Thursday, July 19, 2012

Improved keyboard support implemented

TypeR 1.0 has been upped to "beta" status. That means it's 1 step closer to release than "alpha". (After beta is RC (release candidate), then the stable release.)

What prompted me to change the status? Keyboard support. Some "special keys", namely, non alphanumeric keys (`,;.'/[]\ were not working) are now working better. Exact support is browser-dependent. The period, slash, and quote do not work yet, i'm still looking at that.
At the same time, i fixed the rather stupid overlook of not supporting a Hebrew keyboard. Like, some people have it installed, but have no idea how to use it. That's what TypeR is for! :)

I will be breaking one of the unspoken rules of versioning. Beta releases are usually meant to fix bugs, not add features. Alpha is for adding features. However, i have yet to add translating the interface, and it's beta status. So, excuse me for that. :)

One more thing: TypeR is being developed in Firefox, and so works and looks best in it. Chrome is usable, IE is not. I have not done any testing on Safari or Opera.

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

TypeR 1.0 - ready for alpha testing

I've been doing some work on the next version of TypeR, TypeR 1.0. Right now, it's in alpha stage, which means usable but still buggy. In order to fix up bugs and add some new stuff, i need some feedback! You can try it out for yourself at http://www.typeint.com/typer/alpha.php
You can send your feedback to me at webmaster@typeint.com Please do send me stuff. I want to make it as good as possible!
The TypeR 1.0 alpha.

As you can see from this image, one of the new things is showing all the possible outcomes of pressing a key. In clockwise order, it goes: Hebrew (default), vowels (ctrl+alt), lowercase English (caps, then shift), and uppercase English (caps or shift). In truth, caps does it a drop differently than shift, namely with the non-letter keys, just the way as with your regular keyboard. The current keyboard layout is highlighted in yellow. I plan to have the active control keys "pressed" as well. (Control keys are stuff like ctrl+alt, shift, caps.)

Right now, it mostly works with your physical keyboard if it is an English keyboard. Ironically enough, a Hebrew keyboard doesn't work. I still have to add that. Backspace may not work for everyone. Please tell me if it does or doesn't for you.

Another thing i'd like to have in TypeR is localization (translations). Since this is a Hebrew keyboard, the key labels would be available in Hebrew. If you would like to help with this, please email me (webmaster@typeint.com).

Enjoy your program!

(I hope i wrote this well enough for non-coders to understand. :))