Connect Outloud Quick Reference Guide Freedom Scientific, Blind Low Vision Group January 2001 What is Connect Outloud? Connect Outloud is an application that provides Speech and Braille Output for blind or visually impaired users of specific Windows Applications. The primary applications include Internet Explorer 5.0 or greater, Outlook Express 5.0 or greater, Windows Explorer and desktop, and FS Editor, which is installed with Connect Outloud. Connect Outloud is the ideal way for a blind person to start learning and using a computer with access to the most popular reasons to use a PC. This user-friendly software is easily learned using Tutor Mode and allows you to easily adjust speech rate and pitch and other settings without going through a complex menu system. When Connect Outloud is first started, the Connect Outloud window has focus. You can: * Press TAB to move through the options within the Connect Outloud window. * Press WINDOWS LOGO KEY+M to minimize all open applications (including Connect Outloud) and use the Arrow keys to move through the items on the Windows desktop. * Press the WINDOWS LOGO KEY to open the Start Menu, and use the Arrow keys to move through the Start Menu items. * Press INSERT+F1 for more help wherever you move with Connect Outloud. What is on the CD? * Connect Outloud software * Eloquence software speech synthesizer for Connect Outloud * FS Editor * Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5, which includes Outlook Express Installation System Requirements To use Connect Outloud, you need: * A personal computer running Windows 95, 98, Millennium, NT 4.0 or 2000 professional. If you are running Windows NT 4.0, you must have Service Pack 4 or later installed. * A 16-bit sound card. * 32 MB RAM (64 MB required for Windows 2000 Professional). * 50 MB of available hard disk space. * VGA or higher-resolution video adapter (Super VGA 256-color recommended). Connect Outloud will not work in the Windows 3.1x environment. Connect Outloud Setup Before starting Connect Outloud setup, make sure all other applications - including screen readers, magnification programs, and anti-virus software - are closed. When you insert the Connect Outloud CD, a dialog displays, providing two installation options. Simply select the desired option and press ENTER. The installation wizard prompts you for necessary information in a series of easy to follow dialogs. Automatic Install This Setup option installs Connect Outloud using default settings. Custom Install This Setup option allows you to specify: * Choose Destination Location * Select Braille Display Components * Name of the Program Folder in the Start Menu Certificate of Ownership After installation, you are prompted to enter your 16-digit Certificate of Ownership number. You will find this number on the certificate on a label in the lower right corner in print and Braille. Be certain to register Connect Outloud after entering this number. Please retain your Certificate of Ownership and store it in a safe place. Note: In the event you do not have a Certificate of Ownership number, you can continue to run Connect Outloud for up to 24 total hours. Registering Connect Outloud Connect Outloud prompts you to register the first time you run the program. If you have not registered, you are prompted to register each time you open Connect Outloud. Your information is sent via the Internet using an Internet connection, if you have one. If you do not have an Internet connection, see the Help Topic about using the Internet. To open help, press ENTER on the Help button in the Connect Outloud window. Using a Braille Device Connect Outloud supports a number of Braille Displays. Press ENTER on the Add Braille Device button in the User Interface to select one. Uninstalling Connect Outloud If you need to uninstall Connect Outloud, open the Programs menu from the Start Menu in Windows. From there open the Connect Outloud menu and select Uninstall Connect Outloud. Starting Connect Outloud Manually Starting Connect Outloud 1. Press CTRL+ESC to open the Start Menu. 2. Press P until Programs is selected, then press the RIGHT ARROW key to open the submenu. 3. Press C until Connect Outloud is selected, and open the submenu. 4. Press C again and Connect Outloud opens. Automatically Starting Connect Outloud On the Connect Outloud user interface, move to the Start Up Options button and press ENTER. Check the Start Connect Outloud Automatically check box to have Connect Outloud begin speaking even before you sign on to Microsoft Windows. You can always return to this check box and clear this option. The User Interface The Connect Outloud window provides you with options to control how Connect Outloud works on your computer. Note: Press the TAB key to move through the options available. For more information on each control, navigate to the control and press INSERT+F1. Speech Rate This slider control allows you to adjust the rate of speech. Additional Speech Options This button accesses a dialog box in which you can adjust other speech settings. Announce Control Help The check in this box means that Tutor messages will be spoken as you navigate through Windows. Announce Access Keys Check this box to turn on announcement of control access keys as you navigate through Windows. Keyboard Echo Use this combo box to specify to what degree Connect Outloud echoes keyboard activity as you type. The options are: None, Characters, Words, and Characters and Words. Keyboard Layout Use this combo box to select your keyboard layout. Select Desktop if your keyboard has a number pad. Select Laptop if your keyboard does not have a number pad. Add Braille Device/Braille Options Select this button to access the Braille Options dialog box. If no Braille devices are installed, an Add Braille Device button is present instead. Start Up options Select this button to access the Start Up Options dialog box. Help Select this button to access Connect Outloud Help. More Select this button to access the More Options dialog box. Quit Connect Outloud Select this button to exit Connect Outloud. Getting Help Help at Your Fingertips The following commands provide quick access to help as you are using Connect Outloud. INSERT+1 (Keyboard Help) Turn on this feature to explore Connect Outloud commands. Connect Outloud tells you which keyboard commands do what, safely - without performing the command. Press INSERT+1 again to exit keyboard help. INSERT+F1 (Screen Sensitive Help) Press this keystroke and Connect Outloud Provides spoken messages telling you about the current control or window. SHIFT+F1 (What's This? Help) What's This? Help provides a brief text message in a pop up window that Connect Outloud reads as soon as it appears. Press ESC when finished with the help message. Though not available in every application, these messages provide you useful information about the current control or window. INSERT+TAB (Read Control and Help) This command speaks the tutor message for the current control or window, and the access key to move directly to that control, if there is one. This is a great way to review tutor and access key information without moving away from a control and back, and without needing to turn on automatic announcement of these messages. INSERT+W (Read Current Window) This command reads the contents of the current window or dialog box without moving the point of focus. This is a great way to familiarize yourself with available options in a new window. Tip: Pressing INSERT+W is a good way to review the What's This? Help (SHIFT+F1) messages after they have been displayed. The Online Help System When you press ENTER to select the Help button from the Connect Outloud window, the Online Help System opens. To move to the help topic discussing how to use this help system, press F6, then press DOWN ARROW until you hear Connect Outloud say, "Link Getting Help," and then press ENTER. Press ENTER on links to view the information, and use the standard reading commands discussed below in the Important Keystrokes section to move through and read the topics. Next Steps We suggest you spend some time reading through the Help available using the button on the User Interface. While Connect Outloud is extremely easy to use, you will want to understand the basics so that your experiences using the Internet will be enjoyable. Also, don't forget to visit www.FreedomScientific.com to learn more about our assistive technology products. If you have any suggestions or comments about Connect Outloud, please send e-mail to suggestions@freedomscientific.com. The Keyboard and Connect Outloud Connect Outloud uses the keyboard to provide you quick and effective access to the programs you most want to use. The more familiar you are with the keyboard, the more you will enjoy using those supported programs. To review the layout of a standard desktop keyboard, open Connect Outloud help, press F6, and press the DOWN ARROW key until you hear Connect Outloud say, "Link Tips for Using the Keyboard," and then press ENTER. The Number Pad Most desktop PC keyboards have a block of keys on the right side of the keyboard called the number pad. Locate the key in the upper left corner of this block of keys. This is the NUM LOCK key. The NUM LOCK can be turned on or off. If on, many of the keys on the number pad duplicate the number keys, 1 through 0. If NUM LOCK is turned off, these same keys duplicate the keys from the "six pack" and "inverted T," which are between the number pad and the main section of the keyboard. We recommend you turn off NUM LOCK as many Connect Outloud commands use key combinations that are easy to learn and use from the number pad. Locate the key in the lower left corner of the number pad. This key should be twice the size of the other keys. It is the 0 or INSERT key, depending on whether NUM LOCK is on or off. On the left edge of the number pad, just above the 0/INSERT key is 1/End, to the right of this is 2/DOWN ARROW, and to the right of that is 3/PAGE DOWN. The three keys above these, from left to right, are 4/LEFT ARROW, 5, 6/RIGHT ARROW. The 5 key has a raised bump on it. Above these keys, again from left to right, are 7/HOME, 8/UP ARROW, and 9/PAGE UP. With NUM LOCK off, your thumb on the INSERT key, and your fingers spread out above the other keys, you can easily reach all of these keys to quickly enter commands. It is easy to find NUM PAD 5 with the bump on it, and you have UP and DOWN ARROW above and below, and LEFT and RIGHT ARROW to either side. Important Hot Keys To get you going, here are a few important keystrokes. To see a complete list of Shortcut and Hot Keys, go to the online help system. Note: Except where noted, all say commands move focus to the designated location and read the character, word, etc. Say Character - NUM PAD 5 Say Prior Character - LEFT ARROW Say Next Character - RIGHT ARROW Say Word - INSERT+NUM PAD 5 Say Prior Word - INSERT+LEFT ARROW Say Next Word - INSERT+RIGHT ARROW Say Line - INSERT+UP ARROW Say Prior Line - UP ARROW Say Next Line - DOWN ARROW Say All - INSERT+DOWN ARROW Read Window Title - INSERT+T Read Status Bar - INSERT+PAGE DOWN Speak Time - INSERT+F12 Speak Date - INSERT+F12 pressed twice quickly Switch Between Apps - ALT+TAB List open Supported Apps - INSERT+SPACEBAR Minimize All Applications - WINDOWS LOGO KEY+M or INSERT+F6 Open Windows Start Menu - CTRL+ESC Applications FS Editor FS Editor is a word processor used with Connect Outloud that supports text, MS-DOS text, rich text, and Word 6.0 format files. Document files created in Word 2000 can be read, but if changes are made these documents must be saved as Word 6.0 files. Letters, school papers, reports, and documents of all kinds can be created, edited, printed, and saved using FS Editor. The formatting features include Font, Paragraph, and Tab settings. There is also a full Spell Checker complete with a Dictionary. Internet Internet Explorer 5.5 is a browser that allows you to connect to the Internet via the World Wide Web (WWW). Internet Explorer displays the information found on the Internet, so you can access information and interact with that information. Data found on the Internet can be text, graphics, charts, tables, audio, or video. Outlook Express Outlook Express is a Web-integrated e-mail and news program for managing multiple e-mail accounts. This software package is bundled with Internet Explorer. Non-Supported Applications Connect Outloud only functions within specific applications. If you open or switch to an application not supported by Connect Outloud, you will hear a descending audible tone and Connect Outloud will not speak. Press ALT+TAB to move back to the previously active application, or press INSERT+SPACEBAR to display a list of all open applications that are supported by Connect Outloud. Select an application in the list, and press ENTER to move to that application. When you move back to a supported application, you will hear an ascending audible tone. ============ PUBLISHED BY Freedom Scientific BLV Group, LLC 11800 31st Court North St. Petersburg, Florida 33716-1805 USA http://www.freedomscientific.com Information in this document is subject to change without notice. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or any means electronic or mechanical, for any purpose, without the express written permission of Freedom Scientific. Copyright © 2001 Freedom Scientific BLV Group, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Connect Outloud is a trademark of Freedom Scientific BLV Group, LLC in the United States. Microsoft, Windows NT, Windows 2000 Professional, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows Me, and Internet Explorer are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries. Other product and company names mentioned herein may be the trademark of their respective owners.