fingerworks mini keypad/mouse......

[Martin P]

fingerworks mini keyboard arrived today. all I can say is WOW this thing is amazing. It has taken me about 30 mins so far to get used to the ideas it uses, but it is really powerful with revit. i can zoom,pan,tab,undo,redo,save,scroll,copy,cut,paste within 30 mins of use all from the pad. (as well as typing and mousing obviously..) you can any number of hand gestures to do anythig you wish too. i will not be going back to keyboard and mouse ever again - highly recommend it, worth the money. I now have huge area infront of my desk for mark ups etc...... a note for revit developers, its a shame that i cant scroll in the properties etc dialogue boxes can we get that please

check it out here..

http://www.fingerworks.com/mini_product.html

(i copied and pasted thank link using hand gestures !)

[Andre Baros]

Are you using the mini-keyboard, or the mini-keypad? And are you using it alone or do you still have a mouse in the other hand.

[FK]

Whoa! Eagerly expecting a more detailed report.

[Martin P]

I have left the mouse at the side, but not for me just so others can use it. I am using the mini keyboard, the full blown keyboard was too much!! Today i have started to try add some of my own gestures for things like spin in 3D view.... still very happy using it, only concern i have is that the cable out of it is fixed - ie when i take it home the cable is attached and could become a lose connection point...

ctrl and shift for adding to selections take a little getting used to, but not too hard... as you cant press and hold shift and mouse with one hand. you have to hover obect and mouse click near the ctrl or shift, not a problem just different.

It is not so great to do lots of typing either, so i am keeping my keyboard handy for big typing exercises like specs etc...... the full keyboard would be fine I expect, the mini is one handed so is a bit slower, but not for 2 key commands though

I now have my voice command softare fully trained up too for use at home, now that really, really is quick!! The combo is amazing, I feel like I am Tom Cruise in Minority report

[gbrowne]

May the force be with you..!

[Wes Macaulay]

Martin, would it be possible for you to post a pic of your setup? ...and tell us more about the voice recognition thing too - that sounds compelling

[Scott Hopkins]

Martin, I am intrigued as well. What would really be cool would be a short 30 second video of you using your new equipment!

[Martin P]

I will try and get something on video to post, will have to think about how to get the screen in shot as well - is there any shareware or something that will record the PC screen as I work? I sould be able to splice the video of the PC screen and my hand and voice actions together with something too, can I do that with the video thing in XP?. There are 2 good videos of the pad being used on their site which only show a few of the things you can do.

for anyone intersted the voice control software is here. Anyone who wants to try it I can export out a file for you with all the Revit command already for you. All you will have to do is train it to your voice (simply say the word 3 times for each command) - I can give you the Keystrokes to work with it too - but get a good Microphone, I look like Madonna with mine on, but I dont care nobody sees me Hmmm... might keep my head out of shot in my Video clip I post LOL

www.gamecommander.com


Version 3 has a nice addition that will allow mouse actions as well as key clicks from one voice command - ie you could say "wall" and make the mouse move automatically over to the correct area to select a wall type. Another thing it has is a function that makes it only listen when pressing a certain key - ie you can tell it not to listen when you are talking on the phone or something. I have version 2, which works very well, but has not got these features - version 2 will run XP though they dont advertise this. The accuracy is about 95% right, much higher than voice typing, as it only searches the words that you put into it. For example if I say "wall" it doesnt have to look for ball, call, hall, etc etc - just "wall" it really is great fun to use. I have not added quit, save undo, redo, tab etc etc as I can do these instantly with gestures on my pad. - The Revit shortcut highway has been invaluable whilst programming in all the commands, it only took me about 1 and half hours to get almost all the commands in. I have now added the numbers 0 to 9 as well so I move my cursor left when in the move command and say "one, zero, zero" to move 100 to the left, I like this though it may be a little slower than typing but will save me hundreds of keystrokes. The real beauty of the whole setup is I very rarely have to look away from the drawing area. And saying "browser" switches that off and on - I would like to be able to make the drawing area the full screen with a voice commmand, that would be really good. There is no lag at all either, its instant - and best of all because it uses "F1" "F2" etc and keystrokes, I can go directly from say drawing lines to placing walls without coming out of commands - or moving my mouse or my even my eyes to the keyboard, I always pressed escape to come out of a command for some reason, I now dont do this. All I need now is the Revit developers to add a way to shortcut directly to a wall type as well - ie curtain walls, stacked walls, compound walls - (and then the types within those categories if that were possible)

Will try and get a video ASAP.

[Martin P]

Just found something else really good with the keypad - tabbing can go forward or back, so if you tab past the object you wanted you just slide your hand the opposite way and it tabs back steps...... Voice command software has me flying with Revit today too you have to try this!!

[Scott D Davis]

How loud do you have to speak into the microphone? You have the headset type, correct? I ask, because this sounds really appealing, except we are in an open office environment, and I've got 17 people, including my boss directly across from me, who are within an easy earshot. I'm afraid I would drive them crazy! "Wall, ten, 20 dash 2, window, door, trim...." all day long! If I could put the mic really close, and speak softly, I might be able to pull it off!

I was looking at the web page, and others have created command lists for Word, Pshop, explorer, etc. How do you switch from one app to the next?