Keyboard Mapper

Not everything comes with instructions. Luckily, applications like Keyboard Mapper give you the possibility to make the first run easier for others. It is a small utility with which you can set labels to any button available on the keyboard.

The main workspace displays the layout of a basic keyboard along with the names of each key. Creating a label is as easy as can get, you need just click on the desired button, enter the label and confirm.

While browsing through its available tools, you inevitably come across the “Fonts / Colours” menu. It brings up several ways to make each design look different. Color can be set for nearly any element of the layout.

The buttons themselves as well as their border can be modified from the default look. Unfortunately, you are not able to change color for individual keys if you need to emphasize only specific controls. The same applies for names and labels.

What you can do is set font, size and color for nearly any available text, but again as a group. Nor is there a way to change the background, keys being displayed over a white default canvas.

Even though options to emphasize specific keys are limited, it is still a useful utility. When you are happy with the design, it can be saved to file under a BMP format, in case you need to use it in a different project or print it out on a sheet of paper. You can only save the whole keyboard layout, with no possibility to select only a specific area.

Keyboard Mapper is a handy utility with which you can print out instructions, for games and various applications. It's fairly easy to use and several customization options let you enhance visual aspects to suit almost any environment.