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SECTION SIXTEEN
USING A MACRO PROCESSOR WITH VOCAL-EYES

16.1:  INTRODUCTION

We've avoided any mention of macros thus far in this, your Vocal-Eyes user's
guide.  As a matter of fact, back in SECTION 1 we actively discouraged you
from using macros with Vocal-Eyes--at least for the time being.  We did this
for the simple reason that we wanted you to see how complete and easy-to-use
Vocal-Eyes' voice features are with absolutely no macro enhancement at all.

Now that you've progressed this far, we're sure that you will agree
Vocal-Eyes is without doubt an extremely powerful and easy to use screen
reader.  Anything you want to make talk will talk, easily and at the press of
a single key.  And you even get to choose which key!

Macros are not for the beginner.  If you have not worked with macros before,
it is strongly suggested, you wait until you feel completely comfortable with
Vocal-Eyes before tackling the concept of macros.  If you try and learn both
Vocal-Eyes and your macro processor, you're sure to become overwhelmed.  Take
it slow.  We went to great pains to make Vocal-Eyes work as well as it can
without macros.  Of course those of you who feel perfectly at home with
macros can proceed as you wish.  You will find Vocal-Eyes is very hospitable
to many of the well known macro processors including ProKey, Newkey and
Superkey.

Of course no matter how well Vocal-Eyes works with an application program,
you may still desire the power of macros.  Perhaps you'd like to integrate
Vocal-Eyes' hot keys or numerous other voice features into entire strings of
applications program commands.  Do you currently own a macro processor?
Well, you can use any commercially-available macro processor with Vocal-Eyes.
Indeed, when using macros with Vocal-Eyes, there's really only two things you
need to remember.  The MACRO.COM program and the Macro Toggle hot key.

16.2:  THE MACRO.COM PROGRAM

There is a small program file on your Vocal-Eyes master diskette called
MACRO.COM.  You will need to run this program before loading in your macro
processing program files.  If you're using ProKey and the Sounding Board, for
example, your macro processing loading order would be as follows:

                         MACRO
                         PKLOAD
                         SBLOAD
                         SB
                         VE

If you are using a different macro program, substitute it with the PKLOAD
line.  If you are using a synthesizer other than the Sounding Board,
substitute the appropriate driver for the two lines SBLOAD and SB.  Refer to
Appendix F for a complete list of possible synthesizers and their drivers.

MACRO.COM is a simple program with a single function:  it turns off all macro
activity whenever you use your fast review key--ALT, CTRL, SHIFT or
Scroll-Lock--to enter Review Mode.  This is to prevent any macros you may
have in place from interfering with normal Review Mode commands.  You
wouldn't, to take a single example, want your F1 macro to interfere with your
Review help.

The MACRO.COM program will only block macro playback if you've used your fast
review hot key to enter Review Mode.  Your second Review Mode hot key, which
you will recall was given a default key assignment of CTRL-ENTER, will not be
affected by the MACRO.COM program.  This is also true if you are using the
Sounding Board hotkeys.  If you enter Review Mode with the fast Review entry
key, you will not be able to use the Sounding Board hot keys.  This is not
true if you use the standard Review Mode hot key.

16.3:  THE MACRO TOGGLE

Vocal-Eyes tries very hard not to interfere with your macro playback.  Do you
have a macro that combines a series of program and Vocal-Eyes hot key
commands?  Well, you'll get no complaints from Vocal-Eyes.  Vocal-Eyes will
accept macro generated keystrokes exactly the same as if you'd typed them in
at the keyboard yourself--hot key responses, Review Mode command prompts and
all.

As you can imagine, if Vocal-Eyes is to accept your macro generated
keystrokes the same as if you'd typed them in yourself, this is going to lead
to a lot of unnecessary and unwanted chatter at times--especially when your
macro slips into Review Mode, where almost every command includes at least
one voice prompt.  Fortunately, there is an easy way to inform Vocal-Eyes
when to stop and start voicing by means of the macro toggle hot key.

The macro toggle hot key is option 60 on your Hot Keys submenu.  Go ahead and
assign an appropriate key to this function.  It's not one you will use often,
so something in a quiet, out-of-the-way corner of your keyboard should
suffice nicely.

Use the macro toggle hot key whenever you want to create a macro in which too
much voice response will get in the way. Place it once at the beginning of
your macro to turn all voice response off, then again at the end to turn
voice response back on again.

Say, for example, that you have assigned the ALT-F12 key as your macro toggle
hot key.  You want to create a CTRL-0 macro that will make Window 0 the
active window.  Below are two examples of the steps required to perform this
function.

Example 1:

1) Press your macro program's begin definition hot key.  (If you're using
ProKey,   this would be ALT-=)
2) Press CTRL-0.  This is the key you wish the macro assigned to.
3) Press ALT-F12.  This will toggle Vocal-Eyes' macro voice off.
4) Press CTRL-ENTER.  This will enter Review Mode.
5) Press F3.  This will cause Vocal-Eyes to prompt for the window to make
active.
6) Press 0.  This is the window number you want active.
7) Press ESCAPE.  This will exit Review Mode.
8) Press ALT-F12.  This will toggle Vocal-Eyes' macro voice back on.
9)  Press your macro program's end definition hot key.  (If you're using
ProKey,   this would be ALT--)

Example 2:

1) Press your macro program's begin definition hot key.  (If you're using
ProKey,   this would be ALT-=)
2) Press CTRL-0.  This is the key you wish the macro assigned to.
3) Press ALT-F12.  This will toggle Vocal-Eyes' macro voice off.
4) Press your Select Window Hot Key.  This defaults to being undefined.
Therefore, if you have not already assigned this feature a keystroke, you
will need to assign it one and press it here.
5) Press 0.  This is the window number you want active.
6) Press ALT-F12.  This will toggle Vocal-Eyes' macro voice back on.
7) Press your macro program's end definition hot key.  (If you're using
ProKey,   this would be ALT--)

Notice what we did.  In both examples, we started the macro with a press of
the Macro Toggle hot key.  This is so Vocal-Eyes will not voice all the
normal verbiage it would if we were to execute each keystroke directly from
the keyboard.  We then issued the commands necessary to make window 0 active.
Finally right before we ended the macro, we once again pressed the Macro
Toggle hot key.  This is so Vocal-Eyes' voice would return to normal
operation.

Had we wanted our macro not only to make Window 0 the active window, but also
to voice it for us, we could have placed <F9> directly after the 0 which
selected our window in the first example or pressed the hot key to read
window 0 in either example.  The macro toggle would not have interfered with
the voicing of the window, or any other read hot key we might have placed
within our macro.  The macro toggle hot key is intelligent:  it knows which
voice features we are likely to want suppressed and which we are not.

An easy way to remember what will be voiced and what will not is as follows.
If you press a key and its main function is to read something, Vocal-Eyes
will read it.  Like the read window hot key or read sentence or light bar
etc.  If you enter a command in which its main function is not to speak
something, Vocal-Eyes will not speak anything.  Examples of this would be the
select active window key either in Review or the hot key.  Even pressing the
arrow keys in Review mode will not speak if the macro voice toggle is off.

Try creating either of these macros and leave off the two Macro Toggle hot
keys.  Then execute the macro.  We are sure you will appreciate the ability
to shut off unnecessary speech.

16.4:  A FEW THINGS TO REMEMBER

Here are a few things you should keep in mind when using a macro processor
with Vocal-Eyes.

Whenever you wish to enter Review Mode from within a macro, you MUST enter
using the hot key not the fast review key such as the ALT key.  Remember if
you enter using the ALT key, ProKey is blocked out completely.  If would not
be able to tell you went into Review mode at all.  This of course would cause
your macro not to function correctly.  Therefore, as we just said, always use
the Review Mode hot key.  Also, when you exit Review, use either the ESCAPE
key or the Review Mode hot key again.  Or if you wish to exit and route the
cursor, use the ALT-X or ALT-ESCAPE keys.  In any case, do not exit Review by
pressing the fast review key.

WARNING!  Be careful when working inside the Voice Control Panel to avoid
pressing a key with a macro assigned to it.  You may inadvertently "pour"
your macro keystrokes into a submenu, reassigning hot keys all the way down.
Be sure, when working with the Voice Control Panel, to either use your macro
bypass key or actually go in and suspend macro playback for the duration.

In SECTION 9, in our discussion of the Review Mode "F" find command, we
mentioned that you could enter control or extended ASCII characters in the
search string by holding down the ALT key and then using your numeric key
pad.  Macro processors will most likely have to take this one step further,
however, and hold down both the ALT and the LEFT SHIFT keys to accomplish
this task.  This is because of your macro program.  Refer to your macro
program documentation if you have any problems.

Also in SECTION 9 we demonstrated how you could use the grave accent (`) key
as a bypass to next key hot key when working within the Voice Control Panel,
in Review Mode or when attempting to enter a ? into the search string.  If
your macro processor also uses this key as a bypass key, you will need to
press it twice, first to bypass your macro processor and then again to invoke
the Vocal-Eyes bypass function.

If you wish to look at what your macro program is doing, feel free to enter
Review mode using the ALT key.  For example, in ProKey you can popup its menu
by pressing ALT-/.  However, it does not speak automatically.  If you wish to
read the options, simply enter Review mode and read till your heart's
content.  Then simply exit Review mode.  ProKey will not even realize you
entered Review.  Notice if you popup ProKey for example, you will not be able
to use Vocal-Eyes' hot keys including the Review mode hot key.  This is why
you will have to enter Review by pressing the fast review key.  Then your hot
keys will work as expected.

Remember, if you toggle the Macro Toggle off within a macro, you should
toggle it back on before you exit the macro.  If you do not, Vocal-Eyes will
still think a macro is playing back.  This would cause many thing not to be
spoken.  If this is the case, simply press the macro toggle hot key from the
keyboard.  No matter what state the toggle is in, pressing the macro toggle
hot key directly from the keyboard will ALWAYS turn it on.  This means while
creating your macro and you press the macro toggle hot key, Vocal-Eyes will
always turn it on.  Only while the macro is playing back will Vocal-Eyes
toggle it off and on.  This is why Vocal-Eyes still voices normally while you
are creating the macro but silences much of the speech when it is played
back.  Again, the best of both worlds.  It speaks everything while creating
the macro and only what you want when you play it back!

Also, if you request a function from within a macro which requires Vocal-Eyes
to load information from the overlay file (VE.OVL),  you need to make sure
DOS will be available.  Normally from within applications programs, DOS will
always be available.  If you feel this will be a problem however, your only
option is to load the overlay file into expanded or extended memory.  Once
loaded in either of these two types of memory, the overlay file will always
be available regardless if DOS is busy or not.

Remember the discussion we had about how the Voice Control Panel waits until
DOS is not busy before popping up?  Well, this could cause a problem if a
macro were playing back.  If the Voice Control Panel does not pop up
immediately when it is requested, the next keys in the macro could play back
outside of the menus.  This could cause all sorts of problems.  Because
Vocal-Eyes knows that the Voice Control Panel was requested from a macro
(since the Macro Toggle is off) it pops up the menus immediately.  This is
all well and good except for the fact about DOS.  What if it is busy and you
request to load a .SET file from disk?  Well, you will get the error message
indicating DOS is busy and the function will be aborted.  Therefore, unless
you are absolutely sure DOS will never be busy, you should only load and save
to the RAM locations.  These locations will always be available even if DOS
is busy.

Don't forget if you pop up the menus from within a macro, you could be
starting from any of the menus choices.  Therefore, if you wish to move
around the menus, you should always jump to the requested option directly by
pressing its number and pressing ENTER.  This way regardless of where you
currently are, you will end up where you want to be.  Also, if you want to
set a toggle to a known state, you must start by pressing the DELETE key and
then the SPACE BAR or BACKSPACE key to get the option where you want it.  If
you did not start by pressing the DELETE key, you would not know what option
is currently selected and thereby not know how many times to press the SPACE
BAR or BACKSPACE key.

16.5:  THREE EXAMPLES

Below are three sample macros that will help give you some idea of how
effectively you can combine program commands and Vocal-Eyes voice features
using macros.  We've been using Word Perfect for many of our examples up till
now, so we'll use it here too.  Keep in mind, however, that since by now you
have undoubtedly changed the key assignments of many of your hot keys, we
cannot hope to make these macros exactly like you would create them.

16.5.1:  BACKING UP YOUR WORK

From time to time you will want to back up your Word Perfect text using the
F10 "Document to be saved" command.  If you've used this command you know
that if the file already exists, Word Perfect will verify that you want to
overwrite the file before proceeding.  The process thus entails three
keystrokes:  F10, ENTER and Y to verify.  You could create a macro, ALT-B,
for example, to do it all in one keystroke, but why not add a little voice
prompting while you're at it like this:

1) Press your macro program's begin definition hot key.  (If you're using
ProKey,   this would be ALT-=)
2) Press ALT-B.  This is the key you wish the macro assigned to.
3) Press the Macro Toggle hot key.  This will toggle Vocal-Eyes' macro voice
off.
4) Press F10.  This is Word Perfect's Save key.
5) Press ENTER.  This will accept the default file name.
6) Press Y.  This will verify you wish to replace the existing file on disk.
7) Press the Review Mode hot key.  Remember, this must be the hot key and not
     the fast Review key.
8) Press C.  This will enter the direct channel feature to your synthesizer.
9) Type 'READY'.  This will send the characters R, E, A, D and Y to your
synthesizer causing the word 'ready' to be spoken.
10) Press ENTER.  This will cancel the direct channel feature.
11) Press ESCAPE.  This will exit Review Mode.
12) Press the Macro Toggle hot key.  This will toggle Vocal-Eyes' macro voice
     back on.
13) Press your macro program's end definition hot key.  (If you're using
ProKey,   this would be ALT--)

Now, not only will ALT-B automatically back up your work (assuming, of
course, that you have saved the file at least once previously to give it a
name), but it will also say "READY" when disk activity has been completed and
you're ready to go on.

16.5.2:  THE DOS SHELL

In SECTION 12 we introduced you to the concept of the .SET file library.  We
showed you how you could load several .SET files into Vocal-Eyes at the start
of your PC work session, and then use your "Load RAM SET" hot key to switch
back and forth between them.  One of the examples we gave was using the Word
Perfect CTRL-F1 command key to exit to DOS, whereupon we could activate our
DOS RAM3 .SET file and work quite effectively with a full screen "Active"
window and other DOS specific hot keys.  Well, why not automate the process
further with a macro such as the one below?

1) Press your macro program's begin definition hot key.  (If you're using
ProKey,   this would be ALT-=)
2) Press CTRL-F1.  This is the key you wish the macro assigned to.
3) Press the Macro Toggle hot key.  This will toggle Vocal-Eyes' macro voice
off.
4) Press your Load RAM SET hot key.  This will cause Vocal-Eyes to prompt for
     the RAM location to load.
5) Press 3.  This is assuming you have loaded the DOS.SET file into the third
     RAM location.
6) Press ` (grave accent).  This is to inform your macro program the next
keystroke should be sent verbatim.  It should not be interpreted as a macro.
7) Press CTRL-F1.  This is Word Perfects exit to DOS command.  Notice this
had  to be proceeded with a grave accent.  If it were not, the macro program
     would have started the CTRL-F1 macro over again.  This would cause
an   infinite loop.
8) Press 1.  This is to verify to Word Perfect we really want to exit to DOS.
9) Press the Macro Toggle hot key.  This will toggle Vocal-Eyes' macro voice
     back on.
10) Press your macro program's end definition hot key.  (If you're using
ProKey,   this would be ALT--)

Now, whenever you press the CTRL-F1 Word Perfect key your DOS.SET file (which
we are assuming is still in RAM location 3) will be activated and you will
automatically be "shelled" out to DOS with your DOS voice features and hot
keys already there waiting for you.

Of course this type of macro really is not required if you have the
autoloading feature enabled which it is by default.  If you shell to DOS,
Vocal-Eyes will automatically load DOS.SET, DOS.KEY and DOS.CHR.  Once you
exit the shell, it will reload what you had loaded before you originally
shelled to DOS.  As you can see, this approach is much easier and more
automatic.

16.5.3:  GETTING BACK

Now that you're done working with DOS, you'd like to return to Word Perfect
and reactivate your WP.SET file.  Why not let a macro do it, something like
this:

1) Press your macro program's begin definition hot key.  (If you're using
ProKey,   this would be ALT-=)
2) Press the key you wish assigned this feature.
3) Press the Macro Toggle hot key.  This will toggle Vocal-Eyes' macro voice
off.
4) Press your Load RAM SET hot key.  This will cause Vocal-Eyes to prompt for
     the RAM location to load.
5) Press 1.  This is assuming you have your WP.SET loaded into RAM1.
6) Type 'EXIT'.  This is the DOS command which will exit back to Word
Perfect.
7) Press ENTER.  This will cause DOS to accept the EXIT command.
8) Press the Macro Toggle hot key.  This will toggle Vocal-Eyes' macro voice
     back on.
9) Press your macro program's end definition hot key.  (If you're using
ProKey,   this would be ALT--)

Pretty simple, don't you think?  But oh how convenient!

16.6:  SUMMARY

We started by saying macros should not be attempted by the beginner.
Vocal-Eyes works very well without macros so it is suggested you start that
way.  Only after you have mastered Vocal-Eyes or already consider yourself
good with macros should you attempt to use them.

You were told how to use the MACRO.COM program so Vocal-Eyes can work with
macros.  Next the Macro Toggle hot key was discussed.  It is suggested you
place the keystroke as the very first and very last of each and every macro.
This will cause Vocal-Eyes to only speak the information you specifically
asked for.

We ended this section by giving you a few examples.  If you have any
questions relating to macros, please refer to your macro programs
documentation.