17 jan. 2016 kl. 06:13 skrev Alan Lemly <[email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]>>:
Hello Listers,
Recently, several posts have been made to the viphone list requesting
a tutorial on using the Fleksy Keyboard. This is the third party
keyboard from the developers of the original Fleksy app later named
Fleksy VO that many of us have used. I am providing such a tutorial
with this post and am cross posting this message to both the viphone
and iDevices lists. The tutorial is in a marked up html file with
various headings and bullet points and can be downloaded here:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ubtto7ggk95vmjc/Fleksy%20Keyboard%20tutorial.html?dl=0
I will also paste the text of the tutorial following my signature but
since many of you read your email in plain text as opposed to html,
the markup and formatting will be lost. Those downloading the file
and wanting to read it with your iDevices should place it in a
Dropbox folder so you can access it with Dropbox. I've opened the
file using my Dropbox app on my iPhone and placing the rotor on
headings allows easy navigation among the parts of the tutorial.
I would welcome any corrections or suggestions to this tutorial
because I consider it a work in progress. The original Fleksy and now
the Fleksy Keyboard has greatly improved the speed and accuracy of
input I create on my iPhone and I hope this tutorial will help others
as they master it.
Alan Lemly
Introduction
·This tutorial was written 1/16/16 for Fleksy Keyboard version 7.5.0
on an iPhone 6 running iOS 8.3. Version 7.5.0 was the latest version
of Fleksy Keyboard as of this writing.
·According to the September, 2013 podcast on AppleVis, the original
Fleksy was introduced in July of 2012. Due to Apple restrictions on
third party keyboards at this time, the app ran separately and the
content produced with it had to be copied and pasted to where it
could be used such as in the messaging or mail apps. This original
Fleksy app was later named Fleksy VO as the developers began moving
toward a separate Fleksy keyboard in anticipation of Apple allowing
third party keyboards. Fleksy VO was later removed from the Apps
Store and Fleksy Keyboard is the only Fleksy app now available. Apple
allowed third party keyboards beginning with iOS 8 in September of 2014.
Setting Up the First Time
1.Launch the Fleksy Keyboard app.
2.On first launch, you'll be presented with an install Fleksy screen
with a note at the bottom reminding you to turn on full access so
that Fleksy can fetch your settings and gifs. There is a learn more
link after this note that will take you to a web page in Safari that
will fully explain full access. Below this message is an Install
button which you should execute.
3.You can get to the settings to allow Fleksy full access through
Settings, General, Keyboard, Keyboards and selecting Fleksy.
Executing the install button in the previous step will take you to
this settings screen where you can add the Fleksy keyboard.
4.Double tap the add new keyboard button.
5.Under the heading Third Party Keyboards, find Fleksy and double tap
on it.
6.You will be taken back to your list of keyboards which now includes
Fleksy which you should double tap.
7.You will be taken to a screen which states Allow full access with
an on/off button which you should make sure is on.
8.Go to Settings and locate Fleksy in the list of all installed apps
which for the most part are sorted alphabetically. Double tap it and
you can turn buttons on to allow Fleksy to access your contacts and
to use cellular data. I have both of these turned on. Below these
buttons is additional information about installing Fleksy and its
settings.
The topline menu buttons when you open the Fleksy keyboard app are
Themes, Extensions, GIFs and stickers, and More.
Themes
·Most of the in-app charges are found here.
·You can select from a variety of visual themes from choices like
Festive winter pack, Community limited edition, SHARDS pack, Arcade
pack, Pastel pack, Frozen pack, etc.
·Most themes have a cost but a couple are free. Note that there
appear to be graphic elements below each of these packs but swiping
through them produces only a click sound with no further voiceover
feedback.
·A Classic pack for $.99 was the only one which sounded viable to me.
·I've chosen to ignore themes since they are visual in nature.
Extensions. The second from the left topline menu button.
·A single finger swipe right repeatedly after executing the
Extensions button, will broadcast many unidentified clicks but you'll
get to buttons which are identified for GIFs stickers and Emoji,
Number row, Cursor control, One handed, Hot keys, Rainbow pops, Heart
pops, Color pops, and Fleksy tips.
·Below the available extensions is a button to request more
extensions which simply takes you to an online form to make a feature
request.
·I suspect all the pops extensions are visual in nature so will not
use them.
·Once you've added any extensions, an additional row will be
presented above the Fleksy keyboard containing the applicable
features provided by the loaded extension. For example, with the
numbers extension installed, you get a list of number keys not unlike
the top row of a standard QUERTY keyboard. At either end of this
extension row are buttons to switch to the previous extension at the
far left or switch to next extension at the far right.
Manipulating the Extension selection screen
·Note that I could not figure out how to uninstall an extension once
it was added so take care that you only install ones that you want.
·After VoiceOver announces the extension you want to install, double
tap the screen to start the install process.
·A popup dialog will open but focus may not be on anything that
VoiceOver reads to you. If you touch manually in the middle of the
screen, you should hit the description of the launched extension
being installed.
·Swiping right from this description should take you to the add
button which you would execute to install it. In the case of the Hot
keys extension, swiping right from the description will first take
you to a setup button and then the add button.
·Swiping left once from the description will place you on a title
button which is not labeled so you simply hear a click sound as the
title of the extension is only presented visually.
·Swiping left one more time from the unidentified title will place
you on an X button which you can use to close this extension should
you choose not to add it. This x button is also not spoken by
VoiceOver but is important should you choose not to install the
extension.
GIFs and stickers. The third from the left topline menu button.
·Opens a screen of various moving pictures which from what I could
tell seemed a bit like emojis on steroids. I opted not to mess with
any of these since they appear to be totally visual.
More. The fourth from the left and the last topline menu button.
·Execute the More button to get a vertical menu of the following
options: Tutorial, Settings, Languages, Keyboard size, Help and
feedback, Personalize, Dictionary, Badges, About Fleksy, Tell a
friend, and Restore purchases.
Tutorial
·I would recommend executing the Tutorial button and reviewing the
screen several times to get an understanding of how Fleksy works.
There are several tips sprinkled throughout the tutorial narrative
that might prove very helpful.
Settings
·This is the second choice on the screen opening when executing the
More button from the topline Fleksy keyboard app screen. Each of the
various settings will be listed and described.
Advanced Settings. Double tap to access these settings:
·Fast delete. Deletes whole words with a swipe left when turned on.
·Side buttons. Adds extra buttons when in landscape orientation on an
iPhone or portrait orientation on an iPad when turned on.
·Magic button. Change the function of the button displayed as a globe
to the left of the spacebar when executed. Possible settings are: (1)
Emoji keyboard displayed, (2) Comma entered, (3) Switch keyboard.
This is the default and how mine is set., (4) Dismiss keyboard.
Causes the keyboard to no longer display., (5) Autocorrect toggle.
Tap and hold on a cell to change the ordering of the Magic button
options.
·Emoji skin tone color. Execute to select the default skin tone color
for the emojis which offer color choices.
·Show all accents. Show all possible accented characters when turned
on. Note that I turned this one off because I got tired of Fleksy
entering the accented versions of characters containing such options
when I lingered a bit too long when typing characters. And since I
pretty much type in American English, I don't need the accented
characters.
·Long press for numbers. Long presses in the letters keyboard
temporarily switch to the numbers keyboard when turned on. Note that
I have this turned off since I installed the numbers extension.
·Show language in spacebar. Displays the current language in the
spacebar after the keyboard appears when turned on.
·Display HomeRow. Display the colorful background of the middle row
of keys when turned on. In my case, the middle row is simply shown
with a contrasting gray background to distinguish it from the other
two rows of keys which have black backgrounds.
Auto-Capitalization. Starts new sentences with a capital
letter when turned on.
Auto-Correction. Corrects and completes your words when
turned on.
AutoCorrect with punctuation. Corrects words when entering
punctuation when turned on.
Double space for punctuation. A period is inserted whenever
you input two spaces in a row when turned on. Note that a
single finger swipe right will enter the word just typed or
Fleksy's best guess of that word. Another single finger swipe
right will input a period.
Keyboard clicks. A click is sounded whenever you tap a key
when turned on.
Swipe sounds. A swoosh is sounded whenever you swipe when
turned on.
Keyboard font. The font of the Fleksy keyboard. I've left
this at the default setting of system font. Note that this
doesn't affect any other apps.
Voice feedback. Announces the words after you type them when
turned on. I strongly recommend that you keep this turned on.
Case sensitive layout. Shows all uppercase letters on the
Fleksy keyboard when turned off. Shows these letters in
lowercase when turned on.
Show suggestions. Hides suggestions when turned off even if
autocorrect is on.
Languages
·Mine is set to my default of English United States. I'm unclear
whether multiple languages can be chosen here since I only use the
one. Note that there is a button just below my selected language
where you can pick the keyboard layout presented. I have this set to
QWERTY. Other choices are QWERTZ, QZERTY, AZERTY, Colemak, Dvorak,
and Dvorak (Fleksy).
Keyboard size. Not only the size but the style of the Fleksy
keyboard. Choices are presented in the following two rows:
1.Spacebar or Minimal Keyboard style. Pick spacebar if you want the
spacebar displayed below the letter keys. A 2-finger swipe down on
the spacebar keyboard will switch it to display the minimal keyboard.
Pick Minimal if you only want the letters displayed with no spacebar
as was done with the original Fleksy app. A 2-finger swipe up on the
minimal keyboard will switch it to display the spacebar keyboard.
2.Keyboard size. Pick between Large, Original, and Small. Note that I
use large to provide a bigger input area.
Help and feedback. Includes the following options and help topics:
·Send us a message
·Feedback forum
·Fleksy Keyboard for iOS help topics:
·How to type using Fleksy
·Using Fleksy as your default keyboard
·Allowing full access
·How to control Fleksy with gestures
·Fleksy extensions
·Settings
·Languages
·Submitting bug reports
·How to set up typing shortcuts
·Join the beta for iOS and become a tester
Personalize
·Personalize Fleksy to your writing style with choices to base this
on your style from Facebook, Gmail, or Twitter.
·Reset user data. I suspect this resets your personal dictionary and
any other information you've provided to Fleksy while using it. I
would be cautious about executing this.
Dictionary
·Provides a list of all the words you've added to your Fleksy
dictionary while using the app.
·An edit button appears in the upper right corner of this screen
which opens a delete icon to the left of each word when executed.
·Just below the topline menu containing the back and edit buttons is
an edit box where you can enter a new word for the dictionary.
Badges
·Opens a table of badge icons with 6 rows of 3 badges per row. Each
badge is identified by VoiceOver as you swipe through them but I'm
unclear why or how you use these.
About Fleksy. Provides options to:
·Rate on the Apps Store
·Subscribe to Fleksy news
·Read the privacy policy
·Follow Fleksy on Twitter, Facebook, Google+
Tell a friend. Provides the usual screen to tell someone about
Fleksy using a message, email, Twitter, Facebook, or more options.
Restore purchases. I assume this works as it does with other
apps if a fresh install of Fleksy Keyboard is required and you
want to restore any purchased options.
Tips for using the Fleksy Keyboard
1.Fleksy is designed to interpret the word you intended to type based
on the letters you typed whether done accurately or only near the
correct letters. When you've finished typing the word, swipe right
once and Fleksy will announce the word it thinks you wanted. If it is
correct, simply start typing the next word. Fleksy will have input
the word it announced followed by a space. If Fleksy announces an
incorrect word, single finger swipe down in the keyboard area to hear
other Fleksy suggestions. Whichever word it last announces will be
what is entered. This is why diligently keeping a custom Fleksy
dictionary can be beneficial so it will have access to the words you
use which aren't in its built-in dictionary.
2.You can manually type a word you know isn't in Fleksy's dictionary
by sliding your finger over each key until it is announced by
VoiceOver in the usual touch typing method. When you swipe right once
on completion and Fleksy announces the proper word, you can do a
single finger swipe up in the keyboard area to add this word to your
Fleksy dictionary.
3.Unlike the original Fleksy app, the Fleksy keyboard requires all
gestures to be done on the keyboard itself which occupies about the
lower third or more of the screen depending on the keyboard size
selected in settings.
4.To switch from the standard iOS keyboard to the Fleksy keyboard,
double tap and hold the button immediately to the left of the
spacebar and slide up until Fleksy is announced then release.
5.To switch from the Fleksy keyboard to the standard iOS keyboard,
press and hold the button to the left of the spacebar and slide your
finger up and to the right to hear the available options and release
when switch keyboard is announced.
6.If the Fleksy keyboard is being used and doesn't appear to be
working or is acting flaky, try turning off VoiceOver using a triple
press of the home button and then turning VO on again. This often
fixes the problem.
7.Fleksy has a bit of a learning curve so review the Tutorial under
the More button on the Fleksy Keyboard app topline menu and the help
topics also under the More button. Review these until your
comfortable with the topics and then practice by using the Fleksy
keyboard.
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