- If you have an external numeric keypad, and it's detected in OS X but doesn't work correctly - beep sound when used with iCal; closes the tag window in iTunes instead of typing year or track.
- Solved: My Dell Inspiron 15 5000 series numeric keypad isn't working. I've attached an external one and the numeric keypad doesn't work.
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I use a very cheap external numeric keypad on my MacBook Pro under Leopard, and it works fine. The first time I connected it to my MBP, tthe OS asked me what sort of keyboard it was, I answered ISO keyboard, and that's all.
I didn't notice any problem since. OK, I don't use iCal.
There's a freeware called Eukeke http://scripts.sil.org/ukelele that
can edit the keyboard file; it's tough though and i could never get
the belkin to play right.
Does anyone have recommendations for Tiger and Leopard for
'mac friendly' external numeric keypads?
Foob
Bam! You nailed it for me. I had an old Toshiba external and that did it. Before the tip, OSX thought it was a full keyboard. Thanks!
I have a macbook with OS X, and holding down the num lock key while I connected the usb cable worked like a charm. It still said that the keyboad would need to be identified before it could be used properly, but I just closed that screen, went to excel, and the number pad worked fine. Thanks for the tip!!
i bought a targus numeric keypad which is just for pc's but the second trick where i held the number lock down for over four seconds while it was plugged into my macbook made it work in programs that it was not working in before i tried. thanks for the tip.
My problem was that I had Mouse Keys turned on in the Universal Access system preferences panel. Once I turned that off, I got numbers again.
How To Enable Numeric Keypad
I had to sign up to post and say 'thank you' for this tip! I have a new 15' MacBook Pro and was having a problem trying to get my cheapo external number pad to work. The second trick -- holding down the Num Lock key for 4 seconds -- worked the second time I tried it. Also, I had to close the applications I was trying to use the number pad in and re-open them after holding down the Num Lock key before it would work. Thank you!!
Thank you so much! I do subtitling and CC's with Swift software installed on parallels. Swift Create uses numeric keyboard and I have been lugging around a huge keyboard because the numeric one wasn't working. I held down the num lock before plugging it in and now it works! Thank you!
I added an external silver numeric Targus USB keypad (Model: PAUK10U Item: 10 from Office Depot) and initially had a problem with the MBPro recognizing it. It now is functioning normally. Here's how I did it:
When you first plug it in, the MBP will recognize a keyboard was added via USB. The 'press the key to the right of the fn key' instruction will not work since there is no fn key on the external keypad as there would be on a keyboard.
If you have already gone through this step or closed out the dialog box accidently, you can find it in Apple>System Preferences>Keyboard & Mouse>Keyboard>[Change Keyboard Type]>[Continue]>(hit any key)>[Skip]>[ANSI(United States)]>[Done]. Follow these steps if you are currently at this initial newly found keyboard dialog box as well.
You may notice that when in Excel, a number will appear momentarily, but not register. To correct this, press the Num Lock key ON THE EXTERNAL KEYPAD and while holding it down, press a number key. Then release the Num Lock key. The Num Lock LED will remain on during this procedure and you hopefully will find that all keys function normally as marked in or out of Num Lock mode.
Best wishes, Bugs
MacBook Pro 12/2007, Mac OS X (10.5.2)
Usb Numeric Keypad With Display
Posted on Mar 28, 2008 8:50 AM