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  • Validate NSString

    - by Chris
    I am validating an NSString to ensure that the string does not contain apostrophes. The code I'm using to do this is NSCharacterSet * invalidNumberSet = [NSCharacterSet characterSetWithCharactersInString:@"'"]; NSScanner * scanner = [NSScanner scannerWithString:string]; NSString * scannerResult; [scanner setCharactersToBeSkipped:nil]; [scanner scanUpToCharactersFromSet:invalidNumberSet intoString:&scannerResult]; if(![string isEqualToString:scannerResult]) { return 2; } Returning 2 represents an error. This code works, except for the case where the string is an apostrophe. To get around this issue, I added the following code above the preceding block. if([string isEqualToString:@"'"]); { return 2; } This code is evaluating to true, regardless of the input. I need to either prevent the first block from crashing with the input of ', or get the second block to work. What am I missing?

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  • How can I write my code to attempt a database action but continue executing code on failure?

    - by Chris
    Simple question I guess, I want to use PHP to write an update to an existing row in my database, if it doesn't happen I want to log the failure but continue executing the code. While it would be nice to have records of failures to track down issues, that the update failed isn't that important to my user, nor will it affect the running of any other code; the query is simply for a 'cosmetic' but entirely unnecessary piece of information. My database class's query function is set to die on failure, could I modify that or is there another way of doing it without altering my standard query code?

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  • How to create HTML tables from MySQL?

    - by Chris
    Hi Guys, I'm building a part of a system where the user can define "views" from a mysql database. I want some way of generating simple HTML tables/reports from the data, but not just plain output of sql queries- simple joins probably isn't enough. Any ideas?

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  • Is there a way to update the height of a single UITableViewCell, without recalculating the height for every cell?

    - by Chris Vasselli
    I have a UITableView with a few different sections. One section contains cells that will resize as a user types text into a UITextView. Another section contains cells that render HTML content, for which calculating the height is relatively expensive. Right now when the user types into the UITextView, in order to get the table view to update the height of the cell, I call [self.tableView beginUpdates]; [self.tableView endUpdates]; However, this causes the table to recalculate the height of every cell in the table, when I really only need to update the single cell that was typed into. Not only that, but instead of recalculating the estimated height using tableView:estimatedHeightForRowAtIndexPath:, it calls tableView:heightForRowAtIndexPath: for every cell, even those not being displayed. Is there any way to ask the table view to update just the height of a single cell, without doing all of this unnecessary work? Update I'm still looking for a solution to this. As suggested, I've tried using reloadRowsAtIndexPaths:, but it doesn't look like this will work. Calling reloadRowsAtIndexPaths: with even a single row will still cause heightForRowAtIndexPath: to be called for every row, even though cellForRowAtIndexPath: will only be called for the row you requested. In fact, it looks like any time a row is inserted, deleted, or reloaded, heightForRowAtIndexPath: is called for every row in the table cell. I've also tried putting code in willDisplayCell:forRowAtIndexPath: to calculate the height just before a cell is going to appear. In order for this to work, I would need to force the table view to re-request the height for the row after I do the calculation. Unfortunately, calling [self.tableView beginUpdates]; [self.tableView endUpdates]; from willDisplayCell:forRowAtIndexPath: causes an index out of bounds exception deep in UITableView's internal code. I guess they don't expect us to do this. I can't help but feel like it's a bug in the SDK that in response to [self.tableView endUpdates] it doesn't call estimatedHeightForRowAtIndexPath: for cells that aren't visible, but I'm still trying to find some kind of workaround. Any help is appreciated.

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  • What kind of database to use in C#

    - by Chris
    I'm writing a program in C# that will need to store a few Data Tables on the user's computer and load them back when he restarts the program: Up to about 10000 records consisting of text and integers. I don't want to use a CSV file, and I had some trouble with SQLite. Are there any other good options to try?

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  • LINQ Many to Many With In or Contains Clause (and a twist)

    - by Chris
    I have a many to many table structure called PropertyPets. It contains a dual primary key consisting of a PropertyID (from a Property table) and one or more PetIDs (from a Pet table). Next I have a search screen where people can multiple select pets from a jquery multiple select dropdown. Let's say somebody selects Dogs and Cats. Now, I want to be able to return all properties that contain BOTH dogs and cats in the many to many table, PropertyPets. I'm trying to do this with Linq to Sql. I've looked at the Contains clause, but it doesn't seem to work for my requirement: var result = properties.Where(p => search.PetType.Contains(p.PropertyPets)); Here, search.PetType is an int[] array of the Id's for Dog and Cat (which were selected in the multiple select drop down). The problem is first, Contains requires a string not an IEnumerable of type PropertyPet. And second, I need to find the properties that have BOTH dogs and cats and not just simply containing one or the other. Thank you for any pointers.

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  • Setting language/culture for reporting services report rendered through C#

    - by Chris Latta
    I have written a report renderer in C# that runs and attaches reports to an email. This is all working great, except the date format of the parameters are incorrect when listed in the report title. All the reports have their language set to =User!Language and the parameters are output using the FormatDateTime function to format according to the user's regional settings. I am basically using the rendering method described here on MSDN. This all works great when the reports are run through the browser. However, when I render the report from C# it uses en-US date format. The report server's regional settings are set appropriately to the correct region as are the regional settings of the computer the C# progam is running on.. What property do I need to set in my C# program for the report to be rendered using my appropriate language/culture?

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  • Python if statement not working as expected

    - by Chris Esposito
    I'm searching for a string in a website and checking to see if the location of this string is in the expected location. I know the string starts at the 182nd character, and if I print temp it will even tell me that it is 182, however, the if statement says 182 is not 182. Some code f = urllib.urlopen(link) #store page contents in 's' s = f.read() f.close() temp = s.find('lettersandnumbers') if (htmlsize == "197"): #if ((s.find('lettersandnumbers')) == "182"): if (temp=="182"): print "Glorious" doStuff() else: print "HTML not correct. Aborting." else: print htmlsize print "File size is incorrect. Aborting."

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  • Missing } in XML expression

    - by Chris
    I have an external javascript file that I want to, upon include, write some HTML to the end of the web page. Upon doing so though I get the error Missing } in XML expression on the line that uses dropdownhtml. Here is my code var dropdownhtml = '<div id="dropdown"></div>'; $(document).ready(function(){ //$(document).append(dropdownhtml); alert(dropdownhtml); }); Doing either append or alert throws up the same error, what is going wrong?

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  • What kind of database to use in .NET

    - by Chris
    I'm writing a program in C# that will need to store a few Data Tables on the user's computer and load them back when he restarts the program: Up to about 10000 records consisting of text and integers. I don't want to use a CSV file, and I had some trouble with SQLite. Are there any other good options to try?

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  • Query to select from two different tables

    - by ryan
    I would like to select from two tables and display my result using this query: CREATE TABLE Buy_Table ( buy_id int identity primary key, user_id int, amount decimal (18,2) ); go INSERT INTO Buy_Table (user_id, amount) VALUES ('1', 10), ('1', 8), ('1', 20), ('3', 1), ('2', 2); go CREATE TABLE Sell_Table ( sell_id int identity primary key, user_id int, amount decimal (18,2) ); go INSERT INTO Sell_Table (user_id, amount) VALUES ('1', 10), ('1', 8), ('1', 20), ('3', 3), ('2', 3); go select [user_id], 'Buy' as [Type], buy_id as [ID], amount from Buy_Table union all select [user_id], 'Sell', sell_id, amount from Sell_Table order by [user_id], [ID], [Type] However the above query will return each row of the user_id like this I want to display my result to something like this in a grid: Can this be done in query itself rather manipulating the grid? Thx

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  • Missing } in XML expression

    - by Chris
    I have an external javascript file that I want to, upon include, write some HTML to the end of the web page. Upon doing so though I get the error Missing } in XML expression on the line that uses dropdownhtml. Here is my code var dropdownhtml = '<div id="dropdown"></div>'; $(document).ready(function(){ //$(document).append(dropdownhtml); alert(dropdownhtml); }); The XHTML webpage that includes this file does so like this: <script type="text/javascript" src="/web/resources/js/dropdownmenu.js"></script> Doing either append or alert throws up the same error, what is going wrong?

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  • [gtk+] error: undeclared function

    - by sterh
    Hello, In my gtk+ application i have function in mainwin.c: void on_prev( GtkWidget* btn, MainWin* mw ) { ... } And in file ui.h i have: #include "mainwin.h" static const GtkActionEntry entries[] = { { "Go Back", GTK_STOCK_GO_BACK, "Go Back", "<control>b", "Go Back", G_CALLBACK(on_prev) }, } But when i try to compile this application, i see error: ui.h:error: 'on_prev' undeclared here (not in a function). What's wrong? Thank you.

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  • jQuery .click() not binding properly

    - by Chris
    I want to perform some action when a link is clicked, I am using the following code to achieve this however it rarely works. If I click the link it usually refreshes the page, and 1/10 times it'll actually pop up "Hi". What is wrong? $(document).ready(function() { $('#slconfiglink').click(function() { alert("hi"); return false; }); }); HTML: <ul> <li><a href="" id="slconfiglink">Config 1</a></li> </ul>

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  • Storing an Image with php?

    - by Chris
    I'm trying to store an Image in my website so I can use it easily but I found this php code from here and I can't quite make much sense of it.. I'm just starting php and I dont quite know what to change and what to keep.. I'd greatly appreciate it if you could explain this a little better for me, thanks. <?php $allowedExts = array("jpg", "jpeg", "gif", "png"); $extension = end(explode(".", $_FILES["file"]["name"])); if ((($_FILES["file"]["type"] == "image/gif") || ($_FILES["file"]["type"] == "image/jpeg") || ($_FILES["file"]["type"] == "image/png") || ($_FILES["file"]["type"] == "image/pjpeg")) && ($_FILES["file"]["size"] < 20000) && in_array($extension, $allowedExts)) { if ($_FILES["file"]["error"] > 0) { echo "Return Code: " . $_FILES["file"]["error"] . "<br />"; } else { echo "Upload: " . $_FILES["file"]["name"] . "<br />"; echo "Type: " . $_FILES["file"]["type"] . "<br />"; echo "Size: " . ($_FILES["file"]["size"] / 1024) . " Kb<br />"; echo "Temp file: " . $_FILES["file"]["tmp_name"] . "<br />"; if (file_exists("upload/" . $_FILES["file"]["name"])) { echo $_FILES["file"]["name"] . " already exists. "; } else { move_uploaded_file($_FILES["file"]["tmp_name"], "upload/" . $_FILES["file"]["name"]); echo "Stored in: " . "upload/" . $_FILES["file"]["name"]; } } } else { echo "Invalid file"; } ?>

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  • % operator for time calculation

    - by Chris
    I am trying to display minutes and seconds based on a number of seconds. I have: float seconds = 200; float mins = seconds / 60.0; float sec = mins % 60.0; [timeIndexLabel setText:[NSString stringWithFormat:@"%.2f , %.2f", mins,seconds]]; But I get an error: invalid operands of types 'float' and 'double' to binary 'operator%' And I don't understand why... Can someone throw me a bone!?

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  • 100% Min Height CSS layout

    - by Chris Porter
    What's the best way to make an element of 100% minimum height across a wide range of browsers ? In particular if you have a layout with a header and footer of fixed height how do you make the middle content part fill 100% of the space in between with the footer fixed to the bottom ?

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  • Azure Grid Computing - Worker Roles as HPC Compute Nodes

    - by JoshReuben
    Overview ·        With HPC 2008 R2 SP1 You can add Azure worker roles as compute nodes in a local Windows HPC Server cluster. ·        The subscription for Windows Azure like any other Azure Service - charged for the time that the role instances are available, as well as for the compute and storage services that are used on the nodes. ·        Win-Win ? - Azure charges the computer hour cost (according to vm size) amortized over a month – so you save on purchasing compute node hardware. Microsoft wins because you need to purchase HPC to have a local head node for managing this compute cluster grid distributed in the cloud. ·        Blob storage is used to hold input & output files of each job. I can see how Parametric Sweep HPC jobs can be supported (where the same job is run multiple times on each node against different input units), but not MPI.NET (where different HPC Job instances function as coordinated agents and conduct master-slave inter-process communication), unless Azure is somehow tunneling MPI communication through inter-WorkerRole Azure Queues. ·        this is not the end of the story for Azure Grid Computing. If MS requires you to purchase a local HPC license (and administrate it), what's to stop a 3rd party from doing this and encapsulating exposing HPC WCF Broker Service to you for managing compute nodes? If MS doesn’t  provide head node as a service, someone else will! Process ·        requires creation of a worker node template that specifies a connection to an existing subscription for Windows Azure + an availability policy for the worker nodes. ·        After worker nodes are added to the cluster, you can start them, which provisions the Windows Azure role instances, and then bring them online to run HPC cluster jobs. ·        A Windows Azure worker role instance runs a HPC compatible Azure guest operating system which runs on the VMs that host your service. The guest operating system is updated monthly. You can choose to upgrade the guest OS for your service automatically each time an update is released - All role instances defined by your service will run on the guest operating system version that you specify. see Windows Azure Guest OS Releases and SDK Compatibility Matrix (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=190549). ·        use the hpcpack command to upload file packages and install files to run on the worker nodes. see hpcpack (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=205514). Requirements ·        assuming you have an azure subscription account and the HPC head node installed and configured. ·        Install HPC Pack 2008 R2 SP 1 -  see Microsoft HPC Pack 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 Release Notes (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=202812). ·        Configure the head node to connect to the Internet - connectivity is provided by the connection of the head node to the enterprise network. You may need to configure a proxy client on the head node. Any cluster network topology (1-5) is supported). ·        Configure the firewall - allow outbound TCP traffic on the following ports: 80,       443, 5901, 5902, 7998, 7999 ·        Note: HPC Server  uses Admin Mode (Elevated Privileges) in Windows Azure to give the service administrator of the subscription the necessary privileges to initialize HPC cluster services on the worker nodes. ·        Obtain a Windows Azure subscription certificate - the Windows Azure subscription must be configured with a public subscription (API) certificate -a valid X.509 certificate with a key size of at least 2048 bits. Generate a self-sign certificate & upload a .cer file to the Windows Azure Portal Account page > Manage my API Certificates link. see Using the Windows Azure Service Management API (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=205526). ·        import the certificate with an associated private key on the HPC cluster head node - into the trusted root store of the local computer account. Obtain Windows Azure Connection Information for HPC Server ·        required for each worker node template ·        copy from azure portal - Get from: navigation pane > Hosted Services > Storage Accounts & CDN ·        Subscription ID - a 32-char hex string in the form xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx. In Properties pane. ·        Subscription certificate thumbprint - a 40-char hex string (you need to remove spaces). In Management Certificates > Properties pane. ·        Service name - the value of <ServiceName> configured in the public URL of the service (http://<ServiceName>.cloudapp.net). In Hosted Services > Properties pane. ·        Blob Storage account name - the value of <StorageAccountName> configured in the public URL of the account (http://<StorageAccountName>.blob.core.windows.net). In Storage Accounts > Properties pane. Import the Azure Subscription Certificate on the HPC Head Node ·        enable the services for Windows HPC Server  to authenticate properly with the Windows Azure subscription. ·        use the Certificates MMC snap-in to import the certificate to the Trusted Root Certification Authorities store of the local computer account. The certificate must be in PFX format (.pfx or .p12 file) with a private key that is protected by a password. ·        see Certificates (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=163918). ·        To open the certificates snapin: Run > mmc. File > Add/Remove Snap-in > certificates > Computer account > Local Computer ·        To import the certificate via wizard - Certificates > Trusted Root Certification Authorities > Certificates > All Tasks > Import ·        After the certificate is imported, it appears in the details pane in the Certificates snap-in. You can open the certificate to check its status. Configure a Proxy Client on the HPC Head Node ·        the following Windows HPC Server services must be able to communicate over the Internet (through the firewall) with the services for Windows Azure: HPCManagement, HPCScheduler, HPCBrokerWorker. ·        Create a Windows Azure Worker Node Template ·        Edit HPC node templates in HPC Node Template Editor. ·        Specify: 1) Windows Azure subscription connection info (unique service name) for adding a set of worker nodes to the cluster + 2)worker node availability policy – rules for deploying / removing worker role instances in Windows Azure o   HPC Cluster Manager > Configuration > Navigation Pane > Node Templates > Actions pane > New à Create Node Template Wizard or Edit à Node Template Editor o   Choose Node Template Type page - Windows Azure worker node template o   Specify Template Name page – template name & description o   Provide Connection Information page – Azure Subscription ID (text) & Subscription certificate (browse) o   Provide Service Information page - Azure service name + blob storage account name (optionally click Retrieve Connection Information to get list of available from azure – possible LRT). o   Configure Azure Availability Policy page - how Windows Azure worker nodes start / stop (online / offline the worker role instance -  add / remove) – manual / automatic o   for automatic - In the Configure Windows Azure Worker Availability Policy dialog -select days and hours for worker nodes to start / stop. ·        To validate the Windows Azure connection information, on the template's Connection Information tab > Validate connection information. ·        You can upload a file package to the storage account that is specified in the template - eg upload application or service files that will run on the worker nodes. see hpcpack (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=205514). Add Azure Worker Nodes to the HPC Cluster ·        Use the Add Node Wizard – specify: 1) the worker node template, 2) The number of worker nodes   (within the quota of role instances in the azure subscription), and 3)           The VM size of the worker nodes : ExtraSmall, Small, Medium, Large, or ExtraLarge.  ·        to add worker nodes of different sizes, must run the Add Node Wizard separately for each size. ·        All worker nodes that are added to the cluster by using a specific worker node template define a set of worker nodes that will be deployed and managed together in Windows Azure when you start the nodes. This includes worker nodes that you add later by using the worker node template and, if you choose, worker nodes of different sizes. You cannot start, stop, or delete individual worker nodes. ·        To add Windows Azure worker nodes o   In HPC Cluster Manager: Node Management > Actions pane > Add Node à Add Node Wizard o   Select Deployment Method page - Add Azure Worker nodes o   Specify New Nodes page - select a worker node template, specify the number and size of the worker nodes ·        After you add worker nodes to the cluster, they are in the Not-Deployed state, and they have a health state of Unapproved. Before you can use the worker nodes to run jobs, you must start them and then bring them online. ·        Worker nodes are numbered consecutively in a naming series that begins with the root name AzureCN – this is non-configurable. Deploying Windows Azure Worker Nodes ·        To deploy the role instances in Windows Azure - start the worker nodes added to the HPC cluster and bring the nodes online so that they are available to run cluster jobs. This can be configured in the HPC Azure Worker Node Template – Azure Availability Policy -  to be automatic or manual. ·        The Start, Stop, and Delete actions take place on the set of worker nodes that are configured by a specific worker node template. You cannot perform one of these actions on a single worker node in a set. You also cannot perform a single action on two sets of worker nodes (specified by two different worker node templates). ·        ·          Starting a set of worker nodes deploys a set of worker role instances in Windows Azure, which can take some time to complete, depending on the number of worker nodes and the performance of Windows Azure. ·        To start worker nodes manually and bring them online o   In HPC Node Management > Navigation Pane > Nodes > List / Heat Map view - select one or more worker nodes. o   Actions pane > Start – in the Start Azure Worker Nodes dialog, select a node template. o   the state of the worker nodes changes from Not Deployed to track the provisioning progress – worker node Details Pane > Provisioning Log tab. o   If there were errors during the provisioning of one or more worker nodes, the state of those nodes is set to Unknown and the node health is set to Unapproved. To determine the reason for the failure, review the provisioning logs for the nodes. o   After a worker node starts successfully, the node state changes to Offline. To bring the nodes online, select the nodes that are in the Offline state > Bring Online. ·        Troubleshooting o   check node template. o   use telnet to test connectivity: telnet <ServiceName>.cloudapp.net 7999 o   check node status - Deployment status information appears in the service account information in the Windows Azure Portal - HPC queries this -  see  node status information for any failed nodes in HPC Node Management. ·        When role instances are deployed, file packages that were previously uploaded to the storage account using the hpcpack command are automatically installed. You can also upload file packages to storage after the worker nodes are started, and then manually install them on the worker nodes. see hpcpack (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=205514). ·        to remove a set of role instances in Windows Azure - stop the nodes by using HPC Cluster Manager (apply the Stop action). This deletes the role instances from the service and changes the state of the worker nodes in the HPC cluster to Not Deployed. ·        Each time that you start a set of worker nodes, two proxy role instances (size Small) are configured in Windows Azure to facilitate communication between HPC Cluster Manager and the worker nodes. The proxy role instances are not listed in HPC Cluster Manager after the worker nodes are added. However, the instances appear in the Windows Azure Portal. The proxy role instances incur charges in Windows Azure along with the worker node instances, and they count toward the quota of role instances in the subscription.

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  • The HTG Guide to Using a Bluetooth Keyboard with Your Android Device

    - by Matt Klein
    Android devices aren’t usually associated with physical keyboards. But, since Google is now bundling their QuickOffice app with the newly-released Kit-Kat, it appears inevitable that at least some Android tablets (particularly 10-inch models) will take on more productivity roles. In recent years, physical keyboards have been rendered obsolete by swipe style input methods such as Swype and Google Keyboard. Physical keyboards tend to make phones thick and plump, and that won’t fly today when thin (and even flexible and curved) is in vogue. So, you’ll be hard-pressed to find smartphone manufacturers launching new models with physical keyboards, thus rendering sliders to a past chapter in mobile phone evolution. It makes sense to ditch the clunky keyboard phone in favor of a lighter, thinner model. You’re going to carry around in your pocket or purse all day, why have that extra bulk and weight? That said, there is sound logic behind pairing tablets with keyboards. Microsoft continues to plod forward with its Surface models, and while critics continue to lavish praise on the iPad, its functionality is obviously enhanced and extended when you add a physical keyboard. Apple even has an entire page devoted specifically to iPad-compatible keyboards. But an Android tablet and a keyboard? Does such a thing even exist? They do actually. There are docking keyboards and keyboard/case combinations, there’s the Asus Transformer family, Logitech markets a Windows 8 keyboard that speaks “Android”, and these are just to name a few. So we know that keyboard products that are designed to work with Android exist, but what about an everyday Bluetooth keyboard you might use with Windows or OS X? How-To Geek wanted look at how viable it is to use such a keyboard with Android. We conducted some research and examined some lists of Android keyboard shortcuts. Most of what we found was long outdated. Many of the shortcuts don’t even apply anymore, while others just didn’t work. Regardless, after a little experimentation and a dash of customization, it turns out using a keyboard with Android is kind of fun, and who knows, maybe it will catch on. Setting things up Setting up a Bluetooth keyboard with Android is very easy. First, you’ll need a Bluetooth keyboard and of course an Android device, preferably running version 4.1 (Jelly Bean) or higher. For our test, we paired a second-generation Google Nexus 7 running Android 4.3 with a Samsung Series 7 keyboard. In Android, enable Bluetooth if it isn’t already on. We’d like to note that if you don’t normally use Bluetooth accessories and peripherals with your Android device (or any device really), it’s best practice to leave Bluetooth off because, like GPS, it drains the device’s battery more quickly. To enable Bluetooth, simply go to “Settings” -> “Bluetooth” and tap the slider button to “On”. To set up the keyboard, make sure it is on and then tap “Bluetooth” in the Android settings. On the resulting screen, your Android device should automatically search for and hopefully find your keyboard. If you don’t get it right the first time, simply turn the keyboard on again and then tap “Search for Devices” to try again. If it still doesn’t work, make sure you have fresh batteries and the keyboard isn’t paired to another device. If it is, you will need to unpair it before it will work with your Android device (consult your keyboard manufacturer’s documentation or Google if you don’t know how to do this). When Android finds your keyboard, select it under “Available Devices” … … and you should be prompted to type in a code: If successful, you will see that device is now “Connected” and you’re ready to go. If you want to test things out, try pressing the “Windows” key (“Apple” or “Command”) + ESC, and you will be whisked to your Home screen. So, what can you do? Traditional Mac and Windows users know there’s usually a keyboard shortcut for just about everything (and if there isn’t, there’s all kinds of ways to remap keys to do a variety of commands, tasks, and functions). So where does Android fall in terms of baked-in keyboard commands? There answer to that is kind of enough, but not too much. There are definitely established combos you can use to get around, but they aren’t clear and there doesn’t appear to be any one authority on what they are. Still, there is enough keyboard functionality in Android to make it a viable option, if only for those times when you need to get something done (long e-mail or important document) and an on-screen keyboard simply won’t do. It’s important to remember that Android is, and likely always will be a touch-first interface. That said, it does make some concessions to physical keyboards. In other words, you can get around Android fairly well without having to lift your hands off the keys, but you will still have to tap the screen regularly, unless you add a mouse. For example, you can wake your device by tapping a key rather than pressing its power button. However, if your device is slide or pattern-locked, then you’ll have to use the touchscreen to unlock it – a password or PIN however, works seamlessly with a keyboard – other things like widgets and app controls and features, have to be tapped. You get the idea. Keyboard shortcuts and navigation As we said, baked-in keyboard shortcut combos aren’t necessarily abundant nor apparent. The one thing you can always do is search. Any time you want to Google something, start typing from the Home screen and the search screen will automatically open and begin displaying results. Other than that, here is what we were able to figure out: ESC = go back CTRL + ESC = menu CTRL + ALT + DEL = restart (no questions asked) ALT + SPACE = search page (say “OK Google” to voice search) ALT + TAB (ALT + SHIFT + TAB) = switch tasks Also, if you have designated volume function keys, those will probably work too. There’s also some dedicated app shortcuts like calculator, Gmail, and a few others: CMD + A = calculator CMD + C = contacts CMD + E = e-mail CMD + G = Gmail CMD + L = Calendar CMD + P = Play Music CMD + Y = YouTube Overall, it’s not a long comprehensive list and there’s no dedicated keyboard combos for the full array of Google’s products. Granted, it’s hard to imagine getting a lot of mileage out of a keyboard with Maps but with something like Keep, you could type out long, detailed lists on your tablet, and then view them on your smartphone when you go out shopping. You can also use the arrow keys to navigate your Home screen over shortcuts and open the app drawer. When something on the screen is selected, it will be highlighted in blue. Press “Enter” to open your selection. Additionally, if an app has its own set of shortcuts, e.g. Gmail has quite a few unique shortcuts to it, as does Chrome, some – though not many – will work in Android (not for YouTube though). Also, many “universal” shortcuts such as Copy (CTRL + C), Cut (CTRL + X), Paste (CTRL + V), and Select All (CTRL + A) work where needed – such as in instant messaging, e-mail, social media apps, etc. Creating custom application shortcuts What about custom shortcuts? When we were researching this article, we were under the impression that it was possible to assign keyboard combinations to specific apps, such as you could do on older Android versions such as Gingerbread. This no long seems to be the case and nowhere in “Settings” could we find a way to assign hotkey combos to any of our favorite, oft-used apps or functions. If you do want custom keyboard shortcuts, what can you do? Luckily, there’s an app on Google Play that allows you to, among other things, create custom app shortcuts. It is called External Keyboard Helper (EKH) and while there is a free demo version, the pay version is only a few bucks. We decided to give EKH a whirl and through a little experimentation and finally reading the developer’s how-to, we found we could map custom keyboard combos to just about anything. To do this, first open the application and you’ll see the main app screen. Don’t worry about choosing a custom layout or anything like that, you want to go straight to the “Advanced settings”: In the “Advanced settings” select “Application shortcuts” to continue: You can have up to 16 custom application shortcuts. We are going to create a custom shortcut to the Facebook app. We choose “A0”, and from the resulting list, Facebook. You can do this for any number of apps, services, and settings. As you can now see, the Facebook app has now been linked to application-zero (A0): Go back to the “Advanced settings” and choose “Customize keyboard mappings”: You will be prompted to create a custom keyboard layout so we choose “Custom 1”: When you choose to create a custom layout, you can do a great many more things with your keyboard. For example, many keyboards have predefined function (Fn) keys, which you can map to your tablet’s brightness controls, toggle WiFi on/off, and much more. A word of advice, the application automatically remaps certain keys when you create a custom layout. This might mess up some existing keyboard combos. If you simply want to add some functionality to your keyboard, you can go ahead and delete EKH’s default changes and start your custom layout from scratch. To create a new combo, select “Add new key mapping”: For our new shortcut, we are going to assign the Facebook app to open when we key in “ALT + F”. To do this, we press the “F” key while in the “Scancode” field and we see it returns a value of “33”. If we wanted to use a different key, we can press “Change” and scan another key’s numerical value. We now want to assign the “ALT” key to application “A0”, previously designated as the Facebook app. In the “AltGr” field, we enter “A0” and then “Save” our custom combo. And now we see our new application shortcut. Now, as long as we’re using our custom layout, every time we press “ALT + F”, the Facebook app will launch: External Keyboard Helper extends far beyond simple application shortcuts and if you are looking for deeper keyboard customization options, you should definitely check it out. Among other things, EKH also supports dozens of languages, allows you to quickly switch between layouts using a key or combo, add up to 16 custom text shortcuts, and much more! It can be had on Google Play for $2.53 for the full version, but you can try the demo version for free. More extensive documentation on how to use the app is also available. Android? Keyboard? Sure, why not? Unlike traditional desktop operating systems, you don’t need a physical keyboard and mouse to use a mobile operating system. You can buy an iPad or Nexus 10 or Galaxy Note, and never need another accessory or peripheral – they work as intended right out of the box. It’s even possible you can write the next great American novel on one these devices, though that might require a lot of practice and patience. That said, using a keyboard with Android is kind of fun. It’s not revelatory but it does elevate the experience. You don’t even need to add customizations (though they are nice) because there are enough existing keyboard shortcuts in Android to make it usable. Plus, when it comes to inputting text such as in an editor or terminal application, we fully advocate big, physical keyboards. Bottom line, if you’re looking for a way to enhance your Android tablet, give a keyboard a chance. Do you use your Android device for productivity? Is a physical keyboard an important part of your setup? Do you have any shortcuts that we missed? Sound off in the comments and let us know what you think.     

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