deskthority

Hi everyone. I am looking for a macro pad or programmable keypad to use at my work, but I can't install any software on my work computer so I need to find one that does all of its stuff internally without any extra computer software required.

The functions I need for it are pretty simple. I just need the ability to store a series of key presses into individual keys. I mainly hope to use it to speed up my work with an old IBM terminal emulator we run and use, so I hope to be able to press one key and have it enter several letters, enter a tab key press, enter several more letters, press tab again, and enter a return key press. If that makes sense. Nothing very fancy, just need some basic old-school macro functionality.

I also really don't care if its USB or PS/2 or whatever else.

Does it need to be programmed without software, or just used without software?

If you are ok with programming it with just a tiny bit of software (just avrdude and the QMK configurator) then get anything that runs QMK.

You can always program your QMK-compatible device at home and bring it to work. https://qmk.fm

* If you were just talking software-based, that's easy: AutoHotKey does everything you've listed.
* If you're talking hardware, there are a bunch of different keyboards. The one that springs to mind is the Gateway AnyKey. A more modern alternative is the Cooler Master MasterKeys keyboards.

-> I'm not sure that the AnyKey can program macros with tabs and/or other modifier keys. I'm pretty sure that the Cooler Master can. AutoHotKey can.
-> I'm not sure that your emulator would accept macro input. It's something to test.

I obviously don't know your situation where you work, but none of the folks where I work have admin rights, so nobody can install any software. You can always ask your IT department to install an app of your choice and see what happens. However, your IT department may also lock down your USB ports. That would definitely be a call to your IT Department.

You might also want to check out https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=103648.0 and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZEoss4XIgc