Stick/clip-on Windows key?

[arplod]

For Windows 8. I just find it immensely irritating that I have to reach down all the way down to the keyboard for the Windows key or go thru the Charms rigmarole.

(Extreme laziness, maybe)

But I'm wondering if there's a way to stick/clip on a Windows key somewhere on the touchscreen itself. Any ideas?

[fohat.digs]

Huh?

Pix, maybe?

[arplod]

Like a single-key (or even 2~3 that can be program assignable) module that can be stuck on the side of the display or something.

[daerid]

I'm still not sure what your particular issue is. How is hitting the windows key any less convenient than something like alt or control?

[arplod]

I'm still not sure what your particular issue is. How is hitting the windows key any less convenient than something like alt or control?

It's the fact that you have to move your hand all the way down from the screen(screens in some of my cases, which can be a 2-foot travel for the hand which gets old fast when you're constantly switching back and forth) back to the keyboard. Just in case we're not clear I'm talking about mounting the key to the side/top of a touchscreen.

[fohat.digs]

I have never really used screens, except for my Android phone, which I detest because of my big clumsy fingers, so I am not in an area of expertise.

However, is there not some way of creating screen "shortcuts" in something of the same way that you create "keyboard shortcuts"?

Seems like this should be a software quest, not a hardware addition.

[arplod]

I have never really used screens, except for my Android phone, which I detest because of my big clumsy fingers, so I am not in an area of expertise.

However, is there not some way of creating screen "shortcuts" in something of the same way that you create "keyboard shortcuts"?

Seems like this should be a software quest, not a hardware addition.

I can't really see that working well, in that any area of the screen could be necessary for touch. Which is why I thought sticking on a 1-3 key USB module either on the tops of the screens or the sides might work well.

Moar people should experience touch on a larger screen in Windows 8. It's when it all makes sense (apart from the Windows key).

[polpo]

Here someone hacked apart a keyboard and made a single-key keyboard out of it: http://www.instructables.com/id/One-Key-Keyboard-Hack/

[Jamesbeat]

I was about to suggest the same as the above post; rip the controller out of a cheap keyboard and solder a switch to the appropriate contacts.
You could follow the traces on the matrix to determine which contacts to solder to.
If you decide to go this route, you may find that the contacts for the ribbon connector are covered in a black substance. You can't solder to this, but if you scrape it away with a blade, you'll expose the copper beneath.
Surely there must be a way to do this in software though?
Maybe a taskbar widget or something?

[arplod]

Hmmm. Not really looking for a DIY project.

[E TwentyNine]

What are you trying to do that you need the windows key close to the screen?

[daerid]

If he's using Windows 8 with a touch screen monitor on a desktop system, then yeah.. that'd be really annoying. The Windows key is critical in operating Win 8, and doing the charms thing can be kind of annoying.

I do wish they'd come up with a single gesture for the start menu in Win 8

[arplod]

Yeah - it's a swipe and a touch for key-free Windows press, but my pointing hand on that occasion might be my left hand, and I might have been prodding something on the leftmost side. The in-app / in-desktop touch interaction is not rarely a problem since they tend to be localised, but I find myself frequently making large arm movements just to get down to the keyboard to press the Windows key, especially if I'm doing a Metro/Desktop dance on a single 27".

[fohat.digs]

Hey, I just had an idea, if you don't want to get out a soldering iron or do permanent damage.

I have a "travel mouse" that is about the size of a chicken egg and very light.

Why not get one of those and program the buttons to do whatever you want?

Then you could tape, glue, or velcro it to the bezel of the screen. You could also remove the case and just leave the guts exposed, if you did not mind the look.

[1391406]

There's "The Button":



http://store.2xlnetworks.com/thebutton/

[1391406]

There's also "The Bare Button":



http://store.2xlnetworks.com/thebarebutton/

[1391406]

How about a footswitch?

(Pedalpax® - SA1®, Programmable USB Foot Switch)


http://www.footpedalstore.com/product_55_detailed.htm

[E TwentyNine]

This all just seems overkill.  I don't have 8 so I cannot comment from experience, but it seems like people have added shortcuts to get the functionality of getting the start menu without using charms, as well as restoring the start menu on the desktop.

I doubt this case is unique, and I would guess it could be effectively solved in software.

[Melvang]

I would think that the footswitch would be a great idea for the issue at hand...err foot??

[arplod]

This all just seems overkill.  I don't have 8 so I cannot comment from experience, but it seems like people have added shortcuts to get the functionality of getting the start menu without using charms, as well as restoring the start menu on the desktop.

I doubt this case is unique, and I would guess it could be effectively solved in software.

If it could be I'm all for it. If I had to go the DIY route I guess a custom-programmed bare button would be the route, but it'd destroy the aesthetics of my setup.