Increase typing comfort and productivity
Execute macros in one tip of the toe
Mouse clicks by pedals
Shortcut keystrokes by foot, instead of grabbing the mouse
Ideal for WordPerfect
For CAD, transcription, and general and telephone data entry
For typing HTML tags
Assigning Shift, Alt, and Ctrl keys to the floor pedals will improve productivity for virtually any application, whether it is a word processor, spreadsheet, or a database. All of these applications require extensive use of these keys to cut, paste, save, or select menu items, etc. Holding down Ctrl with your toe takes a lot of strain off your hands and lets you avoid awkward hand positions.
The utility of the Shift pedal alone could justify the use of STEP ON IT! for writing or editing HTML code. Count, how many times should you stroke the Shift key to type, say, "<EM>Shift</EM>, <EM>Alt</EM>, and <EM>Ctrl</EM>".
Use of the pedals will allow full typing operations with only one hand, leaving the other hand free for holding the telephone, or operating other equipment.
The default configuration is ideal for WordPerfect, which relies heavily on the use of Shift / Ctrl / Alt in combination with function keys, in order to execute editing commands. Color-coded keyboard templates for WordPerfect and red, green and blue replacement Shift , Ctrl and Alt keys help to remember the combination keystrokes. Similarly, the STEP-ON-IT! pedals are marked with red, green and blue dots for easy association with Shift / Ctrl / Alt .
Using the Alt pedal to activate WordPerfect macros increases productivity even more! (macro libraries and management systems utilizing the Alt pedal are now available commercially.) With a little help from the STEP-ON-IT! pedals, WP macros can be recalled in no time! When consistently used, pedal-invoked macros can improve productivity up to 20%!
Although the default Shift / Ctrl / Alt configuration may be the most generally useful setting, STEP-ON-IT! Keyboard Control Pedals can also be custom-programmed by the end-user to assign or reassign any other three keys (or longer macros) to the floor operation, to suit specific needs. You may elect, say, Esc, F8, Enter, Alt-F4, PgUp, or longer sequences like Ctrl-X, Ctrl-\ if they are common in your particular application. You may wish to type your name or other macros in one pedal stroke. Choose whatever suits your needs. You are in command!
L.R. Shannon of The New York Times writes: "Many users of both Windows and Macintosh programs learn at least some of the shortcut keystrokes to avoid having to remove one hand from the keyboard to grab the mouse. These shortcuts can range from things as simple as holding down the control key and pressing the "s" to save a Windows file, instead of clicking the cursor on "file" in the upper left of the screen and then selecting "save," to something as arcane as "command-shift-t" to call up the thesaurus in WordPerfect 3.1 ... Keyboard addicts would like to use more shortcuts..." Those addicts believe that it is the miserable little rodent who slows you down. However, the only alternative to the mouse is extensive use of Ctrl , Alt and Shift for the shortcuts, which are much faster and comfortable to execute with the pedals.
In Windows 95, one can get along without mouse (almost...) by using various shortcut tricks. Here is the list of keyboard shortcuts.
Though STEP ON IT! pedals cannot emulate all mouse functions, they can emulate mouse button clicks. You would still need to position the cursor with the mouse, or an alternative pointing device, such as a trackball, touchpad, J-mouse, headmouse, joystick, or a tablet. (For a list of alternative/ergonomic pointing devices, click here.)
In AutoCAD, and various architecture, drawing and graphics design programs, clicking the mouse (or tablet) buttons is the peskiest activity. Assigning those clicks to pedals will relieve the stress and increase productivity.
Bilbo Home Page
and
