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Post by Admin on Oct 9, 2020 13:43:26 GMT -5
Hello everyone,
When I first created the Q Keyboard, I had hopes there would be a lot of interest in it, and I thought my association with Simon Ager and his Omniglot web site would increase that interest. Unfortunately, that is not how things turned out.
In addition, in recent months my health has been declining. For these reasons, it seems like a good time to discontinue this forum.
As you can see from other posts, I had ambitions to create an all-new new keyboard as well, but I don't have the stamina to devote the kind of effort it requires to do that properly. And, so far, no one has commented on the proposal, so there doesn't seem to be much of an audience for it.
So, my advice is, if you had any questions about the Q Keyboard but haven't asked me yet, now would be a good time. I will check periodically to see if there are any new questions or comments posted, but probably sometime before the end of this year, the Q Keyboard forum will get decommissioned. You will still be able to download the software from the Omniglot web site, but it will unsupported from this point on.
My best wishes to all of you. Take care.
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Post by Philip Taylor on Oct 15, 2020 11:46:13 GMT -5
Hallo. I learned of the Q keyboard only today (15th October 2020, or just six days after your announcement), via a Language Log post on Dungan. I followed a link to the Omniglot entry for Dungan, which in turn led me to the Q keyboard. Now that I have discovered it, I am (of course) mortified to learn that the only forum devoted to it will close later in the year. I fully understand that your health comes first, and I certainly do not wish to ask you to maintain the forum just for me (!), but if there is some way of downloading all the present content as (say) a ZIP file, then if I were to hit a problem after the forum finally closes I would at least have an archive to which to which to refer. Might this be a possibility, do you think ?
Philip Taylor
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Post by Admin on Oct 16, 2020 14:39:16 GMT -5
Hello Philip, if you go to the Omniglot download page for the Q Keyboard, there is a ZIP file there that should have everything you need. Try that, and let me know if there's anything else you need. I will help you as much as I can. Just go to this link: www.omniglot.com/mlcomputing/qkeyboard.htmand just after the picture of the keyboard you will see this: Download the Q International QWERTY Keyboard and documentation - the latest version is 19.061. Click on that line and that's how you get the ZIP file. |
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Post by Harrison on Oct 21, 2020 6:16:38 GMT -5
Hello - Also only just found the link to this amazing keyboard. Downloading! Is it available at all for the iPhone?
Thank you for creating and sorry you are stopping.
Harrison
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Post by Admin on Oct 24, 2020 20:08:02 GMT -5
Hello Harrison, the software I use to develop the Q Keyboard comes from a company called KbdSoft.com. The package is called kbdEdit.
(P.S. Glad you think it's amazing. It took me over 3 years to design and document it, probably the hardest software project I ever worked on.)
If you buy the software (about $44 US or 40 Euros), you can make modifications to the key assignments. The assignments consist of "tables", one for each dead key. The tables are quite involved, and it would not be easy to change them, but it is possible it you studied it and worked at it for a while.
KbdEdit only works on Windows. I do believe there are international keyboard apps for iPhone and for Android phones, but they work completely differently.
In addition, there is a software package called KeyMan that runs on many platforms, and might do what you need. I am not an expert on KeyMan, but it's my understanding that for Windows and Mac, KeyMan acts like a "key hook". That is a program that runs all the time and monitors incoming key strokes from the keyboard, and alters them as needed. In contrast, KbdEdit generates a Windows keyboard device driver, which is basically just a bunch of data tables and is not a "program" per se. Key hook programs are more powerful than device drivers, but some anti-virus software thinks that key hooks are malware, so they can be a problem at times. You would have to evaluate what works best for you.
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Post by Philip Taylor on Oct 25, 2020 8:57:22 GMT -5
Hello Philip, if you go to the Omniglot download page for the Q Keyboard, there is a ZIP file there that should have everything you need. Try that, and let me know if there's anything else you need. Many thanks, and very much appreciated. Now downloaded, and will let you know in due course if there is anything relevant that I cannot locate. Philip Taylor |
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