2. Starting the 'Alphanumeric input practice' task
3. Switching between input modes
7. Numbers, Punctuation, Symbols and Edit functions
10. First letter navigation example
Select from the SpeakOn menu:
Global settings > Alphanumeric input settings
In the 'Alphanumeric input settings' task check the following check boxes:
'Alphanumeric input enabled', Letters, Numbers, Punctuation and Symbols.
Make sure all other check boxes are unchecked.
Make sure that the 'Disabled' item in the 'Braille enabled' list is in focus (Braille is disabled).
To make sure that while you learn how to use the 'Alphanumeric input' feature you don't enter unexpected data to SpeakOn, start the 'Alphanumeric input practice' task from the menu:
Tools > Alphanumeric input practice
The task is started and the focus is placed in the 'Enter text' edit control. You can safely enter and edit any text you like and any mistakes you make are of no consequence as this task does absolutely nothing.
When you start SpeakOn, you are automatically placed in the 'Default input' mode which means that any input from the NumPad is used to operate SpeakOn; for example, the Up and Down keys in SpeakOn might be used to navigate a List or the Player and the Enter key might start and stop playing. To be able to enter text, punctuation and symbols in the NumPad, you need to switch to the 'Alphanumeric input mode'. To do this press:
Alphanumeric input (2 long)
When you switch to this mode, the Standard keyboard is disabled; if you press any key on the standard keyboard you get an error message.
At any time you can switch back to the 'Default input' mode to operate SpeakOn normally by pressing:
Escape (0 long)
As you will learn later, there are a number of sub-modes you can switch to from the 'Alphanumeric input' mode and you can always switch back to a previous mode by pressing Escape. This means that if you are not sure where you are in the system, pressing Escape a number of times will switch you back eventually to the 'Default input' mode where you can operate SpeakOn normally.
When you switch to 'Alphanumeric input' mode, assuming you configured the settings recommended above, you use the 'Key entry' type which means that any text you enter is submitted directly to the SpeakOn control in focus, as if you used the Standard keyboard.
The various text entry and edit features are implemented as functions.
Assuming that you configured the settings as recommended above, the following 'Key table' functions are available:
The first four functions are used to enter text. The Edit function is used to edit the text entered already.
You can cycle between the above functions by pressing:
Function (7)
When a function is in focus, it is set, which means that it is applied.
You can set the Edit function by successively pressing the above key or alternatively by pressing:
'Function Reset' (7 long)
All 'Key tables' work in a similar way. The keys are arranged in a table which might or might not contain the same number of columns in each row. You navigate the table by pressing the Up (8), Down (2), Left (4) and Right (6) keys. When you get to the desired key, press the Select (5) key to submit the key to the SpeakOn control in focus.
Probably the Letters Key table function is the one you will use most often and it is usually set by default. You can find if it is set by pressing:
'Where am I?' (3 long)
The Mode, Entry type and Function set are announced.
If required, you can set it by cycling successively pressing the Function key.
The 26 letters in the English alphabet are split into 5 rows. Four of which are five letter keys long and the fifth row is 6 keys long.
When you press Right the focus shifts successively through the alphabet table keys in increasing order. When you press Left the focus shifts successively through the alphabet table keys in decreasing order. The operation is circular meaning that when pressing Right the letter 'a' follows the letter 'z' and when pressing Left the letter 'z' follows the letter 'a'.
When pressing Down, the focus shifts to the letter in the next row in the same column; this means practically that pressing Down causes an increment by five letters. The operation is circular which means that row one follows row five.
When pressing Up, the focus shifts to the letter in the previous row in the same column; this means practically that pressing Up causes an decrement by five letters. The operation is circular which means that row five follows row one.
There is one exception to the above in that when row one is reached by pressing Down or Up, the focus is always on the letter 'a'; this gives a distinct reference to the user, namely, the start of the alphabet.
When you reach the desired letter, simply press Select and the letter is submitted to the SpeakOn control in focus.
While the above might sound cumbersome, with some practice, it is possible to reach any letter of the alphabet in no more than three presses of the Right, Left, Down and Up NumPad keys.
The operation of these Key table functions are somewhat simpler than the Letters function described above.
In the Numbers, Punctuation, Symbols and Edit Key table functions, when you press the Up or Down keys you change the focus between the rows and the key focus is placed at the first column in the row.
The operation is circular meaning that when pressing the Down key, the first row follows the last one. Similarly, when pressing the Up key, the last row follows the first one.
Pressing the Left and Right keys moves the focus between keys in a row. This operation is also circular meaning that when pressing the Right key, the first column follows the last one. Similarly when pressing the Left key, the last column follows the first one.
SpeakOn uses a number of modifiers for some operations and you can use these in combination with other keys in a similar way to a Standard keyboard. Press:
Modifier (1)
to set the modifier.
The modifiers that can be set are None (No modifier), Shift, Ctrl and Shift + Ctrl. The required modifier is set first using the Modifier key followed by the input key itself.
The modifier itself is a 'single shot' which means that it applies only to the key that follows it.
Once a modifier is set, it is possible to lock the modifier by pressing:
'Help / Modifier lock' (1 long)
To unlock a modifier, press:
Cancel (0)
This will also set the modifier to None.
Before following this example make sure that you have applied the required settings as explained above.
Start SpeakOn and start the 'Alphanumeric input practice' task from the menu:
Tools > Alphanumeric input practice
The focus is on the 'Enter text' edit control.
Here you will enter your practice text and modify it as required.
To be able to enter text you need to switch to the 'Alphanumeric input' mode. To do this press:
'Alphanumeric input' (2 long)
The Letters Key table function should be set. You can check this by pressing:
'Where am I?' (3 long)
Try to press Function (7) to cycle between the various Key table functions available. Try to explore the keys in each of these functions by pressing the Right (4), Left (6), Down (2) and Up (8) keys.
The Edit Key table function is used to edit your text. You can set it by cycling between functions as explained above or by pressing:
'Function reset' (7 long)
In this example you will type the sentence 'Hello world.'
Assuming the Letters function is set, using the arrow keys find the first letter of Hello 'h' and press Select. The letter is submitted to the SpeakOn Edit control. At this stage the letter 'h' is in lower case; you will rectify this later. Similarly type the rest of the letters in the word 'Hello'. If you make a mistake, you can press:
Backspace (9)
After you type the word 'Hello', press:
Space (3)
Then enter the letters of the word 'world'.
To type the '.' (full stop), press Function until the Punctuation function is set. Using the arrow keys find the '.' (might be indicated by the word 'period' by the synthesizer) and submit it by pressing Select.
Remember that you typed by mistake a lower 'h' for the word Hello; you will rectify this now.
Press 'Function reset' (7 long) to set the Edit function. Locate the Home key and press Select; this moves the focus in the SpeakOn Edit control to the first letter you entered 'h'. Locate the Delete key and press Select; the lower case letter 'h' you typed before is deleted.
Set the Letters function again.
To type an upper case letter press:
Modifier (1)
until the Shift modifier is set.
Then locate the letter 'h' and press Select; the upper case letter 'H' is entered.
Notice that the Shift modifier is applied only once. If you want to type a word made of upper case letters, set the Shift modifier as explained above and then press:
'Help / Modifier Lock' (1 long)
From now on all letters typed are in upper case. To revert back to normal typing set the Modifier (1) back to None.
Note that the lock action is applied only if a modifier is set. If the modifier set is None (no modifier) one of the Help modes is activated; the operations of the Help modes are described elsewhere in this manual. If you find yourself by mistake in one of the Help modes, use Escape (0 long) to switch back to the 'Alphanumeric input' mode.
If you wish to remove everything you typed, set the function to Edit, locate the 'Select all' key, press Select, and then locate the Delete key and press Select.
To switch back to the 'Default input' mode so that you can operate SpeakOn as usual, press:
Escape (0 long)
The 'Key table' typing operation is the same for letters, numbers, punctuation and symbols. With practice, typing is faster but remember that the 'Alphanumeric input' mode in SpeakOn is intended for casual typing of a word or two; for example, looking for a radio station, searching for a podcast category or filtering publications.
Before following this example, make sure that you have applied the required settings as explained above.
Start SpeakOn and start the 'Alphanumeric input practice' task from the menu:
Tools > Alphanumeric input practice
The focus is on the 'Enter text' edit control. Press:
Focus (3)
The focus moves to the 'Shopping' List control Here you will practice first letter navigation.
To be able to enter text you need to switch to the 'Alphanumeric input' mode. To do this press:
'Alphanumeric input' (2 long)
The Letters Key table function should be set as explained in the previous example.
With SpeakOn controls such as a List, with first letter navigation, when a letter is entered, if any items in the list start with this letter, the list scrolls automatically to this item. First letter navigation is case insensitive.
In the 'Alphanumeric input practice' task, the Shopping List control in focus contains an item called 'Oranges'. You can scroll to it by entering the letter 'o' using the Letters Key table in the same way as explained in the previous exercise; namely, using the arrow keys, find the letter 'o' and press Select. The letter is submitted to the SpeakOn List control.
SpeakOn announces 'Oranges' indicating that the focus was shifted to the 'Oranges' item as intended.
You can scroll to other items on this list in the same way.
To switch back to the 'Default input' mode so that you can operate SpeakOn as usual, press:
Escape (0 long)
You can get help at any time. Two modes of help are available: 'Help list' and 'Help input'
Before you can switch to a help mode, the modifier needs to be set to None. To ensure this press:
Cancel (0)
To toggle between 'Help list' and 'Help input' press:
'Help / Modifier lock' (1 long)
The 'Help list' mode provides a list of keys and their actions. Simply scroll Up and Down to examine the list. You can memorize relevant keys and their actions for future use or press:
Select (5)
The action is performed as if you pressed these keys and you are switched back to the 'Alphanumeric input' mode.
The 'Help input' mode enables you to discover the action associated with the keys. Simply press (or long press) the various keys; their action is announced.
To switch back to the 'Alphanumeric input' mode press:
Escape (0 long)
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