deadkey(%name%)
dk(%name%)
The deadkey or dk statement lets you program a deadkey in your keyboard. The deadkey will be processed by Keyman as if it were a normal character, but it is not output onto the screen, but stored internally in the context. Any keyboard can have around 65,000 unique deadkeys.
Example
+ '`' > dk(backquote)
dk(backquote) + 'e' > 'è'
Any deadkeys inserted by another rule immediately before or after the character to the left of the insertion point will be deleted when backspace is pressed, unless backspace is overridden with a keyboard rule. This can be illustrated with the following implicit rule (* indicates 0 or more deadkeys; 'char' is any character):
dk()* any(char) dk()* + [K_BKSP] > nul
Versions
Numbered deadkeys were introduced in version 3.0. Keyman 5.0 and later support named deadkeys. The use of numbered deadkeys is still supported, but not recommended; named deadkeys make the keyboard source much more readable.