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Quantum Rotary Dial (QRD)

python serial port listener for rotary dial or anything that sends serial data of numbers 0-9. Converts to keyboard input and more!

For instance, if I want to type the phrase I love QRD! into a text editor I would simply dial

051024200642010520620820310100703102710300110702110

Which breaks down to

Dial Function
05 Select App Switch Mode
1 Open MacVim
02 Select Alpha mode
420 Type "i"
06 Enable Shift
420 Type "i"
10 Type space
520 Type "l"
620 Type "o"
820 Type "v"
310 Type "e"
10 Type space
07 Toggle Caps Lock
03 Select Phrases mode
1 Type phrase "q"
02 Select Alpha mode
710 Type "r"
30 Type "d"
01 Select Numpad mode
1 Type "1"
07 Toggle Caps Lock
02 Select Alpha mode
110 Type Newline

Package Dependencies

This app requires pynput and rumps. You can install it directly with

pip install pynput
pip install rumps

or with the requirements.txt file

pip install -r requirements.txt

Setting up the Config

Defining the Serial Port

This is the serial port of the Arduino.

The easiest way to determine the port is to:

  1. Open the Arduino IDE
  2. Go to Tools > Port

Alter the serial_port variable in the config with the appropriate value.

You shouldn't need to alter the baud_rate

Auto Launching

  1. Add the launch_qrd.sh script to you login items
    1. System Preferences > Users & Groups > Login Items
  2. Be sure to have the script set to open with a terminal, not a text editor
    1. Right-click script file > Get Info > Open with: Terminal

Logging

The app will write logs to the file defined by log_file in the config

Default Mode

This is the mode the rotary dial will be in at start up. It must be one of the below options:

  • numpad_mode
  • alpha_mode
  • phrases_mode
  • alfred_mode
  • apps_mode

Adding Phrases and Apps

The phrases to type and the applications to switch between are defined in the config. They've been prepopulated with popular phrases and apps.

Known Limitations

Can only have 9 elements in the list.

Adding Alfred Hotkeys

The hotkeys are defined by the dictionary "alfred_codes" in the config

Code Stands For Triggers
44 hi Sign On Workflow
293 bye Sign Off Workflow
328 eat Go To Lunch Workflow

Using the Rotary Dial

Once the app is running, it'll listen to the serial port and react to the dialed input.

It is important to note that "0" is treated as a special character. It is used to switch modes and acts as a signal to commit (see Alpha Mode or Alfred Mode below)

Information on the current mode and if shift or caps lock are enabled are displayed in the status bar.

Quitting the application can also be done from the status bar

Switching Modes

Dialing "0" enters an Operational Mode which allows for switching to a different mode.

Mode Dial
Numpad 1
Alpha 2
Phrases 3
Alfred 4
App Switcher 5
Shift 6
Caps Lock 7
Backspace 8

Known Limitations

There can be at most 9 modes.

Numpad Mode

Simply dial the number you want, which one notable exception.

Since 0 is a special character, you'll need to dial it twice in order to type it. For example, to type the number "10" you'd actually have to dial "100". To type "50630" you'd have to dial "5006300"

Alpha Mode

The letter groupings on the dial are accurate. Simply dial the number corresponding with the letter grouping you want, then add 1 or 2 (or 1 twice) if you want a letter later in the group. Once you've selected the letter, enter 0 to type it.

For example, the letter grouping "GHI" is assigned to 4. To type "g", dial "40"; to type "h", dial "410"; to type "i", dial "420" or "4110"

Basic Punctuation

In addition to letters, this mode allows for typing basic punctuation.

Punctuation Mark Dial
Space 10
Newline 110
Period 120 or 1110
Comma 130 or 1120 or 1210 or 11110

Known Limitations

As you can see on the dial, there's no "Q" or "Z" in any letter grouping. So you cannot type them.

It's not a bug, it's a feature!

If you insist on using those letters, they've been included as phrases

Phrases and App-switching Mode

While Python uses 0-indexing, this does not. The list index starts at 1 for convenience.

For example, if the phrase list is ["a", "b", "c"] then you would type "a" by dialing 1

Alfred Mode

This requires setting up Hotkey triggers for your workflows. The Hotkey triggers should have all the modifiers (control, command, option, shift) enabled.

Simply dial the code as defined by "alfred_codes" in the config and then dial 0 to trigger it.

Shifted and Caps Lock Mode

Selecting shift mode applies the shift modifier to only the next typed output. Selecting Caps Lock mode will apply shift to all typed output until you select Caps Lock mode again.

In both cases, once you've selected that mode it will automatically switch back to the previous mode. You won't have to switch back to it.

For instance, if you want to type the "@" character:

  1. Start in Numpad mode
  2. select Shift mode, by dialing "06"
  3. Dial "2" which will type "@"

Backspace Mode

You made a mistake. It happens to us all. You can backspace over typed text by invoking Backspace mode. Once you enter the mode, the next number you dial will be how far back to erase. As with the shift and caps lock modes, it'll switch back to the previous mode after backspacing.

For example, if you typed "Hello Word", you could erase the d by entering Backspace mode and dialing "1". You could then type "l" by entering "520" (assuming you were in alpha mode prior to backspacing).

If you typed "Helllo World", you could erase the extra L by entering Backspace mode and dialing "8". You would then retype the rest of the phrase.

Known Limitation

At most, you can backspace 9 spaces at a time. To erase more, you'll have to enter Backspace mode multiple times