Right Shift and 'ろ' keys not recognized; '半角/全角' key unstable on Windows/Chrome (JIS 106)

[butameron]

Disclaimer

• I have read and understood the disclaimer.

Application version

0.4.7-dev202507031912

System version

0.2.5

Device model

JetKVM

Extension model

None

Remote device Hardware

No response

Remote device OS

Windows 11 (Japanese)

Bug description

Right Shift key not recognized on Windows/Chrome (JIS 106)

Steps to reproduce

1. Open JetKVM in Chrome for Windows.
2. Focus the viewer area (where keyboard input is captured).
3. Press Right Shift.

Expected behavior

• Footer indicator shows: ShiftRight
• Remote PC receives Right Shift press

Actual behavior

• Footer indicator is empty
• Right Shift is ignored by the remote PC

Environment

• OS: Windows 11 Pro (Japanese)
• Browser: Google Chrome for Windows 139.0.7258.128 (Official Build) (64-bit)
• Keyboard layout: Japanese 106-key (JIS)

Diagnostics (DevTools)

Verified on about:blank with the following code:

window.addEventListener('keydown', e => {
  if (e.key === 'Shift' || e.code.startsWith('Shift')) {
    console.log('KEYDOWN', { key: e.key, code: e.code, location: e.location });
  }
});
window.addEventListener('keyup', e => {
  if (e.key === 'Shift' || e.code.startsWith('Shift')) {
    console.log('KEYUP', { key: e.key, code: e.code, location: e.location });
  }
});

Results:

Left Shift

KEYDOWN {key: 'Shift', code: 'ShiftLeft',  location: 1}
KEYUP   {key: 'Shift', code: 'ShiftLeft',  location: 1}

Right Shift

KEYDOWN {key: 'Shift', code: '', location: 0}
KEYUP   {key: 'Shift', code: '', location: 0}

---

Edit

I also tested other keys and found the following issues:

• The 'ろ' (Ro) key is also unrecognized (no response at all).
• The 半角/全角 (Hankaku/Zenkaku) key works but is unstable (the Backquote key appears to get stuck in a pressed state).

Since Shift + 'ろ' (Ro) inputs "_", I can’t type underscores at all, which makes it difficult to edit configuration files, etc., on remote servers.

I tested this on the client:

window.addEventListener('keydown', e => {
  console.log('KEYDOWN', { key: e.key, code: e.code, location: e.location, keyCode: e.keyCode });
});
window.addEventListener('keyup', e => {
  console.log('KEYUP', { key: e.key, code: e.code, location: e.location, keyCode: e.keyCode });
});

'ろ' key

KEYDOWN {key: '_', code: 'IntlRo', location: 0, keyCode: 226}
KEYUP {key: '_', code: 'IntlRo', location: 0, keyCode: 226}

Shift + 'ろ' (to input '_')

KEYDOWN {key: 'Shift', code: 'ShiftLeft', location: 1, keyCode: 16}
KEYDOWN {key: '_', code: 'IntlRo', location: 0, keyCode: 226}
KEYUP {key: '_', code: 'IntlRo', location: 0, keyCode: 226}
KEYUP {key: 'Shift', code: 'ShiftLeft', location: 1, keyCode: 16}

半角/全角 (Hankaku/Zenkaku) key:

On odd presses

KEYUP {key: 'Zenkaku', code: 'Backquote', location: 0, keyCode: 244}
KEYDOWN {key: 'Hankaku', code: 'Backquote', location: 0, keyCode: 243}

On even presses

KEYUP {key: 'Hankaku', code: 'Backquote', location: 0, keyCode: 243}
KEYDOWN {key: 'Zenkaku', code: 'Backquote', location: 0, keyCode: 244}

The footer indicator continuously shows Keys: Backquote.
Also, at times it behaves as if the key is held down, and the IME flickers between full-width and half-width input.

Updated: added keyCode

[IDisposable]

The idea of a keyboard diagnostic using about:blank with some javascript is amazing!

I've been using https://www.keyboardtester.com/tester.html

[butameron]

I found a workaround for the '半角/全角' (Hankaku/Zenkaku) key:

Add a keyboard macro for AltLeft + ` and use that instead of pressing the '半角/全角' (Hankaku/Zenkaku) key.

For ろ(Ro) key, the only workaround is using the on-screen keyboard on the remote side.

This seems to be a common issue when the PC is set to a JIS 106/109 layout but the physical keyboard is US 101, causing missing keys. JetKVM may need an option to change the key layout. I also saw forum posts about US keyboards on Japanese Windows being unable to type underscores.

[IDisposable]

This seems to be a common issue when the PC is set to a JIS 106/109 layout but the physical keyboard is US 101, causing missing keys. JetKVM may need an option to change the key layout. I also saw forum posts about US keyboards on Japanese Windows being unable to type underscores.

Indeed, I'm going to be working on additional keyboards layouts for the VirtualKeyboard once the restructuring PR is merged (soon!), can I tap you when I get to the JIS keyboards?

Also, I really only want to do one layout per locale... would it be better to do 106 or 109 (or something else?)

[butameron]

Feel free to ask me.

106 and 109 are basically the same. 109 is just 106 with the addition of the Windows key and the Application key. There’s no distinction in the Windows driver either, so supporting 109 should be sufficient.

However, since there are vendor-specific differences (such as the Mac JIS layout vs. the standard JIS layout), I think the “one layout per locale” rule might have some exceptions (for example, supporting a custom layout/keymap upload feature).

(By the way, although the hardware key layout is the same, Japanese keyboards usually support both a “Romaji (English alphabet) input mode” and a “Kana input mode.” Ideally, the on-screen keyboard should either switch the key labels or display both characters, like this: https://www2d.biglobe.ne.jp/~msyk/keyboard/layout/OADG109A.html
. This feature isn’t a high priority right now, as long as the hardware keyboard works when available.)

Additional note:

I almost forgot, but some programmers prefer to use a US layout even in a Japanese environment, so the language locale and the key layout don’t really seem to be directly related.