The intent of this package is to provide blind computer users with an easy way to passively determine the current states of the various keyboard locks (caps, insert, num, scroll). It runs as a background process which periodically checks the locks, and uses the PC speaker to generate sequences of tones which indicate either a change in their states (see the --toggle option) or their current states (see the --active option).
This software has been implemented for the following platforms:
| Platform | Directory | Executable |
|---|---|---|
| Linux | linux | locktones |
| DOS(DJGPP) | djgpp | locktone.exe |
Use the --help (or -h) option to view a summary of the command syntax. Trust it, rather than the documentation within this file, as being more up-to-date if there's a difference. If you notice any such difference, then please let me know about it.
Use the --version (or -v) option to determine which version of the software you have.
Use the --toggle (or -t) option if you wish to be notified only when the state of any lock changes. An ascending sequence of tones is played whenever a lock is activated, and a descending sequence of tones is played whenever a lock is deactivated.
Use the --active (or -a) option if you wish to always be immediately aware of the current states of the locks. A persistent tone is played for each active lock. If more than one lock is active at the same time, then the applicable tones are played cyclically, rather than as a single chord, because the hardware on some computers does not permit the generation of a chord, and because, in my opinion, it's much easier to know with certainty which tones are being played.
Use the --poll (or -p) option to specify (in tenths of seconds) how often to check the states of the locks. The default is 1.
Use the --duration (or -d) option to specify (in tenths of seconds) the duration of each tone when multiple tones are being cyclically generated. The default is 2.
Use the --caps (or -c), --insert (or -i), --num (or -n), and --scroll (or -s) options to explicitly specify the pitches (as a frequency in Herz) of the tones for each lock. The defaults are 300 for the caps lock, 450 for the insert lock, 600 for the num lock, and 1200 for the scroll lock.