Can plover replace normal keyboard or do we need custom keyboard layout with other keys?

[geoff]

Howdy,

I recently bought a BAT keyboard.  This was to be faster at typing while keeping the other hand on the mouse (while using CAD).  While waiting for my plover keys and then keyboard, I have been learning it and have reached the amazing speed of 10 to 12 WPM.  It repeats keystrokes if a key is held down, but I just now realized that there are no <Shift> or <Ctrl> keys that you can hold down -- they are keypresses done before the key you want to use with them.  This means that although anything may be typed, you cannot hold down <Shift> or <Ctrl> while using the mouse, say for selecting files in a file explorer.

So I wonder two things...

Can you type anything you can on a standard keyboard (such as command keys), while using steno keys with plover?

And...

Can you hold the <Ctrl> and <Shift> keys down while using the mouse?

And...

If not, do people usually mount a regular keyboard above or below their steno keyboard?

(I know.  I can do arithmetic. I just wondered something else while typing.)

Thanks,

   -- Geoff

[Momotombo]

The biggest thing Plover can't do is hold keys down. You can't hold down a combination of keys while hitting a mouse button, but you can tell Plover to hit combinations all at once. For example, I transcribe audio for a living, so when I hit SAFT on the steno keyboard, that's like saying CTRL+S to save my document. I personally have my steno machine on a tripod, which is under my desk. While I work, I pull it out and lift it up, adjusting it in front of my desk so it's more comfortable.

Otherwise, you can type anything you want with a steno keyboard. You can add entries to the dictionary if you find there's something you want to write that isn't in already. A steno keyboard with Plover will generally be much better than a QWERTY keyboard.

[Theodore Morin]

As a work around, I have a mouse that has extra buttons that I map to modifiers.

On May 27, 2016 3:48 AM, "Momotombo" <momot...@gmail.com> wrote:

The biggest thing Plover can't do is hold keys down. You can't hold down a combination of keys while hitting a mouse button, but you can tell Plover to hit combinations all at once. For example, I transcribe audio for a living, so when I hit SAFT on the steno keyboard, that's like saying CTRL+S to save my document. I personally have my steno machine on a tripod, which is under my desk. While I work, I pull it out and lift it up, adjusting it in front of my desk so it's more comfortable.

Otherwise, you can type anything you want with a steno keyboard. You can add entries to the dictionary if you find there's something you want to write that isn't in already. A steno keyboard with Plover will generally be much better than a QWERTY keyboard.

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Plover" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to ploversteno...@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.

[Kovacsics Róbert]

If not, do people usually mount a regular keyboard above or below their steno keyboard?

Given how I tend to have two different paradigms of editing (I'm a programmer, this may be different for different uses): outputting code which just requires straight forward typing; and correcting all my over sights from the previous step, I use both a keyboard and a stenotype machine. My ideal layout would be attaching the keyboard to the left hand side of the stenotype and the track ball to the right hand side, but I have not found trays I can attach to the stenotype, yet

[Charles Shattuck]

Just curious, do you to use the mouse left-handed? Do your extra buttons work with your left hand? I should look for one of those if so.