fn key to temporarily switch numlock

[hiyel]

Hi,
I just upgraded from an old toshiba tecra to a t43. I was wondering if there is a way to temporarily activate the numpad keys embedded on the keyboard. The layout of numpads allows to type numbers easier. However, having to hit shift+numlock and then shift+numlock again when you are done is just too much of a keystroke, it may be even faster to just use the the top row of the keyboard for this. Intuitively I would assume that the fn key would temporarily activate the numlock and allow me to enter numbers, this is how my old toshiba was (and ibooks, powerbooks as well). Once you got used to this it makes it very easy and fast to type text that has numbers in it.

The hardware maintanence manual doesn't mention any use of the fn key in such a way. I was hoping that someone wrote a patch or something for this but I did a search in the forum and on google and nothing came up. Please let me know if you've heard of anything about this.

Also I noticed that the "numlock" label that is the on the "scroll lock" key is printed above the "scroll lock" label, as opposed to its other two counterparts "prtsc" and "pause" keys. Does that mean anything? It seems like a clue of something to me, or maybe I'm being too optimistic about my problem

[johnchan]

This may or may not work but shift+scrolllock? would that activate the numlock? or maybe fnshftscrolllock??

[GomJabbar]

I believe I read somewhere on this site where DavidSpalding used the UltraNav Wizard to record keystrokes that could be invoked with a tap on a touchpad area or key. Search for DavidSpalding and UltraNav. I haven't tried doing anything like this personally.

[hiyel]

johnchan: I sure tried every combination before posting, but no luck. BTW shift+scrlk does activate the numberpad, but then you have to turn it off by using the same sequence. What I want is, fn+j prints 1, fn+k prints 2, etc...

GomJabbar: Yes, with ultranav you can assign key sequences to buttons or tap areas, I thought about that too but it's not the same thing because you have to turn it on press the number key and then turn it off again. Simultaneously pressing fn+* is a lot faster and makes a smoother transition. I think I just have to live with it. But thank you anyways.

Any idea about the mystery of the numlock label being above the scrlock?

[GomJabbar]

Any idea about the mystery of the numlock label being above the scrlock?

Shift + ScrLk = NumLk. ScrLk by itself (without the shift) is supposed to stop scrolling of the display. AFAIK, this is mainly used with the Command Prompt, where for instance you may want to view a list of files in a directory, and the Scroll Lock key prevents the list from jumping to the end. ScrLk is really not used by many people these days. It is more of a holdover from the old DOS days.

[LtTPfan]

I also find using the embedded numpad a PITA and usually opt for using the upper row except when those won't work such as for entering extended ASCII codes like box drawing and special characters. I also have a USB numpad I bought at the dollar store for $2.99 but rarely use it either.