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SILKey for Macintosh

Jonathan Kew, 1998-03-11

SILKey is a suite of programs that can be used to modify the behavior of the Macintosh keyboard when typing in any standard Macintosh word processor or other text-editing program. Written by Jonathan Kew, it is very similar to, but is not based on, the Keyman program for Windows.

Unicode and Mac OS X

SILKey runs only in "classic" Mac OS; it cannot be used with "native" Mac OS X applications. For custom Mac OS X keyboards based on the Unicode standard, the keyboard layout editor Ukelele may be of interest, or see other links in the Input Resources category.

SILKey system components

SILKey Extension: a small extension that allows SILKey to monitor the key sequences being typed, no matter what application is in use.
SILKey: the application that actually processes the keystrokes as you type, following the instructions in a keyboard file.
Weaver: the keyboard editor and compiler.
Documentation: text and tutorial on using SILKey and writing keyboard files.

Features

Support for complex, multiple key sequences
Support for context sensitive data entry
Can prevent illegal character combinations from being entered into a document
Keyboard behaviors can be linked to new or existing Macintosh system keyboard files
Syntax very similar to Keyman for Windows
Works in any Macintosh application
Requires very little memory or disk space

System Requirements

Mac OS System 7 to 9 (including Classic mode in Mac OS X).

Version history

Version 1.0 - May 1996
Version 1.1 - December 1996
Version 1.2 - March 1998

Download

SILKey is copyrighted freeware and may be freely distributed, but not sold for profit.

SILKey Download (BinHex)
Jonathan Kew, 1998-03-11
Download "silkey_sea.hqx", BinHex 4 file, 201KB [13098 downloads]

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