OK, I know, there has been alot postings about USB Numeric Keypads, and their corporation with WE. Anyway, recently there was a special in a local store, so I decided it would be little to loose, and worth to give it a try. The Keypad exhibits some kind of funny behavior, and my hope is, that maybe some of this experience, could have made some importance to the GW staff, and maybe even to other users.
Right away, when plugging in the keypad, it was installed and recognized by Windows. I started to press the keys, and sure enough, they were recognized as numbers. Then, I pressed the NumLock on the USB keypad, and the funny behavior started. Well, to best describe things, I have made a small list, showing the different settings, and the behavior I am experiencing. Main Keyboard NumLock ON - USB Numeric Keypad, NumLock ON: All numbers on both keyboards, are recognized as numbers, and everything works just fine. Main Keyboard, NumLock OFF - USB Numeric Keypad, NumLock OFF: 22The keys on both keyboards are recognized as mousekeys, and I can direct the mouse, just performing wonderfully. Main Keyboard, NumLock Off - USB Numeric Keypad, NumLock On: The state of the NumLock key on the USB keypad, is not being spoken. Yet, pressing the numbers on the USB Keypad, will result in the speech saying things like 2 NumLock Off, 9 NumLock off, and so forth. Hitting any of the numbers on the main keyboard, I am moving the mouse perfectly. In one sense, this is a nice setup, as I have access to both the mousekeys, and a numeric keypad, at the same time. But it is quite frustrating to hear the "NumLock Off" phrase for every number being entered. Main Keyboard, NumLock On - USB Numeric Keypad, NumLock Off: Again, the state of the USB Keypad's NumLock, is not being spoken. In this setup, I can hit any number on the Main Keyboard, and it will be recognized as numeric entries by the computer. Trying to hit any of the numbers on the USB Keypad, I will be directing the mouse, but every line or character, will be followed by the phrase "NumLock On". So, it will read the line of the mouse, and then say "NumLock On". Moving down one line, the same behavior repeats. OK, in the above, I refered to the Main Keyboard, meaning the Numeric keypad, to the very right on my Standard Keyboard. The USB Keypad, refers to the little extra gadget USB Numeric Keypad, I just installed. Just in case, any confusion. To sum it all up, I think the equipment is working quite nicely. Problem is, why it repeats the state of the USB Keypad NumLock, all the time, whenever the two NumLock keys are set opposite to each other? Apparently, it seems to me, the USB Keypad is sending correct scancodes, in both the numeric and the non-numeric state; yet, WE keeps informing me of the num-lock state. Hope this all makes sense, and that it could help the Staff track down a way to have this kind of equipments work more fully with the screen reader. As I stated above, it even works to give me the best of both worlds, as I can have one of the keyboards set to give me numbers, and the other to move the mouse, at the same time. This way, I can operate calculation software, and still move my mouse around, without having to remember to switch the numlock on and off for every kind of operation. So, if we could have the annoying anouncement of the NumLock state removed from the spoken feedback, I would have had it all good to go. If you reply to this message it will be delivered to the original sender only. If your reply would benefit others on the list and your message is related to GW Micro, then please consider sending your message to [email protected] so the entire list will receive it. GW-Info messages are archived at http://www.gwmicro.com/gwinfo. You can manage your list subscription at http://www.gwmicro.com/listserv.
