5250 Keyboard Reference

The tn5250.ttkeyboard file must be in UTF-8 format. All lines in the tn5250.ttkeyboard file must end in a line feed or a carriage return/line feed pair. All settings are case-sensitive.

The default tn5250.ttkeyboard files are available for download:




Identifiers

These settings identify specific keyboard layouts and set off comments.

  Setting   Description
+ Name keyboard layout and begin section. Also ends previous keyboard layout if one is present. A period in the name identifies the layout as subordinate to another layout with the same name, but without the dot extension. It also prevents the layout name from being displayed in TinyTERM. For example, +5250 Portrait.shift is a subordinate layout of +5250 Portrait.
+5250 Landscape
# Comment line. These can be inserted anywhere in the tn5250.ttkeyboard file.
# Default layout in landscape mode



General Settings

These settings can be placed anywhere in the tn5250.ttkeyboard file, preceded with a dash. They will affect all lines below them, until a new instance of the setting is found.

  Setting   Description
bgColor Background color for the keyboard layout. Uses hexadecimal RGB values preceded by the # sign; e.g., #000000 for black.
-bgColor #7d8038
fontSize Maximum font size in points of main key labels. The label size will be reduced automatically to fit the key if needed.
-fontSize 30
keyBgColor Default background color for all keys in the layout. Uses hexadecimal RGB values preceded by the # sign.
-keyBgColor #141413
keyboardHeight Sets the height of the keyboard layout. The value is in pixels on first- and second-generation iPads. On the new iPad with Retina display, this value is half the number of pixels the layout will use. Defaults to 350
-keyboardHeight 264
keyboardWidth Sets the width of the layout. Uses the same pixel values as keyboardHeight. Defaults to the full screen width.
-keyboardWidth 130
keyFgColor Default color for the text on all keys in the layout. Uses hexadecimal RGB values preceded by the # sign.
-keyFgColor #6fede1
keyHeight Changes the default height of the keys, relative to a base value of 1. keyHeight can be specified to the second decimal place, as in the example below. It cannot be set to a specific number of pixels. Default key height in pixels is calculated instead, based on the number of key rows, the spacing and margin settings, iPad orientation, and individual keys not using the default keyHeight value.
-keyHeight 1.44
labelPosition Sets vertical position and horizontal justification of the main key label. See image at right for the available values. Note that 0, 3 and 6 left-justify the text; 2, 5 and 8 right-justify it; and 1, 4 and 7 center the label. Defaults to 4. This option is only available on iPad.
-labelPosition 5
layout Sets the position of the keyboard layout:
0 main (default)
1 horizontal across top of main keyboard
2 vertical on right edge of screen
3 horizontal on bottom edge of screen
-layout 1
lineJustification Sets the justification for rows of keys:
0 center (default)
1 left justify
2 right justify
-lineJustify 1
margin Minimum number of pixels on each edge – top, bottom, left and right – of the keyboard.
-margin 3
orientation Used only within layouts. Determines whether the layout displays in portrait, landscape or both modes:
0 both (default)
1 portrait
2 landscape
-orientation 1
selKeyBgColor Background color for keys when the key is pressed or locked. Uses hexadecimal RGB values preceded by the # sign.
-selKeyBgColor #121414
selKeyFgColor Text color for keys when the key is pressed or locked. Uses hexadecimal RGB values preceded by the # sign.
-selKeyFgColor #6fed78
shiftFontSize Maximum font size in points of shiftLabel text. As with fontSize, shift labels will be reduced to fit if needed. This option is only available on iPad.
-shiftFontSize 16
shiftLabelPosition Starting position of the shiftLabel text. Uses the same values as labelPosition. Defaults to 0. This option is only available on iPad.
-shiftLabelPosition 1
size Changes the default width of keys, relative to a base value of 1. size can be specified to the second decimal place. It cannot be set to a specific number of pixels. Default key size in pixels is calculated instead, based on the number of keys in the widest row, the spacing and margin settings, iPad orientation, and any individual keys not using the default size value.
-size 1.5
spacing Minimum number of pixels between keys
-spacing 2



Key Options

When a key is defined within square brackets [ ], options may be added to the definition, set off by two semicolons. Many of the general settings can also be applied to individual keys, and so are repeated below with key-specific examples. Options are all case-sensitive.

When a semicolon is desired as a displayed character inside the brackets, such as for a label or shiftLabel, separate it from the double semicolons by a space for the display character, and use the hexadecimal value \x003b as the keyChar for the value sent:

[; ;;keyChar=\x003b;;shiftLabel=:]
  Option   Description
\ Escape character. Used for special characters that have other uses without the \. Square brackets are not required for this option.
\\
blank When set to 1, prevents the key from being drawn. Used for creating space between visible keys in addition to that specified by the spacing attribute. Blank keys are treated as any others by general attributes.
[BLANK;;blank=1]
capsKey When set to 1, causes the key to act as a Caps Lock key, regardless of other settings.
[Caps;;capsKey=1]
hideKey When set to 1, causes the key to hide the keyboard when tapped. Also replaces any text with a keyboard graphic. The keyboard can be restored by tapping the keyboard button in the title bar, or by double-tapping the emulator screen.
hideKey keys are not active for external keyboard layouts.
[HIDE;;hideKey=1]
fontSize Sets the font size for the primary label of the key.
[Clear;;keyChar=1148;;fontSize=15]
keyChar Assigns a specific value to a key. Available values are listed below.
[Enter;;keyChar=13]
keyHeight Changes the height of the individual key, relative to a base value of 1. keyHeight can be specified to the second decimal place. Keys taller than the default for the row expand into the next row down. When making single a key taller than 1, free the space in the row below by creating a key there with the blank option.
[New Line;;keyHeight=2;;keyChar=1153]
keyString Assigns a multi-character string to a key. This allows you to create custom key mappings with multi-byte sequences on a single keystroke.
[Login;;keyString=username]
labelPosition Sets vertical position and horizontal justification of the primary key label. This option is only available on iPad.
[,;;labelPosition=7]
scanBarcode When set to 1, causes the key to trigger a camera scan when tapped.
[Scan;;scanBarcode=1]
shiftFontSize Sets the font size for the shiftLabel of this key. This option is only available on iPad.
[2;;shiftLabel=@;;shiftFontSize=12]
shiftId Changes the identity of a shift key. By default, the ID for a given shiftTo or shiftLock key is the layout it refers to. This option overrides that behavior, giving the key a unique ID.
[SLock;;shiftId=shiftLock;;shiftLock=5250 Landscape.shift]
shiftLabel Displays the character as secondary on the keyboard key. Most often used to show what character will be typed when the shift key is held. There is no way to display more than two labels on a key. This option is only available on iPad.
[3;;shiftLabel=#]
shiftLabelPosition Sets vertical position and horizontal justification of the shiftLabel. This option is only available on iPad.
[3;;shiftLabel=#;;shiftLabelPosition=2]
shiftLock Used without shiftTo, takes a keyboard layout name. The selected layout will replace the current layout.
[Fn;;shiftLock=5250 Portrait.function]
Used with shiftTo, takes a numeric value that determines how the key works. Also requires a shiftId label to identify the layout to return to.
0 Hold-shift: hold key down for shift characters
1 Lock-shift: switch to another layout until tapped again
2 Single-shift: tap to shift. On typing a shift character, revert to original layout.
3 Double-shift: hold to shift temporarily, or double-tap to lock-shift.
4 Single-shift with double-shift: tap once to shift as with 2 above, or double-tap to lock-shift as 3 above. (default)
[Shift;;shiftTo=5250 Portrait.shift;;shiftLock=0]
shiftTo Selects a keyboard layout to display whhen the shift key is pressed. The selected layout will replace the current layout, based on the shiftLock setting.
[Shift;;shiftTo=5250 Portrait.shift]
size Changes the width of the individual key, relative to a base value of 1. size can be specified to the second decimal place.
[Q;;size=1.45]



Special Characters

The following characters are created with the escape character \.

  Character   Value   Character   Value
\b backspace (hex 08) \\ backslash (hex 5c)
\[ left square bracket (hex 5b) \] right square bracket (hex 5d)
\r carriage return (hex 0d) \x UTF-8 hexadecimal number; e.g., \x000d for carriage return
\t horizontal tab (hex 09) \0 octal constant; e.g., \011 for horizontal tab

Note that all hexadecimal and octal values are for the ASCII character set for iOS compatibility. TinyTERM Enterprise converts these to EBCDIC during communication with the mainframe system.

Special characters may be used in combination with the keyString option to create complex sequences:

[PartNum;;keyString=015-249\tsku015249\x000d]



keyChar Values

The following values may be assigned to keys, using the keyChar option. Values not listed have been reserved, and are not available.

  Value   Keyboard Key   Value   Keyboard Key
0-255 Equivalent ASCII character1 62587 Back Tab
8 Backspace ⌫ 62588 Clear
9 Tab 62589 Erase Input
13 Enter 62590 Erase End of Field
61697 Help 62591 Attn
61716 Up ↑ 62598 Cursor Select
61717 Down ↓ 62599 Field +
61718 Right → 62600 Field -
61719 Left ← 62601 Field Exit
61720 Home 62602 Field Mark
61740 Insert 62603 Dup
61741 Delete 62612 Roll Up
62560-62583 PF1 to PF24 62613 Roll Down
62584-62586 PA1 to PA3 62615 Error Reset
62592 Redisplay Screen 62609 Enter Record
62593 New Line 62610 Auto
62596 Test Request 62611 Edge Trigger
62597 System Request 62614 Reset
62604 Master Reset 62616 Record Backspace
62605 Cent Sign ¢ 62617 Last Field Position
62606 Erase 62618 Aid Print
62607 Erase Field 61903 Next Session

1As with the \x and \0 special characters, ASCII values used with keyChar are converted to EBCDIC during communication with the mainframe.




Putting It All Together

As seen above, there are a variety of options for defining keyboard keys in TinyTERM. Combined, they can create just about any key design needed. Here are three examples from the sample keyboard layout. They all use these default values:

-labelPosition 4
-keyHeight 1.19
-fontSize 15


[K;;keyString=k;;size=1.45]

The first argument (here K) is always the key label. keyString causes the key to send a lower-case k. Without it, the key would send the label instead, upper-case K. Labeling like this gives an appearance like that of a physical keyboard.

The last argument, size, is used to widen the key. The larger size makes the key easier to type on, and leaves less blank space to either side of the keyboard. Note also that the K is centered, thanks to the default argument -labelPosition 4.


[Enter;;keyChar=13;;fontSize=11;;labelPosition=6;;size=1.9]

This key uses keyChar instead of keyString to send a non-printable ASCII 13, which is the carriage return ^M. (It's converted to an EBCDIC enter in transmission.) The fontSize argument makes the label text smaller than the default point size 15. labelPosition=6 overrides the default value to left-justify the label string in the lower left corner of the key. And size makes the key even wider than the K key described above.


[Tab;;keyChar=1147;;size=1.1;;labelPosition=6;;fontSize=11;;
shiftLabel=Back;;shiftLabelPosition=3;;shiftFontSize=11]

This key shows a more complex labeling scheme. In addition to the label Tab, it also has a shiftLabel string Back. That label is in shiftLabelPosition=3, putting it just above the main label. With both fontSize and shiftFontSize set the same, the key has a cohesive appearance. Of course, the label and shiftLabel text could be reversed, as could their relative positions, to produce the same result.

The smaller size value makes the key narrower than either K or Enter, to the point that it's slightly thinner than square.

Note also that in an actual tn5250.ttkeyboard file, this key definition would be on one line. It's broken in two here for ease of reading.


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