A COMPUTER PERIPHERAL

摘要

A computer peripheral is connectable between a user input device, such as a keyboard 14, and a computer 12 and allows personal data of particular types (e.g. name, address) to be automatically entered into corresponding fields of a software application. The peripheral comprises a microcontroller 24 for monitoring user interactions transmitted from the keyboard to the computer and a memory 26 for storing a type identifier for each field for which data is to be entered. Initially, indications of the field types are entered by a user through the user input device while traversing the corresponding data fields of the application. Subsequently, with the keyboard 14 disconnected by a relay 28 and a "smart" card inserted in a card reader 42, the card containing personal data corresponding to the identified field types, the microcontroller automatically traverses the fields of the software application and enters the personal data read from the medium into the corresponding fields of the application.