VMWare Fusion and Windows 7: mapping the NVDA key?

By robin24, 22 November, 2012

Forum
macOS and Mac Apps
Hey all! I'm running the latest version of VMWare on my Macbook Pro. I've installed Windows 7 in a virtual machine, and also installed NVDA as the screen reader. Everything's running fine, except I can't seem to find a way of mapping the NVDA key. I've tried caps lock, but it looks like Mac OS intercepts that keystroke and it's not getting through to NVDA. Is there any way around this issue, or is it somehow possible to map the NVDA key to a non-standard key on the keyboard so that it's usable? Thanks a lot for any help!!! :-) Robin

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Comments

By Travis Roth

10 years 4 months ago

Hi Robin, You can use a little utility called SharpKeys to remap hardware keys in Windows. Install SharpKeys in the Windows virtual machine, and then assign the NVDA key to a keyboard key of your choice such as an Option key. Note: it does not seem to work for the Capslock probably for the same reason NVDA can't use it now, OS X not passing it through. http://www.randyrants.com/sharpkeys/

By Austin Grace

10 years 1 month ago

Hello to all. I don't think it's possible to map insert on a macbook pro. I can't use the caps lock with nvda as a modifier. is there a setting function i'm missing in fusion? Or can you use the right option key or anything? That is the only way I know. A little OT but vmware fusion is very very slow on this macbook pro at times. I run it on bootcamp and it's the best experience I ever had on windows. Have you upgraded a late 2011 macbook pro to 8 GB? Did that help you in anyway? I'm thinking because I run windows 7 64 bit and I can only dedicate 2 gb to windows that's where my problem is.

By Paul Martin

10 years 1 month ago

Sharp Keys? Heard of that one before. How about Linux? Any way to map stuff there? Better yet, any way to make Fusion stop that annoying behavior with the caps lock?

Currently it is uncomfortable to maintain more than one nvda .kbd files, becouse you need add all new written scripts to all .kbd files. thus with oficially distributed key maps it isn't so difficult, with maps which have one user it isn't possible. this must be rewoked somehow. may be as follow: in .kbd files pairs of settings must be no keystroke=script, but script=keystroke. so we have main kbd file (now it is desktop), and how many as one's need extending files. when loading new map, some script keystroke may be changed, and some not. ofcourse, main map file must be loaded first of all, and just it will have all assotiations, other may have redefine just some of them.