Typing Methods - iOS V8.1 - VoiceOver

Standard, Touch and Direct Touch Typing Input Methods

I've only recently upgraded my iPad to iOS V8.1 so it's still too early for me to give the OS upgrade a thumbs up, thumbs down or a thumbs somewhere in between. However, what I've played around with so far feels generally useful, although my perception is that in day to day usage VoiceOver feels a bit more laggy at times than it did previously. I guess I'll find out if my perception there is accurate or just simply part of my ongoing psychology brought about by me being such a reluctant follower of upgrade culture! Anyway, there's a whole bunch of new things to explore in iOS V8.1 but today I want to talk about Typing Modes.

Traditionally, inputting characters when using VoiceOver has been achieved using one of two distinct approaches, these are:

1. Standard Typing:

   This method of typing into an edit space is the basic default mode and is probably the simplest to get used to. Inputting text in this mode allows you to take an approach that is very similar to basic navigation gestures. For example, with the keyboard on screen, I can swipe left and right to sequentially move through each QWERTY character. Then, when I have focus on the correct letter, I can double tap to activate.

   The much more common route with standard mode is what I call "finger sliding", this is when you keep your main pointer finger on the screen all the time and then use an adjacent finger to do the tapping. I use my middle finger as my pointer finger and then use either my index or ring finger to do the activating.

2. Touch Typing:

   This mode is pretty much a variation on the finger slide technique, the difference being that the second finger is not really required - you activate or confirm the letter by lifting your finger. For example, slide your finger over the on-screen keyboard and then, when you hear the character you require, you simply lift your finger off and the letter is input into the edit area.

   The touch typing mode is widely used by many of the VoiceOver users I know as, once you get a feel for the general layout it can be pretty swift in use.

Before I talk about the new third mode then, it might be worth recapping how we get to these modes and change them. All the magic happens via a control Apple call the rotor. It is called the rotor because, when you activate it with the appropriate gesture, a dial appears on screen and each "spoke" of the dial points to a different setting that you may want to change. With this in mind, let's run through the following steps:

Changing the Typing Mode

1. Open the Notes application for example and compose a new note. Check that your keyboard is on-screen.
2. Touch the screen with the point of your index (or middle) finger and keep it there as you use your middle (or ring) finger to sweep round in a circular clockwise (or anti-clockwise) manner. If you have the gesture right, you will hear some options as you move in degrees round the circle. The rotor gesture can be tricky and it might take several attempts until you can make out anything meaningful.
3. With the rotor active, keep going until you hear the Typing Method option. When you do, take your fingers off the screen.
4. Now use a one finger swipe up gesture to move to the first setting for Typing method.
5. Continue swiping until you hear the right setting. Note that in iOS V8.1 you will have three options to choose from while in earlier versions you only have the choice between standard typing and touch typing.

As I mentioned earlier the rotor can be a serious PITA but it is really worth persevering with and, once you get the hang of it, it's fairly intuitive to use. It's also configurable - but that's a story for another blog post!

Okay, let's wrap this up by talking about the new iOS V8.1 setting called: direct touch typing. This is arguably the trickiest of the bunch to use in my opinion as there are no guides or restrictions applied to the typing process. When you activate this mode you need to trust your instincts because you are typing as you would on a normal keyboard. Each character you press in the on-screen keyboard is input directly - no lifting or tapping a finger to confirm (as in the other modes) is required here. VoiceOver is very hands off in this mode, letting you get on with the business of inputting via the on-screen keyboard area.

So, if you are really confident on the general layout and spacing of the on-screen keyboard, enough so that you operate almost on instinct, then you may find this is the swiftest mode of them all. For the rest of us - and I include myself here - I see it as a learning experience...

And on that note - have fun!

Looking for more information about VoiceOver on the Apple platform? Then please visit:

www.applevis.com

The official Apple support pages can be found here on Apple UK:

www.apple.com/uk/support