On Thu, 06 Dec 2012 18:34:52 +0100, Albrecht Schlosser <[email protected]> wrote:
> Thanks for your reply, but this is not my problem. It's really the > hardware that I need, and then to use it with FLTK. What I'd like to > have is (as I wrote before) a small keyboard that makes it easy to > locate about 20-40 keys blindly... [...] > I'm planning to create my own widget (or an entire app with one > window) that shows a few buttons to start counting, stop counting, > set parameters, and so on. But after starting, each key on the > special keypad shall only count one particular item, maybe with > shift or another modifier to reverse counting (subtract one item). [...] > But the demand is not to use the normal keyboard, but one that is > easier to use blindly with one hand (left or right), if such a > keyboard exists and can be used with FLTK. That's why I'm asking > here for FLTK experiences with such special hardware. Someone else > is also trying to find such a keyboard by internet search and such... What about using two-digit codes? There are separate numeric keypads on the market. Using two-digit codes you can count up to 81 different species and still reserve the digit zero for special purposes. As to typing blindly, the case of the qwerty keyboard is special, it requires the user to sit comfortably with the keyboard in a ergonomically convenient position, etc. When peeping into a microscope, with one hand on the levers to adjust the focus and move the specimen, and the other hand on the keyboard, you will likely have trouble finding the right keys reliably, unless there are very few distinct keys. The central area with 3-by-3 keys, 1-9, is ideal. In order to facilitate blind operation, I would make the computer produce distinct audible tones as you register the codes, different sounds or sound sequences for each code. I would give some attention to making convenient shortcuts for often needed operations. Suppose you become proficient and count quickly one "23", then one "11", then one "17", but then you realize that the "23" was misidentified and should have been a "24". Pressing minus three times cancels the last three counts, pressing 2,4 corrects the 23, and then pressing zero twice is a redo of the "11" and the "17". A suitable auditory feedback at each point would help ensure correct operation. If you see three of the same species, hit "41" (or whatever) for the first one, then hit "+" twice for the next two. Regards, -Enrique _______________________________________________ fltk mailing list [email protected] http://lists.easysw.com/mailman/listinfo/fltk
