I have a set of scales which use RS232 to input weights to shipping software.
I am looking to use this data in Excel on Mac, basically using the device as a keyboard or in a similar way to a barcode scanner, in that the weight it sent over RS232 only when a button is pressed, with a line return at the end.
I have searched high and low and can't find an equivalent of 232key for Mac!
Using Screen in terminal, I am able to see the data I need, so I am basically looking for a way for macOS to recognise this device as a keyboard in the same way a barcode scanner does.
Thanks!
Related
I am writing a small proof of concept for detecting extra inputs across mouses and keyboards on Windows, is it possible and how do I go about detecting input from a large amount of buttons in the Windows API? From what I have read, there is only support for 5 buttons but many mice have more buttons than that, is my question even possible with the Windows API, is it possible at all within the constraints of Windows?
You can use the Raw Input API to receive WM_INPUT messages directly from the mouse/keyboard driver. There are structure fields for the 5 standard mouse buttons (left, middle, right, x1, and x2). Beyond the standard buttons, additional buttons are handled by vendor-specific data that you would have to code for as needed. The API can give you access to the raw values, but you will have to refer to the vendor driver documentation for how to interpret them. Sometimes extra buttons are actually reported as keyboard input instead of mouse input.
Or, try using the DirectInput API to interact with DirectInput devices to receive Mouse Data and Keyboard Data.
Or, you could use the XInput API, which is the successor of DirectInput. However, XInput is more limited than DirectInput, as it is designed primarily for interacting with the Xbox 360 controller, whereas DirectInput is designed to interact with any controller. See XInput and DirectInput for more details.
Very simple: use GetKeyState
SHORT WINAPI GetKeyState(
_In_ int nVirtKey
);
Logic is next:
Ask user not to press buttons
Loop GetKeyState for all buttons 0-255
Drop pressed buttons state (some virtual keys can be pressed even it not pressed, not know why)
Now start keys monitor thread for rest keys codes and save them to any structure (pause between loop is 25ms is enough)
Ask user to press button
From keys monitor array you will see the any pressed buttons by user
Direct input and all other is more usable for other user input devices. For keyboard and mouse - GetKeyState is best.
I would like to emulate OS X Lion's inverted vertical scrolling using a trackpad on Windows. I wonder if it would be possible to create a filter driver for a target HID device, intercept ... something ... and then reverse the values in the WM_VSCROLL message? e.g., send TB_PAGEDOWN instead of TB_PAGEUP, TB_LINEDOWN instead of TB_LINEUP, etc.
I have some familiarity with the Windows DDK and HID devices, but I've never attempted a filter driver before. Is something like this possible? If so, does anyone have some specific advice on how to proceed?
I believe I need to write an upper device filter driver.
I found the moufiltr driver sample in the DDK. The MouFilter_ServiceCallback looks like the right place to hook into. I'm hoping to be able to loop through the MOUSE_INPUT_DATA structs passed to this function and then tweak the ButtonData field when ButtonFlags has MOUSE_WHEEL set.
I'm trying to put together a game for Mac OS X which involves a lot of fast action and flinging around of the mouse cursor. If the user wants to play in windowed mode, I'd quite like to lock the cursor to the inside of the window to avoid accidentally changing programs in the heat of battle (obviously this will cancel itself if the user changes programs or hits escape for the pause menu.)
On Windows, this can be accomplished easily with ClipCursor(). I can't find an equivalent on Mac OS X. Is there one?
Have a look at CGWarpMouseCursorPosition, CGAssociateMouseAndMouseCursorPosition and CGGetLastMouseDelta (part of ApplicationServices).
See http://developer.apple.com/library/mac/#documentation/GraphicsImaging/Reference/Quartz_Services_Ref/Reference/reference.html
Although I have a feeling that this isn't technically possible, it's worth asking anyways. Is it possible to turn on the Macbook Pro's keyboard backlights for individual keys? I am working on a piece of grid-based software which allows the user to navigate around by pressing any key on the keyboard to position the cursor at that point in the grid. It would be very cool if I could somehow just turn on the backlight for certain keys to give the user an easy way to see the current position of the cursor.
Is it even possible for an application to control the keyboard backlighting at all, let alone for individual keys?
Yes, on programs controlling the backlight.
iTunes visualizer that pusles keyboard backlighting to music:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUXLkwlF9e8
How to manually adjust (via plugin):
http://osxdaily.com/2006/11/30/how-to-manually-adjust-the-macbook-pro-keyboard-backlight/
Not sure on programs controlling individual keys, but as that would require additional hardware to be installed on Mac's part, i doubt it.
Well after trawling the webs, it looks like the answer to that is no. But I'd like to point out that each key does have its own key- a tiny little LED (same kind they use under phone keypad buttons). Also, I've seen some people saying that flashing these lights on and off repeatedly is bad for them. Bullshit- all digital electronics control light output from LED's by flashing on and off many many times a second. Read up on PWM on wikipedia or something..
Anyways just had to get that out there :)
Thanks,
Nic
I am writing an input system for a game that needs to be able to handle keyboard schemes that are not just qwerty. In designing the system, I must take into consideration:
Two types of input: standard shooter controls (lots of buttons being pressed and raw samples collected) and flight sim controls (the button's label is what the user presses to toggle something)
Alternative software keyboard layouts (dvorak, azerty, etc) as supplied by the OS
Alternative hardware keyboard layouts that supply Unicode characters
My initial inclination is to sample the USB HID unicode scancodes. Interested on thoughts on what I need to do to be compatible with the world's input devices and recommendation of input APIs on both platforms.
Simple solution is to allow customization of input. In the control customization, record what key the OS tells you has been pressed. In game, when you get a key press, check it against your list of bound keys and do the appropriate action.
It looks You need a cross platform library for games. You can look at SDL:
http://www.libsdl.org/
It is quite popular in game development.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_games_using_SDL
The library is quite modular. You can only use part that control input.