Adjusting the brightness on the backlit keyboard

regreg
Posted:
in Genius Bar edited January 2014
There are times when the backlight on the keyboard (17 pb) makes the letters almost disappear. The only adjustment I have seen is in Preference/keyboard mouse. The only option is to illuminate the keyboard on low light conditions. Is there any other location for controling the backlight? I'd really like to make the keys brighter.



reg

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 14
    sh0ewaxsh0ewax Posts: 114member
    Right on your keyboard... F9 and F10 for brightness, F8 for on and off.

    At least this is setup on 15".
  • Reply 2 of 14
    regreg Posts: 832member
    That works good for the Screen brightness but it does not seem to change the brightness of the keyboard.



    reg
  • Reply 3 of 14
    ast3r3xast3r3x Posts: 5,012member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by reg

    That works good for the Screen brightness but it does not seem to change the brightness of the keyboard.



    reg



    No no, F1 and F2 are brightness. F8, F9, F10 are backlit on, lower, and higher. Just like F3, F4, and F5 are sound off, lower, and higher.
  • Reply 4 of 14
    regreg Posts: 832member
    After a closer look, I find that there is a lock sign on F8, F9 and F10. When I press F8 that will toggle the illuminate function for the keyboard but F9 and F10 don't change the settings for illumination. Any ideas on how I can unlock this. They ( F8, F9 and F10 ) are not in the keyboard shortcut section of Preferences.



    reg
  • Reply 5 of 14
    sh0ewaxsh0ewax Posts: 114member
    The function isn't actually on until you get to dark light situation. When you are in adequate light to see the keys, it will not be illuminated. Turn your lights off and close the blinds, your backlight might come on. Then, you can toggle and adjust.
  • Reply 6 of 14
    regreg Posts: 832member
    Thanks that allowed me to adjust the light.



    reg
  • Reply 7 of 14
    ghost_user_nameghost_user_name Posts: 22,667member
    Just how bright can the keyboard get?
  • Reply 8 of 14
    regreg Posts: 832member
    Not as bright as I would like it to get. Maybe if the letters were bigger/wider more light could come out of them. It wouldn't matter if I kept my hands on the keys more.



    reg
  • Reply 9 of 14
    ghost_user_nameghost_user_name Posts: 22,667member
    I don't need to look at my keyboard when typing... so I fail to see the need for a back lit keyboard. Muscle memory does me fine.



    What's the point of having a back-lit keyboard if you don't look at it anyway?
  • Reply 10 of 14
    regreg Posts: 832member
    Musle memory does good for regular typing. For me I have to look at the keyboard when I am using some of the short cuts. Photoshop and putting fomulas in Excel force me to look at the keyboard more often than I like.



    reg
  • Reply 11 of 14
    ghost_user_nameghost_user_name Posts: 22,667member
    But I can work a full keyboard without looking... not just when doing normal typing. Muscle memory does most of it... my brain does the rest.



    Try this.



    Cover your eyes with one hand. Then hover your other over the keyboard just enough so the tips of your fingers are tuching the board. Think of a key, any key, and drop the index finger of the hand hovering on the key you think is the right one. open your eyes and see if you are right. it's just like typing with one hand in the dark.



    Doing short-cuts is just as easy, just do the same thing, only with the hand that would be covering your eyes is now holding ctrl (or alt or both, mix shift in there too). Anyway, thanks to the two little bumps on the board I will never need a light on to type.



    Oh and I write almost all my java apps at night without the light on. So don't think I never use odd keys and short-cuts.



    Anyhow, I like the look of the back-lit keyboard. Very much so. It looks much better then the gray normal board, and I am sure it's great to show off. If I ever buy a PB I would rather spend the money on more RAM then something I don't need.



    If anything I would buy a USB laptop lamp. The LED kind so it is nice and low powered. But this would be for reading papers while it is nighttime.



    Sorry if I pulled this off topic. I have a habbit of doing that.
  • Reply 12 of 14
    sh0ewaxsh0ewax Posts: 114member
    I know what you mean, I type exactly like you Wickes. My problem is that sometimes I fall into a trend of just using my index fingers and moving the entire hand across the keyboard instead of just using a different finger. Using all your fingers is just that much faster.
  • Reply 13 of 14
    ghost_user_nameghost_user_name Posts: 22,667member
    My dad types like that all the time... it bugs the hell out of me. I tell him to learn his home-row all the time. He clames that he is the creative type and can't be bothered with learning in that way... One day I am going to black out the letters from his keyboard.



    Anyhow...
  • Reply 14 of 14
    sh0ewaxsh0ewax Posts: 114member
    Well I still touch type, just only using like 2-4 of my fingers instead of all 10.
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