From: wtm@sheldev.shel.isc-br.com (Bill McGarry)
Newsgroups: misc.handicap
Subject: ASAP0992.ZIP: Automatic Screen Access Program Demo uploaded
Date: 5 Nov 92 03:57:33 GMT
Reply-To: wtm@sheldev.shel.isc-br.com (Bill McGarry)
X-Fidonet: Blink Talk Conference
Originator: wtm@sheldev.shel.isc-br.com

Index Number: 25433

The following has been uploaded to the Handicap News archives:

ASAP0992.ZIP    Automatic Screen Access Program Demo (9/92)

Directory: /pub/speech

Some of the changes in this package over the last 6 months or so
include:

August 1992

ASAP now works properly with version 4.0E of the DEC-Talk
software.  This software is available as DTPC.ZIP on the
MicroTalk Support BBS.

July 1992

We finally fixed a problem that was keeping ASAP from loading set
files in some very unusual situations.  This effected the OLX
mail reader so that set files load properly with it.

The Spell-word command (accessed with "5" on the numeric keypad)
now lets you get the word spelled phonetically.  As usual, the
first press of the Current Word command renders the announcement
of the current word.  The second press of Current Word spells the
word, and the third press spells the word phonetically.  Pressing
Current Word again starts the cycle over by announcing the
current word as a word and not spelled.

June 1992

View by Field is now available among ASAP's viewing methods.
Viewing by fields tells ASAP to look at a line as if its parts
were grouped together in some way.  This method of viewing should
prove useful not only for those database applications, but in a
variety of programs or documents that require looking at the line
as if it were grouped into sections.  To view by fields, press
ASAP's View key, the Alt-V, then press "F" for "fields."

ASAP now lets you re-initialize your synthesizer.  This proves
useful for those of you with laptop or notebook computers with a
"resume" mode.  With these computers, you can press a button to
make the computer remember what you're doing so that you can turn
it off, then later turn it back on and have your work just as you
left it.  Unfortunately, most external synthesizers don't
remember their settings when you turn them off.  Now, with ASAP's
refresh command, you can refresh your synthesizer's memory about
its settings when you turn it back on.  To refresh your
synthesizer after powering off, turn the synthesizer back on,
then press both shift keys.

May 1992

The DECtalk PC now works reliably and fairly snappily.  You must,
however, have a newer version of the software than that which
probably came with your DECtalk PC.  Fortunately, DEC has been
kind enough to permit distribution of the latest software through
the MicroTalk Support BBS.  Get the file DTPC.ZIP and copy the
extracted files to your DECTALK directory, then remove the
currently running version of the software, and re-run it.  As
with any such procedure, it is, of course, a good idea to backup
the existing directory, just in case something goes wrong.

You may now adjust the attribute to monitor with the Attribute
Selection Menu as found in the Find function.

April 1992

You can now route your reading cursor to the real cursor.  Ctrl-Z
is the command to accomplish the routing.  ASAP makes tones as it
moves the system's cursor so you have an idea of the progression
of the movement.  While you'll want to see Routing the Reading
Cursor in the manual for complete details, note that ASAP makes
tones as it attempts to join the application's cursor to the
reading cursor.  If, for some reason, the cursors can't be
matched, you'll be able to tell by the repetitive nature of the
tone, and you can cancel the attempt to join the cursors by
simply hitting the Alt key.  Again, check the manual for complete
instructions.

ASAP introduces support for the DECtalk PC  from Digital
Equipment Corporation.  To use ASAP with DecTalk PC, just install
the DECtalk software as instructed in the Installation guide for
the synthesizer, then start up ASAP.  If you've got the DECtalk
software installed, ASAP recognizes and uses it automatically.
(You don't have to put the synthesizer and port key words on the
command line.)

To access the different voices available with the DECtalk PC, use
ASAP's Special Function command.  You may need to adjust the base
pitch depending on which voice you select.  one of the
characteristics for a voice is the pitch, so you'll want to raise
the base pitch, for example, if you choose one of the female
voices.

While the MicroTalk staff is generally very impressed with
DECtalk PC's performance and clarity, the current implementation
is but a small portion of what this board is capable of.  There
seem to be some problems with the software under testing, but it
does work.  You'll notice that you may have to hit Alt twice to
get the speech to stop in some situations, and you'll notice that
the speech gets ahead of the cursor when using Auto Read or Read
by Screens.  These problems should be worked out shortly.

This file is available via anonmous ftp from the Handicap News
archives, "handicap.shel.isc-br.com" (ip address of 129.189.4.184).
Login in "anonymous" using your e-mail address as your password.
Type in the command "binary" or files transferred will be corrupted.
"cd" to the appropriate directory and do a "get" of the file.
This is also available via dial-up from the Handicap News BBS
(1-203-337-1607) or by file request on Fidonet (1:141/420).

                                Bill McGarry
                                (203) 337-1518

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