# NumPad layer without NumPad plugin?

**URL:** https://community.keyboard.io/t/numpad-layer-without-numpad-plugin/1644
**Category:** Help and Getting Started
**Created:** [June 15, 2018, 5:08am UTC](https://community.keyboard.io/t/numpad-layer-without-numpad-plugin/1644 "2018-06-15T05:08:48Z")
**Posts on this page:** 1
**Showing post:** 2

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### Author: ![tiltowaitt](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/user_avatar/community.keyboard.io/tiltowaitt/32/4764_2.png) [@tiltowaitt](https://community.keyboard.io/u/tiltowaitt)
#### Post date: [June 15, 2018, 5:49am UTC](https://community.keyboard.io/t/numpad-layer-without-numpad-plugin/1644/2 "2018-06-15T05:49:26Z")

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Someone correct me if I’m wrong, but … Numlock is a software feature in addition to a keyboard mode—your OS knows if the keyboard is in numlock or not (and can tell the keyboard to switch into/out of it?). The NumPad plugin sets that flag in addition to changing layers.

Do you actually need it? Eh, probably not. If you’re using a Mac, you certainly don’t need it.

Here’s some more info:

> [@On the history and implementation of NumLock](https://community.keyboard.io/t/on-the-history-and-implementation-of-numlock/735):
>
> So, I feel it’s time for another mild rant about leaky abstractions. slight_smile NumLock is a kludge. It is a kludge designed for the first IBM PC so that a directional pad and a numpad could be supported on the same limited keyboard. Its inadequacy was soon evident, so the PC/AT model M and all subsequent IBM compatible PCs have supported keyboards with separate directional and numeric keys. To its eternal credit, Apple never implemented NumLock. To its eternal shame, Linux did. Unfortuna…

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