Special THANKS to Roger for this information:
You needn't press Alt and an upper-row key concurrently to create a number. (It would be awkward to press the left-hand end of that row if one is using two-thumb typing and grasping the Kindle with both hands.)
Instead, one can press them consecutively--first the Alt key, then the upper-row key. One can also do this with the Shift key to create capital letters. These vital tips were documented in a couple of places in the first edition of the Kindle User Guide, and in one location in the second edition. In eight other locations where this might be mentioned, only the concurrent method is offered.
I wrote to Kindle-Feedback@Amazon.com about this recently and they said they'd fix the Guide ASAP. It's too bad they (or someone down the line) ignored my first e-mail on the matter, six months earlier.
==========
The recent message to Amazon:
--- Recent message: ----
The Kindle’s “Persistent” Shift & Alt Keys Are Inadequately Documented
One of the Kindle’s cleverest touches is its use of “persistence” in its Alt & Shift keys. I.e., the user need not push those keys concurrently with the key being Alt-ed or Shift-ed, but can do so in advance—which is a great help when employing the two-thumb typing that the Kindle User Guide recommends.
However, many current users are unaware of this feature. When I pointed it out a week ago on the Mobileread forum, one poster
(“snipenekkid”) responded as follows:
“really? I mean REALLY...that is totally cool!! hahahaha...I have laugh at myself on this one because you'da thunk after owning every Kindle but the original DX and K3 I would have stumbled across that neat feature. Sigh, old age...I got my first stuff from AARP the other day so I guess it's a sign. :p
“Thanks a TON for that though!
“Really I can't thank Roger enough for the tip. What a huge difference that makes for using the keyboard. I really had given up any idea of using it.”
The reason for this ignorance is that Amazon has hidden its light under a bushel. The recent, second edition of the Kindle User Guide contains only one mention of key persistence, at location 412. It contains eight recommendations to "press and hold," at 355, 358, 935, 945, 1098, 1102, 1721, 1766.
What’s worse is that the first edition had two mentions of the feature (at locations 349 (Shift) and 403) and seven recommendations to only "press and hold." (At locations 350 (Alt) 925, 934, 1079, 1084, 1692, and 1738.) So the Kindle’s documentation has been moving in the wrong direction: toward greater concealment the feature. At this rate, the third edition won’t mention it at all.
What’s still worse is that Amazon ignored my complaint about the first edition’s inadequate treatment. My e-mail provided all the locations that needed correction. (Reference #: cust.service03
+ANN0P312MLYFJ@amazon.com, Date: Oct. 11, 2010, Subject: "Usage errors and infelicities in the K3 User Guide")
I suspect the tech writers in charge of the User Guide think “We Know Best.” (Or maybe they don’t bother to read critical input.) That attitude is only tolerable when it comes from people who actually do.
Roger Knights
=============
Really Roger... thanks again! When I think of how hard it is to hold both those keys down at the same time... almost impossible without using two fingers... and how amazingly nice it is to just press one, then the other key. Refreshing!
