MS-DOS v6.22 Help: KEYB

------------------------- MS-DOS v6.22 Help: KEYB --------------------------
<Notes> <Examples>                                               <Index>
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                                    KEYB

Starts the Keyb program, which configures a keyboard for a specific
language.

Use Keyb to configure a keyboard for a language other than United States
English. For an introduction to the Keyb program, see the chapter
"Customizing for International Use" in the MS-DOS User's Guide.

Syntax

At the command prompt, use the following syntax:

    KEYB [xx[,[yyy][,[drive:][path]filename]]] [/E] [/ID:nnn]

In your CONFIG.SYS file, use the following syntax:

    INSTALL=[[dos-drive:]dos-path]KEYB.COM
    [xx[,[yyy][,[drive:][path]filename]]] [/E] [/ID:nnn]

Parameters

xx
    Specifies the code for a keyboard layout. See the table at the end of
    this topic for a list of valid values for this parameter.

yyy
    Specifies the character set (code page). See the table at the end of
    this topic for a list of valid values for this parameter. If this value
    is not specified, KEYB uses the current character set.

[drive:][path]filename
    Specifies the location and name of the keyboard definition file. The
    default filename is KEYBOARD.SYS. If KEYBOARD.SYS is in a directory
    included in the path, you do not have to specify these parameters.
    (MS-DOS 6.22 includes two keyboard definition files: KEYBOARD.SYS, the
    default file, and KEYBRD2.SYS, which provides support for keyboards not
    included in KEYBOARD.SYS. For information about using KEYBRD2.SYS, see
    the COUNTRY.TXT file.)

[dos-drive:]dos-path
    Specifies the location of the KEYB.COM file.

Switches

/E
    Specifies that an enhanced keyboard is installed. Use this switch if you
    are using an enhanced keyboard with an 8086 computer.

/ID:nnn
    Specifies the keyboard in use. This switch is valid only for countries
    that have more than one keyboard layout for the same language (France,
    Italy, and the United Kingdom). See the following table for a list of
    valid values for nnn.

Values for xx, yyy, and nnn

The following table shows the valid values for xx, yyy, and nnn for each
country or language supported by KEYBOARD.SYS:

Country or         Keyboard layout    Character set      Keyboard
language           (xx value)         (yyy value)        identification
                                                         (ID:nnn value)
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Belgium            be                 850, 437

Brazil             br                 850, 437

Canadian-French    cf                 850, 863

Czechoslovakia     cz                 852, 850
(Czech)

Czechoslovakia     sl                 852, 850
(Slovak)

Denmark            dk                 850, 865

Finland            su                 850, 437

France             fr                 850, 437           120, 189

Germany            gr                 850, 437

Hungary            hu                 852, 850

Italy              it                 850, 437           141, 142

Latin America      la                 850, 437

Netherlands        nl                 850, 437

Norway             no                 850, 865

Poland             pl                 852, 850

Portugal           po                 850, 860

Spain              sp                 850, 437

Sweden             sv                 850, 437

Switzerland        sf                 850, 437
(French)

Switzerland        sg                 850, 437
(German)

United Kingdom     uk                 850, 437           166, 168

United States      us                 850, 437

Yugoslavia         yu                 852, 850

This list includes only keyboards supported by the KEYBOARD.SYS file. For a
list of keyboards supported by the KEYBRD2.SYS file, see the COUNTRY.TXT
file.

Related Command

For information about using active and prepared character sets, see the
<CHCP> command.

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<Syntax> <Examples>
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                                KEYB--Notes

Installing character sets

The character set you specify for yyy must be installed on your system. If
it isn't, any characters not in the current character set will not be
usable.

For information about installing a character set, see the chapter
"Customizing for International Use" in the MS-DOS User's Guide.

Displaying the current keyboard layout and character set

If you use the KEYB command with no parameters or switches, MS-DOS lists the
current keyboard layout (keyboard code), the current keyboard's related
character set (code page), and the current character set (code page) used by
your keyboard and monitor. The information is displayed in the following
format:

    Current keyboard code: FR code page: 437
    Current CON code page: 437

Switching between Keyb settings

To switch from the current Keyb keyboard configuration to the default
keyboard configuration, press CTRL+ALT+F1. To return to the memory-resident
keyboard configuration, press CTRL+ALT+F2. To switch to "typewriter mode,"
the standard for some countries, press CTRL+ALT+F7.

Implementing Keyb

The following list shows the three different ways that you can start the
Keyb program:

***  Type KEYB at the command prompt.

***  Include an INSTALL command for KEYB.COM in your CONFIG.SYS file.

***  Include the appropriate KEYB command in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file.

Keyb exit codes

The following list shows each exit code and gives a brief description of its
meaning:

0    Keyboard definition file was loaded successfully.

1    Invalid keyboard code, character set, or syntax was used.

2    Keyboard definition file is bad or missing.

4    An error occurred while communicating with the keyboard or monitor.

5    The requested character set has not been prepared.

You can use the ERRORLEVEL parameter on the IF command line in a batch
program to process exit codes returned by Keyb. For an example of a batch
program that processes exit codes, see the <CHOICE> command.

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<Syntax> <Notes>
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                               KEYB--Example

To use a German keyboard if your KEYBOARD.SYS file is in the DOS directory
on drive C, you would type the following command:

    keyb gr,,c:\dos\keyboard.sys

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