#1470 Auto-Type types incorrect symbols

[Danila Sentyabov]

Recently I've encountered a problem that effectively made the Auto-Type feature unusable for me. KeePass started modifying some symbols, replacing them with the other symbols on execution. Namely, the point symbol is affected: instead of my email address name@server.ru KeePass types in "name@serverEru", replacing the point with "E" (uppercase E, ASCII code 0x45).

It's the same regardless of the target window, so it doesn't make a difference if I try auto-typing into a browser window or blank text file opened in Notepad. Two-way obfuscation doesn't affect this. Copying and pasting the fields manually works as expected.

[Danila Sentyabov]

KeePass 2.31.
Additional plugins: KeeAgent, WebAutoType
OS: Windows 7 64-bit.

[Paul]

Sounds like a keyboard language issue. Did you change the language on your computer recently?
Does KeePass 2.30 do the same?

cheers, Paul

[Danila Sentyabov]

I use a custom-made keyboard layout with typographic symbols. I've made a minor update about a month ago; maybe it's really connected somehow. I'll try to switch to generic layout and see if that helps.

[Danila Sentyabov]

Yep, that was it. Switching back to the generic layout resolves the issue.
The thing is, the custom layout doesn't cause problems anywhere else and I really use it all the time.
Is there a way I can help make KeePass play well with the typographic layout?

[Paul]

KeePass probably has trouble working out what language to use on your machine.
Try changing the setting in Tools > Options > Advanced, Auto-Type, Ensure same keyboard layout....

cheers, Paul

[Danila Sentyabov]

Doesn't make any difference. However, I've noticed that if Russian layout (also custom-made with typography symbols) is active in the target window, more characters get garbled (@ becomes 2 etc.).

I've tested one more thing — the older version of my layouts, and KeePass works perfectly with them. The only difference is that these older versions used KANA switch (bound to Caps Lock) to type extended symbols and the newer versions use i.e. thumb-shift switch (it was initially introduced to all major OSes to support this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thumb-shift_keyboard ). I could back up to the KANA switch, of course, but I really wanted to make use of these thumb-shift switches. They provide more flexibility for layout building.

I understand, though, that it's not widely used feature and probably won't be a priority :-(

[Danila Sentyabov]

Well, I've managed to do the things I need without thumb-switch key modifiers and changed my layouts. Now everything works as it should. I guess this problem would affect just a tiny fraction of possible users, so if there are no other people complaining about this, this bug can be closed.

Thanks for helping me figure this out!

[Dominik Reichl]

How did you create/realize your custom-made keyboard layout?

Best regards,
Dominik

[Danila Sentyabov]

I've made it with KbdEdit (http://www.kbdedit.com/) — it provides much more flexibility than the decade-old Microsoft Keyboard Layout Creator. Namely, it allows creation of AltGr-like layouts using Kana and other modifiers, thus not blocking out Ctrl-Alt combinations.

[Dominik Reichl]

Ok, thanks. I tried the demo version, but it misses most interesting functions (like 'Save'), making testing rather hard.

KbdEdit seems to create/modify keyboard layout DLLs. The API function of Windows to translate a character into corresponding keypresses (VkKeyScan) should work, but based on your report with custom keyboard layouts it apparently doesn't do so always, and unfortunately I don't see why, sorry. If someone has an idea, please let me know.

Best regards,
Dominik

[Danila Sentyabov]

Everything stopped working after I've modified my layout to use ROYA and LOYA modifiers. Checking these options in the Low-level Editor tab breaks Auto-Type.