What you describe with the Shift-Number key combinations, simply doesn't
sound like a manufacturer problem. To me, like to a couple of others who
already have responded, it sounds more likely, that your Windows had been
set up for a different keyboard layout. This, you can choose under the
control panel, on any Windows flavor. On my current system, for one thing, I
have Windows set up to run two different keyboard layouts. One for English,
and one for my local language.
To explain just a bit of the root of the trouble here experienced, let me do
it this way. In English, you have 26 characters in your alphabet. In
Scandinavia, they have 29, although Norway and Denmark have the same three
extra characters - whilst Swedish has three similar characters, but slightly
different in the look. Then there is a handful of specialized characters in
German, and French people have their handful. We haven't mentioned
Icelandic - which I do hold have something like 31 characters in their
alphabet. And, if you happen to speak Spanish, you would be dizy to know
about all the accentuated characters they are dealing with. Well, don't let
us even touch the different languages of Asia.
For a strict English user, none of these characters would make any sense.
Neither will you want them to interfere with your writing. When I switch to
my local keyboard layout, the three keys you normally will use for the
symbols Semi-Colon, Apostrophe and Left-Bracket - are all turned into local
or national letters. Why do they do this? Well, first of all, there is no
other way of reaching these characters, but to have them on some keys on the
keyboard. And, the nature of the touch-typing system, is that the most
commonly used characters of a language, should be right at your fingertips.
Meaning, that you shouldn't have to make finger-breaking key-combinations,
so as to type the alpha-numerics of your language. This means, that with my
local layout activated, I can reach the three extra national characters,
with my right-hand little-finger. Convenient for me; totally useless for
you.
Microsoft, who delivers Windows in a number of localized versions, has
realized the need for this kind of keyboard localization. And, due to the
fact, that people may want to run their Windows in one language mainly, yet
have the capability to switch to another language and keyboard layout at
random, the functionality has been built-in with all versions of Windows. My
guess is, that even if you ordered a computer in the USA, and it was all set
up in English, it still could be prepared for things like Spanish or
French - due to both these languages commonly being used even in
North-America. Have a trip just cross that boarder in the North, and get
yourself a day in Canada. You will immediately be presented with the
challenges of no less than TWO officially recognized languages: English and
French. Specially so, in the case you are travelling in the Eastern part of
the country. The main point here though is, that likely your computer came
all prepared to handle a few different keyboard layouts. By standard, you
switch between each keyboard layout, with a hotkey, which works as a rotor
between all the keyboard layouts you have defined. The key-combination for
the rotor, is the Control- and Shift-keys pressed and released
simultaneously, without any other keys involved. A nice thing about the
newer versions of WE in this regard, is that it even announces which
keyboard layout is active at any time, when you hit that hotkey.
Even if your laptop came with everything set up in English, chances are that
you somehow have hit the hotkey by accident, and thereby switched the
keyboard layout. And, if you now called tech support for the computer,
chances are pretty high, that the tech person you spoke to, would have no
real clue about the problem. That is, unless he normally are doing such
switching between layouts. If you are not in the need of anything but
English, I suggest for everyone -regardless of Windows version, or computer
model - to go to the control panel of Windows itself. Here, you wil find a
choice, reading something about Regional Settings. Open this one, and check
the different tabs of the screen. In one of them, you can add on, or delete
any keyboard layouts, in the rotor. Delete any layouts you won't need,
thereby eliminating the risk of accidentially switching between different
layouts.
After all of this explanation, let me just add on two extra pieces of
information. Switching keyboard layout, definately does change the behavior
of the Shif-Number combinations. And, due to your description of the problem
you faced, it simply leads me to believe, the keyboard layout had been
switched. Secondly
, the challenges of differennt keyboard layouts, is causing one big problem
even in Window-Eyes itself. And this one may mainly go to the Staff members,
but it still ties in here. As we have already illustrated in the above, the
left bracket-key, has been replaced by a national character, in many
Non-English layouts. This means, that also the Right-Bracket-key, used to
quickly go to the end of Table or List in Browse Mode, has also been
replaced. For you English users, it is easy to hit the Right-Bracket,
followed by a T, for instance, to go to the end of a Table in Internet
Explorer. But for me, I have to press Alt-Ctrl-9, to get the Right-Bracket
symbol. And, that particular hotkey of WE, CANNOT be user redefined, for
some strange reason. So staff members, if you are reading this message, I
strongly recommend, the Right-Bracket hotkey be user definable as well as
the rest of the keystrokes used in browse mode or any other functionality of
the screen reader. Well, just an extra note, for the sake of simplicity. :)
----- Original Message -----
From: "M and L Dorn" <[email protected]>
To: "Katherine Moss" <[email protected]>; "GW Info List Post"
<[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, November 27, 2012 5:35 AM
Subject: Re: Recommended Laptops
No, it was the fault of the Lenovo key assignments. It did not give me 1
thru 0 or, with shift, things like dollar sign and parenthesis. It gave
me things like circumflex A and other foreighn to English special
characters. If I have to remap a bunch of keys on a brand new computer,
it's not the right computer for me.
TTFN,
Marilyn
On 11/26/2012 6:08 PM, Katherine Moss wrote:
Marilyn, support was next to useless on the foreign symbols thing because
the row above qwerty is the number row! It starts with the tilde key,
then 1,2,3,4, and so on till you get zero, dash, and then equals. Adding
shift to these gives you different symbols such as parentheses, dollar
signs, and so on. It was not the fault of Window-Eyes at all.
-----Original Message-----
From: M and L Dorn [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Monday, November 26, 2012 2:24 PM
To: Chao, Matthew (DOC); GW Info List Post
Subject: Re: Recommended Laptops
I went through this very thing in September. I bought a Lenovo laptop,
and it had so many weird key assignments, such as getting foreign
characters instead of numbers and symbols on the row above querty, that I
took it back. Lenovo's tech support was worse than useless. I
\\\\\\\\bought an HP and had some of the same troubles, but to a lesser
extent. I took it back. I purchased a Dell by calling them and telling
them what I wanted. I had avoided them initially, even though my last
one that is 7 years old was a Dell, because I thought they would be so
much more money. As it turned out, they had what I needed for $65 less
than I paid for the HP. I'd check out Dell first to see what price you
can get. If it's not out of line with what you can afford, go for it.
If not, then check out the one you want elsewhere carefully to be sure
the numpad works for WE navigation and commands and that the keys type
what they are supposed to. Also on the Lenovo, there was some special
Lenovo window that interfered with everything and was always in the
Alt-Tab cycle. You couldn't close it or delete it. Lenovo tech support
had never heard of it, nor could they find out anything to explain it to
me.
TTFN,
Marilyn
On 11/26/2012 5:55 AM, Chao, Matthew (DOC) wrote:
Hi, Folks. I'm in the process of possibly ordering a new laptop, as I
haven't bought a new one in the past seven years, and want to get a
Windows 7-equipped laptop before everyone goes to Windows 8. Can
anyone recommend a good laptop or ultrabook that works well with WE
7.5.4.1, has Windows 7 Professional, is of high quality, and has
minimal bloatware? I've seen posts that, for example, raise problems
with Lenovos and some Dells. Please advise, as I need to make a
decision relatively quickly. Thanks in advance.--Matthew Chao
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