[fb-exchange] Don't Touch it, Type it! A VoiceOver users guide to using the Bluetooth Keyboard

From: "Dominique Farrell" <hollyandopal@xxxxxxxxx>
To: <vip_students@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sun, 10 Jul 2016 16:10:49 +0100

There are many models of Bluetooth keyboards supported on iOS. There are
stand-alone keyboards such as the Amazon Basics Bluetooth Keyboard for Apple
Devices
<http://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-Bluetooth-Keyboard-Devices-iPhone/dp/B00
5EOWBKE> , the Logitech line of keyboards
<https://www.logitech.com/en-us/tablet-accessories/keyboards?filter%5b%5d=35
87> , Apple's own set of keyboards
<http://www.apple.com/shop/mac/mac-accessories/mice-keyboards> , and many
others. While it's impossible to cover the massive amounts of various
keyboards and their various functions, the aim of this guide is to provide
information that will help you make the most out of your bluetooth keyboard
as a VoiceOver user on iOS. Let's get Connected!

The first thing you will want to do, upon getting a bluetooth keyboard, is
pair it to your iOS device. The Amazon Basics bluetooth keyboard has a
small, round, concave button on the bottom near the On/Off switch that you
must press; the Apple keyboards don't require you to press anything
specific; while some of the logitech keyboards require you to press a key
which designates which bluetooth channel you wish to connect a specific
device. As noted previously, there are hundreds of supported keyboards, and
as such, it's impossible for me to know about every keyboard, and also not
possible for me to list each keyboard and how to put it in "discoverable
mode". Doing a Google search <http://www.google.com/> for your exact model
of keyboard may yield results, or doing a search for the keyboard model in
one set of quotes, with the word manual in another set may help get a usable
version of the manual if you're stuck on how to do this.
Once you have determined how to get your keyboard in to "discoverable mode",
then switch to your iOS device and go to Settings>Bluetooth. If bluetooth is
not turned on, double tap the appropriate button to enable it. Then, find a
list of bluetooth capable equipment your iOS device discovers below the
toggle for turning bluetooth on. Find the appropriate keyboard in the list,
and double tap on it. Once the connection has been established, you may or
may not be required to enter a pairing code on the keyboard, and then press
enter. If no error dialog comes up after a few seconds, and no bluetooth
pairing request dialog appears, it's fairly safe to assume the pairing of
your keyboard was successful. You can typically verify this by pressing the
Right or Left Arrow to see if your iOS device reacts. If it doesn't, try
pressing the Left and Right Arrow keys together to turn QuickNav on. If
nothing happens at this point, it most likely means that you will need to
try the pairing again.
Obviously, if you are asked to enter a PIN code, do so on the keyboard and
then press enter. The PIN code typically changes with each pairing attempt,
so pay attention to what VoiceOver is requesting of you. If you enter the
PIN code correctly, followed by enter, and no error message comes up, you
are most likely now connected. To verify that a connection has been made,
refer back to the previous paragraph for ways to confirm this information.

HELP ME! I'm lost!

The best way to familiarize yourself with the exact layout of your keyboard
is to go in to the VoiceOver Help Mode. To do this, tap the screen 2 times
quickly with 4 fingers to launch the VoiceOver Practice feature. When done,
do a 2-finger scrub, or press escape on your keyboard; this will return you
to the place you were in before opening VoiceOver

Help Mode. It's worth noting that the Practice mode is available anywhere
from within iOS, so if you aren't sure what a key does, you can always enter
Help Mode without impacting your work.

Hey, What's This Button Do?

Again, I must stress that this description will not fit every single
keyboard.
Taking a look at what is typically the bottom row of keys, from left to
right, you will find the following. Function, Control, Option, Command, the
spacebar, Right Option, Right Command, Left Arrow, Down Arrow, and Right
Arrow. Typically, above the Down Arrow key, you will find an Up arrow key,
though in some cases the Up and Down Arrow could be moulded in to 1 key (as
is the case with the Apple Smart Keyboard for iPad Pro
<http://www.apple.com/smart-keyboard/> ). Also, not all keyboards have the
Control and Option key located next to one another; some have a Function key
in the middle. After entering VoiceOver's practice mode as described above,
press the various keys to find out what they do.
The 3 rows above the bottom row are typically your standard QWERTY keys. But
with every rule, there is an exception. The one that jumps to mind with this
one is the RII 66-key Mini Bluetooth Keyboard
<http://www.atguys.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=94

. For specifics, please see your keyboard's user documentation.

We've Risen to the Top! Or, Maybe Beyond That?

Most keyboards have a row of Function keys at the very top. However, the
Apple Smart Keyboard and the New Trent
<http://www.newtrent.com/store/ipad-case.html> Airbender series of cases for
iPad do not. It's also missing the Escape key. Most keyboards have bumps on
the F and J keys. If you find that row, and only have 2 rows of keys above
it, you most likely do not have Function keys. Some keyboards have different
functions assigned to them, but there are some Function keys which seem to
be universal. To find out other specific commands, hunt for the manual of
your exact keyboard, or simply press them and see what happens. There is no
keyboard command which will cause your iOS device to explode or randomly
delete your data, so it is fairly safe to play around with those keys. The
one exception is f10, which will mute all sounds on your iOS device. If this
suddenly happens, try pressing f10 again to see if it will unmute your
sounds. I still encourage people to check out a copy of the manual to their
exact keyboard, as some function keys may do nothing by default, but may
require the pressing of another key to activate them. For example, pressing
and holding the Function key found at the bottom of many keyboards in
conjunction with the F key in question may yield results, where just the
pressing of the F keys themselves may have a different function altogether.
For instance, I have a Logitech K380 Multi-Device Bluetooth Keyboard
<http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Multi-Device-Bluetooth-Keyboard-920-007558/d
p/B0148NPH9I> , and pressing keys f1 through f3 will switch among the
different bluetooth channels.

Configuring the Basics

There are some VoiceOver-specific settings that you may wish to change to
customize the verbosity of VoiceOver, and how the VoiceOver commands we will
be referencing below will be carried out. To change these settings, you will
need to open the Settings app, then go to General>Accessibility>VoiceOver.
The first setting you may wish to adjust is the amount of feedback VoiceOver
provides when typing text. In JAWS speak, this is called "Typing Echo";
VoiceOver calls it "Typing Feedback." "Typing Feedback" is located under
VoiceOver settings. You will first find a setting for your software
keyboard, which will change the type of feedback you receive while entering
text on the touchscreen. The next heading will be for hardware keyboards.
Your choices are characters, words, both characters and words, or none.
Choose whichever Option is most comfortable for you.
The other setting you may wish to change is the VoiceOver Modifier keys. By
default, Control and Option are selected, but you can set this Option to
either be invoked with the Control and Option keys, with the Caps Lock key,
or both. Again, choose which method is most helpful to your situation. Even
with this rule, there is an exception. Some keyboards do not have a Caps
Lock key, nor do they have both the Control and Option keys. This is the
case with the Zagg Keys Portfolio keyboard for iPad.

What's so Important About Modifier Keys Anyway?

Someone may be asking why Modifier keys are important. To explain it in
Windows terms, since if you are using a Mac you most likely already
understand this concept, the Modifier keys, when pressed in conjunction with
other keys, perform VoiceOver-specific functions. The equivalent on another
platform would be the insert key with JAWS or NVDA. For example, if you
press Insert with the F12 key, NVDA and JAWS will speak the time. This is
not a function of Windows, rather, one your screen readerperforms. Pressing
Insert F12 without one of these screen readers loaded will do nothing with
Windows itself. The same is true of VoiceOver on OS X and iOS with respect
to the VoiceOver Modifier keys.

QuickNav

An equally important feature to understand early on when working with
bluetooth keyboards as a VoiceOver user is QuickNav. QuickNav allows you to
not have to hit the VoiceOver Modifier keys in conjunction with other keys,
and also provides for some unique VoiceOver functions. Toggle QuickNav on
and off by pressing the Left and Right arrows together. To again equate this
to a Windows-like situation, you have what are called Quick Keys in JAWS
which allow you to jump to various things in, for example, Microsoft Word.
However, unless Quick Keys are enabled with JAWS Modifier Z, you cannot use
these commands. For example, to jump from different headings, you can press
H with Quick Keys enabled, or M to jump to the next spelling mistake in your
document.
Continuing with our Windows comparison, most screen readers have the ability
to quickly jump by different HTML elements on a web page. For example, H by
itself will jump to the next heading. These also exist with QuickNav on
VoiceOver. And just like with those Quick Keys on different screen readers
for Windows where you need to change modes to type, the same is true for
VoiceOver. With QuickNav enabled on a web page for example, pressing the
letter B will jump to the next button on the web page. However, if you find
a text field, and wish to type, you will need to turn off QuickNav mode to
begin typing and editing of text. You can still obtain QuickNav
functionality by combining the VoiceOver Modifier keys with whatever action
you wish to take.

Navigating Screens with a Bluetooth Keyboard

Now that we've covered some of the essentials, it's time to learn some
keyboard commands and to learn how to navigate around. To go to your Home
Screen, you can press VO plus the letter H. Assuming QuickNav is enabled,
you can then press your Right Arrow key to do the equivalent of a one finger
flick right, and the Left Arrow key to move to the left. If the Arrow keys
aren't working, press the Left and Right Arrow keys together to enable
QuickNav. If you wish to leave QuickNav off, remember that you can still do
so by adding the Modifier key you defined in Settings above.
You can also jump around the screen in various ways. To go to the top of the
screen, press Control Up arrow. To jump to the bottom, press Control Down
Arrow. If you know something you are looking for is on the same page of the
home screen where you are currently, you can also press VO with the letter
F, type what you are looking for, and press Enter. VoiceOver focus should
move to that point on your Home screen. If you wish to scroll to the next
page on your Home screen, you can do so by pressing Option with the Right
Arrow Key. Option with Left Arrow will move you to the previous page.
To activate an item, press the Up and Down Arrow keys together. If this is
not possible on your keyboard due to the Up and Down arrows not being able
to be pressed at the same time, you can also press the Up, Left, and Right
Arrow keys together to achieve the same result. You can activate an item
with QuickNav disabled by pressing VO with Space as well. While this command
to activate items works for apps, it also works any time you wish to double
tap on an item. Whether it's to activate a button on a web page, begin
typing in a text field, or to activate an element in an app.

Now What?

Time constraints don't make it possible for me to write an entire book
outlining how to interact with specific applications using the keyboard. The
best way to do this is to familiarize yourself with all of the commands
available, and then apply them to situations, just like gestures on the
touchscreen or Braille keyboard commands on a Braille display. This document
from Mac For the Blind
<http://macfortheblind.com/documents/Up_to_date_Bluetooth_keyboard_commands_
for_iOS_9.rtf> covers many keyboard shortcuts for use of an iOS device with
VoiceOver. If you prefer audio content to textual, you may also find part 4
of my series of podcasts of value.
<http://applevis.com/podcast/episodes/using-ios-voiceover-and-bluetooth-keyb
oard-part-4-mail-app> Note that there are links in the show notes to the
first 3 in the series if you wish to listen to them all.

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[fb-exchange] Don't Touch it, Type it! A VoiceOver users guide to using the Bluetooth Keyboard

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