MacMessage enables your Macintosh to speak to you in conjunction with the Speech Manager, the Speech Manager and MacInTalk Pro, or the PlainTalk™ Text-to-Speech tools, all from Apple. (for locations of these files, please see “Where to find Speech Extensions”) Messages can also include graphics.
MacMessage, a 32-bit clean, System 7 compatible, virtual memory compatible, and ‘040 caching compatible program, allows you to:
• Exchange customized voice messages (with graphics) with colleagues using any available voices on your system without requiring them to have additional software.
• Have voice feedback of macros or scripts when combined with software such as QuicKeys, Tempo II, Frontier, or AppleScript.
• Have your Macintosh greet you on startup.
• Test the speech capabilities of your Macintosh.
• Show your friends how cool a Mac is compared to a PC.
Shareware fees for a starving student: I don’t move and destroy furniture, but I would greatly appreciate a nominal $5 check if you use MacMessage or appreciate MacMessage in any way. If you cannot pay the shareware fee, please spread the word on how totally cool MacMessage is or upload MacMessage to America Online, CompuServe, Internet FTP sites, local BBSs, and anywhere else you may have access to (since I cannot afford to do so) or send a postcard to: Spencer Low / 130 Windward Court / Vallejo, CA 94591 / United States of America. Registered users of version 1.0 can consider this a free update.
MacMessage, to function properly, requires the following:
• Macintosh Plus or better.
• System 7.0 or later.
• Speech Manager, Speech Manager and MacInTalk Pro, or the PlainTalk™ Text-to-Speech tools.
• 350K of free memory.
To make a talking MacMessage with graphics, do the following:
To do this, open a graphics program (such as Photoshop or Painter), select the portion of the document you want to copy, and choose “Copy” from the “Edit” menu. Exact commands may vary. After copying the graphic, you may want to quit the graphics program to free up memory. Using graphics with MacMessage is not mandatory. Below is an example of copying graphics in a graphics program:
To do this, select the MacMessage icon in the Finder and choose “Duplicate” from the “File” menu. A copy with the name “MacMessage 1.1 copy” will appear next to the original:
For this example, we’ll name it “Great program!”.
To do this, first check to see if there is a black outlined box around the name. If so, simply type “Great program!” and return. If there is not a black outlined box, select the icon, press return, and type “Great program!” and another return. You should end up with an application called “Great program!”:
This will open the application and allow you to edit the message. The following dialog box will be shown on your screen:
Balloon Help is available by choosing “Show Balloons” from the Help menu.
The Voice pop-up menu lists all the available voices on your Macintosh. The voice you select will be used to read the message; otherwise, a default voice will be used. In the following screen shot, the pop-up menu lists all the voice on a user’s computer:
For this example, you could type “This is one cool program. My shareware check’s in the mail!” If you want to hear the message, click the “Speak” button. You can also use the Edit menu to Cut, Copy, and Paste text.
To do this, click the “Picture…” button. And then click the “Paste from Clipboard” button in the following dialog box.
If you want to use the default picture click the “Use Default” button.
If you did not want to save the changes you made to the picture, you would click “Cancel”.
To hear (and see) the message, run the program.
To have voice acknowledgement of macros, simply make a MacMessage application describing what occurred (such as “Backup complete.”) using the steps in “Getting started” and then have your macro program launch the MacMessage application as the last step. For example, with QuicKeys, use the File QuicKey.
To have your Mac greet you whenever it is turned on, simply make a MacMessage application with a greeting (such as “Welcome to Macintosh.”) and put the application in your “Startup Items” folder, located in your System Folder.
• The Speech Manager extension and it’s “MacInTalk Voices” file gives you 10 voices of average quality with low memory and disk space requirements.
• The PlainTalk™ Text-to-Speech tools, included with the Centris/Quadra 660AV and Quadra 840AV, give you 4 high quality voices at the expense of memory and disk space.
• MacInTalk Pro is the same as the PlainTalk™ Text-to-Speech tools except that it is available from online services, FTP sites such as ftp.apple.com, and BBSs. When MacInTalk Pro is used on a Macintosh other than the Centris/Quadra 660AV or Quadra 840AV, it requires the Speech Manager.
To download the Speech Manager, MacInTalk Pro, or the PlainTalk™ Text-to-Speech tools, check your local BBS or major online services such as America Online and CompuServe. If they are not available at those sources you can also try the following FirstClass BBSs. If you cannot find the files, contact the Files Administrator on the BBS. Please be aware that you may need to register as a member to access the files.
• OneNet™ Los Altos BBS in Los Altos, California at (415) 948-1349.
OneNet Los Altos (ONLA) is part of the OneNet Member Network (ONMN) which connects hundreds of thousands of people from FirstClass BBSs across the world. The Speech Manager and MacInTalk Pro are in the file archives at ONLA. If you use ONLA please read the Info on Registering conference for information on becoming a registered member, with extra perks such access to all the files and more conferences.
• The Byte Out of the Apple (BOA) in Benicia, California at (707) 747-0306.
The BOA has the Speech Manager and MacInTalk Pro in its archives. To access the file archives, ask “Shaun Sutterfield” for trial access for one month. If you use the BOA frequently, please register so that you can continue to use its services.
On the Byte Out of the Apple: “Spencer Low”
On OneNet Los Altos, Byte Brothers, DesignLink, Lone Star Mac, or VIZability: “Spencer Low,BOA”
On OneNet Boulder, Planet BMUG, PowerBase, Digital Cafe, Casa del Cyborg, City Connection, Color Magic, Dead Dog Party, FC Slime, IGUANA, Macrocosm, MauiLink, Positive Image, The Public BBS, Smuggler's BBS, SoftArc Online, or Terra-X: “Spencer Low,OneNet Los Altos”
U.S. Mail: “Spencer Low, 130 Windward Court, Vallejo, CA 94591, USA”
MacMessage is copyrighted shareware, not a public domain product. If you use MacMessage frequently or if you distribute MacMessages with customized messages, please pay the nominal shareware fee of a $5 U.S check made payable to “Spencer Low.” Or, let’s work out a trade for the following:
• An e-mail contact on a major online service (such as America Online) to receive and send e-mail for me (since I cannot afford this). The e-mail contact would have to receive e-mail, forward it to me on the BOA at (707) 747-0306 or OneNet Los Altos at (415) 948-1349, and send e-mail to people on that service for me; or,
• A file contact on a major online service (such as America Online, CompuServe, and Internet FTP sites) to upload the latest versions of MacMessage.
To have your Macintosh read a message:
• Double click the MacMessage.
To edit a MacMessage:
• Hold down the command key while opening the MacMessage.
To paste a picture in a MacMessage:
• Copy the picture to the clipboard from any graphics program.
• Hold down the command key while opening the MacMessage.
• Click the “Picture…” button.
• Click the “Paste from Clipboard” button.
To cancel reading a message:
• Click the mouse, press Command-. (period), or press the Escape key.
Dialog box shortcuts:
• Button with a thick border — Return or Enter.
• Cancel button — Command-. (period) or the Escape key.
The edit message dialog box lets you use the Edit menu to Cut, Copy, and Paste text by menu selection or command key shortcuts.
Full Balloon Help is available in MacMessage.
If the sound volume (set in the Sound control panel) is set to 0 (silent), MacMessage will temporarily raise it while MacMessage is running. Upon quitting it will be returned to 0 (silent).
If you’re having problems running MacMessage, please be sure of the following:
• You’re running System 7 or later.
• You have a Macintosh Plus or better.
• The speech extensions are not disabled by an extension manager.
• You did not hold down the shift key at startup, disabling extensions.
• The files are placed in the proper places as noted by their instructions. For the Speech Manager, the “Speech Manager” extensions should be placed in the Extensions folder and the “MacInTalk Voices” file should go in the System Folder. For the PlainTalk™ Text-to-Speech tools, everything should go in the Extensions folder. If you are using MacInTalk Pro on a Macintosh other than the Centris/Quadra 660AV or Quadra 840AV, you must also have the Speech Manager installed.
If you are sure of all of these, try the following tips:
• Quit other open programs to free up memory.
• Turn speech recognition off, if applicable.
• Turn off some extensions, then restart to free up more memory.
• Give MacMessage more memory in the Finder’s Get Info window. When pasting large pictures, MacMessage requires more memory.
• Simply restart your Macintosh to get a fresh start that sometimes fixes memory problems.
If you still can’t get MacMessage to work, please contact LowTek Creations.
EJ Campbell, John Clark, Keola Donaghy, Christopher Goetz, Greg Robbins, Nancy Prince, and everyone else even remotely involved.
All products and company names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. LowTek Creations is not liable for any consequences from the use of MacMessage. Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
