Description of App
Type2Phone is a utility that turns your mac into a bluetooth keyboard for your IOS device. Enabling this app allows users to type directly from their mac onto their IOS device for a variety of applications: SMS/iMessage, email, notes, Facebook, twitter and much more. Additionally, you are able to paste text directly from your mac onto the IOS device! Its as easy as that! Supporting a wide range of keyboard layouts/languages, why not try it today!
Basic requirements:
- Mac with bluetooth capability
- IOS3.2 or later
- IOS device that supports keyboards, EG. iPhone 3GS or later
Basic pairing instructions:
- Enable bluetooth on your mac.
- Set bluetooth to be discoverable.
- on your iPhone/iPad, go to settings>general>bluetooth.
- Enable bluetooth on your device.
- Tap the name of the mac to start the pairing procedure. For future uses after paired, you may start the procedure from "click here to connect" button in Type2Phone.
Comments
Using it on Android phones
Hello,
Is it possible to use this or 1Keyboard with an Android phone? The price is quite high, 9.99, so I would only buy this one or 1Keyboard if they work both with iOS and Android.
This app appears to be
This app appears to be completely accessible. There is even a menu that lists all VoiceOver commands for iOS.
This application is well worth the $9.99 or so. It even connects to other devices like my Nexus 7.
Is it possible
Is it possible to add more voice over command to existing list of commands that are already in there? I mean like the four finger tap near top and bottom of screen?
More commands available and assigning keyboard shortcuts
Hello Igna Traiy,
no, it's not possible to add more commands to those available in the Special menu list. However, in the current version, the commands you mentioned are there. They are named as "Quick Nav - Select Last Item" and "Quick Nav - Select First Item". There are also commands for going to next or previous area.
However, what I am missing there, for instance, is the command for pausing and resuming speech, as the Control key, which normally does that on a Bluetooth keyboard, is not working. But maybe we will see them in the future versions, as I've already got a response on the developer's forum concerning this and adding a possibility to create your own keyboard shortcuts to be send to the iOS device. You can support this request there.
I have posted a comment about a Type2Phone and 1Keyboard comparison on the AppleVis 1Keyboard App Directory entry, where you can read a little bit more about keyboard shortcuts in Type2Phone.
Note that there are actually more keyboard shortcuts one can use apart from those listed in the Special menu. For example, Control + Alt + F for text search works if you turn off VoiceOver on the Mac, andStandard shortcuts for text operations, such as Command + A or Command + C, and those available when QuickNav is turned off, such as Command or Option + arrow keys, with the optional Shift key for text selection, work pretty good, as well as Single-key QuickNav shortcuts for navigating web content. Even the keyboard shortcuts for iOS apps more or less work, but for those which need the Shift key I have to first turn QuickNav off, and those that use the Alt key don't work for me at all, though it's a rare minority of them, and it might start to work if some Type2phone preferences are modified.
And one more note, you can not assign keyboard shortcuts directly in Type2Phone using VoiceOver, as the button for this purpose, under Special > Customize Special Menu Shortcuts, is not accessible. However, fortunately, the shortcuts can be added using Mac System Keyboard Preferences.
Regards
Note on QuickNav commands and their activation
The commands for selecting the first or last item and going to the next or previous area, and other QuickNav commands, work for me even without assigning keyboard shortcuts to them. They use the standard hardware keyboard shortcuts for VoiceOver in iOS, that is, Control + Up or Down arrow and Control + Right or Left arrow, respectively.
Just don't forget to turn QuickNav on in iOS before using them. There is a command for turning QuickNav on or off in the Special menu, and you might want to assign a keyboard shortcut for that command if you want to be able to control the connected iOS device without having to always turn VoiceOver off on the Mac.
Mislabeled Special menu voiceOver items
If you are wondering where the commands for adjusting the standard rotor and its current setting when QuickNav is turned on are, be informed that they are available under the Special > VoiceOver menu, but are just mislabeled as "Quick Nav - Adjust the Speech Rotor" and "Quick Nav - Select the Previous/Next Item Specified by the Speech Rotor", respectively. Also note that if you have a different than US English hardware keyboard layout set in iOS, some shortcuts might not work or might perform different commands. I have reported these issues at the developer's forum, and the developer is already investigating it.
Turn VoiceOver off on Mac and another tip for better behavior
Hello,
two important notes. First, when you have VoiceOver enabled on the Mac, all the commands that use the VO modifier Control + Alt , do not get sent to a connected iOS device, neither the simultaneous press of the Up and Left arrow keys, or Up and Right arrow keys works reliably. However, when you turn VoiceOver off on the Mac, the arrow keys start to work well, and some of the VO commands do so as well, such as Control + Alt + F for text search, or Control + Alt + T for the text attributes announcements.
Second, if you go to Type2phone > Preferences via menubar and under the Devices tab check the "Forward unmapped keyboard shortcuts (advanced users)" option, more keyboard shortcuts start to work on the iOS device, such as Control + Alt + M to move to the status bar or Control + Alt + Shift + M for double tap and hold.
However, even then, Control + Alt + Space bar won't work for the iOS device if Control + Space bar is assigned on the Mac to switch the keyboard language. In that case you have to activate items with QuickNav on using Up and Down arrow simultaneously instead. Also, Caps lock as a VO modifier does not work, you have to use Control + Alt.
Best regards
how to use the app
I am having some trouble navigating the app when it comes to the keyboard commands.
Can someone please let me know what the keyboard commands are to navigate?
keyboard menu for setting up short cuts
I am having some trouble setting up and finding the keyboard short cuts menu on the app.
Where is it located?
It is, or was, under special…
It is, or was, under special last I looked in 2018.
How can I assign shortcuts in the special menu?
Hi,
How can I assign own shortcuts in the special menu? in the table I can just see the appropriate action but not the command to a specific action.
Edit: Is it normal that the navigation and composing of text is that slow? I noticed that if I write very quickly the letters appear a few seconds later on the phone. All just works with a bit delay...
Update: I have solved the problem with the delay by turning off the throttle setting under preferences. But, ctrl+down with quicknav is not forwarded to my iPhone, mission Control is loaded instead...