Windows 10 physical (i.e. non-touch) keyboard sounds?

[ColinJ]

I have a new Lenovo laptop which is better in every respect than the old Dell that I am using to type this post. Other than in one area that is - the keyboard.

The Dell has a fantastic keyboard with proper keys. The Lenovo has a disappointing rubbery keyboard which doesn't give me enough feedback when typing so I make lots of mistakes. I am not a touch typist but can type quite quickly by looking at the keyboard as I type. Using the Lenovo, some keystrokes do not register and I don't realise that until I look up at the screen. Then I have to go back and correct multiple errors. It is a pain which has put me off switching over to the new computer.

What I would like is to hear some audio feedback whenever I press a key. The kind of thing you can enable for touch screen keyboards. The computer is running Windows 10 and I can't find an option to enable keyboard sounds, other than one for the Caps Lock key, which is very handy because I was often hitting that by mistake and not noticing its light come on.

The spacebar is particularly troublesome. If I press it anywhere other then the middle 50% of it then more often than notthespacesdonotregisterandIendup withsomethinglike this!

In an ideal world I would be able to assign different sounds to different keys so I can tell what I have pressed without looking. The Shift keys are a bit small and the Del key is in an odd position next to the power switch so I often make mistakes with them too.

Any kind of audio feedback would be good. Programmable audio feedback would be great. Ideally without having to install extra software.

I wasn't able to find anything when I searched for solutions earlier this evening. Maybe one of you will have a solution. (PS "Buy a different computer" is NOT the solution that I am looking for! )

 

[classic33]

Any use?

https://support.lenovo.com/gb/en/solutions/ht103147

 

[swee'pea99]

This probably isn't the solution you're looking for either, but I'd suggest that you ditch the Dell and try the new one for a couple of weeks before you attempt any audio solutions. It might surprise you how many of the problems you describe simply 'solve themselves' as your clever fingers learn instinctively how to avoid them. Then you can address the ones that remain.

 

[ColinJ]

Any use?
View attachment 376674
https://support.lenovo.com/gb/en/solutions/ht103147

I found that ... unfortunately it is only for virtual keyboards on touch screens! That is the kind of thing that I want, but for the physical keyboard.

This probably isn't the solution you're looking for either, but I'd suggest that you ditch the Dell and try the new one for a couple of weeks before you attempt any audio solutions. It might surprise you how many of the problems you describe simply 'solve themselves' as your clever fingers learn instinctively how to avoid them. Then you can address the ones that remain.

I was just wondering why the Lenovo development team hadn't noticed how dodgy the spacebar is, but then I watched my hands while typing and realised that I am using my index fingers to type spaces. If I used my thumbs the way that a touch typist would, they would naturally fall into the more responsive part of the spacebar.

Perhaps it is time to dig out 'Mavis Beacon' and have another go at touch typing. The trouble is, I have 35 years of bad habits to overcome ...

 

[KneesUp]

The title doesn't strike me as a very appealing prize. You need to work on your marketing.

 

[roadrash]

I agree with @KneesUp if you only win 10 keyboard sounds , how would you work out which letters you wanted the sounds on

 

[Profpointy]

I found that ... unfortunately it is only for virtual keyboards on touch screens! That is the kind of thing that I want, but for the physical keyboard.


I was just wondering why the Lenovo development team hadn't noticed how dodgy the spacebar is, but then I watched my hands while typing and realised that I am using my index fingers to type spaces. If I used my thumbs the way that a touch typist would, they would naturally fall into the more responsive part of the spacebar.

Perhaps it is time to dig out 'Mavis Beacon' and have another go at touch typing. The trouble is, I have 35 years of bad habits to overcome ...

I taught myself to touch type simply by sticking my hands on the correct keys and forcing myself to use all my fingers properly rather than pecking with two fingers. Just look at the keys to check each letter. I was obviously slower for a few days, then about the same. Soon after I wasn't actually looking at keys for at least the common letters. Soon after that I could type faster than I can write whilst having a discussion.

Just force yourself to do it and certainly look at the keys to start with. Speed and not looking will sort themselves out.

 

[ColinJ]

Ha ha! I have now changed the title ...

I did manage to get up to about 40 words per minute touch typing in the 1980s but I can do that looking at the keyboard anyway. The problem was when I was writing software. I was always making mistakes with the funny symbols that don't get much use in typing everyday English.

I don't write software these days (though I would like to get back into it) so it would probably be quite easy for me to learn to touch type what I need to type.

Thinking about it ... If I am using the forum or just typing emails etc. then I could carry on using the Dell with its super keyboard. The multimedia activities that I bought the Lenovo for don't involve so much typing.

 

[Kestevan]

What you need is a proper "clicky" metal external keyboard like one of these:
http://www.pckeyboard.com/page/product/UB40P4A

It's the same keyboard mechanism as the original IBM "M" type PC/XT keyboard, but brought up to date with USB connection. Proper spring keys and metal body, non of this plastic crap with a rubber membrane you get these days.

 

[ColinJ]

What you need is a proper "clicky" metal external keyboard like one of these:
http://www.pckeyboard.com/page/product/UB40P4A

It's the same keyboard mechanism as the original IBM "M" type PC/XT keyboard, but brought up to date with USB connection. Proper spring keys and metal body, non of this plastic crap with a rubber membrane you get these days.

I have several decent external keyboards lying about but I can't remember if any of them have USB outputs - will check next time that I go up to the attic studio/office/spare bedroom. I could use an external keyboard if the laptop were being used at a desk but I haven't sat at a desk for 5 years since my leg got fubar'd by the DVT. (I can't sit upright for long before my left leg starts to swell up.) The laptops are currently only used on my lap!

Having said that, I bought a footstool so I could put my legs up under my desk. I just need to remove part of the back panel of the desk first so I can raise my legs and stretch them out. Not only could I then use a decent keyboard, I could also use a proper mouse and plug a second monitor in. The desk currently has an old desktop PC on it but I could dedicate that to turbo trainer duties (music and video) in another room.

Ok, that sounds like a good project. Use the powerful Lenovo on the desk with peripheral devices. I could put up with the inbuilt keyboard and trackpad when using it elsewhere. Keep using the old Dell for CC, email and general undemanding applications.

I will report back when everything has been rearranged and wired up!

 

[Markymark]

Googline found this

 

[ColinJ]

Googline found this

Thanks. I have since found this as well.

I think Kestevan is right though. A rubbery membrane keyboard is always going to be just that. I had a really nice Zenith mechanical keyboard years ago which I loved but eventually a couple of its keys became unreliable so I recycled it.

I have just been up to my attic room and found that I have 4 keyboards 'stored' there (i.e. chucked into one of the many boxes full of stuff that I haven't unpacked since moving here 2.5 years ago! ). They are all a lot better than the Lenovo laptop keyboard but 2 of them are still a bit on the rubbery side. One other membrane one (Logitech) is not too bad, but would never be a real pleasure to use. The 4th keyboard feels/sounds like it has mechanical switches. It isn't as good as an original IBM keyboard but I could definitely live with it. It has a PS2 connector but I'm sure that I have a PS2-to-USB adaptor 'stored' somewhere! I also have a Microsoft optical mouse and spare monitor ready to go.

As for the desk ... by removing its retractable keyboard shelf, I can get my legs up on the footstool and under the, er, 'modesty panel' (?) at the back, so no woodwork is required for me to be able to sit comfortably at the desk again. All I need is to put some extra lumbar support on my office chair because I have to slouch in it to avoid kinking the DVT-scarred vein in my leg. (I have to keep the torso-leg angle to > 135° to avoid cutting off the circulation.)

Project 'Office/Studio' has commenced!

 

[ColinJ]

It turned out that all 4 keyboards were pretty disappointing, and there was a mysterious problem with the mouse too ...

I modded my office chair to tilt its back to a more useful angle. I also modded the footstool to lower it so I could put the keyboard shelf back under the front of the desk. The shelf was twice the twice the depth that it needed to be so I modified its metal runners so it only comes out half as far now. I made a wedge to fix the shelf in place when I am typing to stop it wobbling about.

I found a little (Advent K512) Bluetooth keyboard that I had bought to use with my Galaxy Tab a few years ago. (At the time, I decided that I would rather use the touchscreen keyboard on the Tab and had put the BT keyboard in a drawer and forgotten about it.) It is a membrane keyboard but it has quite a nice feel to it. I tried it with the laptop and it is a huge improvement over the built-in keyboard. It will certainly do for now.

There were a few teething problems with the new keyboard, but I have sorted those out now ...

There are no Esc/PgUp/PgDn/Home/End keys on the keyboard but I discovered that those keystrokes can be generated like this - Fn-Internet key (top left) = Escape; Fn-left arrow = Home; Fn-right arrow = End; Fn-up arrow = PgUp; Fn-down arrow=PgDn.

I had to set it to US-style, which resulted in the loss of the Euro character (which I never use anyway) and the '£' keystroke producing '#', but everything else now comes out as printed on the keycaps.

The keyboard was flexing slightly when using the spacebar and other keys in its centre. It not only felt irritating, but it also made a clunky sound as the plastic underside of the keyboard rapped against the keyboard shelf. I fixed that problem by gaffer-taping a small strip of old inner tube under the centre of the keyboard!

Because the keyboard is so compact, I have room to use a mouse next to it on the keyboard shelf. The old Microsoft mouse wasn't working properly and I eventually discovered that it was full of gunk! I think somebody must have spilt a drink in it and not owned up to me ... No matter - I found a Silvercrest (Lidl) Bluetooth mouse in the same drawer as the keyboard. That works really well with the Lenovo laptop too.

By using 2 BT devices, my meagre 2 USB ports are now free again. I want to use one of them for a USB microphone and the other one for a backup device. That saves me buying a USB hub.

I'm looking forward to using the new computer setup!