MS DOS Command: KEYB.COM

Reference from Microsoft MS-DOS cmd help

Description

Starts the Keyb program, which configures a keyboard for a specific language.

Use Keyb to configure a keyboard for a language other than United States English. For an introduction to the Keyb program, see the chapter "Customizing for International Use" in the MS-DOS User's Guide.

Syntax

At the command prompt, use the following syntax:

KEYB [xx[,[yyy][,[drive:][path]filename]]] [/E] [/ID:nnn]

In your CONFIG.SYS file, use the following syntax:

INSTALL=[[dos-drive:]dos-path]KEYB.COM [xx[,[yyy][,[drive:][path]filename]]] [/E] [/ID:nnn]

Parameters

xx	Specifies the code for a keyboard layout. See the table at the end of this topic for a list of valid values for this parameter.
yyy	Specifies the character set (code page). See the table at the end of this topic for a list of valid values for this parameter. If this value is not specified, KEYB uses the current character set.
[drive:][path]filename	Specifies the location and name of the keyboard definition file. The default filename is KEYBOARD.SYS. If KEYBOARD.SYS is in a directory included in the path, you do not have to specify these parameters. (MS-DOS 6.22 includes two keyboard definition files: KEYBOARD.SYS, the default file, and KEYBRD2.SYS, which provides support for keyboards not included in KEYBOARD.SYS. For information about using KEYBRD2.SYS, see the COUNTRY.TXT file.)
[dos-drive:]dos-path	Specifies the location of the KEYB.COM file.

Switches

/E	Specifies that an enhanced keyboard is installed. Use this switch if you are using an enhanced keyboard with an 8086 computer.
/ID:nnn	Specifies the keyboard in use. This switch is valid only for countries that have more than one keyboard layout for the same language (France, Italy, and the United Kingdom). See the following table for a list of valid values for nnn.
Values for xx, yyy, and nnn	The following table shows the valid values for xx, yyy, and nnn for each country or language supported by KEYBOARD.SYS: Country or language Keyboard layout (xx value) Character set (yyy value) Keyboard identification (ID:nnn value) Belgium be 850, 437 Brazil br 850, 437 Canadian-French cf 850, 863 Czechoslovakia (Czech) cz 852, 850 Czechoslovakia (Slovak) sl 852, 850 Denmark dk 850, 865 Finland su 850, 437 France fr 850, 437 120, 189 Germany gr 850, 437 Hungary hu 852, 850 Italy it 850, 437 141, 142 Latin America la 850, 437 Netherlands nl 850, 437 Norway no 850, 865 Poland pl 852, 850 Portugal po 850, 860 Spain sp 850, 437 Sweden sv 850, 437 Switzerland (French) sf 850, 437 Switzerland (German) sg 850, 437 United Kingdom uk 850, 437 166, 168 United States us 850, 437 Yugoslavia yu 852, 850 This list includes only keyboards supported by the KEYBOARD.SYS file. For a list of keyboards supported by the KEYBRD2.SYS file, see the COUNTRY.TXT file.

Related Command

For information about using active and prepared character sets, see the CHCP command.

Remarks

Installing character sets

The character set you specify for yyy must be installed on your system. If it isn't, any characters not in the current character set will not be usable.

For information about installing a character set, see the chapter "Customizing for International Use" in the MS-DOS User's Guide.

Displaying the current keyboard layout and character set

If you use the KEYB command with no parameters or switches, MS-DOS lists the current keyboard layout (keyboard code), the current keyboard's related character set (code page), and the current character set (code page) used by your keyboard and monitor. The information is displayed in the following format:

Current keyboard code: FR code page: 437

Current CON code page: 437

Switching between Keyb settings

To switch from the current Keyb keyboard configuration to the default keyboard configuration, press CTRL+ALT+F1. To return to the memory-resident keyboard configuration, press CTRL+ALT+F2. To switch to "typewriter mode," the standard for some countries, press CTRL+ALT+F7.

Implementing Keyb

The following list shows the three different ways that you can start the Keyb program:

*** Type KEYB at the command prompt.

*** Include an INSTALL command for KEYB.COM in your CONFIG.SYS file.

*** Include the appropriate KEYB command in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file.

Keyb exit codes

The following list shows each exit code and gives a brief description of its meaning:

0	Keyboard definition file was loaded successfully.
1	Invalid keyboard code, character set, or syntax was used.
2	Keyboard definition file is bad or missing.
4	An error occurred while communicating with the keyboard or monitor.
5	The requested character set has not been prepared.

You can use the ERRORLEVEL parameter on the IF command line in a batch program to process exit codes returned by Keyb. For an example of a batch program that processes exit codes, see the CHOICE command.

Examples

To use a German keyboard if your KEYBOARD.SYS file is in the DOS directory on drive C, you would type the following command:

keyb gr,,c:\dos\keyboard.sys