Keyboard input

[JNoble]

All keys on the keyboard, when pressed, generate a "scan code", which tells the computer which specific key has been pressed. This is
how software can tell if you press the "4" key at the top of the keyboard or the "4" key on the numeric keypad; if the NumLock key is on, the
computer sees this and knows you mean "4" and not "left arrow". Most software accepts the standard key code passed to it by the
operating system and all is well with the world. However, you can write code that specifically looks at the keyboard scan code; in this
case the software can not be fooled into thinking you meant "4" when you press the numeric keypad 4 with the NumLock on--the
programmer can force it into seeing this as keypad 4 regardless of whether the NumLock is on or off. As far as I can tell, this is how
Flight Simulator reads keystrokes when setting up assignments, and disallows certain combinations.

So, the nontechnical explanation is that you may need to buy a programmable keyboard and remap the keys. Programmable keyboards
are not that much more expensive than regular keyboards. Beware though: programmable keyboards can--and do--confuse some
software packages; it depends on how the programmer wrote the keyboard input code.