Software

I will admit I was not aware of the Microsoft Mouse and Keyboard Center, which is the name of the first-party software drivers that work with this very keyboard. Perhaps it is just my inexperience with Microsoft-branded peripherals, but it made for a pleasant surprise. You can grab the installer from this page, with support for 32-bit, 64-bit, and even ARM processors. Best of all, you don't need to use the Microsoft Store, so that made me even happier! The latest version at the time of testing was v13.250.137.0, which Microsoft simply refers to as Mouse and Keyboard Center 13. The installer is 47 MB, and the install process is woefully short on details and options, except for wanting to be more "involved" with you. It's best to have the keyboard connected during installation since the final step involves checking for the keyboard before either an error message or the software GUI itself shows up. The program is low on system resources at least, even if it takes liberties in what it can do.


Packaging is clearly also not the only thing shared between the Microsoft keyboard and Xbox controllers, with both loving a lot of empty white space. There is definitely a lot to optimize as everything is restricted to a central column that then scrolls down for quite a while. It at least scales fine with high DPI and OS scaling, but any less would have also been a shame for Microsoft's own software on Windows!

There are 12 keys aboard the Microsoft ergonomic keyboard which can be remapped, and there are plenty of options for these, including with a full-fledged macro recorder. The software is obviously being restricted in what it can do here—a more powerful USB microcontroller as well as deliberate choices made by the product manager can lead to the same set of software controls for full key mapping. While not as critical, I would have certainly liked the option to remap some of the other keys, including the spare Delete. I suppose at least the emoji button can easily be changed, and on a per-program basis, too. It's still more than I thought possible going in, so I am treating this as a welcome bonus rather than a missed opportunity.