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Remapping the Keyboard in DataVolley | 2023
tl:dr
Keyboard remapping in DataVolley is when you personalise your keyboard by creating shortcut keys to help speed up the scouting process.
Coding SHIFT+A for the away team (“a” code) has become an issue for me recently. I occasionally hold the SHIFT button as I type the next code, i.e. the shirt number, and this has unintended consequences.
I now remapped the keyboard so the away team code (“a”) is now the “A” button. The “A” button is the default code for Attack but I don’t actually need it because I use attack combination codes (“V”, “G”, “C”, and “X”) to code attacks. This caused minimal disruption to how I normally code.
Keyboard Remapping Explained
Keyboard remapping in DataVolley is when you personalise your keyboard by creating shortcut keys to help speed up the scouting process. For example, the “P” code is used for roll/ soft shots. I remapped the “P” code to the “Z” button. So when I type “Z”, it will come out as the “P” code in the scouting window. This is really useful because I can’t touch type the “P” button as my right hand is on the number pad (see the photo below) so I can easily code shirt numbers and court zones. If I wanted to type the “P” button to code roll shots without the keyboard remapping, I would have to physically look at the keyboard to type the “P” button before looking back at the volleyball action. Looking at the keyboard would mean missing out on statting some critical actions, e.g. what is the direction of the attack or who got the block kill? My last major keyboard remap was done back in 2021 (see link). I remapped the “P” code to the “Z” button. So when I type “Z”, it will come out as the “P” code in the scouting window. This is really useful because I can’t touch type the “P” button as my right hand is on the number pad (see the photo below) so I can easily code shirt numbers and court zones. If I wanted to type the “P” button to code roll shots without the keyboard remapping, I would have to physically look at the keyboard to type the “P” button before looking back at the volleyball action. Looking at the keyboard would mean missing out on statting some critical actions, e.g. what is the direction of the attack or who got the block kill? My last major keyboard remap was done back in 2021 (see link).
Keyboard remapping is extremely useful but you do need to have a good reason to make a change. It’s because it takes time to learn the new remap and then it takes time to be efficient at coding with the new remap. When you make a change, you need a second or two to remember what the new remap is, which at that point you missed coding the next action, that’s when your brain freezes up because you missed coding an action, then you missed coding the action after that and before you know it, the rally has ended and you haven’t coded anything. Additionally, the more changes you make and the bigger the changes, the longer it will take to learn the new remap and the longer it takes to get your coding back up to speed.
Remapping the keyboard also requires planning. If I want to avoid having codes on the right side of the keyboard, since I can’t touch type there, there are only so many free buttons on the left side of the keyboard and on the number pad. You also have to take into account attack combination codes.
The Need to Remap the Keyboard
When I first used DataVolley back in 2015, the former GB Women’s scout Matt Bianco told me to use SHIFT+A to code for the away team, i.e. “a”. So if I wanted to code that the away team’s number 9 set the ball, I would type SHIFT+A, NUM9SHIFT+A, NUM9, E to code “a9E”. “a” means the away team (my opponents are always the away team for me, regardless if my team is playing at home or away), “9” is the player’s shirt number and “E” is the code for setting. I have been coding it that way ever since.
I never had an issue with using SHIFT+A until the past season. I found is I am still holding the SHIFT button as I type in the number from the number pad. It doesn’t result in typing the number but the secondary action when you hold SHIFT. It’s like when you want a capital letter, you hold the SHIFT button. This is problematic as it does things that I don’t want it to. Below is a summary of what happens when I hold the SHIFT button while I type a specific number from the number pad. Below is a summary of what happens when I hold the SHIFT button while I type a specific number from the number pad.
SHIFT+NUM2 SHIFT+NUM2 | ARROWDOWN key | This results in ending the rally and giving a point to the team on the right, i.e. End Rally Right. This issue came up during the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. I found the solution by remapping the End Rally Right as the “]” button.
SHIFT+NUM8 SHIFT+NUM8 | ARROWUP key | This results in ending the rally and giving a point to the team on the left, i.e. End Rally Left. As above, the solution I found was to remap the End Rally Left as the “[” button.
SHIFT+NUM1 SHIFT+NUM1 | END key | Brings the cursor to the end of the line in the Scouting window. It’s not the end of the world since the cursor is already at the end but I get a lot of “aE” codes when player #1 is the setter.
SHIFT+NUM7 SHIFT+NUM7 | HOME key | Brings the cursor to the beginning of the line in the Scouting window. This means everything you code after goes before the serving code, which messes up the timeline of events.
SHIFT+NUM9 SHIFT+NUM9 | PAGE UP key | This shifts the active window from the Scouting window to the Codes List window. This means everything you code after is not coded at all. It’s particularly frustrating when you code a long rally and you still only a few actions are coded. For some reason, it happens more often when the main outside is #9.
The SHIFT+NUM1SHIFT+NUM1, SHIFT+NUM7SHIFT+NUM7, and SHIFT+NUM9 have been real issues in the past season. SHIFT+NUM9 have been real issues in the past season. I reflected that a way to get around this is to use a single button rather than SHIFT+A. If it’s good enough for Joe Trinsey (former USA Women Scout) and Jeff Liu (current USA Women Scout), then it’s good enough for me. This is a big enough reason to remap the keyboard.
Finding a Single Button to Code the Away Team
Below are the current codes that I use. You can see that every button is in use so I have to move something to have a single button to code the away team. I do have some options.
Remap the “X” Button to the Away TeamI currently use the “X” button for Special Attacks (e.g. cross-over attacks). However, I rarely use it. In fact, I only coded 161 special attacks out of 34,945 total attack attempts from 2021 to 2023 amongst all my teams. This equates to 0.46% or around 1 special attack in 200 attack attempts. So it makes sense that I can do without it. I can always find a button on the right side of the keyboard if I still want it. However, I do want that option open to easily code these attacks and do analyses if I need it. So it makes sense that I can do without it. I can always find a button on the right side of the keyboard if I still want it. However, I do want that option open to easily code these attacks and do analyses if I need it.
Remap the Default “A” Button to the Away Team The “A” key is the default key to code the Attack action. However, I don’t actually use the “A” button to code attacks because I use the attack combination codes (V, G, C, X) to code attacks. So I could remap the “A” button to code for the away team and I could remap a random button, e.g. “J“, to code “A” if I need it. This also has the advantage that even if I type SHIFT+ASHIFT+A by mistake, it should result in the same thing. A downside to this is I won’t have the opportunity to easily code subzone A. Subzones are where each zone (1-9) is further subdivided into four subzones (A-D)(see below). This is still something I want to eventually learn to code.
Remap the “W” Key to the Away Team The “W” key is currently used to open up the Extended Codes window. This is where you input extra details on the code, e.g. if the attack error was out long (“O”), out beyond the side (“S”), in the net (“N”), net contact (“I”) or referee’s call (“Z”) (see below screenshot). I don’t use it too often, so it makes sense to code the away team. However, I want to keep that option open to code more details. One thing I reflected on was to code whether digs after a spike, spike cover, after a block touch, or emergency (I’ll use this to code free ball digs) and I can use the Extended Codes window to do that in real-time.
Remap the “\” Key to the Away Team The “\” button is currently used to code “=”, which is the error outcome (it’s like a double negative). It’s not actually necessary to be able to touch-type errors as they happen at the end of the rally. I can afford to look at the keyboard to find the “=” button to code errors as there are no more actions to stat. This means I can use the “\” button to code for the away team. A potential issue could be that my left pinky finger will be on the button. It is usually the weakest finger to touch-type and I will have to use it a lot to code the away team.
Remap the ArrowDown Key to the Away Team The “ArrowDown” key is not currently used to code anything. Just seeing how my fingers are placed (see the first photo), my right thumb is so close to the ArrowDown key that I should be able to touch type it. I could even rest my thumb there. One potential issue is the ArrowDown button on the laptop is small that in the rush of live coding, I could miss it or press the ArrowRight or ArrowLeft buttons. This will move the cursor in the scouting window and affect the written codes.
Trialing Several New Systems
“\” for the Away Team (“a”)I first tried using the “\” key to code for the away team. I also used the “ArrowDown” key to code for errors (“=”) so I can still touch-type errors. It didn’t go down well. My fingers are usually placed on “SHIFT”, “A”, “S” and “V” buttons. Since I don’t need the “SHIFT” button, I tried resting my fingers on the “\”, “S”, “D”, and “V” buttons. This was a disaster as I kept confusing codes, e.g. the finger usually responsible for coding “S” for serve has moved to the “D” button so I found myself coding “D” for serves. It was also hard to code Q for jump serves. I also found my fingers often got lost mid-coding and I couldn’t find the keyboard, a similar feeling when I tried coding with both hands on the keyboard (see link). I then tried resting my fingers on the “|”, “A”, “S”, and “V” buttons so at least three of my fingers are where they normally are. This was slightly better so I found the pinky finger is pretty weak at touch typing so it was hard to touch type “\” for the away team. This is particularly hard since coding the away team happens often. Using the “ArrowDown” key to code errors was fine.
“A” Button for the Away Team I used the above system for half a set. It just wasn’t working. My fingers have been placed on “SHIFT”, “A”, “S” and “V” buttons for 8 years. It will take a long time to unlearn that and learn the new system. Imagine trying to touch type with your index fingers on the “G” and “H” buttons rather than the usual “F” and “J” buttons. Your fingers are just used to typing certain buttons.
So I tried using the “A” button to code the away team. My fingers could be placed in the usual way. The pinky finger on the “SHIFT” button is useless there since I don’t need it to use the “SHIFT” button. However, I can code in the usual way. The result was good. I did initially forget to code the “A” for the away team but I quickly got there. I felt I was coding at my usual pace. I moved the End Rally Left and End Rally Right to the ArrowDown and ArrowUp buttons, respectively, so I could touch type End Rally.
DownArrow Button for the Away Team I do want that opportunity to code subzone A and I can’t do that with the above way. So I tried using the “DownArrow” button to code the away team. It took me a couple of sets to get into it and it was mostly working. The only snagging point was when I had to press the “NUM0” button, e.g. for right-side attacks (“V0” code) or players numbered #10, #20, or #30. I found I actually used my thumb to press that “NUM0” button and I didn’t put my thumb back on the DownArrow button. I also found that I lost the keyboard with my thumb rested on the DownArrow button and coding the quality actions of #, +, ! and -.
Final System
I will use the “A” button to code the away team. I was coding as fast as I normally code so there was minimal disruption on the efficiency front. It makes sense since everything is exactly the same except I press “A” rather than “SHIFT+A” to code the away team. The downside to using the “A” button is it doesn’t allow me to easily code subzone A as the “A” button is in use. However, I realised that I could just remap the keyboard so the “\” button to code “A” and remap the “ArrowDown” button to code errors (see below chart).
This is actually quite a long blog post just to say I remapped the keyboard so the “a” code for the away team is the “A” button. However, I thought it was good to see what the process is like.
To finish off the blog post, below is the keyboard remapping table as it stands. Beneath that is what the keyboard remapping looks like, including the attack combination codes.
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