- Microsoft Intellitype Pro Mac
- Microsoft Intellitype Pro 10.0 Keyboard Software
- Microsoft Intellitype Mac
- Microsoft Intellitype Pro Software
- Microsoft Intellitype For Mac Free
- Microsoft Intellitype For Mac Windows 10
IntelliType was last updated by Microsoft for Lion, 10.7.x. It has not been touched since then, though MS continues to keep the Windows version updated. It's more than safe to say this software has been abandoned. If you look at older MS Ergonomic 4000 keyboard boxes, it says the product is for both Windows and Mac. Newer boxes say Windows only. There's proof positive you will never see another IntelliType update for Mac users.
This page is a review of Microsoft IntelliType Pro software, for the Windows version and also for the Mac version. IntelliType is the keyboard software that is bundled with Microsoft's keyboards. It allows you to assign functionality to various special keys and function keys on the keyboard. Sep 01, 2011 With IntelliType Pro 8.2, setup automatically detects your keyboard model. If you have more than one keyboard attached to your computer, each keyboard model can have different settings. PS/2 devices are no longer supported in IntelliType Pro 8.2. Microsoft releases versions for both Windows and Mac OS X. It has been succeeded by Microsoft Mouse and Keyboard Center, which combines IntelliType with IntelliPoint. It has been succeeded by Microsoft Mouse and Keyboard Center, which combines IntelliType (a Microsoft keyboard driver) with IntelliPoint.
The following instructions will work for Mountain Lion, 10.8.x through Yosemite, 10.10.x.
Microsoft hasn't fixed the issue with the IntelliType drivers so they load by themselves. You have to open the System Preferences and click on the Microsoft Keyboard or Mouse panes to get them to load. The following will eliminate the need to perform these manual steps.
I'd like to give credit to the person who first discovered this, but having found the same text in numerous places, I can't single out the origin.
- Navigate to the folder /Library/PreferencePanes/ of the startup drive
- Right click on Microsoft Mouse.prefpane for mice, Microsoft Keyboard.prefPane for keyboards
- From the resulting contextual menu, select Show Package Contents
- Navigate down to Contents > Resources
- Leave the Resources folder open on the desktop and open the System Preferences
- Select Users & Groups
- Click on your user account and then the Login Items tab
- Go back to the Resources folder on the desktop, select the file MicrosoftMouseHelper or MicrosoftKeyboardHelper, then drag and drop it into the Login Items window on the right hand side of the Login Items page (in the System Preferences window).
In the sample below, I added the keyboard helper.
Repeat the steps if you added the keyboard helper and also need the mouse helper.
Now when you restart or start up your Mac, these helpers will load automatically.
For users wondering if this is some sort of hack, it is not. If you've used IntelliType in Lion, Snow Leopard, or other previous versions of the Mac OS, you'll see that MicrosoftMouseHelper and/or MicrosoftKeyboardHelper are in the user account Login Items. What's probably happening is security changes in Mountain Lion and forward, such as sandboxing, are preventing these Login Items from being added during installation. All you're doing is manually completing a step the IntelliType installer is failing at.
El Capitan 10.11.x and later.
There's only one way to use IntelliType in El Capitan and Sierra. You have to disable System Integrity Protection and leave it off. This is, of course, a very poor idea. In High Sierra, you can't use it at all.
This is due to IntelliType's kernel extension being unsigned. It's old, and Apple hadn't started requiring vendors to code sign their apps yet back in Lion, 10.7.x. Through each new major release of macOS, the restriction on kernel extensions kept getting tighter. In El Capitan and Sierra, you could still use an unsigned kernel extension as long as SIP was off. In High Sierra, unsigned extensions aren't allowed. Period.
That means you need to use something else to control your Ergonomic 4000 keyboard along with other MS keyboards and mice that have many extra keys that do nothing without a driver that can assign actions to them.
A very important thing to consider when choosing a replacement driver is that you don't purchase something outdated, or the developer isn't giving much attention to anymore. 32 bit apps are on the way out. Mojave, 10.14.x will only provide limited support for 32 bit apps. The next major release after Mojave will be 64 bit only. So any 32 bit only software you buy now will be dead after Mojave.
I've tried both of these drivers. Of the 8 or so I tried, they're really the only two good choices and are already 64 bit.
ControllerMate - Okay, let's just say it. ControllerMate has a very confusing interface with not a whole lot of descriptions or good video demos to figure it out. But once you get it, it's actually not hard to use. Its advantage is you can get it to control darn near anything on virtually any keyboard or mouse. There's even an Ergonomic 4000 layout you can download from them for the app. That makes it possible to assign every single key IntelliType could.
USB Overdrive - Much easier to use and understand interface. You can't access as many keys on the Ergo 4000, but you can cover most of them. The only ones in particular you can't assign an action to are the five silver keys at the top center, and the star key below those.
A screenshot of the IntelliType software running in Windows 7 | |
Developer(s) | Microsoft |
---|---|
Final release | 8.20.469.0 (Windows), 8.2.0 (Mac OS X) / August 16, 2011 |
Operating system | Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows |
Type | Device driver |
License | Proprietary |
Website | www.microsoft.com |
Microsoft Intellitype Pro Mac
Microsoft IntelliType is the brand driver for Microsoft's series of computer keyboards. Microsoft releases versions for both Windows and Mac OS X (as of version 10.15 Microsoft IntelliType no longer installs on Mac OS X). It has been succeeded by Microsoft Mouse and Keyboard Center, which combines IntelliType with IntelliPoint.
IntelliType supports all known Microsoft keyboards (including those that are shipped as parts of desktop sets, as well as entertainment keyboards – i.e. those that are intended for Media center). However, advanced features may only be available on certain models (the users select their keyboard's type inside the program to access that keyboard type's specific button selection).
Supported keyboards[edit]
Note: Version 8.0 and above dropped PS/2 support for the following list. As even adapters can't assist,[clarification needed] Microsoft keeps version 7.1 as an offered download for users who still own keyboards with PS/2 connectors (instead of USB).[1]
Keyboard | Windows | Mac OS X (prior to 10.15) |
---|---|---|
Internet Keyboard | Yes | Yes |
Internet Pro Keyboard | Yes [2] | ? |
Keyboard Elite for Bluetooth | Yes [3] | Yes |
Wireless Comfort Keyboard 4000 | Yes | Yes |
Comfort Curve 2000 | Yes | Yes |
Comfort Curve 3000 | No [4] | No |
Digital Keyboard 3000 | Yes | Yes |
Digital Media Keyboard | Yes | ? |
Wireless Laser Keyboard 3000 | Yes | Yes |
Wireless Laser Keyboard 5000 | Yes | Yes |
Wireless Laser Keyboard 6000 | Yes | Yes |
Wireless Laser Keyboard 7000 | Yes | Yes |
Wireless Entertainment Keyboard 7000 | Yes [3] | Yes |
Wireless Entertainment Keyboard 8000 | Yes [3] | Yes |
Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000 | Yes | Yes |
Natural Wireless Ergonomic Keyboard 7000 | Yes | Yes |
Digital Media Keyboard 3000 | Yes | Yes |
Natural Keyboard Pro | Yes [5] | Yes |
Wireless MultiMedia Keyboard | Yes | Yes |
Wireless Keyboard 2000 v2.0 | Yes | ? |
SideWinder X6 | Yes | No |
SideWinder X4 | Yes | Template:Comes with CD |
Logitech k120 | Yes | ? |
Special features[edit]
If the keyboard has multimedia buttons, the user can define them to run any program or action.
On-screen indication of NumLock/CapsLock toggling with some keyboards.
On-screen indication of volume level when level is changed.
Limitations[edit]
While the user could always define special keys (and multimedia keys, if such exist), it was only possible since version 6.3 to define them not just globally but also per application.
Microsoft Intellitype Pro 10.0 Keyboard Software
Version 6.2 forced the user to constantly check for updates by installing and launching the file 'dpupdchk.exe' in the background. It must stay in the background for the control panel's settings to launch (although it could be avoided by renaming the file to something else). Version 6.3 fixed this behavior by only making it an opt-in option during the installation.
Version 7.0 and later in Windows 7 64-bit has recently been proven to disable the media keys (Play/Pause, Next, Previous, Stop) for third-party media players such as iTunes and Media Jukebox when they are not the primary window of focus.[6] Some workaround exists:[7] This behavior continues to be an issue as of Version 8.
See also[edit]
- IntelliPoint — Microsoftmouse driver.
Microsoft Intellitype Mac
Notes and references[edit]
Microsoft Intellitype Pro Software
- ^'Microsoft IntelliType Pro 8.0 Keyboard Software 32bit – Overview'. Microsoft. 2010-08-23. Retrieved 2010-10-14.
- ^(Supported only up to v5.5 of Intellitype)
- ^ abc(The included Bluetooth donglerequires Windows XP Service Pack 2)
- ^'Comfort Curve 3000 keyboard and Intellitype'. Microsoft Answers. 2012-02-28. Retrieved 2012-05-14.
- ^(Supported only up to v6.31 of Intellitype)
- ^'Intellitype Pro 7.0 does not recognize media keys when using 3rd party programs'. Microsoft Answers. 2010-08-12. Retrieved 2014-09-13.
- ^'Intellitype Pro 7.0 does not recognize media keys when using 3rd party programs'. Microsoft Answers. 2012-03-12. Retrieved 2014-09-13.
External links[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Microsoft keyboards. |