrettably I don't have any OS or machine older than 3.0 handy and don't
remember all that much about my dear old 1.2 A500 <sigh> so all I can describe
reliably is the installation procedure for 3.0 systems.  If anybody could help
me by writing a description for older systems I'd be most grateful!

The first thing to do is to copy the keymap file into the right directory.  This
should be where the KEYMAPS: assign points to (if your system has it); this
should normally be DEVS:Keymaps, which in turn is normally the Keymaps drawer in
the Devs drawer on your system disk (ie. SYS:Devs/Keymaps).

* From the shell, type (assuming you're in the AccentMap directory):

        Copy accents.keymap KEYMAPS:

  or, if KEYMAPS: is not found, type

        Copy accents.keymap to sys:devs/keymaps


* Alternatively, from Workbench:

        Open the AccentMap drawer by double-clicking on its icon.

        Open your system partition by double-clicking on its disk icon.  Unless
        you've changed its name it is usually called something like
        "Workbench3.0".

        Locate the Devs drawer on your system disk and open it by
        double-clicking on its icon.  In it you'll see several drawer icons, one
        of which is labeled "Keymaps".

        Drag the accents.keymap icon from the AccentMap window to the Devs
        window and drop it into the Keymaps drawer icon.


To activate the keymap, if your system version is 2.1 (V38) or higher, start the
Input preferences program (on 3.0 systems this is located in the Prefs drawer on
your system disk).  One of the controls visible in the window is a list of
keyboard types.  If the keymap file was copied to the correct place, one of the
entries in that list should now read "accents.keymap".  Select this entry by
clicking on it once with the mouse.

You may now choose to test the keymap before you decide whether you want to keep
it.  To do this, close the program's window by clicking the "Use" gadget.  The
new keymap will now remain in effect until you reboot the machine or go back to
the Input prefs program to select another.  Try opening a text editor or word
processor and testing the key combinations described above.  You may also want
to test other key combinations to assure yourself that they still work like you
are used to.  If not, drop me a line and I'll see what I can do.

If you decide to install my keymap permanently, select the "Save" button instead
of the "Use" button to close the Input preferences program.  This will make the
selection permanent on your machine (until you decide otherwise).

If your OS version is older than 2.1, I'm sorry to say I don't know exactly how
the keymap should be activated.  Supposedly this is done by adding the command
"SetMap accents.keymap" in your Startup-Sequence (this is the script file in the
S: directory that is executed automatically each time you boot the system)
in a separate line above the one with the LoadWB command.  If you aren't sure
either, I recommend creating a copy of your Workbench floppy and experimenting
on that copy to make sure that it works before you commit yourself.



REMOVING

If you want to remove my keymap from your system, just delete the accents.keymap
file from the Keymaps drawer you copied it into while installing.  Remember to
select your old keymap again in the Input preferences program, if necessary, and
save the settings.



BACKGROUND

The keymap was created by editing one of the keyboard drivers on my Workbench
3.0 disks using the EditKeys program by David Kinder.  So far it has only been
used on A4000s running OS version 3.0 (V39), but to my knowledge it should work
on all Amiga systems.

I'll be happy to add similar extensions to other keymaps (d/Deutsch, n/Norsk,
gb/British etc) as well if there are any requests for it.



AUTHOR

Send any bug reports, feature requests or the usual (yawn) death threats to:

Jeroen T. Vermeulen
Email           jtv@xs4all.nl
Phone/Fax       +31.20.6258990
WWW             http://www.wi.leidenuniv.nl/~jvermeul

If you intend to telephone me or send me a fax, please keep any timezone
differences in mind--as well as the fact that I may work late and sleep into
noon (Central European Time).

This keymap is in the Public Domain.  The accompanying documentation is
Copyright © 1996 Jeroen T. Vermeulen; the combination may be distributed freely
as long as any changes or additions are clearly marked along with the names of
those who made them, and nothing is omitted other than the icons and any
extraneous material if its author(s) allow(s) for this.  No guarantees can be
made regarding the reliability of this product for any use at all, including but
not limited to its use as harddisk filler or bedside reading.