Klavaro Touch Typing Tutor

Download the latest version now

For you who already knows Klavaro, here is the quickiest way to download it.

Windows (exe): Klavaro-1.0.7-win.exe (671 kB)

Linux (deb): klavaro_1.0.7_i386.deb (298 kB)

Linux (rpm): http://dries.ulyssis.org/ ... (various)

Source code: klavaro-1.0.7.tar.bz2 (412 kB)

Previous versions:
https://sourceforge.net/projects/klavaro

Thanks to Dries Verachtert for the "rpm" packages.

ps.: if you dislike installing stuff on Windows, you can simply unzip the following file at any place and launch the binary directly from the folder "bin", in the directory tree created under "Klavaro". But don't forget about the requisites.

Windows (zip): Klavaro-1.0.7-win.zip (420 kB)

About Klavaro

Klavaro is just another free touch typing tutor program. We felt like to do it because we became frustrated with the other options, which relied mostly on some few specific keyboards. Klavaro intends to be keyboard and language independent, saving memory and time (and money).

Back to top

Features of the last release

The key features are:

1. Internationalization: Czech, Dutch, English, Esperanto, French, German (incomplete), Hungarian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Swedish. If you want to translate to another language, please read the instructions for translation.

2. Ready to use keyboard layouts:

   • "qwerty" (BR; BR_abnt0; BR_abnt2; CZ; EL; ES; HE; IT; PT; SE; TR; US)
   •  Dvorak (BR; FR; TR; US; US_BR; US_ES; US_SE)
   • "qwertz" (CZ; DE; HU)
   • "azerty" (FR; BE)
   • "jtsuken" (RU)
   • AlphaGrip5 (US)

3. Keyboard layout editor: makes possible to configure the keys' positions and to save the result in a simple text file. If your keyboard isn't shown above, you can create it. If you need to do it, please let us know about.

4. Basic course: a basic type of course is available for memorizing the keys positions on the keyboard. It is supposed to be independent from keyboard layout, by the generation of random character sequences to be followed by the student.

5. Adaptability exercises: these exercises use all the keys ramdonly, so that you can practice using all the keyboard. It's named adaptability exercise because it develops the capacity to adapt your typing skills to any kind of strange words that may appear in some texts.

6. Velocity exercises: one achieves velocity on typing when the environment is well known, or, when the words come from one's own language. That's why these exercises focus on velocity. And even if your language isn't supported by the application, you still can indicate texts in any language to include the words contained there.

7. Fluidness exercises: with these exercises, one works typing complete paragraphs, with good sense sentences. Typing errors aren't accepted: the user must correct them with the backspace key before be allowed to go on. Especial attention is given to the typing rhythm, which must be as uniform as possible. Just like the velocity exercises, this one here makes possible to load any text files, independently of language.

8. Progress charts: at the accomplishment of each exercise, some characteristics of your performance are saved and can be graphically showed. Thus, you can easily observe your learning progress (or regress).

9. Clean graphical interface: when learning to type correctly, one must not get the attention off the exercises. So, it isn't recommended neither to have dozens of gauges measuring velocity, errors, time, etc; nor a virtual keyboard floating in front of the student: he/she must memorize the key positions by the tact, not visually. Hence, Klavaro's interface started simple and will remain like that for all of its lifetime.

Back to top

Requisites

The graphical interface of Klavaro is based on other program called "GTK+ 2" (not really a program, but a set of libraries). It's absolutely necessary that it is correctly installed on your system.

At Linux, under a configured X graphical system, probably you are using other programs based on GTK. That is, this toolkit is to be already installed.

Unfortunately on Windows that's not true. Unless you use a program like The Gimp, probably GTK isn't installed in your machine. But the solution comes quick. Installing the "GTK+ 2 para Windows" everything will be right. Just accept the default sugestions of the installer which comes in this compacted file: gtk+-2.10.13-setup.exe (6076 kB).

Back to top

Documentation

The last version of the manual (1.0.5) is not translated to English. For now, there are only the Portuguese and Esperanto versions. There is an old version in English, maybe it can help a little bit, though its obsolescence: manual-en.pdf (124 kB)

If you want to help this project translating its documentation to English, see the source file, it uses LaTeX: klavaro-dok-1.0.5.tar.gz (181 kB). Then, you are supposed to translate from Portuguese or Esperanto, of course.

Back to top

Forums / Discussions

If you want to give us some feedback, sugestion, ask for help, support or any thing else, please visit the forums at SourceForge. There you will find rooms for English, Esperanto and Portuguese.

Be aware that in order to post there, you must have an account at SourceForge. That's to avoid spamming from anonymous ugly people. If you still aren't registered, spend some minutes first to do it: create an account at SourceForge.

All right, go to: Klavaro - Forums

Back to top

Translating

Klavaro uses the "gettext" package to accomplish internationalization. If you are interested in open the possibility of enjoying it in your own language, you must create a translation file of the "po" format. In the source tree of the distribution package there is a directory named "po", where you will find the file "klavaro-pot". Just copy this file to a new one, renaming it with the code of your language and using "po" as extension. There are other already translated files there, for example: "pt_BR.po". Open it just to get familiar with.

Actually, you don't need the "gettext" package. Just edit the "po" file and send it for us. If you don't know your language's code, send the translated file under any name and inform us about your country. There are some programs to help on doing this work. A very nice one is poEdit. There is also a debian package for poEdit.

You are also supposed to translate some text files, related to the basic instructions of the course. These files are at the subdirectory "data" and they are coded in UTF-8. The english versions start with "C_".

For the files used for the velocity and fluidness exercises, you are supposed to create only the second one, because the first comes automatically from it. I could construct them, even if I know nothing about the language. For that, I could use articles from the Wikipedia. But, if I do it, certainly I'll include paragraphs about vegetarianism, Esperanto, philosophy, etc... :-)

If you want to know more, see the gettext documentation. Or you can contact us directly. Just send an e-mail to: <  fefcas (a) gmail (p) com  >

Back to top