plover-palantype-DE 1.1.4

A Palantype-inspired steno system for the German Language

Palantype DE

See Changelog.

This is a complete rework of the Possum Palantype steno system for efficient use with the German language. Its intended use is with a keyboard, not an actual Palantype machine. Each finger operates three keys: Home row, top and bottom. The thumbs are exceptions, they operate four keys. There is no simultaneous pressing of multiple keys with one finger.

Like the original Palantype, this adaption is compatible with Qwerty-keyboards as long as they support N-key roll-over (NKRO). The optimal experience is to be expected with a keyboard that allows full use of the thumbs. Palantype DE relies on four thumb keys. Here are examples for such a keyboard:

• Keyboardio Model 100
• Keyboardio Atreus
• ZSA Moonlander Mark I
• Ergodox EZ
• YAEMK

How to use

Quick start

Head over to palantype.com to get started right away in the browser.

Offline use with Plover

This is a plugin for the software Plover from The Open Steno Project. Download the latest version of Plover. Plover supports plugins from v4.0.0 on.

After installing this plugin, you need to turn on Palantype in Plover:

1. In Plover's configuration, go to the Systems tab, and change the active system to Palantype DE.
2. In Plover's machine tab, select keyboard.

Run in browser

Currently, only the tutorial is implemented at palantype.com. Learning to type requires a lot of practice, therefore it is recommended starting there in any case.

In future, palantype.com will also offer an on-line text editor for steno typing.

Current state

The dictionary contains almost 2,000,000 words of the German language. There are built-in already some essential features for real-life steno typing:

• fingerspelling
• command keys (e.g. arrow keys, home, end, ...)
• numbers
• special keys
• plover commands (e.g. retroactively capitalize)

These features are implemented in the dictionary files

• palantype-DE-extra.json, and
• palantype-DE-numbers.json.

Development

Source code

You can find all relevant code on Github:

• The plover plugin plover-palantype-DE
• The palantype Haskell library mypalantype
• Palantype tools, to create your own palantype-style steno system
• The code of the project home page with all the tutorials Palantype.com codebase

You can get an overview of what I am working on, on the Kanban board of the project. Feel free to post issues on any of those repositories with questions and/or feedback.

Getting your hands dirty

Test the plugin locally

$ plover -s plover_plugins install -e .
$ plover

Publish new version

$ nix-shell

Follow the instructions inside the nix shell.

Acknowledgments

The current list of over 100'000 words uses word frequency information to resolve collisions, i.e. ambiguous steno chords. The word frequency information has been provided by the Natural Language Processing Group, Uni Leipzig. It is generated out of a corpus of 35 Million sentences and distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International Public Licence.