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:

• tn5250.ttkeyboard for handsets
• tn5250.ttkeyboard for tablets

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, +QWERTZ.shift is a subordinate layout of +QWERTZ. +5250 Landscape
#	Comment line. These can be inserted anywhere in the .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. Defaults to 180. -keyboardHeight 172
keyboardWidth	Sets the width of the layout. 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, iPhone orientation, and individual keys not using the default keyHeight value. -keyHeight 1.44
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
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, iPhone 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, separate it from the double semicolons by a space. Then use keyString to set the character, so the space isn't typed as part of the key:

[; ;;size=0.82;;keyString=\x003b]

Option	Description
\	Escape character. Used for special characters that have other uses without the \. Square brackets are not required for this option. \\
bgColor	Sets the background color for the key. Uses hexadecimal RGB values preceded by the # sign. [Caps;;capsKey=1;;bgColor=#a1b2c3]
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]
fgColor	Sets the text color for the key. Uses hexadecimal RGB values preceded by the # sign. [Clear;;keyChar=1148;;fgColor=#3cb2a1]
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. [,;;labelPosition=7]
printScreen	When set to 1, this key will print the current emulator screen. Defaults to 0. [prt;;printScreen=1]
selBgColor	Sets the background color for the key when pressed or locked. Uses hexadecimal RGB values preceded by the # sign. [S;;selKeyBgColor=#e4e5ed]
selFgColor	Sets the text color for the font when the key is pressed or locked. Uses hexadecimal RGB values preceded by the # sign. [D;;selKeyFgColor=#1ff514]
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]
shiftLock	Used without shiftTo, takes a keyboard layout name. The selected layout will replace the current layout. [Fn;;shiftLock=QWERTZ.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=QWERTZ.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=QWERTZ.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 for Android 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

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:

-keyHeight 1.4
-fontSize 20

[K;;keyString=k]

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.

[Scan;;scanBarcode=1;;size=1.2;;fontSize=14]

This key does not send text. Instead, it uses scanBarcode to activate the rear-facing camera as a barcode scanner. (Note that this is only available on the Zebra ET1.) The fontSize argument makes the label text smaller than the default size of 20. And size makes the key wider than the K key described above.

[ABC;;size=1.3;;shiftLock=AZERTY.P;;fontSize=14]

Available from the function key layout, this key returns the user to the AZERTY.P main layout. The shiftLock option means that after typing on that layout, the user will not automatically return to the function key layout.