Mac KeyCaps

HAVE YOU EVER wanted a KeyCaps font that really looks like a modern Macintosh keyboard? If so, this has to be the font for you, specially prepared in Fontographer many years ago by Chris Sansom <http://www.chrissansom.net>.

Hows this for an endorsement?

Steve Ingram is (was?) the President of Dvorak International, promoters of the Dvorak keyboard layout  a far more efficient alternative to the QWERTY layout with which were all familiar. Unfortunately there no longer seems to be anything at <http://www.dvorakint.org>, however. Steve had been using another keycaps font for their promotional literature, but then discovered Mac KeyCaps and said: Ive since come across two more fonts similar to Mac KeyCaps, but they are shabby by comparison. Mac KeyCaps is the best thing out there I am VERY busy promoting the Dvorak layouts. Anything that makes this volunteer job easier and quicker is most welcome. Mac KeyCaps does just that, and it looks great too! I used to recommend emailing Steve at <DvorakInt@aol.com> for a sample newsletter to see Mac KeyCaps in use, but if the site has gone I dont know whether this would do you any good.

If you want to see what it looks like properly, install the font and try it.

In Mac KeyCaps (in both PostScript type 1 and TrueType formats) I have tried, as far as possible, to make the characters look like my Apple Extended Keyboard II, even down to the slight curvature of the keys themselves. The only problem with this lust for authenticity is that each character is quite small and tucked into the bottom left-hand corner of its key. All is not lost, however, because the font has far more characters available than there are keys, so alternative versions can be made. If you really must make the alphabet look authentic, therefore, use unshifted letters; if you want it to be more readable, shift em.

For the number and punctuation keys which have two characters on them, I have done my level best to provide the key showing both symbols as well as a large and small version of each symbol individually, though some of these are a bit obscurely placed, requiring those fancy double keystrokes we use for accented characters. I have also (I hope) catered for both UK and US users by providing alternative versions of the 3 key (with # or ). As a measure of how very old this is, though, it predates the Euro currency, so there is no symbol for it  sorry about that. Similarly, the function keys are all there, in versions with and without the tiny text at the top of F13 to F15. Theres even a power on key at Sh-Opt-`.

Yes, indeed, ladies and gentlemen, all the normally available key combinations are yours to explore!

The modifiers and whatnot, which are different sizes on the keyboard, are similarly proportioned in the font; there are also verbal equivalents of them (cmd, opt, etc.ctrl is ctrl anyway, of course). Unfortunately, I had to foreshorten the two tall keys  (return and enter), since all the other characters would otherwise have been ridiculously small. If you want to be really silly and have a proportional space bar, use Opt-space, otherwise the space bar on its own gives you a shorter one (but only if youve installed the PostScript fontthe TrueType version, unfortunately, merely gives you a rather large blank space). If you genuinely want an ordinary spacea real gapyoull just have to type a space and change its font. Sorry about that.

You will also find the other adornments to be found on Apples old wonder of keyboardment: the caps lock light (with label) and its two useless (unless you use horrid old Windows) companions, and even a stripy, albeit monochrome, apple at Sh-Opt-K (yes, the Apple logo was still stripy when I made this font). I stopped short of the two little plastic nipple thingies that youre supposed to hang your little plastic function key crib chart on, though.

I strongly recommend that you use Ergonis Softwares excellent PopChar too <http://www.ergonis.com/>. Like most display-type fonts, Mac KeyCaps works best at large sizes.

Important note for US users: you will need to switch to the British keyboard layout in your Keyboard control panel in order to get all the characters.

Okey doke, here comes the tedious stuff: this font is shareware and copyright  1995 Chris Sansom. If you like it and/or use it (ie, even if you hate it but still use it, or like it and only sort of stare at it), please send 10.00 to me at 57 Cricketfield Road, London E5 8NR, UK. Failing that, at least send a picture of your cat; if you dont have a cat send a picture of your dog; if no dog, a picture of your gerbil; or of something else interesting. At the very least, send an email to <mac.keycaps@highway57.co.uk>, and let me know what you think of it. This software may be distributed, given away or what-have-youbut NOT for moneyproviding the four files (PostScript file, bitmap suitcase, TrueType suitcase and this text file) are kept together. Ho hum.

 and thats about the size of it.
