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PROVOX Your Sound Alternative For IBM Compatible Personal Computers Version 3.13 Copyright (C) 1986-1991 by KANSYS, Inc. 1016 Ohio Lawrence, KS 66044 Telephone: 913-843-0351 or 800-279-4880 TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 4 DEMONSTRATION VERSION 4 SUPPORTED SYNTHESIZERS 4 MODES OF OPERATION 5 THE PREFIX KEY 6 UPDATE POLICY 7 CHAPTER 2 GETTING STARTED 7 INTERNAL BOARDS 8 EXTERNAL SPEECH SYNTHESIZERS 9 ADDITIONAL COMMAND LINE ARGUMENTS 11 COMMAND LINE SWITCHES 11 CHAPTER 3 BASIC OPERATION 12 REVIEW MODE 12 ARROW KEYS 12 SPECIAL WORD PROCESSING FEATURES 13 SILENCE COMMANDS 13 READING COMMANDS 13 OTHER READING COMMANDS 14 PHONETIC PRONUNCIATION 15 LONG STRINGS 15 CHAPTER 4 REVIEW MODE 15 BASIC REVIEW COMMANDS 16 SPECIAL REVIEW MODE COMMANDS 16 SEARCHING 16 ATTRIBUTE SEARCHES 17 CURSOR ROUTING 17 CHAPTER 5 SPEECH CHARACTERISTICS 17 HELP AND STATUS MESSAGES 18 SPEED AND VOLUME 18 INPUT/OUTPUT CHARACTERISTICS 18 CHAPTER 6 SUBSCREENS AND CONFIGURATION FILES 20 BASIC FACTS ABOUT SUBSCREENS 20 DEFINING SUBSCREENS 21 NAMING SCREEN BANKS 23 SAVING SCREEN BANKS 23 CONFIG FILES 24 LOADING A CONFIG FILE 24 CHAPTER 7 SPEECH SYNTHESIZERS 25 USING MULTIPLE SYNTHESIZERS 25 CONTROLLING PARAMETERS 25 INTERNAL SYNTHESIZERS 25 EXTERNAL SYNTHESIZERS 26 EDITING CONFIGURATION FILES 26 CHAPTER 8 ADVANCED FEATURES 27 QUALIFIERS 27 AUTO SILENCE 28 AUTO ALERT 28 AUTO IGNORE 28 SMART SCREEN 29 BUFFER OVERWRITE 29 LINE BEEPS 30 ADVANCED SUBSCREEN DEFINITION 30 RE-DISPLAY SIGN-ON MESSAGE 31 KEY VALUE REPORT 31 ALTERNATE CURSORS 32 AUXILIARY PROGRAMS 32 APPENDIX A PRE-DEFINED SUBSCREENS 33 Screen Bank #0: WordPerfect 4.2 33 Screen Bank #1: WordStar 4 33 Screen Bank #2: Sprint 1.0 34 Screen Bank 3: VP Planner 34 Screen Bank 4: Lotus 1-2-3 35 Screen Bank 5: TURBO PROLOG 35 Screen Bank 6: IBM X-EDIT 36 Screen Bank 7: SMART 1 36 Screen Bank #8: WordPerfect 5.0 38 APPENDIX B COMMAND REFERENCE LIST 39 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION PROVOX is a memory resident screen review program for IBM and compatible personal computers. It directs output from the computer and its application programs to an internal speech synthesizer board or to an external synthesizer. The external synthesizer may be attached to any convenient parallel or serial port. PROVOX requires MS/PC-DOS Version 3.0 or higher to operate. If your operating system version is incompatible, PROVOX will notify you of this fact. This manual describes the commands and other features of PROVOX Version 3.13 in a narrative style and is organized in such a way that you should be able to move from chapter to chapter as your computer experience, expertise and needs increase. There is also a Reference List of commands provided at the back. A companion tutorial program called "HOT," for Hands On Trainer, is included on your PROVOX disk. This disk-based tutorial will allow you to become familiar with your computer keyboard. It will also teach and quiz you on the operation of PROVOX, allowing you to gauge your progress as you go. "HOT" also suspends the clock in the demonstration version of PROVOX, so that you can use it for as long as necessary. The clock resumes running when you exit the "HOT" program. To use the program, get PROVOX up and running and execute the TUTOR program by typing its name. The program must either be located on a floppy disk in your default disk drive or in a sub-directory which is on your path. (see the file called READ.ME or Chapter 2 for exact details on how to get PROVOX up and running.) DEMONSTRATION VERSION A free demonstration version of PROVOX is also available. It includes all the features and capabilities of the permanent version; however, it runs properly for only 60 minutes at a time. When 60 minutes have elapsed, PROVOX commands are no longer recognized. Both screen echo and keyboard echo continue to operate, but review mode and other program features can no longer be controlled. PROVOX remains resident and cannot be run again until you reboot the system. You may run PROVOX as many times as you wish, obtaining a new 60 minute demonstration period each time, but you will have to reboot your system between each run. If you find this limitation to be annoying, you probably find the PROVOX program to be of value in your work, and you ought to purchase the permanent version. The permanent package costs $295.00. SUPPORTED SYNTHESIZERS PROVOX Version 3.13 supports the following internal speech synthesizer boards: R.C. Systems Double Talk PC boards, Artic Technologies SynPhonix 200/210 and 215 using the SONIX-2 program, Votrax IB or any "PORTTALK" compatible speech synthesizer and the line of internal Echo boards for IBM and compatible computers from Street Electronics. The program also supports the following external speech synthesizers: Audapter from Personal Data Systems, Street Electronics Echo GP/PC, the SpeakEasy System, Votrax Personal Speech System, the Accent line -- (both external and internal) from Aicom and the Braille n Speak from Blazie Engineering. Future versions of the program will support additional synthesizers such as the DEC-Talk from Digital Equipment Corporation. While PROVOX will only address one synthesizer at a time, it is possible to switch between two or more synthesizers while other programs are running. In fact, PROVOX will allow switching between a dozen or more synthesizers, both internal and external, provided your computer and budget could support that many. MODES OF OPERATION PROVOX has two modes of operation, a "Direct Mode" and a "Review Mode." In its Direct Mode, the PROVOX program provides you with an echo of keyboard entries, if desired, and with an echo of information sent to the screen by the computer and by most of its application programs. In Direct Mode, PROVOX commands permit you to control many special program features, to quickly review any of a number of pre-defined rectangular subscreens, and to save and restore subscreen definitions and program configurations on disk. The size and position of subscreens can be set by you and saved in sets of ten in "screen banks" for later recall. "Config Files" hold ten such screen banks as well as other program information and may be saved on disk and loaded again at a later time. In this way, you can customize PROVOX to work conveniently with your favorite programs, such as WordStar, WordPerfect, Lotus 1-2-3, or Sidekick. In "Review Mode" normal keyboard input is suspended to permit a detailed examination of the screen. Most of the PROVOX commands available in Direct Mode are also available in Review Mode, where they do not require the use of the Prefix key. Arrow keys move a cursor around the screen in Review Mode without affecting the location of the true system cursor. You may search backward or forward for the occurrence of a string of one to nine characters. There is a Direct Mode command to enter Review Mode, and a Review Mode command to return to Direct Mode. In addition, in most applications, you can "route" the system cursor to the position of the "Review Mode" cursor. This allows for the easy correction of errors detected while in Review Mode. PROVOX is designed to allow the blind computer user to use most software applications on an interactive basis. PROVOX will, in most instances, follow the basic system cursor. This will provide enough feedback for you to use a given application. However, there are specific instances where other methods of determining what is on the computer's screen will be necessary, such as the use of subscreens or an alternate cursor. Software applications employ one of two methods for getting information to your computer's monitor. They can use the basic facilities of the operating System to display information to the monitor. This is called the BIOS, or "basic Input/Output System." Any application that uses the BIOS will provide complete and reliable speech output. Further, any such program will be completely usable in PROVOX's Direct Mode of operation. However, because programs which use the BIOS are somewhat slow in their updating of the screen, many software programs write directly to screen memory, bypassing the BIOS. Consequently, these programs will not provide speech output directly as they update the screen. However, it is still possible to use such software with PROVOX; in fact, you may come to prefer these programs as many applications which use the BIOS provide more speech output than is necessary for their operation. Through the use of character, word, line, screen and subscreen commands provided by PROVOX, it will be easy to use programs which write directly to the computer's screen memory. THE PREFIX KEY PROVOX permits you to use the keyboard just as you would without PROVOX, with one exception. All PROVOX commands begin with a single press of the slash key, which is therefore called the "Prefix key" in this document. To enter an ordinary slash to the computer, simply press the key a second time. Thus PROVOX does not conflict with key assignments made by other software. After pressing the "Prefix" or "/" key, the PC's speaker will make a soft booping sound until another key is pressed. This is to alert you to the fact that PROVOX is waiting for a command. If a valid PROVOX command is pressed after the Prefix key is pressed, the command will be executed. If the slash "/" key is pressed a second time, the slash "/" character will be entered into your text. If any other key is pressed, PROVOX will notify you to the fact that it is an invalid PROVOX command by saying, "error--enter again." The character is not passed to the application being run and no harm is done. After the Prefix key is pressed in Direct Mode, all PROVOX commands use function or shift-function key combinations. For example, if a PROVOX command is listed as (Prefix Shift-F9) press and release the Prefix key, then hold down the shift key and press function-9 and release the shift and f9 keys at the same time. Finally, in a few instances, after pressing the proper Prefix Function or Prefix Shift-Function combination for the desired PROVOX command, you may be required to make an additional choice; however, you will always be alerted to the possible choices. Throughout this manual, you will see program names typed in capital letters and surrounded by quotation marks " ". This is done to set them apart from the surrounding text and the quotation marks are not to be typed. In addition, it is also not necessary to type the program names using upper case letters. UPDATE POLICY All purchasers of PROVOX will receive free updates of the program automatically for a period of one year. After that time, there will be a nominal charge for updates. Further, there may also be additional charges for braille manuals. The next chapter will provide you with the information necessary to get PROVOX up and running. CHAPTER 2 GETTING STARTED As mentioned earlier, PROVOX is a memory resident program. This means that it is run once and stays resident in your computer's memory until the power is turned off. It should be run after the Operating system is loaded but before other applications. Many computer users run a variety of memory resident programs, such as "Sidekick" from Borland International. In general, PROVOX is not particular about where it is run; however, depending on the programs involved, specific conflicts can occur. In this case, it will be necessary to experiment to determine the best mix of memory resident programs. At the time that PROVOX is run, you can execute it using any of the supported speech synthesizers. The desired synthesizer is specified at the time PROVOX is run. You do so by following PROVOX with a space and the name of the desired synthesizer. The supported synthesizers and their command line names are as follows: SYN200 SynPhonix 200/210/215 or Votalker IB PORTTALK any PORTTALK compatible speech synthesizer *HV2000 Heath HV2000 *TNT Votrax Type n Talk AUDAPTER Audapter from Personal Data Systems PSS Votrax Personal Speech System ECHO Echo PC/GP PCECHO Echo PC-1000, MC-1000 or PC plus ACCENT Accent line from Aicom BNS Braille n Speak AMIGA Amiga SpeakEasy VANILLA plain vanilla or generic output suitable for external devices such as VersaBrailles *DECTALK DEC-Talk (Please note that not all the listed synthesizers are supported at this time. Those marked with an asterisk "*" will be supported in future versions of PROVOX.) See Chapter 7 for the details on how to switch between synthesizers. Once your computer is booted, (i.e., the operating system is loaded), you need to execute the desired commands to load PROVOX. This can be done in one of two ways, by typing in the proper commands from the computer keyboard or via a batch file. A batch file is a list of commands, stored on disk, which your computer retrieves and executes one at a time as needed. This saves you from having to type in the commands each time they are needed. If it is found in the "root directory," one such batch file, called "autoexec.bat," is automatically run by your computer when it is turned on each time. If all of this is Greek to you, you might want to consider obtaining some tutorial help. A number of good tutorials are available on cassette tape, which are usable by blind persons. Two companies that have such tutorials are: Talking Computers, Inc., of Arlington, Virginia, 1-800-458-6338, and Flip-Track Learning Systems of Glen Elyn, Illinois, 1-800-222-3547. INTERNAL BOARDS PROVOX supports five internal synthesizer boards: the Artic Technologies SynPhonix 200/210/215, Votrax IB, any board which relies on the PORTTALK program from Artic Technologies, such as the Sounding Board from Computer Aids Corporation, the Echo PC- 1000, MC-1000 and PC Plus from Street Electronics and the Accent line from Aicom, Corp. The Heath HV2000 is not supported with this version of PROVOX. The Artic and Votrax boards require two additional programs which came with them on disk. These programs are "SONIX.COM" and "TTS.COM." Further, if you are using a SynPhonix 215 board, the SONIX-2 program from Artic Technologies is required. It is available for $50.00 and allows you to use the 215 board with anyone's speech program. To use PROVOX with the Artic board, you should run: "SONIX" "TTS" "PROVOX" in that order. In the case of SONIX-2, these programs will be combined into one called "SONIXTTS.COM". To use the Votrax board, which is functionally equivalent to the Artic board, with PROVOX, execute exactly the same commands. It is not necessary to specify the SynPhonix or Votalker boards with the SYN200 designator when loading PROVOX as the program treats these boards as a default. It will check for the presence of SONIX, TTS and the board and will bring it up automatically if these things are present. To use PROVOX with any PORTTALK compatible device, you should run the PORTTALK program prior to executing PROVOX. When PROVOX is run, specify "PROVOX PORTTALK" on the command line. To use PROVOX with the line of Echo boards from Street Electronics, you must first run the "TALK" program, prior to executing PROVOX. Unless you tell it otherwise, the "TALK" program defaults to LPT3. To use PROVOX with these boards after running "TALK" type: "PROVOX PCECHO LPT3." To use PROVOX with one of the Accent boards, you must first run the appropriate support software from Aicom. The name of this software varies, depending on the Accent board you have. In some cases, this software has been incorporated onto the board itself. Also, by default, Accent boards define themselves as LPT3. Consequently, you must also indicate this on the PROVOX command line. If you do not, PROVOX will think that you have an external Accent unit and define to COM1, 9600 baud, no parity, eight data bits and one stop bit. Consequently, if you do not have a device attached to COM1, your computer will lock up. So, after running the appropriate support software, if any, just type "PROVOX ACCENT LPT3." EXTERNAL SPEECH SYNTHESIZERS In addition to internal speech boards, PROVOX supports a number of external synthesizers, including the SpeakEasy System, Echo GP/PC, the Braille n Speak and the Votrax Personal Speech System and Type n' Talk. If you do not have an internal board, PROVOX will assume a plain vanilla external device on COM1 at 9600 baud unless you tell it differently with a different synthesizer designator on the PROVOX command line. PROVOX normally sets the baud rate and other parameters for the supported serial synthesizers; however, they can be changed by you. To use PROVOX with the SpeakEasy System, run PROVOX with an AMIGA identifier on the command line. When you order the SpeakEasy from KANSYS, Inc., you will have specified a serial or parallel version. We recommend the serial version as it seems to work better. Consequently, the configuration file is set up for the following defaults: serial port COM1, 4800 baud, no parity, 8 data bits, and 1 stop bit. These defaults can either be changed via PROVOX itself or by editing the "AMIGA.PV3" file. For information on adjusting parameters for all external synthesizers, see Chapter 6. The SpeakEasy takes somewhat longer to boot then many PC's. Consequently, if you specify the SpeakEasy as your default, your PC could be sending data to the SpeakEasy before it is ready to accept it. This could cause the PC to hang up, since its serial port wouldn't be initialized. For this reason, you may wish to insert a "pause" command in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file just before PROVOX is run for the Amiga, thus ensuring that the SpeakEasy is ready. To use PROVOX with the Echo GP/PC synthesizer, run "PROVOX" with an ECHO designator on the command line. The default settings for this synthesizer are: serial port COM1, 9600 baud, no parity, 8 data bits and 1 stop bit. As with all the external synthesizers, these defaults can be changed via PROVOX or by editing the appropriate ".PV3" file. You will also have to change some dip switch settings on the Echo unit itself to change these parameters. PROVOX Version 3.11 also supports the Audapter from Personal Data Systems. As with the Echo GP/PC, the default settings are COM1, 9600, N, 8, 1. The PROVOX command should be followed by the "AUDAPTER" designator and the COM port and baud rate settings, if they are different from the defaults. PROVOX also supports the Accent external synthesizer from Aicom. Its defaults are also COM1, 9600, N,8,1 and can be changed in the same way you would use for other supported external synthesizers. It is possible to use the Braille n Speak from Blazie Engineering as an external speech synthesizer. To do so you first must cable it properly to your computer and, next, put it into "Voice Box" mode. Finally, run "PROVOX" with "BNS" on the command line. Its default settings are the same as those listed for the Echo GP/PC. Finally, PROVOX will work with the Personal Speech System from Votrax. TO use PROVOX with the Votrax PSS, enter the command "PROVOX PSS." The PSS uses the same default settings as the Echo GP/PC and the Braille n Speak. If different parameters are used with the Personal Speech System, dip switch settings on the unit will have to be adjusted accordingly. The DEC-Talk from Digital Equipment Corporation and the Type n' Talk from Votrax are not supported at this time, but they will be in the near future. ADDITIONAL COMMAND LINE ARGUMENTS In addition to specifying the individual synthesizer to be addressed, you can also designate an output port and baud rate in the case of a serial port. You do so by following the synthesizer designator with a space and then either LPT or COM for a parallel or serial port respectively. This port assignment must be followed immediately by a number to specify which port should be used. (For example, "LPT1" for parallel port LPT1 or "COM2" for serial port 2.) Further, you can specify the baud rate in the case of a serial port. To do so, follow the port number with a colon (:) and the first two digits of the desired baud rate. The possible two-digit numbers and their associated baud rates include: 96 for 9600 baud, 48 for 4800 baud, 24 for 2400 baud, 12 for 1200 baud, 60 for 600 baud, 30 for 300 baud, 15 for 150 baud and 75 for 75 baud. You can not specify a parallel port and a serial port at the same time, and a device must be chosen by its proper designator name before an output port can be specified. COMMAND LINE SWITCHES Three command line switches can be used when running PROVOX. The first, slash Q (/Q), will suppress the sign on tune and message when executing PROVOX. Further, the program will remain silent until the "SPEAK" program is run. This switch is ideal for bringing up PROVOX in a batch file on a computer that is not used all the time by a blind person. When you need access to the computer, just run "SPEAK." The second switch is slash followed by a number, 0 through 9, where the number is that of a CONFIG#.PV3 file. This will load that CONFIG file automatically. PROVOX will automatically load CONFIG0.PV3 if it is found in the same sub-directory as the program. PROVOX can be followed immediately by the slash switch and its argument, or a space can be placed before the slash. The slash and its argument must be together though. The final command line switch is slash accent, (/`). This switch will change the Prefix Key from the Slash key to the Accent key. These three switches can be used in any order.. CHAPTER 3 BASIC OPERATION While operating PROVOX, most of your time will be spent in Direct Mode. In this mode, you can directly interact with your computer and its applications, in real time. In fact, because of the use of the Prefix key with its inherent lack of key conflicts, and because of the variety of built-in Direct Mode commands, you may rarely need to use Review Mode; however, it is there, should you need it. Most of the following PROVOX commands are available both in Direct Mode and in Review Mode, although in Review Mode it is not necessary to press the Prefix key. This key is ignored in Review Mode. Any commands which are not available in both modes of operation will be specifically identified as such. REVIEW MODE To enter Review Mode, press the Prefix followed by a press of the "return" or "enter" key. To exit Review Mode, press "return" or "enter" by itself. While in Review Mode, PROVOX will beep every time you press the Prefix key. This is to remind you that you are in Review Mode and because the Prefix key is not necessary in this mode. For a more detailed discussion of Review Mode and its features, see Chapter 4. ARROW KEYS Some of the most frequently used keys, particularly in word processing, are the arrow keys. All PC keyboards have arrow keys, either as a part of the numbers keypad or as a separate cursor cross or cursor T, or both. The function of the keypad arrows depends on the status of the num lock key. In most, if not all applications, PROVOX is able to follow the arrows. Thus, if the right arrow is pressed, the cursor will move one position to the right and the new character on which it lands will be voiced. The same is true for the left arrow, except that the cursor moves left. The up and down arrows move the cursor up and down a line respectively. The new line is read and The column position of the cursor is not changed. All arrow commands work the same in Review Mode except that if a border is reached (that is column 1 or 80, or line 1 or 25) and the key is pressed again, nothing will happen. It should be noted that the arrow keys will not function in some applications, such as when you are working at the DOS command line. This is a function of the application, not of PROVOX. SPECIAL WORD PROCESSING FEATURES Many popular word processors use the left and right arrow keys to move the system cursor by one screen column, use the Control-left arrow and Control-right arrow keys to move to the beginning of the next word on the left or on the right, and use the up and down arrow keys to move the system cursor to a new screen line. WordPerfect and WordStar Professional Release 4.0 are examples of such word processors. PROVOX reads the character on which the cursor lands when the left arrow and right arrow keys are pressed in Direct Mode; it reads the whole string on which the cursor lands when the control left arrow and control right arrow keys are pressed in Direct Mode; and it reads the entire line on which the cursor lands when the up arrow or down arrow keys are pressed in Direct Mode. These features constitute an automatic review which often makes it unnecessary to enter Review Mode or to invoke a subscreen. SILENCE COMMANDS It has been said that silence is golden, and this is also true for speech synthesizers. Consequently, the ability to quickly and efficiently shut up a speech synthesizer is of tantamount importance. PROVOX only supports speech synthesizers which provide full speech interruption. For this reason, the following commands can be used at any time. There are two ways of doing this with PROVOX. The first and most commonly used method is the Prefix Period (/.) sequence. The second method is to press and release the Alt key by itself. Speech is cut as the key is released. Depending on the computer and synthesizer, this method may be slightly slower then the first. READING COMMANDS When invoked in Direct Mode, a number of PROVOX commands will read portions of the screen, providing you with needed orientation and information. These commands will read you specific characters, lines or portions of lines or screens or portions of screens. In all PROVOX commands, the program first searches for the true system cursor. If it is not found, or if it is off the screen, PROVOX will report that there is no cursor on the screen. In Review Mode, the review cursor is controlled by cursor commands. When line numbers are referred to by the program, the topmost line on the screen is line 1 and the bottom line is number 25. Further, the left most column position is column 1 and the last position to the right is column 80. The command Prefix Question Mark (/?) will report the line number and read the entire line on which the cursor is located. If the line is blank, only the line number will be reported. Prefix Comma (/,) will output the line number and column position of the cursor. To read the line on which the cursor is located, from column 1 through the cursor, use the command Prefix Less- Than (/<). This command is useful for obtaining the current prompt. The command Prefix Greater-Than (/>) will read you the current cursor line from the cursor through column 80. To determine the character on which the cursor is located, press Prefix Semicolon (/;). This command will report all 255 ASCII characters. Those with ASCII values less than 32 will be identified with the word "caret" followed by the proper character. Those with ASCII values between 128 and 255 will be identified as "ASCII Graphics xxx" with xxx being the actual ASCII value. Prefix Colon (/:) will read from the present cursor location to the first blank space to the right. In addition to a true space, any ASCII character less than 32 or more than 127 will also be treated as a blank space. In other words, this command will read you the word the cursor is on. Finally, there are three commands which involve the reading of the entire screen or portions thereof. Prefix Equal (/=) reads the entire screen, top to bottom. The command Prefix Dash (/-) reads the screen from the top left corner through the cursor position and Prefix Plus (/+) reads the screen from the cursor through the bottom right corner. Finally, the command Prefix Star (/*) will make PROVOX say the line number and column number where the cursor is presently located, reads the character at that location, and gives the foreground and background attributes of that character in plain English. With this command you can find out the color of the displayed character and the color of the background on which it is displayed, as well as blinking and brightness of the cursor location. OTHER READING COMMANDS In PROVOX, it is also possible to automatically review the area surrounding the cursor, without entering Review Mode. To read the character immediately to the left of the cursor, press Prefix left arrow (/ left arrow), and to read the character immediately to the right of the cursor, use the command Prefix right arrow (/ right arrow). You can also read the line immediately above or below the cursor by using the commands Prefix up arrow (/ up arrow) or Prefix down arrow (/ down arrow) respectively. The special word processing commands discussed earlier, Control-left arrow and Control-right arrow, preceded by the Prefix key, will read the word immediately to the left or right of the cursor. Finally, the five key on the number pad on most enhanced AT-style keyboards will read you the character on which the cursor is located. This command will work in Direct Mode if preceded by the Prefix key and will work by itself in Review Mode. It is an equivalent command for the Prefix semicolon (/ ;) command discussed earlier. PHONETIC PRONUNCIATION With some, if not all speech synthesizers, there will come a time when you just don't understand what it is saying. You will go back over the word in Review Mode, letter by letter, and it still may be difficult to understand individual letters. For example, on some synthesizers, the letters b, d and e may all sound similar, particularly if you have your speech rate set fast. PROVOX has a command to overcome this problem, Phonetic Pronunciation. You can get a phonetic word representing the letter on which the cursor is located, either in Direct or Review Mode. To do so, issue the character read command Prefix semicolon (/ ;) or semicolon (;) by itself and, if you are in Review Mode, twice. The program will give you the phonetic pronunciation on the second press of this command. LONG STRINGS When more than three consecutive identical characters are detected by PROVOX, those after the third are not spoken. Instead, the entire string is counted, and when the string is complete, its count is given between angle brackets (pronounced "Less Than" and "Greater Than"). When Punctuation Level Three is selected, this feature permits the convenient counting of spaces. This feature is always in effect, but applies only to screen echo and subscreen output, and does not apply to keyboard echo. CHAPTER 4 REVIEW MODE While it is possible to interact with most applications in real time, you may occasionally need to enter "Review Mode" to conduct a detailed examination of the screen or to set subscreens. In Review Mode, you can move the Review Mode cursor about the screen freely without changing anything. To enter Review Mode, use the Prefix Enter (/ Enter) or Return (/ return) command. PROVOX enters Review Mode and remains there until a Review Mode command is given to return to Direct Mode. To exit Review Mode, simply press the "Return" or "Enter" key by itself. You must be in Direct Mode to enter Review Mode as these are the only two available modes with PROVOX. You may not have to use Review Mode very often, but it is available if needed and has many powerful features of its own. BASIC REVIEW COMMANDS All of the basic character, word, line and screen reading commands, discussed in Chapter 3 are available for your use in Review Mode. However, there is one major difference. While in Review Mode, you do not need to press the Prefix or Slash (/) key to use the commands. The Prefix key is totally ignored in Review Mode. SPECIAL REVIEW MODE COMMANDS The following commands are available only in Review Mode and have no counterparts in Direct Mode. You can go directly to any line in Review Mode simply by typing its two digit number, 01 for line 1, 25 for line 25, etc. The line number will be spoken and the contents of that line will be read to you. The Review Mode cursor is placed in column 1 of that line. While in Review Mode, the Tab key will move the cursor 8 spaces to the right and read you the character on which it lands and the Shift-Tab combination will move the Review Mode cursor 8 spaces to the left. It is not possible to move beyond either end of the current line with these commands. This is also true when using the right, left, up and down arrow keys in Review Mode. SEARCHING While in Review Mode, you can search for a string of up to nine characters in length. To define the search string, press the Insert key. PROVOX will respond, "enter scan target." Enter your search string at this point. Termination of this string can be done in one of three ways: by pressing the Insert key again, by pressing the carriage return key or the string will be terminated automatically after the ninth character is entered. The backspace key can be used for correcting mistakes and the slash key will work normally. This is the only place in Review Mode where the slash key will be recognized. Once the search string has been entered and terminated properly, PROVOX will respond, "scan target ready." The Pagedown key will initiate a search from the Review Mode cursor position going from left to right and from top to bottom. If the string is found, PROVOX will tell you the line number, read you the string and move the Review cursor to that position. Repeated presses of the Pagedown key will repeat the search for the same string, in the same direction. The Pageup key initiates a search from right to left and from bottom to top, starting at the Review Mode cursor location. ATTRIBUTE SEARCHES It is also possible to search for changes in screen attributes while in Review Mode. This feature can be useful as some applications highlight changes or choices by changing their video attribute characteristics. To search for attribute changes, enter Review Mode and press Control-Pagedown or the Control-Pageup key combinations. The Control-Pagedown combination will search from the Review Mode cursor down the screen and the Control-Pageup combination will search from the Review Mode cursor up the screen. The video attribute at the Review Mode cursor location is assumed to be the norm, and the cursor will be moved to the first position where the attributes change. The line number, attribute and first character of the change will be reported. The search can be repeated again to identify more attribute changes. Once no other changes can be found on the present screen, PROVOX responds "not found." CURSOR ROUTING While in Review Mode, you may find a mistake you wish to correct. In some applications this process can be made easier by "routing" the system cursor to the location of the mistake as you leave Review Mode. To route the system cursor to the point from which you exited Review Mode, use the command Control Return to exit. In some applications this will automatically bring the system cursor to the location of the Review Mode cursor. Please note that this feature will not work with all applications. This is purely a function of the program itself, not PROVOX. Further, it is not possible to use this feature at the DOS prompt or to bring the cursor to a location where an application would not normally put it, such as a status line. CHAPTER 5 SPEECH CHARACTERISTICS With PROVOX, it is possible to control many of the characteristics of keyboard input and speech output. This control can be done right from your keyboard. HELP AND STATUS MESSAGES All of PROVOX's input and output characteristics can be controlled with Prefix Function or Prefix Shift-Function key commands. To get a listing of the Prefix Function key commands as well as their current status, press Prefix Function-1 (/F1). To obtain a list of the Prefix Shift-Function key commands, press Prefix Shift-Function-1 (/ Shift-F1). One difficulty for some blind computer users is determining the status of the caps lock, num lock and scroll lock keys. PROVOX will report their status to you with the command Prefix Function-2 (/ F2). In addition, it also reports the video mode status with this command. SPEED AND VOLUME It is possible to change the speed and volume of most synthesizers right from your computer's keyboard. The speed command is Prefix Function-9 (/ F9), and the volume command is Prefix Function-10 (/ F10). Both of these commands, like many PROVOX commands you will learn, are four-position toggles with settings ranging from 0 through 3. The 0 setting is the slowest or quietest and the 3 setting is the fastest or loudest. Once the setting has reached three, it will go back to 0 if changed again. The default setting for each toggle is 1. INPUT/OUTPUT CHARACTERISTICS In addition to the speed and volume, you will also want to control the input/output characteristics of PROVOX, that is to control which characters are spoken and which are not. Let's start with the input side of the keyboard. The command Prefix Function-7 (/ F7) controls keyboard echo. Setting 0 of this four-position toggle silences the keyboard totally; however, the Auto Silence feature is in effect. This will interrupt ongoing speech with any keystroke. Setting 1 suppresses all keyboard echo except that produced by the cursor keys. Setting 2 echoes most keyboard input but interrupts ongoing speech with each keystroke, and setting 3 echoes all keystrokes without Auto Silence. The default is 3. Fast typists and experienced computer users will probably prefer setting 0 or 2 as they significantly improve the responsiveness of your keyboard. Once you are familiar with your software, it also allows you to interrupt ongoing speech at any time by issuing the next command. If the Shift, Alt or Control keys are pressed and released by themselves, the name of the key will be voiced. If they are used in conjunction with other keys, the Shift or Control will not be voiced. This feature has been requested by new users and training centers. There are a number of commands to control speech on the output side. First, Prefix Function-3 (/ F3) controls whether or not words will be spoken as whole words or spelled letter by letter. On setting 0 words are said as whole words and on setting 1 they are spelled out letter by letter. In addition, the different toggle settings affect how numbers are handled; with some synthesizers, however, this feature is not implemented as their firmware/hardware does not support it. In those synthesizers that do support it, setting 0 pronounces digits as whole numbers; for example, the number 1000 would be voiced as one thousand. Setting One spells everything out, words letter by letter and numbers digit by digit. Setting Two says words as whole words and says arithmetic numbers as digits and says spelled-out numbers as whole words. Finally, setting Three says arithmetic numbers as digits and spells out written numbers. Feel free to experiment until you get the setting you like. You can't hurt anything. Remember the default setting is 0. The command Prefix Function-4 (/ F4) controls how capitalization is handled. Setting 0 ignores all capital letters, that is the capitals are not signified in any way. Setting 1 says "capital" before any upper case letter. Setting 2 raises the pitch of any capital letter slightly and setting 3 both says "capital" and raises the pitch. While most people leave this command set to 0, which is the default, most of the time because it slows down reading and/or pitch changes spill over into adjacent letters, it is impossible to accurately proofread documents without one of the other settings. With the command Prefix Function-5 (/ F5) PROVOX changes the level of punctuation for screen output. Punctuation level 0 includes only the letters and digits; punctuation level 1 also includes the six special characters plus (+), dash (-), slash (/), star (*), dollar ($), and percent (%); punctuation level 2 includes all the special characters except for space, return, and line-feed. Punctuation level 3 includes these last three special characters as well. The level of punctuation affects only data sent to the screen by the computer and its application programs or by PROVOX commands. It does not apply to keyboard input. The default is 2. Finally, there is a command, Prefix Function-8 (/ F8), which controls the feedback of information echoed from the screen. Echoing of keyboard input is not affected. This feedback comes in the form of a clicking or buzzing sound from your PC's speaker. This clicking will let you know when data is being sent to the screen. The value 0 suppresses all screen echo, that is no speech or clicking; the value 1 suppresses all spoken screen echoing except that which is provided by the clicking sound; the value 2 suppresses the clicking feedback but allows for spoken output; the value 3 echoes all screen output in speech and with clicking feedback. It is occasionally helpful to minimize unwanted speech from programs that are verbose, such as the DOS 3.2 FORMAT command, which reports all heads and cylinder numbers while preparing a disk surface by using the screen echo command. The default for this setting is 3. CHAPTER 6 SUBSCREENS AND CONFIGURATION FILES Much of the hidden power of PROVOX lies in the use of subscreens and configuration files, called Config Files for short. As you use different software packages with your computer, you will soon learn that a certain program always puts certain information at the same place on the screen each time it is used. Wouldn't it be nice if there were an easy way to read that one place where you know the needed information is located? There is such a way, through the use of a "subscreen." A subscreen is a user-defined rectangular shaped area of the screen which you can read with one simple command. Those of you who are familiar with other screen review packages will know that many people refer to what we call "subscreens" as "windows." They are the same thing. At this point, it is necessary to point out that there are two types of configuration files used in conjunction with PROVOX. The first type, which was just introduced in the preceding paragraph is used to hold subscreen information and is always called a "Config File." A Config File will always have the three-letter extension ".pv3" appended to it. The second type is used by a speech synthesizer to set its parameters and will also have the three-letter extension ".pv3" attached to it. Please see Chapter 2 and Chapter 7 for additional information on speech synthesizers. BASIC FACTS ABOUT SUBSCREENS PROVOX always has available in its memory 10 subscreens. So, at any given time, you can invoke one of ten previously defined subscreens with one simple command. Each subscreen will have been given a number at the time it was defined. This number must be between 0 and 9. The command to invoke a sub-screen is Prefix x (/ x) where x is the number that you assigned to the desired subscreen. Sets of ten sub-screens are held in a "Screen Bank." Each Screen Bank can also be given a plain English name by you, for easy identification. There can be up to ten Screen Banks in a Config File. A Config File is stored on disk for later retrieval and also contains information on many of the Function key and Shift-Function key settings of PROVOX. This allows you to customize PROVOX to your liking and easily establish your defaults each time the computer is turned on. Finally, the Config Files are assigned a number from 0 through 9 when they are saved. In addition to reading pre-defined areas of the screen, subscreens can also filter the information there for the presence or absence of different colors or video attributes. This means that you do not necessarily have to know exactly where something will appear as long as you know that it has a color or video attribute which is different from the surrounding text. Using a program called "FETCH," it is also possible to automatically load a specified Config File and Screen Bank when you boot your computer or run a given application. DEFINING SUBSCREENS There are two different ways of defining subscreens. The first method involves pre-marking the upper left and lower right corners of the subscreen with the Home and End keys. The Home key is used to mark the upper left corner of the subscreen and the End key is used to mark the lower right corner. This marking can be done in either Review or Direct Mode, although it is easier in Review Mode because you can move the cursor wherever you wish with ease. All other subscreen, screen bank and Config File operations must be performed while in Direct Mode. The command for defining a subscreen is Prefix Shift- Function-8 (/ Shift-F8.) Once this command is issued, you will be prompted, "select subscreen number 0-9." Choose a number between 0 and 9, the number with which you will invoke this subscreen. You will next be informed about the current coordinates of this subscreen. If it has not been previously defined, all the coordinates will be zeroes. If you have established marks with the Home and End keys, you will then be asked if you wish to use them. If marks have not been established with the Home and End keys, you will be asked if you wish to change the present coordinates. You will then have the opportunity to type in the coordinates of the subscreen, which is the second method for defining them. Next, you will be prompted for the coordinate of the top line. The program will give you the present coordinate and ask you to type in a new number, press star (*) to use the cursor location or press the space bar if the present coordinate is okay. When typing in the actual numbers, two digits must be used, (i.e.) line 1, the topmost line on the screen is 01, not just 1. You will then be asked to define/change the left edge coordinate in the same manner. After this is done you will be prompted about the bottom line and the right edge respectively, in the same way. Please note that the top line on the screen is 01 and the bottom line is 25, and the left hand edge is 01 and the right edge is 80. Once the physical boundaries of the subscreen have been established, the program will prompt you for filter specifications. As you may know, the information displayed on your computer's monitor may have a number of different characteristics, sometimes called video attributes. First, and most obviously, the background color will be different from the foreground color. This is so that the letters will be visible. Secondly, those letters can be of normal intensity, bright intensity or blinking. As a part of each subscreen definition, PROVOX has the ability to look for the presence or absence of any of these video attributes. Many software applications use these attributes to draw attention to important information or to highlight options or the cursor position. Thus, once you know this information, you can use a subscreen to locate the cursor or to identify the prompt or other necessary information. A standard subscreen is most useful when reading information which always appears in the same place on the screen. However, using PROVOX's filtering capacity, you can identify needed information wherever it appears, as long as you know how it changes the video attributes. As you will recall, attribute information can be obtained by using the Prefix Star (/ *) command or the Find Attribute Change facilities of Review Mode. Now, returning to the subscreen definition process, you will be told about any filter presently in the definition or informed if there is none. Next, you will be asked if you want to change the filter. If you answer yes, you will first be asked about background color. The prompt will say, "select 0 dash 7 or space for any color." To choose a specific color, you must do so by typing a number 0 through 7, which represents its number. A list of the numbers and their associated colors is as follows: 0 black 1 blue 2 green 3 cyan 4 red 5 magenta 6 yellow 7 white Choose a number or hit space for any color. You will then repeat the same process for foreground color. Next, you are prompted for blinking video. The prompt will say "select blinking y/n or space for either." After a choice is made here, the process will be repeated for brightness. Once the physical location and filters have been defined, PROVOX will present you with each for verification and ask you if the definition is okay. If each is okay, answer y and if not, answer n. If you answer n for no, you will have the opportunity to change the definition in the same way that you originally established it. Once the definition is established to your satisfaction, and you have answered n to both prompts which ask you if you wish to change the subscreen definition, the program will respond "OK." This is your signal that the subscreen definition was successful. NAMING SCREEN BANKS As mentioned earlier, up to ten subscreen definitions can be put into one screen bank. ONce all the desired subscreens have been established, they can be given a plain English name with the Prefix Shift Function-7 (/ Shift-F7) command. To hear a list of the names already being used, enter a question mark (?). You will then be asked to enter the number of the screen bank whose name you wish to know. Additional requests can then be made. Once you are finished requesting screen bank names, press the escape key to exit this command. New screen bank names can be up to 13 characters in length. Embedded spaces are permitted as are all alpha characters. Of course, you can not start the name with a question mark. SAVING SCREEN BANKS Once a screen bank has been named, it is time to save it. This is done with the Prefix Shift-Function-6 command, (/ Shift- F6.) The prompt will ask for a number between 0 and 9. After a number is chosen, you will be asked if you wish to autoload the screen bank. As you know, a Config File contains ten screen banks. The Config Files are stored on disk (see below). It is possible to automatically load a particular screen bank when a Config File is retrieved from disk. To do so, answer Y to the Autoload prompt. Remember that only one screen bank can be autoloaded from a given Config File. CONFIG FILES It is important to remember that all of the defining and naming, which has been discussed to this point has taken place solely in your computer's memory. Once the power is turned off, all your work establishing subscreens and screen banks will go down the drain. Don't worry though -- there is a solution. Your work can be stored in a configuration or Config File, for later retrieval. Each Config File contains the subscreen definitions for up to ten screen banks, or 100 subscreens in all. In addition, the Config Files also contain all settings which can be set with the Prefix Function key commands. Thus, it is possible to customize PROVOX for your use and to automatically re- establish these settings each time your computer is turned on. To save a Config File, use the command Prefix Shift-F4, (/ Shift-F4.) You will be prompted for the "config Number to Save." Choose a number from 0 through 9. The Config File will be saved in the drive and directory into which you are logged. The Config File will be saved in the form config<N>.pv3 where <N> is the number you choose. You only need to choose a number; PROVOX will do the rest. LOADING A CONFIG FILE There are two ways to load a Config File from disk. The first is with the command Prefix Shift Function-F3, (/ Shift-F3.) Once this command is entered, PROVOX will prompt you for the number of the Config File to be loaded. Enter the number without a carriage return. The program will either load the file and tell you "okay" or report that no file was found. PROVOX will only look in the drive and directory into which you are currently logged. The second method for loading a Config File is with the program called "FETCH." It can either be run from the DOS prompt or from within a batch file. To use "FETCH" a Config File must be specified at the time the program is run. To do so, follow the "FETCH" name with a slash, (/) or a space and the number of the Config File to be loaded. By using "FETCH" and the autoload feature, discussed earlier, it is possible to start an application, load a Config File associated with it and to Autoload the appropriate screen bank. Each sub-directory can contain up to 10 Config Files, numbered 0 through 9. However, the numbers can be used again in different sub-directories or on different floppies; in other words, the number of subscreens, screen banks and Config Files you can establish and use is vast. CHAPTER 7 SPEECH SYNTHESIZERS You learned earlier that it is possible to use PROVOX with a variety of speech synthesizers, both internal boards and external units. With PROVOX, you can also switch between more than one synthesizer and to control some of the characteristics of each of them, even after the program has been run. USING MULTIPLE SYNTHESIZERS In Chapter 2 you learned how to run PROVOX with any of the supported synthesizers. It is now time to learn how to switch to a second or third synthesizer. You do so with the Speech Synthesizers and Special Options command, Prefix Shift-Function-2 (/ Shift-F2.) After issuing this command, you will be presented with a menu of choices. To switch to a different synthesizer, choose selection 2 from this menu. Just type the number. (You don't have to press "return.") You will then be presented with the available synthesizers, one at a time. Press the space bar to cycle through the list. When you reach the desired synthesizer, press return. If you change your mind, just press the escape key. PROVOX will allow you to toggle between any or all of the supported synthesizers, as long as they are available to you and your computer. CONTROLLING PARAMETERS With PROVOX you can control various parameters of individual synthesizers including pitch and tone. In addition, with the serial synthesizers, it is also possible to set baud rates and com ports. All of these settings are made with the Speech Synthesizers and Special Options function, Prefix Shift-Function- 2 (/Shift-F2.) Once this command has been issued, choose number 1 from the menu. The menu will vary according to whether you have an internal or external synthesizer. INTERNAL SYNTHESIZERS Once Number 1 has been chosen from the Speech Synthesizers and Special Options menu, all choices are made with the function keys, and a push of the escape key will terminate the action of the Speech Synthesizers Menu. The choices in this menu and their explanations are as follows: F1: Set Standard Voice--This choice resets the pitch and filter to their default values. F3 and F4: Change the Pitch--these keys lower and raise the pitch of the synthesizer, respectively. F5 and F6: Change the Filter--these keys change the tone of the synthesizer by lowering or raising the filter setting. Play with it until you get the sound you like. F10: Save These Settings on Disk--This choice saves a configuration file in the root directory of your boot drive. You will be asked for the letter of the boot drive. This is usually A: or C: depending on whether you use a floppy based system or a computer with a hard disk. Enter the letter of the boot drive, without a colon or "return." PROVOX will tell you "OKay" if it saves successfully. The configuration file will have the name of the speech synthesizer with the three-letter extension ".PV3". In a later section you will learn how to edit these ".PV3" files manually. EXTERNAL SYNTHESIZERS You may control external speech synthesizers via the Speech Synthesizers and Special Options command. You will be presented with a menu similar to that used for internal boards except that their will be choices to control the interface parameters of the external device. This menu will have the following choices: F1 Set Standard Voice--this choice resets all parameters to their defaults F2 Set Standard Ports--this choice will set the ports and/or baud rates to their defaults. F3 and F4 Change the Pitch--with this choice, F3 and F4 will lower and raise the pitch of the synthesizer respectively. F7 Set LPT Port--this key chooses the number of the LPT or parallel port, 0 through 9 to be used by a parallel device. F8 SET COM Port--this choice chooses the COM port to be used by a serial device. The possible choices are 0 through 9. F9 Set Baud Rate--this choice sets the baud rate for a serial device. The first two digits of the chosen baud rate will be shown, (e.g.) 12 for 1200 and 96 for 9600. F10 Save These Settings on Disk--saves the configuration in the same way as it does for internal boards. (please note that when using an external synthesizer the port that you are not using must be set to zero. For example, if you are using an Audapter on COM1, the LPT port must be set to zero.) EDITING CONFIGURATION FILES You can also edit configuration or (.PV3) files manually. These files can be examined and edited in any editor or word processor which produces standard ASCII text files, such as EDLIN, WordStar in its non-document mode or WordPerfect where you save your work as a text file using the Control F5 command. The file will contain a number of commands, each on a separate line, which controls a specific parameter. Each command consists of from one to three letters. These mnemonic commands are followed by a number, which controls the actual setting. The available command letters include: com comm port f filter lpt lpt parallel port p pitch. To set the baud rate on a serial, (com port,) follow the com and its identifying digit with a colon and the first two digits of the desired baud rate. As you know, external synthesizers operate as either serial (COM) or parallel (LPT) devices. If you examine a "PV3" file for one of these devices, you will notice that the port opposite from the one you are using will be set to zero. For example, if you are operating the device on COM1, there will be a line in the "PV3" file that says, "LPT0." Do not delete this line, as PROVOX requires it. Further, if you change a device from serial to parallel or vice verse, it is necessary to change the old port command to zero. The f filter command, which is only available on the Artic and Votrax internal boards has a range of numbers which can be set from 0 to 255. The default setting is 230 and understandable speech can be obtained with settings in the range of 225 to 235. The p pitch command used with the Artic and Votrax internal boards has a usable setting range between -9 and +9. The default is 0. The minus sign, (-), must be entered for negative values, but the plus (+) sign is not necessary for positive numbers. There is also a p pitch setting available for the Votrax PSS. The range of settings is between 0 and 7. The easiest way to figure out how the PV3 files work is to generate one of them using PROVOX and carefully examine its contents with a word processor or editor. CHAPTER 8 ADVANCED FEATURES As you learn more about computers, PROVOX and the applications you use, you will have the need for more of the program's advanced features. The following chapter will discuss some of those features. QUALIFIERS There are two keys which can be used to "qualify" other Provox commands. They are the single quote (') or apostrophe, and the double quote (") or quote keys. Each of these keys restricts the command which follows it to reading highlighted text or normal text only respectively. AUTO SILENCE As you have learned, many, but not all, of PROVOX's commands interrupt ongoing speech. However, some of them do not, so you must wait for the present operation to be finished for speech to cease, or continually issue the silence slash period (/.) command. Further, fast typists will notice that they can get ahead of the speech with keyboard echo left on. The feature called Auto Silence will end these problems. Auto Silence is turned on by choosing setting 0 or 2 of the Keyboard Echo command, Prefix Function-7 (/ F-7.). With Auto Silence invoked, each keystroke interrupts ongoing speech and is then passed on to PROVOX or your application. Thus, if you are familiar with the software you are running, you can quickly make your choices without having to wait for speech to stop or continue issuing the Silence command. AUTO ALERT Starting with PROVOX Version 3.00 there was an exciting new feature called "Auto Alert." This feature allows you to automatically monitor any area of the screen. If there is a change in this area, PROVOX will beep and read you the change. This allows you to automatically monitor status lines of applications, such as WordStar and WordPerfect. When used correctly, it can make "silent" applications, ones that write directly to screen memory, talk to you. This command is also invoked from the Speech Synthesizers and Special Options menu which is brought up with the Prefix Shift-Function-2 (/ Shift-F2) command. Choose number 4 from the menu. You will be asked for the number of the subscreen to monitor. Type a number from 0 to 9 without a carriage return. To use Auto Alert, you must have previously defined the area to be monitored as a subscreen. Of course, this subscreen definition can be saved, loaded and used as any other subscreen can. It is then necessary to turn on Auto Alert using the Smart Screen command, (see below.) AUTO IGNORE Another exciting feature which was first available in PROVOX version 3.00 is Auto Ignore. This allows you to define any area of the screen which will then be left out of the speech process. This feature is useful for ignoring status lines which are constantly updated in those applications that write to your computer's BIOS. While such programs may provide you with good speech feedback, there may be a portion of the screen that you want to ignore because it is constantly changing, thus interrupting speech constantly. This feature is invoked from the Speech Synthesizers and Special Options menu and is selection 5 on this menu. After making this choice, you will be asked to specify the subscreen to be ignored. As you might guess, Auto Ignore, as does Auto Alert, uses regular subscreen definitions to specify the area to be ignored. Like Auto Alert, Auto Ignore must also be turned on with the Smart Screen command, (see below for details.) Finally, it is also possible to automatically invoke an Auto Alert or Auto Ignore subscreen as long as you define and invoke it properly and save its screen bank and config file properly. SMART SCREEN There is one final command you will need to use Auto Alert and Auto Ignore effectively. This is the Smart Screen command, Prefix Function-six, (/ F-6.) This is a four position toggle, like many other PROVOX commands. At setting 0, which is the default, it is not possible to invoke an Auto Alert or an Auto Ignore subscreen. At setting 1, a beep will be issued when a change is made to an Auto Alert subscreen. At setting 2, the data in an Auto Alert subscreen will be voiced and at setting 3, a beep will be issued and the data will be voiced. It is possible to invoke an Auto Ignore subscreen at either setting 1, 2 or 3. The Smart Screen command is useful for turning on and off Auto Alert and Auto Ignore subscreens as you use different applications. You can turn them on or off temporarily and turn them back on later when you re-enter the program where they are used. This is easier than re-invoking them. BUFFER OVERWRITE The final choice on the Speech Synthesizers and Special Options menu is a toggle for "Buffer Overwrite." By default, PROVOX will stop another program from sending it data when its buffer is full. This is to prevent you from losing information while it is being sent to your synthesizer. This setting can be changed. Invoke the Speech Synthesizers and Special Options menu with the Prefix Shift-Function-2 command and choose number 3. Use the same command sequence to change this setting back to the default. If you change the setting and save a Config File, this change will be reflected there. One situation in which you would want to turn on Buffer Overwrite is when downloading a straight ASCII file to your computer via modem from another system, without reading it on- line. Without Buffer Overwrite, your system will continually stop the other system from sending data until the speech catches up. LINE BEEPS Most of us probably typed on a regular typewriter before using a computer. As you know, with a typewriter, you must manually make the machine go to a new line when the end of the current line is reached. You are notified of this by a ringing bell. Many applications, particularly word processors, have a feature called "word wrap." This feature automatically advances you to the next line without your having to do anything. However, there are applications, particularly bulletinboard systems and on-line services, where you must supply a carriage return at the end of each line. For this reason, it may be necessary to know when you are coming up to the end of a line. PROVOX is able to tell you that the end of the line is coming up. To set this feature, use the Prefix Shift-Function-9 Command. This command can only be used in Direct Mode. The default is to beep after column 80. When the command is invoked, the present setting will be reported and then you will be prompted to enter a two digit number, Star (*) for the cursor position or to press the space bar if the current setting is OK. ADVANCED SUBSCREEN DEFINITION In Chapter Six you learned how to define subscreens in two different ways. As you will recall, one of these methods involves marking the upper left and lower right corners of the subscreen with the Home and End keys while in Review Mode. This method works fine as long as the coordinates of the subscreen will never change. However, what if you wish to use the position of the cursor as one of the boundaries of the subscreen definition? There is a way that you can use the Home and/or End keys to mark the subscreen boundaries and still have them reflect the cursor position at the time the subscreen is invoked. The command to incorporate cursor position into subscreen definition is Control-Home for the Home key, which is used to mark the top left corner of the subscreen and Control-End for the End key which is used to mark the bottom right corner of the subscreen. Either of these commands can only be used in Review Mode and must be issued immediately before using the corresponding key, either Home or End. Like many PROVOX commands the Control-Home and Control-End sequences are four position toggles with settings of 0, 1, 2 and 3. The default setting for each is 0. With this setting, either key works as described in Chapter Six, that is marking the top left or bottom right corner of a subscreen. At setting 1, the Home or End keys will use the line that the cursor is actually in at the time the subscreen is invoked, as the line boundary for that subscreen. The column position used in the definition will be the one actually marked with either the Home or End key. At setting two, the column position used in the subscreen definition will be that of the actual cursor at the time the subscreen is invoked. The line definition will be the actual line marked by the Home or End key. Finally, at setting 3, the Home and End keys will use the cursor positions at the time the subscreen is invoked. Please be aware though that it is not possible to set both the Control-Home and Control-End commands to setting 3 and to mark the cursor position with the Home and End keys. You will get an "invalid subscreen range" message. While all of this may sound a little complicated on the first reading, just remember that the Control-Home and Control- End commands, with their different settings are just a way of incorporating cursor positions into subscreen definitions. You can also incorporate them into the definitions by using the star (*) character when prompted. Two examples of subscreens that use the cursor position as part of their definitions are those invoked with the Prefix Plus (/+) and Prefix Minus (/-) commands. These commands, which actually invoke subscreens which are built into the PROVOX program, read from the cursor to the bottom of the screen or from the top of the screen through the cursor, respectively, wherever the cursor is located at the time either is used. RE-DISPLAY SIGN-ON MESSAGE It is possible to re-display the Sign-On Banner of PROVOX with the command Prefix Tilde (/ ~) or just tilde (~) in Review Mode. This makes it easy to check the version of PROVOX you are running or to check your User Number. KEY VALUE REPORT As an aid to programmers, and others interested in technical information, PROVOX will report the ASCII value and Scan Code of any key. To obtain this information, issue the command Prefix Insert (/ Insert) followed by the key for which you desire this information. ALTERNATE CURSORS Some application programs use non-standard or alternate cursors. While not fully implemented at this time, the next release of PROVOX 3 will allow you to select from a number of alternate cursors. This choice, when implemented, will be made with the Prefix Shift-Function-10 (/ Shift-F10) command. AUXILIARY PROGRAMS Your PROVOX disk contains two utility programs called "QUIET" and "SPEAK." These utilities facilitate the sharing of a computer by a blind user and a sighted user. If a sighted person wishes to use the computer while PROVOX is resident, he or she needs to only run "QUIET" either from the DOS command line or from within a batch file. This suspends speech output while allowing PROVOX to stay resident in the computer's memory. It also returns the slash (/) key to its normal use. All normal functions of PROVOX can be restored by running the program "SPEAK." APPENDIX A PRE-DEFINED SUBSCREENS Several banks of subscreens have been pre-defined for your convenience for use with several popular software packages. The initial values and names of these screen banks are given below. Screen Bank #0: WordPerfect 4.2 #0 = 25, 1 - 25, 48 Left side of status line which lists file names and/or error messages. #1 = 25, 48 - 25, 80 Right side of status line containing document number, page number, and the line and position numbers. #2 = 25, 1 - 25, 80 The entire status line at the bottom of the screen. #3 = 1, 1 - 14, 80 filters for background white foreground black Reads a misspelled word in the Spelling Checker section of WordPerfect. #4 = 15, 1 - 23, 80 filters for background black foreground white Reads possible correct substitutions in the WordPerfect Spelling Checker. #5 = 5, 1 - 23, 80 filters for background white foreground black Reads the highlight bar in the list files, F5 menu. #6 = 24, 1 - 25, 80 Reads possible command choices in the list files, F5 section of WordPerfect. #7 = 1, 1 - 24, 80 background black foreground white Reads highlighted or blocked text on the editing screen of WordPerfect. #8 = 6, 2 - 24, 26 Reads possible substitutions or replacements in the Thesaurus section of WordPerfect. #9 Not used. (Please note that subscreen 3, 4, 5, and 7 use color filtering to work properly. If you change the default screen and attribute display colors of WordPerfect, you will have to redefine these subscreens to get them to work correctly.) Screen Bank #1: WordStar 4 #0 = 12, 1 - 23, 79 Screen lines used solely for text by WordStar Version 4.0 with its Help Level set to "3". #1 = 12, 1 - *, 80 PROVOX says the contents of the screen lines containing text in WordStar Version 4.0 with Help Level set to "3", from the top line through the line containing the cursor, including any line format code in the last column. #2 = *, 1 - 23, 80 PROVOX says the contents of the screen lines containing text in WordStar Version 4.0 with Help Level set to "3", from the line containing the cursor through the bottom line, including any line format code in the last column. #3 = 3, 1 - 10, 40 PROVOX says the contents of the left column of selections from the WordStar Version 4.0 "OPENING MENU" with Help Level set to "3". #4 = 3, 41 - 10, 80 PROVOX says the contents of the right column of selections from the WordStar Version 4.0 "OPENING MENU" with Help Level set to "3". #5 = 3, 1 - 9, 14 PROVOX says the contents of the first of five columns of selections from the WordStar Version 4.0 "EDIT MENU" with Help Level set to "3". #6 = 3, 15 - 9, 27 PROVOX says the contents of the second of five columns of selections from the WordStar Version 4.0 "EDIT MENU" with Help Level set to "3". #7 = 3, 28 - 9, 39 PROVOX says the contents of the third of five columns of selections from the WordStar Version 4.0 "EDIT MENU" with Help Level set to "3". #8 = 3, 40 - 9, 58 PROVOX says the contents of the fourth of five columns of selections from the WordStar Version 4.0 "EDIT MENU" with Help Level set to "3". #9 = 3, 59 - 9, 80 PROVOX says the contents of the fifth of five columns of selections from the WordStar Version 4.0 "EDIT MENU" with Help Level set to "3". Screen Bank #2: Sprint 1.0 #0 = 25, 1 - 25, 48 Left side of status line which lists file names and/or error messages. #1 = 25, 48 - 25, 80 Right side of status line containing document number, page number, and the line and position numbers. #2 = 25, 1 - 25, 80 The entire status line at the bottom of the screen. #3 Not used. #4 Not used. #5 Not used. #6 Not used. #7 Not used. #8 Not used. #9 Not used. Screen Bank 3: VP Planner #0 = 22, 1 - 22, 80 PROVOX reads the message line used by VP Planner to report the location and contents of the active cell, and for other purposes. #1 = 1, 5 - 21, 13 PROVOX says the contents of the first column of data in VP Planner, using the default column width. #2 = 1, 14 - 21, 22 PROVOX says the contents of the second column of data in VP Planner, using the default column width. #3 = 1, 23 - 21, 31 PROVOX says the contents of the third column of data in VP Planner, using the default column width. #4 = 1, 32 - 21, 40 PROVOX says the contents of the fourth column of data in VP Planner, using the default column width. #5 = 1, 41 - 21, 49 PROVOX says the contents of the fifth column of data in VP Planner, using the default column width. #6 = 1, 50 - 21, 58 PROVOX says the contents of the sixth column of data in VP Planner, using the default column width. #7 = 1, 59 - 21, 67 PROVOX says the contents of the seventh column of data in VP Planner, using the default column width. #8 = 1, 68 - 21, 77 PROVOX says the contents of the eighth column of data in VP Planner, using the default column width. #9 = 23, 1 - 25, 80 PROVOX reads the message lines used by VP Planner to display menu selections, prompts, and other information. Screen Bank 4: Lotus 1-2-3 #0 = 1, 1 - 1, 80 PROVOX reads the message line used by Lotus 1-2-3 to report the location and contents of the active cell, and for other purposes. #1 = 4, 5 - 24, 13 PROVOX says the contents of the first column of data in Lotus 1-2-3, using the default column width. #2 = 4, 14 - 24, 22 PROVOX says the contents of the second column of data in Lotus 1-2-3, using the default column width. #3 = 4, 23 - 24, 31 PROVOX says the contents of the third column of data in Lotus 1-2-3, using the default column width. #4 = 4, 32 - 24, 40 PROVOX says the contents of the fourth column of data in Lotus 1-2-3, using the default column width. #5 = 4, 41 - 24, 49 PROVOX says the contents of the fifth column of data in Lotus 1-2-3, using the default column width. #6 = 4, 50 - 24, 58 PROVOX says the contents of the sixth column of data in Lotus 1-2-3, using the default column width. #7 = 4, 59 - 24, 67 PROVOX says the contents of the seventh column of data in Lotus 1-2-3, using the default column width. #8 = 4, 68 - 24, 77 PROVOX says the contents of the eighth column of data in Lotus 1-2-3, using the default column width. #9 = 2, 1 - 3, 80 PROVOX reads the message lines used by Lotus 1-2-3 to display menu selections, prompts, and other information. Screen Bank 5: TURBO PROLOG #0 = 11, 1 - 24, 79 Not used. #1 = 5, 2 - 17, 49 PROVOX says the contents of the "Edit Window" in Turbo PROLOG by Borland International. #2 = 5, 52 - 17, 79 PROVOX says the contents of the "Dialogue Window" in Turbo PROLOG by Borland International. #3 = 20, 2 - 23, 49 PROVOX says the contents of the "Message Window" in Turbo PROLOG by Borland International. #4 = 20, 52 - 23, 79 PROVOX says the contents of the "Trace Window" in Turbo PROLOG by Borland International. #5 = 3, 56 - 9, 80 Not used. #6 = 3, 1 - 9, 28 Not used. #7 = 3, 30 - 9, 39 Not used. #8 = 3, 41 - 9, 60 Not used. #9 = 3, 62 - 9, 80 Not used. Screen Bank 6: IBM X-EDIT Note: X-EDIT is the standard text editor on IBM mainframe computers running the VM/CMS operating system. When your PC emulates a terminal and interacts with that host system, the following subscreens are convenient for reading parts of the X- EDIT display screen. #0 = 23, 1 - 24, 80 PROVOX reads the screen lines used as the "command line" and for error messages by X-EDIT on IBM VM/CMS mainframe systems. #1 = 1, 1 - 2, 80 PROVOX reads the screen lines containing current status information concerning the file being edited by X- EDIT on IBM VM/CMS mainframe systems. #2 = 3, 1 - 22, 5 PROVOX reads the screen area filled with equal signs and used as a command Prefix area by X-EDIT on IBM VM/CMS mainframe systems. #3 = 3, 6 - 12, 80 PROVOX reads the screen area above the "ruler line" used for text display by X-EDIT on IBM VM/CMS mainframe systems. #4 = 14, 6 - 22, 80 PROVOX reads the screen area below the "ruler line" used for text display by X-EDIT on IBM VM/CMS mainframe systems. #5 = 3, 56 - 9, 80 Not used. #6 = 3, 1 - 9, 28 Not used. #7 = 3, 30 - 9, 39 Not used. #8 = 3, 41 - 9, 60 Not used. #9 = 3, 62 - 9, 80 Not used. Screen Bank 7: SMART 1 #0 = 2, 2 - 19, 79 PROVOX reads the screen lines containing text in SMART Word Processor module documents. #1 = 2, 2 - *, 79 PROVOX reads the screen lines containing text in SMART Word Processor module documents, from the top of the text area to the line containing the SMART diamond cursor. #2 = *, 2 - 19, 79 PROVOX reads the screen area containing text in SMART Word Processor module documents, from the line containing the SMART diamond cursor to the bottom of the text area. #3 = 22, 1 - 23, 80 PROVOX reads the screen area below the "ruler line" used to display menu information by the SMART Word Processor and other SMART modules. #4 = 24, 1 - 25, 80 PROVOX reads the screen area below the menu choices used to display status information by the SMART Word Processor and other SMART modules. #5 = 3, 56 - 9, 80 Not used. #6 = 3, 1 - 9, 28 Not used. #7 = 3, 30 - 9, 39 Not used. #8 = 3, 41 - 9, 60 Not used. #9 = 3, 62 - 9, 80 Not used. Screen Bank #8: WordPerfect 5.0 #0 = 25, 1 - 25, 48 Left side of status line which lists file names and/or error messages. #1 = 25, 48 - 25, 80 Right side of status line containing document number, page number, and the line and position numbers. #2 = 25, 1 - 25, 80 The entire status line at the bottom of the screen. #3 = 1, 1 - 14, 80 filters for background white foreground blue Reads a misspelled word in the Spelling Checker section of WordPerfect. #4 = 15, 1 - 23, 80 filters for background blue foreground white Reads possible correct substitutions in the WordPerfect Spelling Checker. #5 = 5, 1 - 23, 80 filters for background white foreground blue Reads the highlight bar in the list files, F5 menu. #6 = 24, 1 - 25, 80 Reads possible command choices in the list files, F5 section of WordPerfect. #7 = 1, 1 - 24, 80 background white foreground blue Reads highlighted or blocked text on the editing screen of WordPerfect. #8 = 6, 2 - 24, 26 Reads possible substitutions or replacements in the Thesaurus section of WordPerfect. #9 Not used. (Please note that subscreen 3, 4, 5, and 7 use color filtering to work properly. If you change the default screen and attribute display colors of WordPerfect, you will have to redefine these subscreens to get them to work correctly. Further, WordPerfect may also change the colors it uses, depending on whether you have a monochrome or color display.) APPENDIX B COMMAND REFERENCE LIST The following is a alphabetical list of all PROVOX commands. Most commands are available in both Direct and Review Modes, except that the Prefix Key is not needed in Review Mode. Those commands which are only available in one or the other of these two modes will be indicated as such by the inclusion of a (D) or a (R) for "Direct Mode" or "Review Mode," respectively, following the command. Alternate Cursor Toggle, Prefix Shift-Function-10, (D) Attribute Qualifier, (highlighted text only,) apostrophe Attribute Qualifier, (normal text only,) quote Auto Alert Toggle, Prefix Shift-Function-2 4, (D) Auto Silence Toggle, Prefix Function-7, (D) Buffer Overwrite Toggle, Prefix Shift-Function-2 3, (D) Capitalization Identification Toggle, Prefix Function-4 Change Speech Output speed, Prefix Function-9 Change Speech Output Volume, Prefix Function-10 Cursor Routing, Control-Return, (R) Define Subscreen, Prefix Shift-Function-8, (D) End-Of-Line Beeps, Prefix Shift-Function-9, (D) Enter Review Mode, Prefix Carriage Return, (D) Enter Search String, Insert, (R) Exit Review Mode, Carriage Return, (R) Interrupt On-Going Speech, Prefix period Interrupt On-Going Speech, Alt key by itself Keyboard Echo Toggle, Prefix Function-7 Load Config File, Prefix Shift-Function-3, (D) Load Config File When PROVOX is Run, Slash # where "#" is the number of the Config File to be loaded, 0 through 9, (Command Line only) Load Screen Bank, Prefix Shift-Function-5, (D) Mark Subscreen Bottom, End Mark Subscreen Top, Home Move Down One Line, down arrow Move Left One Character, left arrow Move Review Mode Cursor Eight Spaces to the Left, Shift-Tab, (R) Move Review Mode Cursor eight Spaces to the Right, Tab, (R) Move Right One Character, right arrow Move Up One Line, up arrow Name Screen Bank, Prefix Shift-Function-7, (D) Prefix, (precedes all PROVOX commands,) slash Phonetic Pronunciation, Prefix semicolon twice PROVOX Function Key command List, Prefix Function-1 PROVOX Shift Function Key Command List, Prefix Shift- Function-1 Read Character at Cursor Position, Prefix Semicolon Read Character Left of Cursor, Prefix left arrow, (D) Read Character Right of Cursor, Prefix right arrow, (D) Read Current Line Through Cursor Position, Prefix Less Than Read Current Line From Cursor Position Through End, Prefix Greater Than Read entire current line, Prefix Question Mark Read Entire Line Above Cursor, Prefix uparrow, (D) Read Entire Line Below Cursor, Prefix downarrow, (D) Read Entire Screen, Prefix Equals Read One String "word" to Left of Cursor, Control-left arrow Read One String "word" to Right of Cursor, Control-right arrow Read Screen From Cursor Position Through Bottom, Prefix Plus Read Screen From Top Through Cursor Position, Prefix Dash Read Specific Line in Review Mode, enter two digit line number 01 through 25, (R) Read String "word" at Cursor Position, Prefix colon Read Subscreen 0 Through nine, Prefix number of subscreen--zero through nine, (D) Read Word Left of Cursor, Prefix Control-left arrow, (D) Read Word Right of Cursor, Prefix Control-right arrow, (D) Redefine Prefix Key to Accent, Slash Accent, (Command Line only) Report Cursor Position, Prefix Comma Report Cursor Position, Character Identity and Attributes, Prefix Star Re-display Sign-On Banner, Prefix Tilde Report Key Value, Prefix Insert, (d) Report Lock Key Status, Prefix Function-2 Report Video Mode, Prefix Function-2 Save Config File, Prefix Shift-Function-4, (D) Save Screen Bank, Prefix Shift-Function-6, (D) Spell/Say Word Toggle, Prefix Function-3 Screen Output Level by Attribute, Prefix Function-8 Screen Output Level Punctuation Toggle, Prefix Function-5 Search Backward for Specific String, Pageup, (R) Search Forward for Specific String, Pagedown, (R) Smart Screen Toggle, Prefix Function-6 Speech Synthesizers and Special Options, Prefix Shift- Function-2 Speech Synthesizer Menu, Prefix-Function-2 1, (D) Speech Driver Selection Toggle, Prefix Shift-Function-2 2, (D) Subscreen Cursor Position Marking Toggle, Control-Home, Control-End, (R) Suppress Sign-on Message, Slash q, (Command Line only)