Back to menu

French MSX Keyboard


http://www.msxcafe.com/modules/smartsection/category.php?categoryid=5

The French MSX keyboard is used in the generic MSX French and MSX2 French machines.

Here's the list of the concerned specific machines (* = this machine is without numeric keypad) :

- MSX machines : Olympia PHC-2 (*) / Olympia PHC-28 (*) / Philips VG-8010F (*) / Philips VG-8020F (*) / Sanyo PHC-28L (*) / Yeno DPC-64 (*) / Yeno MX64 (*)

- MSX2 machines : Philips NMS-8245F (*) / Philips VG-8235F (*) / Sony HB-F700F

The Philips VG-8010F computer comes with a strange keyboard matrix that is patched for the emulator. Besides, the GRAPH and CODE keys work as toggles, just like the KANA key on Japanese machines.

The MSX keyboard is very similar to a standard French PC keyboard used in Belgium. The typewrite keys are almost the same as well as the numeric keypad. The Caps key toggles bigger sized alphabet characters.

The MSX keyboard has five physical function keys. To access function key 6 to 10, you need to hold down the SHIFT key and press one of the keys F1 to F5.

As some MSX keys don't exist on a PC keyboard, the emulator makes also some adjustements to support the complete MSX keyboard :
- the PC key before the "1" key is used for emulate the extrem right MSX key on the third row
- the extrem right PC key on the third row is used to emulate the extrem right MSX key on the first row

Specific MSX keys are mapped to the following PC keyboard keys :

MSX key   PC key    
         
Select   End   Used in some games and applications (it's also the case of the Esc key).
Stop   Page Up   Allows to pause and resume a task in the MSX-BASIC or MSX-DOS environment. When you press this key while holding the Ctrl key, the current task will be abruptly broken.
Clr Home   Home   Allows to move the cursor to the top left of the screen. If you press Shift + Clr Home, the screen will be cleared.
Graph   Left Alt   Gives graphical characters by pressing it with a normal character. Can be combined with Shift.
Code   Right Alt   Gives special or accented characters by pressing it with a normal character. Can be combined with Shift.
Comma on numpad   Page Down    
Accent Mark   PC key after the "P"   Allows to put an accent mark on a vowel. You need to press it, alone or with control key(s), then to press on the vowel key
- Accent Mark then the vowel key : accent grave (`). Example : à. (*)
- Shift + Accent Mark then the vowel key : accent acute (´). Example : á. (*)
- Code + Accent Mark then the vowel key : accent circumflex (^). Example : â.
- Shift + Code + Accent Mark then the vowel key : umlaut / accent diæresis (¨). Example : ä

(*) Some PC keyboards seem to have problems with these accented characters.


The tables underneath show you how to generate special characters with key-combinations of your PC keyboard :

Normal mode   Normal mode + Shift
 
Code   Code + Shift
 
Graph   Graph + Shift
 



Back to menu