How can I configure a key to "Start Dictation" with a Microsoft Surface Ergonomic Keyboard?
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I have a Microsoft Surface Ergonomic Keyboard paired to my MacBook Pro over Bluetooth.
macOS has detected the keyboard as an "Ergonomic Keyboard." When I go to the keyboard settings and click "Modifier Keys...", it thinks I have a 🌐 instead of Fn. But this keyboard doesn't have a 🌐 (as far as I'm aware), and it does have an Fn. Pressing Fn toggles a light on and off on the key.
#### Here are the "Modifier Keys..." options:
#### Keyboard settings:
The problem is that pressing Fn twice does not start dictation. Instead, it just toggles Fn light on and off. I'm not 100% sure how this works, but maybe this is actually just toggling an internal state inside the keyboard. Maybe it doesn't send a keypress event until you actually press one of the function keys (e.g. F1, F2), and the Fn state just determines if it sends a plain F1 key, or one of the special functions (e.g. mute, play/pause, etc.)
Is it possible to configure Fn to start dictation? Is it possible to change a setting on the keyboard to disable the Fn light turning on and off, and send a Fn / 🌐 keypress event instead?
I installed [Karabiner-Elements](https://karabiner-elements.pqrs.org/) and played around with it, but I couldn't figure out how to change the behavior of Fn or remap it. I was able to remap the right Windows as Fn, so I'm able to start dictation by pressing this key twice. But I would still be interested to know if it's possible to use the Fn.




Asked by ndbroadbent
(283 rep)
Jul 26, 2022, 12:16 AM
Last activity: May 26, 2025, 09:07 AM
Last activity: May 26, 2025, 09:07 AM