Sticky keys please!

[Magic]

I'd really like to be able to do sticky keys... I'm not sure this has a standard definition, but here's mine:

I'd like to be able to do a shift (for example) by either doing the four finger thing, or hitting the shift key. Then I'd like to be able to release the key, and have the next key or gesture I hit be shifted.

This should help with accessiblity a lot, and be a real boon to people with serious rsi.

Keys that I'd like to be able to turn sticky would be shift, alt, control, and the punctation shift.

Probably the best way to do this would be to define a new key name for each of these, like ShiftSticky that could be selected in the keyboard/gesture editor. Then I could have a sticky shift, and a regular shift, for example.

It would also be nice to have a shift lock, alt lock, control lock, punctation pad lock, etc. (Where it is turned on like caps lock, and hit again and turned off.)

Can we do this?

[MrLightTouch]

We'll think about it. Not sure how difficult it will be.

[Magic]

Thank you!

By the way the shift/alt/etc. locks are far less important to me than the sticky keys.

Thanks again...

[Magic]

Okay, I did some more research and found that Mac, Windows, and Linux all support sticky keys as a built in option in the operating system.

So I figured no reason to wait to see if it could be done in the firmware. I selected Sticky Keys and it worked fine on my Mac with the built in keyboard, but the touchstream didn't work well.

No matter what I tried, the touchstream would send the modifiers at weird times. So I couldn't get it to work properly. Things went on when I didn't expect them to and vice versa. And of course things like gestures and the programmer's keypad really confused the mac.

Any more thoughts as to whether we can get this in the firmware someday?

[JerryKnight]

The Touchstream probably toggles each modifier internally and tacks it on to each keypress sent to the computer. (I checked with xkbwatch, and it doesn't send the modifier until a key is pressed.) so such a "sticky" feature would have to be done in the firmware, unless they change it so that the modifiers are transmitted to the computer independently. That may cause a number of problems elsewhere though.

[Magic]

Originally posted by MrLightTouch
We'll think about it. Not sure how difficult it will be.

I'm still dying for sticky keys here. Can it be added?

Thanks!

[Magic]

Just thought I'd keep this alive and let everyone at TouchStream know how much I would like this feature! In the last 13 months since I requested it, if anything I want it more....

Thanks again...
Magic

[eve]

i've used the settings in Universal Access on the Mac for several months now and they work perfectly here.

I did turn off "press the shift key 5 times to turn sticky keys on or off". That helped a lot and it got rid of the keys sometimes working and sometimes not. I also display the keys and I use click sounds. That gives me visual as well as audible feed back.

cheers
eve

[Magic]

Wow! Thank you Eve. Somewhere along the line something must have changed in the firmware, so now if you quickly hit control, alt or shift gestures, it signals it to the operating system. Excellent.

So stick keys now works for me. (Locking sticky keys still doesn't work properly, and would someday be nice to also have.)

Still, I would love to see this integrated into the keyboard. Why? So I could use it with the numberpad and programmer's pad, both of which I often shift into. This shifting is a lot of stress on an injured hand.

I do strongly recommmend though that anyone who has a hand injury try out sticky keys. It will probably be very helpul in reducing the stress on your hands.