Upgrade stole my CAPS LOCK

[komarek]

I work with acronyms a lot.
In os2008 is there a way to get my caps lock back?


--PK---

[amigokin]

Just hold the Shift key for a few seconds and the CAPS LOCK will be activated.

[komarek]

THIS IS SO COOL!

-Thanks!

--PK---

[munky261]

i still prefer the caps lock key , i dont like having the keyboard properties pop up....not nescesary to have a key on the keyboard dedicated to that , needs to be in the menu key

[coffeedrinker]

Yeah, I'd much rather have CAPS back since I don't need a language key ever. I do like that I can get a - dash more easily though (but only slightly).

[Texrat]

Agreed. Time to see if a bug has been filed, and if so, vote...

[TA-t3]

lol, I can understand that caps lock would be missed if you're actually using it a lot. For me, caps lock is the first key I disable when I get a new computer - I make it into either ctrl or shift. It's so extremely annoying to accidentally touch it. For me, what's important is vertical bar (aka pipe), -, _, {}, ; and the like. Which just goes to show that it won't be easy to please all parties (the holding-down for two seconds to get caps lock would be the ideal solution for me, but clearly not for all people).

[MikeL]

Personally I really like the new "en" feature as it's both easy to get used to and means we can quickly change and work between two languages. For me working in Europe this is a useful, along with the ability to switch the spell predictive text at the same time with the press of one button!

Assume this is the way it works now we have the ability to set-up 1st & 2nd lanaguage choices in OS2008 settings, need to double check tonight ;)

[jmancine]

I fall on the side of wanting the keyboard to be standard...caps should be put back. It is hard to untrain 25 years of typing and have to fiddle around to type an uppercase word.

[amigokin]

Or maybe we need a customized keyboard for each app. No slash button in the web browser? COME ON! That's very annoying.

[Moonshine]

Or maybe we need a customized keyboard for each app. No slash button in the web browser? COME ON! That's very annoying.

Mine has a "/" key. It's in both the onscreen keyboard and thumboard.

[Texrat]

In my opinion the lower case set should be web-centric. That means the colon and other typical characters need to be there. Language switching IMO should be part of the menu, not the key set.

[MikeL]

In my opinion the lower case set should be web-centric. That means the colon and other typical characters need to be there. Language switching IMO should be part of the menu, not the key set.Is pressing and holding the upper case key (Up Arrow) to switch to permanent upper-case (Caps Lock) and lower-case so difficult to get used to, I am missing something... i.e. what exactly have we lost?

In the case of virtual keyboards on N800 and N810 the soft keyboard clearly indicates a new use for the old (Caps Lock) Key and clearly indicates temp/permanent upper-case on the (Up Arrow) Key.

Oh well as has already been said very difficult to please everyone. I believe they had similar problems when they went from black and white to colour televisions ;)

[El Amir]

we should get tha ability to choose what type of keybord we want when we startup the Tablet for the first time (like the time/date and "what phone to connect" menu)
no?

[Texrat]

Is pressing and holding the upper case key (Up Arrow) to switch to permanent upper-case (Caps Lock) and lower-case so difficult to get used to, I am missing something... i.e. what exactly have we lost?

In the case of virtual keyboards on N800 and N810 the soft keyboard clearly indicates a new use for the old (Caps Lock) Key and clearly indicates temp/permanent upper-case on the (Up Arrow) Key.

Oh well as has already been said very difficult to please everyone. I believe they had similar problems when they went from black and white to colour televisions ;)

I'm not saying anything was "lost". I do believe the current mode is more confusing and less obvious, but that can be overcome.

Part of my complaint with the caps key is in the vein of expected functionality. Users expect configuration to be a menu item, not a keyboard press. Configuration is not typically a commonly accessed item, either, at least for the majority. Therefore it makes more sense IMO to use the keyboard for common key functions and leave configurations to the menu. However, that doesn't mean I necessarily think the new mysterious (clearly indicated??? where???) "En" button needs to go back to being a CAPS lock-- again, people can get used to that sort of change. Rather, perhaps it could be used for one of the web-centric keys that, again IMO, should be more readily accessible while in lower case mode.

Which leads to the gripe you quoted. Lower case constitutes the norm in internet and email addresses. Just as the @ character was made standard on the lowercase keyset (in contrast to QWERTY convention), so should other characters consistently used in such cases... such as the colon.

You are correct that no implentation will please everyone, but it is just good UI practice to design for the norm. In 20+ years of design and programming that has always been my approach (no, that is not meant as an appeal to authority :D).

Finally, while I'm sure you were being facetious with your TV analogy, I can't possibly equate the two... :p

we should get tha ability to choose what type of keybord we want when we startup the Tablet for the first time (like the time/date and "what phone to connect" menu)
no?

Agreed. Same for Locale IMO. But so far I've been shot down when suggesting such things...

EDIT: related bug at maemo--

https://bugs.maemo.org/show_bug.cgi?id=2663

[amigokin]

But so far I've been shot down when suggesting such things...

LOL! That's why I love these forums, people are so passionate! ;)

[Texrat]

LOL! That's why I love these forums, people are so passionate! ;)

Actually I meant by tablet program folks.

[MikeL]

However, that doesn't mean I necessarily think the new mysterious (clearly indicated??? where???) "En" button needs to go back to being a CAPS lock-- again, people can get used to that sort of change. Rather, perhaps it could be used for one of the web-centric keys that, again IMO, should be more readily accessible while in lower case mode.When I stated that "en" is clearly indicated I personally was referring to the on screen stylus keyboard. (Which has been the main way for me to enter text on the move with my Nokia 770 and then N800)

With the latest OS2008 I am able to set a 1st & 2nd language choice and the beauty of the en key is that I can seamlessly switch language mid sentence "en English to es Spanish" for example and the predictive spell check changes at the same time. (now having an indication on the stylus keyboard of the language & spell setting seems of overall benefit in my eyes)

Not only that but the predictive speller will always offer similar words in 1st and second languages. (When set up via relevant control panel option)

Where else is the "caps key vs en" present as for example it's not on the physical keyboard of the new N810?

With regard to the web centric keys, I quick switch of shift or hold shift for Shiftlock = Caps lock seems to provide all we need which is why I stated what is actually missing. (On any of the three input methods, with the N810)

Now onto which particular webcentric key should replace the Caps lock or Language hmmm, which gets most typical daily use hmmm when you stop to think about it actually quite a few of them ;)

Perhaps another option would to actually have additional function keys on stylus keyboard which can be preset by the user and then have an personal indication on the key based on user preference. Just some thoughts....

[Texrat]

Where else is the "caps key vs en" present as for example it's not on the physical keyboard of the new N810?

I don't understand the question.

As to my comments vis-a-vis webcentric character choices, I continue to believe that the default should be all standard web and email address characters available with the lower case set. For reasoning I use the same logic you do around the "En" key: convenience. ;)

[MikeL]

Texrat, I was attempting to provide considered reasoning around why Nokia may have decided to discard the caps lock (Adding a uppercase lock facility to the upper case key in its place)

I believe the Caps key was only ever provided with the stylus Keyboard, but of course I could be wrong.

I am not aware of other threads on the subject of a quick switch of the keyboard language and potential benefits so thought this information worth including for the user community and as an aid to a balanced discussion.

[komarek]

I nearly always use the stylus on my n800.

It should not be too difficult to let people "opt-in" to second language keyboard support through a configuration menu. Perhaps people can choose whether to to use caps lock or a second language.

I agree that more of the symbols need to be accessible from the main, non-shift menu. I also dislike having to hunt for the dash.

I don't mind learning "new features." What I dislike about this upgrade - similar to my annoyance with the Vista and ms-office upgrade - is that the cool features come with disappointing interface changes.

My N800 is faster; my vista system is more secure.

But many things on both don't work. And what works often turns unfamiliar and difficult to figure out.

--pk---

[dubwise]

Yah, I'll never have a need for second language. Alternate layouts, maybe...
On my 810 keyboard, I wish the Chr was another Ctrl.

On the fingerboard, does anyone know how to accept an autocomplete?

[MikeL]

On the fingerboard, does anyone know how to accept an autocomplete?Just physically select the text with your finger to confirm you want to complete with the suggested word ;)

[dubwise]

I must be too twitchy. Touching the selection deletes it.

[MikeL]

I must be too twitchy. Touching the selection deletes it.You need to touch the element of text that it is suggesting to add to the word.

[benny1967]

Is there a bug on this I could vote for? ("VKB should have caps lock instead of language switch")

I searched today but didnt find any. This thread is so old, though, I hardly can believe nobody filed this bug/enhancement request.

[TrueJournals]

I'm also curious about this. The problem I have with the language button is that when I tap it accidentally, it takes a second or two for the "language selection" dialog to popup... With the capslock key, I didn't really have that problem. If I tapped it on accident, I could untap it without missing a beat. As it stands, I have to pause typing for a little bit until the dialog pops up, just so I can close it. It gets really annoying. Alternatively, if I could just disable that button altogether, that would be fine because I don't even use an alternative language...

[Benson]

I'm also curious about this. The problem I have with the language button is that when I tap it accidentally, it takes a second or two for the "language selection" dialog to popup... With the capslock key, I didn't really have that problem. If I tapped it on accident, I could untap it without missing a beat. As it stands, I have to pause typing for a little bit until the dialog pops up, just so I can close it. It gets really annoying. Alternatively, if I could just disable that button altogether, that would be fine because I don't even use an alternative language...

No, you have problems because you don't even use an alternative language.
If you define an alternative language, even if it's the same, that dialog doesn't pop up. It just silently switches keyboard, settings, and dictionary, enabling a quick tap to restore, or you can even completely ignore it if they're identical.

It's also possible, I think, to redefine a language you don't use as an all-uppercase layout; assign that as a second language, and it would be a capslock...