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CHAPTER 4: Operation
4.3.11 S
ET
K
EYBOARD
T
YPEMATIC
Most IBM PC type keyboards have an internal seven-bit “typematic” setting, which
governs the way the keyboard responds when you hold a key down to force it to
repeat. The five “low” bits of this setting represent the rate at which the key
repeats; the two “high” bits represent the delay after you begin holding down the
key before it begins to repeat. Sometimes a keyboard’s typematic setting isn’t
suitable for a given operator or for a given application. To change the typematic
setting of your station’s shared keyboard, issue the Set Keyboard Typematic
command: Press and release the left Control Key, type [A] followed by the desired
“typematic value,” and press [ENTER]. The “typematic value” is the decimal
equivalent of the binary seven-bit typematic setting: While the typematic setting =
delay bits + rate bits, the typematic value = decimal delay value + decimal rate value
(see Table 4-4 below and Table 4-5 on the next page). For example, to set your
shared keyboard to register a key 16 times per second after the key has been held
down for half a second (typematic value = 7 + 32 = 39), type [CTRL] [A] [3] [9]
[ENTER]. Enter the Keep Settings command after you enter this command.
Because Apple computers do not support the typematic feature, this setting will
have no effect when you are working with the attached Mac CPU(s).
Table 4-4. Typematic Delay
Decimal
Binary
Delay Before Key Repeats
Value
Bit Values
0
00[
xxxxx
]
1
⁄
4
second (250 ms)
32
01[
xxxxx
]
1
⁄
2
second (500 ms)
64
10[
xxxxx
]
3
⁄
4
second (750 ms)
96
11[
xxxxx
]
1 second (1000 ms)
