Using Keyboard Latch Mode

Keyboard Latch Mode is designed to be used for entering Braille cells in the training program exercises and competency exams when you are unable to use the standard 6 key entry mode as specified in Using the Keyboard.

This may be because your keyboard does not support the simultaneous pressing of 6 keys required to generate a braille cell due to technical limitations or you are physically unable to press 6 keys down at the same time.

If you cannot use the 6 key entry mode then you should turn the Keyboard Latch Mode On in your My Account page if you have already registered or in the Registration page if you are yet to register.

How does it work

When Keyboard Latch Mode is enabled, you enter a braille cell by ‘latching’ a single dot at a time in the 6 dot cell by pressing a single key (s d f j k or l) and when all required dots for the cell you are entering are ‘latched’ you use the space key to add them to the exercise or competency exam being completed. After the latched dots are entered, the latch will be cleared ready for the next cell.

To enter a space or enter you make sure no dots are latched (the latch is empty) and the space or enter will be added to the exercise or competency exam.

If you want to clear all dots in the latch to start again, you can press the Backspace or Delete key and all currently latched dots will be cleared returning the latch to empty.

If you want to unlatch a single dot, you can press the same key again to unlatch it. For example, if you press the f key to latch dot 1 and then realise you don’t want dot 1, pressing the f key again will unlatch it or turn it off and remove just that dot from the latch.

In Visual Mode, a single large 6 dot cell with LATCH written under it is displayed to the right of an exercise in the training program and to the top right of a competency exam. When a dot is latched you will be able to see the latched dot as solid black circle. The image below shows a picture of the latch with dots 1 4 and 6 latched and dots 2 3 5 not latched.

In Non Visual Mode the same 6 dot cell with LATCH mode is still shown to collect the dots for latching however an additional help key has been added with the H key to assist the screen reader. Pressing the H key while in the text box to enter Braille cells will read the current contents of the latch in the screen reader. In the example given above, pressing H will read ‘latched dots 1 4 6’. If the latch is empty then pressing H will read ‘latch empty’.

In both Visual and Non Visual mode, the cursor must be placed in the normal text box that you enter braille cells just as if you were using 6 key entry mode to enter the braille using Keyboard Latch Mode.

Example

The following is an example of the sequence of keystrokes you would use in Keyboard Latch Mode if you are entering the phrase tea cup followed by an enter to move to a new line.

s d j k space f k space f space space f j space f s l space f d s j space enter