Beginner's Guide to Plover

[@wotntarnation3012]

For anyone wondering, the standard keyboards generally used now are the Uni and the EcoSteno. Both are around 100 USD

[@verdantorange]

and those work with plover?

[@wotntarnation3012]

I bought the EcoSteno and it works very well with plover. I assume the Uni does too@@verdantorange

[@TheRoyalTamarin]

Atm, the PCB alone for the Uni v2 is around 20 USD, however it requires a pro micro which can be found for around 8 USD, switches which can be found for around 10-15 USD, as well as keycaps or 3D printed tops. In total, It's around 50$ for a budget Uni v2 build with no plate, but 100$ for a prebuilt Uni V4, essentially. It's pretty affordable

[@TheRoyalTamarin]

@@verdantorange Both are made to work with Plover, yes

[@TheSilent006]

The amount of research behind this video is incredible. Im here as a Corne owner and was thinking of trying steno. Thanks for the resources!

[@wideseen]

To date the best information video on any subject I have seen. To the core, swift, knowledgeable, comprehensive, effective. I have no special interest in the subject but got sucked in by the efficiency of the presenter.

[@Redsuit11]

I'm right there with you, I just got drunk one day and decided to do some research about this (idk man) I'll probably never learn this although it does seem way more efficient than qwerty or dvorak and that's cool. This video is how all tutorials should be in general, all of it is straight to the point and gives us the resources to learn on our own through practice alone. I wish everyone presented a tutorial like this.

[@MrSindhavjay]

Inverting keycaps helped me gain good speed and accuracy; nice trik aerick

[@AerickSteno]

Awesome.

[@cinrose818]

Thanks for promoting court reporting. We’re in dire need of reporters. You’re right; it’s an expensive and difficult field to get into. I wish you the best of luck. Stenograph could use some more competition.

[@MrFrazerz]

Appreciated all the links you put in the description here.

[@jusaguy20]

What an excellent presentation! The amount of research and forethought is just amazing. Keep up the good work!

[@AerickSteno]

2024 updated version: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qIq4nqaLrZWiidE Until Plover 4.0.0 (stable) is released, the recommended version to install is the latest (either the dev12 or the continuous build). Check for the download links under "assets". These two versions are fully functional, including the plugins manager. Plover releases: github.com/openstenoproject/plover/releases

[@petercpork]

Thanks for the outemu compatible stenotoppers.

[@Nonzerotonin]

Thanks for the stl for the outemu stems, printing them out now and can't wait to try

[@jacobhorne1112]

I found inverting the vowel keys and removing the spacebar made steno with my qwerty keyboard significantly easier

[@LaurenKallio]

thanks for making this video Aerick!

[@nicholaslabrecque]

great video! i just started learning with an extra keyboard i bought and didn't really need, but since it was an extra board I was able to use its original caps painted and sharpy markered the steno caps on while I wait for my new steno board to come in

[@MrSindhavjay]

Good work aerick keep guiding

[@AerickSteno]

Thanks! I do intend on making some theory videos soon. Hope they'll come in handy.

[@mikaelfarro]

What a well-made video. Thanks

[@cubeninja1881]

One thing to note is that the Uni v4 steno came out for $100 USD and is very good with 35g switches.

[@SouthBayRacing408]

Such detail. Thank you

[@daiena_rabinovich]

Yes it’s much easier with the bigger keys than with a normal keyboard. If you are using a keyboard it’s not so easy to always know which keys you are pressing .

[@WorstDeveloper]

What do you think about using plover for programming? I've seen some videos of it, so it is doable, but I wonder if it's a good idea. I suffer from RSI, so I'm asking because stenography seems to be much better for your hands/wrists.

[@AerickSteno]

It is so much more ergonomic than any keyboard layout, and I would definitely recommend it. Although I don't code, I know of several people who do. It is quite a steep learning curve, but it is definitely doable. You can find more detail about it in Ted's stenofest talk: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jp23mayKgs-ooMk

[@WorstDeveloper]

@@AerickSteno Yeah I'm gonna give it a try. I just hope it won't make my pain worse. I've watched that and many other videos of people coding with stenography, and it looks pretty promising! I'm gonna print a keyboard layout of a stenography keyboard and practice on that for a while. By doing so I hope that I will still learn to place my fingers correctly, while not having to type a lot and trigger my RSI during practice. Thanks for the quick reply.

[@AerickSteno]

@@WorstDeveloper That's a good idea! I should also mention that you really need a steno keyboard with light springs since with steno you're chording multiple keys. For example, if you have to press 5 keys on the left hand and you have 50 gram springs, that would be pretty painful since your wrist would have to be pushing down 250 grams in total. Unfortunately, I think at the moment the only steno keyboard that's available with light springs is the Georgi. The creator of them has been having a difficult time lately, so expect a long delay between when you order and when you receive it.

[@WorstDeveloper]

@@AerickSteno Yeah I watched your review of the Splitography keyboard, and I was thinking of buying that one and switching out the springs (if I can find a place to buy them from). Otherwise I'll either go with the Gerorgi or something.

[@manomike2269]

Where can we buy the steno key board you are using?

[@krykxz]

I give up on things too easily but i might try this because it looks really kewl

[@stefanhansen5882]

Very interesting. Before installing Plover can you tell me if it's possible to type normally with Plover and only introduce some few chords over time? Thanks!

[@AerickSteno]

That wouldn't be very efficient as you'd have to be toggling Plover on and off pretty often. There is a shortcut to that, at least, if you stroked PHROLG it'll toggle Plover (and it works even with Plover off).

[@stefanhansen5882]

@@AerickSteno Can't you make a custom dictionary with only one words as a chord and single keys typing just one letter?

[@AerickSteno]

@@stefanhansen5882 You technically could, but when typing at 80 WPM or so, you can actually end up pressing two keys at basically the same time. Plover would interpret this as a chord.

[@bangs_edit]

Very interesting

[@mysticmoods1419]

Hello. Your videos or well produced, pleasant to watch, and easy to follow for steno beginners. Thanks for making them. I have a quick question for anybody who sees this comment and has time to answer. How do I know if my keyboard supports n-key rollover? I have a Leopold FC750R OE. All I was able to find in the specs is that it has "full USB key rollover." Is this the same as n-key rollover? Thanks.

[@AerickSteno]

Thank you! There are some methods outlined in the "Supported Hardware" wiki page: github.com/openstenoproject/plover/wiki/Supported-Hardware#whats-nkro

[@mysticmoods1419]

@@AerickSteno Perfect. Thank you.

[@vxllvxn]

steno is so sick

[@la2stl]

Can I use my own existing dictionary file with plover? I'm trying to get back into steno after leaving school a few years ago and trying to see if I can use Plover to get my speed back up and decide if I should go back to school.

[@AerickSteno]

Depends on the format. If it's RTF, you can just import it into Plover pretty easily (some of the syntax of special commands might need to be tweaked, but all the word translations will work). If it's a different format, you'll need to figure out how to convert it to JSON, which, sadly there isn't much info on how to do that online. We'd be happy to help in the Discord server for sure!

[@Akshithaa974]

I have a court case so I'm watching this, how do you put if a person threatens the other person in word

[@_skud]

interesting content

[@siulhisaleehernandezsantos6672]

Gracias.

[@roxwize]

I'm considering buying a mechanical keyboard with N-key rollover to learn steno, as I'm stuck with one that does not have interchangeable keycaps and does not have n-key rollover, sadly :(. Would it be better to use the default keyboard layout where keys are not perfectly aligned, or something like planck ez that might have a bit of a learning curve due to its uniformity, but will hopefully more closely match the layout of ordinary stenotype layouts? i'm just afraid that the crookedness of the keys on a qwerty keyboard would make it hard to adapt to a more ergonomic stenotype keyboard if i choose to use one in the near future. on a tight budget but im making do with what i have

[@AerickSteno]

A Planck would work way better than an NKRO keyboard. My only concern is that you can usually get a dedicated hobbyist steno keyboard for the same price. The main benefit of dedicated keyboards apart from the ideal layout is the lightness of the keys. All the current options either come with light springs by default or can have their springs swapped out fairly easily later on. The Planck's layout is perfect for steno, but I don't know how light you can go with the switches or if you can swap the springs later on.

[@denisekeeran9883]

I'm amazed anyone ever learns this! How does SWR represent I when it's longer to type three letters instead of one, and SWR doesn't have any i sound involved? ((bangs head against the wall). Full respect to anyone who knows how to do this!

[@AerickSteno]

With steno, it doesn't matter how many keys are in a chord. It's not significantly slower to press a chord with 10 keys than it is a press a single key. It's not uncommon for steno chords to not resemble the sounds they represent (for example, TK is used for "D"). We do this because with only so many keys on the layout, we have to resort to arbitrary key combinations that aren't already used in English (i.e., there are no words starting with TK so it's safe to assign this chord to another starting consonant). For SWR, however, this actually uses a very abbreviated method of phrasing. The canonical way of writing the word "I" uses a chord that represents the same sound, but SWR is different. Sometimes we want to be able to write phrases like "I want", "I don't like", "I should find" all in one chord. To do this, we assign chords on the left side for pronouns (I, she, he, etc), modifier words with the middle keys (don't, should, etc), and verbs on the right side of keys (want, like, find, etc). Again, we use arbitrary chords such as SWR. Since these have no useful phonetic meaning, it's safe to assign these to entire words as part of this phrasing system. We put these chords together to form various common phrases. In short, it's really just all rote memorization, but it's important to note that this phrasing technique is very advanced and is not a requirement. If your only goal is to write English prose, there are only about 50 sound chords you need to memorize. Compared to something like learning a new language, that is a very small number. To write any English word, it's just a matter of figuring out how to break up a word into its various sounds and the corresponding chords. The abbreviated stuff like SWR for "I" comes later (if desired).

[@hugojj101]

Hey Bro, Do you use Steno to type normally?, I'm basically trying to get an idea of how practical it is for general use on a computer. And are symbols and numbers a thing with steno? thanks

[@AerickSteno]

I do! It's quite practical. Plover can output anything a regular keyboard can. The only drawback is you can't hold down modifiers (for example, shift click, etc). I've made a video on shortcuts and symbols using Emily's dictionaries: kzbin.info/www/bejne/q4K9oWqIjZKbbNE Writing numbers is just as easy as regular text, though the default number system that comes with Plover is a little weird; I personally use a system that is basically just a regular numberpad on the right hand. See here: github.com/aerickt/steno-dictionaries#rh-numpadjson .

[@danilopiz6338]

Where to buy plover keyboard

[@MrFrazerz]

When you played the clip of your video at 0:12, you forgot to mute the audio. lol

if you write in 2 different languages regularly, is steno a feasible alternative to regular typing??

[@AerickSteno]

Depends on your goals and how much time you are willing to put into it. For English, it can take a lot of practice and time. You can try learning one theory for one language (say, English first) and you can see if you'd want to continue learning. I do have vague plans on learning steno for another language at some point but that's only because I like steno. Using steno for multiple languages is quite difficult because you have to, essentially, learn two different theories.

[@cmw12]

Are the machines expensive simply because of the low demand? They don’t do much after all.

[@AerickSteno]

If you're talking about professional machines that cost upwards of thousands of dollars, that's not entirely true. They aren't just regular keyboards like the hobbyist machines I mention. Many of them have onboard computers that basically acts a mini laptop for transcribing and allows one to steno without a laptop. They also have a special mechanism that makes every successive key press after the first one very light (so the first key press might require 15 grams to press down, while every other will require only about a gram or so to actuate as well). And they don't use regular keyboard switches, but hall effect sensors that show exactly how far each key is being pressed down at any moment. This allows for a lot of adjustability. Most professional machines will allow you to control the tension (how heavy the initial press is), where each actuates, and the stroke length of each one (how far the keys go before bottoming out). So while I would say professional machines are over priced, that is mainly due to the very low demand. If I'm not mistaken, Stenograph basically has to custom make every single Luminex they sell as there just isn't a market for them to be mass produced (tooling is expensive). But to say that they don't do much is not true at all.

[@cmw12]

@@AerickSteno Interesting!

[@gonzalomanavella4685]

Hello, thank you very much for your content. I am a Spanish speaker, do you know of any platform such as StenoJig where I can configure the words with my dictionary?

[@AerickSteno]

Sorry, to my knowledge you can only provide custom text; you'd have to edit some code to make the hints match your own dictionary.

[@marshavaz]

Thanks a ton! However, one feedback would be to speaker slower.

[@dnicemilk3340]

playback speed, 0.75, solved

[@asadhussain4567]

How we do online earning with the help of shorthand??

[@A_ndrea]

Is it helpful to know the phonetic alphabet? Like the symbols for sounds? I can write in the PA & I’m hoping it will transfer to steno!

[@AerickSteno]

It's probably helpful to be able to distinguish the sounds for sure! But I don't think knowing the IPA itself is an immediate advantage, especially since steno isn't purely phoentic. With most English steno theories, some sounds, despite being different, can use the same chords and some sounds, despite being the same, can use different chords. This can be due to having to disambiguate between homophones or just odd quirks of trying to fit so many sounds into the steno layout. As an example, in the theory I use (a derivative of Plover theory): - The vowel in "bought" use the `AU` chord while `bot` uses the `O` chord. - The initial consonant in "while" uses the `WH` chord while the initial consonant in "watt" uses the `W` chord. - "Cure" uses the `AOU` vowel as does "glue". From what I've seen, IPA can help communicate sounds more easily (quite a few people on the Plover Discord server will exchange IPA when talking about different pronunciations, for example). It's certainly helpful in that regard!

[@A_ndrea]

@@AerickSteno thank you so much for taking the time to respond in depth! Can’t hurt! ☺️☺️

[@mujeeburrahman3352]

i am manual stenographer in pakistan and i love machine stenographer but i cannot afford such heavy fee in court reporting college because i am not very stable financially. Is there any chance of future for me in court reporting? Is there any online classes for court reporting

[@timelapse-hoursinseconds2931]

Would the G413 TKL SE be okay for steno? As that is the keyboard that i currently have, and I don’t want to buy another keyboard until I know I want to keep doing steno.

[@AerickSteno]

It's okay to start, but it'll hold you back quite substantially especially as it does not have NKRO (from what I can tell). I'd recommend just trying steno out without buying any special hardware and seeing where that takes you.

[@timelapse-hoursinseconds2931]

@@AerickSteno cool, thanks! Will start just with my keyboard.

[@AerickSteno]

@@timelapse-hoursinseconds2931 If you find yourself looking for a better keyboard later on, any of the hobbyist steno keyboards are good machines. I have a hardware guide here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/porQqaOKeNuCgrM . I've also done reviews on the Multisteno and Uni.

[@danilopiz6338]

Where can I buy this plover steno keyboard

[@noisycarlos]

It's a software, free to use, it seems

[@Serghey_83]

Зачем тулить горбатого к стенке? Клавитаура стеномашины (стенотайпа) и обычная для qwerty для ПК - это конструкционно разные вещи и на разных принципах работающие.

[@phiasch]

Where is the misleading strokes page? I tried looking in Art of Chording and Learn Plover and I either missed them or they're somewhere else

[@AerickSteno]

My apologies, in the rush of uploading I completely forgot to provide a link. I've updated the description, and the page in question is here: github.com/openstenoproject/plover/wiki/Misleading-Strokes-in-Plover's-Dictionary

[@phiasch]

@@AerickSteno Awesome, thanks

[@ent1311]

Is there a website that I can buy steno key toppers from?

[@AerickSteno]

Unfortunately not, at this time.

[@fotisvon9943]

I want to ñesrn this so i may type what i read and have double lesrning exposure

[@menteladia9198]

Can you send the link of the sample word for steno machine

[@AerickSteno]

Not sure what you mean by sample word, could you clarify that?

[@Draakzo]

It's possible to use Plover for write in french ?

[@AerickSteno]

There are the Grandjean and TAO systems. github.com/openstenoproject/plover/wiki/Steno-Layouts-&-Supported-Languages#french The issue with Grandjean is that the dictionary has a lot of conflicts and requires hardware that isn't as easily available as English steno machines. TAO uses the standard English layout, so it will work on English steno machines (stenographs, TinyMods, Unis, etc) but it's a little basic and the system isn't quite ready for Plover (as far as I know). Hope this helps!

[@Draakzo]

@@AerickSteno Thx :)

[@swamy.vivekanandha]

how Stenographer writing speed improve please tell me brother

[@AerickSteno]

Sorry, do you mind clarifying what you mean?

[@HighFidelityFox]

What programme is that at 1:50? Thanks

[@AerickSteno]

That is Steno Jig: joshuagrams.github.io/steno-jig/form.html

[@hobbybugs1286]

Punctuation?

[@AerickSteno]

Learn Plover! has got you covered: sites.google.com/site/learnplover/lesson-7-non-letters If you're looking for a more systematic way to write symbols, I'd recommend Emily's symbols: github.com/EPLHREU/emily-symbols She uses it a lot for coding.

[@The_Original_Rtxyz]

this is too hard 😭😭 i quit

[@scifitoilet]

given how much a professional stenographer can make and how long it takes to learn, in addition with advances in technology. why in the world would anyone become a stenographer? it pays only ok, is very mechanically challenging and may soon become outdated due to advances in recording and speech recognition.

[@AerickSteno]

I should first mention that speech recognition isn't able to replace stenography just yet. I don't have any experience with it myself, but this person does and has outlined some of its pitfalls in this twitter thread here: twitter.com/stenowitch/status/1487883658405023746 With regard to the pay, it's pretty decent actually. Live captioners can easily make upwards of $100k a year, while court reporters start off making around $50k a year. I don't really understand what you mean by "mechanically challenging", it's certainly hard to learn, but it's definitely not harder than pursuing an engineering career (which pays about the same starting off). And because there's a shortage of court reporters and captioners, it is actually really easy to find work once you have sufficient certs or qualifications. Of course I should note that this video (and really my entire channel) only focuses on hobbyist stenography; I don't intend on becoming a professional stenographer any time soon but I do like it as a backup career path. Oh, and if you'd like to discuss this with professional stenographers, hop onto the Plover Discord server! We're a very friendly bunch. There are a few professional stenographers who'd be happy to share their experiences and address some of the questions you have.