Full Implementation of MS Office Keyboard under Vista 64 and Windows 7

To Enable Full Function of the Microsoft Office Keyboard (RT9450) in Vista 64 and Windows 7

These instructions worked for me using IntelliType v 6.1, but later versions of IntelliType might also work.  These suggestions work on Vista 64 bit, but I did not test them on Windows 7.  Other sites have suggested that they will also work on that OS, however.  Success requires the use of AutoHotKey (AHK), a free open source program that is downloadable from: http://www.autohotkey.com/.  This is advertised as a "Free Mouse and Keyboard Macro Program with Hotkeys."  

Using this program, a user can discover what key codes are being sent by various keys on the keyboard.  For example, the "Word" key sends 113.  The "Excel" key sends 114.  In "AutoHotKey" terminology, these would be addressed as sc113 and sc114  (sc stands for "scan code").  The ScrollWheel also can be addressed and modified by AHK.  Since the standard installation of IntelliType can enable many of the Microsoft Office Keyboard buttons without modification (e.g., "Web/Home", "Mail", and others), the only remaining keys that did not function according to my wishes were the "Word" and "Excel" keys since I have elected to use OpenOffice 3.1 on my computer.  If MS Office were installed, these two keys might function as expected.  

The "Microsoft keyboard" icon that is installed to the desktop by IntelliType allows the user to program many of the keys, which might not function as "advertised" without depending upon AHK.  For example, the "Files" key, brings up Messenger, but it can be "edited" to bring up any other file on the user's machine.  I configured it to open the "My Documents" folder.  I also use "TapeCalc", a free program from PC World, as my calculator so I replaced the standard Calculator with TapeCalc by choosing to have the "Calculator" key "Start a program," then inserting the path to the program desired.  The "Mail" button can also be re-configured.  The Web/Home key will open the default browser home page.  Other keys such as, the email commands, save, spell, undo, redo, etc. function as expected.

The user should install Microsoft Intellitype64 (ITP64Eng), which can be found here, while the keyboard is disconnected from the computer (this can be done using the mouse only).  That will install the drivers for the Microsoft Keyboard series, but will not install the keyboard itself.  [I did not try the installation with the keyboard installed based on some suggestions from this Windows Forums post.  

Once the drivers are installed, turn off the computer [Restart might not work].  While the computer is off, attach the keyboard, but with this IMPORTANT difference.  This key point is missed by most of those sites that have attempted to restore functionality to the scroll wheel on the MS Office Keyboard.  Instead of plugging the keyboard into the USB port, use an adapter to plug it into the standard PS/2 keyboard port.  Although I have found assertions that the scroll wheel will work using USB, I did not have that experience.

Even with the keyboard plugged into the PS/2 port, the scroll wheel will not work until AutoHotKey is employed.  Thanks to Barcode 01 on the above site who developed the following script to remap the wheel:

; Lines that start with a ; semicolon are comments.
                      ; Microsoft Office Keyboard RT9450: Making the ScrollWheel work under 
                      '    Windows 7. ScrollUp/Down Normal, Fast, Faster, Fastest
                      #SingleInstance ignore     ; Inserted by 2ward2 to avoid double running of the script
                      sc10B Up::Send {WheelDown}
                      sc111 Up::Send {WheelDown 3}
                      sc112 Up::Send {WheelDown 5}
                      sc11F Up::Send {WheelDown 7}
                      sc10B Down::Send {WheelUp}
                      sc111 Down::Send {WheelUp 3}
                      sc112 Down::Send {WheelUp 5}
                      sc11F Down::Send {WheelUp 7}
                      Return

Select all Open in new window

Once the script is compiled by AutoHotKey, a link to the file can be placed into the Start folder so that it will always be installed during startup.  

I wanted to change the function of the Word and Excel buttons as well.  I am new to AHK, but I did not want to journey further than necessary into the programming language just to solve this keyboard issue.  The hardest part for me was to discover the scan codes for the two buttons so I could re-program them.  If you want to learn the codes for other keys, it requires installation of what is called a keyboard hook into a script, which can then allow you to see data regarding the last 20 keys pressed.  The script you design can be VERY simple, only a couple of lines, but must include #InstallKbdHook as a line (see the documentation at AutoHotKey.com).  That technique enabled me to learn the proper scan codes for the two MS program buttons.  Replacing them is simple, as seen by the following AHK script:

#SingleInstance ignore  ; Avoids double running of the script
                      sc113::Run swrite     ; Remaps the Word key to run the Open Office Text program
                      sc114::Run scalc      ; Remaps Excel key to run the Open Office spreadsheet  program

Select all Open in new window

Since I wanted the ScrollWheel to function as well as to remap the Office buttons, I added my remap code for the Word and Excel keys to the script by Barcode 01.  That resulted in the following entire AutoHotKey 1.x code that performs all these remaps:

; AutoHotkey Version: 1.x
                      ; Language:	English
                      ; Platform:	Vista 64
                      ; Author:         W. S. De Witt <ward2gm@gmail.com>
                      ; With acknowledgments to:  Barcode 01 (on http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/itprovistahardware/thread/e56a845c-72dc-442f-94ce-dec6f60724b5/
                      ;
                      ; Script Function:
                      ;	Remaps Microsoft Office Keyboard to enable ScrollWheel function
                      ;	Optional remap of Word and Excel keys to other programs
                      ;
                      ; The following three lines of code appear when first opening a new AutoHotKey script for editing
                      #NoEnv	; Recommended for performance and compatibility with future AutoHotkey releases.
                      SendMode Input  		; Recommended for new scripts due to its superior speed and reliability.
                      SetWorkingDir %A_ScriptDir%  	; Ensures a consistent starting directory.
                      ; --------------------------------------------------
                      ; Lines that start with a ; (semicolon) are comments.
                      ; Microsoft Office Keyboard RT9450: Making the ScrollWheel work under Vista 64 or Windows 7. 
                      ; ScrollUp/Down Normal, Fast, Faster, Fastest
                      #SingleInstance ignore		                    ; Inserted by 2ward2 to avoid double running of the script
                      sc10B Up::Send {WheelDown}
                      sc111 Up::Send {WheelDown 3}
                      sc112 Up::Send {WheelDown 5}
                      sc11F Up::Send {WheelDown 7}
                      sc10B Down::Send {WheelUp}
                      sc111 Down::Send {WheelUp 3}
                      sc112 Down::Send {WheelUp 5}
                      sc11F Down::Send {WheelUp 7}
                      ; --------------------------------------------------
                      ; Remap Word and Excel keys to use OpenOffice.org 3.1 programs for text and spreadsheet
                      sc113::Run swriter		; Put a semi-colon in front of this line to disable this remap
                      sc114::Run scalc		; Put a semi-colon in front of this line to disable this remap
                      Return

Select all Open in new window

Once that is compiled by AutoHotKey, a link to the file can be placed into the Start folder to enable automatic loading on startup.  

Remember that your USB keyboard needs to be plugged into the PS/2 port for the above script to enable the ScrollWheel.  That one fact has been missing from many of the instructions given to solve this problem.  I hope this explanation will give your keyboard back to you with its full capability!

2ward2