On ubuntu, I use the compose key (set to the left "windows" key). So [WINDOWS] + ^ followed by a letter makes the hatted version, and [WINDOWS] + u followed by u makes ŭ. Its good because all other letters are still available.

You can set this (temporarily for your login session, I think) with the command "setxkbmap -option compose:lwin"

Oh, and for windows there's also Tajpi.

nshepperd:On ubuntu, I use the compose key (set to the left "windows" key). So [WINDOWS] + ^ followed by a letter makes the hatted version, and [WINDOWS] + u followed by u makes ŭ. Its good because all other letters are still available.

You can set this (temporarily for your login session, I think) with the command "setxkbmap -option compose:lwin"

Oh, and for windows there's also Tajpi.

I also sometimes use the compose key on Linux for Esperanto diacritics and accentuated letters in other languages. For the Esperanto ŭ, I used leftwin + b + u. But I see that leftwin + u + u as you do also works. It puzzles me that the compose key never became standard on a keyboard since it allows to type anything. Instead, modern keyboards have all kind of useless keys, including *2* Windows keys (as if everybody used Windows and needed 2 of these keys!) and multimedia keys. Sigh.

Now back to the question: Is there an esperanto keyboard? I would love to get one, I mean a real Esperanto keyboard with the keys for ĉĝĵĥŝŭ but also « », not a software keyboard. I got this idea when I saw that someone created a Breton keyboard, a language even far less spoken than Esperanto. If someone makes an Esperanto keyboard for a reasonable price, I would probably buy one.

nshepperd:On ubuntu, I use the compose key (set to the left "windows" key). So [WINDOWS] + ^ followed by a letter makes the hatted version, and [WINDOWS] + u followed by u makes ŭ. Its good because all other letters are still available.

You can set this (temporarily for your login session, I think) with the command "setxkbmap -option compose:lwin"

Thanks for that nshepperd, it works here!

Dominique:Now back to the question: Is there an esperanto keyboard? I would love to get one, I mean a real Esperanto keyboard with the keys for ĉĝĵĥŝŭ but also « », not a software keyboard.

I am not sure what « » has to do with an Esperanto keyboard; they aren't standard Esperanto symbols. Rather, people tend to use their 'native' quote system for Esperanto, whatever system that may be.

I type frequently in Esperanto but would not invest in an Esperanto keyboard. I prefer that my keyboard letters match the language that I use most, which is English. I think that having a physical Esperanto keyboard would be a novelty item more than anything else, and I think this is why it hasn't been created yet. People hesitate to pay a lot of money for a novelty item that they don't really need.

ceigered:Well I use a mac, which is easy because you would just go to 'U.S. international' and hold option(alt)+6 for hats and option+B for breves I think. Only problem is then I don't have as larger range of fonts to work with, so sometimes the X system is nice

I use a mac too, but am relatively new to them, where would you set this option?

melanija:

ceigered:Well I use a mac, which is easy because you would just go to 'U.S. international' and hold option(alt)+6 for hats and option+B for breves I think. Only problem is then I don't have as larger range of fonts to work with, so sometimes the X system is nice

I use a mac too, but am relatively new to them, where would you set this option?

Go to System Preferences, click on international, the go to Input Menu, and check all the keyboards you want (for example, I have U.S., U.S. Extended, Danish, Russian, Japanese Hiragana, Hebrew, Greek, and Chinese). Then, once you have made your selection, look underneath for the shortcut to change keyboard system, or click the checkbox down the bottom for 'Show input menu in menu bar'.

If you have Leopard (latest Mac software) you might find things a tad different, but it should be easier. (I say that all in a conditional kind of way because I haven't got Leopard but the one before it).

Hope this helps!

ceigered:
Hope this helps!

Yes, I've got it all set up now, thanks!

On Linux, SCIM with the m17n-contrib package can give you the exact same mechanism given by Ek! on Windows (automatic translation from the h-system or x-system as you type).

erinja: I am not sure what « » has to do with an Esperanto keyboard; they aren't standard Esperanto symbols. Rather, people tend to use their 'native' quote system for Esperanto, whatever system that may be.

True. There are no standards for quotes in Esperanto. I just tend to prefer the French quotes «...» because they look better (which is arguable of course). But they also have the advantage that the open and close quotes are different, which makes it easier to read in the case of long quoted text. It also allows nesting quotes. You can't nest English quotes without being ambiguous. Last but not least, having «...» on the keyboard will also help typing Perl6 programs, since Perl6 uses the French quote as operators

erinja: I type frequently in Esperanto but would not invest in an Esperanto keyboard. I prefer that my keyboard letters match the language that I use most, which is English.

The Esperanto keyboard could very well be a US QWERTY keyboard, since thats what most people are use to. QWERTY is used in more countries than in the US. The Esperanto keys ĉ, ĵ (etc) could appear on the C, J... keys (accessible with Alt-Gr-C for example). Granted it's not the most convenient solution for typing Esperanto, but at least it would not disturb either those who are used to QWERTY. Also, the name of the keys could be written in Esperanto (Enenklavo, Eskapklavo, Forviŝi, etc...).

erinja: I think that having a physical Esperanto keyboard would be a novelty item more than anything else

Exactly. That's why I would like having one.  It would look good. It would also do a bit of publicity for Esperanto.

erinja: People hesitate to pay a lot of money for a novelty item that they don't really need.

Maybe, not sure. I would buy one if the price was reasonable and if it looks good (i.e. a real keyboard, no cheating with stickers).

RiotNrrd:I created a Windows keyboard mapping for Esperanto that I've been using on both XP and Vista for well over a year (maybe two - I don't remember exactly). I type all my Esperanto writing with them.

It is available HERE.

After installation, you can easily switch between the two mappings. On my machines, I use [ctrl][shift] to switch. The non-Esperanto letters (q,w,y,x) have been mapped to ŝ,ĵ,ĝ,ĉ. I then mapped ; and ' to ŭ and ĥ. The two punctuation characters then were remapped as well, since they are somewhat useful (why not just put the ŭ and ĥ where I remapped the punctuation? Because I was trying to mimic the Linux Esperanto keyboard mapping).

Anyway, once you figure out how to switch between the mappings, and which letters go where, it is a total breeze to use.

I'm not sure this is able to work with Vista 64 on the Intel i7 platform. When I tried to install, it attempted to run the AMD .msi file, and I canceled it before it finished as I was pretty certain this was not correct. I'm happy to test it out if you make an i7 compatible version.