Mac OS X Leopard - ARCAism

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CHAPTER 4 SYSTEM PREFERENCES
NOTE While the keyboard and mouse preferences cover most standard hardware, they are
mostly designed for Apple keyboards, mice, and trackpads. If you are using a third-party
mouse or keyboard, they may provide options not available with these preferences; additionally,
some of the options here are specifically for Apple hardware features. For this reason,
most third-party hardware comes with its own preference pane. Additionally, there are a
couple of third-party drivers for mice and keyboards that offer different customization options
that may suit you. (For example, I tend to be fond of my Logitech MX Revolution mouse, but
find the included drivers . . . well . . . insufficient. For this reason, I use SteerMouse (http://
plentycom.jp/en/steermouse/index.html) as my mouse driver.)
The Keyboard tab (Figure 4-26) provides options for your keyboard. The basic options are
the following:
Key Repeat Rate: This slider controls how fast a letter will automatically repeat if you
press and hold down a key.
Delay Until Repeat: This slider controls how long you must initially hold down a key until
the letter starts repeating.
Modifier Keys: This button brings up a dialog box that allows you to remap the modifier
keys (e.g., to switch the behavior of the Cmd and Ctrl keys for a more MS Windows–like
experience). You can also turn these keys off (such as the dreaded Caps Lock key).
Other hardware-specific options include the following:
Use all F1, F2, etc., keys as standard function keys: On many Apple keyboards, the
function keys have the alternate purpose of controlling things like volume, screen
brightness, and other hardware features. These alternate functions are the default
functions; to use the function keys as function keys, you must hold down the Option
key. Checking this box reverses this behavior (i.e., the function key is the default, and
Option+Fn will activate the alternate action).
Illuminate keyboard in low-light conditions: This is for special Apple keyboards (like those
found on MacBook Pros) that allow the keyboard to light up. Selecting this box will cause
the keys to light up in low-light conditions. A slider that will turn off the keyboard lights
after a designated period of idle time follows this.
The trackpad on Apple Portables is an amazing thing. Despite its simple appearance, it
packs a lot of power (yes, it only has one button, but it still works like a two-button mouse with
a 3D scroll wheel). The Trackpad tab (Figure 4-27) allows you to configure all this goodness.
The options and their descriptions are described in Table 4-4.