Title: Typing faster with assistive technology | |
Author: Solène | |
Date: 16 October 2021 | |
Tags: accessibility a11y | |
Description: Presentation of ibus-typing-booster, a program to | |
suggestion completion while writing | |
# Introduction | |
This article is being written only using my left hand with the help of | |
ibus-typing-booster program. | |
ibus-typing-booster project | |
The purpose of this tool is to assist the user by proposing words while | |
typing, a bit like smartphones do. It can be trained with a | |
dictionary, a text file but also learn from user inputs over time. | |
A package for OpenBSD is on the tracks. | |
# Installation | |
This program requires ibus to work, on Gnome it is already enabled but | |
in other environments some configuration are required. Because this | |
may be subject to change over time and duplicating information is bad, | |
I'll give the links for configuring ibus-typing-booster. | |
How to enable ibus-typing-booster | |
# How to use | |
Once you have setup ibus and ibus-typing-booster you should be able to | |
switch from normal input to assisted input using "super"+space. | |
When you type with ibus-typing-booster enabled, with default settings, | |
the input should be underlined to show a suggestion can be triggered | |
using TAB key. Then, from a popup window you can pick a word by using | |
TAB to cycle between the suggestions and pressing space to validate, or | |
use the F key matching your choice number (F1 for first, F2 for second | |
etc...) and that's all. | |
# Configuration | |
There are many ways to configure it, suggestions can be done inline | |
while typing which I think is more helpful when you type slowly and you | |
want a quick boost when the suggestion is correct. The suggestions | |
popup can be vertical or horizontal, I personally prefer horizontal | |
which is not the default. Colors and key bindings can changed. | |
# Performance | |
While I type very fast when I have both my hands, using one hand | |
requires me to look the keyboard and make a lot of moves with my hand. | |
This work fine and I can type reasonably fast but this is extremely | |
exhausting and painful for my hand. With ibus-typing-booster I can | |
type full sentences with less efforts but a bit slower. However this | |
is a lot more comfortable than typing everything using my hand. | |
# Conclusion | |
This is an assistive technology easy to setup and that can be a life | |
changer for disabled users who can make use of it. | |
This is not the first time I'm temporarily disabled in regards to using | |
a keyboard, I previously tried a mirrored keyboard layout reverting | |
keys when pressing caps lock, and also Dasher which allow to make words | |
from simple movements such as moving mouse cursor. I find this ibus | |
plugin to be easier to integrate for the brain because I just type with | |
my keyboard in the programs, with Dasher I need to cut and paste | |
content, and with mirrored layout I need to focus on the layout change. | |
I am very happy of it. |