Are there any tutorials for keyboard use on iOS devices for Window Eyes users?

Submitted by Blindcat on Tuesday, March 18, 2014.
Forum
iOS and iPadOS
I am seriously considering getting full sized keyboards for use with both my iPhone and my iPad. My fingers don't seem to be dexterous enough to deal with a compact keyboard, so I will need a big one, but I also am going to need some help getting past nearly two decades of habitual Window Eyes keystrokes and mouse navigation methods. Are there any tutorials out there that might help me make the transition? I know that VoiceOver is built on a completely different philosophy of layout and navigation, reflecting the actual visual layout of the screen just as with the touch commands and I am used to tabbing around through things, using the numpad keys to access the mouse cursor and buttons and many more differences that I can forsee requiring a total shift in thinking. Any tools that exist that might help me would be very good to have and I would be very grateful to anybody that can point me to such material. I took to the touch gestures without a hitch, but without even the most basic grounding in how keyboard access in iOS works, I am kind of at a loss. Thanks for any help, Chris

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Comments

Submitted by Josh C. on Friday, March 21, 2014

Hello. I've been a JAWS user for almost 8 years, and the transition wasn't that hard for me. Here are a couple of links that helped me out. http://iphoneaccess.wordpress.com/2010/09/19/voice-over-bluetooth-keyboard-commands/ http://help.apple.com/iphone/5/voiceover/en/iph6c494dc6.html Have you tried the Apple Wireless Keyboard? It's a compact keyboard, but the keys are bigger than the ones on any other compact keyboard I've found. I also had problems using compact keyboards, but I can use the Apple Wireless Keyboard almost as well as any full sized keyboard. The only real downside to the Apple Wireless Keyboard is that it doesn't have a numeric keypad. I recommend this keyboard though, because it has the Command and Option keys, which you will need to use any of the VoiceOver keyboard commands. You can find this keyboard at your local Apple Store.

Submitted by Justin on Friday, March 21, 2014

Hi there, I have a logitech keyboard that I use with my iPhone 5S and it works flawlessly. It is a compact keyboard as well, no number pad, but the top row has number keys on it. Honestly, it is like typing on a laptop. I also was a windows user until 2010, so understood how you felt. With iOs, there is a little learning curve using the keyboard, but if you have ever played around with or have a mac, then things are easier. Applevis has loads of resources, And if you don't find what you need ,I'm sure the apple support site might be of some use. HTH