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Below is a visual example of a modified virtual keyboard for Virt-a-mate in VR mode, which, in my opinion, is more convenient, efficient, and faster to type on than the current implementation. I've described and justified each change and addition for clarity.
General visual representation of keys and symbols on them.
Suggested additional functionality:
1) Ability to type the upper symbol by quickly double-clicking on its key (regardless of the CAPS toggle state) - this will significantly expand the number of initially available characters without increasing the number of keys or the keyboard size.
2) Ability to type any letter in uppercase by quickly double-clicking on its key when toggle CAPS is off, and in lowercase by the same action when toggle CAPS is on - this will free the user from the need to switch to CAPS and back for each uppercase/lowercase letter, thereby increasing the speed and convenience of typing.
3) Cancel button closes the keyboard and discards all changes made by the user during editing, returning the text to its original state - this allows user to edit texts (especially long ones) without fear of irreparably distort it. Perhaps, to avoid misclicks, it should only be triggered by a quick double-click.
Proposed changes:
1) The text pn button with the "↵" symbol has been replaced with the "Enter" - this was done for better clarity, so as not to overlap with "⌫" key and to be in sync with the text of the "Cancel" button.
2) Narrow the Spacee bar down to 3 keys instead of 5 - this is done to make more efficient use of valuable space, as in my opinion the Space bar in its current form is unnecessarily wide.
3) Use the short dash symbol on the button to the left of the Spacee bar, rather than the minus sign (they are visually almost identical, but is different Unicode symbols) - this will allow user to write text more correctly in terms of punctuation.
It's crucial to pay attention to the placement and content of the keys adjacent to the Space bar. When completing a sentence, this allows user to type using the "Type - LineBreak - Space - One of the Sentence Ending Characters - Enter" method, without wasting time moving the pointer around the keyboard. Placing the comma, bracket, short dash and colon next to the Space bar also speeds up typing and reduces the number of unnecessary pointer movements.
I also anticipate the obvious question: why is there ":" but not ";"? I believe it is used too rarely by most people and therefore unnecessary, as well as other symbols are much more in demand and we simply don't have room for it.
All of the above can be (and I will be glad if it will) taken into account when developing a virtual VR keyboard for VAM 2.0, if the community and the developer consider this been useful.
General visual representation of keys and symbols on them.
Suggested additional functionality:
1) Ability to type the upper symbol by quickly double-clicking on its key (regardless of the CAPS toggle state) - this will significantly expand the number of initially available characters without increasing the number of keys or the keyboard size.
2) Ability to type any letter in uppercase by quickly double-clicking on its key when toggle CAPS is off, and in lowercase by the same action when toggle CAPS is on - this will free the user from the need to switch to CAPS and back for each uppercase/lowercase letter, thereby increasing the speed and convenience of typing.
3) Cancel button closes the keyboard and discards all changes made by the user during editing, returning the text to its original state - this allows user to edit texts (especially long ones) without fear of irreparably distort it. Perhaps, to avoid misclicks, it should only be triggered by a quick double-click.
Proposed changes:
1) The text pn button with the "↵" symbol has been replaced with the "Enter" - this was done for better clarity, so as not to overlap with "⌫" key and to be in sync with the text of the "Cancel" button.
2) Narrow the Spacee bar down to 3 keys instead of 5 - this is done to make more efficient use of valuable space, as in my opinion the Space bar in its current form is unnecessarily wide.
3) Use the short dash symbol on the button to the left of the Spacee bar, rather than the minus sign (they are visually almost identical, but is different Unicode symbols) - this will allow user to write text more correctly in terms of punctuation.
It's crucial to pay attention to the placement and content of the keys adjacent to the Space bar. When completing a sentence, this allows user to type using the "Type - LineBreak - Space - One of the Sentence Ending Characters - Enter" method, without wasting time moving the pointer around the keyboard. Placing the comma, bracket, short dash and colon next to the Space bar also speeds up typing and reduces the number of unnecessary pointer movements.
I also anticipate the obvious question: why is there ":" but not ";"? I believe it is used too rarely by most people and therefore unnecessary, as well as other symbols are much more in demand and we simply don't have room for it.
All of the above can be (and I will be glad if it will) taken into account when developing a virtual VR keyboard for VAM 2.0, if the community and the developer consider this been useful.
