Mobilewrite 1.1 For Android
User Guide
Getting Started
Using MobileWrite
Customization
About MobileWrite
Getting Started
MobileWrite is a handwriting recognition program. Using Mobilewrite, it is easy to enter text and data, into your favorite
applications such as Contacts, Tasks, etc. Text and data
can be entered by simply writing on the screen of your handheld, instead of
typing on the small keyboard. This software recognizes regular printed letters and
Graffiti ® letters, numbers, symbols, and accented letters used in English,
French, German, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Portuguese and other European
languages.
Graffiti is a registered trademark of Palm Computing Inc.
- Android Powered handheld equipped with a touch screen, running Android
Version 1.5 or above.
Using MobileWrite
Launching MobileWrite
- MobileWrite is installed as an Input Method. An Input Method is a
small input window which pops up on the lower part of the screen when text
needs to be entered into an input field. The online keyboard is
another example of an Input Method. A settings program is also
installed.
- To enable the MobileWrite input method, first exit the settings program
(if you are reading this manual from within it).
1. Go to the Android Settings->Locale & Text screen. Select the checkbox
for MobileWrite.
2. In any input field, press and hold your finger for a second or two (long
press), until a menu pops up. Select "Input Method" from the menu, then
select MobileWrite. MobileWrite will now pop up instead of the Android
keyboard,
Overview
MobileWrite can recognize printed, Graffiti 1, and
Graffiti 2 letters. The option to select one of these three letter input
methods is described below in the Customization section.
All the supported characters and gestures for the three
letters can be viewed in the Tutorial screen by pressing on the letters shown. The circular heavy dots indicate the start of a stroke. Notice the number of strokes required for each character and the direction of travel.
Tips
- Write large characters, no smaller than 1/4 inch (when using a stylus).
- Avoid writing letters, or lines within a letter at a slant.
- See the Tutorial screen for supported letters.
- If you are using finger input, your handheld may need a plastic screen
protector, which lets your fingers slide more easily on the screen.
- Some screen protectors are too thick and reduce the accuracy. If you are using one, try without it, then purchase one which does
not interfere with handwriting recognition products.
- When using printed letters, leave a gap between each letter when writing a word. Larger gaps improve accuracy.
- Keep your eyes on the stylus and the trail of ink, instead of the output.
- Write at your normal speed. When writing too fast or too slow, the lines will not be drawn smoothly. These lines reduce the accuracy.
- Mobilewrite only supports the standard printed style for each letter, or Graffiti letters. Avoid dragging the pen before or after each letter, or adding extra curls as if writing cursive letters.
- If more time is needed to write multi-stroke characters, increase the time limit
setting by moving the slider to the left.
Writing Printed Letters
When using the printed letters option, write an entire word from
left to right, as you would on paper, followed by a space gesture. Write letters on
the lower part of the input area. Write numbers and symbols on the upper
part. For many letters, the size determines if the letter is uppercase or lowercase, as is done on paper.
For uppercase, write it large. This height can be adjusted
by changing the size on the Settings screen.
When writing several letters across the screen, a gap must be present between each letter.
Writing Graffiti 1 letters
Write lowercase letters on the left side, numbers and
symbols on the right.
To capitalize letters write in the center of the box.
But if the "Write capitals in center" checkbox is not set, use the "Shift" stroke or the "Lock" strokes to capitalize. These strokes are displayed in the Gestures window on the Tutorial screen. The Lock stroke
is used to set the shift lock. To get out of the Shift Lock setting, use the Shift stroke again. In the lower right corner, a shift and a shift lock indicator is displayed. These indicators look like small arrows pointing up.
Writing Graffiti 2 letters
Write on the left side for capitals, center for lowercase, right side for numbers and symbols.
But if the "Write capitals in center" checkbox is set, write capitals in the center,
lowercase on the left side, and numbers and symbols on the right.
Punctuation, Space, Backspace and gestures
These may be written anywhere within the input box in all three options.
Symbols
Write Symbols on the right side. For the symbols
which are not often used, a keyboard popup is
provided. To popup this keyboard, use the "Kbd" stroke shown in the
Gestures screen in the Tutorial.
Accents
To add an accent on top of a letter, first write the
letter, then immediately (within 2 seconds) write
the accent on the same part of the input area as the numbers. See the Accents screen in the Tutorial
to see how to write the accents.
Making Letter Corrections
MobileWrite displays alternate letters you can tap on to
quickly correct mistakes. The first blue button on the far left toggles
uppercase/lowercase, and the second one is the alternate. The five yellow buttons
to the right are used to select the letter that needs correction.
To correct a letter, simply tap one of the 5 yellow buttons
that you'd like to change. The alternate letter for the button you pressed
will be displayed. Tap on either the capital letter or the alternate, and
the program fixes your text. For the last letter you entered, you do not need to
select a yellow letter first, just tap on
one the alternate buttons.
If you selected a letter for correction by pressing one of
the yellow buttons, and don't see an
alternate letter you need, then you can write a new
letter in the input box to make the correction.
To add a space between letters, tap on one of the yellow
buttons, and then write the space stroke. To remove a letter, tap on one
of the yellow buttons, and write the erase stroke.
Do not use the alternate letters if you have tapped in
the input field and changed the text because the alternate letters and the input
field will be out of sync.
Customization
Press the Menu button at the top of the MobileWrite input
box, to customize MobileWrite.
The writing Speed slider adjusts the time limit for
completing multi-stroke characters. For more time, move the slider to the left.
To write faster, move it to the right.
International letters
Int'l Letters checkbox enables/disables the International
letters. If not needed, turn them off, for a small increase in accuracy and
speed.
Advantages of using printed letters
- Familiar way of writing. Allows a word or several characters to be written across the screen, as it is done on paper.
- Supports Upper and Lowercase letters.
Advantages of using Graffiti 2 letters
- Letters are written in one place, on top of each other, so there is no need to be careful about leaving a gap between each letter, as you would have to when using printed letters. Also, there is no need to wait for the previous word to be recognized, before writing another.
- Has familiar letters, but only supports lowercase. To enter an uppercase, write it in the center.
- Since a subset of letters is available, accuracy and speed is better than printed letters.
- Writing in the center of the screen, to capitalize letters, may be more accurate for some, than writing large as is done when using printed letters.
- Similar to Graffiti 2, but many letters and symbols are simpler to write.
Advantages of using Graffiti 1 letters
- It is fast and accurate.
- Better for entering a lot of data. The letters are similar to capital letters, therefore, when learning this alphabet, think in capitals.
- Hard to remember symbols from the original Graffiti 1, have been replaced with regular symbols. The
original Graffiti 1 letters, numbers, and gestures have not changed, but some new ones have been added. See the Tutorial screen for all the available letters.
The tap mode for punctuation and other symbols is not supported.
- Uses 1 stroke letters, so there is no need to try and properly position the second stroke on top of the first stroke, as you would have to do when writing multi-stroke letters.
- Letters are written in one place, on top of each other, so there is no need to be careful about leaving a gap between each letter as you would have to when using printed letters. Also, there is no need to wait for the previous word to be recognized, before writing another.
- Each letter is designed to be different than the others, so letters such as "n" and "h" or "r" and "v" don't have to be written as carefully.
- Option to write in the center or use the shift stroke is available for capitalization.
- Extra letters, in addition to all the Graffiti letters are available.
See the Tutorial.
About MobileWrite
Troubleshooting
and Frequently Asked Questions
How to improve the accuracy
- Write large characters, no smaller than 1/4 inch.
- Avoid writing letters, or lines within a letter at a slant.
- Some screen protectors are too thick and reduce the accuracy of the
stylus. If you are using one, try without it, then purchase one which does
not interfere with handwriting recognition products.
- When using printed letters, leave a gap between each letter when writing a word. Larger gaps improve accuracy.
- Keep your eyes on the stylus and the trail of ink, instead of the output.
- Write at your normal speed. When writing too fast or too slow, the lines will not be drawn smoothly. These lines reduce the accuracy.
- Mobilewrite only supports the standard printed style for each letter, or Graffiti letters. Avoid dragging the pen before or after each letter, or adding extra curls as if writing cursive letters.
- If more time is needed to write multi-stroke characters, increase the time limit on the main screen by moving the slider to the left.
There is too much delay,
Mobilewrite is running too slowly.
- In the Settings screen the move the Writing speed slider to the right, to reduce the delay.
- When using printed letters, you can write a whole word at a time, from
left to right. There is no need to wait for each letter to be
recognized before writing another one.
Recognized characters are totally wrong
- Letters and numbers have to be written on different parts of the screen, as explained above in the "Using
MobileWrite" section. See the Tutorial included in Mobilewrite.
A particular character is not recognized
- Check the number of strokes and the direction of travel for that character in the Tutorial by pressing the button below the drawing of the character.
- Avoid writing slanted letters.
- Try drawing the letter on paper, and then comparing the starting and ending points with the one in the Tutorial.
History
Version 1.1 - October 15, 2009
- Updated for version 1.6 of Android.
Version 1.0 - August 30, 2009