S&T Keys for Streets & Trips 2009 Wish List

Yes i know, time is a precious thing and sometimes things go slowlier than expected. But for the curious, here are the things i have on the next todo list for S&T Keys 2009 :

1- Correct most of the actual known bugs
2- Speed optimization so it does not slow operation on slow laptop as much
3- Add automated ETA time of arrival (discussion with Hokie in this thread)

Thanks! I am looking forward to it!

Heading out this weekend for a long trip....let me know if you need a beta tester!

Hokie said:
For this time you should ride the old time fashion cause it would not be ready

A couple of things that I would really like on the new addition of keys..

1. Be able to turn off the navigation voice completely, without having to mute my laptop.

2. Instead of the navigation voice. Have an option of just having a "beep" maybe 50 yards prior to the next turn (Or better yet, an adjustable distance from the turn). This way before the turn comes up, it will beep, and then I will know that the next turn coming up is the one that I need to turn at. Maybe there could be a different tone for a right turn vs a left turn. This way, I can still follow the route w/o having to listen to the voice or look down at the computer.

3. I am trying to figure out a way to SKIP a stop in the route. I work a job where I may have 50 stops within a day. There might be a reason why I want to skip the next stop, but proceed to the one after that. Could there be a way to do this already that I am not aware of. If not, it would be nice to have it on the next addition of keys. Or maybe I want to skip the next 3 stops and have it route me immediately to the 4th.

4. On the navigation screen, have it indicate on the bottom of the screen what street you are currently driving on w/o having to look at the map to see. This would especially be nice in full screen mode.

5. On full screen mode, have it indicate the Distance to your next stop on your route as well as the ETA if possible. Also to indicate the overall distance and the overall ETA to your final stop.

Thanks very much..
Robert

If you use the = or - keys or the mouse wheel to zoom in and out the steps are quite large.

If you click on the slider bar you can then use the arrows to zoom in and out in small steps.

This is very useful because it allows you to select the appropriate zoom level for whatever navigation task you are performing.

You can use the Page Up and Down keys to zoom in large steps.

If there isn't an existing keyboard shortcut to do it (I have looked but I can't find it) I would like to have a key that selects the slider.

My partner Christine and I have spent the last 4 months travelling 18,000 km around Europe using MapPoint 2009 every day. We will be returning to Europe for 4 months next year so I would like this feature to be available in a Keys version for MP2k9.

We will probably go to the USA and Canada for Fall next year (as we did for 2 months last year) so we would use this feature in S&T Keys 2009.

Some people use TomTom for navigation. My system is called ChrisChris, ie a laptop running MS mapping software with Chris providing the voice navigation guidance.

Andrew Watson
Perth, Western Australia

Robertm said:

For item 1, just press F7 key while driving in fullscreen mode to mute the voice guidance (feature built-in S&T 2009)

For item 2, if the voice guidance is turned off as explained above, there is an option in S&T Keys 2009 to activate "Turn beep" (see documentation). But the turn beep is the same whatever turn is coming (left right)...

werdnanostaw said:
The feature was there in previous version of S&T Keys (like 2007 version). It is using the PgUp/PgDown keys to do the zooming. User can program in S&T Keys option panel the zooming increment needed. So it is possible to zoom very precisely with this method.

Unfortunatly, in S&T Keys 2009, the feature is still there, but can only be used while navigating not in full screen mode. This is a known issue.

See first known issue in the release 2.54 of S&T Keys 2009:

S&T Keys 2009 release info

As a workaround, if you just want to do it for a short time while using full screen navigation in S&T Keys 2009, you can just press <F11> to exit full screen navigation, then press PgUp/PgDn to do the precise zooming you want (as programmed in S&T Keys option panel) then press <F11> to return full screen to continue navigation (not the best workaround in town, but possible )...

I'm currently running S&T 2009 with S&T Keys. I travel alone in my RV and use a touch screen laptop but find I have difficulty using much of S&T Keys because I can't accurately select the proper screen key while driving. I can zoom in and out but the other functions built into the program are not really available to me unless I stop.

I recently bought a wireless keypad and plan on using it to access some of the functionality of the S&T Keys. I would like to see some of the keys for the keypad used in a future version of S&T, perhaps in the 2010 version. My idea would be to use the asterick (*) key for inserting a pushpin at the current location just as the F6 key does now. Perhaps the forward slash key (/) could be used for the Day/Night toggle just as the F9 key does. I'm thinking that the added, and duplicate use, keys would be for those functions that are available while in navigation mode.

phays said:

What do you mean exactly by you cannot accuratly use the touch screen with it ?

If you are not using the touch screen, you can also use the laptop keyboard hotkeys instead?

Hi MisterMoonlight,

He said: "I can't accurately select the proper screen key...". I thought he meant that when he is driving he has trouble finding and using the correct Function key on the keyboard, probably because of the location of the laptop and he doesn't want to take his eyes off the road. I didn't think he has a touchscreen.

It sounds like he plans to get a wireless number pad because it's small and he can locate closer to him to make it easier to use safely and he would like to be able to have some "alias" keys on the number pad that would do the same things as the Function keys he mentioned.

...ken...

Since you can't buy a small keypad with only F keys, what about a USB touch pad such as one from Cirque.
Touchpad Mouse Overview - Cirque
You could mount it near your location and control the mouse on the screen without reaching for the computer. I know you would have to divert your attention but it would be less than you do now.

Otherwise, get a full size wireless or USB keyboard and mount it within easy reach. You should have room in the RV.

Terry

I guess I need to clarify how I use my laptop when I drive. The laptop has a swivel screen that allows me to place the screen closer to me while I drive. However, the screen is below the level of the dash and just within arms length. Although I have a touch screen, about all I can accomplish with the touch screen while driving is to hit the on screen + and - zoom keys. I can also bring up the onscreen menu but those menu keys are difficult to hit. Although I drive a comfortable motor home, there is still vibration and I'm not as steady as I once was. In addition, a great deal of concentration is required to accurately touch the screen in the correct location to select the action I want.

I've got a wireless mouse but I must take my eyes off of the road for too long a time in order to use the mouse.

I can use a remote keyboard with all the keys but the keyboard is rather large. I can attach a number pad with velcro to the steering wheel for ready access. Plus the number pad has a bump on the 5 key that allows me to home my hand over the keypad with accuracy without looking at the keypad.

I think Ken said it best and I couldn't come up with the words.
". . . he would like to be able to have some "alias" keys on the number pad that would do the same things as the Function keys he mentioned.

I can use the number pad with S&T Keys the way it is and have better access to some of the functions. But being able to use the keypad for access to some of the other functions would be desirable. Especially those functions that are used during navigation. Through the use of the NumLock key on the keypad, there would be more keys available.

Again, this is my current wish list for S&T Keys. If it is too much work to warrant the benefit I fully understand. I've reviewed the source code for S&T Keys and it is much more involved than I, or I suspect many others, believed.

As it is now, the keypad will give me much more access to the functions than I had before. I now have easy access to the functions that correspond to Home, End, Insert, Delete, PageUp, PageDown, +, and - keys.

By the way, when I use the Insert key to turn on the gps trail, the GPS Pane comes up, the check box is checked, or unchecked if it was previously checked but the GPS pane does not go away. This behavior is the same whether I use the number pad or the full size keyboard.

phays said:

I guess you are not driving in fullscreen mode. When not driving in fullscreen mode, all actions that are opening panels will let the panel on screen. It is quite difficult to know what was on-screen before the user action. So you would have to push another key to revert to the previous panel you were seeing before the first action you made (if needed)...

In fullscreen navigation, usually you should not see any panel on the screen when doing an action...

I do not drive in full screen mode. I run another program that displays my engine and transmission temps, fuel used, speed, rpm, etc. It takes up about one-fourth of the screen.