Re: [fltk.general] Keyboard Extension with function keys
On 08.12.2012 00:36, D E Maynard wrote: You could try storm700/900 series keypads. These have removable key legend tiles so you could substitute you own tactile ones. They are waterproof as well. http://www.storm-interface.com/products_description.asp?id=8 Hope this helps. Thanks, I appreciate all hints and links. Link saved. Albrecht ___ fltk mailing list fltk@easysw.com http://lists.easysw.com/mailman/listinfo/fltk
Re: [fltk.general] Keyboard Extension with function keys
On 06.12.2012 22:39, Ian MacArthur wrote: On 6 Dec 2012, at 16:23, Albrecht Schlosser wrote: I've seen a commercial keypad with 20 keys (5 rows with 4 keys), but this is maybe not enough keys, and it's sold by a manufacturer with their own software (which should be avoided). Does anybody have ideas how to solve this problem or experiences with such input devices? All facts and links welcome... A friend of mine who is into building MAME cabinets MAME = Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator ? http://mamedev.org/ ? gets these USB controllers from (somewhere, I can't find the link) that have variable quantities of buttons, cool... Are these only controllers that need to be built into a box or something, or do they come as ready-to-go devices? and come with a basic WinXX and Linux driver Win + Linux, that'd be more than I had hoped to find (of course you need Windows, but there might also be Linux users, and I'd like to support that too). that allows you to program the device, such that it converts each key press into a string - then in your code you catch the string and interpret it. That ought to work, although I'm a litte afraid of interference (races) with real keyboard actions (what if one presses a normal keyboard key while the other keyboard transmits its string?). The device itself, in normal operation, just appears to the system as a standard keyboard. That's what I hoped to find. Great. I guess something like that would do. So do I. IIRC they were not that expensive either. That's even better. But I can't find a link to the people he was buying from. It was in China IIRC, but the devices only cost a few Euros, they were really cheap... May I ask you to investigate further to find a link? This idea/device looks really promising to me... Thanks for your reply Albrecht ___ fltk mailing list fltk@easysw.com http://lists.easysw.com/mailman/listinfo/fltk
Re: [fltk.general] Keyboard Extension with function keys
On 06.12.2012 20:42, Enrique Perez-Terron wrote: On Thu, 06 Dec 2012 18:34:52 +0100, Albrecht Schlosser wrote: [...] 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. Thanks for this idea. I thought of these numeric keypads, but my idea was more to use one key for each counter. I still prefer this, since the original (specialized) hardware used before had such keys/buttons for each counter (cell type or whatever was to be counted). Using two-digit codes you can count up to 81 different species and still reserve the digit zero for special purposes. If we can't find a better solution, I'll consider this, but I believe that hitting two keys (and memorizing the numbers for each counter would be a little too difficult for the users). 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. The devices that were used before had maybe about 12 or 16 main keys in an optimal order/position, and some more for less often used other inputs. This seemed to work well, and I believe that this can be handled by most users. If there were more keys, I believe that they should be blocked in two or more areas, so that the user can find a particular key easily w/o looking at the device... 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. Thanks, I thought of that too, but I'm not sure that this wouldn't be too annoying for other users sitting nearby. The old devices had a simple key click, but I don't know if it could be switched off. 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. Yep, that's a good idea, whatever input device we'd use. Thanks for your reply and advice Albrecht ___ fltk mailing list fltk@easysw.com http://lists.easysw.com/mailman/listinfo/fltk
Re: [fltk.general] Keyboard Extension with function keys
On 06.12.2012 22:10, Chris Russ wrote: I've found an interesting keyboard/USB device by Keith McMillen called a QuNeo. http://www.keithmcmillen.com/QuNeo/overview I watched a few of their videos, that's really nice... It's intended to be used with their software and control music equipment, but it would sure be nice to accept events from it, and control it from FLTK. Yep, that'd be an interesting project, but I don't think that this would be usable for my needs. Thanks anyway. Currently I don't think that anything that uses a touch interface can be used to type blindly, as we need it. But I'm open for any suggestions, unless I find a better solution. It does pressure sensing as well as having means to set and change colors of the controls. About the size of an iPad. Been unable to get their _PROMISED_ sdk. :-( Albrecht ___ fltk mailing list fltk@easysw.com http://lists.easysw.com/mailman/listinfo/fltk
Re: [fltk.general] Keyboard Extension with function keys
On 07.12.2012 08:18, Edzard Egberts wrote: Edzard Egberts schrieb: [...] For a vending machine I once designed an additional customers keyboard: I used single keys on a pcb and a controller to send the keys by RS232. The software (yes, uses FLTK ;o) opens the RS232-Port and reads the keys different from main keyboard to a special application (POS). The main problem would be the pcb and the keys, for controller today I would use one of them http://arduino.cc/en/Main/Products (for little amount of pieces) - they are very easy to program (C++!), so there is no controller development to do. Thanks for this info. If we can't find a complete solution, I would also consider building an own device, but that is probably not what my customer (a software development company) want to do. However, if it was possible to find someone who builds a case with the keys and puts the controller inside, then ... maybe. I looked at a few examples and saw that using a serial line (RS232, as you mentioned, too) seems to be easy. However, that makes connecting the device more complicated. Do you know whether there are better ways to do it, maybe with a direct USB driver and an API that makes it more direct to use the key presses? (Sorry, if this is also in their examples, I only took a quick look and not an exhaustive investigation). Thanks, Albrecht ___ fltk mailing list fltk@easysw.com http://lists.easysw.com/mailman/listinfo/fltk
Re: [fltk.general] Keyboard Extension with function keys
On 7 Dec 2012, at 10:54, Albrecht Schlosser wrote: On 06.12.2012 22:39, Ian MacArthur wrote: A friend of mine who is into building MAME cabinets MAME = Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator ? http://mamedev.org/ ? Yup - that's the thing... gets these USB controllers from (somewhere, I can't find the link) that have variable quantities of buttons, cool... Are these only controllers that need to be built into a box or something, or do they come as ready-to-go devices? Both, I think - though I'm not sure, and I still don't have the link that he uses... He certainly had some bare boards a bit like this: http://www.ultimarc.com/ipac1.html though that's not the actual part he uses. This is just a bare controller though in this case, you need to add your own switches and a box for this part. I think this one can handle up to 56 buttons, which is maybe enough (in the sense that it is probably more than a human operator can cope with anyway! At least if they are not allowed to look!) I suppose you could buy a few basic 3x4 or 4x4 keypads from RS and hook them up to this controller, and have two switch groups, e.g. like... http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/keypads/0146222/ or something... But what you really want is a dedicated keypad that already has all that in one unit. Which I know I have seen, but I can't find it now! and come with a basic WinXX and Linux driver Win + Linux, that'd be more than I had hoped to find (of course you need Windows, but there might also be Linux users, and I'd like to support that too). Also, note that this driver is only needed to configure the keypad/controller the first time, to teach it the strings for each key... You don't distribute it with the hardware or anything. that allows you to program the device, such that it converts each key press into a string - then in your code you catch the string and interpret it. That ought to work, although I'm a litte afraid of interference (races) with real keyboard actions (what if one presses a normal keyboard key while the other keyboard transmits its string?). Yes, good point, I don't know. I guess I imagine that the USB stack might deliver the strings atomically? Well, probably not, but if it did that ought to solve the problem! The device itself, in normal operation, just appears to the system as a standard keyboard. That's what I hoped to find. Great. I guess something like that would do. So do I. IIRC they were not that expensive either. That's even better. But I can't find a link to the people he was buying from. It was in China IIRC, but the devices only cost a few Euros, they were really cheap... May I ask you to investigate further to find a link? This idea/device looks really promising to me... Thanks for your reply Albrecht ___ fltk mailing list fltk@easysw.com http://lists.easysw.com/mailman/listinfo/fltk ___ fltk mailing list fltk@easysw.com http://lists.easysw.com/mailman/listinfo/fltk
Re: [fltk.general] Keyboard Extension with function keys
The main problem would be the pcb and the keys, for controller today I would use one of them http://arduino.cc/en/Main/Products (for little amount of pieces) - they are very easy to program (C++!), so there is no controller development to do. Thanks for this info. If we can't find a complete solution, I would also consider building an own device, but that is probably not what my customer (a software development company) want to do. However, if it was possible to find someone who builds a case with the keys and puts the controller inside, then ... maybe. Every engineering office using microcontrollers should be able to do this for you - it is a just to do thing, nothing special. It's a standard problem to design special keyboards for devices, e.g. plastic foil keyboards. But for your application you should use single keys, because they are more tactile and durable. Anyway - did you think of keyboard beeps for distinguish blind keypressing? This is also a thing, a microcontroller could do for you (okay, much sophisticated). And regarding to the software development company - selling own hardware saves a dongle. ;o) Do you know whether there are better ways to do it, maybe with a direct USB driver and an API that makes it more direct to use the key presses? Most of the USB solutions create a virtual RS232 port for communication to software. Also the Arduino does - there is a usb connection, but you can access it as a serial device. ___ fltk mailing list fltk@easysw.com http://lists.easysw.com/mailman/listinfo/fltk
Re: [fltk.general] Keyboard Extension with function keys
On 07.12.2012 13:12, Ian MacArthur wrote: On 7 Dec 2012, at 10:54, Albrecht Schlosser wrote: ... Are these only controllers that need to be built into a box or something, or do they come as ready-to-go devices? Both, I think - though I'm not sure, and I still don't have the link that he uses... He certainly had some bare boards a bit like this: http://www.ultimarc.com/ipac1.html though that's not the actual part he uses. This is just a bare controller though in this case, you need to add your own switches and a box for this part. Well, I looked somewhat closer at it and studied the manual, and it looks pretty good if it would come to producing an own box, i.e. if we can't find a better complete (keyboard-alike) device. Debouncing keys seems to be included, as well as alternate key codes with something like a shift key. Maybe more than we need. I think this one can handle up to 56 buttons, which is maybe enough (in the sense that it is probably more than a human operator can cope with anyway! At least if they are not allowed to look!) Well, I asked again, and it looks as if there is a standard mode where looking at the keyboard should be avoided, but then about 16 buttons might be enough. More buttons/keys might be used for some special input, so that it could be acceptable to look at the keyboard/device in this case... I suppose you could buy a few basic 3x4 or 4x4 keypads from RS and hook them up to this controller, and have two switch groups, e.g. like... http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/keypads/0146222/ or something... We could probably do this, or let someone do it for us... But what you really want is a dedicated keypad that already has all that in one unit. Yup, if we can get such a thing Which I know I have seen, but I can't find it now! still interested... and come with a basic WinXX and Linux driver Win + Linux, that'd be more than I had hoped to find (of course you need Windows, but there might also be Linux users, and I'd like to support that too). Also, note that this driver is only needed to configure the keypad/controller the first time, to teach it the strings for each key... You don't distribute it with the hardware or anything. Yup, meanwhile I saw this following your link above: http://www.u-hid.com/home/index.php Seems appropriate, one board 80$, but it has to be built into a case, and you need the buttons/keys/switches. But this or something similar could be Plan B ;-) that allows you to program the device, such that it converts each key press into a string - then in your code you catch the string and interpret it. That ought to work, although I'm a litte afraid of interference (races) with real keyboard actions (what if one presses a normal keyboard key while the other keyboard transmits its string?). Yes, good point, I don't know. I guess I imagine that the USB stack might deliver the strings atomically? Well, probably not, but if it did that ought to solve the problem! Might be true for a USB device, hopefully, OT but I had a bad experience with another (PS2) keyboard with a card reader for (German) health insurance cards. The reader was embedded in the keyboard, however it didn't send character (key) codes, but ALT-Key-Sequences, like ALT-0-6-5 for letter 'A', which consists of 8 (eight!) key events (down + up for each of the four keys). Hence, a string of ~ 100 characters took 13 seconds to transmit the entire string. Reliability = Null, especially if you take into account that a user could change the active window while the keyboard was sending. Even if the user didn't do it himself, there could be another popup window taking focus. We never used that thing, and later there were other dedicated USB card readers (with a better API). Thanks again for your help Albrecht ___ fltk mailing list fltk@easysw.com http://lists.easysw.com/mailman/listinfo/fltk
Re: [fltk.general] Keyboard Extension with function keys
On 07.12.2012 13:20, Edzard Egberts wrote: The main problem would be the pcb and the keys, for controller today I would use one of them http://arduino.cc/en/Main/Products (for little amount of pieces) - they are very easy to program (C++!), so there is no controller development to do. Thanks for this info. If we can't find a complete solution, I would also consider building an own device, but that is probably not what my customer (a software development company) want to do. However, if it was possible to find someone who builds a case with the keys and puts the controller inside, then ... maybe. Every engineering office using microcontrollers should be able to do this for you - it is a just to do thing, nothing special. It's a standard problem to design special keyboards for devices, e.g. plastic foil keyboards. But for your application you should use single keys, because they are more tactile and durable. Thanks, I'll check this if it comes to building an own device. Anyway - did you think of keyboard beeps for distinguish blind keypressing? This is also a thing, a microcontroller could do for you (okay, much sophisticated). Nothing I's like to do in the keyboard itself. Maybe the software could do it (IIRC, the sudoku demo has cross-platform sound). And regarding to the software development company - selling own hardware saves a dongle. ;o) Hmm, that's not a point here. The software is server-based, and this part is just a micro-addon for special cases ;-) Do you know whether there are better ways to do it, maybe with a direct USB driver and an API that makes it more direct to use the key presses? Most of the USB solutions create a virtual RS232 port for communication to software. Also the Arduino does - there is a usb connection, but you can access it as a serial device. Okay, as long as no serial input in the PC is needed, that would probably work, although it would be easier with a direct keyboard emulation (like U-HID, see other post), since this would probably work cross-platform easily. Anyway, thanks for all the useful and creative help so far from all posters! Albrecht ___ fltk mailing list fltk@easysw.com http://lists.easysw.com/mailman/listinfo/fltk
Re: [fltk.general] Keyboard Extension with function keys
You could try storm700/900 series keypads. These have removable key legend tiles so you could substitute you own tactile ones. They are waterproof as well. http://www.storm-interface.com/products_description.asp?id=8 Hope this helps. D Maynard. - Original Message - From: Edzard Egberts ed...@tantec.de Newsgroups: fltk.general To: fltk@easysw.com Sent: Friday, December 07, 2012 12:20 PM Subject: Re: [fltk.general] Keyboard Extension with function keys The main problem would be the pcb and the keys, for controller today I would use one of them http://arduino.cc/en/Main/Products (for little amount of pieces) - they are very easy to program (C++!), so there is no controller development to do. Thanks for this info. If we can't find a complete solution, I would also consider building an own device, but that is probably not what my customer (a software development company) want to do. However, if it was possible to find someone who builds a case with the keys and puts the controller inside, then ... maybe. Every engineering office using microcontrollers should be able to do this for you - it is a just to do thing, nothing special. It's a standard problem to design special keyboards for devices, e.g. plastic foil keyboards. But for your application you should use single keys, because they are more tactile and durable. Anyway - did you think of keyboard beeps for distinguish blind keypressing? This is also a thing, a microcontroller could do for you (okay, much sophisticated). And regarding to the software development company - selling own hardware saves a dongle. ;o) Do you know whether there are better ways to do it, maybe with a direct USB driver and an API that makes it more direct to use the key presses? Most of the USB solutions create a virtual RS232 port for communication to software. Also the Arduino does - there is a usb connection, but you can access it as a serial device. ___ fltk mailing list fltk@easysw.com http://lists.easysw.com/mailman/listinfo/fltk ___ fltk mailing list fltk@easysw.com http://lists.easysw.com/mailman/listinfo/fltk
[fltk.general] Keyboard Extension with function keys
Hi, FLTK users, I'm looking for a keyboard extension or a special function keyboard that can be used to type special keys normally not found on a standard computer keyboard, or maybe a keyboard extension that can be used with FLTK. I'd appreciate if someone who has experience with such a keyboard could share her/his experiences ... The task is to create an application or widget that can be used to count something (maybe more than 20-30 different items) by typing one-handed and blindly (i.e. w/o moving one's eyes off a microscope). This special keypad should be easily moveable to the microscope near the PC. Normal keyboards could probably be used, but the numeric keypad doesn't have enough keys, and other keys couldn't be reached and typed blindly easily. I imagine something like those keyboards you can find in shops where each product has its own key, maybe with a USB or radio (bluetooth, WiFi?) connection, or whatever. It would be ideal, if this additional keyboard could be integrated with FLTK in an easy way w/o driver programming, but the latter would be possible as well (if not too complex). A simple keyboard layout could be twice the numeric keypad side-by-side or similar. It would be optimal if the key labels could be changed, or if there was a programmable (LCD?) display near each key, but that's all not that important. There used to be special devices that did the task and transmitted end results (counted values) to a computer, but these devices are hard to get today and they are very specialized... I've seen a commercial keypad with 20 keys (5 rows with 4 keys), but this is maybe not enough keys, and it's sold by a manufacturer with their own software (which should be avoided). Does anybody have ideas how to solve this problem or experiences with such input devices? All facts and links welcome... Thanks in advance Albrecht ___ fltk mailing list fltk@easysw.com http://lists.easysw.com/mailman/listinfo/fltk
Re: [fltk.general] Keyboard Extension with function keys
HI Albert I am not sure if I have the skills to help here or not but I am facing the same sort of situation. I made my own keyboard in Linux by altering configuration files. keys like QWERTY map to underlying identifications that can be assigned to a different map. Did you want the keys to type a different character only while in a FLTK app ? This is my case and I have to work through it. I work with scientific instruments. I have been teaching myself to program for 8 years to move the business towards selling software to control scientific instruments. Your project sounds interesting. Are you colony counting? I looked into a keyboard with LCD keys but it was $1K. What about creating an application that uses a touchpad. My main concern with this, would be the difficulty in locating the parts of the screen to push. Perhaps a plastic mask could be applied over the touchscreen that might even have braille like protrusions. My interest in this is for my son who was autism and a severe speech delay. I believe that the English language's defective spelling system is complicating the recovery of people suffering from autism. Many can read quite well but struggle with speech. I am hoping to make a program for him that will show pictures, how they are spelled and then will prompt him to type a phonetic representation so he can practice organizing the sounds in a visual way I move very slowly but I can offer 40-100 hours of work over the next 3 months if there is something that will lead us both to a solution. -Patrick On 12/06/2012 11:23 AM, Albrecht Schlosser wrote: Hi, FLTK users, I'm looking for a keyboard extension or a special function keyboard that can be used to type special keys normally not found on a standard computer keyboard, or maybe a keyboard extension that can be used with FLTK. I'd appreciate if someone who has experience with such a keyboard could share her/his experiences ... The task is to create an application or widget that can be used to count something (maybe more than 20-30 different items) by typing one-handed and blindly (i.e. w/o moving one's eyes off a microscope). This special keypad should be easily moveable to the microscope near the PC. Normal keyboards could probably be used, but the numeric keypad doesn't have enough keys, and other keys couldn't be reached and typed blindly easily. I imagine something like those keyboards you can find in shops where each product has its own key, maybe with a USB or radio (bluetooth, WiFi?) connection, or whatever. It would be ideal, if this additional keyboard could be integrated with FLTK in an easy way w/o driver programming, but the latter would be possible as well (if not too complex). A simple keyboard layout could be twice the numeric keypad side-by-side or similar. It would be optimal if the key labels could be changed, or if there was a programmable (LCD?) display near each key, but that's all not that important. There used to be special devices that did the task and transmitted end results (counted values) to a computer, but these devices are hard to get today and they are very specialized... I've seen a commercial keypad with 20 keys (5 rows with 4 keys), but this is maybe not enough keys, and it's sold by a manufacturer with their own software (which should be avoided). Does anybody have ideas how to solve this problem or experiences with such input devices? All facts and links welcome... Thanks in advance Albrecht ___ fltk mailing list fltk@easysw.com http://lists.easysw.com/mailman/listinfo/fltk ___ fltk mailing list fltk@easysw.com http://lists.easysw.com/mailman/listinfo/fltk ___ fltk mailing list fltk@easysw.com http://lists.easysw.com/mailman/listinfo/fltk
Re: [fltk.general] Keyboard Extension with function keys
On 06.12.2012 17:58, Patrick wrote: I made my own keyboard in Linux by altering configuration files. keys like QWERTY map to underlying identifications that can be assigned to a different map. 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... Did you want the keys to type a different character only while in a FLTK app ? This is my case and I have to work through it. Yes - and no ;-) Yes, because it's only to be used with this one application, but no, because there are no characters involved. You can think of buttons with shortcuts, or 40 function keys (F1 - F40), or something like that. 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). This would be easy for me, and in fact I could do it with the normal keyboard by using the alpha-numeric keys and/or the numeric keypad, just by using a widget's handle() method to increment one array element for each key press... 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... I work with scientific instruments. I have been teaching myself to program for 8 years to move the business towards selling software to control scientific instruments. Your project sounds interesting. Are you colony counting? It's not colony counting (if I understand that term correctly), it's counting of different blood cells or cells or whatever in urine. But this is probably a similar problem (using a microscope and counting...). I looked into a keyboard with LCD keys but it was $1K. That's bad, but maybe not necessary, if it's that expensive. What about creating an application that uses a touchpad. My main concern with this, would be the difficulty in locating the parts of the screen to push. Perhaps a plastic mask could be applied over the touchscreen that might even have braille like protrusions. Hmm, maybe. Interesting idea, but touching a touchpad might be more difficult WRT feedback than pressing a key. Beeping for feedback instead might be too annoying. But anyway, interesting. Thanks. My interest in this is for my son who was autism and a severe speech delay. I believe that the English language's defective spelling system is complicating the recovery of people suffering from autism. Many can read quite well but struggle with speech. I am hoping to make a program for him that will show pictures, how they are spelled and then will prompt him to type a phonetic representation so he can practice organizing the sounds in a visual way I move very slowly but I can offer 40-100 hours of work over the next 3 months if there is something that will lead us both to a solution. Thanks for the offer, but I'm not looking for help in programming. However, if you need help with designing / writing a specialized widget within FLTK (mapping key events to whatever function or callback), feel free to ask in fltk.general as well. I'm most of the time reading it, and others can help you as well. I'm thinking of solving your key problem w/o mapping keys in Linux, since this wouldn't be portable, whereas a direct FLTK solution would be. Albrecht ___ fltk mailing list fltk@easysw.com http://lists.easysw.com/mailman/listinfo/fltk
Re: [fltk.general] Keyboard Extension with function keys
On Thu, 06 Dec 2012 18:34:52 +0100, Albrecht Schlosser ajs856s...@go4more.de 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 fltk@easysw.com http://lists.easysw.com/mailman/listinfo/fltk
Re: [fltk.general] Keyboard Extension with function keys
I've found an interesting keyboard/USB device by Keith McMillen called a QuNeo. http://www.keithmcmillen.com/QuNeo/overview It's intended to be used with their software and control music equipment, but it would sure be nice to accept events from it, and control it from FLTK. It does pressure sensing as well as having means to set and change colors of the controls. About the size of an iPad. Been unable to get their _PROMISED_ sdk. ___ fltk mailing list fltk@easysw.com http://lists.easysw.com/mailman/listinfo/fltk
Re: [fltk.general] Keyboard Extension with function keys
I've found an interesting keyboard/USB device by Keith McMillen called a QuNeo. http://www.keithmcmillen.com/QuNeo/overview It's intended to be used with their software and control music equipment, but it would sure be nice to accept events from it, and control it from FLTK. It does pressure sensing as well as having means to set and change colors of the controls. About the size of an iPad. Been unable to get their _PROMISED_ sdk. ___ fltk mailing list fltk@easysw.com http://lists.easysw.com/mailman/listinfo/fltk
Re: [fltk.general] Keyboard Extension with function keys
On 6 Dec 2012, at 16:23, Albrecht Schlosser wrote: I've seen a commercial keypad with 20 keys (5 rows with 4 keys), but this is maybe not enough keys, and it's sold by a manufacturer with their own software (which should be avoided). Does anybody have ideas how to solve this problem or experiences with such input devices? All facts and links welcome... A friend of mine who is into building MAME cabinets gets these USB controllers from (somewhere, I can't find the link) that have variable quantities of buttons, and come with a basic WinXX and Linux driver that allows you to program the device, such that it converts each key press into a string - then in your code you catch the string and interpret it. The device itself, in normal operation, just appears to the system as a standard keyboard. I guess something like that would do. IIRC they were not that expensive either. But I can't find a link to the people he was buying from. It was in China IIRC, but the devices only cost a few Euros, they were really cheap... ___ fltk mailing list fltk@easysw.com http://lists.easysw.com/mailman/listinfo/fltk
Re: [fltk.general] Keyboard Extension with function keys
Albrecht Schlosser schrieb: I'm looking for a keyboard extension or a special function keyboard that can be used to type special keys normally not found on a standard computer keyboard, or maybe a keyboard extension that can be used with FLTK. For a vending machine I once designed an additional customers keyboard: I used single keys on a pcb and a controller to send the keys by RS232. The software (yes, uses FLTK ;o) opens the RS232-Port and reads the keys different from main keyboard to a special application (POS). ___ fltk mailing list fltk@easysw.com http://lists.easysw.com/mailman/listinfo/fltk
Re: [fltk.general] Keyboard Extension with function keys
Edzard Egberts schrieb: Albrecht Schlosser schrieb: I'm looking for a keyboard extension or a special function keyboard that can be used to type special keys normally not found on a standard computer keyboard, or maybe a keyboard extension that can be used with FLTK. For a vending machine I once designed an additional customers keyboard: I used single keys on a pcb and a controller to send the keys by RS232. The software (yes, uses FLTK ;o) opens the RS232-Port and reads the keys different from main keyboard to a special application (POS). The main problem would be the pcb and the keys, for controller today I would use one of them http://arduino.cc/en/Main/Products (for little amount of pieces) - they are very easy to program (C++!), so there is no controller development to do. ___ fltk mailing list fltk@easysw.com http://lists.easysw.com/mailman/listinfo/fltk
