Database Users

Any Keyboard suggestions

I have tried a couple of keyboards but im always end up uninstalling them and end up with the standard keyboard. I was hoping to find one with larger letters but not in a phone format. Any Suggestions
POST IN ERROR; WRONG THREAD

here...
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=2332129&postcount=4

Resco is my favorite, using oem keyboard,no way man.

im using pocketcm keyboard 0.14 with MM skin. large buttons and customizable and extra function if you hold any letter. pretty cool

spb
i like the SPB keyboard if you use it then........you will know what im talking about if u install it

First and LAST warning laccattacc...This is not a warez site. That means no reg keys or key generators are allowed. Understand? Next occurance will be dealt move harshly!!

nice keyboard here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=2526683

I use Pocket CM Keyboard. It is fully skinnable and there are a large variety of skins to choose from. I also use SIP Change to make it my default keyboard on startup.
Regards,
Devin

Best Keyboard for the HD?

Hi I'm currently using PocketCM Keyboard which is better than the default but a bit frustrating when having to use !&- etc as you have to switch to numbers then to exclamations...
I was wondering if anyone have found a better keyboard (perhaps like the iphone with everything on the one screen) but still takes advantage of the screen size?

JetMouse, you know you can easily customise the layout of PocketCM Keyboard to suit your needs? It's as easy as editing a text file to control which symbols appear on which buttons. Since I did that it's easily become my favourite software on my Touch.

SiliconS said:
JetMouse, you know you can easily customise the layout of PocketCM Keyboard to suit your needs? It's as easy as editing a text file to control which symbols appear on which buttons. Since I did that it's easily become my favourite software on my Touch.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No I didn't know this - can you run me through how to do it?

JetMouse said:
Hi I'm currently using PocketCM Keyboard which is better than the default but a bit frustrating when having to use !&- etc as you have to switch to numbers then to exclamations...
I was wondering if anyone have found a better keyboard (perhaps like the iphone with everything on the one screen) but still takes advantage of the screen size?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use SPB Keyboard (the new one, version 4.0) with fullscreen mode. The non-fullscreen mode is pretty much iphone-like. Don't know if it's "better" - to my taste the stock one is just perfect in all respects except for lack of support for Russian, which I need. Unlike most other keyboards, it has arrows which compensate the absense of the dpad on the device.

Sure thing:
Connect your PocketPC to your computer so you can browse the contents of the device.
Browse to \Program Files\PCMKeyboard
Copy English.layout (or whichever one you're using) to your computer's desktop
Make a backup of the file, just in case
Open the live file with Notepad
You can see four lines labelled keyboard_layout_#=
Edit the characters in those lines to change the symbols on the keys in PocketCM Keyboard
Each of the four lines contains a complete template for the keyboard. Rows are separated by the \n (newline) combination
There are some shortcuts to create special-purpose keys:
\2 seems to be uppercase
\1 seems to be lowercase
\b is backspace
\M is the symbol/text toggle button
\N is the enter key
There is a way of including smilies or combinations of characters on single keys, but I can't remember how. I also can't remember how to edit the row of quick symbols you see if you hold down the '123#?' button
Once you've made your changes, save the file on your computer and copy it back over to the PocketPC.
You'll need to choose a different softinput thing and then go back to PCM Keyboard to see the changes.
Don't forget to save the file somewhere in case you upgrade to a newer version of PCM Keyboard.

My favourite keyboard is Tengo. Allows very fast and forgiving typing. You might like to try it. I hope it works on Touch HD cos I have not got one to try on yet.
They have a free version, a commercial regular version, and a commercial thumb version.

the best keyboard for me is touchpal from http://www.cootek.com/
so many improvements

prospects said:
the best keyboard for me is touchpal from http://www.cootek.com/
so many improvements
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
is it compatible with the TOUCH HD

Touchpal
I think Touchpal is the best.

iznee said:
is it compatible with the TOUCH HD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just tested it, yes it is 100% compatible.
I love this keyboard, but I am trying to get it to run using the Dutch language. It is so blazing fast and accurate in English using the suretype layout, it's not even funny. I SWEAR I cannot type faster using a hardware keyboard, simply because of the fact that it is just as accurate, has big enough keys to type blind, and you don't actually have to depress a button so... works for me
Still stuck with the trial version though...
Only thing that I still gotta get used to is switching keyboards using a finger slide, I just keep pressing buttons instead of triggering the slide really cool function though as it saves button space and basically is just cool to show people
Thanks for the tip people!
EDIT:
Got my own language it in it now, easy... Also really easy to switch languages... Just pull down the ABC key and pick one. This does reveal some non-skinned ugly winmo buttons though, even while the rest of the keyboard is Diamond skinned.

wfhowell said:
I think Touchpal is the best.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Completely Agree, it is very usefull, Fast and easy to use Keyboard

TouchPal
I would at least try the demo of this. I personally prefer TouchPal to a Blackberry hardware keyboard. I am serious. The seplling correction and word prediction is simply amazing. Completely altered my view of software keyboards.
BTW- I am 6' 2" and weigh 220 with BIG hands, and Have been happy with TouchPal since the first Touch.

Remapping CTRL to HW keyboard using AEKmap or any other good solution?

I want to remap the ctrl button to the HW keyboard. I did some searcing on it and found PQzII, but thats not the best solution in my opinion.
Is it possible to map it using AEKmap? I dont know if Im missing something on how it works or what, but I could not get it work with it...
Smarter ones please help...

have not yet managed to do that with AEKmap. Event talked to the programmer. Seems to be a problem with some eT9 files. you can try one of the T9 remover CABs he posts in the AEK FAQ. no luck yet here...something seems to already catch the keyboard input.

We need a real solution for this, its a huge handicap that there is no ctrl button. I have the TP too and I really want this to be fixed on the X1...

We need a fixxxxx.... This is beyond me that TP is the only device with CTRL... Insane...

well i dont think its that important. just use the touchscreen for copy and paste.

Cause I hate to have no CTRL key too, I've just made a remapping for Italian layout (I think it is usable with any layout cause it uses character code, layout independent) who makes you do CTRL+ANY_ALPHABETIC_CHARACTER by typing WIN+ANY_ALPHABETIC_CHARACTER (i.e. CTRL+C by typing WIN+C)
You can do any CTRL+ shortcut, from CTRL+A to CTRL+Z, cause some programs use more shortcuts than others, so I remapped all for any use you like or you need
You need the activated version (commercial one)
You need to type WIN and any key at the same time or type and keep typing WIN before the other key, I say that cause sometimes it seems that the program ignore your typing, train yourself and you'll find the right way to use it

thanks, but it doesnt work on mine
tried it with multikeyhook, still the same.
it just pauses the X1 for a second when i press any WIN+ combo

Just wondering why you think using PQII isn't a good way to map CTRL?
I'm currently using it and having no issues. Its memory footprint is quite small too.

Autocompletion/Autocorrection solved

For those of you frustrated with the autocorrect/autocompletion method of the Touch HD (who want the old Windows style back) here is the solution. It lets you still use the Diamond Keyboard and real autocorrection/autocompletion like the good old days. It was written for the Fuze but they have the same keyboard and software issues.
The complete solution with hyperlinks is located here: http://www.fuzemobility.com/?p=1527
Here is the text (the hyperlinks and photos were lost):
Many of you have seen my rants about the lack of traditional autocorrect and autocomplete on the Touch Pro (see here where I did it in a posting on editing the T9 dictionary, or here where I did it in our forums, and here where I did it at XDA (I’m BugsyKoosh)). Why was I so angry? For anyone who used an older Windows Mobile phone knows, the old method of autocompletion was far better than what the Fuze has. First off, when entering a contact the old method provided for a longer list of names that you can click on (whereas the Fuze guesses the single closest one and almost forces you into it). Then when actually typing words the Fuze gives you a few words but I always found it very finicky and ultimately turned it off because the space bar caused the word to complete and the spacing was off. Also, the Fuze wasn’t good at correcting mispelled words. It gave you a dictionary that would complete the words but if you spelled it wrong (because you didn’t use autocompletion and just kept typing) that meant you had a typo. The old style was a list of words as you typed in a drop down (you choose starting from 3 words) and it was both autocomplete and autocorrection so anytime I spelled the word ’spelled’ as ’spellde’ it will change it for me and it works a lot smoother. Also, the old style permits for word replacement using autocorrect so when I type the letters "pcm’ in the old style I edited it so it was replaced with ‘please call me if you have any questions’ and ‘tx’ was replaced with ‘thanks’. In fact I wrote a posting here on TiltMobility describing methods of changing the autocorrect files thinking I would port it over here just to get burned realizing that the Fuze simply wouldn’t do it…until now.
[Warning, this is a little long and filled with detail but I think the payoff is gigantic so please bear with me]
For definitional purposes, autocorrection is the ability to change a typo whereas autocompletion is guessing what I’m typing before or while I type. I cannot change the autocompletion dictionary at this time (the one that guesses as you type). This does propagate itself over time and it will get to know you. It also cannot be transferred from older devices. See this article for more information on why it is so hard but until DictMgr is updated we may be SOL (TVDinner was told by the author that an upgrade is in the works so lets all cross our fingers).
So the first step is to disable T9 (this is the method of autocompletion/correction I hate). The cab is posted here in our forums (I was provided this cab from a member at another forum). Don’t worry because you can uninstall this application and revert back (it’s a simply a single registry change actually). Once installed restart your phone for it to take effect. Then, go to Settings - Input and make sure all of the options for Word Completion are checked (you can change the number of words it suggests - I use three). OK now there’s one little glitch. My problem from the start was that the autocomplete method I like did not work with the Full QWERTY Keyboard (you know, the shiny onscreen keyboard that our Fuze comes installed with and is in the photo). It seemed like it would work and then stop and ultimately I was thinking I would be forced to install another keyboard (more on that later). After messing around with the keyboard I realized that I can get the Full QWERTY Keyboard to work with the old method. You have to make sure that the ABC-T9 toggle is set to T9 (look at the photo and you’ll see T9 is selected even though we disabled T9 entry). If you try to toggle it and it will not let you then try this: press the ABC-T9 button and try to toggle it, then hit the .,123 button and try that a few times until it flips over (if that doesn’t work do the same thing after going into portrait mode and toggle T9 and ABC). Have patience - it will toggle and once it does it stays that way. Now here’s the one flaw - the autocompletion with this keyboard only appears when there’s an odd number of letters (ex on the first, third, fifth) [note: autocorrection happens after you misspell a word so it works with this and any of the other keyboards]. Again, we can correct this with a different keyboard but we’ll get to that. What you’ll notice is that completion of contacts and words is instantly different and I think a lot better. Also, the library will build over time as it knows you and aside from correcting the words you type wrong it will get to know you and start to guess the next word before you even type it (it may even guess a few words at a time and by the time you make it to ‘tha’ it will give you an autocompletion option of ‘thank you very much’).
If you do not use the onscreen keyboard because you’re a physical keyboard kinda person then you’re in luck. Simply set the onscreen keyboard to the keyboard named ‘keyboard’ (it’s the crappy Windows default one) and you’re set. That one works like a charm with no nuances (but is miserable as an onscreen keyboard).
Before I let you all go on your editing ways, lets talk about one solution that gets rid of the nuance of only getting autocompletion on odd numbers (so it works on each letter you type) and that is by using a different onscreen keyboard (sorry, but I believe PocketCM uses T9 so it won’t work). If you use the onscreen keyboard and want to get past this nuisance then simply install freeware Happy Tapping Keyboard. In the attached photo I changed the skin to the iPhone skin (it is in that link provided - use the VGA skin). If you set Happy Tapping as your default keyboard it will not survive a soft reset even if you set it as the default input method. To do this install the Default IM cab and set it as the default keyboard (Settings - Input) and set it as the default keyboard in Default IM and it will stay with you. Happy Tapping is a great keyboard but personally I like the layout of the Full QWERTY Keyboard better, especially the shadowing of the buttons so you know its second function. And I learned that Happy Tapping is missing a ‘\’ key which was a burn when I was using Total Commander but I bet for the rest of you it’s meaningless. I will confess I used Happy Tapping for all of my 8525 and Tilt years and it is really very good.
So, in either event, lets change the dictionary so that typos are corrected (or in my case quick text can be created). You don’t need to do this but it’s a nice perk of using this method. There are two ways to do this - the application method and the Total Commander method. The first one is highly recommended for those of you who want simplicity. Simply install freeware DictMgr and go to the "word correction’ tab and you can begin to add words. The downside is that I only see the first few series of words (I don’t even get out of the A letters) but this doesn’t impact adding new words regardless of their first letter. If you use this method it make sense to use freeware MyMobiler so you can use your PC’s keyboard for ease. For those of you that want to see your entire dictionary and don’t mind a little Total Commander action then all you need to do is navigate to Windows and find a file named autocorrect.04…. You can open this in Total Commander (hit the pen/paper at the bottom) or move this file to your computer, edit it there and then move it back to your Fuze (change the settings to take it out of hidden/system). In either case, if you’re willing to use Total Commander there’s another benefit if you’re a former Windows Mobile user since you can get the file from your old phone and move it to your Fuze (I moved mine from my Tilt) but you can do both (move the old file using Total Commander and then edit it using DictMgr). For a step by step set of instructions on using Total Commander to modify the autocorrect file read the article I wrote here on TiltMobilty. In either case you MUST reset your phone for the changes to take effect (the file is read into ROM at startup). Be careful with autocorrection words (obviously you can change it later) but if you change ‘tx’ to ‘thanks’ that means in a text message you cannot use tx (it will correct itself to thanks) so think of variables like ‘thx’ changes to ‘thanks’ for emailing and ‘tx’ stays uncorrected for texting.
This will work for all versions of the Touch Pro, the Diamond and presumably the Touch HD as they all use the same keyboard configuration.
Wow, I feel like we’ve done a lot. I’m drained but relieved that my single biggest complaint is gone. A special thanks is owed to SCDavis who was the first person to try my disableT9 cab even though I warned him of a possible hard reset since I wasn’t sure what it would do and if it was uninstallable and of course to TVDinner who was with me for the autocorrection ride both in our forums and on XDA’s and brought DictMgr to my attention.

Thanks for the write-up. I must admit I tried the word completion for the full QWERTY keyboard and spotted a few bugs so I haven't used it since. Last night I decided to try the phone keypad as an alternative to the full QWERTY so I'm back in the world of T9 and word completion. If I have too many problems with it then I'll try your solution.

T9 is very very painful in my experience. The correction is poor and you don't have control over it and there's no autocorrect (spellcheck). I'm a fan of the old style a lot more... hope it helps - good luck

what is your post for? is there ia cab or file to autocorrect/autocompletion?
thank you.

Here's the cab and the quick version of what is needed. This all works tog et you back to the old style of autocorrection and autocomplete that Windows has and is much better than T9:
1) Disable T9 by cab and soft reset
2) either use the Windows keyboard (which is poor for onscreen use) or Happy Tapping (which requires the Default IM cab to be your default input) OR to use the Full QWERTY Keypad (the preset default keyboard) you need to toggle T9 to on (even though T9 was disabled) and to do this toggle it, hit the 123/abc button a few times until it sticks and you’ll get the old style completion/correction with that keyboard
3) to change the autocorrect dictionary find the autocorrect file in your Windows directory and change it using Total Commander (or other registry editor even though this is not in your registry) or DictMgr

it's interesting. But it seems that T9 use another dictionary that you can choose. Once T9 is disabled, the autocomplete dictionary is back to english, and I don't find the way to change it
any idea to do this ?

Sorry for OT, but I found touchpal to be much better.
It is commercial though, and does not support landscape properly as of version 3.5.

[CAB] [10 MAY 10] SoftTouch MaxKey Keyboard: Now More Languages Supported

[Update May 10 2010:]
Huge thanks to Soul72 for adding other language support to MaxKey:
- English
- Italian
- German
- Norwegian
- Hungarian
Just follow the instructions below, but download the file below ending in "multilanguage." The other version just has English.
[Original Post:]
Ready for a screen keyboard that's easier to type on? This is a reconfiguration of the fabulous FingerKeyboard 2.1, so all respect to Exidler and Rozenthal. I have maximized the size of the keys as much as possible, focusing on keeping the edge keys further in given that protective cases may make these inaccessible. I also made the symbol keys much more standard (no longer 10 types of smiley faces!!! ) Moving the p and q up is a bit unorthodox, but I think you'll be pleased with the result.
PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING BEFORE INSTALLING:
- You must have FingerKeyboard 2.1 installed for this to work
- FingerKeyboard must be installed on your device, NOT on the card
- The file that does not say "multilanguage" is is only for ENGLISH
- You can close MaxKey by pressing and holding the spacebar
- The attached cab also installs the X1 SoftTouch tweak to maximize your screens responsiveness, for best keyboard performance
- At the moment, uninstalling this requires a few steps that are relatively simple:
- - - Uninstall "Paco SoftTouch MaxKey 0.1" under Settings/System/Remove Programs
- - - Rename /Program Files/FingerKeyb/skin-02-wvga-port-01-eng-bak.txt to skin-02-wvga-port-01-eng.txt
- - - Move skin-02-wvga-port-01-eng.txt to /Program Files/FingerKeyb/Skins
- - - Next time you RE-select FingerKeyb in the SIP selector, the regular key configuration should be back
Install directions:
1. Install FingerKeyboard 2.1 to your device (not card!)
2. Download and install the SoftTouch MaxKey cab that is attached at the bottom of this post
3. Open the SIP selector which is the tiny triangle to the right of the keyboard selector in the middle of the bottom menu bar
4. Select FingerKeyb, and the MaxKey keyboard configuration should appear
5. To unistall, see above
If there is interest in this, I can try to keep developing for other languages and to make improvements based on suggestions. Donations would be highly appreciated.
Donate
Credits:
Exidler and Rozenthal for FingerKeyboard
Fards for teaching me how to make cabs
ChangeLog:
0.1 - First release
0.2 - Fixed the " and ? keys; slight tweak to symbols layout

nice, can you modify one to be a compact qwerty

c_legaspi said:
nice, can you modify one to be a compact qwerty
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, what do you mean by "compact qwerty?" Do you mean fewer rows of keys, like 4 rows instead of 5?

finger keyboard does not support compact qwerty(yet at least)

thats great ring-bearer....i ll give it a shot
btw from where u got that cool battery icon on top?

Compact qwerty would be nice, but I think it would probably conflict with the FingerKeyboard2 keymap, since a compact qwerty only has 12 buttons.
If you don't know how a compact qwerty looks like, take a look at an old mobile phone without touch screen or hardware keyboard and notice that the function of every key carries a number of letters, that you get by pressing various numbers of times. For example; I want to write "C". I press the number 2 three times, and the C appears.
I think it would be possible for someone to make a compact qwerty, since there is one in the new Touch Pro 2's and Diamond 2's. Also, if you look at the Xperia default dialer (or any dialer for that matter), there are 3 to 4 letters on every key - there's your ready made compact qwerty. Of course I don't know anything about making this myself, I'm just looking at the posibilities of someone making it.
Regards
/Felix

Nocturnal310 said:
thats great ring-bearer....i ll give it a shot
btw from where u got that cool battery icon on top?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hope you like it! I do think it has made a moderate difference in ease of text entry.
The great set of icons is from one of gtrabs' collections. I think it's the "X Series"

Spanish version?

Thanks, thanks, thanks!!! Finally keyboard that suites me...
p.s. key for ? doesn't work...

c_legaspi said:
nice, can you modify one to be a compact qwerty
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you mean a keyboard where there are two letters on each key, there is a Touch IT compact qwerty that I believe Itje has made available.

xperiatomaja said:
Spanish version?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sure, I can put together a Spanish version.
Adios

thanks for your lovely work.i am having small issue with question mark.dot is working but when i long press question mark does not work.any solution for this.thanks in advance.

ring-bearer said:
If you mean a keyboard where there are two letters on each key, there is a Touch IT compact qwerty that I believe Itje has made available.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes that program is good as well but it makes my au key useless. im using fingerkeyb but i would like to get some bigger keys in portrait mode.

human75 said:
thanks for your lovely work.i am having small issue with question mark.dot is working but when i long press question mark does not work.any solution for this.thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good pickup - thanks a lot. I have uploaded a fixed version to the first post:
SoftTouch_MaxKey_0.2

Ah, looks like I was confused about the names - what I meant before was ''Phone Keypad'' and you can get this with EzInput so nevermind
Anyways, is it possible to get swedish? The only difference is that long press on J gets an Å, long press K gets you an Ä and L gets you Ö. That would be great!

this is most amazing keypad out there!
keypad vey responsive!
can i request something?
is it possible to remove the page up down etc.
on "EN" coz' you know in xperia they have some sort of a mouse to scroll
so that there will be more space for a key! very usefull if there will more space to press a single key.
and some character in the third row and so fort have minimal spacing
maybe it can help if you can try to edit this?
but you know this proram works well for me is just maybe you can do
enhance it for x1 users? thank you in advance!!! nice work

jhrenz said:
this is most amazing keypad out there!
keypad vey responsive!
can i request something?
is it possible to remove the page up down etc.
on "EN" coz' you know in xperia they have some sort of a mouse to scroll
so that there will be more space for a key! very usefull if there will more space to press a single key.
and some character in the third row and so fort have minimal spacing
maybe it can help if you can try to edit this?
but you know this proram works well for me is just maybe you can do
enhance it for x1 users? thank you in advance!!! nice work
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I can try to do something like that. I also want to work on the placement of the 'enter' and 'backspace' keys because they aren't optimal right now. But the main problem for me was the size of the qwerty keys, and those are now as big as they can get without inventing a whole new layout. But I agree that those directional buttons are not highly needed. I also still want to develop for the other languages people requested, but it may be a couple of months because real life is crazy busy for a while.
I could also try to make a SIP much more tailored to the X1 from the ground up. My C++ skills aren't great though but if anyone wants to PM me the 'dvoraksip.sln' code that comes with the Windows Mobile Version 5.0 SDK, I could probably modify that. I just don't have the SDK or the example code that comes with it. Anyone?

Thnx for the keyboard.. Its just made my XPERIA perfect!
But I have a question.. When I open the keyboard on my phone, the bottom bar dissappears.. Is this something you programmed it to do, to maybe give larger screen above the keyboard, or it something wrong with my config?

This layout isn't very nice. I prefer a normal qwerty layout.

banni89 said:
Thnx for the keyboard.. Its just made my XPERIA perfect!
But I have a question.. When I open the keyboard on my phone, the bottom bar dissappears.. Is this something you programmed it to do, to maybe give larger screen above the keyboard, or it something wrong with my config?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey, thanks for the feedback. To answer your question:
No, I didn't program that feature in. That is a changeable feature of FingerKeyboard. Just go to programs/fingerkeyboard/options then change Portrait from "Hide bar" to "Show bar."
You'll be all set!