We have prepared a convenient document for storing your decisions and measurements for your custom keyguard. The data form is available as a DOCX or PDF.
The form collects all the data that is needed by keyguard.scad to produce your custom keyguard. If you’ll be designing a keyguard for someone else, email them this form and ask them to fill it out. If you will be having someone else enter the data for you, you can easily email the completed form to that person.
The form has two sections. The first section requests information that should be provided by the person who is closest to the final user of the keyguard. That person will know detailed information about the kind of tablet, kind of case, AAC app, and the best way to attach the keyguard to the tablet or tablet case.
The second section requests information that should be provided by the person who is 3D printing the keyguard. That information can be very helpful in deciding what characteristics of the 3D print are important in making the keyguard sturdy and long lasting as well as which characteristics have little impact.
Some items are highlighted in yellow. You can get the data for these items by taking measurements directly on the tablet with the app running. Alternatively, you can take a screenshot of the app running on the target tablet and use a graphics program like Microsoft Paint to determine these measurements. That means that you could have someone else collect these measurements for you but you would need to send them a copy of the screen shot.
It can be difficult to get some key measurements using a simple ruler. You may want to print an Easy Measurement Tool.
In general, if you are having someone else print the keyguard for you, it’s best that you send them a screenshot along with the data form – whether or not you’ve provided the highlighted information. It will give you a second set of eyes to catch obvious mistakes before the keyguard is printed. We would also recommend including a picture of the app running on the tablet within the case. That will help your partner verify your mounting method, whether the screen is centered in the case opening, and whether the case opening is centered in the case.
Once you’ve entered your data, save the form with a name that will help you remember its content like “Tommy’s TouchChat 25, iPad 2, Otterbox”. There’s also a box on the first page of the form called “ID” for you to put information like this.
On the last page, there’s an input box called “Special Instructions”. That’s a good place to put things like the user’s favorite colors or whether you’d like to engrave text on the top or bottom surfaces of the keyguard along with where you’d like them to be engraved.
When you’ve reached a design that you like, save your Customizer settings as a named Preset. You should also go to the Special Actions and Settings section and “generate” your “Customizer settings”. Copy those settings and save them along with all the other information you’ve collected for your keyguard design.