one handed typing

[thebrain]

OK, please forgive me if this info is already out there, i did a quick search and didn't see it... soon after i was injured, a friend who is an even bigger nerd than i am tipped me off to a free one-handed keyboard solution for PCs (all info at http://warped.org/blog/2008/10/06/the-f ... -keyboard/) which has worked out great for me. you need to install a program called auto hot key, available at http://www.autohotkey.com/ which allows you to write and run scripts that change the keyboard layout (above and beyond what windows will allow on its own). don't worry if you don't know what that means or don't feel up to writing your own - there is a great script out there called HalfKeyboard (download from http://warped.org/linux/HalfKeyboard.zip which very simply swaps all the keys across an imaginary line of symmetry when you hold down the spacebar. this means it will work for you without tweaking regardless of which hand you use. to get the key you would have pressed with the opposite hand in that position, you just hold space and press it with the 'wrong' hand. it took me a couple weeks to get used to, and i'm still not as quick as i was - but i'm close, and still improving. ok, hope this helps someone...

[bill de brooklyn]

I use the software called Dragon speaks. you type by speaking into a microphone. no key board needed.

[Christopher]

Thanks for this post!!! I wanted to find that software (HalfKeyboard) so badly years ago, that flips the keyboard while depressing the spacebar. I use a Mac unfortunately, and this is a PC based software.

It has been so long now that I have been able o learn to cover the whole keyboard pretty well with one hand, but I'm still yearning to type with my hand stationary over the keyboard like I used to. I literally sighed when ever I watched my ex-girlfriend type. The smooth and fluid sound of efficiency over those keys was titillating!

If your friend happens to have discovered anything for Mac like HalfKeyboard, please pass on the info.

Many Thanks,
Christopher

[thebrain]

christopher: I looked for a good mac solution too, since at the time of my accident i was working for a company that used them exclusively. I haven't worked it out yet (other than running/emulating windows and then halfkeyboard in that but that doesn't really help if all the programs you want to use are running on your mac os...) They just laid me off since i can't do a lot of the work i used to one-handed so i probably won't be working on it too hard; i did find one program that looked promising if you were willing/able to write a script to do what you wanted. it's installed on my work computer, next time i'm there shooting the breeze i'll take another look and let you know what it was called. given the potential that i'll eventually end up working somewhere that uses macs, if you or anyone else reading this figures something out i'd appreciate hearing about it.

[jmar]

if you call your local vocational rehab center and ask them for info on one-handed keyboards, they may be able to help find what you are looking for. i went through voc rehab several years ago for the other disabilities i have and they provided a special keyboard for several people i was working with.

[ipeverywhere]

I've been using this for 10 years now:
http://www.infogrip.com/product_view.as ... t=Keyboard
Infogrip's BAT Keyboard is a one-handed, compact input device that replicates all the functions of a full-size keyboard, but with greater efficiency and convenience. The BAT is easy to learn and use. Letters, numbers, commands and macros are simple key combinations, "chords," that you can master in no time.

They just released their newer black version which is USB and supports the Apple Command and Windows keys. It did not take very long to learn (letters in less then 3 months) and I'm faster on it then most two-handed typists. The best part about it is you never move your hand so you _never_ have to look at the keyboard.

I never tried the half-qwerty keyboard because it took forever for the company to release a right handed version (I'm LBPI). I'm not even sure they sell a right hand one today. I did try a software version of the keyboard which you can find for Linux. It was good and if I could have purchased a right handed model I may have gone that direction.

All the other options out there I ruled out because of the need to re-orinitate your hand in order to reach certain characters or the key layout was so funky it was awkward to type.

The other option out there which is actually great for traveling is this:
http://frogpad.com/

Some of the combinations were a tad awkward to use full time and I eventually gave up and just travel with the BAT. But the Frogpad has a bluetooth version which is nifty. I may buy another one since they have tweaked the layout since I bought their first "beta" layout and try it again.

I looked again about a year ago and didn't find anything new. The other thing to search for is "portable computer" or "wearable computer" as there is a lot of work being done on custom keyboards for one handed use for this segment. The basic idea is you "wear" the keyboard on one arm and type with the other hand. That doesn't directly translate to what we need but some of the layouts people are coming up with do.