"internet" keyboard button not working

I have XP Home on a newly purchased emachines T2792 pc and keyboard. I want the internet button on the keyboard to execute "C:\Program Files\NetZero\exec.exe" to connect up to my ISP Netzero. Presently all it does is launch I.E. which does nothing. I contacted emachines and they gave some suggestions none of which worked. They then said it couldn't be done. Does anyone know how to do this? Registry change perhaps?

 

Do you have Tweak UI for XP installed? If not, it's a very useful tool, and gives you access to a number of neat controls *without* directly editing the registry. One control set (Command Keys) works with "extra" buttons on some keyboards. Yours might be one of them. It says
"If your keyboard comes with navigation keys, you can use this page to customize what happens when they are pressed."
Your navigation key set (like mine) might be just a subset of the ones listed there, but if you find just the ones you have on your board, the settings for those ought to work.

 

The Internet keyboard settings on my keyboard are configured via the Keyboard control panel applet from Start/Settings/Control Panel. This allows me to make the keyboard buttons do whatever I want.

However, if your button launches IE without connecting perhaps you should look at the Internet Connection settings under the Internet Explorer options to one of "Always dial-up my default connection" or "Dial whenever a connection is not present".

 

Interesting, Maxwell. My XP Control Panel has a keyboard applet, but no page where Internet keys can be controlled, while my Windows 98 Control Panel has a keyboard applet that lets me set all of the Internet keys plus a few standard keyboard keys. The difference can't be the keyboards, since I have the same model attached to both machines, BUT ...

Intellitype Pro software came with the two (identical) keyboards, and ...

I installed Intellitype Pro on the 98 machine to control the keyboard, because Tweak UI for 98 offers no controls for the Internet keys. I have no Intellitype Pro files on the XP machine.

Actually, I installed Intellitype Pro on the XP machine once upon a time, too, but when I realized that it wanted to put about 25 MB of files on the drive to do what Tweak UI would already do without those 25 MB, I got rid of Intellitype in a flash. Then I went back to the 98 machine and started hacking back the Intellitype installation until I got its full file complement down to 3 MB. Works great.

 

As far as I know you can only get the keyboard options by installing the software. For example, the Intellitype Keyboard that I have installs the additional panel (see picture) within the keyboard settings. You may be able to extract just the control panel applet from the software that can with the keyboard. Similarly, with my original HP OEM keyboard came preloaded with the keyboard software but with a different panel applet.

Personally, I prefer my Internet button to bring up the browser (MYIE2) and use the "Dial whenever a connection is not present" setting to pop-up the connection dialog if I'm not connected otherwise the browser just opens with whatever page that I've requested. This is rather than bringing up the dial-up connection dialog but then this is probably just me.

 

Interesting, in that I had a similar problem, however, I'm just a beginner. All the other guys who've posted on this know much more than me, and I don't want to waste your time, but just let me say how I got my keyboard to work in case it helps at all.

First I had to download Microsoft's Intellitype Pro 5.0 from their site. Once installed, I opened I.E. clicked Tools/Internet Options/General Tab then typed in the address of my ISP--in my case http://www.postmaster.co.uk/ --clicked OK, and now when I launch I.E. with the keyboard button--or anywhere else for that matter--it takes me to my ISPs homepage.

Please don't ask me why this works--or worse, tell me it shouldn't; it did for me, that's all I can say.

Incidentally, the version of Intellitype Pro I downloaded is 'only' 5.87MB, not the mega-size that others refer to.

Cheers, Omigosh.

 

Thanx but my key wasn't listed in the Treak-UI command keys suggestion. Nor does Control Panel, Keyboard have anything.

 

perhaps you should set the netzero connection as your defualt then have the internet button open internet explorer or your prefered browser. Windows should automatically bring up the netzero connection when it can't connect. You can find this setting in the internet options control panel.

 

I have Netzero as default in the internet options, connections. Checking "Dial whenever a network connection is not present" or "Always dial my default connection" seems to make no difference. The keyboard "internet" button always launches I.E. but it never even tries to connect.

 

My Keyboard control panel applet has nothing for keyboard buttons.

I have Netzero as default in the internet options, connections. Checking "Dial whenever a network connection is not present" or "Always dial my default connection" seems to make no difference. The keyboard "internet" button always launches I.E. but it never even tries to connect.

I connect now by having a desktop shortcut execute "C:\Program Files\NetZero\exec.exe". I think this is the way it is supposed to be done since it has a special Netzero setup window. But I don't know how to remap the keyboard "internet" button to execute this.

 

Keyboard shortcuts, fancy keyboards and bloated software

Hi luv2rallye, Stuff the megabyte downloads to get shortcuts working. I suggest you download and install Slick Run from http://www.bayden.com/SlickRun/ I am running v3.2.2.2 on my PC although the website quotes an earlier version. 200kb or less, not megabytes !!

It puts a small rectangular box where you want it to show on your desktop. I have over 100 shortcuts stored in the slickrun database. For example IE gets internet explorer, X gets Excel, AOL gets my ISP provider, backup goes to drive image to do a full backup, mem runs Analog-x max-mem to free up ram in my W98SE, etc.

I hate to say it but "the number of shortcuts is only limited by your imagination" (uggggh ). A bonus is you can delete the shorcut icons from your desktop as well, down to a minimum of a few. Baz

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