Handwriting data collection

FileMaker Go version

The FileMaker Go is a free mobile app that runs on iOS devices.

To run the app-based version, you will need an iPad installed with FileMaker Go.

Next, you can download the handwriting app and run it using FileMaker Go on your iPad.

The app can be downloaded via Evernote or Google drive.

If neither Evernote nor Google Drive works for you, you may download the zipped file here, and unzip it on your iPad using some 3rd party applications.

Below please find the video demonstration:

The handwriting app developed has been used in the following studies:


  • Lau, D.K.Y., Liang, Y., Nguyen, H.A. (2022). Measuring Orthographic Knowledge of L2 Chinese Learners in Vietnam Using a Handwriting Task – A Preliminary Report. Frontiers in Psychology, 13:784019. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.784019.

  • Lau, D.K.Y. (2020). Orthographic and phonological processing in Chinese character copying – a preliminary report. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 2122. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.02122

  • Lau, D.K.Y. (2020). Validation of constituent logographemes and radicals in Chinese characters using handwriting data. Behavior Research Methods, 52, 305-316. DOI: 10.3758/s13428-019-01227-z

  • Lau, D.K.Y., & Yuen, C.T. (2019). Representations of grapho-motor patterns unique to Chinese character writing: evidence from a patient with mirror writing. Clinical Linguistics and Phonetics, 33(10-11), 1031-1049. DOI: 10.1080/02699206.2019.1602788

  • Lau, D.K.Y. (2019). Grain size units of Chinese handwriting: development and disorder. Clinical Linguistics and Phonetics, 33(9), 869-884. DOI:10.1080/02699206.2019.1584723

  • Lau, D.K.Y. & Ma, K.H.W. (2018). A Phonetic Radical Account of the Phonology-to-Orthography Consistency Effect on Writing Chinese Characters: Evidence from a Chinese Dysgraphic Patient. Cognitive Neuropsychology, 35(4), 1-12. DOI: 10.1080/02643294.2018.1510387.