New version updates for both Extra Keys (2.2.4) and Extra Keys Pro (2.2.6) are now available for download.

The most noticeable change is that the key panel window no longer gets the desktop focus when a button or other control is clicked.  This means that the active window does not change, which is most likely the target application for entering a character with Extra Keys.  It prevents the annoying focus switching between Extra Keys and the target window, especially apparent when entering multiple characters.

Another small change involves the “refresh” button for the target drop-down box.  Instead of setting the default “nowhere – Copy only” the refresh will attempt to set the currently active window, on the assumption this is probably the desired target. Of course any other choice from the drop-down list can be selected manually if preferred, as before.  If the program cannot determine a valid target window then “Copy only” is set as previously.

There are no other changes for Extra Keys, but Extra Keys Pro also gets six new key-sets. These are not aimed at mainstream users and are not planned for the standard Extra Keys. Perhaps the most significant set is the additional of Polytonic Greek with the large number of diacritic letters used in classical and medieval Greek.   So it is now easy to correctly type Ἀλέξανδρος  (Aléxandros/Alexander), Ἄρης (Aries) or ᾠόν (egg). Of necessity this key panel in unusually large – apologies for this inconvenience but it is the only way to show all the accented characters in a single view.

The other additional key-sets for Extra Keys Pro are Ogham, Runic, single character Roman numerals and unicode Emoticons. The Runic set has all unicode Runes which cover several historical variation, so a filter tab is provided in the settings to enable/disable those required. The Old English runes used by J.R.R. Tolkien in the Hobbit are included, but not the later invented Cirth runes. As normal, it is essential to ensure the target application is using a suitable font to properly display all these less common characters.