ECTkeyboard Quick Start

Configuring ECTkeyboard quickly

After setting up ECTCamera and ECTtracker it is now necessary to set up the receiver application – a matrix of letters.

To increase user comfort it is recommended to set up timers of vertical (Column cycling delay time – parameter #35) and horizontal movement (Row cycling delay time – parameter #36). Parameter #37 (Minimum holding time) is responsible for delay time when selecting any element of the matrix. Parameter #38 (Maximum holding time) – for the total time before cancelling the selection. (see Fig. 24). During usage of the matrix of letters, patients start to type text faster and it may be necessary to eventually decrease delay times.

Setting timings and delays of the software (Fig. 24. Setting timings and delays of the software)

To begin using the software, the user has to select one of the modes (see Fig. 25).

Selecting working mode for ECTkeyboard (Fig. 25. Selecting working mode for ECTkeyboard)

Available modes: 0 – virtual keyboard mode; 1/1B – highlighting rows or columns, 2/2B – sequential scan of symbols; 3 – separation mode; 4 – coordinate mode.

The user can also select a different language table or color scheme.

To change the language of symbols the user will need to load a file with a symbol table. To do so, the settings panel of ECTkeyboard must be opened by selecting SettingsShow Settings Form item of the menu, or by pressing the F3 button. The user will then need to enter a symbol table file name into the line #9 (see Fig. 26). By default the software uses Keys-En.txt file.

To save all parameters changes, ActionSet Current item of the menu and save new settings will need to be selected. The user can also select Save to File item of the menu to save all settings into the file for future use, or for copying to different computers. Reset to Default item of the menu allows the user to remove all changes and restore default settings of the software.

Selecting file with the symbol table for the matrix of letters (Fig. 26. Selecting file with the symbol table for the matrix of letters)

It is then necessary to select the amount of buttons per row (parameter #1 – Number of buttons per row) and per column (parameter #2 – Number of buttons per column). Space between rows can be set with parameter #5 – Space between rows, and space between columns with parameter #6 – Space between columns. Size of the button border can be determined with parameter #7 – Size of button border in pixels (see Fig. 27).

Changing amount of buttons per row and column and space size between buttons (Fig. 27. Changing amount of buttons per row and column and space size between buttons)

After that it is then possible to select the button border color of the matrix (parameter Button border color), button surface color (parameter Button Surface color), button text color (parameter Button text color), font size on the button (parameter Font size of button text), and keyboard background color (parameter Keyboard background color). These parameters are grouped in the settings panel: for inactive keys (Keyboard 0 – parameters #11-15), active keys (Keyboard 1 – parameters #17-21), keys for selecting an element (Keyboard 2 – parameters #23-27) and keys for cancelling the previous selection (Keyboard 3 – parameters #29-33) (see Fig. 28).

To increase user comfort, selected colors are displayed in the right part of the field, which allows the convenience of different color schemes.

Changing font size and color scheme of the matrix (Fig. 28. Changing font size and color scheme of the matrix)

If it is necessary to change the font of the buttons, this can be done manually by entering the font name into the field #8 – Button font name (see Fig. 29).

Changing font on buttons (Fig. 29. Changing font on buttons)

By default, the selection of symbols in the matrix can be done by pressing the following buttons on the keyboard: Enter (key code – 13); Space (key code – 32); S (key code - 83); "Down" arrow (key code – 40). If the user wants to add different keys for symbol selection, this can be added to parameter #32 of the settings panel – Button selection hot keys, separating them with "#" symbol (see. Fig. 30).

Adding key codes for symbol selection (Fig. 30. Adding key codes for symbol selection)

The ECTkeyboard progress bar has several settings: Progress bar select – progress bar filling during selection (parameters #51-56) and Progress bar reject – progress bar filling during cancelation of the selection (parameters #57-62).

Each group contains several settings: Color of unfilled bar; Color of filled bar; Label font color; Name of font label; Size of font label. The user can also select the direction of the progress bars filling (Bar Direction): 0 – right to left; 1 – left to right; 2 – downwards; 3 – upwards. (see Fig. 31).

Setting progress bar appearance (Fig. 31. Setting progress bar appearance)

Additionally, the user can select font name (Name of output form font – parameter #48) and font size (Size of output form font – parameter #49) for the program output form (see Fig. 32).

Selecting font name and size for the output form (Fig. 32. Selecting font name and size for the output form)

These are the main setting of the ECTkeyboard software. You can find a detailed description of all parameters and settings in the user’s manual for ECTkeyboard.

EyeComTec Assistive Communication complex ECTCamera + ECTtracker + ECTkeyboard is now ready to work!