Comfort Keys Pro Review: Advanced Hotkey Manager with On-Screen Keyboard and Clipboard Assistant

excellent
key review info
application features
  • Hotkey manager
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Comfort Keys Pro is an advanced application specialized in automating all sorts of system-related actions with the aid of hotkeys. You will be able to launch programs and open webpages, automatically insert preset text (e.g. email templates, signatures, passwords, addresses), control the sound volume, and record macros.

Aside from the aforementioned features, the utility comes with support for a virtual on-screen keyboard, clipboard manager, task switcher, language identifier, and history panel with all previously opened tools.

You can purchase a license for $29.95/€26.55. You can also test the program for 30 days and see if it meets your requirements. The utility is fully compatible with Windows 2000, XP, Vista, 7, and 8. It can also be used in workgroups by saving the shortcut file to a network resource.

Initial configuration settings 

When you run the utility for the first time, a wizard-like assistant pops out. It is designed to help you perform several initial adjustments to the program’s settings.

You can run the utility at Windows startup, show keyboard on log-on screen, and display the Comfort Keys Pro toolbar in the taskbar.

There are several actions that can be activated on the fly with the aid of preset hotkeys. You can enable Comfort Keys Pro tasks (e.g. show the history of the clipboard manager, show the list of recently launched programs, toggle the visibility of the on-screen keyboard), set up audio actions for turning the volume up, down or on/off, trigger system actions (e.g. open Control Panel, open the Internet Properties window, map network drive, empty Recycle Bin), manage monitor settings (e.g. power off or on, start screen saver), as well as turn on shutdown-related sessions (e.g. lock, log off, restart, sleep, shut down, hibernate).

The application also offers you the freedom to manually reassign hotkeys for the aforementioned actions. The keyboard shortcuts work in any utility. You may also employ keyboard shortcuts for running a certain program, pasting text, blocking or replacing keys or shortcuts, modifying language, layout, or case, and minimizing, maximizing or restoring the active window.

Comfort Keys Pro does not come with support for a single keyboard type but it provides a multitude of models to choose from, such as Ergonomic, Mini, Multimedia, NumPad, Standard, TabletPC, TouchGame, TouchScreen, Triangles, TwoSides, and UMPC. Plus, you can select from several style models, like Transparent, Dark, Black, Night, and Golden, automatically hide the keyboard, show labels and icons in the center of keys, and display Windows buttons.

Insert predefined text

The template manager is specially designed for helping you configure and paste frequently used text fragments and images. This way, you can paste user-defined phrases, greetings, passwords, or other details on the fly.

You can input custom keywords and enter the required text fragment. What’s more, you can specify where you want to set the text cursor after you paste the text and store keywords with the help of two categories, namely plain text and rich text format. The former is suitable for text without formatting (you may set up different macros), while the latter can be employed for formatted text in MS Office, OpenOffice, MS WordPad, and other tools.

You may also print, back up the information to a file so you can import it in your future projects, and encrypt/decrypt data.

Taking advantage of the on-screen keyboard

As I have previously mentioned, the keyboard is highly customizable thanks to the rich support for different layouts. Plus, it offers multi-touch support for Windows 7 and other compatible hardware products (touch input is available with 255 touch points).

You can work with an on-screen keyboard
You can work with an on-screen keyboard

You can quickly enter capital letters and spaces, create your own keyboard layout in case you are not happy with the preset options, modify the size of the keyboard, automatically complete words, keep a floating panel on your screen so you can hide or show the on-screen keyboard, show an icon for starting the keyboard next to the text cursor, and make use of symbols on the fly.

Working with the clipboard manager

There’s no limit when it comes to storing fragments in the clipboard history. You may set the clipboard data directory, encrypt the information, preview the clipboard history fragments in the main window, as well as paste the clipboard content in a predefined format like plain text, keystroke sequence, rich text format, HTML text, or Windows metafile.

Furthermore, you can create a list with favorite clipboard items, filter entries by date, text, picture, RTF data, or HTML info, edit text fragments, assign a hotkey for any clipboard entry, and name fragments (for example, you may give a name to an address or password).

Plus, you may delete items, display entries with different background colors, export data to RTF, TXT, HTML, or WMF file format, and back up the information.

You may paste text using several predefined profiles
You may paste text using several predefined profiles

The tool lets you automatically track and store clipboard changes, set the maximum number of saved entries, and keep oldest or newest fragments on top of the list.

Extra configuration settings

Comfort Keys Pro lets you adjust the overall theme of the program in terms of style, background picture, transparency, font, and icon settings. The on-screen keyboard can be configured by adjusting its position, keys, gestures (characters are typed when you raise your finger from the surface of a touch screen), and zooming options.

You can open the on-screen keyboard with the aid of a floating window and icon placed next to the text cursor, as well as lock, automatically hide them, change the transparency of the background.

The application is able to automatically complete words, and you may specify the number of displayed word suggestions, set the time delay, show numbers, sort items in an alphabetical order, and download additional dictionaries for a vast array of suggestions.

You may also switch between different languages thanks to the integrated language switch feature. You can show the language flag instead of the Comfort Keys Pro’s icon in the system tray, display the language flag next to text cursor when possible, and reveal the flag only when the language is switched. Additionally, you may place a language bar on the desktop for easy access.

Other important settings worth being mentioned allow you to view running applications and quickly switch between them, check out a history with all launched programs and open them, enable sound notifications for various events (e.g. copy data to the clipboard, press system key), and change the appearance of the on-screen keyboard and other items based on which program is currently active.

Security parameters can be configured in order to set a password for encryption and decryption, request a password upon startup, encrypt clipboard data, hide characters while typing passwords using the on-screen keyboard, and disable the autocomplete function when entering passwords. 


The Good

Comfort Keys Pro has many noteworthy features that allow you to get rid of boring and tiresome tasks. You can automate various actions using custom hotkeys, add predefined text, and work with an advanced on-screen keyboard and clipboard manager.

Tasks are executed smoothly and quickly, without errors. The application is not a resource hog, so it does not affect the overall performance of your computer. 

The Bad

The configuration settings are thorough and some of them are difficult to decode by less experienced users. Rookies may need to invest extra time in order to learn how to work with the program’s features. 

The Truth

Comfort Keys Pro helps you make the most out of your keys and perform a series of automatic actions on the fly. It is highly customizable and offers you the flexibility to set up each action in detail. The comprehensive feature package makes it an ideal candidate especially for advanced users. 

user interface 5
features 5
ease of use 5
pricing / value 4


final rating 5
Editor's review
excellent
 

Comfort Keys Pro (36 Images)

Comfort Keys Pro helps you set up general parametersYou can perform various actions using hotkeysYou can perform various actions using hotkeysYou can change the layout of the on-screen keyboardThere are different keyboard types and styles to choose from
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