3-D Keyboard 3.02

The easiest way to type West European languages and special characters in Windows.

Turn your keyboard into a flexible tool for typing Spanish, French, German, Italian and other West European languages! 3-D Keyboard lets you type special characters right into your documents while using virtually any Windows application. You can switch between 25 different keyboard layouts, or create your own custom layouts containing foreign letters, typographical symbols, fractions, and more. A visual map of your current keyboard layout is always available on screen, so you'll never forget where all those useful characters are!

How 3-D Keyboard Works

While using any Windows application, 3-D Keyboard lets you type special characters right into your documents. You no longer need to look up character codes in charts or cut and paste from a character table.

25 keyboard layouts are provided. You can switch layouts by pressing a hot key, which doesn't require you to leave your application window or even take your fingers off the keyboard. All layouts can be extensively customized using a visual drag-and-drop procedure.

Each alphanumeric key on your keyboard can be used to type four symbols, not just two. This lets you put a lot of extra characters on your keyboard, in places which seem natural to you. To type the extra symbols, just hold down Right Alt or Shift+Right Alt while pressing a key.

Accented letters can be easily typed with dead keys. Nothing appears when a dead key is pressed, but the next letter you type will be accented.

Summary of Features/Benefits

25 pre-defined keyboard layouts. These include layouts for Danish, Dutch (Belgium and Netherlands), English (U.K., U.S., U.S. Dvorak, and U.S. Enhanced with extra symbols), Finnish, French (Belgium, Canada, France, and Switzerland), German (Germany and Switzerland), Icelandic, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese (Brazil and Portugal), Spanish (Latin America and Spain), and Swedish.
Create custom layouts. Any of the keyboard layouts can be easily customized using a visual drag-and-drop procedure.
Switch keyboard layouts. Using a menu or a hot key, you can switch keyboard layouts quickly and easily.
Hot keys. You can define hot keys to select your favorite keyboard layouts. This way you won't need to leave your application window or even take your fingers off the keyboard to switch layouts.
Input Language Notification. 3-D Keyboard keeps your applications informed of which language you are typing. So when you select a Spanish layout, for example, your programs will know you are typing Spanish. Programs such as Word 97/2000/XP use this information to determine how to sort, format dates, and select the proper spell check dictionary.
Windows XP Compatibility. Fully compatible with Windows 95, 98, Me, NT 4, 2000, and XP.
Full ANSI character set. You can easily type any character in the ANSI character set (Code Page 1252), which is supported by most Windows fonts.
Euro Symbol. The Euro currency symbol is available on all keyboard layouts.
Third and fourth symbols. Each alphanumeric key on your keyboard can type up to four symbols, not just two.
Dead keys. Dead keys provide an easy way to type accented letters. Nothing appears when a dead key is pressed, but the next letter you type will be accented.
Enter and keypad options. You can set your Enter key to work like Tab, and also invert your numeric keypad (swapping 1,2,3 with 7,8,9). Those who do high volume data entry often find these settings can improve their efficiency.
Caps Lock Behavior. You can now specify whether Caps Lock should affect all keys (as it does in the standard French keyboard layout), or just the letter keys (as in most other keyboard layouts).
Swap Caps Lock and Left Ctrl. Under Windows NT, 2000, and XP, you can now swap Caps Lock with the left Ctrl key.
Keyboard display. The window displays a map of your current keyboard layout. It can be resized, kept on top of other windows, and shrunk to an icon (the icon also indicates which layout is active and whether a dead key has been pressed).
Taskbar status area. While running, 3-D Keyboard keeps its icon in the Taskbar status area (near the clock). When you click the icon, a menu pops up that lets you change keyboard layouts.
Very customizable. Nearly every aspect of the program's operation is customizable. You can change the colors and font size used to display the keyboard map, keep the window on top of other windows, select which keyboard layout is active when the program starts, etc.
Auto-Start Option. 3-D Keyboard can be set to start automatically whenever Windows starts.
Easy to install and remove. There are no device drivers; simply exit the program to return your keyboard to normal. An automated uninstall utility is included in case you wish to remove the program from your computer.

Reviewer Quotes

3-D Keyboard is a very handy tool for those who frequently access characters not displayed on a standard keyboard. Dave Burton, Ziff-Davis Interactive.
One of those neat "must have" Windows utilities. David Savage, PC Alamode.
Easy to install and use. Wayne Rash, Windows Sources.
3-D Keyboard is highly recommended to anyone using true Windows programs and requiring frequent access to non-standard characters or international keyboard layouts. Computer-Assisted Research Forum.

System Requirements

Windows 95, 98, Me, NT 4, 2000, or XP.
350 kilobytes of disk space.

Buy a copy now
Download an evaluation copy (247 KB). Fully functional, with a 45 day time limit.
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