Struggling to Type Your Questions & Comments?

Posted by John, Volunteer Mentor @johnbishop, Oct 9, 2021

Myself, @cgent and I'm sure others have found it difficult to type a post on Connect at one time or another. Sometimes I get the minor tremors or shakiness in my fingers which do not normally last very long but when they occur I have to step away from the keyboard for awhile. If I try to keep going and using my old one finger hunt and peck routine, it is still hit or miss the right key.

I have found a work around for me and it may also help you. I use a Notepad window on my Windows 10 computer and keep it on the screen where I can type and make corrections until I have it saying what I want. Then I can cut and paste the text from the Notepad window into my Connect reply or post.

I've experimented with speech to text on Windows 10 and Google Docs and both seem to work fairly well but you may have to practice with it a little. There are also apps for android phones and iPhones that allow you to use the microphone and could be useful. The only caveat is that you have to read and possibly do some corrections after you do the voice to text so it may take longer to do a post.

More information:

Use voice typing to talk instead of type on your PC - Microsoft: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/use-voice-typing-to-talk-instead-of-type-on-your-pc-fec94565-c4bd-329d-e59a-af033fa5689f

Have you tried voice to text?

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Just Want to Talk Support Group.

Becky, Volunteer Mentor | @becsbuddy | Oct 9, 2021

Ive certainly tried the voice to text before, but i always get hung up on punctuation. Maybe ill try again. This is a very helpful article. Thanks, John

John, Volunteer Mentor | @johnbishop | Oct 9, 2021

Hi Becky, I’m responding to your post using my iPhone microphone. I’m not sure how hard this is but it seems to work pretty good. Now I’m turning the microphone off.

Back to typing with my pinkies 😁. This is my first time responding with voice, not too bad.

Chris Trout, Volunteer Mentor | @artscaping | Oct 9, 2021

In reply to @johnbishop "Hi Becky, I’m responding to your post using my iPhone microphone. I’m not sure how hard..." + (show)

Where do you find the directions for iPhone recording? Can you edit after recording?

John, Volunteer Mentor | @johnbishop | Oct 9, 2021

Yes you can edit after recording. It’s all done live.

Ginger, Volunteer Mentor | @gingerw | Oct 9, 2021

I do voice to text when it comes to texting on my phone [a Samsung model] It is way too easy for me to mistype. I have the chance to edit/
review my message before sending it. Yep, not a techno type person, I only use my cell phone for phone calls and texting, rarely internet use, no fb.
Ginger

Rosemary, Volunteer Mentor | @rosemarya | Oct 9, 2021

In reply to @johnbishop "Yes you can edit after recording. It’s all done live." + (show)

Thanks John, for the illustration! I usually use notepad. this is something new I’m going to try!
This is my first time a use the voice recording!!!

John, Volunteer Mentor | @johnbishop | Oct 10, 2021

In reply to @rosemarya "Thanks John, for the illustration! I usually use notepad. this is something new I’m going to..." + (show)

Would love to hear how it works for you Rosemary!

John, Volunteer Mentor | @johnbishop | Oct 10, 2021

In reply to @artscaping "Where do you find the directions for iPhone recording? Can you edit after recording?" + (show)

Sorry, forgot to answer your other question.

Use Dictation on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch -- https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208343

mariajean03 | @mariajean03 | Aug 27, 2023

I know very little about computer but thanks.

Debbie | @dbeshears1 | Aug 28, 2023

Very useful John. I’ve never used the notepad on my computer- I wasn’t sure of the benefits. I can see it now. I can’t tell you how many times I have been timed out of apps (esp Patient Portals) before completing my note & editing and pushing send. Or other apps or emails where I accidentally push the X and close the app altogether before finished. Whatever the cause, I’ve lost a lot of messages and have had to start over from scratch many times. My little trick became to occasionally “copy” my responses in progress so I could at least paste what was in memory if I had to restart. But I’d lose some of those too when I’d go to another window and need to copy something else, hence replacing what I had previously stored as copied. I’m going to start using notepad now. Fewer steps, and sounds easier to do all the needed editing without time constraints, especially since many of us are finger/hand challenged. Thanks for the tip!