ftp.trace.wisc.edu/ftp.trace.wisc.edu.zip/ftp.trace.wisc.edu/macskey/readme.txt

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                    Macintosh SerialKeys



I.  Introduction to SerialKeys



Some people cannot use the keyboard and mouse at all due to

a physical impairment, and must use some specially designed

input device (e.g. an augmentative or alternative

communication [AAC] device) while accessing a computer.

Many AAC devices are capable of connecting to a computer's

serial port (the connector labeled "modem", typically on the

rear of your Macintosh).  However, the computer is designed

to receive input from the user via the keyboard and mouse,

not through the serial port.  Therefore, simply connecting

an AAC device to the computer's serial port will not allow

the user to operate the computer.



The Macintosh SerialKeys software is designed to allow the

AAC device to communicate to the computer through a serial

port, and changes that information into keyboard or mouse

events, just as if the user were typing on the keyboard or

using the mouse.  Macintosh SerialKeys follows the

connection and communication protocol outlined in the

General Input Device Emulating Interface (GIDEI) Proposal.

Please contact the Trace R&D Center if you would like more

information regarding the GIDEI.  Note, the last page of

this introductory memo has a list of "Key Names for the

Enhanced Apple Keyboard" which SerialKeys for the Macintosh

supports.



II.  Setting up SerialKeys on your Macintosh



The following instructions listed in steps 1 through 8, tell

you how to set up SerialKeys for the Macintosh with an AAC

device.  These instructions do not tell you how to program

your AAC device.



     Step 1:  Determine if your AAC device will work with

SerialKeys



The following questions should help you determine if your

AAC device is capable of accessing the computer via

SerialKeys.



1)   Can you program selections on your AAC device to have

unique words and sentences stored under them?



2)   Can your AAC device store at least as many programmable

selections as there are keys on your computer keyboard,

while also saving a few programmable selections for mouse

actions?  Remember, the AAC device user will want to operate

the computer just as if they were using the keyboard and

mouse, and therefore will need all the capability of the

keyboard and mouse.



3)   Does your AAC device have a serial port?  This is the

connection sometimes used to hook up a printer and maybe

called an RS-232 serial port in your device user manual.



4)   Can you program selections on the AAC device such that

when they are selected, they will automatically be sent out

the serial port?



5)   Does your Macintosh computer have an available serial

port (e.g., modem or printer port)?   If you are using some

other device on your Macintosh modem or printer port,

SerialKeys will not be able to operate.  Please note,

internal modems use the modem or serial port drivers on the

Macintosh, making the port un-usable for SerialKeys while

AppleTalk tends to make use of and tie up the printer port.

Also note, while SerialKeys allows you to use the printer

port, the Macintosh computer itself may not fully support

the higher baud rates.  Therefore, if you are loosing

characters while using the printer port, you may be forced

to either lower your baud rate or send shorter character

strings.



6)   Can your AAC device send information through its serial

port at the rate of at least 300 baud?  (The term "baud"

refers to the speed at which characters are transmitted.)

SerialKeys for the Macintosh can "talk to" an AAC device

that is sending information at 300, 600, 1200, 2400, 4800,

9600, or 19200 baud, provided it is supported by the

Macintosh computer you are connecting to.



     Step 2:  Connect the AAC device to your computer



Plug one end of a serial cable into the serial port on your

AAC device and the other end into the serial (e.g., modem or

printer) port on your Macintosh computer.  Most AAC devices

will require a special serial cable known as a NULL serial

cable for attaching to the Macintosh.  (Example cable can be

purchased from PC/MAC Connection [phone], #1096, AB

MAC+PC, 6 feet)



     Step 3:  Configure the AAC device for serial

transmission



Your AAC device and SerialKeys must be talking to each other

at the same speed (baud) for them to initiate communication.

We recommend choosing a speed of 300 baud to get started.

You must also make sure your AAC device is configured

correctly.  It must be communicating with the following

format:



- 1 start bit

- 8 data bits

- 1 stop bit

- no parity.



     Step 4:  Install SerialKeys onto your Macintosh hard

drive.



The Beta version of Macintosh SerialKeys you've just

received on disk, can be installed onto your Macintosh hard

drive by using standard Macintosh click and drag or "copy"

procedures (e.g., there is no fancy installation routine).

The diskette contains four files, besides this readme file,

one titled "serialkeys", another titled System7.0-NOTICE,

another titled "modem.skeys" and the last titled

"printer.skeys".



The Macintosh SerialKeys program is actually the file

"serialkeys."  However, double-clicking the mouse on either

the "modem.skeys" or "printer.skeys" file will launch the

"serialkeys" program with some default settings, which you

may want to use after you have experimented with the

program, or you can create your own default or user files.



If you want Serialkeys to be active when you first power on

your Macintosh, drag the file "serialkeys" to the StartUp

Items folder inside of your System 7.x folder and restart

your Macintosh.



If you do not want Serialkeys to run when your first turn

your Macintosh on, you can copy the files to any folder or

area on your hard disk that you wish to store them.  The

program can be launched by either double clicking on the

Serialkeys icon, or on one of the two supplied data files

(e.g., modem.skeys and printer.skeys), or on any other data

file you create while running Serialkeys.  If Serialkeys is

already running, double clicking on a Serialkeys data file

will load the data in that data file.  If Serialkeys is not

running, double clicking on a data file will launch

Serialkeys and use that data file's data.  If Serialkeys

cannot run on your computer, it will supply you with an

error message(s).  Please inform us of this condition.



When Serialkeys does launch, assuming it encounters no

difficulty, it will display a small window in the upper left

corner of your Macintosh screen with a window name of

"Serial Port Window".  When ever Serialkeys is the active

on-top application, this small window will appear, allowing

the user to test their serial connection.  If the user has a

serial connection, and they are sending characters at the

proper baud, the characters being sent should be appearing

in the small serialkeys window.  If the characters are not

appearing in the serialkeys window, then something is wrong

with the AAC device, cable, connection, etc.  If you cannot

get characters to appear in the serialkeys window, do not

attempt to operate the Macintosh, since your connection is

not correct, and you need to stop and examine your AAC

device, connection, cable, etc., prior to proceeding.  If

you are sending characters from your AAC device and they are

appearing correctly (what you send is visible), Serialkeys

is operating properly and you may then navigate around the

Macintosh desktop in what ever fashion you choose, keyboard,

mouse, etc., and launch and use other applications just as

if you were typing on the Macintosh keyboard or using the

Macintosh mouse.



The Serialkeys program has only 3 menus, "File, Edit, and

Serial Setup".  Under the "File" menu, you have the ability

to "Open, Save, and Save As..." files and "Quit" the

program.  Typically, you would "Open" a file you've created

using the SerialKeys program, which contains pre-stored

parameters like the baud you wish to communicate at, and any

"anchor" locations you wish to use with your mouse (see

later section on mouse "anchor").  There are no user options

for Serialkeys under the "Edit" menu.  Under the "Serial

Setup" menu, the user can manually select a port and baud

change.  If the user does select to manually change the

baud, they must remember to also change the sending baud on

their AAC device to match the Serialkeys program.



     Step 5:  Programming keys and mouse actions on your AAC

device



There are four types of SerialKeys actions you can program

into any selection (position) on your AAC device:



1)   basic keys,

2)   special keys,

3)   modifier keys,

4)   mouse movements.



     Typing basic keys



Each key on your computer keyboard is given a key name (see

later section for key names which are longer than a single

character), and it is this key name that you must program

into your AAC device if you want to be able to type that

key. Key names which consist of a single character are

called "basic keys."



` 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 - =

   q w e r t y u i o p [ ] \

    a s d f g h j k l ; '

     z x c v b n m , . /



To type one of these keys, you just send the character out

the serial port of the AAC device.  For example, to type the

word "hello", you simply select the "h" key name, the "e"

key name, the "l" key name, another "l" key name, and

finally an "o" key name.  Most AAC devices have all of these

single character key names pre-programmed into them, so

there is no additional programming for you to do for these

keys.



     Step 6:  Typing special keys



If you look at the computer keyboard, you will find that

there are many keys that do not have single character key

names; for example, the arrow keys and the "num lock" and

"return" keys.  We call these keys "special keys", since you

have to do something special or different if you want to

type them using your AAC device.



To type special keys, you must program a string of

characters, called an escape sequence, into a single

selection on your AAC device.  The reason this string of

characters is called an "escape sequence", is because the

string begins with the escape character.  The escape

character is a special character, created differently on the

various AAC devices.  For some AAC devices, the escape

character can be created by selecting the control function

along with the left bracket (^[) while on other AAC devices,

the escape character is part of a special programming

overlay. For the remainder of this introductory memo, we

will refer to the escape character like this, <esc>.

Remember, this  is just a single character.



An escape sequence follows two rules:



1)   The escape sequence must begin with the <esc>

character.

2)   The escape sequence must end with a period <.>

character.



For example, to type the "return" key, the escape sequence

would be:



     <esc> return .



The escape character comes first <esc>, followed by the key

name for the key that you want to press, followed by a

period <.>.  All the key names listed at the end of this

document (with the exception of the four keys talked about

in the next section) would be typed using this same method.



     <esc> key name .



     Step 7:  Typing Modifier Keys (Shift, Control, Option,

and Command)



There are four special keys on the Macintosh computer

keyboard, the Shift, Control, Option, and Command keys,

which have to be typed differently from the other special

keys.  These four keys are called "modifier" keys, since

they don't do anything themselves, but modify the action of

another key.  On the keyboard, a user presses and holds

pressed a modifier key while another key (e.g. the key to be

modified) is pressed.  For example, if the Shift is pressed

and held down while the user types an "a" key, the result

will be turned into a capital "A."  SerialKeys imitates or

emulates this action by adding a command called "hold" to

the escape sequence you've just read about above.  For

example, the escape sequence you have to store or type on

your AAC device in order to use a modifier key is as

follows:



1)   escape character <esc>

2)   a comma <,>

3)   the word hold

4)   a comma <,>

5)   the name for the modifier key

6)   a period <.>



Now, the next key typed would be "modified", just as if the

user was typing on the keyboard and holding down the

modifier key or Shift key as in our example above.



Example: (shift or "modifier" key escape sequence)



     <esc> , hold , shift .



     would be programmed into a selection.  Now selecting an

"a" on the AAC device after selecting the above shift escape

sequence would result in a capital "A" being typed at the

computer via SerialKeys.  All four Macintosh modifier keys

(e.g., Shift, Control, Option, and Command keys,) should be

stored on your AAC device in this fashion.



     Step 8:  Moving and clicking the mouse (mouse escape

sequences)



All mouse activity is done through the use of escape

sequences which contain specific mouse commands.  One of the

first commands you should use, before you do any mouse

functions through SerialKeys, is the mouse reset (e.g.

moureset) command.  You should send a "moureset" command

whenever you start up an application program.  After this

command is sent from your AAC device, the mouse cursor

should move to the upper left hand corner of the screen.

This command should also release any "locked" mouse buttons.



***** Note, you need to open the "Mouse Control Panel" and

choose "tablet" mode (e.g., Very Slow), to prevent any mouse

acceleration when you are doing mouse movements using

SerialKeys. *****



Example:

     <esc> , moureset .



     Saving mouse cursor locations on the screen



The mouse "anchor" command can be used after the user has

identified locations on the screen that they wish to return

to on a frequent basis.  An example might be the Macintosh

"File" menu, the MultiFinder icon, or perhaps the "trash"

icon.  The user can save 26 separate anchor locations in

each user file they create, each anchor locations being

identified by a single lowercase alphabetic letter.  To use

the anchor command, position the mouse cursor on the

computer screen where you would like to label an anchor, and

then issue the anchor command followed by a single letter

name.  Use the mouse "goto" command when you wish to return

to your previously saved anchor locations.



Example:

     - first, move the mouse cursor to the desired location

     - next, issue an anchor escape sequence command, <esc>

, anchor .

     - next, select a lower case letter to represent this

location

     - example, an "a" now becomes the label of the current

location

          of the mouse cursor

     - to return to the anchor location labeled "a", issue a

goto

          escape sequence command, <esc> , goto .

     - next, select the location label, in this example it

was "a" and         the mouse cursor should return to the

location which was

          previously identified and stored as label "a"



You can only have 26 anchor points stored in each user file.

However, Serialkeys does allow the user to create and save

separate user files, each containing the current baud, port,

and defined anchor points.  Therefore, a user could create

and save 26 anchors per each application they wish to use,

and load the respective file as they run each application.



     Moving the mouse



You can move the mouse cursor by sending a "move" command

from your AAC device to the computer.  The move command

takes two numbers after it, the motion in the horizontal

direction followed by the motion in the vertical direction.

There must be either a plus (+) or a minus (-) sign before

each number, unless the number is a zero.  Positive numbers

move the mouse cursor to the right or down.  Negative

numbers move the mouse cursor left or up.   For example, the

escape sequence you have to store or type on your AAC device

in order to move the mouse using the "move" command follows:



1)   the escape character <esc>

2)   a comma <,>

3)   the word move

4)   a comma <,>

5)   a plus or minus sign followed by a number (for

horizontal movement)

6)   a comma <,>

7)   a plus or minus sign followed by a number (for vertical

movement)

8    a period <.>



Example:

     <esc> , move , +10 , -20 .



Another command you can use to move the mouse cursor is the

mouse "goto" command.  The mouse "goto" command has two

uses.  First, the mouse "goto" command is used to move the

mouse cursor to a specific location on the screen.



Example A:

     <esc> , goto , 20 , 25 .   causes the mouse cursor to

goto screen location 20 units in the horizontal and 25 units

in the vertical, usually in relationship to the position

zero on the screen, which is the upper left hand corner.



A second use of the mouse "goto" command is when you wish to

return the mouse cursor to a screen location the user saved

previously with the mouse "anchor" command. (see "anchor"

command example above)



Example B:

     <esc> , goto .

     the next single lowercase character is the name of the

previously saved screen location (see mouse "anchor" command

above).



     Clicking the mouse button



To click or double click a button on the mouse, you use the

"click" and "dblclick" commands.



Example:

     <esc> , click  .

     <esc> , dblclick .



     Clicking and dragging with the mouse



SerialKeys lets you do the equivalent of holding the mouse

button down while moving the mouse.  This is done using the

"moulock" (mouse lock) and "mourel" (mouse release)

commands, together with  a mouse movement (e.g. move, goto)

command.  If, for example, you want to select text in a word

processing program that uses the mouse, you would:



1)   Move the mouse to the beginning of the text you want to

select.

2)   To press and keep a mouse button down, use the

"moulock" command.



Example:

     <esc> , moulock .



3)   Move the mouse to the end of the text you want to

select, which in most word processors "high-lites" the text

for cut-and-paste actions.

4)   To release the mouse button, use the "mourel" command.



Example:

     <esc> , mourel .



Additional SerialKeys commands



     Lock and Release of Keyboard Keys (Keyboard Commands)



The keyboard "lock" and "rel" commands can be used to hold a

key down and lift it back up again as separate actions.  Its

primary usefulness is to allow SerialKeys, in combination

with MouseKeys, to provide the AAC device user a method for

continuous mouse cursor motion.



1)  Turn on Easy Access MouseKeys

     (******Note:  Easy Access MouseKeys has to be turned on

before Macintosh SerialKeys is activated for this feature to

work.)******

2)  Decide which direction you want to move the mouse cursor

and find out what keypad key moves the mouse in that

direction in Easy Access MouseKeys.

3)  Send a lock command with that key name. For example, to

move the mouse cursor to the right, use:

     <esc> , lock , kp6 .

4)  When the mouse cursor has moved as far as you want in

that direction, send the release command.



     <esc> , rel .



     Baudrate Command (Miscellaneous Commands)



The baudrate command allows you to change the baud of

SerialKeys from your AAC device.  The possible bauds are

300, 600, 1200, 2400, 4800, 9600, and 19200.



Example:

     <esc> , baudrate , 9600 .



Additional Macintosh SerialKeys ONLY feature(s)

(experimental)



     The Macintosh Operating System 7 or newer, supports the

capability to switch between active processes that are

running on the computer desktop.  For this discussion, each

process can be thought of as an application (e.g. SerialKeys

would be one process or application, MultiFinder another,

etc.) and the active process is defined as the process or

application on top, receiving keystrokes.  For evaluation

purposes, the ability of an AAC user to quickly switch

between active processes may assist them greatly in their

ability to efficiently operate the Macintosh.  (For example,

from the AAC device having the option of using the keyboard

to switch from a word processor to a mail program and back,

instead of having to move the mouse to each application and

click, or having to open MultiFinder and choose one or the

other application using the mouse.)  Therefore, as an

experiment, this beta version of Macintosh SerialKeys (e.g.,

v0.93, Nov. 1995) has the ability to switch between

processes if the "option + escape" keys are detected.  The

"option + escape" means to hold the option key pressed while

also pressing the escape key.  This only functions for keys

received via SerialKeys (e.g., keys sent from the AAC

device), not the standard keyboard.



To achieve this using an AAC device, the best method would

be to have the "option" key pre-programmed as a special or

modifier key as explained above in Step 7 (e.g., <esc> ,

hold , option .).  If the user then selects the "option"

key, followed by the escape key (e.g. <esc> escape.), the

process switch would be activated.  For those AAC users

switching between a PC running Windows, and the Macintosh,

the task switching sequence used in Windows (e.g., alternate

+ escape) should also work for process switching on the

Macintosh, since the alternate key on a PC keyboard

translates to the "option" key on the Macintosh Extended

Keyboard.  Therefore, users in this situation should not

have to re-program their AAC devices.



Please note, that switching through the desktop (e.g., the

Operating System and MultiFinder) requires that the "option

+ escape" sequence be pressed twice.  Also note, that if

only the Operating System, MultiFinder and SerialKeys are

running, the process switching may not appear to function,

since there is little to distinguish the Operating System

from MultiFinder and SerialKeys prefers to remain a

background application.  Also note, that applications such

as control panels, desk accessories, etc., may not be

considered separate processes.  In limited testing, the best

results occur when other applications such as a mail

program, a word processor, etc. are running.



Users and testers should note that this feature is not part

of the GIDEI Standard, which is mentioned in Part I,

Introduction to SerialKeys, above.  Also, since this

capability tends to go against the normal Macintosh User

Interface, any feedback regarding this experimental feature

is welcome and encouraged.







Contact Information



     Mark Novak                    [phone]

     Trace R&D Center              [phone] (fax)

     1500 Highland Avenue          [phone] (tdd)

     Madison, WI  53705-2280       [e-mail]

A



alt

apostrophe



B



backslash

backspace

bslash

bspace



C



capslk

capslock

clear

cmd

comma

command

control

copy

ctrl

cut



D



del

delete

divide

dn

down



E



eight

end

enter

equal

esc

escape



F



f1

f10

f11

f12

f13

f14

f15

f2

f3

f4

f5

f6

f7

f8

f9

five

four



G



grave



H



help

home

hyphen



I



ins

insert



K



kp*

kp+

kp-

kp/

kp0

kp1

kp2

kp3

kp4

kp5

kp6

kp7

kp8

kp9

kp=

kpdel

kpdelete

kpdivide

kpdn

kpdown

kpdp

kpend

kpenter

kpequal

kphome

kpins

kpinsert

kpleft

kpmidl

kpminus

kpperiod

kppgdn

kppgup

kpplus

kpright

kpslash

kpstar

kptimes

kpup



L



lalt

lbracket

lcmd

lcommand

lcontrol

lctrl

left

lopenapple

loption

lshift



M



minus

multiply



N



nine

numlk

numlock



O



one

openapple

option



P

pagedown

pageup

paste

pause

period

pgdn

pgup

print

printscreen

prtscr



R



ralt

rbracket

rcmd

rcommand

rcontrol

rctrl

reset

ret

return

right

ropenapple

roption

rshift



S



scroll

scrolllock

semicolon

seven

shift

six

slash

space



T



tab

three

two



U



undo

up



Z



zero





  Macintosh key names (partial list, from GIDEI2 Proposal)