IMG's Blog - Recorded Keystrokes

My-T-Soft for Android
written October 12, 2017 by Kermit Komm
Category: Development Tags: My-T-Soft; Android; Build-A-Board #76

IMG is pleased to present My-T-Soft for Android, the newest platform for IMG's Build-A-Board keyboard designer. Working in conjunction with a large OEM customer and identifying shortcomings in available Android keyboards, along with a list of desired capabilities, IMG has developed, and now publicly released the Android target for custom Build-A-Board layouts.

Key features include the ability to customize layouts with IMG's Build-A-Board, tie layouts together into sets, position layouts anywhere on the screen, and customize key actions with keystroke macros and internal commands (Launch Apps, Open New Keyboard File, etc.). The software installs as another input method, and can be swapped in & out with other methods. My-T-Soft for Android can tie into accounts at Build-A-Board.com, so favorite boards can be quickly brought onto any device, and provides access to the ever growing online database of onscreen keyboard layouts. Because layouts are customizable, key sizes are flexible, and both text and images can be used on keys, the possibilities for optimizing the user input interface are endless. In order to address different devices and different screen resolutions and the fact that layouts may not be optimized for a particular device, various scaling options and board positioning options were added. While it is recommended that boards be optimized for devices, the reality is that boards may be dropped onto a device from who knows where, so the ability to scale and fit boards is a useful capability.

In addition to flexible positioning from within Build-A-Board, and various device & board overrides, there is also an optional ability to drag & drop a layout where desired, and the new location can be saved (or not). Basics such as configurable shift-lock/indicators, and key click sounds are included, along with an optional revert to default layout on long key press. The key zoom or preview capability is included (separate magnified key being pressed) and also configurable to above/below/left/right, as now that layouts can be anywhere, the actual direction of where best to see the magnified key is no longer just in one place.

There are also several appearance options and overrides that provide additional capabilities. The keyboard background can come from the KeyBoard File (KBF / Board data), can be made black, white, or clear (glass). The clear option can be used to create a floating key effect, and also helpful if transparency is being used. The actual key image (or look & feel of the keys) has many user selectable options which can override keys that have the HiRes key type. There is also full support for the Regular keys in terms of face/text/highlight/shadow options, and keys can be mixed on boards (this is a per key setting). The actual Key Text color can also be selected from the KBF / Board setting to Black or White. Finally, the ability to select a transparency level is done via a slide bar where the user can dial up and down how opaque or how transparent you want the boards to be. This enables a full screen layout where you can see through and type using the whole screen, while still seeing your text input. This helps with various devices, and can solve input/fat-finger issues. Note that a board can be optimized to leave space in the keys where the actual text will go, so keys will not occlude the underlying text input field.

My-T-Soft for Android is part of the IMG Build-A-Board system as a new target, which is added to existing targets for Windows, Windows CE, Linux, and Max OS X, all with access to the growing online database of layouts. Basic licensing is available per device, and as a Platform in the Build-A-Board system with options for site, company, and enterprise licensing.

Because of the flexibility of being able to design the keyboard, or choose from an existing layout and modify as needed, the application is only limited by your needs and imagination. Now Android users can Get the My-T-Soft Advantage! What you want, when you want, where you want it! Improves productivity, saves time, reduces errors, and lowers training costs. Android users - Welcome to My-T-Soft!

The New IMG Logo!
written June 6, 2017 by Tracy Chang
Category: PR Tags: new IMG Logo; marketing #75

Innovation Management Group, Inc. has begun rolling out a new IMG Logo!
In preparation for some exciting changes, upcoming releases, and new marketing campaigns, the IMG Board has approved a new logo (replacing original logo after 22 years of use). The new logo is simple, clean, and dynamic, incorporating some subtle elements from the original - Innovation gets things going, Management keeps things steady, and the Group works together to take off into the future. Look for the new logo on our website, and the marketing department now has their hands full updating and replacing all the old logos.

My-T-Soft^® for Linux 2.20 Release 5 now available
written May 10, 2017 by Kermit Komm
Category: Development Tags: My-T-Soft; Build-A-Board; Linux; 32-bit; 64-bit; #74

A maintenance update to My-T-Soft for the Linux platform (Build-A-Board run-time for Linux 32-bit and 64-bit) is now available and will be rolled into the next release of Build-A-Board. A large government contractor ran into issues while testing for an upcoming release, and although the specific issue could not be replicated in house, a code review and other stress tests found a mechanism where unsupported characters could be introduced into a keystroke macro, and could cause the macrobat (Macro Batch processor) process to terminate (which then caused typing problems, and other operational issues). By working with the customer's results and in-house testing, a more robust error checking and invalid character stripping was added, producing the update. From the code review & inspection of the actual C library function call used as part of the interprocess communication, multiple "post" events before macrobat processed the queue could result in a line-feed character as a separator, which then caused the issue (which was created in-house by using typefile/playmacro with various files/input data). As part of the review, it was determined that timing issues due to system speed, other processes running, input caching, or possibly other system delays could result in the interprocess queue growing without immediate macrobat processing, and then (possibly system / version related) the line-feed character would have been introduced (which caused the improper handling in the previous version of macrobat). The update was tested extensively by the customer and IMG, and after passing all tests, the update release was made available. Better support for the Allow User to Move / Access Menu options set in Build-A-Board was also added. The update is available here: My-T-Soft for Linux

The My-T-Soft^® and Build-A-Board software provides customizable on-screen keyboard, buttons, and panels for use across numerous platforms, enabling a consistent user interface along with more control, security, and flexibility than system based on-screen keyboards.

Joystick-To-Mouse 2.80 Release 5 now available to address Windows updates
written January 24, 2017 by Kermit Komm
Category: Development Tags: Joystick-To-Mouse; Text Scaling; #73

A relatively minor update to the Windows 10/8.1/8 version of Joystick-To-Mouse is now available, tagged as Version 2.80 Release 5. Changes were made to the Joystick-To-Mouse executables, along with date and release text updates. This update is an example of the maintenance that is required of software - here is the background and details:
A new customer was using Joystick-To-Mouse on their Home Theater PC, using an Xbox 360 wireless controller, but ran into an issue when going into Start->Settings->System->Display->Change text size (or Display | Advanced Settings, set Custom Text size) to make the text easier to see on their flat screen TV. Basically whenever the setting was something other than 100%, the mouse cursor ran to the bottom-right of the screen, and made the software unusable. A Tech Support case was created, and it bubbled up to the development staff, since there was no quick solution available. The first step in resolving issues is to be able to duplicate the problem, and this was quickly done, but trying to understand why the DPI change was the cause of the problem seemed odd, as the software already had a SetProcessDPIAware call that was added back in the updates for Windows 8. DPI stands for Dots Per Inch, which is used in Windows to map things on to the display. In digging into the code and documentation, it turns out the preferred approach for a process is to use now is the program manifest vs. the API call, and it must be noted that is not uncommon for the preferred solution to change when dealing with Windows API based software. In testing and working with rebuilt/remanifested executables, it was discovered that the existing software did work just fine with custom text sizes in Windows 8, but not in Windows 8.1 and Windows 10. Also it should be noted that testing in a normal system would never expose this issue - only doing custom text sizing would make the problem occur. So the only required change was to remove the deprecated SetProcessDPIAware call, and update the manifests for the required executable files. Then comes the testing, and rolling into an updated release.

In an ideal world, with infinite resources, complete regression testing would have caught this issue. But customers simply won't pay thousands of dollars for a little utility program. Plus why should a problem that was found, and fixed, and in the software need testing on what was a mostly a cosmetic update to Windows 8? It turns out the API used had some issues, so it was deprecated (most likely around the Windows 8.1 release), but the thought that every Windows API used in a Windows software program needs to be reviewed for every Windows release just to see if there have been changes makes little business sense, so customers need to be understanding of the realities of modern software. Maybe someday non-IMG software will be engineered and maintained in a disciplined manner, but that is not the world we live in today.

Joystick-To-Mouse continues to be in demand, and provides a unique capability that IMG updates and maintains. Now that only secure, code-signed programs can access the user interface capabilities needed to perform the function that Joystick-To-Mouse provides, it may be a good idea to "Tell a Friend", and let your gamer friends know that they can "play" their internet browser, or "drive" Windows, or use Windows on a large screen TV with large text! Just as many eyes make bugs shallow, many customers make resources available for more development, more testing, and more features...

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License Updates for 2024
June 28, 2024
Kermit Komm
Category: Development
Tags: SmartClick; OnScreen; The Magnifier; Joystick-to-Mouse;

My-T-Soft for Linux 2.20 Release 22 now available!
November 17, 2023
Kermit Komm
Category: Development
Tags: My-T-Soft; Linux;

Major National Trucking Company uses My-T-Soft^® on thousands of tablets
July 28, 2023
Tracy Chang
Category: PR
Tags: My-T-Soft; Build-A-Board;

25+ Years of Innovations in On-Screen Keyboard Interface, How IMG Ensures Security and Productivity Across Industries
January 19, 2023
Tracy Chang
Category: PR
Tags: My-T-Soft; Build-A-Board; Security; Productivity;

Major National Retailer uses My-T-Soft^® to bridge user interface from Windows to Linux
December 28, 2022
Tracy Chang
Category: PR
Tags: My-T-Soft; Build-A-Board; Linux;

My-T-Soft^® updates rolled into GE Digital iFIX 6.1
November 28, 2022
Tracy Chang
Category: PR
Tags: My-T-Soft 1.90 Release 5; iFIX

Build-A-Board 2.20 Release 7 & My-T-Soft Basic 2.20 Release 12
August 26, 2022
Kermit Komm
Category: Development
Tags: My-T-Soft; My-T-Soft Basic; Build-A-Board

My-T-Soft for Linux 2.20 Release 16 now available!
August 10, 2022
Kermit Komm
Category: Development
Tags: My-T-Soft; Linux;

IMG is pleased to announce that My-T-Soft^® 1.90 Release 5 is now available
May 31, 2022
Kermit Komm
Category: PR
Tags: My-T-Soft 1.90 Release 5

The Magnifier support - software vs. hardware
January 10, 2022
Alex S.
Category: Development
Tags: The Magnifier; Support; Video

My-T-Soft for Android
October 12, 2017
Kermit Komm
Category: Development
Tags: My-T-Soft; Android; Build-A-Board

The New IMG Logo!
June 6, 2017
Tracy Chang
Category: PR
Tags: new IMG Logo; marketing

My-T-Soft^® for Linux 2.20 Release 5 now available
May 10, 2017
Kermit Komm
Category: Development
Tags: My-T-Soft; Build-A-Board; Linux; 32-bit; 64-bit;

Joystick-To-Mouse 2.80 Release 5 now available to address Windows updates
January 24, 2017
Kermit Komm
Category: Development
Tags: Joystick-To-Mouse; Text Scaling;