Independent Living Resource Centre Adaptive Technology Program The ILRC is a resource centre designed by people with disabilities for people with disabilities. The resources, supports and opportunities found at the ILRC can help consumers stay in control of their lives. The ILRC also shares information and resources with other community organizations, students and teachers, government departments, agencies, businesses, and anyone who is interested in disability issues. Some services that the ILRC offers are: * Information & Networking * Individual Advocacy * Volunteer Services * Peer Support * Career Development * Adaptive Technology * CAP Site - Community Access Program * Research & Development * Independent Living Internship Adaptive Technology at the ILRC Adaptive Technology (AT) has become very popular at the ILRC. People who use it are able to overcome obstacles that would otherwise make it difficult for them to use a computer or access the Internet. The Adaptive Technology Program is funded through the provincial Department of Human Resources, Labour & Employment (www.hrle.gov.nl.ca/hrle/), with additional supports received through Industry Canada & Human Resource Social Development - Youth Employment Services. In the ILRC CAP (Community Access Program) site, we have a wide range of computer hardware and software all in a fully accessible environment. Anyone can come in and try out any piece of equipment to see what works best for them. Our AT Coordinator - Donna Greene - is here to help people use the equipment and find ways to own it themselves. We currently have a whole bunch of exciting Adaptive Technology for you to check out. So if you are curious and want to learn more, feel free to stop by the ILRC for more information. Community Access Program - Innovation Fund 2008-09 As part of our participation with the Community Access Program (CAP), in 2008-09 we were able to take advantage of new funding through the Innovation Fund. Thanks to this funding we were able to create quick-start training manuals that help people learn specific Adaptive Technology software programs. The purpose of these manuals was to give people the necessary information to get them started with using the programs, and to do so in a way that was practical and easy to understand. We produced six manuals in total: - Dragon NaturallySpeaking v9.0 Preferred - Kurzweil 3000 - WordQ/SpeakQ - JAWS 10 - Key to Access - ZoomText v9.0 Please note that these manuals are meant as an introduction to the program only. For further details about any of the information contained in these manuals, please consult the manufacturer's user guides. Independent Living Resource Centre 4 Escasoni Place St. John's, NL A1A 3R6 Ph: (709) 722-4031 | Fax: (709) 722-0147 TTY: (709) 722-7998 | Toll Free: 1-866-722-4031 Email: adaptech@ilrc-nl.ca Website: www.ilrc-nl.ca Contents Introduction Getting Started with ZoomText Magnifier Options Reader Options The Toolbar Menu How To's Adjust the Magnification Change the Zoom Display Use the Application Reader with MS Word Change the Voice Use SpeakIt Appendix A - Installing ZoomText 9.0 Appendix B - Activating ZoomText 9.0 Appendix C - Hotkeys Introduction ZoomText 9.0 is a program that combines two pieces of adaptive technology: a Screen Magnifier and a Screen Reader. With the screen magnifier you can enlarge what you see on the screen up to 36 times its original size. With the screen reader you can have a narrator read what's on the screen. These two tools allow you to see and hear everything on the screen and provide complete access to your documents, email, and the Internet. Note: ZoomText 9.0 is also available in a magnifier-only version; however, the material in this manual is based on the Magnifier/Reader version. This manual is meant as an introductory tool only. For more detail instructions on how to install and use ZoomText, please refer to the manufacturer's user guide. You could also visit the manufacturer's website (www.aisquared.com) Getting Started with ZoomText You can start the ZoomText program in a couple of different ways. 1. Double click on the ZoomText icon on your desktop. (The icon is a solid square with the letter Z in the middle.) 2. Go to Start Menu, click Programs, and then click ZoomText 9.0. During the installation process, you have the option to tell ZoomText to start as soon as you turn on your computer. If you say 'yes' to this option, then you won't have to complete either of the above steps. ZoomText will already be open. (For more information about installing ZoomText, please refer to Appendix A on page 15.) When the program is started, you will see the ZoomText 9.0 toolbar and a magnified view of your desktop. When the magnification level is higher than 1x, you may not be able to see your entire desktop. In order to move to "unseen" areas, simply move your mouse towards the edge of the screen. This will bring the rest of the area into view. The ZoomText toolbar holds all the controls you need to use ZoomText. You can choose things such as the level of magnification you need, what colors work best for you, and whether you want to use the narrator or not. There are three main things to point out on this toolbar: 1. Across the top of the window is the Menu Bar - File, Actions, Magnifier, Reader, Settings and Help. 2. On the far left of the window, you'll see a big blue button with the letter Z in the middle. This button controls whether ZoomText is active or inactive. 3. On the main part of the window are two tabs: Magnifier and Reader. (These are located to the right of the big blue Z button.) Each tab has its own set of buttons. The Magnifier tab lets you control the magnification power, the type of magnifier (whether it's a window that follows your mouse like a magnifying glass, or your whole screen is magnified), the colors of your screen, the size and colors of your mouse pointer and text, and several other tools. The Reader tab lets you turn Speech on and off, control the rate at which it speaks, control Echo features (Echo will speak back the keys you type or your mouse clicks), and provides you with options for how ZoomText will read from different programs and documents. In the next two sections we will have a look at some of these features in more detail. Magnifier Options The magnifier tab is made up of three sections - Zoom Windows, Enhancements and Finders. These options will allow you to control how ZoomText works for you. Zoom Windows: Power - Click on the arrows next to the power window to increase or decrease the level of magnification you want. You can go as high as 36X. Type - You have the option to only enlarge part of the screen rather than the whole screen. To set the type of magnification that works for you, click on the Type button. Enhancements: Color - If you want to change your screen colors to black and white or to use blue and yellow only, click on Color and you can change those settings. Pointer - If you want to change the size, shape or color of the mouse pointer, click on Pointer. Cursor - If you want to change the cursor so that it's easier to find, click on cursor. Font - Click on Font if you want to change the way the words are displayed on your screen. You can make them darker or lighter, a different color, or a different style. Finders: Desktop - This allows you to find items on your desktop more easily. Web - This allows you to move to certain parts of a webpage without having to scroll (moving the page up and down manually). Text - If you are reading a text document, this will let you find specific words without having to go through the whole document manually. Reader Options The Reader tab is made up of three sections - Speech, Echo and Reading. The buttons on the Reader tab control how ZoomText reads things to you when you are using the narrator. Speech: Speech button - This is where you go if you want to turn the narrator on or off, and if you want to change the voice of the narrator. Rate - You can speed up or slow down the speech by clicking the arrows next to the rate window. Echo: Typing - This is where you can choose how much is read back to you when you are typing. For example, you can tell ZoomText to only read words instead of every letter in the word. Mouse - When you move your mouse pointer to a word, ZoomText will read that word out loud. This button lets you choose how this works. Verbosity (Verbos.) - This controls how much information ZoomText reads to you when you click on, for example, a desktop icon. At the Beginner level, ZoomText will provide more information. At the Expert level, it will provide less. Reading: Application Reader (AppRdr) - This feature reads text to you from the application you are currently using. For example, if you are checking email then this tool can be used to read a message you have just received. Document Reader (DocRdr) - This feature moves what you want to read to a new window where it is easier to read the text. Zones - This allows you to select different sections of a screen and "tag" them. When they're tagged you will be able to move to them directly without having to go through the rest of the document. SpeakIt - This lets you read text from the screen by clicking and dragging the mouse over the text you want to read. The Toolbar Menu At the top of the ZoomText toolbar, you'll see several menus (File, Actions, Magnifier, etc). Many of the same features we just looked at on the Magnifier and Reader tabs are also on the menu bar. But there are also some other controls you may be interested in. Let's take a quick look at some of the menus that the toolbar provides. File Menu If you are not the only person who is using ZoomText on a particular computer, you may be interested in creating your own configuration file. A configuration file is a group of saved settings that tell ZoomText how you want it to work for you, such as what voice to use, the text color and mouse pointer size. When you set all the options you want to use, go to the File menu and click on Save Configuration. This will save your settings. (To open a configuration file, simply go to the File menu, select Open Configuration, and then choose your file.) When you are finished using ZoomText and want to close the program, simply go to the File menu and click on Exit. Actions Two important features on the Actions menu are: - Enable/Disable ZoomText - turns magnification on and off - Enable/Disable Speech - turns the reader on and off Note that when you turn off the magnification, ZoomText is still active. The screen is just not enlarged. Magnifier The options under this menu are the same features that are on the Magnifier Tab (see page 5). Reader The options under this menu are the same options that are on the Reader Tab (see page 7). Settings This menu contains a variety of specific program settings for fine-tuning how ZoomText works for you. Most of these features are beyond the scope of this manual; however, there is one setting that may be of importance. If you want ZoomText to start up automatically when you turn your computer on (and that option was not selected when the program was installed), you will need to go to the Settings menu then click on Program. You will see a blank checkbox next to "Start ZoomText automatically when the system starts". To turn this feature ON, simple put a checkmark in the box. On the other hand, if this feature is already turned on but you want to turn it off, remove the checkmark. If you wish to learn about the other options on the Settings menu, please refer to the ZoomText user guide for specific information. Help The Help menu provides you with access to the information that is contained in the ZoomText User Guide without having to flip through pages in a book. The Help menu is divided into several sections to make it easier for you to find what you're looking for. How To's The following section outlines some step by step instructions for using some of the more common functions of ZoomText. How To: Adjust the Magnification Perhaps the first thing you will want to adjust is the level of magnification you need. These quick steps will show you how to do that: 1. From the ZoomText toolbar select the Magnifier tab. 2. Under the Zoom Windows section is an adjustable scrollbar (up/down arrows to the right on the number) marked Power. Use the up and down arrows to increase or decrease the magnification to a size that you like. Try increasing the magnification power to 24x or 36x. If you get lost and can't find the down arrow to go back to a smaller size, press Alt + Del on the keyboard. This disables ZoomText so you can reset the magnification. Tip! To increase the magnification quickly, press Alt + NumPad Plus on your keyboard. To decrease, press Alt + NumPad Minus. How To: Change the Zoom Display You may need to experiment with ZoomText's many options before you decide on the settings that work best for you. The following exercise will help get you acquainted with how to choose different settings for zoom type, font, cursor and color. 1. Make sure the Magnifier tab is open on the ZoomText toolbar. 2. Set the power to 2.5x by clicking on the up and down arrows. 3. Next click on Type. Choose Docked and then choose Bottom. 4. Change your color by clicking on Color then Settings. Under the Color Enhancements section, select the Custom radio button (round dot). Under Custom Settings, set the Effect to Two-Color, Foreground Color to Dark Blue and Background Color to Yellow. Apply color enhancements to the Zoom window only. Click OK. 5. Change the Pointer to the Giant Green scheme. (Click Pointer, clicks Scheme, and click Giant Green.) 6. Change the Cursor to a custom setting that has a thick, red, solid circle. (Click on Cursor, then choose Settings. Under cursor enhancement, make sure the Custom radio button is selected. Under Custom Settings, select Circle for the type, Thick for the size, Red for the color and move the slider bar to the right to make the circle Solid. Click OK.) 7. Change the Font by selecting Bold and Smooth. (Click Font, then Bold. Click Font again and make sure there is a checkmark next to Bold - this means the feature is turned on. Next click Smooth.) Your screen should now look like the image on the following page: [image] Do these colors and settings work for you? If not, repeat the steps and choose different options that work better! How To: Use the Application Reader with Microsoft Word The Application Reader that comes with ZoomText is a convenient utility that will allow you to select an application on your computer (like MS Word) and have ZoomText read it from top to bottom. Here's how: 1. Open the MS Word file that you want to read. 2. Go to your ZoomText Toolbar and open the Reader tab. 3. Click AppRdr; your mouse cursor will change to show a small speech balloon next to it. 4. With this new mouse cursor, click anywhere in the MS Word file you have open and ZoomText will begin reading. Note: To pause and resume reading, simply use the Enter key on the keyboard. When you are finished with the AppRdr, press Esc on the keyboard. Tip! If you already working in MS Word and want to quickly access the AppRdr use the keyboard shortcut Alt+Shift+A. ZoomText will start to read your document. How To: Change the Voice If you want to change the narrator's voice, here are the steps to do it: 1. On the ZoomText toolbar, open the Reader tab 2. Click on the Speech button, and then Settings... 3. The Speech window appears. 4. Under the Synthesizer tab, you can change the voices using the dropdown box, and you can change the Rate, Pitch, and Volume using the arrow boxes under the dropdown menu. Experiment the different voices, speeds and other options to determine what you like best. How To: Use SpeakIt SpeakIt allows you to click any word on the screen and ZoomText will read it out loud to you. Here is how to use it: 1. From the ZoomText Toolbar click the Reader tab 2. Click the SpeakIt button located in Reading section. 3. Your mouse cursor will change to show a small speech balloon next to the cursor; move your mouse over any word on screen and give it a left click. The word, no matter if it's a desktop icon or text in a word file, will be read to you. To turn SpeakIt on using the keyboard, press Alt+Shift+I. To turn it off, press Esc. Appendix A Installing ZoomText 9.0 There is a detailed installation guide located on page 14 of this guide. Installing ZoomText 9.0 is a quick and easy process, you just need to make sure you have some minimum requirements before you install. You'll need to have the following or better in your computer: * Windows 98 or newer * 450 MHz Processor * 512 MB RAM * 25 Megabytes of free Hard Disk space * CD/DVD Drive * Sound Card/Speakers (for Magnifier Reader version only) Once you've confirmed that your computer meets the minimum requirements above, place your ZoomText CD into the CD/DVD Drive of your computer and follow the on screen instructions to install the software. If the Setup does not automatically start when you place the CD in the drive, follow these steps: 1. Click on the Windows start button and select Run. 2. Browse to your CD drive. 3. Select the Setup program and click Open. 4. Click the OK in the Run dialog box. Appendix B Activating ZoomText 9.0 Activating ZoomText 9.0 is only necessary after its initial 30 days of use. In order to continue to use ZoomText 9.0 afterwards, you'll need to activate using your serial number (included in the packaging with your copy of ZoomText 9.0). If you're using an upgrade version as opposed to a brand new version, you'll also need the serial number from your previous version. You can also find your serial number on the sleeve of the ZoomText 9.0 case, on the registration card, on top of the ZoomText 9.0 box, or in the back of the user guide that came with your copy of ZoomText 9.0. Once you've got your serial number, you've several options for the actual activation procedure. Option 1: I have a serial and want to activate ZoomText If you have your serial number on hand, this will be the option you want to take. Option 2: I want to purchase ZoomText Choose this option if you're currently using a demo of ZoomText 9.0 and wish to purchase a serial number. The wizard will then display information on how to purchase ZoomText 9.0. Option 3: I want to try ZoomText Choose the third option if you want to use ZoomText 9.0 in the 30-day trial mode. Trial mode allows you to use ZoomText 9.0 with all its features for the allotted 30 days. Once the trial is up you must activate ZoomText 9.0 to continue using it. Appendix C Hotkeys User Interface Hotkeys Enable ZoomText ALT + INS Disable ZoomText ALT + DEL AppReader and DocReader Hotkeys (Magnifier/Reader only) Play/Pause Reading ENTER Increase Magnification ALT + NUMPAD PLUS Decrease Magnification ALT + NUMPAD MINUS Increase Reading Rate CTRL + NUMPAD PLUS Decrease Reading Rate CTRL + NUMPAD MINUS Exit ESC Navigation Hotkeys Say Previous Word LEFT Say Current Word SPACEBAR Say Next Word RIGHT Say Word Above UP Say Word Below DOWN Say Previous Sentence CTRL + ALT + LEFT Say Next Sentence CTRL + ALT + RIGHT Say Previous Paragraph CTRL + UP Say Next Paragraph CTRL + DOWN Magnification Hotkeys Increase Magnification ALT + NUMPAD PLUS Decrease Magnification ALT + NUMPAD MINUS Window Type CTRL + SHIFT + Z Miscellaneous Hotkeys Capture ZoomText Screen CTRL + ALT + SHIFT + C Cursor Detect CTRL + ALT + SHIFT + D Reader Toolbar Hotkeys (Magnifier/Reader only) Speech On/Off ALT + SHIFT + S Screen Reading Hotkeys (for screen reader only) Say Window Title CTRL + ALT + W Say All CTRL + ALT + A Say Selected Text CTRL + ALT + S Say Current Time CTRL + ALT + I Say Current Date CTRL + ALT + Y Scroll Hotkeys Scroll Up ALT + UP Scroll Down ALT + DOWN Scroll Left ALT + LEFT Scroll Right ALT + RIGHT ?? ?? ?? ?? 3