Keyboard Shortcuts & Accessiblity

This page helps me sort out the inconsistencies in key assignments, by arranging keyboard shortcuts by pull-down menu item. I eventually hope to add Keys for all Microsoft applications here to highlight the frustrating differences.

Keyboard Shortcuts for Windows (Microsoft Knowledge Base Article - 126449)

Microsoft's Windows Keyboard Guides

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“To start, press Any key; where's the Any key?" —Homer Simpson in "The Simpsons" TV series

Internet Browser Access Keys

Late-model internet browsers support labels coded in web pages that define specific positions on the page where users can "jump" to using some keystroke combination.

Those keystrokes are called "access" keys because they ostencibly improve the accessibility of the website to handicapped people.

The irony is that those keystokes involve difficult multiple/simultaneous key stroke combinations which only two-handed people can perform.

On Windows browsers, this generally means while holding down the ALT key and pressing a letter such as Alt+F for File from the menu.

When you press and release the Alt key, then press a letter, you would get the Windows menu.

With Internet Explorer 5+: Hold down the ALT key and select the number/letter of the access key, then press ENTER .

On the Macintosh, Internet Explorer 5+ for Mac users press Control (CTRL) key plus the access key letter.

Access keys are not supported on Internet Explorer 4.5 for Mac and Netscape versions prior to 6.

Opera browsers provide the best level of accessibility because its Access Keys are activated by single, sequential key strokes that can be pressed with a pointing device by those restricted to single key stroke interaction,

In sequence, press Shift then Esc and then the number/letter of the access key.

When selecting access keys to specify, avoid the keys browsers have already claimed for the grey-bar drop-down menus at the top of the browser (see next section below): F, E, V, A, T, H, D

This means that you may need to find words that contain the letter of an available key. For example, I use the word "Comments" instead of "Feedback" because the letter "C" is available, but "F" is not.

Access keys are coded using the accesskey=A attribute within <A tags.

Ctrl+e = Search
Ctrl+t = Open new Tab in current Window
Ctrl+n = Open current tab in new Window
Ctrl+w = Close current tab
F7 = toggle Caret Browsing
F11 = toggle full screen display

Databases: Keys for Oracle vs. MS SQL Server

Block Menu	Ctrl-B
Clear Block	F7
Clear Field	F5
Clear Form	F8
Clear Record	F6
Count Query	F12
Delete Record	Ctrl+Up Arrow
Display Error	Ctrl+Shift+E
Down	Down Arrow
Duplicate Field	Shift+F5
Duplicate Record	Shift+F6
Enter Query	F11
Execute Query (Run)	Ctrl+F11
Insert Record	Ctrl+Down Arrow
List Tab Pages	F2
List of Values	Ctrl+L
Next Primary Key	Shift+F7
Next Record	Down Arrow
Previous Record	Up Arrow
Scroll Down	Page Down
Scroll Up	Page Up
Keyboard Shortcuts	Ctrl+K
Up	Up Arrow
Update Record	Ctrl-U

Applications: SAP Keys

Possible entries or matchcode for the field being accessed	F4
Insert current date value in current field	F4 F2
Selection screen	F5
Previous screen	F7
Next screen	F8
Technical Info.	F9

MSN Radio

Ctrl-P = Play/Pause
Ctrl-S = Stop
Ctrl-F = Skip (Forward)
F8 = Mute
F9 = Volume Down
F10 = Volume Up

IDE Applications Keys

Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 comes with these, among 450 keys:

Action	MSVS	Eclipse
List hotkeys	-	Ctrl+Shift+L
Switch between last used files	-	Ctrl+F6
Toggle between design and code views	F7	-
Toggle between full screen mode and normal mode	Shift+Alt+Enter	-
Toggle breakpoint on/off	F9	-
Comment and uncomment line(s) of code, respectively	Ctrl+K, Ctrl+C Ctrl+K, Ctrl+U	-
Go to definition of a variable, object, or function.	F12	-
Navigate forward and backwards in the go to definition stack.	Ctrl+Shift+7 Ctrl+Shift+8	-
Expand and collapse code outlining in the editor	Ctrl+M, Ctrl+M	-
Find all references of a function or a variable	Shift+F12	-
Incremental Search	Ctrl+I	Ctrl+J

Eclipse IDE Keys

Among Top Ten Keys,
Moving around:

• Alt-up Alt-down — Grabs the current line (or all selected lines) and moves them up or down.
• Ctrl-alt-up and ctrl-alt-down — Duplicates the current line (or all selected lines) above or below.
• Ctrl+J — Incremental Search
• Ctrl+Shift+T — Search a type, with search on typing. You can use only the upcase letters (e.g. type “MIL” to find MouseInputListener)
• F3 — Open declaration
• Ctrl+Alt+H — Open Call Hierarchy
Editing:
• Ctrl click — Definition of item clicked.
• Ctrl+1 — Quick Fix: press while cursor is positioned at member variable, parameter, selection, warnings, errors, …
• Ctrl+Space — Context Assist: press after a ., or to use macros (for, while, sysout, …). Press in class-scope to automatically create method declarations.
• Alt+Shift+T — Show Refactor Quick Menu
• Alt+Shift+R — Quick Rename
• Ctrl+Shift+/ — toggle comments
• Ctrl+Shift+O — Organize Imports
• Ctrl+Shift+F — Reformat source
• Ctrl+Shift+T — Search for Type
• Ctrl+Shift+R — Search for Resource
• Ctrl+O — quick outline / Search for comments
• Ctrl-2 — Source menu, like ctrl-2, L to create local variable.

Windows Keyboard Shortcuts by Menu Item

• File   Edit   View   Insert   Format   Favorites   Tools   Table   Shape   Data   Project   Slide Show   Frames   (Outline)   Window   Help  

  Menu Item	Shown on and off menu		Not shown on menu	Oracle
  Activate			F10 or Alt
  File	New	Ctrl+N	F11
  	Open	Ctrl+O	(in MSWord only) Ctrl+F12 or Ctrl+Alt+F2
  	Close		Ctrl+W or Ctrl+F4
  	Save	Ctrl+S	Shift+F12 Alt+Shift+F12	Oracle: Ctrl+S
  	Save As		F12 or Alt+F2
  	Print Preview		Ctrl+F2
  	Print	Ctrl+P	Ctrl+Shift+F12	Oracle: Ctrl+P
  	Exit / Quit		Ctrl+Q or Alt+F4	Oracle: F4
  Edit	Activate the entry bar to edit text in a field	.	F2	Oracle: Ctrl+E
  	Undo	Ctrl+Z
  	Redo / Repeat	Ctrl+Y
  	Cut to clipboard, spike	Ctrl+X	Shift+Del, Ctrl+F3
  	Copy	Ctrl+C	Ctrl+Insert
  	Paste to clipboard, spike	Ctrl+V	Shift+Insert, Ctrl+Shift+F3
  	Link Task	Ctrl+F2		These are "Utility" toolbar icons.
  	Unlink Task		Ctrl+Shift+F2
  	Split Task
  	Update Links		Ctrl+Shift+F7	Used in PowerPoint and Project?
  	Find Find Again	Ctrl+F	F3 or Shift+F5 Shift+F4
  	Replace	Ctrl+H
  	Goto	Ctrl+G	F5
  	Goto next (resource) overallocation		Alt + F5
  View	Go to Bookmark		Ctrl+Shift+F5	(MSWord)
  	Go to Selected Task on Gantt Chart		Ctrl+Shift+F5	(MSProject)
  			Alt + left/right arrow keys	Scroll Gantt Chart left/right
  	Application control menu		Alt + SPACEBAR
  	Window control menu		Alt + HYPHEN
  	Window Restore		Ctrl + F5
  	Window Move		Ctrl + F7
  	Window Size		Ctrl + F8
  	Window Minimize
  	Window Maximize		Ctrl + F10
  	Full Screen	F11		Only in IE (not MSWord)
  	Zoom...	Ctrl+/ Ctrl+* on numeric keys (right hand side of keyboard)		Only in MSProject
  Insert	New Task	Ins		(MSProject only)
  	Recurring Task
  	Project
  	Column		Alt+F3
  	Insert Hyperlink	Ctrl + K	.	.
  	New Line		Shift+Enter
  	New Paragraph		Enter
  	Non-breaking space character		Ctrl+Shift+Spacebar
  	Autotext entry		Alt+F3	(MSWord only)
  	Footnote entry		Alt+Shift+F
  	Table of Contents entry		Alt+Shift+O
  Format	Font…		Ctrl+Shift+F	.
  	Font Bold, Italic, Underline		Ctrl+B, Ctrl+I, Ctrl+U
  	Font size Increase		Ctrl+Shift+>, Ctrl+[	An increment, or single point
  	Font size Decrease		Ctrl+Shift+<, Ctrl+]
  	Paragraph Alignment Left, Right, Center		Ctrl+L, Ctrl+R, Ctrl+E
  	Paragraph Indent, UnIndent		Ctrl+M, Ctrl+Shift+M
  	Style Pickup (copy)		Ctrl+Shift+C
  	Style Apply (paste)		Ctrl+Shift+V
  	Style Normal		Ctrl+Shift+N
  	Style remove character formatting		Ctrl+Spacebar
  	Style remove paragraph formatting		Ctrl+Q
  Tools	Spelling…	F7
  	Track Changes... on/off	.	Ctrl+Shift+E
  	Macro dialog box	Alt + F8
  	Macro… Visual Basic (code) Editor	Alt+F11
  	Macro… Visual Studio (script) Editor	Alt+Shift+F11
  	Options... Calculation		Ctrl+F9	Turn on/off Auto Calculate
  	Calculate all open files		F9	(MSProject only)
  	Update selected fields		F9	(MSWord only)
  	Calculate Calculate the active project		Shift + F9	(MSProject only)
  	Update all DDE links		Alt+F9	(MSProject only)
  	Switch between field codes and results		Alt+F9	(MSWord only)
  	Resources… Assign Resources		Alt+F10	(MSProject only)
  	Maximize program window		Alt+F10	(MSWord only)
  Table				(Only in MSWord)
  Project (Only in MSProject )	Sort… by ID order		Shift+F3
  			Ctrl + Shift + F3	Apply the sort order again
  	Filtered for: All Tasks		F3
  			Ctrl+F3	Apply the same filter again
  	Group by:
  	Task Information	Shift + F2
  	WBS			Work Breakdown Structure definition
  Outline	Demote to Body Text	.	Ctrl+Shift+N	(MSWord only)
  	Move selected paragraph up/down	.	Alt+Shift+ up/down
  	Show text up to style "Heading #"	.	Alt+Shift+ # (Heading number)
  	Outdent/Indent (Heading # Promote/Demote)	.	Alt+Shift+ left/right	MSWord and MSProject
  	Show ALL subtasks		Alt+Shift+A or Alt+Shift+ * (on numeric keypad)
  	Show subtasks next level down		Alt+Shift+ + (plus sign) Alt+Shift+ - (hyphen)
  	Subtask Hide(Collapse)/ Unhide(Expand)		Alt+Shift+ - (minus sign) Alt+Shift+ = (equal sign)
  Window	New Window...		Shift + F11 or Alt + Shift + F1
  	Split (Activate split bar)		Shift+F6, Alt+Ctrl+S	In MSProject, MSWord
  	Activate next frame		Ctrl + F6
  	Activate previous frame		Ctrl + Shift + F6
  	Activate other frame in combination view		F6
  	Remove Split		Double click on separator bar, Alt+Shift+C
  	Restore frame size(End combination view)		Ctrl+F5	.
  	Restore program window size		Alt+F5
  Help	Contents (Office Assistant)	F1		Oracle: Ctrl+H
  	What's This?	Shift+F1		Activate context-sensitive Help pointer
  	System Information		Ctrl+Alt+F1	(MSWord only)

Windows Logo Keys

by itself toggles (displays or hides) Microsoft's Start menu, the same as clicking . Good to remember when it's hidden.
+ Break displays the System Properties dialog.
+ Minimize — minimizes all open windows.
+ Shift + M un-minimizes (restores) all open windows.
+ Desktop — toggles between the Desktop and open windows.
+ Explorer — opens Windows Explorer (My Computer).
+ Run — displays the Run dialog.
+ Lock the computer or switch user (instead of Ctrl+Alt+Del and clicking Lock).
+ Utility — invokes the Utility Manager for accessibility.
+ Find — displays the find (Search) dialog.
+ Ctrl + F ind Computers.
+ F1 displays Windows Help.
+ Tab highlights the next Windows task bar on the bottom of the screen.

The BIOS of your computer has a setting that determines whether the Num Lock toggle is on or off after boot-up. Accountants and others who use the keypad like a calculator would want to have the Num Lock ON by default, since most keyboards today (with 101 or more keys) have directional keys as well.

Mouse Keys

Generally:

• Holding down CTRL while dragging a selected item copies that item.

• Holding down CTRL+Shift while dragging a selected item creates a shortcut to that item.

Linux Keyboard shortcuts

ToolBar Icon and Menu Inconsistencies

Icons Not on the Menu

This Format Painter icon does not have a corresponding menu choice. So leave it on the toolbar. To use it, first select a cell which is formatted the way you want. Click the icon. When you click the target, the format of your first selection would be applied.

An Easier Way to Find Find

Find and Find Next on the toolbar are (to me) easier to use than trying to remember whether this application has them under the “Edit” menu like in MS-Word or under “Tools” menu in MS-Outlook.

Where's Outline?

In MSWord, Outline Keys controling Promote/Demote are under (Normal) View menu.
In MSProject, they are under the Project menu.

Clipboard a text macro tool

New Messages

Smash forehead on keyboard to continue...

Error! Keyboard not attached. Press F1 to continue.

Enter any 11-digit prime number to continue...

Press any key to continue or any other key to quit...

Press any key... no, No, NO!! Not THAT one!

Press   to continue…

Object Selection Keyboard Shortcuts

Object	Windows: Previous/ Next	Cisco IOS	Oracle	vi	EMACS	Solaris	Eclipse
Character	Shift+ left arrow Shift+ right arrow	Ctrl+B Ctrl+F		h l or Spacebar	Ctrl-B Ctrl-F
Word	Ctrl+Shift+ left arrow Ctrl+Shift+ right arrow	Esc+B Esc+F		b e w
Line up/down	Shift+End	Ctrl+A Ctrl+E		k j	Cntl+P Ctrl+N
Line beg./end					Ctrl-A Ctrl-E
Half Page Up/Down				Ctrl+B Ctrl+F
Full Page Up/Down				Ctrl+U Ctrl+D
Paragraph	Ctrl+Shift+down arrow
Field	Alt+F1 Shift+F11		Shift+Tab Tab
Block			Shift+PageUp Shift+PageDown
Set of Records			Next: Shift+F8
App Panel						Shift+Alt+F6 Alt+F6
Window	Alt+Shift+Tab Alt+Tab					Alt+Tab
File Used							Alt+Q, Ctrl-F6, Alt-arrow


Move Window to the top window: Alt+up arrow
Move Window to the bottom window: Alt+down arrow

Action Keys

Action	Windows Key	EMACS
Turn on/off Extend Selection mode	F8
Turn on/off Add To Selection mode	Shift+F8
Reduce a selection to a single field	Shift+BACKSPACE
Kills (erases) the rest of the line right of the cursor		Cntl+K
Yank back last killed string		Cntl+Y
Undo		Cntl+underscore
Reverse Search		Cntl+R
Search Forward		Cntl+S

With VNC, press F8 for the menu.

On Blackbox KVMs:

press Esc and then Ctrl for the switching menu
press Esc and then F12 for the configuration menu.

Function Key Combinations

Hold down the Alt, Ctrl, and Shift keys before a Function key (such as F1).


Key	by itself	Shift+	Alt+	Ctrl+Alt+	Alt+Shift+	Ctrl+	Ctrl+Shift+
F1	Help	Context Help Reveal	Next Field	SysInfo	Prev Field
F2	Move Text	Copy text	**	Open File	Save	Print Preview
F3	Insert Autotext or Find	Change case	Create Autotext			Cut to Spike	Insert Spike
F4	Redo/Repeat	Repeat Find	Exit Quit		Close
F5	Go To	Goto last change	App Restore			Restore doc	Edit Bookmark
F6	Next/Other Pane	Prev. Pane	Next Window?	Prev window?		Next Window	Prev Window
F7	Spelling	Thesaurus	Next misspelling			Move doc	Update links
F8	Extend sel.	Shrink sel.	Run Macro			Size doc	Extend sel.
F9	Update Field(s)	Toggle field	Field codes		Click field	Insert Field	Unlink field
F10	Menu Mode	Shortcuts	App Maximize			Maximize doc	Ruler
F11	Next Field	Prev field	VB Code		Display code	Lock Field	Unlock Field
F12	Save As	Save				Open file	Print

Other Key Combinations

Hold down the Alt, Ctrl, or Shift keys first.

Key	Alt+	Alt+Ctrl+	Alt+Shift+	Ctrl+	Ctrl+Shift+
spacebar				Reset Char	Sticky space
<- Backspace	Undo		Redo	Del back word
Enter	Redo/repeat		Page Break	Column Break
Insert				Copy	Paste
Delete				Delete word
Home	Start of Row	Browse Select	Start of Row	Start of Doc	Start Doc Extend
End	End of row		End of row	End of Doc	End of doc extend
Page Down	End of Column	End of Window	End of Column	Browse Next	Page Dn Extend
Page Up	Start of Column	Start of Window	Start of Column	Browse Previous	Page Up Extend
Left	Web go back		Outline Promote	Word Left	Word Left Extend
Right	Web Go Forward		Outline Demote	Word Right	Word Rt Extend
Down	Next Object		Outline mv down	Para down	Para down extend
Up	Prev Object		Outline Move Up	Para Up	Para Up Extend
NUM -			Outline Collapse
NUM +		Custom Keyboard	Outline Expand
NUM 5	Select Table		Normal Style	Select All
>					Increment font size
<					Decrement font size
]					Font 1 pt. more
[					Font 1 pt. less

Microsoft Accessiblity Features

Windows 2000:

Windows XP:

Configuration of accessibility options can be confusing.

The menu items shown at the right are from Programs | Accessories | Acessibility.

The Accessibility Wizard (accwiz.exe) guides the configuration of features not listed on this menu. The wizard can only be used by someone with Administrative privileges. Choices made in the wizard are stored in a Accessibility Wizard settings (.acw) file, which when (copied to another computer and) clicked, is imported back onto the computer.

Magnifier (magnify.exe) and Narrator (narrator.exe) are listeners of activity on the computer. So, they can automatically start for all users on the local system if there is a value “1” in registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \SOFTWARE \Microsoft \Windows NT \CurrentVersion \Accessibility \Utility Manager for \Magnifier and \Narrator). These value are controlled from within the Utility Manager (utilman.exe) which should be started not from the menu but by holding down the Window logo key on the keyboard while pressing the U key.

Narrator only recognizes the titles at the top of screens. To get your computer to read out text in documents, get the
JAWS reader
NvDA open-source screen reader for windows
More software listed in Microsoft's Accessibility Technology site

The accessiblity features Microsoft calls SoundSentry and ShowSounds are not shown in the menu, but can be configured in Settings | Control Panel | Accessibility Options.

 

.	Accessibility Feature	Press...	Accessibility Wizard Setting
--	On-Screen Keyboard (osk.exe) allows a mouse to be used instead of the keyboard.	.	.
	Magnifier (magnify.exe) enlarges the area near the tip of the mouse.	.	I am blind or have difficulty seeing things on screen
	Narrator (narrator.exe) echos to the speaker user actions and screen headings.	.
Keyboard	Sticky Keys	Shift key 5 times.	I have difficulty using the keyboard or mouse
	Filter Keys Configures the keyboard to ignore brief or repeated keystrokes and to adjust the keyboard repeat rate.	Right Shift down key for 8 seconds.
	Toggle Keys	Num Lock key down for 5 seconds
	Show extra keyboard help in programs
Sound	SoundSentry flashes either the the desktop, window caption (easy to miss), or current window (the recommended setting) every time the system's built-in speaker beeps.	.	I am deaf or have difficulty hearing sounds from the computer
	ShowSounds visually displays text captions or icons when a sound is sent to the sound card	.
Display	High Contrast	.	.
Mouse	MouseKeys lets users control the mouse pointer by using the numeric keypad.	Left Alt + Left Shift + Num Lock	.

On Screen Keyboard

On Windows 2000 the On-Screen Keyboard (osk.exe) emulates a real physical keyboard so you could type using a mouse, joystick, or other pointing device.


You can invoke this program several ways: from Programs, Accessories, Accessibility directly or start it from the Utility Manager (utilman.exe) GUI. If you use this program often, create a shortcut link to it and place the .lnk file on the desktop. Drag and drop it over the Windows button.

If you want it to appear every time you boot-up: right click on and select Explore, double-click Programs, and drag the link into the Startup folder.

Alta Vista's Babel Fish site has a Virtual Keyboard for typing in French and other languages:

Step by Step Tutorials for Windows 2000 accessibility features

ReKey Keyboard utility freeware for keyboards with "extra" function keys.

Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act requires that Federal agencies make electronic and information technology accessible to people with disabilities. Organizations must comply with the Americans with Disability Act (ADA).

W3C/WAI Quick Tips to make websites accessible Reference Card.

Test web pages using BOBBY and WAVE 2.2 from Pennsylvania's Initiative on Assistive Technology

Microsoft Keyboards

Microsoft operating systems can be setup to recognize keyboard control signals sent through the serial port which MS calls Assistive Aids for Keyboard and Mouse Functions with SerialKeys

To Build Accessible Windows Forms Applications with .NET implement Active Accessibility for controls that comes with the .NET framework, supply values for four properties:

• AccessibleName,
• AccessibleDescription,
• AccessibleDefaultActionDescription, and
• AccessibleRole

  Download the Microsoft Active Accessibility 2.0 Software Development Kit (SDK), which include Accessible Event Watcher (accevent32.exe & Event32.EXE), Accessible Explorer (AccExplorer32.exe), and Inspect Objects (inspect32.exe) (written in C++ version 4.0 with 32 bit versions for Windows 2000, Windows NT, Windows XP and separate verion for Windows 98 & Windows ME.

Packages such as KeyboardTest and WinRuner scripts emulate keyboard activity.

However, when both shift keys are depressed, (Windows code 0x10 or VK_SHIFT), Windows only passes a shift KEYUP message for the last shift key released. are limited to detecting only the last shift key released.

• Download Microsoft Keyboard Intellipoint and IntelliType drivers

Keyboard layouts (Keymaps) for Touch Typing Speed

The vast majority of keyboards are labeled for the "QWERTY" layout of keys (so named because of the sequence of keys above the left hand). This was designed in the 1870's to slow down typing to prevent the mechanical mechanism from jamming by fast typists.

Those (like me) who prefer the efficiency of looking at the screen while typing would likely find worthwile the investment of learning "touch typing". I think it was the most useful class I had in junior high school. Note: Studies say that it's a waste of effort to speed drill for more than two hours daily.

Similarly, those who have done it do not regret memorizing the "Dvorak" keyboard layout, named for the person who in 1932 patented the keymap which places the most commonly used letters (vowels) under where fingers rest. Less finger moverment means faster typing and (more importantly), fewer mistakes.

To switch in Windows XP: Start > Control Panel > Regional and Language Options > Languages tab > Details button > Add button.
Under Keyboard Layout/IME, select United States-Dvorak (or Left- or Right-handed), then click OK.
To make this change survive past the next Windows system reboot, select United States-Dvorak again in the Default input language pull-down.

Right click on the keyboard graphic and print it. Refer to the printout so that you don't get in the habit of looking at the keyboard.

Use your fingers to find the little bumps on the QWERTY "F", "J", "F4", and "F8" keys. This habit comes in handy when you have to type in the dark.

International keyboards...

To change the type or layout of your Red Hat Linux keyboard:

/usr/bin/redhat-config-keyboard

Bill Gates in Hell

Bill Gates dies and goes to hell. Satan greets him.

"Welcome Mr. Gates, we've been waiting for you. This will be your home for all eternity. Now, since you've got me in a good mood, I'll be generous and give you a choice of three places in which you'll be locked up forever."

Satan takes Bill to a huge lake of fire in which millions of poor souls are tormented and tortured.

He then takes him to a massive colosseum where thousands of people are chased about and devoured by starving lions.

Finally, he shows Bill a tiny room in which there is a… computer.

Without hesitation, Bill says "I'll take this option."

"Fine. Go and login," says Satan, allowing Bill to enter the room.

Satan then locks the room. As he turns around, he bumps into Lucifer.

"That was Bill Gates!" cried Lucifer. "Why did you give him the best place of all?"

"That's what everyone thinks," snickered Satan.

"That PC is run by Windows 95!" laughed Satan. "And it's missing three keys."

"Which three?"

"Control, Alt, and Delete."

Better Input Devices

Membrane keyboards are silent, waterproof, and cleanable.

The IBM Java Self Voicing Kit (SVK) (1999), provides blind users access to Java applications by speaking automatically. It uses the IBM Access Engine background technology that exploits Java Swing application accessibility features. Java Program files, called Perks, tell the Access Engine (through toolkit methods) what to do when specific events occur, such as focus changes, selection, or receiving input from an input device. It includes a tool to test apps for accessibility.

Ergonomic zero-reach Mouse and keyboard combo

I wish that there is a way for me to switch from keyboard to mouse or get to Alt, Ctrl, Home, and other special keys without having to look for them every time. The mouse button on the middle of some laptop keyboards gave me repetitive injuries, causing musculoskeletal disorders.

Tapping the "menu" button brings up the search option.

Instead of keeping my hands raised over a keyboard, between strokes I can do healthy computing and rest them on highly rated $189 USB “MultiTouch” touchpads from FingerWorks that recognizes hand taps and movements of several fingers. Dropping a single finger on the square marked "A" puts that character on the screen (in lower case). That character is capitalized if I also dropped all four fingers of the opposite hand. Home, End, Scroll, and PageUp/Down keys are activated by moving four fingers to the left, right, or up/down. Spreading the 4 fingertips wide as you drop them on the ASDF home row surface activates the Ctrl (Mac Apple/Cmd) chord.

Instead of moving my whole hand to drag the mouse, I move two fingers on the pad. Two fingers and a thumb is a right-click. Three fingers is a double-click. Moving three fingers selects text.

Best of all, I can use (more intuitive) grasping motions to cut, paste, and zoom.


Gamers may appreciate the speed achievable from special gestures for gaming.

The iPhone and Microsoft Touch is making use of gestures an important part of the human-computer interface.

Experience this demo of jQuery gestures:

Hold down the Ctrl or Alt key:


Gesture	Description
Left	Previous picture
Right	Next Picture
Up	Hide picture
Down	Show picture
Up, Right	Show title
Down, Right	Hide title
Down, Left	Open flickr page
Down, Up, Right, Down	Toggle Help

User Interface Design Guidelines

It's best to design an interface that can be operated either without a mouse (keyboard alone) or without a keyboard (with a mouse only).

Instead of requiring…	Also design in…
right-click to obtain a menu item	Radio button
double-click to toggle on/off	Check box