'backslash' in keys fails online

Online experiments
1

URL of experiment: https://run.pavlovia.org/Wake/dictation/

I am using

keys = event.getKeys()
if len(keys):

with the appropriate event=psychoJS.eventManager; in code_JS

Offline backslash is registered. Online, however, it seems that it fails at the len(keys) check.

I’m trying to map a Hungarian keyboard (press the y key to advance past the instructions in the demo) and it seems that one key isn’t being presented. The student says it’s í but I can get that by pressing `. I can’t, however, get ű, and yet on the 28th December the student was able to tell me that backslash came up when they pressed ű so that suggests there has been a change in functionality since then.

2

This problem has reared it head again while trying to map a German keyboard

3

Hello wakecarter,

when I use the following code to register keypresses, I see a \ using a German keyboard:

actualKeys = event.getKeys()
n = len(actualKeys)
i = 0
while i < n:        # solange was eingegeben wurde und verarbeitet werden muss
    if actualKeys[i] == 'return':
        # pressing RETURN means time to stop
        continueRoutine = False
        break
    elif actualKeys[i] == 'backspace':
        inputText = inputText[:-1]  # lose the final character
        i = i + 1
    elif actualKeys[i] == 'z':
        inputText += 'y'
        i = i + 1
    elif actualKeys[i] == 'y':
        inputText += 'z'
        i = i + 1
    elif actualKeys[i] == 'bracketleft':
        inputText += 'ü'
        i = i + 1
    elif actualKeys[i] == 'apostrophe':
        inputText += 'ä'
        i = i + 1
    elif actualKeys[i] == 'semicolon':
        inputText += 'ö'
        i = i + 1        
    elif actualKeys[i] == 'space':
        inputText += ' '
        i = i + 1
    elif actualKeys[i] in ['minus', '-', 'num_subtract', 'Minus', 'slash']:
        inputText += '-'
        i = i + 1
    elif actualKeys[i] in ['lshift', 'rshift', 'SHIFT']:
        shift_flag = True
        i = i + 1
    else:
        if len(actualKeys[i]) == 1:
            # we only have 1 char so should be a normal key, 
            # otherwise it might be 'ctrl' or similar so ignore it
            if shift_flag:
                inputText += actualKeys[i].upper()
                shift_flag = False
            else:
                inputText += actualKeys[i]
        i = i + 1

Isn’t that your code? So, I only need the code to map z,y,ü,ä,ö.Here backslash works without code.

Best wishes Jens

4

On the German keyboard the character that fails is the apostrophe, so my assumption is that it uses the English backslash key.

I’ve just solved the issue (hopefully) by discovering that a keyboard component (but not event.getKeys) reports backslash as N/A

Here’s my new code in my Key Check demo.

keys = event.getKeys()
if len(keys):
    if 'return' in keys and len(displayText)>1:
        continueRoutine=False
    elif 'space' in keys:
        displayText += ' '
    elif 'backspace' in keys:
        displayText=displayText[:-1]
    elif 'lshift' in keys or 'rshift' in keys:
        modify = True
    elif modify==False:
        displayText += keys[0]
elif backslash.keys:
    if 'N/A' in backslash.keys and displayText[-1] != '\\':
        displayText += '\\'

Where backslash is a keyboard component with blank allowed keys that doesn’t end the routine.

5

Hello,

when I use your Key Check demo hitting the key labeled “#” give backslash as output. # and ’ (shift + #) are mapped to the same key. backslash on a German keyboard requires two keys AltGr + \.

Best wishes Jens

6

Is your # key to the left of your bottom row of letters? That’s where my backslash key is.

Where is your apostrophe and does that work on my key check?

Sorry – I saw you said this was Shift #

7

Hello,

no, the backslash is in the top row on the key right to the zero. A picture is worth a thousand words.

keyboard
keyboard1920×1440 300 KB

I should definetly clean my keyboard :rofl:

Best wishes Jens

1 Like
8

Thanks. I’ve realised that the issue is with the modify flag for using the shift key. My code_upper is now:

if len(keys) and modify:
            if len(keys[0])==1:
                displayText += keys[0].upper()
# displayText += keys[0].toUpperCase(); 
                thisLetter += 1
                modify = False
            elif 'backslash' in keys:
                displayText+='\''
                thisLetter += 1
                modify = False

(the commented code is how I update Both code components. I switch to Auto, then back to Both, then copy and paste the commented code to the JS side)

9

Hello,

on the German keyboard, you need to press AltGr and “\” at the same time to get a “\”. This doesn’t work with our demo. AltGr gives “lcontrol” and the backslash while holding the AtlGr-key gives “minus”. But it also gives “minus” when you hit the same key without holding AltGr.

Best wishes Jens
P.S. just noticed that I need to mask backslash. I edited the posts above.

10

Thanks. If necessary I could use a control flag in the same way I use a shift flag to modify for upper case, but so far no-one has actually needed to type a \ in my typing experiments.