Above the number pad there are 4 unassigned function keys (F16 to F19) which I would like to assign to the German umlauts ä, ö, ü and the sharp s ß.
Is there a way to do that?
Best Answer
It would be realizable with a -> Service. Such Automator Services are quite fast...but too slow for a smooth typing flow. However, there are third-party hotkey managers that are suitable for this.
Butler: not updated for a long time, but very powerful and fast (and
free)
BetterTouchTool: quick and easy to use
Alfred: might be too slow
and many more...
With Butler you can execute text directly (!), with the others you might need an AppleScript. Open the Script-Editor to get the IDs for the umlauts:
id of "Ü"
The necessary Applescript for "Ü" would then look like this:
tell application "System Events" to keystroke (string id 220)
I don't know a direct solution to your question: Reduced delay. If your iPhone is jailbroken you might be able to find the preference file that sets the delay and reduce it.
One work around could be to not deal with the accents at all and have the iPhone insert them for you, as autocorrected words. You can now type full speed.
To add custom words to the dictionary:
Add the Japanese Ten Key keyboard: Settings > General > Keyboards > International Keyboards > Add New Keyboard > Japanese Ten Key.
Add words: Settings > General > Keyboards > Edit User Dictionary.
Have the Word be what you want to type w/o accennts, and the Yomi be the accented work.
For example, I added Word=fooxx and Yomi=föoxx, I then went to the Notepad and using the English keyboard I typed "fooxx", and the iPhone suggested föoxx. When I did this example without the "xx" it did not work, perhaps because foo is already in my dictionary.
Alternatively, if you iPhone is jailbroken you could try using Xpandr
Alt+u for umlaut, then needed letter for putting under. Also Alt+y for acute, Alt+` for grave. You can see all combos on onscreen keyboard ("Show Keyboard Viewer").
Best Answer
It would be realizable with a -> Service. Such Automator Services are quite fast...but too slow for a smooth typing flow. However, there are third-party hotkey managers that are suitable for this.
With Butler you can execute text directly (!), with the others you might need an AppleScript. Open the Script-Editor to get the IDs for the umlauts:
The necessary Applescript for "Ü" would then look like this:
Assign e.g. shift-F19 (because of capitalization)