Is there someone on your Christmas list who suffers from carpal tunnel syndrome or some other sort of disability and makes typing difficult? If so, I can vouch that a gift of David Niemeijer's virtual keyboard utility, KeyStrokes 2.0.2, would be a much appreciated gift, and of course you can download it from the KeyStrokes Web site without worry about last minute hold ups in the mail or parcel delivery.

I don't have carpal tunnel syndrome, but I do suffer from typing pain (and indeed pain all over, alas) caused by fibromyalgia and polyneuritis. Recently these afflictions have been getting worse, and it has been nearly half a year since I have been able to type an entire column or article the conventional way using a keyboard.

Consequently, I am dependent on voice recognition software like IBM ViaVoice, and more recently MacSpeech's iListen, which allow me to dictate text instead of typing.

These programs are wonderful compared with the alternative, which would be that I could no longer write professionally, but they are far from being fully developed technology yet. To put it another way, they make a lot of mistakes in interpreting what I dictate and require a lot of correction. ViaVoice theoretically allows one to make corrections by voice, and this may also be true in practice if you have a fast enough Macintosh. It is simply too slow on my 233 MHz PowerBook, so I am obliged to make corrections manually, which is also the case with the current 1.0.1 build of iListen, which does not yet offer voice correction.

Incidentally, if any of you regular readers of my columns and articles have noticed some seemingly bizarre typos and/or non sequiturs in my prose of late, you now know the explanation. Voice recognition software can come up with some pretty creative interpretations of what you dictate, which often would be hilarious, were they not so embarrassing. I try to catch them, but I make no pretense of being a good proof reader, especially off a computer screen, and the fact that dictation software typos are all perfectly spelled does not help.

Anyway, the correction issue brings me back to the keyboard, and for the past several months I have also been using KeyStrokes 1.2, the freeware predecessor (which is still available) of the recently released KeyStrokes 2.0.2, which is shareware.

For making small corrections, most of which involve only changing a letter or two, substituting capitalization for lower case, and that sort of thing, I find that clicking with my foot-operated mouse, or gently tapping my Cirque Easy Cat USB trackpad is a lot easier on my sore arms and hands then using the keyboard. Therefore, I have found KeyStrokes a wonderful innovation, and the new enhanced version is even better.

KeyStrokes was written specifically for Mac users who are not (or are no longer) able to use a normal keyboard without discomfort. KeyStrokes provides a fully functional on-screen keyboard that you can use to type with the mouse anywhere you would use a normal (hardware) keyboard (applications, dialog boxes, etc.). It also allows you to shift/option/command/control click.

KeyStrokes is also ideal special education, use with children, server management, touch screens, tablets, and couch surfing.

KeyStrokes Main Features:
• Type with a mouse (or other input device) instead of a keyboard in virtually any window or dialog box.
• Turn on modifier keys (shift, option, command, and control) to shift- click, option-click, control-click and command-click or use a command-key combination to perform a menu command.
• Choose one of seven keyboard sizes for the on-screen keyboard, from mini to extra-large.

• Choose any display font for the on-screen keyboard.
• Choose any Keyboard Layout (also from most non-Roman scripts) and KeyStrokes will automatically adapt its keyboard and display font.
• Let KeyStrokes do intelligent, self-learning, language-independent word prediction for you and type up to twice as fast.
• Use multiple dictionaries for different languages and/or different subjects.
• You can teach KeyStrokes your vocabulary by importing from text files and importing/exporting of dictionaries.
• Record commonly used phrases and apply them through an abbreviation.
• Use a button-bar to perform common actions.
• Shrink/Expand KeyStrokes with a single click on one of the button-bar buttons.
• Choose between an 68K and a PowerPC version for more compatibility and speed.

One on the features in the new KeyStrokes 2.0.2 but I find particularly useful is the ability to collapse the KeyStrokes window into a tiny icon or re-summon it with a single click. the 12.1-inch screen on my PowerBook is getting a bit crowded with floating pallettes lately, and even with KeyStrokes 1.2 reduced to the "mini" size, I still found that it was often in the way. KeyStrokes 2.0.2 is actually about one-third larger by dint of the fact that it has a new button bar, and a word prediction field, but being able to collapse it with a click makes it even more convenient then the smaller, older version was. You can also hide the prediction field, in which case KeyStrokes 2.0.2 is only about 20 percent larger than the freeware version.

The new button bar:

• The topmost icon button (a KeyStrokes icon) is used to bring the KeyStrokes application to the front so that you can easily access its menus.

• The second button (white square with arrows) is the one that allows you to shrink the KeyStrokes window to icon size. After shrinking you can move it anywhere on your screen where it is out of your way. Upon shrinking the icon changes to an expansion icon. Clicking on it again will revert the KeyStrokes window to its original size and location.

• The third button (“TY…”) n is used to toggle word prediction (which also collapses the prediction field in the off position).

• The fourth button (open book) is used to turn on or off word learning as you type. Note that KeyStrokes also learns your typos.

• The fifth button (book with eraser) is used to delete words or phrase from a dictionary. You do this by beginning to type until the word or phrase you want to delete appears in the prediction area, next you click on the erase button. To delete the word you can now either click on the word or phrase you want to delete and then on the erase icon (now showing the word “DEL”) to confirm deletion. Or, you can double click on the word or phrase you want to delete.

The prediction field area displays predicted words as you type. Words from the currently active dictionary are displayed. When the desired word appears, you can quit typing and click on the word, which will be completed in your document or text field. This is very slick, and can save you a lot of time, making this virtual on-screen keyboard usable for composing text documents. If word learning is turned on, the active dictionary learns words as you type. You can also import or learn words from a file by going to the Dictionary Options dialog in the Prediction menu. Which words are predicted in the prediction area depends on which words the active dictionary contains and when and how often you have used a particular word. It is also influenced by the prediction settings (discussed in the appendix below).

Dictionaries bundled with KeyStrokes 2.0.2 currently include US and UK English, as well as French and German. More free dictionaries will be made available as they are completed (including Italian, Spanish, and Dutch). Detailed explanations on how to make your own dictionaries are also included.

At present KeyStrokes does not support MacOS X. For MacOS X KeyStrokes will have to be re-designed from the ground up and even then, with the information presently available from Apple, David Niemeijer is not sure whether KeyStrokes will be able to offer full functionality on MacOS X. After MacOS X is in final form and relevant documentation is available he will investigate whether he can offer a MacOS X version of KeyStrokes. If a MacOS X compatible version of KeyStrokes becomes available registered users of KeyStrokes 2.0.2 will be offered an upgrade for the price difference.

If you already have KeyStrokes 1.2 installed, before running KeyStrokes 2.0.2 you should remove the file “KeyStrokes Extensions” from your Extensions Folder (which is in your System Folder) and replace it with the appropriate file: “KeyStrokes Extension 2.0.2 68K” or “KeyStrokes Extension 2.0.2 PPC.”

The KeyStrokes 2.0.2 Manual, excerpts from which you will find in the Appendix below, is quite thorough and nicely illustrated with screenshots, with step-by-step explanations on how to use the program's menus, windows and dialogs.

Gripes? I don't like to seem greedy, but it would be nice to have the option of function keys and a numerical keypad. I also think that the price is just a tiny bit steep, although it seems a bit crass to complain about that when there is a freeware version available as well. Otherwise, this is a very well engineered piece of software. If you suffer from typing distress, it really should be in your arsenal.

System requirements:
• Macintosh computer with a PowerPC or 68020 processor or higher
• System 7.1 or later

KeyStrokes 2.0.2 is shareware and should be registered after a 15 day trial period. It is being offered at special introductory prices until 31 December 2000. Introductory prices start at US$39 for a single copy. There are also introductory upgrades ($35) for users who registered the fewer-featured freeware versions of Keystrokes (1.0 through 1.2, which are still available) before December 1, 2000. There are also bulk discounts, site licenses and also educational prices for schools and universities. All licenses can be ordered online through Kagi's online order processing services at: http://order.kagi.com/?15T">http://order.kagi.com/?15T">http://order.kagi.com/?15T

KeyStrokes 2.0.2 is a product of Niemeijer Consult in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

You can always find the latest version of KeyStrokes at:
http://www.niemconsult.com/KShome.html

Appendix

MacInterface 2.0 CD-ROM Shows New Mac Users The Ropes

Charles W. Moore

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