USB assistive technology: mind the license!

Assistive technology doesn’t have to be an “official” Portable App for you to install it on a flash drive, nor does it have to be freeware. (But no, you cannot install Dragon NaturallySpeaking on a flash drive.) It depends primarily on  2 things: the ability to choose the flash drive letter for the install location (creating a folder on the drive if necessary) and, ideally, the option NOT to create any shortcuts on the desktop or start menu. It’s just cleaner that way, though shortcuts won’t hurt anything provided you install from your home computer. However, even after you’ve done this, there is still something you may have to watch out for if you’re trying to use public computers — particularly if those computers are on a queue that assigns you to a random machine, e.g. in a library.

There are 2 main types of licenses when you purchase software: per computer and per user. If you’re going to use your flash drive on a public computer, it’s better if your software has a per user license. This means that the license belongs to you, which in turn means that you can use that software on any computer you operate. The only requirement for using per user software on a flash drive is that when you plug it in, you will need to enter the activation code (and possibly the name you registered it with), so DON’T LOSE THAT. I keep a file on my flash drive containing all of my activation codes, so all I need to do is copy and paste. This step is both necessary and beneficial. It’s necessary because in this setup, nothing gets permanently saved to the registry, which is why you need to activate each time. It’s beneficial for the same reason, especially if you can’t use the same computer each time.

If you have USB software with a license that limits the number of computers you can activate on, trying to use different computers becomes dodgy if not impossible. Shades of per-computer enter here, because the program has to count the installation on each machine. When you activate computer-specific software, it saves that activation to the registry — or at least tries to — so that each time you plug your flash drive into that computer, you can run the software without activating. This is problematic on public machines for a couple of reasons.

First, depending on the security settings of the public computer you’re trying to use, it may not like your attempts to modify the registry by activating the software. The software may thus crash or otherwise not run properly. I suspect this is what happened with Typing Assistant, and is partially why I sought other software. Typing Assistant limits its USB version to 3 computers. Even if you get the software to run properly, that kind of license assumes that you’ll always be able to use the same 3 computers. This does not allow for use in, say, a library where you are assigned to available machines at random. You will not always get the same 3 machines. Therefore, you will most likely be out of luck, which kind of defeats the purpose of portable software.

Per computer license agreements are almost always specified at the outset, so that you can decide if that works for your circumstances. Sometimes, per user licenses are also specified, but sometimes they aren’t. For example, I didn’t know Turbo Type had a good, portable per user license until I copied the program folder to my flash drive and tried to use it a couple of times stick typing on friends’ machines, and was pleasantly surprised. It may be that per user licenses are a given unless otherwise specified, but I would be careful in making that assumption. The best thing to do is try the demo of your program, if one exists, because it will usually explain the license to you in case you want to buy it when your time is up.

How to get “smart punctuation” with word prediction/completion

This AutoHotkey script is a way to make punctuating more efficient when using word prediction or completion with automatic spacing enabled. Using this script, you don’t have to backspace in order to punctuate after predicting a word. When you press the punctuation, the script will backspace for you, insert the mark, then space. That’s the first part. The second part accounts for times you may type an unknown word or otherwise not choose a prediction, so there would be no trailing space. This part specifies that if a letter appears before the punctuation, the script will only insert the mark, then space. I left the quotation mark alone because of the different inside/outside punctuation rules. OpusApp restricts it to Word.

#IfWinActive ahk_class OpusApp

#Hotstring *
::.::
Send, {bs}. `
return

::,::
Send, {bs}, `
return

::?::
Send, {bs}? `
return

::!::
Send, {bs}{!} `
return

::)::
Send, {bs})
return

#Hotstring ? *
::.::
Send, . `
return

::,::
Send, , `
return

::?::
Send, ? `
return

::!::
Send, {!} `
return

Typing Assistant 4.2

Typing Assistant is now 99% perfect — the makers are good listeners. Version 4.2 is now totally keyboard accessible, and everything else in my previous review still applies. Thank you programmers!

Typing Assistant review: excellent multipurpose program

I gladly let my trial of TypeBooster run out because it was too glitchy for me. When I went looking for a comparable program, I found Typing Assistant 4.1, tried it out, and snapped it right up. If you want to buy it, it’s slightly more expensive than TypeBooster at $35, but definitely worth it. Even though the program’s name sounds generic, it’s actually extremely functional.

First of all, this program really is universal — it’s not just limited to the newer programs. Even I, still clinging to Microsoft Word XP, can use it. Big plus right there. Second, the programmers have actually fixed that seemingly omnipresent bug that all word prediction programs seem to have — for a change, this program does not suddenly quit working in the middle of a word. Third, it works with both physical and virtual keystrokes.

The gist of Typing Assistant is similar to most others — using either the number or function keys (or pointing device) to select word suggestions from a list. You can adjust the letter threshold. You have the option of telling the program to insert a character after words are predicted, such as a space, period, or comma. Since this character will appear after every word you select, the space seems to be the most logical option if you decide to do this. Most importantly, Typing Assistant immediately begins ordering your selections by frequency of use.

Where Typing Assistant differs from other programs is first of all its treatment of the shorthand feature, which I like very much. When you enter your shorthand and its corresponding replacement text, it becomes part of the prediction, meaning that you select from the same numbered list. Helpfully, when you begin to type your shorthand, the suggestion list actually gives you the text it stands for, so you don’t have to keep remembering your replacements. Whatever settings you applied to the prediction will also apply to the shorthand. For example, if you have told Typing Assistant to insert a space after predictions, your shorthand result will also have a space after it. I like this feature because it was occasionally fatiguing for me to have to keep using the spacebar in order to expand my shorthand in programs like Writer. (I like to reduce movement as much as possible.) Additionally, you can use both capital and lowercase letters for your shorthand, and give them separate values. For example, in my list “X” will give me the suggestion “whether,” and “x” will suggest “if.” You have more options for your shorthand here, because it will not expand unless you tell it to. So, if you have used the letters “me” to stand for something, you don’t have to sacrifice using the pronoun “me” — just ignore the suggestion list and keep typing.

Another feature I find myself using is the clipboard extender. Normally when you copy something, you can only do one thing at a time because the next item wipes out the previous. Typing Assistant takes whatever you’ve copied and puts it into its own “clipboard prediction dictionary,” which can also appear in the general suggestion list if you want it to. If you just want to see the clipboard, just press Alt-Right arrow. This way, if you’re putting multiple links in your blog post for example, it’s a lot faster. Another feature, which I have not used much, is the Auto Launcher, which will create hotkeys to launch your favorite programs.

Although Typing Assistant has hotkeys to bring up its control panel and its separate dictionaries, its only drawback at the moment is that its menus are not accessible by keyboard. To make choices like OK, Add, or Delete, you have to actually move the cursor to the button and click it, either with Mouse Keys or pointing device. However, it turns out Typing Assistant has excellent technical support. I wrote to the programmers and suggested adding the ability to use the Tab and Enter keys to navigate, and they answered that they hadn’t thought of that while making 4.1, but would consider it for the next version. They even offered to tell me when they added it. How cool is that?