2. Why use a staggered layout? Because people are used to it? Counterpoint: the numpad is not staggered and people are easily able to use both parts of a normal keyboard)
2) The staggered layout has been carefully chosen to allow for single-hand use. The user must be able to press up to three keys at the same time (2 modifiers and 1 symbol key). The layout I settled on for Mathpad makes this as easy as possible.
I think this is super cool and intend to donate because I love the love and thought you’ve put into this. With that said, did you consider using something like an Elgato Stream Deck programmable control pad?
Thank you for the kind words. I did orginally consider using a programmable stream deck, but quickly realized that it would not be sufficient. My requirements were:
1) Over 100 symbols immediately accessible
2) Single-hand use
3) Small size
The elgato stream deck meets some of these requirements, but it would not have been possible to support the amount of symbols I wanted.
Amazing project and glad to see something like this exits. While my current setup dosnt allow for this, if that ever changes and I start taking more latex notes I will be ordering one of these.
The killer feature of Mathpad is not LaTeX (although that is supported) - it's letting you directly type mathematical Unicode symbols practically anywhere you can type regular text.
Mathpad will remain available on Crowd Supply long after the campaign ends (albeit at a higher price), so just come back later when you need one!
How much faster is Mathpad than creating a per-document table of symbols with their Unicode numbers and/or latex values and copy/pasting until you remember the Ctrl-Shift-u nnnn sequence?
Not much faster if you only need a few symbols, and if you only work in one document. I used to make such tables for large documents before I created Mathpad.
Mathpad's killer feature is working anywhere you can type text, not only document editors. I've found it particularly useful when putting together technical presentations in Powerpoint, and when documenting the algorithms I write at work which are rather math and physics heavy.
2. Why use a staggered layout? Because people are used to it? Counterpoint: the numpad is not staggered and people are easily able to use both parts of a normal keyboard)
2) The staggered layout has been carefully chosen to allow for single-hand use. The user must be able to press up to three keys at the same time (2 modifiers and 1 symbol key). The layout I settled on for Mathpad makes this as easy as possible.
https://www.elgato.com/us/en/p/stream-deck
1) Over 100 symbols immediately accessible
2) Single-hand use
3) Small size
The elgato stream deck meets some of these requirements, but it would not have been possible to support the amount of symbols I wanted.
The killer feature of Mathpad is not LaTeX (although that is supported) - it's letting you directly type mathematical Unicode symbols practically anywhere you can type regular text.
Mathpad will remain available on Crowd Supply long after the campaign ends (albeit at a higher price), so just come back later when you need one!
Mathpad's killer feature is working anywhere you can type text, not only document editors. I've found it particularly useful when putting together technical presentations in Powerpoint, and when documenting the algorithms I write at work which are rather math and physics heavy.