iOS and bluetooth numeric keyboard - objective-c

I have a question about detect and change input from bluetooth numeric keyboard and sending text to another applications.
My customer asked me, if it's possible this:
my customer has bluetooth numeric keyboard and he wants to use it like phone keyboard (that means one press of number 1 it's letter A, double press it's letter B etc.)
he wants this behavior of keyboard in general for all of applications in iPhone (in email app, SMS app etc.)
I'm not sure, but i think that it's not possible, because i think the application on background cant't modify key input for another apps. Or is here any way how to do that?

Something like this may be possible via a jailbreak app but definitely wouldn't be possible using the regular SDK.
If this isn't meant as a mass market tool, perhaps jail breaking is an option? I would check this out and see if it's any help http://iphonedevwiki.net/index.php/MobileSubstrate

Related

Can you bypass the iPhone's power or volume buttons

Is it possible to 'hack' or develop an app that lets you launch an app by pressing an iPhones power button or volume buttons or possibly from the passcode screen?
As an example: pressing the power button 5 times launches the app or sends an emergency SMS. Or entering a certain code into the passcode / lock screen sends an SMS
No. All these features are managed by a different process than your application, and you cannot directly influence that process. You can develop a JailBreak tweak that will allow you to do so, but obviously this is not for Apple AppStore.
What you are asking about is against the Apple Developer TOS. If you do it, you will not pass the App Store Review process and hence will not be able to distribute vie the iTunes App Store. If you don't care about that, then there may be jail break hacks that can help you with that.

How to make my own keyboard layout?

Is it possible programatically change keyboard input anywhere , when the program is in tray?
Example.
When user type text in, say, Google Chrome then my program catch the key the user types, and change it to another symbol (in another language)?
A -> ❤
B -> 웃
C -> ✄
etc.
Is it possible? and if answer is YES, then how?
This sounds like a job for a custom keyboard layout.
After installing your keyboard layout, the user need only enable it in the “Language & Text” preference pane and then select it in the Input menu extra.
It's also possible to enable and select an input source (keyboard layouts being a kind of input source) programmatically.
You can do this a number of ways.
You could capture NSEvent key events and change them.
You could override keyDown: in your own view subclass.
And more.
Read up on the Cocoa Text System first
https://developer.apple.com/library/mac/documentation/TextFonts/Conceptual/CocoaTextArchitecture/Introduction/Introduction.html
You can use Quartz event taps to receive all key events first and modify them before allowing them to be processed (or substitute different events entirely). Note that the user will have to enable access by assistive devices in Universal Access preferences in order for event taps to see keyboard events.
You could create, install, and have the user select a custom keyboard layout. You can use the third-party Ukelele program to create and modify keyboard layouts. This doesn't involve code, necessarily. It's just a big state machine for translating key codes to characters.
You can probably accomplish something like this by implementing an input method, too. See the Input Method Kit.

Do I have to handle all input types to pass Windows Store Certification?

I have a game that I'm porting to the Windows Store, but unfortunately, the game genre doesn't really work well with touch input. I currently support keyboard, mouse, and gamepad, but I'm worried that I will get rejected because I don't handle touch.
Anyone have experience with this or know where I can look?
Found the answer here: Windows 8 app certification requirements
3.5 Your app must fully support touch input, and fully support keyboard and mouse input
Your app must provide visual feedback when users touch interactive
elements.
Which is a bummer because now I'm not sure how one can publish a game to the store that just doesn't make sense with touch input.

Keyboard event from anywhere

I want to build an app that does something when the user pushes a (keyboard) button, no matter what app is currently running in the front. (Like "CheatSheet")
How can I do this?
Do you mean keylogging input from other apps? If so, this is not possible due to obvious security concerns.

NSTextField like control for entering key shortcuts - Objective-C/Cocoa

I've seen in some applications the control in these shots that is used to enter key shortcuts. I'd like to know if these are standard (available to everyone) or if these were built by the application's developer. I don't think it is the latter because I've seen this in many apps from different developers. Here are the images:
To give one example of an app try Bowtie, though I know there's more that use this.
If this control is standard, could you tell me how to use it (what class, etc)?
The first one appears to be Shortcut Recorder from Waffle Software.
Note that the use of a rounded text field for this, while somewhat established, the HIG reserves the rounded appearance for search fields.