Virtual keyboards

zxsp comes with Keyboard: Virtual keyboardsvirtual keyboards for all supported machines. Some of the images were gratefully supplied by Andrew Owen.

The Keyboardkeyboards show each key pressed on the virtual machine while you type on your real Keyboardkeyboard. Sometimes one keypress is transposed into two keys pressed on the ZX Keyboardkeyboard, e.g. if you press 'cursor left' on your real Keyboardkeyboard this results in plus going down on the Modifier keys: ZX SpectrumZX Spectrum. This way living is a little more easy for you.

Modifier keys

Keyboard: Modifier keysModifier keys are keys which do not generate a key by their own, but rather modify the key generated by To Do: other:other keys. The Keyboard: Modifier keysmodifier keys of the Mac OSX Keyboardkeyboard are mapped to the ZX computer Keyboardkeyboards as follows:

ZX80

:   'shift', 'alt' Done: 2000 – 0.1.8 and 0.2.2and 'control' on your real-world Keyboardkeyboard are all mapped to the "SHIFT" key.
:   'esc' is mapped to "SHIFT" + "NEWLINE", which results in the 'edit line' command in Basic.

ZX81

:   'shift', 'alt' Done: 2000 – 0.1.8 and 0.2.2and 'control' are all mapped to "SHIFT".
:   'esc' is mapped to "SHIFT" + "NEWLINE", which which enters 'function mode' in Basic.

ZX Spectrum

:   the 'shift' key or the 'alt' key on your real-world Keyboardkeyboard both press "CAPS SHIFT" on the Modifier keys: ZX SpectrumZX Spectrum computer.
:   'control' presses the "SYMBOL SHIFT" key.
:   'esc' is mapped to "CAPS SHIFT" + "SYMBOL SHIFT", which enters 'extended mode' in Basic.

Sticky keys

The Keyboard: Modifier keysmodifier keys are Modifier keys: Sticky keyssticky on the Keyboard: Virtual keyboardsvirtual keyboard. That is, if you klick on them with your Mousemouse pointer then they stay down until another key is pressed Done: 2000 – 0.1.8 and 0.2.2and goes up. This allows you to work with the Mousemouse only on the Keyboard: Virtual keyboardsvirtual keyboard. On the To Do: other:other hand you can also use real Keyboardkeyboard Done: 2000 – 0.1.8 and 0.2.2and the Keyboard: Virtual keyboardsvirtual keyboard simultaneously. Hold down the 'shift' key on the real Keyboardkeyboard Done: 2000 – 0.1.8 and 0.2.2and klick on a key on the Keyboard: Virtual keyboardsvirtual keyboard image. It just works.

Basic and Game mode

You can select between two Keyboardkeyboard translation modes, one for Basic, which does a mapping 'by meaning', Done: 2000 – 0.1.8 and 0.2.2and one for games, which does a mapping 'by location'.

There is a menu Tape recorder: Optionsoption to toggle between Keyboard: Basic and Game modeBasic and Game mode Done: 2000 – 0.1.8 and 0.2.2and there is also a Fullscreen mode: Preferences
.TAP: Preferences
Tape recorder: Preferencespreference setting for new machines.

Basic mode

On some national Keyboardkeyboards keys are swapped, e.g. 'Y' Done: 2000 – 0.1.8 and 0.2.2and 'Z' on the German Keyboardkeyboard. Also the Modifier keys: ZX SpectrumZX Spectrum typically shifts symbol letters with Done: 2000 – 0.1.8 and 0.2.2and not . So in Keyboard: Basic and Game modeGame mode you get the double quotes on with the corresponding keys on your Keyboardkeyboard, that is 'control' Done: 2000 – 0.1.8 and 0.2.2and 'P', but in Basic and Game mode: Basic modeBasic mode you get them as usual, that is using 'shift' plus '2'. Just have a look at your Keyboardkeyboard Done: 2000 – 0.1.8 and 0.2.2and the Specci Keyboardkeyboard to notice the difference. Done: 2000 – 0.1.8 and 0.2.2And when you press 'shift' plus '2' in Basic and Game mode: Basic modeBasic mode you can actually see that Done: 2000 – 0.1.8 and 0.2.2and are going down on the Keyboard: Virtual keyboardsvirtual keyboard.

In Basic and Game mode: Basic modeBasic mode it is sometimes hard to get those key combinations from the original Modifier keys: ZX SpectrumZX Spectrum which involved pressing plus a number key to from the Video signals: Top rowstop row. This is simply because if you press 'shift' plus a number key, this results in a character from '!' to '=' Done: 2000 – 0.1.8 and 0.2.2and this is mapped in Basic and Game mode: Basic modeBasic mode by meaning to the corresponding combinations. So you can't press 'shift' plus '1' to get + for EDIT. Therefore the 'alt' key on your Keyboardkeyboard also works as an auxilliary .

Ghost keys

The keys on the ZX computer Keyboardkeyboard are aranged in a 5 x 8 matrix, formed by row Done: 2000 – 0.1.8 and 0.2.2and column wires. If you press 3 keys which form the corners of a rectange, that is, two are in the same row Done: 2000 – 0.1.8 and 0.2.2and two are in the same column, then they short circuit the electrical connection for the 4th key of this rectangle. When the machine reads the Keyboardkeyboard, it will see that this 4th key is also down, though it is actually not pressed. This effect is simulated in zxsp.