General FAQs

• Where can I talk to other CharaChorder users?
• Our biggest online communities are located on Discord: https://discord.gg/hYu6VW5YkM as well as YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/charachorder

• Is it really faster than QWERTY?
• Yes, any chording enabled device text entry will indeed be able to type much faster than those typing one letter at a time. This has more to do with the laws of physics than the skill level of any individual user

• Is it comfortable to use? 
• Yes, there are many users that use CharaChorder Two purely for the ergonomic benefits. By utilizing a greater range of muscles you also reduce repetitive strain

• How does chording work?
• To output an entire word or sentence at the same time, you can ‘chord’ by pressing and releasing many several inputs simultaneously.

• What about words with the same letters of another word?
• In the event of an anagramic chord, there are a number of different possible workarounds including chord modifiers, compound chords, or briefs.

• Is this stenography?
• It’s more like a keyboard/mouse had a baby with a steno writer on steroids. CharaChorder offers the best of both worlds in high speed character entry and ultra high speed chorded entry, and is designed as a complete keyboard replacement. Here are some videos comparing CharaChorder and stenography in more detail: https://youtu.be/X1cUG8SWNwk?si=JM_jAeAMYqDjVtex
• https://youtu.be/VsG5fT5LDqU?si=Z3fYQB0MmCCxBELo

• How do I learn how to get started learning CharaChorder? 
• The landing page for learning to use CharaChorder devices is located at: https://www.charachorder.com/pages/learn

• What is the learning curve on this?
• Most users are able to pass average qwerty special (40 wpm) within about a month of practice.

• Is it compatible with every OS?
• CharaChorder is compatible with macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS and Android. All the intelligence and processing is built into the device therefore no special software is required to use it. Your computer, tablet, or smartphone reads it as if it were any other keyboard.

• Do you have an affiliate program?
• We do have an affiliate program! You can check it out here:
• https://www.charachorder.com/pages/affiliate-program

• Do you have a manual?
• Yes, manual for CharaChorder is located at https://docs.charachorder.com

CharaChorder Two FAQs

• How do you access a full keyboard when it has less buttons? 
• The switches on a CharaChorder Two device are not 1-D, but rather 3-D, so you can access 5 unique inputs per switch. 

• What are the dimensions and weight of the device?
• 11 ⅝ x 4 ⅜ x 1 ⅛, 10.7 oz without USB-C, 12.1 oz with USB-C

• What are the dimensions and weight of the internal box/case with insert?
• 12 3/16 x 8 1/16 x 2 ⅜,15.8 oz

• What are the dimensions and weight of the final shipping box?
• 13 x 9 x 2 ¾, 2 lb .6 oz or 2.04 lbs

• What are the dimensions and weight of half of the device?
• 4 5/16 x 4 5/16 x 1 ⅜, 4.6 oz

• What are the dimensions and weight of the half device box only?
• 5 x 5 x 5, 0.17 lb

• What are the dimensions and weight of the final half shipping box?
• 5 x 5 x 5, 8.2 oz or .52 lbs

CharaChorder Lite FAQs

• What are the dimensions and weight of the device?
• 11 ⅝  length, 4 ⅛  width, and 1 5/16  height, 1 pound .5 ounces

• What are the dimensions and weight of the case?
• 14 3/16 x 6 ⅜  x 2 ⅛, 9 oz

• What are the dimensions and weight of the final shipping box?
• 14 ¼ x 6 ½ x 2 ¾, 2 lb .7 oz or 2.05 lb

CharaChorder X FAQs

• Is there any difference between the functionality of the Lite versus the X?
• The Lite can handle up to 12-key singular chords, while the X will initially handle up to 6-key singular chords. The Lite has some special keys that are not on normal keyboards, but the functionalities of those keys can be remapped to regular keys on a normal keyboard.

• Will CCX work on a laptop?
• Yes, it will work with an external keyboard plugged into a laptop, but it will not work with your laptop’s built-in keyboard. 

• Will CCX also work with a keyboard wireless dongle?
• CCX may support some keyboards which use a wireless dongle, however we can not guarantee that it will work with every wireless keyboard.

• What requirements are there for my keyboard? For example, does it need to have a certain capability with regards to NKRO?
• The constituent keys allowed in a chord will be affected by your hardware. If your keyboard is not anti-ghosting or NKRO there will be some combinations of keys which will not work in chords.

• What languages are compatible with CCX?
• The CCX will come configured for US English keyboard layouts. With the US English keyboard layout, there are approximately 30 non-English languages that can be supported. For native support, we will have a few examples and templates to allow the community to assist in developing mappings for the over 5000 different language keyboards.

• How well will CharaChorder X work with alternate layouts? (Dvorak, Colemak, etc.)
• Chords are mapped to letters. CCX will work with all keyboard layouts, even custom ones.

• How many chords will come pre-loaded on the CCX?
• You can expect the CC X to include around the same amount of starter chords as the CC Lite. 
• https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1XdbJ8DmiZRKq0oUR3LSMgl9NF8cxccADXlNUnLgxvvo/

• Will the X include the functionality for chord modifiers just like the CCL?
• The CC X will have the functionality to pluralize and modify conjugation, however some of your keyboard keys will need to be overwritten with that function

• Is CC X the same thing as CC Engine, just in a USB instead of a chip?
• The CCX includes the same hardware as the CC Engine, but also has an additional chip to receive and interpret a USB keyboard as an input device. While the CC X is a consumer device, the CC Engine requires additional custom circuit design and electrical engineering to create new, custom devices.

• Will there be any form of communication at all between the X and an external host/network?
• The CCX (like CC1 and CCL) utilizes HID and Serial over USB. It cannot directly connect to an external network without the aid of another software to route the USB traffic. The Chordmanager is such a software, but is an optional tool that leverages the Serial-over-USB capabilities of some HTML5 web-browsers.

• Will CCX work with a USBA to C adapter?
• Yes CCX works with USB-A-to-C adapters.

• What if CCX doesn’t work with my keyboard?
• At this time, we have identified a bug that prevents the CharaChorder X from working with certain keyboards that have a non-standard boot protocol from the USB HID specification. We are working on a way to support non-standard boot USB protocols.