Hot Virtual Keyboard Copyright (c) by Comfort Software Group

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Hot Virtual Keyboard

Table of Contents Part I Introducing Hot Virtual Keyboard

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Part II How to buy Hot Virtual Keyboard

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Part III How to use Hot Virtual Keyboard

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1 Using the ................................................................................................................................... on-screen keyboard 2 2 Keyboard ................................................................................................................................... Shortcuts Settings 3 3 Customizing ................................................................................................................................... the keyboard type 4 4 Text macros ................................................................................................................................... 6 5 Editing ................................................................................................................................... shortcut icons 7

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Part IV Action types

1 Hot Virtual ................................................................................................................................... Keyboard actions 8 2 Replace................................................................................................................................... key or shortcut 8 3 Play a keystroke ................................................................................................................................... macro 8 4 Paste text ................................................................................................................................... 9 5 Run a program; ................................................................................................................................... open a document or a folder 9 6 Open one ................................................................................................................................... or several Internet resources 10 7 Connect/Disconnect ................................................................................................................................... from a network 10 8 Audio ................................................................................................................................... control 10 9 Monitor ................................................................................................................................... control 10 10 Window ................................................................................................................................... control 11 11 Perform ................................................................................................................................... a system action 11 12 Change ................................................................................................................................... the language or case 11 13 Lock/Restart/Shutdown ................................................................................................................................... 11 14 Block ................................................................................................................................... key or shortcut 11

Part V Options

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1 Main Properties ................................................................................................................................... 12 2 Themes ................................................................................................................................... 13 Keys

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3 On-Screen ................................................................................................................................... Keyboard 14 4 Zoom ................................................................................................................................... 15 5 Typing................................................................................................................................... aid 15 6 Gestures ................................................................................................................................... 16 7 Floating ................................................................................................................................... Window for On-Screen Keyboard 16 8 Word Autocomplete ................................................................................................................................... 16 9 Language ................................................................................................................................... Bar 18 10 Shortcut ................................................................................................................................... icons 18

Copyright (c) by Comfort Software Group

Contents

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11 Dependencies ................................................................................................................................... 18 12 Advanced ................................................................................................................................... 19

Part VI Development

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1 How to................................................................................................................................... show, close, fade or move the on-screen keyboard 19 2 How to................................................................................................................................... lock all settings 25 3 How to................................................................................................................................... activate different keyboards 25 4 FAQ for ................................................................................................................................... developers 26 5 Command ................................................................................................................................... Line Parameters 27

Part VII Other issues

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1 FAQ - ................................................................................................................................... Frequently asked questions 29 2 License ................................................................................................................................... Agreement 30

Index

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II Copyright (c) by Comfort Software Group

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Hot Virtual Keyboard

Introducing Hot Virtual Keyboard Hot Virtual Keyboard makes previous-generation on-screen keyboards look ancient. Type faster with configurable mouse gestures, launch programs, browse the Internet, and run programmable macros with any of the 70 keyboards included with Hot Virtual Keyboard. The new virtual on-screen keyboard employs advanced typing techniques used in modern mobile phones and communicators, including word auto-complete allowing you to choose the right word with a single click after entering just one or two letters.

Users of Tablet PC, UMPC, Panel PC, Car PC and similar touch-screen devices will find Hot Virtual Keyboard indispensable. Use a mouse, touchpad or fingers for on-screen typing. With Hot Virtual Keyboard, you can type faster and more conveniently than by using built-in Windows On-Screen Keyboard. Use gestures for quickly performing repeat operations such as shifting the case of the letters, specify applications to hide Hot Virtual Keyboard from, and set your own hotkeys to launch programs or Web sites, run macros, and perform operations such as copy and paste. The new virtual onscreen keyboard replaces Windows built-in On-Screen Keyboard with a much more advanced alternative. It's just as useful and as compatible as the native application. Supporting all languages and all installed keyboard layouts, Hot Virtual Keyboard is a truly international tool. Supplying over 70 pre-defined keyboard skins, the virtual on-screen keyboard allows you to create, customize and configure a unique new keyboard to your personal liking. Adjust colors and gamma, assign unique sounds to groups of keys, set shape of the keys and choose your own background. Using a virtual on-screen keyboard does not have to be a hassle. Try Hot Virtual Keyboard, and you'll never go back!

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How to buy Hot Virtual Keyboard Hot Virtual Keyboard is distributed as Shareware. You are entitled to evaluate the software for 30 days without charge. After 30 days, if you decide to keep the software, you must register your copy with us for a nominal fee. For more information, please visit http://hot-virtual-keyboard.com/buy/

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How to buy Hot Virtual Keyboard

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After registration you will get: 1. The Registration Key (by Email). 2. Notifications of every Major Upgrade and the new registration code, free of charge. 3. Life-of-product technical support. 4. No time limit on usage and no annoying registration notice. Finally, by registering, you will enable us to improve our software and continue to develop high quality products in the future! What You Get After Purchasing and Registering Hot Virtual Keyboard Registration of Hot Virtual Keyboard entitles you to unlimited free updates of the software and email technical support. You will be notified of version updates and other important news by email. You can always download the latest release of Hot Virtual Keyboard from the web site (or other authorized sources) on the Internet. You will then receive your registration code by email. For detailed information on how to purchase and register Hot Virtual Keyboard, please read the following topics carefully: License Agreement Order online

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How to use Hot Virtual Keyboard Are you new to Hot Virtual Keyboard? Read Using the on-screen keyboard first! From this topic you can find out how to use virtual keyboard. Do you have any questions? Read FAQ first. If you have any problems with Hot Virtual Keyboard please read Frequently Asked Questions.

3.1

Using the on-screen keyboard Hot Virtual Keyboard can be used for several purposes: You can use it to type with your mouse pointer as if with a regular keyboard. All features of the regular keyboard are supported (for instance, repeated keystrokes if you hold down a key). The keys on the on-screen keyboard show what characters will be actually typed in any language, which allows you to type text without a localized keyboard. The icons of shortcut keys used in Windows™ and the current application are displayed on the keys of the on-screen keyboard. When you move the mouse pointer over a key with an icon on it, you see a hint with the description of the shortcut purpose. It will help you find out and learn keyboard shortcuts, which will considerably speed up your work and make it easier. When you press keys on the real keyboard, your keystrokes are shown on the on-screen keyboard, which allows you to control the process of typing without having to move your eyes from the keyboard to the monitor and back.

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Hot Virtual Keyboard

You can force the on-screen keyboard to be shown or hidden if you press the corresponding keyboard shortcut (by default, Apps). See the On-Screen Keyboard section for the detailed description how to configure the appearance and behavior of the on-screen keyboard. Tips and tricks You can use a floating window for showing/hiding the on-screen keyboard. When a key on the on-screen keyboard is pressed using the right mouse button, upper case is used. When a key on the on-screen keyboard is pressed using the middle mouse button, the application emulates a key press in combination with Ctrl. You can manually create files with shortcut icons for the applications that you use in your everyday work. See how to do it in the Editing shortcut icons section. When using an on-screen keyboard with a touch screen, the arrow keys work as a D-pad. See Also How to install another language and keyboard layout

3.2

Keyboard Shortcuts Settings A keyboard shortcut (or accelerator key, shortcut key, hot key, hotkey, key binding, key combo, etc.) is a combination of keys that you press simultaneously in order to perform a certain action. Keyboard shortcuts are added, deleted and edited in a special window. First step: Open the context menu with a right click on the Hot Virtual Keyboard icon in the systems tray and select the Keyboard Shortcuts Settings item.

Next step: Specify the keyboard shortcut that will be used. There are two ways to do it: 1. Switch to the Key combination field and press the necessary keyboard combination. 2. Use the mouse pointer to select the keys that will be used in the combination on the on-screen keyboard. Next step: Use the Action field to select the type of the action that will be performed when you press the specified shortcut key. You can use the Active field to specify the display modes the specified action should work in. For instance, you can disable the Win keys and enable additional shortcut macros (see Play a keystroke macro) in the full-screen mode (when you start a computer game). Copyright (c) by Comfort Software Group

How to use Hot Virtual Keyboard

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Last step: Specify advanced parameters for the selected action. See the list of all actions, their parameters and usage examples in the Action Types section. Tips and tricks When you specify a keyboard shortcut, you can use any keys and their combinations, including NumLock, CapsLock, Alt+Tab (except for Sleep, WakeUp, Power, F-Lock and Ctrl+Alt+Del). When you specify keyboard shortcuts, the left and right control keys (Shift, Ctrl, Alt or Win) are processed differently. If you want to use only right Shift, Ctrl, Alt or Win in a keyboard shortcut, press the right keys. If you want to use both right and left keys, press the left keys. To delete a previously specified keyboard shortcut, select the (None) item in the Action type field. To print the list of keyboard shortcuts, select the Print List item on the File menu. You can configure several files with keyboard shortcuts and switch between them when you need it (for instance, enable a separate set of keyboard shortcuts for particular applications). You can add a set of keyboard shortcuts from another file. To do it, select the Add set from file item on the File menu and select a file with a keyboard shortcut set. All active keyboard shortcuts are shown on the built-in on-screen keyboard. See the Using the on-screen keyboard section for more details about how to use the on-screen keyboard. To use one set of keyboard shortcuts in workgroups, save the file with this set of keyboard shortcuts to a network resource and configure it to be used on each workstation.

3.3

Customizing the keyboard type You can customize the size of the on-screen keyboard and also the location, appearance and size of its keys.

To edit the appearance of the keyboard, open the Options dialog box, select the On-Screen Keyboard item and click the Edit keyboard type button. By default, the current keyboard type is opened. To edit another keyboard type, select the Open command on the File menu. While editing the keyboard, you can use two types of virtual keys: Square keys are used by default. Specify only two points for them – the upper-left corner and the lower-right corner. You can use the Width and Height fields while working with such keys. Keys consisting of lines can take any shape. In order to configure them, use the Points table to specify all points that should be joined by lines one by one. The last line is automatically drawn between the first and last points. If necessary, you can use lines to draw a circle or an oval. Look at how the Enter key is specified on the standard keyboard – actually it is one key, but it is displayed as two keys (the point [-1, -1] means that the points of one key end and the points of the next key start).

Copyright (c) by Comfort Software Group

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Hot Virtual Keyboard

All key parameters can be specified in the fields in the lower part of the window. You can use the following features while editing the keyboard visually: You can use the mouse pointer to select several keys at once if you hold down the Shift key. You can use the arrow keys to resize one or several selected keys if you hold down the Shift key. You can use the arrow keys to change the position of one or several selected keys if you hold down the Ctrl key. You can change key descriptions. New key descriptions will be displayed on keys instead of standard descriptions or key characters. For instance, you can assign a "Customers" description to the F2 key.

Assigning an image to any key of the on-screen keyboard:

Picture (Normal, Hot, Selected) – You can assign an image to every key state. The same image can be used for all key states. Set borders – You can set borders for the picture on the key. These borders are fixed when you resize the picture. Font Color (Normal, Hot, Selected) – You can specify the font to be used for each key state. Font colors can be set even if no images were assigned to keys in the previous fields. If you decide to leave the default setting, the program will use color values from the theme settings. Transparent – Set Transparent to True to allow the key behind the image to show through the background of the image. Set Transparent to False to make the background of the image opaque. Note: The Transparent property works only for images in the BMP format. Show as background – If this option is enabled, key labels and hotkey icons will be rendered on top of the key image. If this option is disabled, labels and icons will not be shown on the key. Draw a border around a key – Specifies whether a border should be drawn around the key. This option comes in handy of the image completely replaces the default style of the key. See the SkinMulticolor keyboard for example.

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How to use Hot Virtual Keyboard

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Resize with a key – when this option is enabled, the image is scaled when the key size changes. Fit width, Fit height – when this option is enabled, the width and height of the image always equal the width and height of the key it was assigned to.

Additional keyboard settings (if you select this keyboard, Hot Virtual Keyboard will change the specified settings): Change Fit width regardless of the program settings; Change Lock aspect ratio regardless of the program settings; Always dock the keyboard to the lower edge of the screen; Always display characters and icons in the center of keys; Always transparent keyboard background; Fixed font size for all key labels (if empty, use the one from the program settings); Dividing points – used when changing the keyboard size. The keyboard splits along the specified points, the keys slide in opposite directions. - don't change - turn off - turn on

Tips and tricks You can use the image or photo of a keyboard to edit a new on-screen keyboard according to it. To do it, select the Add Background command on the Edit menu and open the necessary image file. After you configure the keyboard, you can remove the image by selecting the Clear Background command on the Edit menu. It is more convenient to create a new keyboard if you take an existing keyboard as a basis. To do it, select the keyboard that looks mostly like yours and save it under a different name by selecting the Save As command on the File menu. Clicking the right mouse button within the on-screen keyboard while editing it will add another point with the cursor coordinates to the currently edited key. If you configure complicated keys, it is sometimes more convenient to use a txt file containing the entire information about the keyboard. Keyboard files are stored in the Keyboards subfolder. To delete an existing keyboard type, delete the file with its description from the Keyboards subfolder. All changed keyboard txt files saves in folder Application Data. You can see full path in the caption of the window Edit keyboard type. For example: C:\Documents and Settings\UserName\Application Data\ComfortSoftware\hvk\Keyboards\. You can move files from this folder to the subfolder of the program.

3.4

Text macros These types of macros are used when you configure the Paste Text action. Macro types: Insert the current date and/or time (the tag) – inserts date and time in the specified format (see the format list). Press keys (the tag) – keystrokes will be emulated inside the text (see the key identifier list). Use the '+' character to specify a keyboard combination. It is possible to use the code of a key in the hexadecimal format. To do it, use the '$' character (for instance, $20 – Space, $1B – Escape). Sample keyboard combinations: regedit – start the registry editor. Loginpassword - enter the login and password. Select random text from a list (the ... tag) – select random text from lists enclosed by the and tags. It is possible to embed these macros. Simple examples:

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Hot Virtual Keyboard

12 – insert 1 or 2. hi12 bye12 – insert hi1, hi2, bye1 or bye2. Show popup menu (the ... tag) – select text from lists enclosed by the and tags. It is possible to embed these macros. Simple example: HiHello – insert Hi or Hello. Insert text from a file (the tag) – add text from filename into the specified position if filename exists. Insert the selected text (the tag) – insert the text that is currently selected in the active application. Insert the clipboard content (the tag) – add the current text content of the clipboard. Execute JavaScript function (the <SCRIPT> tag) - with this tag you can perform various functions from your Java-scripts. For example: <SCRIPT> Common.js DoublingSlashes . You can specify the position of the text cursor after the text is pasted. Just type the '|' character (vertical slash) there.

3.5

Editing shortcut icons Shortcut icons are displayed on the on-screen keyboard. A separate set of shortcut icons is displayed for each application. Since applications use different mechanisms for storing shortcut icons, it is impossible to detect them automatically. So Hot Virtual Keyboard uses its own sets of shortcut icons for each application. To edit shortcut icons, open the Options dialog box, select the Shortcut icons item and click the Edit shortcut icons button. By default, the Windows icon file is edited. To edit another icon file, select the Open command on the File menu. Start the application you want to create icons for and select the name of the executable file in the File Name drop-down menu. The Main Window Class Name and Application Name fields are specified automatically after that. The File Name and Main Window Class Name fields are used to determine what application is active. You can specify both of the fields or only one of them. The Application Name field is used for information about the application. Specify your data in it (for instance, Very Popular Application by John Doe ([email protected])). To add a new icon, specify the keyboard shortcut in the Keyboard Shortcut field of select it on the onscreen keyboard. After that there are several methods to add the icon: load it from a file, capture it on the screen or paste it from the clipboard. If you capture an icon from the screen, fill all the area you do not need with the Fuchsia color and select it in the Transparent Color field. To see whether the icon is good, try selecting another style, for instance, black. Finally, you can specify the hint that will displayed when you move the mouse pointer over the key with the icon on the on-screen keyboard. It is possible to use only one language, preferably English. Tips and tricks

Copyright (c) by Comfort Software Group

How to use Hot Virtual Keyboard

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All files with sets of shortcut icons are stored in the Icons subfolder.

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Action types Carefully study the existing action types to use the features of Hot Virtual Keyboard more effectively. You can assign a separate sound to each action.

4.1

Hot Virtual Keyboard actions You can use this group of actions to configure shortcut keys for the Hot Virtual Keyboard features. Close keyboard Close the on-screen keyboard window. Show Keyboard Shortcuts Settings window This action opens the Keyboard Shortcuts Settings window. See the Keyboard Shortcuts Settings section. Show/Hide On-Screen Keyboard This action shows or hides the on-screen keyboard. See the Using the on-screen keyboard section for more details about how to use the on-screen keyboard. Activate the next Keyboard type Displays the next keyboard from the list of keyboards. You can configure the list of keyboards by pressing button "Set the List of Keyboards". Show Options The action opens window with program options. Word autocomplete on/off Enable or disable autocomplete feature. See the Word Autocomplete section.

4.2

Replace key or shortcut If you configure replacing shortcuts, you can realize the following ideas: you can click a mouse button by pressing a key (for example, set key Ctrl as RightButton); turn your regular keyboard into a multimedia one (configure shortcut keys that will behave as those keys that are absent on your keyboard: SEARCH, FAVORITES, HOME, NEXT_TRACK, PREV_TRACK, STOP, PLAY_PAUSE and others); rearrange keys on the keyboard in any manner (rearrange keys on your grandmother's keyboard alphabetically and let her enjoy typing e-mail messages to you).

4.3

Play a keystroke macro A keystroke macro is a sequence of keystrokes and their combinations. You have to only once specify what keys should be pressed and Hot Virtual Keyboard will repeat these keystrokes as many times as you specify. You can use this type of actions to: Create keyboard shortcuts practically for any actions. One keyboard shortcuts will be enough now in those cases when you had to press several keys.

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Hot Virtual Keyboard

Fill out forms. Enter the username and password. Quickly print a predefined number of document copies. And much more. If you often perform the same operation, think if you could automate it. Remember that practically any action can be performed without using the mouse. To start recording a macro, click the Record button. To stop recording it, press the Pause key or click the record icon in the system tray. During recording, all your keyboard actions are saved to the table that has several fields: Delay before the next action. Event type – whether the key is pressed down or released. Key code. The sign that the key is an extended one. You can edit a previously recoded macro or create a new macro without recording it. To do it, click the Edit button. After the macro is recorded, you can specify advanced parameters how it is to be played: Play speed. Number of repetitions. The name of the process that should be activated before you start playing the macro. For example, you can make the window of Windows Media Player active before the macro is played. If Windows Media Player is not running at the moment, the macro will not be played. You can stop playing the macro at any moment. To do it, click the Pause or Esc key or click the playback icon in the system tray.

4.4

Paste text You can use the Paste Text type to: Quickly paste frequently used text fragments: greetings, cliches, e-mail addresses, URLs, logins/passwords. Quickly fill out web forms and registration dialog boxes. Type special characters that cannot be typed with the regular keyboard. Tips and tricks Text is saved in the Unicode format so you can use any characters in it. It is possible to add various macros to the text. See how to use macros in the Text macros section. You can specify the position of the text cursor after the text is pasted. Just type the '|' character (vertical slash) there.

4.5

Run a program; open a document or a folder You can use this type of actions to: Quickly start your favorite applications. Open frequently used folders and drives: "My Documents", CD drive. Open frequently used documents and network drives. Hide a file from the boss or children leaving access to it only via a keyboard shortcut. Clear the desktop from a lot of shortcuts because you can use the on-screen keyboard instead of it.

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Action types

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Program, Folder or Document Name - You can specify one or several programs in a separate line. Also you can run a program with additional parameters. Example: "C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe" -nohome Start in folder - enter the start in folder for the program here. Please note that when you use the "Add..." button to find a program or a document which you want to open with this action, the start in folder field is filled automatically with the folder where the selected file is held. Select the Switch to the already launched program checkbox and you will no longer need to check whether this program is already running or not. Tips and tricks Select the Add to the Windows context menu checkbox in the Hot Virtual Keyboard options and you will be able to assign a shortcut key by right-clicking the shortcut of the program you are interested in and selecting the Assign Keyboard Shortcut item (see Main properties).

4.6

Open one or several Internet resources You can use this type of actions to: Open one or several sites that you visit every day with a single keystroke: news, weather, forums, entertainment, etc. Quickly open the page of your favorite search engine: www.google.com, www.yahoo.com, etc. Create new messages with the specified address. To do it, specify a string like mailto: [email protected] in the Open URL field. Quickly open the page of your corporate server.

4.7

Connect/Disconnect from a network This action type lets you open a GPRS or ADSL connection quickly. Once you've established the connection with the hotkey, you can press the same hotkey again to close the connection. Note: The connection must have already been defined in "Windows Networking".

4.8

Audio control You can configure shortcut keys for controlling the sound volume of default device: turn it up, turn it down, disable it or enable it. A slider that you usually see on TV screens is displayed in the lower part of the screen whenever you perform any of these actions. Audio devices in Windows are those devices which you can use to play or record audio. This means that every time you listen to your favorite songs or talk on the microphone you are using audio devices. When you listen to music, or any sound that comes from your computer, you use the playback functionality to hear the sounds in the speakers. On the other hand, when talking about the recording functionality, the audio device makes it possible to record any sound you like, be it from your microphone (recording your voice) or from the computer (recording sounds produced by your playback device). You can use actions "Change the default playback device" and "Change the default recording device" to change the default device.

4.9

Monitor control You can configure shortcut keys for controlling your display: monitor power on/off, start screen saver or open window Display Settings.

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4.10

Hot Virtual Keyboard

Window control You can specify keyboard shortcuts for any of the following actions: Minimize the active window. Maximize/restore the active window. Close the active window or application. Hide the active window or application. Show the last hidden window. You can find the list of hidden windows in the context menu of the program. To show any of the hidden windows, select its name in the context menu. Use hidden windows to temporarily hide from the screen applications that must be running, but that you do not need so far or that should not be visible (for instance, computer games). Note: Some applications have a complex window structure and cannot be hidden because not the window you see, but a separate service window is hidden from the screen.

4.11

Perform a system action Open window "Safely Remove Hardware" Open Control Panel Open properties "Date and time" Open Internet Properties Map Network Drive Disconnect Network Drive Empty recycle bin

4.12

Change the language or case This group of actions is used to change the language, layout or case of text.

4.13

Lock/Restart/Shutdown Lock this computer Log Off Restart this computer Sleep Hibernate Shut Down this computer Show Shut Down Dialog

4.14

Block key or shortcut You can block the Left Win, Right Win keys in computer games (in the full-screen mode). You can block keys they you would not like to be pressed: CapsLock, Insert, NumLock. At the same time, you can select the Enable Shift, Ctrl and Alt combinations checkbox to be able to use the features of the blocked keys: o Shift+CapsLock will be used instead of CapsLock. Copyright (c) by Comfort Software Group

Action types

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o Shift+NumLock will be used instead of NumLock. o Shift+Ins will paste text from the clipboard. You can block pressing any keyboard combinations: Ctrl+Shift, Alt+Tab, Alt+F4, etc.

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Options While developing Hot Virtual Keyboard, we tried to make the number of additional options as small as possible and left only those that are truly necessary. To open the Options dialog box, open the context menu with a right click on the Hot Virtual Keyboard icon in the system tray and select the Options item.

5.1

Main Properties The main properties are responsible for the interaction between Hot Virtual Keyboard and Windows. Language – the language of the Hot Virtual Keyboard user interface. Run Hot Virtual Keyboard at Windows startup – automatically launch Hot Virtual Keyboard when the system is started. Show keyboard on logon screen – an ability to show the on-screen keyboard before logging into the system. Set high priority for Hot Virtual Keyboard – use this parameter if some of the Hot Virtual Keyboard features are unstable. Hide the Hot Virtual Keyboard icon in the systems tray – don't show the icon in the system tray (next to the clock). Show the Hot Virtual Keyboard toolbar in the taskbar – activate the program toolbar with one button in the taskbar. Add to the Windows context menu – if you select this checkbox, the Assign Keyboard Shortcut item will be added to the Windows system context menu. You can use this item to assign shortcut keys for quick access to applications, documents and other files.

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5.2

Hot Virtual Keyboard

Themes The theme can change a wide range of visual elements including a colors, styles of drawing, fonts, etc. Style – color scheme. Style of drawing – normal, gradient of tube gradient. Native style of the window – determines whether the application uses the native Windows paint style. Windows 8 Style – determines whether the application uses flat and square style. When enabled, rounded corners of windows and buttons are turned off. Use option Style of drawing – Normal for full effect. Common transparency – transparency of on-screen keyboard. Background picture – the file of the image or photo to be used in the background. To remove the background image, clear the file name. Font – the main font for visible window elements. Characters font – the font for actually typed characters on the on-screen keyboard.

5.2.1

Keys Show labels and icons in the center of the keys - this option comes in handy if you use only one input language. Show keyboard layout by default – the layout or language that is used to display key names in the upper-left corner. Show symbols accessible via Shift when Shift is not pressed and font is not large - if the size of the key and font allow this, all numerical keys will contain characters that are typed in combination with the Shift key. Show symbols accessible via Ctrl and Shift+Ctrl – displays the characters that become available when Ctrl or Ctrl+Shift keys are pressed. As a rule, such key combinations are not used for text entry. Color finger areas – highlight keys in order to learn touch typing. Keys are highlighted in a different color for each finger. Labels on system keys depend on the currently selected input language – change a text on keys: Backspace, Tab, Enter, Shift, Ctrl, Alt, AltGr, Pause, Esc, PgUp, PgDn, End, Home, Arrows, PrtScr, Ins, Del, Apps, Win, Caps Lock, Num Lock, Scroll Lock.

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Options

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Show the state of Caps Lock, Num Lock and Scroll Lock keys – display as pressed when a keys is locked.

5.3

On-Screen Keyboard The on-screen keyboard can be used as a keyboard shortcut reference. Specify the appearance parameters for the keyboard to be shown only when you need it. Keyboard type – select the keyboard type: the location, type and size of keys. Auto Hide – hide the keyboard after the time specified in the Disappearance delay field expires. Lock – prevent the keyboard from moving. Disappearance delay (msec) – the delay between the last time a key is pressed and the moment the on-screen keyboard disappears. Show On-Screen Keyboard next to the text entry area when possible. Some applications draw the text cursor in their own way and do not provide information about its position: Firefox, OpenOffice, CorelDRAW etc. In this case the keyboard will be shown in the bottom of screen. Show On-Screen Keyboard when the text cursor is visible The on-screen keyboard appears when the cursor is placed inside a text field. Some applications draw the text cursor in their own way and do not provide information about its state. In this case you can call the keyboard by pressing a hotkey or click the keyboard icon. Also you can install Browser Extension. Extensions You can install browser extension for the on-screen keyboard to appear when the cursor is placed inside a text field. The process is simple: the extension add keyboard-related information to the browser caption and the program monitors it for changes. When I enter a password don't show which keys are tapped password field is focused.

don't show pressed keys when a

Docking – you can dock the keyboard at the top or bottom of the display. When you dock the keyboard, the desktop workspace will be reduced in size. Other application windows and desktop icons will be rearranged to adjust to change.

Advanced Move the keyboard to a screen border when an on-screen keyboard is shown, it is automatically moved to the specified screen border even if it had been moved elsewhere. Animate the launch of the on-screen keyboard when the keyboard is started, it appears on the screen by sliding up or down from under the specified screen border. When the keyboard is closed, it slides under the specified border. Type characters when keys are released if you enable this option, characters will be typed when you raise your finger from the surface of a touch screen or release the mouse button. In the regular typing mode, key values are inserted as you type, just like with a regular keyboard. Especially useful in combination with the following setting. Show a tip over a pressed character key if you press a key, a small window with an enlarged version of the corresponding character will pop up. Especially useful in combination with the previous setting.

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Hot Virtual Keyboard

Show alternate characters or symbols – Hot Virtual Keyboard will show alternative characters when you press and hold a key. The selected character is typed when you release the key. The feature doesn't work when Enable key repeat setting is on. You can edit the list of alternate characters by editing file AlternateSymbols.txt in subfolder Data. Appearance delay (msec) – the delay between the moment the key is pressed and the moment the list of alternate characters appears. Show key characters in the UPPER CASE when this option is enabled, key characters are displayed in the upper case regardless of the state of the Shift and CapsLock keys. Mouse pointer - there are three types of pointer: Standard (Arrow), Hand and Invisible.

5.4

Zoom You can zoom in to get a close-up view of your keyboard or zoom out to see more of the desktop (an ability to change the size of the keyboard without the need to edit it). Fit width - scale the on-screen keyboard to match the screen width. It’s a useful feature for frequent screen rotation in the portrait and landscape modes. Width - the keyboard width scaling ratio. You can change the size of the keyboard window using a regular method – by dragging the edge of the window with your mouse. Fit height - scale the on-screen keyboard to match the screen height. You can select this option in combination with the “Fit width" option to fit the keyboard to the screen. Height - the keyboard height scaling ratio. Lock aspect ratio - locks the width/height scaling ratio, i.e. the width is scaled in the same proportion as the height.

5.5

Typing aid Additional options for comfortable typing. Enable key repeat – generate repeated key presses. Features Gestures and Type characters when keys are released don't work when this setting is on. Repeat delay (msec) – amount of time that elapses before a character repeats when you hold down a key. Repeat rate (characters per second) – the speed at which a character repeats when you hold down a key. Hold down key until Shift, Ctrl, Alt and Win is pressed – when a key is pressed for the first time, it stays down until pressed again. Enable AutoClick – when the cursor is placed over a key, the key will be automatically pressed with the specified interval between key presses. This is a useful feature for disabled people. AutoClick delay (msec) – time that passes before a mouse click is done at your mouse pointer's current position. Set capital after the specified character – Shift is pressed automatically after one of the specified characters is entered.

Copyright (c) by Comfort Software Group

Options

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Delete a space before specified characters – if one of the characters on the list is entered and there is one or more spaces preceding it, they will be removed. Add a space after specified characters – if one of the characters on the list is entered, a space will be added after it. Add a space before specified characters – if one of the characters on the list is entered and there is no space before it, it will be added. "." Shortcut – Double taping the space bar will insert a period followed by a space.

5.6

Gestures Gestures function support (fast entering of capital letters, spaces, etc.) with selectable sensitivity:

If you enable this option, characters will be typed when you raise your finger from the surface of a touch screen or release the mouse button. In the regular typing mode, key values are inserted as you type, just like with a regular keyboard. Note: The feature doesn't work when Enable key repeat setting is on.

5.7

Floating Window for On-Screen Keyboard There are two different windows that are used for bringing up the on-screen keyboard. The first window can be placed anywhere on the screen and used for showing and hiding the on-screen keyboard. The second window is shown as an icon next to the text cursor. If there is no text cursor on the screen, this icon is not shown. You can change the size of both windows, adjust their transparency and also make them disappear if the keyboard is displayed on the screen. Auto Hide - hide when the on-screen keyboard is visible and show when the keyboard is hidden. Show the floating icon for the on-screen keyboard next to the text cursor – the icon appears automatically when you tap the location on the screen where you want to insert text. To open the onscreen keyboard tap the floating icon. Some applications draw the text cursor in their own way and do not provide information about its position: Firefox, Google Chrome, OpenOffice, CorelDRAW, etc. In this case the floating icon will be hidden.

5.8

Word Autocomplete As you type each word, the program can provide you with a list of known words that begin with those characters. How Word Auto complete works Once you type enough valid characters to equal or exceed the Minimum Character Threshold, the word

Copyright (c) by Comfort Software Group

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Hot Virtual Keyboard

list is searched for all known words beginning with those characters. If any exist, the Word Autocomplete window will be displayed. If no word in the word list begins with the characters you've typed, no window will be displayed. Installing Dictionaries In order to use the Word Autocomplete feature, you will need files with extension dic (for example, "words.dic") in the folder "Data directory". Minimum character threshold – the number of characters of a word to type before the Word Autocomplete window is displayed. Number of displayed words – the number of displayed words in the Word Autocomplete window. Appearance delay (msec) - the delay between the moment the valid characters are typed and the moment the Word Autocomplete window appears. Add space after completed word - automatically types a space character after you've used word completion. This can be very handy in that you don't need to click on the Space key. You can right-click on the word when you don't need to add a space character. Show as a set of buttons next to the on-screen keyboard – if the on-screen is visible, display words as a set of buttons; otherwise as a vertical list. Auto Hide – hide the Word Autocomplete window if no words found. Show, Hide and Move with the On-Screen Keyboard – show like a part of the on-screen keyboard. Lock – prevent the Word Autocomplete window from moving. Show numbers – display shortcuts in the left side of the Word Autocomplete window. You can paste a word with a numeric key. Do not show words with 1 character remaining – do not show almost finished words.

Dictionaries Learn new words – save commonly used words in the file "custom.dic". Note: Words entered by users are recorded in UTF-8 format. Confirmation of the addition of words to the custom dictionary – show window with confirmation of adding new word to the file "custom.dic". Dictionaries - the dictionaries are ASCII files that may be edited directly. Read/Refresh word list - use this button after editing dictionary.

Tips and tricks You can remove the word directly from the autocompletion list by highlighting the unnecessary word and then pressing Delete key.

Copyright (c) by Comfort Software Group

Options

5.9

18

Language Bar

Visible – show the language bar. Lock the Language bar – prevent the language bar from moving. Show, Hide and Move with the On-Screen Keyboard – show like a part of the on-screen keyboard. Kind of the Language bar – Language Flag, Language Flag with a Name, Vertical List of Flags, Horizontal List of Flags, List of Flags with Names, Custom. Show label – display label "Switch the input language or layout" next to the language flag for the custom view. The size of the flag depends on the size of the language bar: 16x16 or 32x32. Transparency of the Language bar – transparency for language bar when it's not active. Note: You can control the language bar settings by using context menu.

5.10

Shortcut icons Application shortcut icons are shown on the on-screen keyboard and help to find the necessary shortcut. Show Windows icons, Show active application icons, Show Hot Virtual Keyboard icons – show the corresponding icons on the keyboard. Show hints – show the hints on the keyboard. Show information about the availability of application shortcuts – select this checkbox to see marks in the lower-left corners of keys on the on-screen keyboard about the availability of keyboard combinations with control keys: Green – with Ctrl. Yellow – with Ctrl+Shift. Blue – with Alt. Red – with Alt+Shift.

5.11

Dependencies Hot Virtual Keyboard changes the appearance of the keyboard and other settings depending on the currently active application. How it works If you switch to a specific application, Hot Virtual Keyboard will change the specified settings. When you switch back to the previous application, Hot Virtual Keyboard will restore the original settings. - don't change - turn off - turn on

Copyright (c) by Comfort Software Group

19

5.12

Hot Virtual Keyboard

Advanced Install Setup Wizard – start the initial configuration wizard. If you use it to configure keyboard shortcuts, all previously specified keyboard shortcuts will be preserved. Num Lock state – change the state of the NumLock key when Hot Virtual Keyboard is started. Save to File – saves all program settings to INI-file. Load from File – loads all program settings from INI-file. You can load settings from INI-file with a command line parameter /RESTORE.

6

Development How to show, close, fade or move the On-Screen Keyboard How to restrict access How to activate different keyboards FAQ for developers Command Line Parameters

6.1

How to show, close, fade or move the on-screen keyboard You can use Windows Messages to manipulate the on-screen keyboard. Like this: WM_CSKEYBOARD = WM_USER + 192; WM_CSKEYBOARDMOVE = WM_USER + 193; WM_CSKEYBOARDRESIZE = WM_USER + 197; // to show keyboard PostMessage(FindWindow('TFirstForm', 'hvkFirstForm'), WM_CSKEYBOARD, 1, 0); // to close keyboard PostMessage(FindWindow('TFirstForm', 'hvkFirstForm'), WM_CSKEYBOARD, 2, 0); // to fade keyboard PostMessage(FindWindow('TFirstForm', 'hvkFirstForm'), WM_CSKEYBOARD, 3, 0); // to toggle (show/hide) keyboard PostMessage(FindWindow('TFirstForm', 'hvkFirstForm'), WM_CSKEYBOARD, 4, 0); // to move keyboard (Left, Top - new position) PostMessage(FindWindow('TFirstForm', 'hvkFirstForm'), WM_CSKEYBOARDMOVE, Left, Top); // to resize keyboard PostMessage(FindWindow('TFirstForm', 'hvkFirstForm'), WM_CSKEYBOARDRESIZE, Width, Height);

Visual Basic Sample Code Private Const WM_CSKEYBOARD = WM_USER + 192 Private Const WM_CSKEYBOARDMOVE = WM_USER + 193 Private Const WM_CSKEYBOARDRESIZE = WM_USER + 197

Declare Function FindWindow Lib "user32" Alias "FindWindowA" (ByVal lpClassName As String, B 'Code to show keyboard Dim hWnd As Long hWnd = FindWindow("TFirstForm", "hvkFirstForm") Copyright (c) by Comfort Software Group

Development

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PostMessage hWnd, WM_CSKEYBOARD, 1, 0 'Code to close keyboard Dim hWnd As Long hWnd = FindWindow("TFirstForm", "hvkFirstForm") PostMessage hWnd, WM_CSKEYBOARD, 2, 0 'Code to move keyboard Dim hWnd As Long hWnd = FindWindow("TFirstForm", "hvkFirstForm") PostMessage hWnd, WM_CSKEYBOARDMOVE, 0, 0 'Code to resize keyboard Dim hWnd As Long hWnd = FindWindow("TFirstForm", "hvkFirstForm") PostMessage hWnd, WM_CSKEYBOARDMOVE, Width, Height

C# Sample Code using System; using System.Windows.Forms; using System.Runtime.InteropServices; public public public public

const const const const

Int32 Int32 Int32 Int32

WM_USER = 1024; WM_CSKEYBOARD = WM_USER + 192; WM_CSKEYBOARDMOVE = WM_USER + 193; WM_CSKEYBOARDRESIZE = WM_USER + 197;

[DllImport("user32.dll", EntryPoint = "FindWindow")] private static extern Int32 FindWindow(string _ClassName, string _WindowName);

[DllImport("User32.DLL")] public static extern Boolean PostMessage(Int32 hWnd, Int32 Msg, Int32 wParam, Int32 lParam);

Int32 hWnd = FindWindow("TFirstForm", "hvkFirstForm"); PostMessage(hWnd, WM_CSKEYBOARD, 1, 0 ); // Show PostMessage(hWnd, WM_CSKEYBOARD, 2, 0); // Hide PostMessage(hWnd, WM_CSKEYBOARDMOVE, 0, 0); // Move to 0, 0 PostMessage(hWnd, WM_CSKEYBOARDRESIZE, 600, 300); // Resize to 600, 300

Visual Basic 2008 (VB.NET) Sample Code Const WM_CSKEYBOARD = &H400 + 192 Const WM_CSKEYBOARDMOVE = &H400 + 193 Const WM_CSKEYBOARDRESIZE = &H400 + 197

Declare Function FindWindow Lib "user32" Alias "FindWindowA" (ByVal lpClassName As String, B Declare Function PostMessage Lib "user32" Alias "PostMessageA" (ByVal hwnd As Integer, ByVal

'Open/show the Hot Virtual Keyboard Private Sub Button1_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handle Dim hWnd As Integer hWnd = FindWindow("TFirstForm", "hvkFirstForm") PostMessage(hWnd, WM_CSKEYBOARD, 1, 0) End Sub

'Close the Hot Virtual Keyboard Private Sub Button2_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handle Dim hWnd As Integer hWnd = FindWindow("TFirstForm", "hvkFirstForm") PostMessage(hWnd, WM_CSKEYBOARD, 2, 0) End Sub

'Move the Hot Virtual Keyboard; Move it first then show it Private Sub Button3_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handle

Copyright (c) by Comfort Software Group

21

Hot Virtual Keyboard

Dim hWnd As Integer hWnd = FindWindow("TFirstForm", "hvkFirstForm") PostMessage(hWnd, WM_CSKEYBOARDMOVE, 200, 200) PostMessage(hWnd, WM_CSKEYBOARD, 1, 0) End Sub

'Toggle the Hot Virtual Keyboard Private Sub Button4_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handle Dim hWnd As Integer hWnd = FindWindow("TFirstForm", "hvkFirstForm") PostMessage(hWnd, WM_CSKEYBOARD, 4, 0) End Sub

'Fade the Hot Virtual Keyboard Private Sub Button5_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handle Dim hWnd As Integer hWnd = FindWindow("TFirstForm", "hvkFirstForm") PostMessage(hWnd, WM_CSKEYBOARD, 3, 0) End Sub

'Change the keyboard type and show it Private Sub Button6_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handle 'Change the Registry entry for the required keyboard My.Computer.Registry.SetValue("HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\ComfortSoftware\hvk", "Keyboar 'Open the keyboard Dim hWnd As Integer hWnd = FindWindow("TFirstForm", "hvkFirstForm") PostMessage(hWnd, WM_CSKEYBOARD, 1, 0) End Sub

'Change to another keyboard type and show it Private Sub Button7_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handle 'Change the Registry entry for the required keyboard My.Computer.Registry.SetValue("HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\ComfortSoftware\hvk", "Keyboar 'Open the keyboard Dim hWnd As Integer hWnd = FindWindow("TFirstForm", "hvkFirstForm") PostMessage(hWnd, WM_CSKEYBOARD, 1, 0) End Sub

C++ (CLR syntax) Sample Code using namespace System::Runtime::InteropServices; using namespace System::Security::Permissions; using namespace Microsoft::Win32; const System::UInt32 WM_USER = 1024; const System::UInt32 WM_CSKEYBOARD = WM_USER + 192; const System::UInt32 WM_CSKEYBOARDMOVE = WM_USER + 193;

[DllImport("user32.dll")] extern IntPtr FindWindow(String^ lpClassName, String^ lpWindowName); [DllImport("user32.dll")] extern IntPtr PostMessage(System::IntPtr hWnd, System::UInt32 Msg, int wParam, int lParam); [assembly:RegistryPermissionAttribute(SecurityAction::RequestMinimum, All = "HKEY_CURRENT_US

....blah blah blah you normal code...

void button1_Click(System::Object^ sender, System::EventArgs^ { // Open/show the Hot Virtual Keyboard IntPtr hWnd; hWnd = FindWindow("TFirstForm", "hvkFirstForm");

e)

Copyright (c) by Comfort Software Group

Development

PostMessage(hWnd, WM_CSKEYBOARD, 1, 0); } void button2_Click(System::Object^ sender, System::EventArgs^ { // close the Hot Virtual Keyboard IntPtr hWnd; hWnd = FindWindow("TFirstForm", "hvkFirstForm"); PostMessage(hWnd, WM_CSKEYBOARD, 2, 0); } void button3_Click(System::Object^ sender, System::EventArgs^ { //Move the Hot Virtual Keyboard; Move it first then show it IntPtr hWnd; hWnd = FindWindow("TFirstForm", "hvkFirstForm"); PostMessage(hWnd, WM_CSKEYBOARDMOVE, 200, 200); PostMessage(hWnd, WM_CSKEYBOARD, 1, 0); } void button4_Click(System::Object^ sender, System::EventArgs^ { //Toggle the Hot Virtual Keyboard IntPtr hWnd; hWnd = FindWindow("TFirstForm", "hvkFirstForm"); PostMessage(hWnd, WM_CSKEYBOARD, 4, 0); } void button5_Click(System::Object^ sender, System::EventArgs^ { //Fade the Hot Virtual Keyboard IntPtr hWnd; hWnd = FindWindow("TFirstForm", "hvkFirstForm"); PostMessage(hWnd, WM_CSKEYBOARD, 3, 0); } void button6_Click(System::Object^ sender, System::EventArgs^ { //Change the keyboard type and show it System::Object ^kname="NumPad";

22

e)

e)

e)

e)

e)

//Change the Registry entry for the required keyboard

RegistryKey ^key= Registry::CurrentUser->OpenSubKey ( "Software\\ComfortSoftware\\hvk",t key->SetValue("KeyboardName",kname); //Open the keyboard IntPtr hWnd; hWnd = FindWindow("TFirstForm", "hvkFirstForm"); PostMessage(hWnd, WM_CSKEYBOARD, 1, 0); }

Java Sample Code

/* * This file is heavily based on Jawin: