Using StreetTalk

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The Output and Trip Windows

StreetTalk uses two windows to display information. You can move from one window to the other by pressing CTRL+TAB (DOTS 5-6 CHORD).

The Output Window

By default, StreetTalk starts in the Output window. The Output window maintains a running record—or log—of your activity. Messages that you changed maps, changed settings, lost GPS signal, announcing POIs that you pass, announcing upcoming maneuvers, and so on, appear in the Output window.

The Trip Window

When you plan or execute a route, StreetTalk automatically switches to the Trip window. Your turn-by-turn directions appear in this window. You can move to this window by pressing CTRL+TAB from the Output window to review your directions.
This window contains your complete route and will be updated if StreetTalk automatically recalculates your route.

StreetTalk Operating Modes

StreetTalk has two operating modes, Planner and Navigation. By default, StreetTalk starts in Planner mode. Press ALT+N (DOTS 1-3-4-5-7) to toggle between Planner and Navigation modes.

Planner Mode

Use Planner Mode to create personal favorites, calculate origin points, or calculate routes and save them for future use. It is not necessary to have your GPS receiver activated while in Planner mode.

Navigation Mode

Use Navigation mode to follow a route and receive feedback and details while traveling, as well as to make use of functions that require GPS data. You must activate your GPS receiver and be receiving satellite signals when in Navigation mode.
Note: In order to update your location continuously, the software must acquire fresh GPS signals. This requires signals from a minimum of four individual satellites. Initially, the GPS may take a few minutes to find its current location. For best results, ensure that the receiver has a clear view of the sky.

StreetTalk Menus

When you open the StreetTalk menu by pressing ALT (F2), the following choices are available:

The Routes Menu

The Routes menu contains ten choices:

Routes Menu Item	Description
Where Am I?	Selecting this tells you your current location, if in Navigation mode; or your point of origin or last known location, if in Planner mode. If StreetTalk is in Navigation mode and you are in motion, the information updates automatically every 10 seconds. Alternatively, press ALT+W (DOTS 2-4-5-6-7) to carry out this function.
Calculate a route	This selection allows you to create a route. By default, route calculation begins at your last known or current position. If you want, you can first use Set Origin to set a new starting point. Alternatively, press ALT+R (DOTS 1-2-3-5-7) to carry out this function.
Open a route	This selection allows you to recall and use Destinator-generated or breadcrumb routes you have previously created and saved. Alternatively, press CTRL+O (DOTS 1-3-5-8) to carry out this function.
Save current route	This selection allows you to save a newly created route. Alternatively, press CTRL+S (DOTS 2-3-4-8) to carry out this function.
Cancel route	This selection allows you to cancel the current route. Alternatively, press ALT+CTRL+R (DOTS 1-2-3-5-7-8) to carry out this function.
Redisplay current route	This selection allows you to redisplay the complete current route. Alternatively, press CTRL+R (DOTS 1-2-3-5-8) to carry out this function.
Set origin	This selection allows you to choose the starting point for a new route. You can use either your current position or an independently calculated point. Alternatively, press ALT+O (DOTS 1-3-5-7) to carry out this function.
Swap maps	This selection allows you to change from the current map to any map available to StreetTalk. Alternatively, press ALT+M (DOTS 1-3-6-7) to carry out this function.
Create a breadcrumb route	This selection allows you to begin to create a breadcrumb route. Please see Auto Breadcrumb Routes for detailed information on this subject. Alternatively, press CTRL+B (DOTS 1-2-8) to carry out this function.
Stop breadcrumb route creation	This selection stops breadcrumb route creation and provides a dialog to save the route. Alternatively, press CTRL+B (DOTS 1-2-8) to carry out this function.

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The Favorites Menu

The Favorites menu contains three choices:

Favorites Menu Item	Description
Create a favorite from GPS	This selection opens a dialog that allows you to create a favorite (Personal POI) based on GPS data. StreetTalk must be receiving GPS information to carry out this function.
Create a favorite from an address	You enter Address information using the StreetTalk Address dialog described below in Calculating A Route. When prompted to save a favorite, you can create an audio tag that describes the favorite and that is announced whenever the favorite is opened. Destinator associates favorites with the active map at the time of their creation and that map must be active in order to use them.
Remove a favorite	This selection opens a dialog that allows you to delete an existing favorite. This dialog lists the maps with which favorites are associated. Select the map name. In the next dialog, choose the favorite you want to delete.

Favorites Menu Item

Description

Create a favorite from GPS

This selection opens a dialog that allows you to create a favorite (Personal POI) based on GPS data. StreetTalk must be receiving GPS information to carry out this function.

Create a favorite from an address

You enter Address information using the StreetTalk Address dialog described below in Calculating A Route. When prompted to save a favorite, you can create an audio tag that describes the favorite and that is announced whenever the favorite is opened.

Destinator associates favorites with the active map at the time of their creation and that map must be active in order to use them.

Remove a favorite

This selection opens a dialog that allows you to delete an existing favorite. This dialog lists the maps with which favorites are associated. Select the map name. In the next dialog, choose the favorite you want to delete.

Back to menus

The Toggle Modes Menu

The Toggle Modes menu contains nine choices:

Toggle Modes Menu Item	Description
Navigation mode	This selection turns on Navigation mode and GPS monitoring if StreetTalk is in Planner mode. Press ALT+N (DOTS 1-3-4-5-7) to toggle between Planner and Navigation modes.
Planner mode	This selection turns on Planner mode and turns off GPS monitoring if StreetTalk is in Navigation mode. Press ALT+N (DOTS 1-3-4-5-7) to toggle between Navigation and Planner modes.
Shortest route	This selection switches from the default of using the quickest to using the shortest when calculating routes. Routes calculated in this mode will yield the shortest total distance and are most useful when walking. These routes do not consider speed limits and often contain many turns.
Quickest route	This selection switches from using the shortest to using the quickest when calculating routes. Routes calculated in this mode return the quickest directions for vehicular travel based on speed limits.
Meters kilometers	This selection changes the measurement units used by StreetTalk to metric units. Press ALT+U (DOTS 1-3-6-7) to toggle between metric and imperial units.
Feet yards miles	This selection changes the measurement units used by StreetTalk to imperial units. Press ALT+U (DOTS 1-3-6-7) to toggle between imperial and metric units.
Announce upcoming POI	This selection causes StreetTalk to announce Points of Interest (POIs) automatically as you approach them. You select the POIs from the Set POI to Announce dialog on the Utilities menu. You choose the radii within which to announce POIs from the Set POI Announce Radii dialog on the same menu.
Stop POI announcements	This selection turns off the automatic announcement of upcoming Points of Interest.
Dictionary processing	This selection toggles use of the JAWS dictionary in StreetTalk so that someone learning StreetTalk can hear the information actually presented instead of the more meaningful converted information. For details, please see Destinator Address Conventions. Press CTRL+SHIFT+D (DOTS 1-4-5-7-8) to toggle dictionary processing.

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The Utilities Menu

The Utilities menu contains eight choices:

Utilities Menu Item	Description
Set POI Announce Radii	This selection opens a dialog in which you set the radii within which you want to have Points of Interest announced. This dialog contains three combo boxes: The first combo box sets the minimum distance from a POI necessary to trigger an announcement. The second combo box sets a distance value that is greater than the value in the first. The third combo box sets a distance value that is greater than the value in the second. If you want only two announcements, do not set a value in the third combo box. Note: The values in each of the combo boxes translate to either yards or meters, depending on whether you are using imperial or metric units of measure.
Set Maneuver Announce Radii	This selection allows you to set up to three radii to control the announcement of upcoming route maneuvers such as turns. The dialog is identical to that described above for Set POI to Announce Radii.
Set Audio Alerts	This selection allows you to choose which audio alerts you hear. You can select or deselect from six choices: Destinator Audio Alerts – Destinator generates these alerts in a female voice. Many people find these useful when traveling by vehicle. However, they do interfere with JAWS speech and are not subject to the mute or volume control settings of the PAC Mate. You can turn them off by using the SPACEBAR to deselect this item. It is selected by default. Waiting sounds – This selection will turn off the sound that StreetTalk uses to indicate that it is in a waiting mode, such as you hear when you first start the application. It is selected by default. Uninitialized GPS sound – This selection will turn off the sound that you hear if your GPS receiver is not initialized. It is selected by default. HDOP over 5 meters sound – This selection will turn off the sound you hear if the value of HDOP is greater than 5. It is selected by default. Breadcrumb dropping sound – This selection will turn on the sound that is heard when a breadcrumb is "dropped" during breadcrumb route creation. It is not selected by default. Switching map sound – This selection will turn off the sound that you hear whenever you change maps. It is selected by default. Note: With the exception of Destinator alerts, StreetTalk plays the sound that accompanies each of the events whenever you press the SPACEBAR to check or uncheck it.
Set POI to announce	This selection sets points of interest to announce. You select one or more POI categories. Some categories, such as Restaurants, have subcategories. Press the SPACEBAR to deselect the top-level category and then use it to select any of the subcategories. For example, use the SPACEBAR to deselect Restaurants, then open the category by pressing RIGHT ARROW and select one or more specific categories of restaurant. StreetTalk automatically announces the POIs as you come within the selected radii of a point of interest in a selected category, or displays them when you press ALT+P (DOTS 1-2-3-4-7). This dialog also allows you to choose to have personal favorites announced along with points of interest. This option is selected by default.
Show Current Modes	This selection lists the current mode settings. The keystroke equivalent is CTRL+M (DOTS 1-3-4-8).
Set up GPS	This selection opens the dialog that allows you to assign your GPS receiver to a COM port. The keystroke equivalent is ALT+CTRL+G (DOTS 1-2-4-5-7-8).
About StreetTalk	This selection displays a dialog that shows the installed versions of both StreetTalk and Destinator.
Exit	Choosing the last selection, Exit, closes StreetTalk. A dialog opens asking you to confirm that you want to quit the application. Alternatively, press CTRL+Q (DOT 8 CHORD, Z) to carry out this function.

Back to menus

Destinator Address Conventions

You need to be aware of the format in which Destinator displays and expects to receive street names. Some of this information, such as the abbreviations detailed later, can be given specifically. Other things; including the order in which the Destinator maps sometimes invert parts of street names; must be discussed in general. The only way to master the address syntax is through experience.

Street Name Syntax

Because of the way Destinator stores map information, portions of street names may sometimes appear inverted. For example, Freedom Scientific’s street address is 11800 31stst Court North, but the map of Florida reverses “Court” and “North." As a result, if you queried StreetTalk concerning your location while at the Freedom Scientific site, you would hear “31st North Court.”
This means than when you are entering address information, you may need to experiment a little until you begin to become familiar with the syntax. If you are looking for North 5th Street, "North 5th Street," “5th Street,” or “5th Street North,” might be the correct syntax. The more you work with addresses, the more comfortable you will become with the correct way to enter this information.

Note: If you plan to use addresses from the personal contacts you have stored on your PAC Mate to calculate routes to the homes of your friends, the doctor’s office, or your favorite stores, you must enter information in the address format that Destinator expects to receive. If an address is stored as “3rd Street West,” and Destinator expects it to be ”W 3rd St,” StreetTalk is unable to process the address information in order to calculate a route.

Abbreviations

The Destinator maps use many abbreviations for common elements of street names. StreetTalk includes a JAWS dictionary that converts these abbreviations into whole words, but when you enter address information, you must use the abbreviated form. None of these abbreviations makes use of any punctuation.

Note: The dictionary can be disabled by pressing CTRL+SHIFT+D (DOTS 1-4-5-7-8>) so that you hear the information exactly as it appears. For example, instead of “North Main Street,” JAWS announces “N Main St.” The dictionary does not affect the way information appears on the braille display.
The following table lists the abbreviations used by Destinator and their spoken equivalents.

Abbreviation	JAWS Says
Aly	Alley
Ave	Avenue
Bch	Beach
Blvd	Boulevard
Brg	Bridge
Cir	Circle
CR	County Road
Cswy	Causeway
Ct	Court
Dr	Drive
E	East
Fry	Ferry
Fwy	Freeway
Hwy	Highway
Ln	Lane
Mt	Mount
N	North
NE	Northeast
NW	Northwest
Pkwy	Parkway
Pl	Place
Plz	Plaza
Pt	Point
Rd	Road
Rte	Route
S	South
Skwy	Skyway
SR	State Route
St	Street
SE	Southeast
SW	Southwest
Ter	Terrace
Trl	Trail
Vis	Vista
W	West

Calculating a Route

StreetTalk can be in either Planner or Navigation mode when you calculate a route. You can calculate a route using any of the following as the destination.

Using a Street Address

Press ALT+R (DOTS 1-2-3-5-7) to open the Choose Address Source dialog.
Select Address by City and press ENTER. Wait for StreetTalk to generate the list of cities.
Select the city. You can begin typing the city name and as you type, the list view scrolls. If you selected a large city, a delay may result until StreetTalk generates the list of streets.
Press TAB to move to the Street Name edit field. Enter the street name using the Destinator address conventions.
Press TAB to move to the list of streets. You can use the arrow keys to move up and down in this list.
Press TAB to move to the Street Number field and type the exact number. Press ENTER when finished.

StreetTalk calculates a route based on your current location or point of origin with the address you entered as the destination. If StreetTalk is in Planner mode, turn on Navigation mode before departing.

Using a Postal Code

Press ALT+R (DOTS 1-2-3-5-7) to open the Choose Address Source dialog.
Press A or select Address by Postal Code and press ENTER. Wait for StreetTalk to generate the list of postal codes.
Select the postal code. You can begin typing the postal code and as you type, the list view scrolls. If you selected a postal code that covers a large area, a delay may result until StreetTalk generates the list of streets.
Press TAB to move to the Street Name edit field. Enter the street name using the Destinator address conventions.
Press TAB to move to the list of streets. You can use the arrow keys to move up and down in this list.
Press TAB to move to the Street Number field and type the exact number. Press ENTER when finished.
StreetTalk calculates a route based on your current location or point of origin with the address you entered as the destination. If StreetTalk is in Planner mode, turn on Navigation mode before departing.

Using a Point of Interest

Press ALT+R (DOTS 1-2-3-5-7) to open the Choose Address Source dialog.
Press P or select Points of interest and press ENTER.
Choose the POI category (for example, Restaurant) from the list and press RIGHT ARROW.
Select the POI subcategory, if available, (for example, Mexican) from the list and press RIGHT ARROW.
Select the specific POI from the list and press ENTER.
Note: You can select the radius within which points of interest are displayed. Press TAB once with the POI dialog open and you can choose radii ranging from 3 miles to 100 miles. You can also select whether the center of this radius is your current location, a specific address, or a favorite.

StreetTalk calculates a route based on your current location or point of origin with the POI you chose as the destination. If StreetTalk is in Planner mode, turn on Navigation mode before departing.

Using an Entry from Contacts

Press ALT+R (DOTS 1-2-3-5-7) to open the Choose Address Source dialog.
Press C or select Contacts in Pocket Outlook and press ENTER.
Select Current City or All Contacts. Move to the list of contacts by pressing TAB.
Select an individual entry and press the RIGHT ARROW to open the list of available addresses (for example, home and business).
Press ENTER.

StreetTalk calculates a route based on your current location or point of origin with the contact address you chose as the destination. If StreetTalk is in Planner mode, turn on Navigation mode before departing.

Using a Favorite

Press ALT+R (DOTS 1-2-3-5-7) to open the Choose Address Source dialog.
Press F or select Favorites and press ENTER.
Select a category of favorites from the list and press RIGHT ARROW.
Select a specific favorite from the list and press ENTER.

StreetTalk calculates a route based on your current location or point of origin with the favorite you chose as the destination. If StreetTalk is in Planner mode, turn on Navigation mode before departing.

Saving a Route

After calculating a route, you can save it as a text file to recall and use later or to send to another StreetTalk user.

To save a route, press CTRL+S (DOTS 2-3-4-8). In the dialog, give the route a descriptive name like “Dave’s House,” or “Veterinarian’s Office.”
A saved route is always associated with the map you have active at the time you created and saved it.

Recalling and Using a Saved Route

To recall a route that you created and saved previously, press CTRL+O (DOTS 1-3-5-8). A dialog appears listing all of the saved routes that are associated with the currently active map. Choose the route you want to use and press ENTER.

Saved breadcrumb routes have the file extension .ftm and saved Destinator-generated routes have the file extension .dgr.

Navigating a Route

Once you have calculated a route or recalled a saved route by pressing CTRL+O (DOTS 1-3-5-8) and you want to use it, press ALT+N (DOTS 1-3-4-5-7) to start Navigation mode and GPS monitoring. Be sure to turn on your GPS receiver and aim it toward the sky. Press ALT+L (DOTS 1-2-3-7) to open the GPS Status dialog to verify that you have at least four satellites in view and start on your way. For best performance, you need a minimum of four satellites in view (the more the better). Ideally, the item labeled "HDOP" should contain a value of 5 or less and the item labeled “PDOP” should contain a value of 3 or less.

StreetTalk announces upcoming maneuvers. For example, it tells you in advance when you need to turn, announcing both the distance to the turning point and the direction of the turn. Review the complete route, maneuver by maneuver, using the arrow keys.
The following functions are available when navigating a route:

You can display your next maneuver by pressing ALT+C (DOTS 1-4-7).
You can display information concerning your direction of travel, speed, altitude, and distances traveled and to your destination by pressing ALT+D (DOTS 1-4-5-7).
When you come to an intersection, press ALT+I (DOTS 2-4-7) to have the name of the intersecting street announced.
You can display nearby points of interest by pressing ALT+P (DOTS 1-2-3-4-7).

If you deviate from the previously calculated route, StreetTalk announces that Destinator is recalculating the route and StreetTalk displays the new route. You can retrace your steps to return to the original route or you can choose to follow the recalculated route. In either case, StreetTalk continues to guide you to your chosen destination.

When you arrive, StreetTalk announces that you have reached your destination.

Setting a Point of Origin

Use a point of origin as the starting point for calculating a route. You can set a point of origin in the same way you calculate a route. Press ALT+O (DOTS 1-3-5-7) and StreetTalk displays the same Choose Address Source dialog as when calculating a route. You can use an address, postal code, Pocket Outlook contact, POI, or favorite in the same way you can when calculating a route.

You might want to use a point of origin as the beginning of a new route. For example, you know that you will be landing at a strange airport tomorrow and you want to calculate the route from the airport to your hotel. You can put StreetTalk into Planner mode and first set the point of origin at the airport, then calculate the route from that point to the hotel. You can save this route by pressing CTRL+S (DOTS 2-3-4-8). You can recall this saved route when you arrive at the airport tomorrow by pressing CTRL+O (DOTS 1-3-5-8), then selecting the saved route. Place your StreetTalk into Navigation mode and you’re ready to go!

Displaying Navigation Information

When StreetTalk is in Navigation mode with GPS monitoring running, you can display information about your current direction, speed, altitude, distance traveled, and distance to your destination by pressing ALT+D (DOTS 1-3-4-7). The dialog information automatically refreshes every 5 seconds.

Displaying GPS Status

When StreetTalk is in Navigation mode with GPS monitoring running, you can display useful information about your current GPS status by pressing ALT+L (DOTS 1-2-3-7). The GPS Status dialog information is refreshed every 5 seconds and includes the following items:

Number of satellites being tracked – The number of GPS satellites currently in view. The larger this number, the more accurate the positional data. A minimum of four satellites must be in view for a GPS system to function.
PDOP – Position Dilution of Precision is a GPS term that expresses the relationship between the error in user position and the error in satellite position. The actual numeric value does not translate into useful information in the same way as HDOP, but in general, the most desirable values are 3 or less.
HDOP – Horizontal Dilution of Precision is a GPS term that expresses uncertainty of a position fix using 2 horizontal coordinates. The value represents the difference in meters between your reported and true locations.
Latitude – Distance in degrees and minutes north or south of the equator.
Longitude – Distance in degrees and minutes East or West of the prime meridian, located at Greenwich Observatory, England.
Time – Current time appears in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), which is the same as Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).

Auto Breadcrumb Routes

Breadcrumb routes are routes that consist of individual "breadcrumbs"; that is, records of your exact location as you travel a route. Every 10 feet or 3 seconds, a new breadcrumb is "dropped," or recorded.

These are called Auto Breadcrumb Routes because of the automatic nature of the process; that is, you do not need to take manual action to drop breadcrumbs after the route creation process begins.

At this time, StreetTalk uses Destinator's map data when saving breadcrumb routes. For this reason, you cannot create a breadcrumb route in unmapped areas; for example woods or open fields.

Creating Auto Breadcrumb Routes

With StreetTalk running, press ALT+N (DOTS 1-2-4-5-7) to turn on GPS monitoring and Navigation mode. Then, press CTRL+B (DOTS 1-2-8) to turn on Auto Breadcrumb Route creation. This function is also available from the Toggle Modes menu by pressing ALT+T (DOTS 2-3-4-5-7). StreetTalk announces that Auto Breadcrumb Route creation has started.

As you move along the route, Destinator records your location every 10 feet or 3 seconds, whichever is greater. Each of these location records constitutes a separate breadcrumb.

When you reach your destination, press CTRL+B (DOTS 1-2-8) again to stop Auto Breadcrumb Route creation. A dialog opens that gives you the opportunity to give the route a unique name. Pressing ENTER to close this dialog saves the route.

Navigating a Saved Auto Breadcrumb Route

You recall a saved breadcrumb route in the same way you recall a saved map route. Press CTRL+O (DOTS 1-3-5-8) to open a dialog from which to select the route you want to use. Saved breadcrumb routes have a file extension of .ftm.

Locking the PAC Mate Keyboard

To eliminate the possibility of accidentally issuing keystrokes that might interrupt or cancel StreetTalk activity, you can lock the PAC Mate keyboard. To lock the keyboard, press JAWS Key+S, C (S CHORD, C). Use the same keystrokes to unlock the keyboard.

You have a limited number of keystroke commands, called "one-handed" keystrokes, available for use with the keyboard locked. Note that while these keystrokes duplicate the actions of commands mentioned previously, they are designed for one-handed entry. Please see Appendix A: StreetTalk Keystroke Commands, for a complete list.

In addition to the StreetTalk-specific keystroke commands, a limited number of regular PAC Mate keystrokes are available when the keyboard is locked. Please see the PAC Mate 3.0 or later documentation for a list of these keystrokes.

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