Continuing my investigation into the Touch Keyboard, I checked out the Handwriting keyboard. This seems to be a misnomer for it as there are no keys at all!
Using my Surface tablet I tried writing with the mouse but found it a bit jerky. So I tried a finger. Despite adding more finger-marks to those already on the screen, the result was satisfactory.
After a while touch screens scream to be cleaned. Fortunately there are several good products about.
Finally, a friend of mine suggested I use his
Jot Pro stylus.
Once I had the stylus I set to work. It was easy to use and did the best job!
So, what happens to your written text?Press the Insert button and your handwritten contribution is added to a text document but you must have a wordprocessor file open or be in the text section of your email document for the handwritten text to register.
So far I haven’t found out where inserted freehand handwriting goes if you don’t have a document open!
Editing Your Handwritten TextThere are four editing options available – Correcting, Deleting, Splitting and Joining. This feature is available when you click the Help button. Then the four editing tools appear.
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To Correct – Click the word and the letters separate. Re-write above the letters. Note: Optional words are also suggested.
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To Delete – Strike through the word.
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To Split – Draw a vertical line between the letters.
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To Join Words – Draw a “U” line below the characters.
So there you have it!
I have found the handwriting keyboard useful but really only for small documents.
I don’t think you can ever go past the conventional keyboard whether a touch one or a physical one unless of course you try Speech Recognition with Dragon Dictate.
The latter produces amazing results completely hand-free but this is another story.
