1. There are complete on-screen instructions for virtually all of the functions of SPeechPrompter, available via the INSTRUCTIONS buttons. This Demo version contains a permanently installed speech, the Gettysburg Address, set to scroll at a total running time of 3 minutes. The time can be changed, as can the font size, and either the New York or Times font can be used. (If neither of these fonts is available in your System, the Macintosh will substitute Geneva.) By the kind permission of Apple Computer, Inc., a copy of the New York font is included with the program. Although it may not be the optimal serif font for printing, in the opinion of many it produces a superior screen display. If this is not in your system, dragging the icon for this file over the System Folder icon will insert the New York font into your system.
2. The graphical elements, slides or movies, are limited to 5 in this version, and any PICT, Quicktime PICT, MacPaint graphic slide, or any movie usable with the Macintosh movie player, can be inserted. Any presentation program can be used to prepare the graphic slides, saving the graphic in the PICT or Quicktime PICT format.
3. The disk includes a text file based on a portion of the U.S. Constitution suitable for insertion as an Outline file. This can also be examined in any word processor, to see the requirements for an Outline file usable in SPeechPrompter. Unlike a text file for a scrolling speech, an Outline file must be inserted before each usage.
4. The unrestricted version differs from the Demo version in only 2 respects: the speech for scrolling can be changed (any text file can be used, 15,000 words or less), and any sequence of graphic elements (limited only by computer memory) can be inserted.
5. The program is opened using the icon (or file) labelled SPeechPrompter™ 2.3, not the icon or file labelled PLAYER. The same folder must contain the SPeechPrompter 2.3 file, the PLAYER file, and the folders labelled OBJECTS and LIBRARY. To open SPeechPrompter 2.3 you may double-click on it, or select it with a single-click and choose OPEN under the FILE menu. Or you may make an alias for it, to be placed under the Apple menu. The program will also open if you drag its icon over the PLAYER icon.
6. Please be careful! Don’t erase or discard any file or folder, EXCEPT the SPEECHES and CAROUSEL folders, if you wish to use Speech-Prompter 2.3. The SpeechPrompter™2.3 ƒ folder and the OBJECTS and LIBRARY folders all contain invisible files, which are nonetheless necessary for the functioning of this program. So if you discard an apparently empty folder, the program may not open. Also, all of the files must remain within the SPeechPrompter™2.3 ƒ folder for the program to function.
7. There are 3 visible screens: the Opening screen, the Scrolling screen, and the Outline screen. The last two have considerable programming, so may take a few seconds to open. Please be patient.
8. For some of the buttons on the Scrolling screen that are used during scrolling, the keyboard equivalents require only a simple tap of the appropriate key. This is true for the Begin/End, Faster, Slower, and the Panel+ buttons, and for the F10 key. One tap on the keyboard will do, although there may be a delay of a second or so before the desired effect takes place if scrolling is occurring. Other buttons, such as those for Pause and Reverse, may require a more steady and prolonged press of the keyboard equivalent during scrolling. A minute or two of experimentation will be required for you to know how to use these buttons—and their keyboard equivalents—effectively.
9. The mechanism for audience display has been improved, over the description in the User Manual. In either the Scrolling or Outline mode, to adjust the size of the card to display graphics to an audience, after the monitor extension cable and external monitor or LCD panel are attached, the EXPANDER button must be used. This button becomes visible after graphics have been chosen. When it is clicked the small Growbox on the lower right of the Scrolling and Outline screens becomes visible and functional. This Growbox must be pulled down so the image of the graphic appears on the second monitor (or on the LCD panel). When the image is visible there, it is ready for projection to the audience. Further slides or graphics, selected manually or via the automatic graphic display procedure, will then also be ready for such projection. Note that when using the EXPANDER button to resize the screen, it may be necessary to move the visible window on the main monitor, in the standard Macintosh manner.
10. SPeechPrompter, at $89.95 (plus $4.50 for shipping and handling), is a production of TOASTMASTERS INTERNATIONAL and The Orator Company, Inc., and is distributed by:
The Orator Company
55 Pepper Tree Road
Chula Vista, California 91910
Orders: (800) 565-7504
Tel. & Fax: (619) 420-9150
E-Mail: <orator@the-orator.com>
Web site: <www.the-orator.com>
Please do not hesitate to send us your comments--E-mail is the best way to communicate with us. Orders should go to the 800 number above.
