Tabbed Keyboard Switching

[GoogleCodeExporter]

I often ran into the problem that i have to switch between multiple ask 
keyboard layouts. in my case the greek, english, german, math and logic 
keyboard layouts. 

When entering formulas i have to switch between the layouts very often. but its 
unhandy to switch through multiple layouts, then entering a single symbol, and 
then to the swipes all over again. 

I therefore recommend to provide an option for a tabbed layout as the top row. 
The tabs could get labeled with a 3-4 letter Abbreviation (Eng, Ger, Math, 
etc.) or an Symbol (ie. a country flag). This will allow much faster keyboard 
chances. 

Original issue reported on code.google.com by mov...@gmail.com on 22 Apr 2012 at 7:49

[GoogleCodeExporter]

If you wanted, and I realize that not everyone wants to go through this effort, 
you could create a custom keyboard where these symbols/characters are available 
as long key presses. I created a keyboard that has an additional row. In that 
row are a few keys that give me access to common symbols. For example, I moved 
all the accented characters that I would likely use to a single key (é, with 
popup characters àâèêïôöùçñ), and then put the common symbols as 
popups on the normal alpha keys. I have parentheses as keys (with popups for 
other parentheses types), a @ key with common symbols that I couldn't fit on 
the alpha keys (¢€£¥¯_·°`), and a * key with common math symbols not 
already on the alpha keys (≠≈≤≥×⊕√∏∑π).

I also included arrow-left and arrow-right keys on the top row, and then hide 
the built-in top row.

I plan to create a symbol keyboard with shapes I might want, and I'll just use 
the language key to toggle keyboards (i.e., I'll only have those two). I think 
it should work well.

On the other hand, if you like the alpha keys the way they are, you could 
create a new QuickText popup (replacing the smiley key), and put a bunch of 
symbols in that (that's the only popup you can do with ASK that will let you 
use multiple rows).

I actually created my own QuickText also that has a subset of smileys, keys 
that output common email addresses (with abbreviations shown in the popup 
instead of full addresses), a set of common shape symbols not already on the 
keyboard, and a subset of greek characters for equations, etc...

Original comment by kati.com...@gmail.com on 27 Apr 2012 at 6:06