User Guide BrailleNote PK Copyright © 2005 HumanWare Limited, Christchurch, New Zealand. All rights reserved No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form whatsoever without the express written permission of HumanWare Limited. Every effort has been made to ensure that the information contained in this user guide is correct at the time of issue. Neither HumanWare Limited nor its agents assume responsibility for errors or omissions in this information. No liability is assumed for damages resulting from the use of this information. This product complies with the requirements of EMC Directive 89/336/EEC. Authorized European Union Representative: HumanWare Europe Russell Smith House 2 Bullmatt Business Centre BrooksNorthampton Road, Rushden Northamptonshire NN10 6AR United Kingdom phone: +44 (0) 1933 415 800 fax: +44 (0)1933 411 209 e-mail: eu.info@humanware.com web: www.humanware.com Contents 1 Getting Started....................................................................................... 1 1.1 Equipment Checklist. ............................................................................ 1 1.2 General Features.................................................................................... 2 1.3 Software Features.................................................................................. 3 1.4 Braille Display. ..................................................................................... 5 1.5 Joystick.................................................................................................. 5 1.6 Touch Cursor......................................................................................... 5 1.7 Keyboard. .............................................................................................. 6 1.8 CONTROL keys.................................................................................... 7 1.9 Turning the BrailleNote PK on and Off................................................ 7 1.10 Resets. ................................................................................................... 8 1.11 NAVIGATION Keys ............................................................................ 9 1.12 Speech. ................................................................................................ 10 1.13 Headphones. ........................................................................................ 10 1.14 KeySoft Concepts................................................................................11 1.15 The KeySoft Menus. ........................................................................... 14 1.16 A First Experience............................................................................... 18 1.17 General Functions. .............................................................................. 21 1.18 Switching Between Tasks. .................................................................. 26 1.19 Pasting Text into a Field. .................................................................... 27 1.20 Keyboard Assistance. .......................................................................... 28 1.21 One-Handed Mode. ............................................................................. 29 1.22 Saving before Switching off. .............................................................. 30 1.23 Setting Time and Date......................................................................... 30 1.24 User Settings. ...................................................................................... 32 1.25 User Guide. ......................................................................................... 33 1.26 Where to Now. .................................................................................... 37 1.27 Version. ............................................................................................... 38 2 BrailleNote PK Hardware..................................................................... 39 2.1 AC Adapter and Battery...................................................................... 39 2.2 Charging the Battery. .......................................................................... 40 2.3 Checking Power Status. ...................................................................... 41 2.4 Battery Care. ....................................................................................... 41 2.5 Long Term Storage. ............................................................................ 42 2.6 Using the Serial Port. .......................................................................... 43 3 Word Processor. .................................................................................. 49 3.1 What is a Word Processor? ................................................................. 49 v 3.2 Braille and Text................................................................................... 50 3.3 The KeyWord Menu. .......................................................................... 50 3.4 Documents Folders and Drives. .......................................................... 51 3.5 Opening a Document...........................................................................53 3.6 Naming a Document. .......................................................................... 54 3.7 Creating a Document........................................................................... 55 3.8 Reading a Document. .......................................................................... 56 3.9 Review Commands. ............................................................................ 62 3.10 The Cursor........................................................................................... 63 3.11 Braille Display Modes.........................................................................66 3.12 Format Indicators. ............................................................................... 68 3.13 Editing a Document............................................................................. 74 3.14 Searching a Document. ....................................................................... 77 3.15 Breaking your Document into Pages. ................................................. 81 3.16 Checking the Word Count and File name........................................... 81 3.17 Checking the Cursor Position. ............................................................ 82 3.18 Going to a Specified Position..............................................................82 3.19 Marking Places for Quick Reference. ................................................. 83 3.20 The Spelling Checker. ......................................................................... 84 3.21 Opening ASCII and Plain Braille format Documents. ....................... 89 3.22 Large Documents. ............................................................................... 92 3.23 Switching Between Documents. ......................................................... 92 4 Book Reader. ....................................................................................... 93 4.1 Instant Braille Transcription. .............................................................. 93 4.2 Reading the Sample Book................................................................... 93 4.3 Braille Display Reading Commands................................................... 94 4.4 The Review Cursor. ............................................................................ 95 4.5 Additional Reading Commands. ......................................................... 96 4.6 Miscellaneous commands. .................................................................. 98 4.7 Review Book Opening Options. ......................................................... 99 4.8 Reading Books Stored on Other Drives............................................ 101 4.9 Exiting KeyBook............................................................................... 103 4.10 Bookshare.......................................................................................... 104 4.11 DAISY Book Reader.........................................................................107 5 General Functions. ............................................................................ 117 5.1 Date. .................................................................................................. 118 5.2 Time Options..................................................................................... 118 5.3 Grade of Braille for Keyboard Entry. ............................................... 121 5.4 Braille Display Options. B ................................................................ 122 5.5 Keyboard Settings. ............................................................................ 128 5.6 Review Voice. ................................................................................... 130 vi 5.7 Connectivity. ..................................................................................... 134 5.8 Visual Display. .................................................................................. 134 5.9 Next Appointment. ............................................................................ 134 5.10 Power and Battery Status. ................................................................. 134 5.11 User Guide. ....................................................................................... 134 5.12 Insertion............................................................................................. 135 5.13 Repeat and Spell................................................................................ 136 5.14 Hear Punctuation. .............................................................................. 136 5.15 Move to Another Task. ..................................................................... 137 5.16 Change Speech Volume Rate and Pitch............................................ 138 5.17 Editing at a Prompt............................................................................ 139 6 Advanced Word Processing. ............................................................. 141 6.1 Overview. .......................................................................................... 142 6.2 Document Types. .............................................................................. 143 6.3 Formatting a Braille Document......................................................... 143 6.4 Formatting a Braille Document for Ink-printing. ............................. 154 6.5 Ink-Print Settings linked with a Braille Document........................... 158 6.6 Ink-print Layout. ............................................................................... 162 6.7 Block Commands. ............................................................................. 163 6.8 Cursor Movement Modes.................................................................. 171 6.9 Moving to the Start of the Next Line. ............................................... 172 6.10 Moving to the Next Tab. ................................................................... 172 6.11 Inserting the Time, Date or Calculator Result. ................................. 173 6.12 Binding Spaces.................................................................................. 174 6.13 Pasting an Address. ........................................................................... 174 6.14 Working with Documents on other Drives. ...................................... 175 6.15 Saving a Document. .......................................................................... 176 6.16 Quitting a Document. ........................................................................ 177 6.17 Creating Other Document Types. ..................................................... 178 6.18 Text Documents. ............................................................................... 179 6.19 Computer Braille. .............................................................................. 181 6.20 Formatting a Text Document. ........................................................... 184 6.21 Initial Format Settings in a Document. ............................................. 194 6.22 Extended Characters.......................................................................... 195 7 Scientific Calculator. .......................................................................... 203 7.1 Entering KeyPlus. ............................................................................. 203 7.2 Entering a Calculation....................................................................... 204 7.3 Basic Operations. .............................................................................. 206 7.4 Statistical Operations. ....................................................................... 213 7.5 Memory Operations. ......................................................................... 225 7.6 Scientific Operations. ........................................................................ 227 vii 7.7 Inserting a Result or a Calculation.................................................... 231 8 Planner. ............................................................................................. 233 8.1 Entering the Planner. ......................................................................... 233 8.2 The KeyPlan Menu. .......................................................................... 233 8.3 Selecting a Date................................................................................. 234 8.4 Scheduling Appointments. ................................................................ 238 8.5 Recurring Appointments. .................................................................. 240 8.6 Reviewing the Appointments............................................................ 246 8.7 Changing an Existing Appointment.................................................. 250 8.8 Selecting Another Date. .................................................................... 252 8.9 Alarms. .............................................................................................. 253 9 Address List. ...................................................................................... 255 9.1 Adding an Address. ........................................................................... 256 9.2 Looking Up an Address. ................................................................... 259 9.3 Changing a Field or Adding More Information................................ 261 9.4 Deleting a Record.............................................................................. 262 9.5 Duplicating a Record.........................................................................263 9.6 Inserting an Address into a Document.............................................. 263 9.7 Templates. ......................................................................................... 264 9.8 Copying Addresses............................................................................267 9.9 Selecting an Address List.................................................................. 270 9.10 Creating an Address List................................................................... 271 9.11 Using KeyList to Manipulate Databases........................................... 273 10 E-mail................................................................................................. 275 10.1 What Can KeyMail Do. .................................................................... 276 10.2 KeyMail Menu. ................................................................................. 277 10.3 Before You Start. .............................................................................. 279 10.4 Correcting Input Errors. .................................................................... 280 10.5 Writing an E-mail Message............................................................... 281 10.6 Email Signatures. .............................................................................. 283 10.7 Attaching a file to an e-mail.............................................................. 284 10.8 Read E-mail....................................................................................... 285 10.9 Connect to Send and Receive E-mail................................................ 297 10.10 Saving E-mails to print or emboss from a PC...................................301 10.11 Setup Options. ................................................................................... 302 11 Web Browser. .................................................................................... 309 11.1 Connecting to the World Wide Web................................................. 309 11.2 Changing to another Part of KeySoft................................................ 310 11.3 Logging on. ....................................................................................... 311 11.4 Navigation. ........................................................................................ 312 viii 11.5 Moving from Page to Page or Site to Site......................................... 316 11.6 Page Management. ............................................................................ 317 11.7 Application Management. ................................................................. 320 11.8 Favorites. ........................................................................................... 323 11.9 History. .............................................................................................. 325 11.10 Saving and Refreshing Web Pages. .................................................. 327 11.11 How to Download a file. ................................................................... 328 11.12 Tables. ............................................................................................... 329 12 Connectivity. ...................................................................................... 331 12.1 Understanding Connectivity Concepts. ............................................ 332 12.2 Connection Configurations. .............................................................. 333 12.3 The Connectivity Menu. ................................................................... 334 12.4 Using a Wireless Connection. ........................................................... 335 12.5 Dial up and LAN Connections.......................................................... 340 12.6 Active Connection Details. ............................................................... 345 12.7 Review an existing connection configuration................................... 345 12.8 Glossary of terms: ............................................................................. 347 12.9 Troubleshooting. ............................................................................... 347 12.10 Firewalls. ........................................................................................... 348 12.11 Bluetooth. .......................................................................................... 349 12.12 Accessing the Network through your BrailleNote PK...................... 353 12.13 ActiveSync. ....................................................................................... 358 12.14 KeySync. ........................................................................................... 368 13 File Manager...................................................................................... 387 13.1 Selecting Files Folders and Drives. .................................................. 388 13.2 Checking the Spelling of Folder or File Names. .............................. 388 13.3 The Directory Option. ....................................................................... 389 13.4 Folder Manager. ................................................................................ 389 13.5 Document and File Types. ................................................................ 392 13.6 Opening Files using File Manager. ................................................... 393 13.7 Changing the Order of File Lists.......................................................394 13.8 Selecting Multiple Files. ................................................................... 395 13.9 Copying a File. .................................................................................. 397 13.10 Erasing a File..................................................................................... 398 13.11 Importing from a File. ....................................................................... 399 13.12 Renaming a File. ............................................................................... 399 13.13 Moving a File. ................................................................................... 400 13.14 Protecting a File. ............................................................................... 401 13.15 Groups of Files and Wild Cards........................................................ 402 13.16 What is a Directory. .......................................................................... 404 13.17 Creating Renaming and Erasing Sub-Directories. ............................ 407 ix 13.18 File Translation. ................................................................................ 411 13.19 Translation Menu. ............................................................................. 412 13.20 Importing Files. ................................................................................. 412 14 Utilities Menu. .................................................................................... 429 14.1 Backup or Restore Files. ................................................................... 430 14.2 Pronunciation Dictionary. ................................................................. 434 14.3 Date and Time Set. ............................................................................ 437 14.4 Key Management. ............................................................................. 438 14.5 Miscellaneous Options. ..................................................................... 439 15 Media Center. .................................................................................... 441 15.1 Media Player. .................................................................................... 441 15.2 Audio Recorder. ................................................................................ 447 15.3 Using a Computer Keyboard with your BrailleNote PK .................. 456 16 Database Manager. ........................................................................... 459 16.1 KeyBase Menu. ................................................................................. 461 16.2 Exporting data. .................................................................................. 468 16.3 Creating a new Database. .................................................................. 469 16.4 Sort Orders. ....................................................................................... 479 16.5 Record Title....................................................................................... 481 16.6 Associated Database Name. .............................................................. 482 16.7 Database File Management. .............................................................. 484 17 Games. .............................................................................................. 487 17.1 Starting a Game................................................................................. 489 17.2 Entering Commands.......................................................................... 490 17.3 Leaving a game. ................................................................................ 493 17.4 Saving Games.................................................................................... 494 17.5 Reading Previous Moves. ................................................................. 495 17.6 Status Line......................................................................................... 497 17.7 Single Key Mode............................................................................... 498 17.8 Downloading and Playing More Games. .......................................... 499 17.9 Selecting Games for Children. .......................................................... 499 17.10 Freely Available Games. ................................................................... 499 17.11 Commercial Games. .......................................................................... 500 17.12 Hints and Walkthroughs.................................................................... 500 17.13 Internet Resources. ............................................................................ 501 17.14 History of Text Adventure Games. ................................................... 502 18 Command Summary.......................................................................... 503 18.1 General Commands. .......................................................................... 503 18.2 Word Processor. ................................................................................ 510 x 18.3 Calculator. ......................................................................................... 520 18.4 Planner............................................................................................... 528 18.5 Address List. ..................................................................................... 533 18.6 E-mail. ............................................................................................... 534 18.7 Database Manager. ............................................................................ 536 18.8 Games................................................................................................ 538 18.9 Unicode Characters. .......................................................................... 540 18.10 Web Browser..................................................................................... 540 18.11 Stopwatch. ......................................................................................... 545 18.12 Media Player. .................................................................................... 546 Appendix A User Settings for BrailleNote PK............................................ 547 Appendix B Information on BookShare. .................................................... 549 Appendix C Troubleshooting the BrailleNote PK....................................... 551 Appendix D Computer Braille Reference List. ........................................... 553 xi xii BrailleNote PK User Guide 1 Getting Started. Welcome to the BrailleNote PK, an innovative personal productivity system from HumanWare. BrailleNote PK incorporates a Braille style keyboard, an 18 cell Braille display, high quality responsive speech and a suite of powerful applications running under the Windows CE operating system, all packaged into a truly portable system. This User Guide tells you all about them. 1.1 Equipment Checklist. Carefully unpack your BrailleNote PK. Save the box and packing materials for future use. Your BrailleNote PK package comprises the following items: BrailleNote PK; AC adapter; USB to USB cable; Serial to Serial cable Serial to Serial and Serial to PS2 double cable; Slim line carrying case; CD-ROM with PC Software, User Guide files etc. 1-1 BrailleNote PK User Guide 1.2 General Features. The BrailleNote PK is a pocket size PDA with a Braille keyboard, and 18 cell Braille display. Each cell comprises 8 dots, allowing for both the display of 6 dot and 8 dot Braille, and has an associated cursor routing button. Six navigation keys on either side of the Braille display provide convenient navigation control. The PK also has synthesized speech output that can be used in conjunction with the Braille display or on its own. The BrailleNote PK runs under the Windows CE operating system and incorporates e-mail software, which is compatible with all of the popular mainstream e-mail protocols. A Compact Flash card slot allows for additional data storage, running a card modem and Network options. USB and serial ports allow for cable connectivity with other devices. The BrailleNote PK uses flash memory technology to retain information indefinitely even if the batteries run flat. The BrailleNote PK runs on AC power or batteries. 1-2 BrailleNote PK User Guide 1.3 Software Features. A multi-purpose program, called KeySoft, running under the Windows CE operating system, is especially designed for people with a visual impairment. KeySoft provides the following functions: A word processor called KeyWord that is powerful yet surprisingly simple to learn. KeyWord has most of the features of an office word processor, including unlimited text insertion, search and replace, indents, clipboard operations, spell check and so on. It can even directly import and export the popular Microsoft Word format documents. An e-mail program called KeyMail that lets you send and receive electronic mail. KeyMail works using a standard e-mail connection. You can also send and receive attachments with your e-mail. An internet browser called KeyWeb, that allows you to search and use the world wide web and also read locally stored html documents. A Media player that plays a range of audio format files and allows you to record and play back memos. You can play files by themselves, or in the background of other tasks. A calendar, scheduler and planner called KeyPlan. Your entries may include alarms that sound even if the BrailleNote PK is switched off. An address list manager called KeyList that sorts your entries and allows flexible searching. Addresses can be copied into letters and e-mail. A synchronization Tool called KeySync that works in conjunction with KeyPlan and KeyList to keep their records up to date with MS Outlook on a PC. A 10 digit scientific calculator called KeyPlus. Support is provided for both Nemeth and British Braille mathematics. A book reader called KeyBook that enables you to read Braille books, or books in any standard text format including Microsoft Word format. Books opened in KeyBook are protected from accidental editing. A Keyboard Learn function that helps you to learn the keyboard layout and the available quick key functions. A File Manager that allows folder management and files to be copied, renamed, protected, deleted or translated. 1-3 BrailleNote PK User Guide A program called ActiveSync that allows the BrailleNote PK disk structure to be viewed and managed on a PC running Microsoft Windows. A Braille Terminal mode that allows the BrailleNote to act as a Braille display for a screen reader such as Window Eyes, JAW’s, HAL and SuperNova running on a desktop or laptop computer. A Database Manager called KeyBase that allows you to develop new databases and modify the definition of existing databases. An application that enables you to play text adventure games, also known as Interactive Fiction. These games are played using text-based input and output. A Remote Synthesizer mode that allows the BrailleNote PK to act as a speech synthesizer for other computers. You can switch easily between these KeySoft tasks, which are fully integrated so you can transfer information between them. KeySoft has both forward and back translators, so a text document can be imported into the BrailleNote PK and translated automatically into an uncontracted (grade 1) or contracted (grade 2) Braille document, and vice versa. The BrailleNote PK can output its display to a separate visual display. Sighted observers or teachers can use the visual display screen to view what you are doing on the BrailleNote PK. A remote screen viewer based on the Palm hand-held computer is also available. Information can be transferred to and from another computer such as a PC or Apple Macintosh, or specialized equipment such as a self-contained scanning system. BrailleNote PK has a one-handed Braille input keyboard mode, providing convenience for people restricted to the use of one hand. 1.3.1 The Windows CE Operating System. The Windows CE operating system version 4.2 is a modern, powerful operating system designed for small hand-held computers. It supports many technologies such as e-mail, desktop PC synchronization, portable mass storage and more. 1-4 BrailleNote PK User Guide 1.4 Braille Display. The Braille display is situated in the middle of the top of the PK, just above the SPACE bars. The electronic Braille display comprises eighteen identical eight dot cells that can display any Braille symbol. Each dot of the Braille display is, in fact, a pin that is controlled electronically. To display a dot the pin is raised, and the pin is lowered when there is no dot. When the display is off all dots are raised slightly and are somewhat spongy to touch. The Braille display is refreshable; it can be written and re-written repeatedly. 1.5 Joystick Housed in a small recess on the front edge of the PK is a joystick. It is used for navigating menus and lists. The joystick can be operated using your thumb without moving your fingers from the Braille display. The joystick scrolls in four directions; UP, DOWN, LEFT and RIGHT. You can also select a menu item by pressing the joystick in. 1.6 Touch Cursor. If you run your finger up past Braille cell, you will notice that there is a curved, springy strip above it with a raised vertical ridge through the middle. This is the touch cursor button for that Braille cell. It is especially useful when editing a document. In KeyWord, for example, when you press a touch cursor button, the cursor moves to that cell. You can then edit the character displaying on that cell, if any. This is discussed in chapter 3. The touch cursor can also be used to select an item from a menu or list. 1-5 BrailleNote PK User Guide 1.7 Keyboard. On the top surface of the BrailleNote PK as well as the Braille display, you will find the keyboard. This comprises a set of eight Braille keys, two space keys, two pairs of control keys and two sets of three navigation keys. This section covers each of these in turn and how they are used. There are eight square Braille keys, arranged in two rows of four, curving symmetrically out from the center. The three inner keys on each side represent the 6 dots of a Braille cell. The two extra keys on the extreme left and right are for your little fingers. The left-hand key is called BACKSPACE, or sometimes dot 7, and the right-hand key is called ENTER, or dot 8. There are two SPACE keys on the PK keyboard that make up the space bar. You can press them both or just one of them, either way they perform the function of a space bar. They are found right on the front edge of the keyboard, to left and right of center. The surface of each is slightly dipped, for easy location and to help prevent accidental operation. The pairs of round Control keys are located on either side of the space keys. At either end of the Braille display you will find three small round buttons. These are called Navigation keys. In this User Guide, Braille key presses are described in the following way. The instruction: Press F means that you should press the dots for the letter F, which are 1, 2, and 4, then release them. This instruction may also be presented as: Press dots 1-2-4. The order in which you press the keys does not matter. The character is typed when the keys are released. You will also encounter instructions such as: "press SPACE with F." This means that you press a space key as well as dots 1-2-4, and then release them. In KeySoft, a space key pressed by itself produces a space in the way you would expect but in addition, it can be used in combination with other keys to obtain many KeySoft commands. Similarly, the BACKSPACE, ENTER and Navigation keys can be used on their own or in combination with other keys. 1-6 BrailleNote PK User Guide 1.8 CONTROL keys The two pairs of slightly recessed round buttons on either side of the SPACE bars are called the CONTROL keys. They are mainly used for power and reset functions. From left to right, they are called C1, C2, C3 and C4. C1 and C2 are to the left of the SPACE bars, C3 and C4 to the right. For information on how to use them for powering the unit on and off, refer to 1.9 Turning the BrailleNote PK on and Off. For information on how to use them to perform resets, refer to 1.10 Resets. 1.9 Turning the BrailleNote PK on and Off. There are two ways of turning the BrailleNote PK on and off. The one you will use most often is pressing the far right CONTROL key, C4, for three seconds (until it beeps once). This puts the BrailleNote PK into a standby mode, and is the best way to turn on and off for everyday usage. When you turn the unit on this way, you will be at the same place as you were when you turned off. If you are putting the BrailleNote PK into storage for a while, you should power it right down by holding down the far right and far left CONTROL keys, C1 and C4, at the same time for three seconds, until it beeps twice, and the word "off" appears on the Braille display. This is not something you would do every day however as it also deletes any files you have created on the KeySoft System Disk. To turn it on again, repeat the holding down of the far right and far left CONTROL keys at the same time for three seconds. When the BrailleNote PK starts up, it will chime and announce the KeySoft version before putting you in the Main Menu. 1-7 BrailleNote PK User Guide 1.10 Resets. The Reset function is activated by holding down the two right hand control keys, C3 and C4, together with a combination of dot keys. There are three kinds of resets possible on the BrailleNote PK, each has a different function. They are described below. A.1.1 Standard Reset Perform a standard reset when: - prompted to do so during an upgrade/new feature installation program to install new drivers and restart KeySoft - the BN stops responding for any reason (assuming the problem is not that the power is off, or the battery is flat!) - the BN generally seems to not be its normal self. To perform a standard reset, hold down the two right hand control keys, C3 and C4, until you hear a deep chirp. You will lose data if you have to reset while a file is open in the word processor, the planner is open, an email is being written or the address list is open and changes have been made and not saved, before performing the reset. A.1.2 Reset with 1- 2- 3 held down. Hold down the dots 1-2-3 then press C3 and C4 until you hear the BrailleNote PK chime. Runs the original factory-installed software. Useful if an upgrade or add-on has become corrupted and the BrailleNote PK will not start after a reset due to this. The data lost will be the same as above. A.1.3 Re-initialize with 4-5-6 (Hard Reset) If KeySoft still does not start, BrailleNote PK's memory may have been corrupted. If this has happened, then it is necessary to re-initialize the memory. Make sure the BrailleNote PK is switched on. Hold down keys 4-5-6 and then C3 and C4. The BrailleNote PK should beep immediately. Continue to hold down 4-5-6. After about ten seconds silence, a chime should sound and the BrailleNote PK should speak. Release the keys. KeySoft reports the software version: "KeySoft CE, version 6.0x. Build (number)" then takes you to the Main Menu. 1-8 BrailleNote PK User Guide 1.11 NAVIGATION Keys The 6 Navigation keys are used in conjunction with the Braille display when reading and navigating menus and lists. The navigation keys can be set up for left-handed or right-handed operation as discussed in 5.4.14 Navigation Key Set. You can also create a custom navigation key set up to suit your personal preference as discussed in 5.4.4 Function of Previous and Next navigation Keys. The factory setting is right-handed. For convenience we will refer to the navigation keys as a numbered set from 1-6, in the same configuration as a Braille cell, so on the left from top to bottom they are N1, N2 and N3, and on the right from top to bottom, N4, N5, and N6. Each also has a name relating to its function and in this user guide we will refer to the key by that name. The navigation keys are named as follows: N1: SLOW N2: BACK N3: PREVIOUS N4: FAST N5: ADVANCE N6: NEXT In the left-handed configuration BACK and PREVIOUS are mapped to N5 and N6, and ADVANCE and NEXT to N2 and N3 respectively. The SLOW and FAST keys control the speed of the continuous scrolling. To slow it down, tap the SLOW key repeatedly. To make it go faster, tap the FAST key. Pressing SLOW and FAST together starts the Braille display scrolling continuously. Press them again and the scrolling will stop. 1-9 BrailleNote PK User Guide 1.12 Speech. You can listen to the BrailleNote PK using either the built-in loudspeaker at the center back of the BrailleNote PK or headphones. If headphones are plugged in, the loudspeaker is automatically disabled. The headphone socket is on the back of the BrailleNote PK, directly to the right of the central "bump". The speech volume, speed and pitch can all be controlled by keyboard commands. These commands are described fully in 1.17.6 Setting Speech Volume Speed and Pitch, but nevertheless it is important to know how to control the volume of the speech right now. To increase the volume press ENTER with dot 4 To gradually increase the volume you can hold down the ENTER key and tap the dot 4 key repeatedly. To decrease the volume press ENTER with dot 1. The speech supplements the Braille display. You might prefer the Braille display when editing text, reading detailed material or accessing notes during meetings but prefer speech for reading longer documents such as novels when reading for pleasure. We will explain how to turn off the speech or the Braille display later. 1.13 Headphones. BrailleNote PK has a standard 3.5mm female headphone port that works with most commercially available headphones. The headphone port is located on the back panel, just to the right of the central hub. Headphones will only work when Speech is turned on, and when headphones are plugged in, the speech will only be audible through the headphones. Volume controls for media player and speech work as normal when using headphones. Adjust the volumes to suit your preferences. For more information on volume control of speech, refer to 5.16 Change Speech Volume Rate and Pitch and for the Media player, 15.1.7 Volume Control. 1-10 BrailleNote PK User Guide 1.14 KeySoft Concepts. Learning to use the BrailleNote PK is easy because the User Interface is very consistent. Similar operations in different parts of KeySoft are carried out in similar ways. This section covers the concepts behind the way KeySoft operates. 1.14.1 Help Messages. At any point in KeySoft you can get information about the options that are available. To do this, press SPACE with H. KeySoft help is context sensitive, which means that you are only given help relevant to your current situation. Remember to press SPACE with H for Help when you need it. It does not affect your work in any way, and after you have finished reading the Help message, you are returned to the point at which you selected Help. When the help system is being used to review a list of available commands, pressing ENTER on the displayed command will cause that command to be executed. To read a longer Help message on the Braille display, use the ADVANCE navigation key and to review the message use the BACK navigation key. The Braille grade used when displaying text can be selected. The factory setting is Grade 2 Braille. You can change the setting as described in 5.4.6 Preferred Reading Grade. 1-11 BrailleNote PK User Guide 1.14.2 Prompts. Whenever KeySoft requires input from you, a brief message called a prompt is displayed. The prompt indicates what input is required from you. If you are unsure how to respond, press SPACE with H for help. Where possible, KeySoft offers reasonable suggested choices. BrailleNote PK provides prompts in Braille, speech or both together. The factory set up turns on both the Braille display and speech and the following discussion assumes that both are on. You can read the Braille display or listen to the voice or do both. In this User Guide when we say that the BrailleNote PK "displays a message" we mean that the message is both written on the Braille display and spoken. You can turn off one or other of the outputs; you will learn how to do this in 1.17.1 Turning the Braille Display On or Off and 1.17.2 Turning Speech On or Off. 1.14.3 Reading Prompts on the Braille Display. Generally the prompts displayed in Braille are identical to what is spoken. Sometimes there are slight differences because what is appropriate in speech does not need to be displayed in Braille. Also, because the Braille display has a limited length, Braille output is limited to the number of whole words that fit on the display. If a prompt is longer than the Braille display or you are reading a long passage of Braille, you can scroll the Braille display to see the next group of words by pressing the ADVANCE navigation key. In the following discussion it is assumed that you will scroll to read the full prompt as necessary. Remember you can also scroll back to see the previous display by pressing the BACK navigation key. To help reading longer messages and prompts you can press PREVIOUS together with BACK to move the Braille display one word to the left. Pressing PREVIOUS together with ADVANCE moves the Braille display one word to the right. You can return to the previous prompt by pressing PREVIOUS at any time. 1.14.4 Repeating Spoken Prompts. If you miss hearing a prompt when it is spoken the first time, don't worry. You can listen to it again by pressing SPACE with R. 1-12 BrailleNote PK User Guide 1.14.5 Menus. KeySoft uses a series of menus to provide a quick and easy way of performing many complex functions. Each menu contains a list of options from which to choose. For example, the Main Menu allows you to select the Word Processor, Planner, Address List, and so on. The selection of items is described in 1.15.3 Reviewing the Main Menu. Many of the more frequently used functions are also available via short-cut key combinations. These are mentioned in context throughout this user guide, as well as being listed in the Command Summary. 1.14.6 Exiting the Current Activity. Another concept used throughout KeySoft is that of exiting what you are doing and taking one step back to the previous option point. You can do this by pressing SPACE with E particularly while using the keyboard, or the PREVIOUS navigation key particularly when you are using the Braille display. 1.14.7 Automatic Cut-off of Prompts. KeySoft gives detailed spoken prompts and messages to help you learn the system. To prevent these messages slowing down an experienced user, speech is cut off automatically by the next keystroke. 1.14.8 Instant Access. You can switch from one KeySoft task to another with a simple key sequence. For example, you can switch from the Word Processor to the Planner, and then return to the same point in your document. For information on how to do this, refer to 1.18 Switching Between Tasks. 1-13 BrailleNote PK User Guide 1.14.9 Braille Documents. KeySoft assumes that you want to create Braille documents, so that is the suggested choice. You also have the option of generating text documents directly. 1.15 The KeySoft Menus. 1.15.1 Structure. The entry point to KeySoft is the Main Menu, which contains 19 items. You can display each of these items in turn, and select one. When you have done this, you are generally presented with another menu. The system may extend to 3 or 4 levels of sub-menu. This structure is an important aspect of KeySoft. Items are grouped together for easy location, so a huge range of functions can be found from one starting point, the Main Menu. For example, if you start at the Main Menu and choose the Word processor option, you are presented with the KeyWord menu. This contains the following items: Create a document, Open a document and Setup options. These all relate to word-processing. Now let's see how the Main Menu works. 1-14 BrailleNote PK User Guide 1.15.2 Reading a List or Menu. You can read through any menu or list using only the navigation keys and Braille display. Consequently, you can keep your hands on the Braille display avoiding the need to go back and forwards between the Braille display and keyboard. The navigation keys perform the following functions: To step forwards through a menu - press the ADVANCE navigation key. Menu items are displayed one at a time. To step back through a menu - press the BACK navigation key. Menu items are displayed one at a time in reverse order. To select a menu item - press the NEXT navigation key. To exit a menu - press the PREVIOUS navigation key. Remember that these functions are also available through the joystick. You will soon ascertain which method suits you best. 1-15 BrailleNote PK User Guide 1.15.3 Reviewing the Main Menu. To start with, go to the Main Menu by pressing SPACE with dots 1 to 6. KeySoft displays: "Main Menu." To display the first item of the Main Menu, press SPACE or ADVANCE. KeySoft displays: "Word processor." You could select the word processor at this point, but our present object is to review all the items in the Main Menu. So, press SPACE or ADVANCE repeatedly, pausing to read and listen to each of the 19 options in the menu, which are: Word Processor; Planner; Address List; E-mail; Internet; Media Center, which includes the Media Player and audio recording options; Book Reader; Scientific Calculator; Database Manager; Games; File Manager, which allows files to be copied, translated, etc; Utilities, which is a group of general purpose functions; Terminal for Screen Reader, which allows the BrailleNote PK to act as a Braille display for other computers; Remote Synthesizer, which makes the BrailleNote PK act as a speech synthesizer for other computers; Keyboard Learn, which helps you to learn the Braille keyboard functions; 1-16 BrailleNote PK User Guide For Information press SPACE with I, which provides information about the BrailleNote PK such as the serial number and software version. For the Options Menu, press SPACE with O, anywhere, which is a reminder of how to access the Options Menu. The last item is: "End of Menu." Having stepped forward along the menu by pressing SPACE or ADVANCE repeatedly, you can step back by pressing BACKSPACE or BACK repeatedly. When using speech, if you don't want to hear a complete announcement, you can cut it off and move to the next item by pressing SPACE or BACKSPACE. This speech cut-off occurs at all points in KeySoft. 1.15.4 Selecting from the Main Menu. When KeySoft displays the option you want, press the ENTER key. The exceptions are Information and Options Menu, which contain directions on how to access them. Don't worry about getting in over your head, because you can always back out of a selection by pressing SPACE with E for exit on the keyboard. When you have selected an item from the Main Menu, you are generally presented with another menu, from which you can again select an item. To display a Help message describing your options at any point, press SPACE with H. To return to the previous menu, press SPACE with E. To go directly to the Main Menu, press SPACE with dots 1 to 6. 1-17 BrailleNote PK User Guide 1.15.5 Keyboard shortcuts. As well as moving through the menus an item at a time as described in the previous section, you can take a keyboard shortcut directly to the menu item by typing its first letter. This automatically selects the item, so instead of having to press ENTER when the item is displayed, KeySoft takes you straight to the action selected when you would have pressed ENTER. For example, if you were at the Main Menu and you wanted to go to the Word processor, you could press W. Instead of "Word processor", KeySoft will go straight to "KeyWord Menu". Press O and instead of "Open a Document", KeySoft will go straight to "Folder Name". This is a real time saver. 1.16 A First Experience. Most people hate reading User Guides. They would much rather just have a go, on the presumption that if the product is any good, it should be obvious how it works. If that's you, then this is your section. We'll go through two simple demonstrations: in the first we'll create a basic word processor document, and in the second we'll do an addition with the calculator. You should only need the simple commands that have been introduced so far. If you are not keen on jumping in at the deep end, don't panic. It's not essential to follow these demonstrations, because after this part we'll revert to normal manual mode, and describe in detail all the wonderful things that the BrailleNote PK can do. 1.16.1 General. Most people hate reading User Guides. They would much rather just have a go, on the presumption that if the product is any good, it should be obvious how it works. If that's you, then this is your section. We'll go through two simple demonstrations: in the first we'll create a basic word processor document, and in the second we'll do an addition with the calculator. You should only need the simple commands that have been introduced so far. If you are not keen on jumping in at the deep end, don't panic. It's not essential to follow these demonstrations, because after this part we'll revert to normal manual mode, and describe in detail all the wonderful things that the BrailleNote PK can do. 1-18 BrailleNote PK User Guide 1.16.2 Writing a Simple Document. The aim of this first exercise is to write a very simple document with the word processor. To reach a common starting point, go to the Main Menu by pressing SPACE with dots 1 to 6. Your BrailleNote PK displays: "Main menu." To get to the word processor, press W. Your BrailleNote PK displays: "KeyWord menu." To Create a document, press C, for Create, and your BrailleNote PK displays: "Folder name? General," KeySoft is asking which part of its filing system you want to use, and is offering the "General" folder. This is fine for now, so follow the prompt and press ENTER. KeySoft then displays: "Document to create?" You are being asked to provide a name for the new document, so Braille a name such as: "test." When you have typed the name, press ENTER. Your BrailleNote PK displays: "Top of document. Blank." This means that you have created a new document named “Test,” and the cursor is sitting at the top of it. You are now free to Braille whatever you like. For this demo, just Braille a simple sentence such as: "This is a test of my new BrailleNote PK." Braille the first word and press SPACE. Each word is spoken when the space bar is pressed. Complete your sentence. That's all we'll write for now. To finish this little exercise, press SPACE with E. Your BrailleNote PK displays: "KeyWord menu." You are back at the Word processor menu, and your new document has been automatically saved. If you press SPACE with E again you arrive back where you started, at the Main Menu. 1-19 BrailleNote PK User Guide 1.16.3 Trying Out the Calculator. You might also like to try out the Calculator, which you can do without any extensive knowledge of the BrailleNote PK. From the Main Menu, go to the Scientific Calculator by pressing S. You hear: "KeyPlus. Zero." This means that the Calculator is ready. If someone has previously used the Calculator and it displays a number other than 0, you can clear it by pressing SPACE with dots 3-5-6. Both the Nemeth Braille Code for Mathematics and the UK Braille Mathematics Notation are supported. The correct code for your country is automatically selected when you set up your Calculator Braille Language as described in 5.4.10 Computer Braille Language. Let's try calculating 2 + 3. The BrailleNote PK knows that you are using the Calculator, so you don't need to use any number signs. The numbers 1 through 9 and zero are just the letters A through J. Input the following key sequence without using the SPACE bar in between entries. First Braille 2, the "plus" operand, then Braille 3. Complete the calculation by pressing ENTER. The number 5 will be displayed. You can review the calculation by pressing the PREVIOUS and NEXT navigation keys together. The Braille display will show 2 + 3 = 5. Pressing the PREVIOUS and NEXT navigation keys again will return to just displaying the answer. If the speech is on, the speech will mirror the content on the Braille display. To complete the exercise, press SPACE with dots 1 to 6, to return to the Main Menu. 1-20 BrailleNote PK User Guide 1.17 General Functions. Some useful general functions are available wherever you are in KeySoft. These functions may be accessed from the Options Menu, or often more conveniently via a Quick Command sequence. The general functions allow you to control the configuration of Time, Date, Braille settings and so on. You could be using the Word processor, or using the Calculator, or reading a menu when you request one of these functions. After display of the requested function you are returned to the place from where you initiated the request. The Quick Commands typically use the SPACE, BACKSPACE or ENTER key in combination with another letter. For example, ENTER with T displays the current time. Not all items on the Options Menu have an associated Quick Command key combination. Pressing SPACE with O anywhere in KeySoft will access the Options Menu. KeySoft displays: "Options menu." The Options Menu can then be reviewed by pressing the SPACE and BACKSPACE keys on the keyboard. The Options Menu comprises a long list of items. Only some of the items are relevant at this point but the complete list is provided so you know what to expect when you read the menu. Where applicable, the equivalent Quick Command is also given. The Options Menu contains the following items: Date; ENTER with D Time Options; For Time press ENTER with T For Stopwatch press ENTER with W Grade of Braille for Keyboard entry; Braille Display Options; Keyboard settings; BACKSPACE with ENTER with K Review voice; BACKSPACE with ENTER with R Connectivity; Visual display; Next appointment; ENTER with N 1-21 BrailleNote PK User Guide Power and Battery status; User Guide; BACKSPACE with ENTER with H Insertion; ENTER with I Spell. Repeat and spell; ENTER with S Hear punctuation. Repeat with maximum punctuation; ENTER with H Move to another task; SPACE with dots 2-3-5 and finally the speech settings, a list of 6 items that tell you how to adjust the volume, speed and pitch of KeySoft's speech, and the 2 media player volume commands complete the Options menu. The "Insertion" item is displayed only when it is appropriate to insert such things as the date or time such as in KeyWord. To select an item, move through the menu until the required item is displayed, and then press ENTER. Alternatively, from anywhere in the Options menu, press the initial letter of your choice. This does not apply to the speech settings, which are discussed in 1.17.6 Setting Speech Volume Speed and Pitch. We will now deal with some of the more commonly used items in the Options menu. All the functions in the Options Menu are detailed in Chapter 5. 1.17.1 Turning the Braille Display On or Off. To turn off the Braille display, hold down the NEXT navigation key, press SPACE, then release both keys. The same key combination turns the Braille display on. Note that if the Braille display is turned off when speech is off, speech is forced on. This avoids having both Braille and speech off simultaneously. The function to turn the Braille display off is also available from the Options Menu, under Braille Display Options. 1-22 BrailleNote PK User Guide 1.17.2 Turning Speech On or Off. There are three speech options: Speech On, Speech on Request and Speech Off. If speech is currently on, hold down the PREVIOUS navigation key, press SPACE, then release both keys to select Speech on Request. KeySoft displays: "Speech on request." To select the next option, Speech Off, press the same key combination again. KeySoft confirms that speech is off by displaying "Speech off" only on the Braille display. To turn Speech On again, press that key combination again. KeySoft displays: "Speech on." You are returned to where you started with Speech On. When the Speech on Request option is selected, KeySoft only speaks when you use a command that is a specific speech command. For example, in KeyWord, the word processor, when you move forward word-by-word using SPACE with dot 5, nothing is spoken. However if you use the dedicated "Speak Word under Cursor" command, SPACE with dots 2-5, the word under the cursor is spoken. Note that if speech is turned off when the Braille is off, the Braille display is forced on. This avoids having both Braille and speech off simultaneously. The function to select Speech On, Speech on Request, or Speech Off is also available from the Options Menu, under Review Voice. 1.17.3 Start-up Braille and Speech Mode. The BrailleNote PK may be forced to start in one of three modes when it is switched on. You may choose to start with Braille only, speech only, or both Braille and speech. This feature is very convenient if, for example, you have previously been using both Braille and speech, but you are now attending a meeting and for privacy you wish to start in the Braille only mode. As you turn on the switch, simply hold down one of the following key combinations: Speech only: dot 2; Braille only: dot 3; Speech and Braille: both dots 2 and 3. 1-23 BrailleNote PK User Guide 1.17.4 Setting the Keyboard Voice. The first of these settings determines how KeySoft speaks what you type. Press SPACE with O, then K for Keyboard. KeySoft displays: "Keyboard voice? Words." The options are as follows: To turn off speech altogether, press F followed by ENTER; To spell words as they are typed, press S followed by ENTER; To speak whole words, press W followed by ENTER; To both spell and speak words, press B followed by ENTER; Or just press ENTER to leave the selection unchanged. The suggested setting is "Words." You can request help, using SPACE with H for a reminder of these options. Three further Keyboard settings are then presented relating to your preferred typing Braille grade, alerting of prompts requiring input of computer Braille and whether you wish to use 6 or 8 dot computer Braille. See 5.5.2 Preferred Keyboard Braille Grade. To leave the Keyboard Settings, press SPACE with E. 1.17.5 Repeating an Announcement. As we have already mentioned, you can get KeySoft to say a prompt again by pressing SPACE with R if you didn't quite catch it. To repeat the prompt with variables such as file names or folder names spelled out, press ENTER with S. To reveal the most detail, you can repeat the last prompt with full punctuation and spaces. To do this, press ENTER with H. After either command you are returned to your original place in KeySoft. 1-24 BrailleNote PK User Guide 1.17.6 Setting Speech Volume Speed and Pitch. The characteristics of BrailleNote PK's voice can be changed anywhere in KeySoft, as follows: For higher volume, press ENTER with dot 4; For lower volume, press ENTER with dot 1; For faster speech, press ENTER with dot 6; For slower speech, press ENTER with dot 3; For higher pitch, press ENTER with dot 5; For lower pitch, press ENTER with dot 2. There are 32 volumes, 16 speeds and 16 pitches, and they change one step at each key press. A reminder of the commands is given in the Options Menu, at the end of the list. 1.17.7 Power and Battery Status. The BrailleNote PK Power & Battery status can be obtained at any time. Press SPACE with O, then P. KeySoft displays the battery charge level as a percentage of fully charged, and whether the AC Adapter is On or Off. For more details, refer to 2.3 Checking Power Status. 1-25 BrailleNote PK User Guide 1.18 Switching Between Tasks. KeySoft allows you to move directly from one KeySoft task to another without returning to the Main Menu. You can switch between the Word processor, Scientific Calculator, Planner, Address List, E-Mail, etc. For example, if you are writing a document and you need an address, you can switch directly to the Address List, look up the address, and then return to the Word processor. You are placed back at the same point in your document. The following hot keys are available for switching tasks: To select the Word processor press BACKSPACE with ENTER with W; To select the Scientific Calculator press BACKSPACE with ENTER with S; To select the Database Manager press BACKSPACE with ENTER with D; To select the Games press BACKSPACE with ENTER with G; To select the Planner press BACKSPACE with ENTER with P; To select the Address List press BACKSPACE with ENTER with A; To select the E-mail system press BACKSPACE with ENTER with E; To select the Book Reader press BACKSPACE with ENTER with B; To select the Internet browser, press BACKSPACE with ENTER with I; To select the Media Center, press BACKSPACE with ENTER with M. To select the Remote Sythesizer, press BACKSPACE with ENTER with R; There is also a Task menu available. To access this, either: 1. Press SPACE with O for the Options menu then M for Move to another task, or 2. Press SPACE with dots 2-3-5. KeySoft displays: "Task menu." You can make a selection by either: 1. Review the menu items using SPACE or ADVANCE and select one by pressing NEXT or ENTER. or, 2. Press the initial letter of the task; for example, W for Word Processor. 1-26 BrailleNote PK User Guide Remember that, if necessary, you can always get back to the Main Menu by pressing SPACE with dots 1 to 6. 1.19 Pasting Text into a Field. Are you feeling tired of typing long website addresses, phone numbers that are too hard to remember and complicated addresses? The ability to copy and paste a line of text , is yet another useful feature of KeySoft. You can easily copy and paste a website address from KeyWord or KeyMail when you encounter the address prompt in KeyWeb. You can also copy and paste phone numbers and addresses from KeyMail or KeyList fields. To copy and paste a line of text from fields within KeyList, KeyMail and KeyWeb, use the following commands: Copy to the clipboard: BACKSPACE with K Paste text into a field: BACKSPACE with V 1-27 BrailleNote PK User Guide 1.20 Keyboard Assistance. There are two ways of getting help with keyboard input. The first is available from the Main Menu, and is called "Keyboard Learn." In Keyboard Learn, KeySoft displays the letter or sign of any dot combination that you press and also speaks it, but no further action results. It also displays the function of the navigation keys and key commands that are always available. For example, pressing ENTER with T will give the response “display the time.” Keyboard Learn is invaluable for familiarizing yourself with the keyboard layout and Quick Commands that are available at any point within KeySoft. The second mode works in the Word Processor, Web Browser, Scientific Calculator, Planner and Book Reader. It is called Announce Key mode, and can be entered by pressing SPACE with W. In addition to displaying letters and signs, the function of any key or key combination is displayed. For example, in the Word processor, SPACE with dot 2 displays: "Back one word," without causing any further action. Announce Key mode is helpful for learning the commands available in the selected KeySoft application. You can exit either mode by pressing SPACE with E. 1-28 BrailleNote PK User Guide 1.21 One-Handed Mode. BrailleNote PK provides a one-handed mode for users restricted to the use of one hand for Braille input. To turn on this mode, switch your BrailleNote PK on by pressing C4, then immediately hold down BACKSPACE, and keep holding it down until "One-handed mode" is displayed. This mode stays in effect until it is deliberately turned off. To type a character in one-handed mode you can press the dots at any time and in any order. When you have pressed all the required dots, press SPACE, and the character is entered. To enter the letter J, for example, you might press dot 2 first, and then dots 4 and 5 separately or together. After releasing the keys, press SPACE, and J is entered. To speed input the concluding SPACE may be performed in conjunction with key input. For example, to enter the letter J, you could press dot 2 first, and then dots 4-5 and the SPACE bar together. A command that includes SPACE can be obtained by pressing SPACE both before and after the other keys. For example, to return to the Main Menu, press and release SPACE, then press and release dots 1 to 6 in any combination or order, then press and release SPACE again. To make a space between words, press SPACE twice, after pressing SPACE once to enter the last character typed. The operation of the navigation keys remains the same as in two-handed mode. To return to two-handed mode, switch your BrailleNote PK on by pressing C4. You must then release C4 and immediately hold down ENTER. You must keep holding down ENTER until KeySoft starts normally. If one-handed mode is on, the BrailleNote PK will advise this each time it is powered on, and will also advise what to do to return to the standard two-handed mode. 1-29 BrailleNote PK User Guide 1.22 Saving before Switching off. Before you switch off your BrailleNote PK, it is good practice to return to the Main Menu first. This ensures your current work is saved. If you don't do this, and subsequently the battery becomes discharged, the current version of your work will be lost. That's fairly unlikely, but it's good insurance for the cost of one keystroke. If you have storage cards and/or an external memory drive , you should consider backing up your work regularly. It's a common thing to do with any computer. It minimizes the amount of data you could lose should a computer or software "crash" occur. You can back up all your working files by using the Back up function in the Utilities menu, as described in 14.1.1 Backing Up. 1.23 Setting Time and Date. When you first get your BrailleNote PK you should check that the time, date and Time Zone settings are correctly set. By selecting your correct time zone, you can have the BrailleNote PK’s clock adjust automatically when you select whether you are in or out of daylight saving time. If the BrailleNote PK’s battery goes completely flat, the system will advise that the time and date need to be set when the machine is restarted. To display the current day and date, press ENTER with D. To display the current time, press ENTER with T. These commands are available from any place within KeySoft. If either the date or the time is incorrect you can set new values and have them displayed in your preferred format from the “Date and Time Set” option in the Utilities Menu. To set the Date and time, follow this procedure. Remember that on-line help is available at any point by pressing SPACE with H, and that if you wish to leave a displayed value unchanged, just press ENTER to move onto the next item in the list. You may exit the setup list at any point by pressing SPACE with E. 1. Return to the Main Menu by pressing SPACE with dots 1 to 6. 2. Press U to go to the Utilities Menu. 3. Press D to go to the Date and Time set option. 4. Choose your preferred date format. For USA format where the date is in the form month/day/year press S, or for UK format where the date is in the form day/month/year press K. To save your entry, press ENTER. 1-30 BrailleNote PK User Guide 5. Choose your preferred time format, 12 or 24 hour. For a 12-hour clock press A, for a 24-hour clock press B then complete your entry by pressing ENTER. 6. Select your Time Zone. To cycle through the list of time zones, press SPACE with dots 3-4. Alternatively press the initial letter. Complete your entry by pressing ENTER. 7. In daylight saving time: Press Y if you are in daylight saving time, or N if you are not, followed by ENTER. 8. Enter the current time. Press SPACE with H to display instructions on how to enter the time in the format you have selected. 9. Enter the current date. Press SPACE with H to display instructions on how to enter the date in the format you have selected. After setting the time and date you will be returned to the Utilities Menu. Note: It is possible to set up the time to synchronize every time you use ActiveSync. This is covered in. 1-31 BrailleNote PK User Guide 1.24 User Settings. BrailleNote PK provides many user definable options. As you get to know more about how your BrailleNote PK works, you can change the way it behaves to better suit your personal preferences. Your BrailleNote PK supplier will most probably have set the User settings most appropriate to your needs. The following items will be of principal interest: Speech; volume, rate, and pitch; Time and date correctly set, and in preferred format; Keyboard input voice setting; words, characters, or off; Review or reading voice settings; punctuation settings, numbers or digits; Braille language; US, UK, or Australian; Braille grade for keyboard input; grade 1, 2 or computer Braille; Calculator language Nemeth or UK math; Computer Braille language; US, UK, or Australian; Preferred cursor shape on Braille display; Preferred Braille reading grade; Computer Braille 6 dot or 8 dot; navigation key layout; Spelling checker dictionary language installed; Address list database installed; E-mail database installed. Some of these items have already been covered in this chapter, but for convenience, Appendix A of the User Guide provides additional assistance and, if appropriate, a reference to the relevant section in the User Guide. The next section explains how to use the Electronic User Guide to read a particular section of the user guide. After reading this next section, you could use the Electronic User Guide to read Appendix A, User settings for the BrailleNote PK. 1-32 BrailleNote PK User Guide 1.25 User Guide. The User Guide is built into KeySoft, so that you can look it up any time you want. Using either the Table of Contents or the Index to locate a reference, the User Guide will take you directly to the topic you wish to read. If you wish to read the User Guide like a book rather than look up specific references, simply open the chapter or appendix in the Book Reader like any other book file. You will find the files in the Manuals folder on your KeySoft System Disk. Alternatively, the entire User Guide is available in several PC friendly formats on the CD-Rom that came with your BrailleNote PK. This gives you the option of working through a chapter trying things out on the BrailleNote PK while reading the user guide on a PC, printing or embossing a copy etc. The rest of this section concentrates on the on-board User Guide, how to access it and how to use it. 1-33 BrailleNote PK User Guide 1.25.1 On-board User Guide. You can access the User Guide through the Options Menu, or by the quick command BACKSPACE with ENTER with H. You can look up a topic in the Table of Contents or Index, and read that section of the user guide. When you are finished with that section, you can return to the Table of Contents or Index or exit the user guide. You are returned to your original place in KeySoft when you exit. If you have edited your user guide KeyWord Text files in any way (a practice we do not recommend as it can interfere with the table of contents and index functions) it is important to note that the user guide files are loaded on every reset. This means that to save any edited copies, you should first change the file names so the newly loaded copies do not over write them. To refer to the User Guide either press SPACE with O for the Options menu, then U for the User Guide, or BACKSPACE with ENTER with H. If this is the very first time you have accessed the Electronic User Guide your BrailleNote PK displays: "Look up Table of Contents or Index?" Press T to select the Table of Contents or I to select the Index. KeySoft confirms your selection. If you have accessed the User Guide before, your BrailleNote PK displays: "Continue reading (reference)?" where "reference" is the last topic accessed. If you press Y to continue you are returned to that topic. If you press N you go to the Table of Contents or Index. The Table and Contents or Index both respond to initial letter searches. To jump to the items starting with a letter, press that letter. To move through the items, press SPACE or ADVANCE to go forwards and BACKSPACE or BACK to move back. Once the desired item has been found, press ENTER to select it. If the item has subindexes, repeat the selection procedure. You can then read the selected section like you would any document. Once you have entered the User Guide at a particular place, the following review commands are available for reading the content: To read from the start of the previous sentence, press SPACE with dot 1; To read from the start of the current sentence, press SPACE with dots 1-4; 1-34 BrailleNote PK User Guide To read from the start of the next sentence, press SPACE with dot 4; To read from the start of the previous paragraph, press SPACE with dots 2-3; To read from the start of the next paragraph, press SPACE with dots 5-6; To skip back one section, press SPACE with dots 1-2-3; To advance one section, press SPACE with dots 4-5-6; To go back to the Table of Contents or Index press BACKSPACE; To exit the User Guide and return to your original place in KeySoft press SPACE with E. To continuously read a section of the User Guide using speech, select your starting point from the Table of Contents or Index as discussed above, then press SPACE with G. To pause reading, press BACKSPACE with ENTER. You can issue the review commands while reading is in progress or after it has stopped. If you give a command while reading is in progress, what is currently being displayed is cut off and reading begins immediately from the new position. This provides a very convenient method of quickly panning through a section of the User Guide. If you are continuously reading, you can jump forward or back through the text by sentence or paragraph without halting the continuous reading function. 1.25.2 Location of User Guide Files. As an alternative to accessing the Electronic User Guide through its Table of Contents or Index, you can also read the User Guide as a number of KeyWord documents. Each chapter and appendix is a separate KeyWord text document. As of version 5.0 of KeySoft, you may notice that each file name ends with a two letter code such as bb, bq, pk, vb or vq. This identifies the model type – the first letter is b for BrailleNote or v for VoiceNote, the second letter is b for BT, q for QT. The PK files have pk after them. If the code is not correct for your model, contact your distributor. These files are all stored in a folder called "Manual" on your KeySoft System Disk drive. 1-35 BrailleNote PK User Guide 1.25.2.1 User Guide Version Check. There is a simple version check built into the User Guide. Simply access the Index, and select the "Version" entry in the usual way. When you press ENTER it will announce "This manual is for the BrailleNote PK using version x.x of KeySoft." If the model name or version is not what you expected, contact your distributor. 1-36 BrailleNote PK User Guide 1.26 Where to Now. By now you should have a good basic knowledge of the BrailleNote PK and KeySoft. The entire User Guide is stored in the BrailleNote PK so you can read each chapter at your leisure. The User Guide can be read using your BrailleNote PK as previously described. A good starting point is to browse through the Table of Contents, as this will provide you with an appreciation of the topics covered in the User Guide. Please read the next chapter, which concerns practical hardware matters like the batteries, port connectors and card slot. To read chapter 2, follow the procedure discussed in the previous section. You will find chapter 2 in the Table of Contents so you can select it from there and start reading. After Chapter 2, the remainder of the User Guide is all about KeySoft and you can pick and choose what to read. If you are new to KeySoft, you might want to work through Chapter 3, which introduces the basic Word processor functions. You might then want to read Chapter 5, which deals with the functions available via the Options Menu, or Chapter 6 for advanced word processing features. Alternatively, you can read Chapter 7 on the Calculator, Chapter 8 on the Planner, or Chapter 9 on the Address List. If you are interested in using e-mail or accessing the internet, and/or using the other connectivity options the BrailleNote PK offers, read Chapter 12 on Connectivity, then Chapter 10 on E-mail, or Chapter 11 on the Web Browser, depending on your interest and requirements. Chapter 12 describes use of the File and Folder Manager, and the translation of files from Text to Braille and other formats. Chapter 13 covers the Utilities menu, where topics like backing up, restoring files and software upgrades are discussed. Chapter 15 covers the Media Player and audio recording facilities. Chapter 18 covers the Database Manager. If you are keen for a bit of a distraction from your work or want to sharpen your mind, read Chapter 19 to learn how to play games on your BrailleNote PK. Chapter 20 provides a convenient listing of all the keyboard commands for the BrailleNote PK. These are categorized under general commands as well as commands for each of the applications of KeySoft. 1-37 BrailleNote PK User Guide You might find it tedious to read a User Guide, but we have endeavored to make sure it is full of useful information, and it's surprising what sticks in your memory. When people say, "I didn't know you could do that!" it usually means that they haven’t read the User Guide. And remember; please make frequent use of BrailleNote PK’s superb Help that you can access at any point by pressing SPACE with H. It's a valuable source of information, whatever part of KeySoft you are using. 1.27 Version. This manual is for the BrailleNote PK using version 7.2 of KeySoft. 1-38 BrailleNote PK User Guide 2 BrailleNote PK Hardware. 2.1 AC Adapter and Battery. The BrailleNote PK can operate from its internal rechargeable battery or from its AC adapter. The length of time you can run the BrailleNote PK from a fully charged battery is typically over 20 hours before it becomes flat. Activities like e-mailing and connecting using bluetooth or wireless networking increase the drain on the battery. The BrailleNote PK warns you if the battery is getting low. When the battery gauge indicates that the battery is less than 10% full, the following warning is displayed periodically: "Battery is low." If possible, connect the AC adapter to re-charge the battery now. If not, you typically have about 2 hours of battery life remaining. If the battery continues to run down and becomes nearly flat, KeySoft displays the following message: "Battery is critical." If this message is displayed you should act within the next 30 seconds or your BrailleNote PK may discharge itself, which has the same effect as a dots 4-5-6 reset i.e. wiping any user files on the KeySoft system disk. The time available to switch off may be as little as 30 seconds but it is typically 15 to 20 minutes if you are not using high current accessories. You have two options. You can connect the AC adapter and carry on working indefinitely, or you can save your current work and switch off. To save your work, just return to the Main Menu. If the BrailleNote PK switches itself off, it cannot be switched on again until it is powered from the AC adapter. While the AC adapter is connected, the battery gauge will always display 100 percent. 2-39 BrailleNote PK User Guide 2.2 Charging the Battery. To charge the battery, simply plug the AC adapter in and the BrailleNote PK looks after the battery charging itself. There is no chance of overcharging and damaging your batteries, so don't be afraid to leave the AC adapter connected at all times. Once the battery is fully charged, only a very small amount of power is used. Leaving the AC adapter connected ensures that the BrailleNote PK remains fully charged ready for when you next need to use it on battery power. If the battery is flat and the AC adapter is connected, the battery is fast charged in about 5 hours. Charging takes less time if the battery is only partially discharged. You can charge the battery and use the BrailleNote PK simultaneously although the battery may take longer to charge. To ensure that the battery charges correctly, only charge in ambient temperatures between 41 and 95 degrees Fahrenheit, that is, 5 to 35 degrees Celsius. If the ambient temperature is too high, there is a risk that the battery will not charge. We therefore recommend that if the temperature is nearing 95 degrees Fahrenheit, that is, 35 degrees Celsius, leave your BrailleNote PK to charge in a cool place with the carry bag lid open. There is no danger in doing this, and no harm can come to your BrailleNote PK! To connect the AC adapter, locate the power socket on the back of the BrailleNote PK, near the left-hand corner of the case. Insert the plug on the AC adapter cable into the socket, and plug the AC adapter into a wall socket. The BrailleNote PK displays: "AC adapter on." The message is displayed even if the BrailleNote PK is switched off. If this message is not displayed after a second or two, check that the AC supply is switched on, and that the plug on the end of the AC adapter cord is inserted securely into the BrailleNote PK's power socket. When the battery is charging, if the AC supply is interrupted, or the AC adapter is disconnected the BrailleNote PK displays: "AC adapter off.” This message, too, is displayed even if the BrailleNote PK is switched off. 2-40 BrailleNote PK User Guide 2.3 Checking Power Status. You can check the state-of-charge of the battery and whether the AC adapter is connected from anywhere in KeySoft by pressing SPACE with O, then P. First, the battery state-of-charge in percent is displayed: “Level c percent,” where c is the battery's state-of-charge. Then the AC adapter status is displayed: "Adapter (status)", where "status" is either "on" or "off." After these messages are displayed, you are returned to your original place in KeySoft. . Remember that when the AC Adapter is connected, the percentage will always display as 100 percent. 2.4 Battery Care. Like all rechargeable batteries, as the BrailleNote PK battery ages, its capacity reduces. If your BrailleNote PK is used and charged every day, we expect that the battery will typically last 18 months before its capacity is noticeably lower than it was when new. To have the battery replaced, send the BrailleNote PK back to an authorized Service Center. Do not attempt to replace it yourself. Replacement batteries are expected to typically last 18 months before they too, need replacing. To ensure the battery achieves its maximum life, we recommend that you "condition" the battery every month or so. To condition the battery you don’t have to stop using the BrailleNote, simply fully charge it, disconnect the AC adapter, use it on battery power until "Battery is critical" is displayed, and then as soon as you can, reconnect the adapter and fully charge it again. If you haven’t conditioned the battery for a while, the BrailleNote PK will remind you by including the message "Battery conditioning recommended" when you check the Power Status. 2-41 BrailleNote PK User Guide 2.4.1 Operating Temperature. Batteries are particularly temperature sensitive. Exposure to temperatures outside of the ranges indicated below can cause the battery to cut out altogether. The battery lasts longer if the BrailleNote PK is used in and stored at the same temperature range that you are comfortable in. If possible, avoid exposing the BrailleNote PK and its battery to high temperatures. The battery should only be charged in ambient temperatures from 50 to 104 degrees Fahrenheit or from 10 to 40 degrees Celsius. If the BrailleNote PK has been exposed to temperatures outside this range, leave it at room temperature for at least half an hour before plugging in the AC adapter. If you want the greatest capacity and longest life out of the battery we recommend that you keep the BrailleNote PK in a temperature range of 60 to 86 degree Fahrenheit, or 15 to 30 degrees Celsius. To help ensure the BrailleNote PK is not overheated, we recommend that you do not leave it near a window, in a car, or in any other space where the sun can cause much higher temperatures than the ambient temperature. 2.5 Long Term Storage. If you store a BrailleNote PK for more than two to three weeks, the battery will become completely flat. If the battery was less than fully charged prior to storing the BrailleNote PK, the time for the battery to become fully flat will be shorter. This is because BrailleNote PK's battery self discharges internally and because BrailleNote PK draws a very small amount of current even when it is switched off. If you intend to leave the BrailleNote PK switched off for more than a few days, fully charge the battery beforehand, or leave the AC adapter connected if this is convenient. If you intend to store a BrailleNote PK for more than two to three weeks without the AC adapter connected, ensure your work is saved by returning to the Main Menu, and fully charge the battery before putting the BrailleNote PK into storage. When you take a BrailleNote PK out of long-term storage, first connect the AC adapter to charge the battery. Switch the BrailleNote PK on by pressing C1 and C4 together. If the battery has gone quite flat, you will be prompted to reset the time and date and so on. 2-42 BrailleNote PK User Guide 2.6 Using the Serial Port. Reach beyond the keyboard to the back of your BrailleNote PK and investigate the layout of the back of your BrailleNote PK. This is where all the sockets and connectivity points are arranged. From the right there is a serial port, two recessed lights, USB port, headphone socket, a rounded protrusion that houses the inbuilt Bluetooth transceiver, the compact flash slot and the AC adapter socket. 2.6.1 Serial Port. The serial port on the BrailleNote PK is a lot smaller than the standard 9 pin serial port. However it does the same thing - providing a connection to other devices such as a PC and a computer style qwerty keyboard. The serial plug goes into the port flat side up. It has two little lugs on either side that operate a locking mechanism that holds the plug in the port. To remove the plug, push these lugs in as you slide it out. Because the serial port is a non-standard type, the BrailleNote PK is shipped with its own cables, two in this case. One is a serial to PS2 adapter and is about 12 inches long, and the other is serial to 9 pin serial that also has a PS2 plug cable attached. You can use this second type of cable with just the serial to serial cable, to link up with a PC. The PS2 plugs are for use with a separate keyboard. The short serial to PS2 adapter allows you to plug the keyboard directly into the BrailleNote PK. The PS2 plug cable joined into the serial to serial cable allows you to be plugged into a PC with the 9 pin serial plug while also being plugged into a separate keyboard dedicated to the BrailleNote PK. This is great as you get two types of connection from the one serial port. For more information on using the BrailleNote PK with a separate keyboard, please refer to 15.3.2 Connecting to a PS2 keyboard. We recommend that you plug in the keyboard while you are in the Main Menu. 2-43 BrailleNote PK User Guide 2.6.2 USB Client Port. The port to the left of the serial port is a USB client-only port. This means that you can plug it into the USB port of a PC and perform tasks, but you can't plug into a "dumb" device, like a keyboard, using USB. The primary purpose of the USB client port on the BrailleNote PK is to allow you to access a PC via ActiveSync, with the option of accessing the internet over that connection. This is explained in 12.13.5 ActiveSync using USB 2.6.3 Compact Flash Cards. A CompactFlash card is 3.5cm by 4cm, about the size of a matchbook. It provides considerable extra data storage, and cards come in a large range of capacities running into several gigabytes. The BrailleNote PK has a card slot for CompactFlash cards. This slot is located on the back of the unit. As well as allowing you to use Compact Flash cards for extra data storage, the CompactFlash card slot can be used for data storage using a CF memory card, or as a plug for CompactFlash card type accessories. 2-44 BrailleNote PK User Guide 2.6.3.1 Inserting and Removing CompactFlash Cards. The CompactFlash card is wider than it is long, so it is important to orient the card correctly, as attempting to plug the shorter side in may damage the pins in the back of the slot. Also, a polarizing key makes the card more difficult to plug in if it is the wrong way up. A simple strategy for finding the correct orientation is to just try gently plugging it in. If it engages, gently push it home. If it resists being inserted, take it out, invert it and try again. You can also identify most CompactFlash cards' correct orientation by touch. The front of the CompactFlash card is the longer side that has two rows of pin sized indentations. The bottom side of most CompactFlash cards has a slight grip ridge along the opposite edge. You could label the CompactFlash card once you have identified the correct orientation. Compact cards should be inserted with the BrailleNote PK switched on. When you do so the BrailleNote PK displays: "Card ready." To remove a CompactFlash card, hold the card firmly and pull it out. This is quite tricky if you have big fingers or no fingernails. Most CompactFlash cards have a grip ridge that makes them easier to grasp. If the card is removed with the power on, BrailleNote PK displays: "Please wait..." and after a few seconds the prompt "Card removed" will confirm that the card is disengaged. 2.6.3.2 Accessing files on the CompactFlash Card. The CompactFlash card slot is treated as a drive by KeySoft. To access files on the CompactFlash Card, at any file prompt, go to the drive list and press C for CompactFlash card. Proceed as normal. 2-45 BrailleNote PK User Guide 2.6.4 Using a Remote Visual Display. BrailleNote PK can provide a text output via the serial or infrared ports to a visual display. Sighted observers or teachers can use the visual display screen to view KeySoft's prompts and help messages, and your text if you are typing a document. The visual display can be a terminal or a PC, laptop or hand-held computer running terminal emulation software. The terminal or terminal emulation software must emulate a DEC VT100 or an ANSI terminal. For PC's running Windows, "HyperTerminal" is provided as part of the communications accessories and can be used as the terminal software. To facilitate the use of HyperTerminal as the remote Visual Display for the BrailleNote PK, a program shortcut is provided on the CD-Rom supplied as part of the BrailleNote PK package. 2.6.4.1 Connecting a Remote Visual Display to the Serial Port. In the following discussion when we refer to a terminal, we mean either a dedicated terminal or a PC running terminal emulation software. The following procedure might require the help of a technician if the terminal is unfamiliar to you. The procedure involves connecting the BrailleNote PK to the terminal using a cable and setting up the terminal to communicate at a certain speed and format. This can be done manually for some terminals. Or if the terminal is intelligent, done by the terminal itself as it automatically detects the serial speed and format. The necessary settings are: bit rate: 38400 bps. parity: none. data bits: 8. stop bits: 1. 1. To connect BrailleNote PK's serial port to a terminal, first plug one end of the serial communications cable into the serial port as described in 2.6.1 Serial Port. 2. Plug the other end of the cable into a matching socket on the terminal. If the terminal has a 25 pin D type connector instead, use the 9 pin to 25 pin adapter. Ensure the terminal is switched on. 2-46 BrailleNote PK User Guide 3. Finally, direct the BrailleNote PK to drive the serial port by selecting the remote visual display output as described in 2.6.4.2 Turning the Visual Display On and Off below. Now, when the BrailleNote PK displays something such as a prompt the terminal should also display the corresponding prompt. If the terminal responds when the connected BrailleNote PK displays something but the terminal's display is not intelligible then the speed and/or format are probably not right. Correct the settings and retry. 4. Ensure that the COM port that you are going to use for this connection is not being used by another software application or hardware device. 2.6.4.2 Turning the Visual Display On and Off. The last step towards providing a visual display is to have your BrailleNote PK send text to the serial or infrared outputs. Press SPACE with O, then V for Visual display. KeySoft displays: "Visual display, Currently off." The options are: To send the visual display to the Serial port press S then ENTER; To send the visual display to the Infrared port press I then ENTER; Or just press ENTER to leave the selection unchanged. To turn the visual display off again after use, press F for OFF then ENTER. Use the serial port if you are using a standard computer terminal or a PC running a terminal emulator program. Use the infrared port if you are using a desktop or hand held PC with an infrared port and running a terminal emulator program. 2-47 BrailleNote PK User Guide 2-48 BrailleNote PK User Guide 3 Word Processor. This chapter introduces the basics of KeyWord, the word processor part of KeySoft, and describes how to create, read and edit a document. Advanced aspects of KeyWord, including creating documents with more complex formats, and quickly making extensive changes to a document, are covered in Chapter 6. In the following discussion, the general terms "announcements," "prompts" and "reading" apply to any of the outputs available in the BrailleNote family of products. If your model is a VoiceNote, they refer to audio output only. For BrailleNote models, they can refer to either the Braille display, the audio output, or both. 3.1 What is a Word Processor? A word processor is like a sophisticated Braille writer or typewriter. The difference is that you do not have to get the document right first time. You can add, delete and change things to your heart's content, and all the time your work is stored in BrailleNote PK's memory. There are other advantages too. You can make changes at a later date, and you can keep all the various versions. It's easy to make copies of documents, and filing and retrieving is much simpler than with hard copy. Besides writing documents, KeyWord is useful just for reading documents such as e- mailed documents that have originated elsewhere. These can be read directly without translating them to Braille. 3-49 BrailleNote PK User Guide 3.2 Braille and Text. When you start to compose a document, KeyWord assumes that you want to do it in Braille, so the layout and format are for a Braille page, as it would appear when embossed. This doesn't mean that you are committed to a Braille document, however. You can send it to another computer or e-mail it, and KeySoft automatically translates it into a suitable format. Alternatively, you have the option of creating a text document directly, with a layout and format for an ink-print page. A text document requires the use of Computer Braille, which is discussed in 6.19 Computer Braille. Unlike some other word processors, KeyWord allows you to work with the layout of a document as it will be embossed or printed. This means that you are working with the actual layout while you are editing, and you do not have to make allowances for any effects of formatting commands. KeyWord allows you to format a document for embossing and independently format the same document for printing. The two sets of formatting controls are independent. Consequently the layout of a document, either Braille or text, can be precisely controlled without making changes between embossing and printing. 3.3 The KeyWord Menu. To select the word processing functions, start from the Main Menu and press SPACE repeatedly until "Word processor" is displayed, and then press ENTER. Alternatively, just press W. If you have the Braille display on, you can also use the ADVANCE navigation key to step through the menu and the NEXT navigation key to select an item. KeySoft displays: "KeyWord Menu." Press SPACE to display the first item in the KeyWord Menu, which is: "Create a document." As the prompt suggests, you use this option when you want to create a new document. Press SPACE again, and KeySoft displays the second item, which is: "Open a document." You use the "Open" option to read an existing document, or to make changes to one. 3-50 BrailleNote PK User Guide 3.4 Documents Folders and Drives. 3.4.1 Documents. Documents are the most common type of file you will use on the BrailleNote PK. You must give each document a unique name enabling KeySoft to distinguish one document from another. For example, when you use KeyWord to write a letter, that letter is stored as a document. Every document name should indicate what type of information it contains. Document names can be up to 250 characters long, and can contain any Braille sign except for: \ / : " < > | * and ?. 3.4.2 Folders. When you have been using your BrailleNote PK for a while you could very easily accumulate several hundred documents, and it could become tedious to find any particular one. To make life easier, documents can be organized into groups called "Folders." Initially, there are folders named "General," and "My Books," together with a number of others which KeySoft uses. Besides these, you can create as many new folders as you wish. If you have a lot of files to organize and are comfortable with the concept, you might want to create a directory structure of folders, where there is more than one layer of folders. Details about how to do this and all other aspects of folder and file management are covered in Chapter 12. Folders can contain both Braille and text documents. Folder names can be up to 250 characters long, and can consist of any Braille signs except those for the following characters: \ / : * ? " < > | 3-51 BrailleNote PK User Guide 3.4.3 Drives. Documents can be stored by different pieces of hardware in the BrailleNote PK, called disk drives, or just drives. BrailleNote PK incorporates a type of memory called flash memory. The associated drive is referred to as a Flash Disk. It provides fast, secure storage, retaining its contents even if the battery is flat. It is the memory you normally use to save your documents. You can copy, rename, erase or edit and re-save documents to the Flash Disk. Another drive is the KeySoft System Disk. This drive stores information installed in the factory. This includes the main operating software, User Guide, and a sample book. Information installed at the Factory is retained even if the battery goes flat, but user information stored in the KeySoft System Disk will be lost. It is therefore not recommended that you save documents in the KeySoft System Disk, but you can open documents like the sample book and the BrailleNote PK user guide that are stored in it. If you do save documents in the KeySoft System Disk, be aware that they will be lost if the battery goes flat or you do a Reset with dots 4-5-6 held down. You can also add external drives to the BrailleNote PK. 3.4.4 Changing the Current Drive. There is a way of selecting a drive in KeySoft generally, which is not restricted to KeyWord. If you are at a prompt for a file name or folder name, and you have not had the opportunity to select a drive, then press BACKSPACE. KeySoft displays: "Drive? (Last drive used)." To step through the list of available drives press SPACE. The list comprises the Flash Disk and KeySoft System Disk, and if in use, the CompactFlash card, PC card, SD card and Network. To select a drive, either step through the list of available drives press SPACE or ADVANCE then press NEXT or ENTER, or just type the first letter of the drive name. 3-52 BrailleNote PK User Guide 3.5 Opening a Document. Several documents are provided with KeySoft. If you want to read one of them, how do you select it? From the KeyWord menu, select "Open a document." Or press BACKSPACE with ENTER with W to go directly there. KeyWord displays: "Folder name? Press ENTER for (name)," where the word "name" between the brackets is really the name of the last folder used. To select a document you must first select the appropriate folder. There are three different methods of doing this: 1. To select the offered folder, just press ENTER. This is the folder that was last used. 2. To look through the list of available folders, press SPACE or ADVANCE repeatedly. When the name of the folder you require is displayed, select it by pressing NEXT or ENTER. You can move back along the list by pressing BACKSPACE or PREVIOUS repeatedly. While scanning the list you can quickly relocate to an alphabetical position in the list by pressing a letter. For example, pressing T puts you at the beginning of the list of folders starting with T. If you keep on pressing T, you cycle through all the names starting with that letter. 3. Type the name of the folder you require, and press ENTER. With this method, remember that you must type the name exactly or this will not work. You can change the current drive by pressing BACKSPACE at the "Folder name?" prompt. The Flash Disk is assumed here. If another drive was previously selected, a drive prompt is given as described in 3.4.4 Changing the Current Drive above. When you have selected a folder, KeyWord asks: "Document to open? Press ENTER for (name)," where (name) is the name of the last document you accessed. Just like folder selection, the same three methods are available for selecting a document. Select the offered document by just pressing ENTER, or review the list of documents by pressing SPACE repeatedly and select a document by pressing ENTER, or Braille the document name and press ENTER. This selection procedure is significant because it is general throughout KeySoft, and is not restricted to just opening a document. 3-53 BrailleNote PK User Guide 3.6 Naming a Document. In the next section we talk about creating a document, but first we discuss names. Each document must have a unique, meaningful name so that it can be stored and later retrieved by specifying its name. You can use whatever name you like, with up to 250 Braille characters and spaces, in Grade 1 or Grade 2 as you wish. If you have several documents on a similar subject, you may find it helpful to put the common part of the name first. For example, you might have: "Club minutes, January," "Club minutes, February," and so on. These document names would be grouped together alphabetically for easy location. If the months are put first, the documents are scattered through the list of documents. Documents can be grouped into folders to make them easier to find. As an example, the documents just mentioned might all be put into a folder called "Club minutes 2001." If you do this, it may then be easier to name your documents without the common part of the name, for example, "January" and "February". The rules for naming a folder are the same as for naming a document. Some characters are reserved and you may not use them in a document name. They are: \ / : " < > | * and ?. 3-54 BrailleNote PK User Guide 3.7 Creating a Document We now create a trial document. From the Main Menu, select the Word Processor option. From the KeyWord menu select "Create a document." KeySoft prompts: "Folder name? General." The General folder is fine, so press ENTER to accept KeySoft's suggestion. You are then asked: "Document to create?" Type in the name: "Sample", with or without a capital sign as you wish, and press ENTER. KeySoft says: "Top of Document. Blank." The Braille display is blank. You are now at the top left-hand corner of an empty Braille document. Press a character. Why are there two dots on the Braille display below and to the right of your character? It's the BrailleNote PK's standard Braille cursor. The cursor shows where the next character will go. It is discussed in more detail below. Without worrying about mistakes, Braille half a dozen sentences, using either Grade 1 or Grade 2. Each character is displayed on the Braille display as you Braille it. Each word is spoken only when you have pressed the space bar to complete the word. You can change the Keyboard Voice so that KeySoft speaks each letter as it is Brailled, or both words and letters, or nothing at all. How to change the Keyboard Voice is discussed in 1.17.4 Setting the Keyboard Voice. You may also notice that you can Braille indefinitely without worrying about the right margin. This is because KeyWord automatically starts a new line if it cannot fit another word onto the current line. This process is known as word wrapping. The start of a new line is shown on the Braille display as dots 1-2-4-6, followed by the letter L. You probably know dots 1-2-4-6 as the grade 2 contraction "ed." It is also $ in computer Braille. The symbols $l indicate a line break. There are many of these special format indicators that start with "ed" or $ such as this. They are described in more depth in 3.12 Format Indicators. Also notice that when you fill the Braille display KeySoft automatically moves so that there is room to show the last complete word at the right of the display. Start a new Braille paragraph by pressing ENTER to start a new line, followed by two spaces, and Braille a few more sentences. Places where you have pressed ENTER to start a new line are shown on the Braille display as dots 1-2-4-6 or "ed" followed by the letter p. This is also discussed again later. 3-55 BrailleNote PK User Guide When you have finished brailling, press SPACE with E. Your document is saved, and you are returned to the KeyWord menu. 3.8 Reading a Document. We now discuss the various commands for reading a document. We recommend you open your "Sample" document, or the "Demonstration Document" that comes with KeySoft, so that you can practice using the reading commands. The "Demonstration Document" is found in the "General" folder. Open the document as explained in 3.5 Opening a Document. Reviewing the document by reading the Braille display is, of course, quite different from listening to the document, so these two methods are discussed separately below. First we discuss reviewing using the Braille display. 3-56 BrailleNote PK User Guide 3.8.1 Reading Using the Braille Display You can read through the document up to eighteen or thirty-two symbols at a time. This depends on the width of the Braille display of your BrailleNote PK and the number of whole words that fit on the display. KeySoft avoids breaking the last word by leaving the last few cells blank. The Braille display provides a window into the document. You can step this window forwards or backwards through the document using the joystick. ADVANCE steps forward one window and BACK steps back a window. After reading across the display press ADVANCE to display the next window. Repeat the procedure to read through the document. You can go back if necessary by pressing BACK. You can also move the display to the left or right a word at a time. To move the display back a word in the document, press PREVIOUS with BACK at the same time. To move the display forward a word, press PREVIOUS with ADVANCE. The function of the PREVIOUS and NEXT navigation keys is defined in the Braille Display Options. For information on how to change the setting, refer to 5.4.4 Function of Previous and Next navigation Keys. The default setting is Up and Down, and using this setting PREVIOUS steps directly up and NEXT steps directly down where the document has text organized in columns or tables. When text is arranged in sentences the cursor moves to the same place in the line directly above or below. The function of PREVIOUS and NEXT can also be set to move back or forward by sentence or paragraph. By changing the cursor movement mode within the document, these joystick commands move by line rather than sentence, and section rather than paragraph. Cursor movement modes are discussed in 6.8 Cursor Movement Modes. To return to the top of the document, press SPACE with dots 1-2-3. KeySoft displays a window of text starting at the very first symbol in the document. To jump directly to the end of the document, press SPACE with dots 4-5-6. KeySoft displays a window of text ending with the last symbol in the document. Experiment with the navigation to become familiar. Try reading your "sample" document or the "Demonstration Document" in this way. 3-57 BrailleNote PK User Guide You can set your BrailleNote PK to automatically advance the display without you having to press the ADVANCE key all the time. Each Braille window is displayed for a time before the next window is displayed. You can set the speed to suit your particular preference. To start the automatic advance press N1 and N4 together. Press N4 to speed up and N1 to slow down the display rate. You can stop by pressing N1 and N4 simultaneously again. You can read through the document up to eighteen symbols at a time. This depends on the number of whole words that fit on the display. In text documents, you can change the reading grade of Braille by simply pressing ADVANCE with NEXT repeatedly to cycle through the options, which are your preferred Braille grade, 6 dot computer Braille or 8 dot computer Braille. 3-58 BrailleNote PK User Guide 3.8.2 Listening to a Document. When you are reading sentences or paragraphs, you may be simply listening to the text, or checking it in detail for errors. You can choose to hear the amount of detail you require by setting the punctuation level. You may also choose whether numbers are spoken as words or as digits. You can use the primary Braille keyboard to enter commands when listening to BrailleNote PK's speech. To listen to a document without stopping, press SPACE with G. KeySoft continues reading to the end of the document unless you stop by pressing BACKSPACE with ENTER at the same time. You can start and stop as you wish with these two commands. To return to the top of the document, press SPACE with dots 1-2-3. KeySoft says: "Top of document," and announces the first word of the document. To jump directly to the end of the document, press SPACE with dots 4-5-6. Experiment with the Go, Stop, Beginning and End commands until you are happy that you understand their effects. There are several other important commands for moving around the text. There is an important convention here: To move back and read something, use the left-hand keys; To move forward and read something, use the right-hand keys; To read something without moving, use both left and right-hand keys. For example, try the commands for reading characters: To move back a character and read it, press SPACE with dot 3; To read the current character, press SPACE with dots 3-6; (Press this command once to hear the character spoken. Press it again, and if the character is a letter, you will hear its "call sign" e.g. Alpha for A, Bravo for B etc.) To move forward a character and read it, press SPACE with dot 6. This convention also applies to reading whole words, as follows: To move back a word and read it, press SPACE with dot2; To read the current word, press SPACE with dots 2-5; (Press this command once to hear the word spoken. Press it again, and the word is spelled out) 3-59 BrailleNote PK User Guide To move forward a word and read it, press SPACE with dot 5. You may be able to guess the next triplet of commands: To move back a sentence and read it, press SPACE with dot 1; To read the current sentence, press SPACE with dots 1-4; To move forward a sentence and read it, SPACE with dot 4; You may have noticed another scheme in use. The outer fingers, on dots 3 and 6, are used to read small elements, or characters. The inner fingers, on dots 1 and 4, are used for larger elements like sentences. A similar convention applies for previous, current, and next paragraphs: To move back a paragraph and read it, press SPACE with dots 2-3; To read the current paragraph, press SPACE with dots 2-3-5-6; To move forward a paragraph and read it, press SPACE with dots 5-6. You can follow a sentence or paragraph read command with another sentence or paragraph read command to immediately change the prose being read. Try reading your "Sample" document or the "Demonstration Document" with these commands. You can refresh your memory by pressing SPACE with H, for Help, and opening the "Review Commands" list. Alternatively you can enter the Announce Key mode by pressing SPACE with W and practice the review keystrokes. When using several review commands one after the other, you do not have to wait for speech to finish, nor do you have to release SPACE after each command. Here is an example where we move back several words and then move forward a character at a time. First press, and hold down, SPACE with either thumb. Now, with SPACE held down, tap dot 2 several times, to move back several words. With the SPACE still held down, tap dot 6 several times to move forward several characters. Finally release the space bar. The BACKSPACE and ENTER keys operate in the same way when they are used for deleting and formatting text as described later. You will find this feature very convenient to use and easy on your wrists. 3-60 BrailleNote PK User Guide 3.8.3 Review Voice. The Review Voice settings determine when KeySoft speaks and how much detail KeySoft includes when reading. When you hold down the PREVIOUS navigation key, press SPACE and release both keys, KeySoft displays the current Review Voice. The options are; Speech On, Speech On Request, and Speech Off. The Review Voice settings can also be accessed by pressing SPACE with O then R, anywhere in KeySoft. KeySoft might prompt: "Speech? Currently on." The options are as follows: To have speech and sounds on, press N for ON. To have speech on Request, press R. To turn off speech and all sounds except alarms, press F for OFF. When the Speech on Request option is selected, KeySoft only speaks when you use a command that is a specific speech command. For example, in KeyWord, the word processor, when you move forward word by word using SPACE with dot 5, nothing is spoken. However if you use the dedicated "Speak Word under Cursor" command, SPACE with dots 2-5, the word under the cursor is spoken. After selecting the speech setting above, or pressing ENTER to leave the current level unchanged, KeySoft displays: "Punctuation level? (number)." where the word "number" shown in brackets is really an actual number from 1 to 5. At level 1, no punctuation is announced. At level 5, all characters are spelt out, along with all punctuation. The default setting is 2. The intermediate levels are described in 5.6.3 Punctuation level. This setting applies whenever you are editing or reviewing documents or text. To leave the setting unchanged, press ENTER. To select a particular punctuation level, press a number from 1 to 5, then press ENTER. KeySoft then prompts: "Number Format? (Words)." where the word shown in brackets is really the currently selected option either "Words" or "Digits." The options are W, for numbers spoken as words, or D, for numbers spoken digit by digit. If you select the word format, the number 1942 is spoken as “nineteen forty two,” since it is assumed to be a date. The sequence $25.15 is spoken as “twenty five dollars and fifteen cents.” 3-61 BrailleNote PK User Guide If you select the digits option, the number 1942 is spoken digit by digit. The choice is a matter of personal preference. To leave a setting unchanged, just press ENTER, or press W or D for the option you prefer, followed by ENTER. You are returned to the point at which you selected the Review Voice settings. 3.8.4 Identifying Indistinctly Spoken Characters. When you read a character by pressing SPACE with dots 3-6, it is sometimes difficult to distinguish between letters that sound similar. If you press SPACE with dots 3-6, twice, KeySoft expands the current character into a word, such as A - Alpha, B - Bravo, etc. 3.8.5 Spelling Out a Word. If you press SPACE with dots 2-5, twice, KeySoft spells the current word. In a Braille document, three presses of SPACE with dots 2-5 cause KeySoft to spell a translated version of the word. If the word in question contains one or more grade 2 contractions, those contractions are expanded to their equivalent characters and the expanded word is spelt out. For example, the word "time" is spelled as "dot 5 T" on the second press but "t i m e" on the third press. 3.9 Review Commands. The following discussion is applicable when reading the Braille display and when listening to a document. 3.9.1 Moving to Either End of a Line. You can move position to the start of the current line by pressing SPACE with dots 1-3. To move to one position past the last word in the line, press SPACE with dots 46. Notice the left-right symmetry of these two commands. 3-62 BrailleNote PK User Guide 3.9.2 Selecting Review-Only Mode. If you are reading a document that you don't wish to alter, you can avoid having to press SPACE with all the reading commands. To enter this Review-Only Mode, press SPACE with X. You can then use all the reading commands without needing to press SPACE. For example, to read the current word, just press dots 2-5. This mode continues until you press SPACE with X again or exit the word processor. 3.10 The Cursor. The cursor is an important concept because many KeyWord commands use the cursor as a reference to determine where to apply the command. It is also very important to understand exactly where the cursor is in your document so that your changes occur as you intend. Otherwise you may find the changes you make are wrong. The cursor is a pointer to a single character in a document. The cursor is normally indicated on the Braille display as two dots below the usual six dot Braille cell; dots 7 and 8, This is the factory setting form of the cursor. To find out how to change the form of the cursor, refer to. When you are using speech you can tell which character the cursor is on by pressing SPACE with dots 3-6. You can use the read current word, sentence and paragraph commands to determine the context of the cursor. Editing takes effect at the cursor position. Whether you are using the Braille display or listening to the voice, if you want to edit the document, you must position the cursor at the point you want the change to start. The cursor indicates the position in the document where the next character will appear when it is Brailled. The character is inserted at the cursor position and everything to the right, including the cursor, is shifted one character to the right to make room. Pressing BACKSPACE deletes the character immediately to the left of the cursor, and everything to the right of the cursor is moved one character to the left to fill the vacated space. 3-63 BrailleNote PK User Guide 3.10.1 Using the Touch Cursor. Remember that the buttons immediately behind each cell of the Braille display comprise the touch cursor. To position the cursor at a particular cell you only have to press the cursor button associated with that cell. This is convenient to start editing at that point. First find the Braille cell in the Braille display where you want to start editing. Now move your finger directly above that cell and away from yourself until you feel a vertical ridge that curves upwards slightly. Press this and you notice a tactile action that confirms your press. Read the cell again. You find that the cursor is now positioned at the cell because dots 7 and 8 are displayed, assuming that you are using the standard cursor form. It is as simple as that. 3.10.2 Displaying the Cursor. Having the cursor always displayed on the Braille display can make reading awkward, but it is needed for editing. KeySoft provides several Braille display modes to suit the situation. When you first enter KeyWord, Automatic mode is the default. You will probably use this mode most of the time when you are Brailling and/or proofreading. Here the cursor is turned on automatically when you are editing and turned off when you are reading. Reading with the ADVANCE and BACK navigation keys leaves the cursor position unchanged so that you can read the context without losing your place. You can always bring the cursor to a particular cell in any of the following ways: Press the touch cursor directly behind the cell; Press SPACE with dots 3-6 to read the current character or SPACE with dots 2-5 to read the current word; Bring the cursor to the first cell of the display by pressing BACK and ADVANCE together. Some format indicators are displayed only if the cursor is on the indicator, others are displayed always. Format indicators are discussed later in 3.12 Format Indicators. 3-64 BrailleNote PK User Guide 3.10.3 Moving the Cursor. BrailleNote PK also allows you to position the cursor using the keyboard. The following discussion describes the cursor movement commands using the keyboard. When you press SPACE with dot 3 or SPACE with dot 6, the cursor moves backward or forward by one character on each press. The character that is spoken is the character under the cursor after the move. After reading the current character, word, sentence or paragraph, the cursor position remains unchanged. If you read the previous or next word, the cursor moves to the first character of that word. When you read the previous or next sentence, the cursor moves to the first character of the first word of that sentence, after reading has been completed. Similarly, when you read the previous or next paragraph, the cursor ends up on the first character of that paragraph. You can skip through a document quickly by using the read-next-sentence or read- next-paragraph commands, SPACE with dot 4 and SPACE with dots 5-6. If you press either of these commands while reading is in progress, KeyWord immediately jumps to the start of the next sentence or paragraph and begins reading from there. Try this by going to the start of