Use system keystrokes with Sony Ericsson remotes

Oct 05, '05 06:43:00AM

Contributed by: sd

Sony Ericsson lets Mac users create their own remote control sets with the Bluetooth Remote Control app (discussed in this recent hint). But if you want to program a phone key with a system keystroke (ex: F9 for Exposé, or keyboard Mute), they are intercepted by the system and the tool does not catch it.

So the solution is to create your remote control with fake simple keys (ex: "A"), save the remote control, and then edit the resulting .hid file with a hex editor, and replace the "A" keycode with what you want. For a hex editor, you can choose Resorcerer or HexEdit.

The HID file structure is explained on this page of the Sony Ericsson developer site. The keycodes are described on a USB.org PDF (see page 53). Note that the keys are given for a US keyboard layout. For example:

Exposé (F9) = 42
Mute = 7F
I created an example (44KB download); here's a preview. It's a Mac OS remote control that allows you to change system volume, activate various Exposé effects, switch current app, zoom the display, move the cursor, etc.

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Mac OS X Hints
http://hints.macworld.com/article.php?story=20051003131709375