Can I use the keyboard to toggle capture?
Yes, as a backup: set the capture button to Keyboard in File | Options | General and tap the spacebar on and off. It's easy to lose track of, so the button is better.
The spacebar toggle for capture is a safety feature in case the capture button is damaged or lost. It is not the best way to capture, because it is easy to lose track of whether capture is on or off, and leaving it on for a long time can bog the computer down with images.
The spacebar works differently from the capture button: tap once to turn capture on, and tap again to turn it off. If a race is spread out and you keep stopping and starting, it is easy to end up capturing while nobody is finishing.
If you must use it, go to File | Options | General and set the capture button dropdown to Keyboard. If no COM port is available for the capture button, FinishLynx falls back to keyboard capture automatically.
Goes deeper
- Spacebar toggles capture — Troubleshoot · Software · FinishLynx · Capture
Related questions
- The capture button stopped working mid-meet. What do I do right now? — Switch to keyboard capture: File | Options | General, set Capture Button to Keyboard, then tap the Space bar once to start and once to stop.
- When should I press the capture button? — Press and hold it only while athletes are crossing the finish line, and release it to stop. Autocrop removes the blank stretches afterwards.
- Why do I get the message "Capture Button Serial Port Unavailable"? — Harmless if you use Auto Capture. If you use the button, its COM port wasn't found: plug the button in before opening FinishLynx and select its port in File | Options | General.