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Symbol for Windows - Personal Communicator

1. 15 4 1 Field layout zu ctetu On Iia ee ttes 15 4 2 Page type and page layout 15 4 3 Sentence bar options 15 4 4 Speech etn De deae eed Mean d gx cea Poe en reece nere ven 16 AS Commands sene Rt oa beilo renis ERR Ep ca showed basin necked sid Leads 16 4 6 Re arrange the content of a page move and copy fields 16 5 Fields visual content ciue cecinere cocinas neiaa 17 5 1 Placing symbols Select Symbol dialog 17 5 2 Placing symbols Reference Vocabulary nen 18 5 3 Adding images from files 19 5 4 Opposite IridiCator a dere eina eo tae Eva eo eoi ee n ne de etenes orae 20 5 5 Adding Bio 20 5 6 Re arrange the content of a field 20 5 7 Text of the label 5 1er moet unde terre de aere te tte ARR 21 5 8 Fields with dynamic content 21 6 Fields Settings a i iniuriae daaa naaanod decesac tec cluctoececi o ideae esa dd dE R3 RR De oilnlliaiaia 22 6 1 Layout per field and per symbol or image 22 6 2 Sentence bar options 23 6 3 Speech and sounds 23 6 4 Commands EA ada Ope cance rette E eM te Sad ME fett ee La id thang 24 COEURS co DM 24 T Free EayoUut 1 aie ee Ie EANA E AAEE ONENEAN KAAS 26 7 1 How to start with a free layout chart 26 1 2 Gells idt bitu vie A ne alterae O m att 29 7 3 Saving your chart edet eet edendi dendi dan eaa enu dna eae E Re e RR REB RS 31 8 Give the user access to symbols and files
2. 2011 Handicom NL Page 37 User Manual SfW Personal Communicator 28 December 201 1 You can give the user the possibility to hide and unhide the sentence bar Link the command to a field section 6 4 Commands a page section 4 5 Commands or to a button in the command bar see section 9 2 1 Create a new command bar or edit the current one The command can be found in the command set file SentenceBar cmds 10 3 Input options standard or scanning It depends on the input mode and the settings for the input mode to which signals the program reacts in running mode and in what way it reacts Click Options Input type in the menu There are three input types to choose from standard scanning and joystick Note not on all operating systems the program works well with a joystick Tip you can temporarily stop the scanning by pressing the Scroll Lock key Then you can use the mouse and keyboard standard input Press the Scroll Lock key again to resume the scanning Scanning If the user can t handle a mouse set the input mode to scanning The section Scan options explains all options for this input mode Standard If the user can handle a mouse you can set the input mode to standard It may be necessary to set a tremor delay and a debounce delay for the mouse buttons to prevent reactions when the user clicks the mouse by accident for instance because of a tremor Click the button Options e The program
3. In this way you can determine which cell is on top when two cells overlap As you can see it is important to keep in mind these two orders the scanning order and the order of the boxes from front to back The front boxes are always scanned first then the ones at the back In other words first the top most box in the left bar is scanned and then the second going all the way to the last field at the bottom Tip While editing a Personal Communicator chart with free layout it s sometimes difficult to select a field that is placed behind another field It s easier to select the corresponding box in the bar of boxes to the left of the screen 7 3 Saving your chart Choose File Save from the menu or File Save as to save the chart Save saves the chart under the same name The existing file is overwritten or replaced If the chart has never been saved before you will be prompted to give the chart a file name Save as saves the chart under a different name Select the folder where you want your file to be stored enter a name and click OK To save a chart you can also click the Save button on the toolbar or press the Ctrl S keys on the keyboard A Personal Communicator chart that has been created with the Gold version version 4 and up is always saved with the extension pccx All imported pictures are saved along with the file so the chart can easily be moved to another computer It is possible to save the chart as a pcc
4. By default the COMPIC database is shown If you want the Concept browser to show another database choose Properties Concept browser or right click on a field in the vocabulary and choose Viewer Properties Now you can select a database from a list 8 1 2 Layout settings You can also change the layout of the Concept Browser how many rows and columns it shows at a time with what background colour et cetera First open the Concept Browser following the link in the chart Then make sure that the Concept Browser is editable Right click on a field in the Concept Browser and choose Editable in the pop up menu Then right click on a field in the Concept Browser and choose Page properties from the menu You can now change a number of settings On the tab menu Page e The number of rows and columns e The background colour of the page this will only be visible when there is a space between the fields e The space between the fields e The colour and the width of the borders around the fields e The background colour of the fields that refer to another folder On the tab menu Field e The background colour of the fields e Font placing and scaling of the label this is the file name e Scaling of the image Finally click on OK The settings will be saved and will be used even the next time you run the program 8 2 Images on the computer link to the Folder Explorer The Folder Explorer is a browser that shows the image f
5. commands from this page Note If you select commands in the Page Properties dialog the commands will be copied into the page The program executes the command when the user enters or exits the page in running mode The file containing the command list is no longer needed and it is not necessary to have the file present on the computer of the end user 4 6 Re arrange the content of a page move and copy fields You can easily move fields on one page using the drag and drop feature e Move the mouse over the field you want to move and press and hold the left mouse button e Move the mouse over the field you want to move the other field to e Release the left mouse button The fields will be exchanged Tip Hold the Ctrl key while dragging to copy the content of the first field and add it to the second field Using the Edit menu or the popup menu you can either copy a field including its content choose Copy or without its content choose Copy Settings Then click on the field where you want to copy to and choose Edit Paste Page 16 2011 Handicom NL User Manual SfW Personal Communicator 28 December 201 1 5 Fields visual content Fields can be filled with visible and invisible information This chapter is about the visual content of each field Field properties dialog With one dialog all field options can be set the Field Properties dialog To open it do one of the following e Double clic
6. in a Vocabulary or Chart You get a few such pages automatically when you install the Symbol for Windows cd rom The files can be found in the Symbol for Windows user directory usually C program files handicom symforwin users They are called 1 WP_ABCD mnu WP_QWERTY mnu and WP_BothTypes mnu These are Vocabulary files 2 WP_ABCD vcp WP QWERTY vcp and WP_BothTypes vcp can be imported in a Personal Communicator Chart 3 WP ABCD pcc WP QWERTY pcc and WP BothTypes pcc are Personal Communicator Charts Besides characters these pages also contain a few fields that act like buttons With these buttons the user can delete a character accept a word and enter a space move the text to the document chart sentence bar etc There is also a file called FlexLexDemo pcc When you open this you can see the Vocabulary in its different appearances Using the word prediction Select a character or two see the Settings paragraph The column at the left will be filled with a number of words how many Again see the Settings paragraph You can select another character or click on the field New Prediction to get more predictions with the same first letters When you see three dots after a predicted word this means there are word endings When you select that word the column will be filled with the different forms of that word You can accept a predicted word by e clicking on it e clicking on the button Accept New Word e Click
7. saved chart from disk or start making a new chart either blank or with a grid How to create and edit blank charts read chapter 7 Free Layout A chart indicates the entire set of pages Settings the program remembers When closing the program stores all user settings and will use those settings the next time you open the program 1 1 Application modes The Personal Communicator has two modes User mode or running mode this is the normal mode the user uses to communicate e Facilitator mode or settings mode this mode allows a parent therapist or technician to change communication charts scan settings speech synthesizer options etc The program starts in User mode once you have filled out which files to use Options User files It will use the chart and the optional command bar Otherwise the program starts in Facilitator mode Press Alt F10 to change between the two modes You can switch to user mode by pressing Alt F10 You can switch back to facilitator mode by pressing Alt F10 Page 4 2011 Handicom NL User Manual SfW Personal Communicator 28 December 201 1 For touch screen computers a special alternative has been developed Press in rapid sequence the corners of the communication chart in this order 1 Top Left 2 Top Right 3 Bottom Right 4 Bottom Left The sentence bar is not visible in facilitator mode only in running mode In running mode it will be visible on every page for whic
8. Change default directories Select Tools Directory manager to view and change the default file locations You can change the user directory the default images directory the default sounds directory the shared files directory and the support files directory 11 5 Caching speed up a slow computer On a fast computer the program will run smoothly When the computer is slower the program runs slower too If it runs very slow you can activate the caching system to reduce the time the user has to spend waiting for pages to show The caching system stores whole pages in files on disk and keeps a number of pages in the working memory RAM Loading a page file may cost less time than it costs to load a non prepared page especially when a page contains a lot of images Once it is activated the caching system works in facilitator mode as well as in running mode There is one difference when the user switches from facilitator mode to running mode the program asks if it should prepare all pages in advance Preparing all pages may take a lot of time it may also save time if the caching system is balanced well Change the settings to tune the caching system to your computer The settings for the caching system can be changed through the menu Options Cache Compression level 0 to 9 A higher compression level results in smaller compressed files Raising the compression level can be useful if you have a slow harddisk or a slow proces
9. Page Manager select the page you want to export and click the button Save page as template The program suggests a filename that you can change You can also change the directory in which the file must be saved but don t change the extension Click on OK to save the page in a separate file Note In a Paper Chart Maker chart only the visual content of the fields will be saved Symbols images photo s texts and the colors used will appear in the new Paper Chart Mkaer chart The other information that the Personal Communicator can store in a field such as commands that are linked to a field will be neglected 3 5 Rename a page To rename a page you can use the Page Manager Tools Page Manager Select the page you want to give another name click the button Rename page and type the new name The new name must be unique You can also change a page s name in the Page properties dialog tab menu Page see section 4 Page settings Page 14 2011 Handicom NL User Manual SfW Personal Communicator 28 December 201 1 4 Page settings The default Chart settings such as the number of rows and columns on a page can be overruled by a page s own settings First go to the page of which you want to change the settings You can use the Page Manager to do this To open it choose Tools Page Manager in the menu Click on the page that you want to change Then close the Page Manager You can also go to another p
10. Test Speech Output in the menu In the Field Properties dialog page Speech you will find three smaller pages Speaker Feedback on select and Feedback on navigation The speaker one of the two voices you can configure represents the user in communication with other people Feedback messages give the user audible feedback to let him or her know where the cursor is or what selection he or she has just made To find out which voice will be heard in what situation see section 10 4 Speech options On each of the three pages you can choose e Automatic text This is the field label e Text type a different text to send to the speech synthesizer e Pre recorded speech in file you can select an audio file click on the button Browse or record a sound n audio file If you want to record a sound or piece of speech click on the button Record click on the button with the red dot to start recording on the button with the red rectangle to stop recording and on Save to save the recorded sound The new sound file will be selected for use automatically e Database a recorded piece of audio stored in a Symbol for Windows database e None By default the feedback on selection is the same as the speaker s speech the feedback on navigation is the same as the feedback on selection 2011 Handicom NL Page 23 User Manual SfW Personal Communicator 28 December 2011 6 4 Commands The Personal Communicator can execute
11. about the order of word types in one or more sentence types Navigation files are Personal Communicator Charts with the extension pcc There are different sets of navigation files for English Dutch Swedish and Danish The file with the appropiate language is automatically installed when you install the cd rom and can usually be found in the directory C Program Files Handicom Shared SymforWin Users These sets consist out of a number of navigation files It is intended that the user learns to work with the Grammar Guided Writing with these files The choice of sentence types and word types is limited in the first file and extensive in the last file There is also a file called FlexLexDemo pcc Using this file you can see the Vocabulary in its different appearances 15 2 Speech output The Grammar Guided Writing can generate speech output provided that you have a speech synthesizer that the Symbol for Windows application has been instructed to work with that speech synthesizer etc In the settings dialog you can check the moments on which you want speech output When the sentence is complete When the mouse moves over a sentence or when the focus comes on a sentence When the focus moves to another field using mouse or scanning 15 3 Preview row When the option Preview Row is checked there will be another row below the main row in which the choices are made When the focus comes on one of the fields in the main row the r
12. also use the Backspace key 2 3 2 Page layout The tab menu Page allows you to set the default layout for pages The default layout applies to all pages that don t have their own settings and to every new page You can set e the number of rows and columns when creating a new page it will get the number of rows and columns set here e the default page color note that this color is not visible if the field spacing is set to zero e the default link color fields that refer to another page will by default get this color e the field border width e the field border color note that this color won t be visible if the field border width is zero e the field spacing spaces between the fields You can not set a default name because each page name has to be unique in the entire Communication Chart 2 4 Default settings for speech In running mode the program can say or play something when the user navigates through the chart walking over the fields command bar and or sentence bar Some users need this audible feedback to know where the cursor is because they can t see it More on this option in paragraph 10 4 Speech options You can make feedback messages for every field and every page On this dialog page you can set a default feedback message for the chart Vocabulary The message will be said when the cursor indicates the whole chart for instance when the user has to choose between the sentence bar and the char
13. becomes slower select Tools Reference Vocabulary Close Vocabulary This will really unload the reference vocabulary from memory and release the allocated resources Note that this is usually not necessary 1 5 2 Change a Reference Vocabulary Creating a User Vocabulary with the Vocabulary Maker In the Vocabulary Maker you can drag and drop symbols images or image files and entire pages or sets of pages from a vocabulary to the User Vocabulary You can also print the Vocabulary When you have made a user vocabulary it can be applied to Document Maker Click on the menu item Vocabulary Load and select the file that you have made for the user Creating or editing a User Vocabulary in the Personal Communicator In the Personal Communicator it is not possible to fill the user vocabulary using another vocabulary but it is very well possible to make or edit a User Vocabulary First click on Vocabulary in the menu and then on Allow editing Note Take care to switch off this facility before the end user starts working with Personal Communicator The user could accidentally change the individual vocabulary Right click on the vocabulary to edit it Tip You can open the manual How to make a selection set directly from the Personal Communicator Right click on the vocabulary and choose Vocabulary Help Alternatively you can also find the manual Menu doc and Menu pdf in the directory Handicom SymforWin Manuals and ope
14. is a new file type different from versions 3 4 and older It means that all imported images are saved with the chart It is no longer necessary to move the image files with the chart when you move the chart to another computer or send it to a colleague or friend Choosing the old file format remains possible Files with extension pcc can be opened by older versions of Symbol for Windows files with extention pccx cannot Furthermore charts that have been created using the free layout function can t be opened by older versions even if they have been given the extension pcc It is advisable to save any document frequently while you are working on it Press Ctrl 4 S as a convenient way to quickly save your document Page 12 2011 Handicom NL User Manual SfW Personal Communicator 28 December 201 1 3 Managing pages Managing pages is easy using the Page Manager To open it choose Tools Page Manager in the menu Which buttons are enabled depends on the selected page s Note Links can not be added or deleted using the Page Manager A link is a reference to another page Only fields can hold a reference to another page so in fact a link is a field s property See section 6 5 Links to find out how to add or delete a link in other words how to edit this property 3 1 Add a page To add a page e select a field and choose Field Add Page in the menu or e richt click on a field and choose Add page from the pop up
15. menu or e open the Page Manager Tools Page Manager and click the button Create empty page A dialog will appear with a suggested name of the new page e g Page 5 This suggested name is guaranteed to be unique but it is not very descriptive It is a very good custom to change this name into something more descriptive If the new page name is not unique the Personal Communicator will inform you about that and you will have to change the name If you have used the Page Manager to add a page don t forget to make at least two links one from another page in the chart to the new page and one from the new page to one of the other pages 3 2 Delete a page You must use the Page Manager to delete pages Open the Page Manager Tools Page Manager select the page you want to delete and click the Delete button The page will be deleted and all links to it will be deleted in the entire Communication Chart 3 3 Import a page Personal Communicator pages saved separately can be imported in a Personal Communicator Chart A Paper Chart Maker chart exported as vocabulary page can be imported in a Personal Communicator chart as well To add such a page to the Personal Communicator chart you can e select a field and choose Field Add page from template from the menu or e richt click on a field and choose Add page from template from the pop up menu e open the Page Manager Tools Page Manager and click th
16. mind that some symbols don t have their own background color Font this is the font used for all text that is placed in the sentence bar Labels are not copied into the sentence bar but the text representation is see section 5 5 Adding text Number of lines in history the sentence bar can keep up to 20 lines in memory The lines in the sentence bars memory can only be used if the option scroll buttons visible is checked because the user needs the up and down scroll buttons to view the lines in memory Scroll buttons visible check this option if you want the user to be able to scroll the sentence bar to the left and to the right and to browse the lines in the sentence bar s memory 10 2 2 Feedback messages Go to Options Sentence bar in the menu page Speech to change the feedback messages the user can get in scanning mode The feedback message will be played when the cursor indicates the sentence bar area scroll buttons included the sentence bar or one of the scroll buttons left right up down Note that all forms of feedback can be switched off with one option See section 10 4 Speech options 10 2 3 How to operate the sentence bar When the user selects the sentence bar in running mode the following things happen 1 the content of the sentence bar is sent to the speech synthesizer 2 the line is put into the sentence bar s memory 3 the sentence bar is cleared when the user makes the next selection
17. one or more commands when the user selects a field Using the Commands page you can indicate which commands should be executed when the field is selected in running mode Press the edit button to change the commands for this field A dialog will open where you can select commands from the currently loaded command list If no Command set is currently loaded you will first have to load a Command set press the Load button and select one of the command files file extension cmds see section 9 1 About commands Note If you select commands in the Field settings dialog the commands will be copied into the field The file containing the command list is no longer needed and it is not necessary to have the file present on the computer of the end user 6 5 Links 6 5 1 Adda link To add a link to a field you can e select a field and select Field Add Link in the menu or e press the right mouse button on a field and select Add Link in the pop up menu A dialog will appear with a list of all the pages present in the Communication Chart Select the page you want to link to and press enter or Select OK When you add a link to a field it always gets a folded corner If the field already had its own color setting the color remains the same otherwise the field gets the default link color set for the chart or for the current page If the field was empty the program copies the content of the first field on the linked page int
18. than once on different pages To make the Vocabulary display the next match e Choose Find Find next in Vocabulary from the menu or e rigt click on the Vocabulary and choose Find next from the pop up menu 5 3 Adding images from files Images can be imported using the Reference Vocabulary the Field properties dialog the menu or pop up menu or Windows Explorer Tip If you don t want the imported image to replace the content of the field so if you want to add it to the field then you must use the dialog Field Graphics or the Windows Using the Reference Vocabulary This method is the quickest especially if there are several images in files on the computer that you want to place in the chart 1 First make sure that the Vocabulary shows the files in a folder on the computer Choose Reference Vocabulary in the menu Tools and click on Explore folder To learn more about the different settings for the Folder explorer read paragraph 8 2 Images on the computer 2 Browse through the folders to find the image file Drag the image file to a field on the chart or copy it into a field The previous paragraph explains in detail how to do that Note If the loaded vocabulary contains imported images you can copy them into the Communication Chart just like the other symbols in the vocabulary Using the Field Properties dialog The Field Properties dialog can also be used to import images Right click on the field select Curren
19. the speech properties for a page Suppress speaker speech The speaker is the voice that represents the user in communication with other people It is possible to suppress the speaker speech for an entire page This might be useful e g when a page is used for environment control only Check the option Suppress speaker speech for entire page Note that the Speaker will not be suppressed for the sentence bar But you can hide the sentence bar as well Page feedback message When the user is navigating the chart the program can generate feedback messages to let the user know where he or she is in the chart The feedback can be given during navigation or as a respond to selection By default the feedback message for a page is the page name But it can also be something else the message you type here 45 Commands The Personal Communicator can execute a series of commands when the user enters or exits a certain page The commands should be linked to that page using the Page Properties dialog tab menu Commands Press the Edit button to add or change the commands for the current page A dialog will open where you can select commands from the currently loaded command list If no Command is loaded you will first have to load a Command set press the Load button and select one of the command files file extension cmds see section 9 1 About commands Press the Clear button to erase all on enter or on exit
20. versions of this command to make the program wait shorter or longer the time is always given in milliseconds Go to Page 1 with the Command Editor you can make other versions of this command that refer to other pages SfW Switch to Document Maker with the Command Editor you can make other versions of this command to run other SfW modules Page 34 2011 Handicom NL User Manual SfW Personal Communicator 28 December 201 1 System ShutdownSystem and PowerOffSystem can both be used to shut down Windows When ShutdownSystem is used the user still has to push the On Off button of the computer If you use PowerOffSystem the option Reboot after power loss must be disabled in the BIOS otherwise the computer will restart immediately Sentence Bar Print all Sentence Bar lines print all lines from the Sentence Bar s hismory plus the line on Screen Save Save the content of the sentence bar in a field in the chart Scroll Down go to the next line in the Sentence Bar history Scroll Up go to the next line in the Sentence Bar history 9 2 Command bars A command bar is a toolbar with a special selection of buttons on it It can be used in edit mode as well as in running mode This toolbar is scanable so users who operate the Personal Communicator through Switches can use the buttons on this toolbar It can also be helpful to make a command bar for yourself to use when editing the chart e g with buttons to go bac
21. MA Handicom Symbol for Windows Personal Communicator Version 4 Handicom 2011 The Netherlands User Manual SfW Personal Communicator 28 December 201 1 Contents WTPOCGUCTION DREAM 3 1 Window of the Personal Communicator ss 4 1 1 Application mod es aon os tp esed cep on eaten ttr ts betae Rs int ons 4 1 2 Menu and toolbar ii EI e e tere E dte IU NT 5 1 3 Colorbar ineo bet ots o ete fees etae ne tea 5 UE TG eri dT UE 5 1 5 Vocabulary ee t eerie t eC UH MR 6 2 Charts and chart settings for grid pages 10 2 1 Vocabulary Global Properties 10 2 2 Default settings for fields 10 2 9 Default settingS for pages coperte nd Dp eR DH ut eei Det dee rb ex d tuit 10 2 4 Default settings for speech i tec tempe P AREE T LEER PR tele 11 2 5 Start page ord esis erdt eene d ac ec f re eei i an mn tt gae cete ta 11 2 6 Default settings for the sentence bar 12 2 7 Create save and open charts 12 3 Managing pages 2 2 etre ieete rd tentent einen Sen sen n nn Pri titan enr Dei RR 2 13 3 1 Add page T 13 SA Dolte a page iere beet eoe Pepe E DRE EORR Hes IRE en Ege Ao xd dad gd 13 3 9 Importa page ah dire tn axe diat i e toes ee dopage een bas lees tal dl te 13 2 4 Export a page ciu erede iind Ere ente d ok eae e D SIE RR Ras nate taeda 14 3 5 Rename A page need i ead edet dente teet ie ee edes 14 4 Page SCN me
22. a category the list in the middle is filled with all concepts that occur in that category and in the chosen database A placed before the name of a category means that there are sub categories Click with the left mouse button on the to unfold a category Now you can select one of the sub categories to be able to browse a smaller selection Below the category structure you will find two options which can make searching easier 1 If the first option is activated the category structure functions as follows When you click on the name of a category that contains subcategories the list in the middle will be filled with all concepts which occur in the chosen database as well as in the chosen category and in all its sub categories This is always the case when you click on the main category whether this option is activated or not 2 When a symbol database doesn t contain too many symbols many categories and sub categories will be empty or almost empty Check this option to remove the empty categories from the category structure and to place the contents of very small sub categories in their parent category When you choose another symbol database the category structure will be adapted to that database 3 The option Remember current category makes the dialog remember which category was open when the dialog is closed Next time you open the dialog it will open with the same category Finding a symbol You can browse the l
23. age 21 User Manual SfW Personal Communicator 28 December 2011 6 Fields settings With one dialog all field options can be set the Field Properties dialog To open it do one of the following e Double click on a field Select a field and press Ctrl Enter on a field Select Properties Current field in the menu Press the right mouse button and select Current field in the pop up menu Select a field and press the toolbar button Field Properties All settings that can be done on the first tab menu in the dialog the tab menu Content have been mentioned in chapter 5 With the second tab menu Field you can edit the general field layout options the background color appearance of the label graphic drawing options and the font to use The last three pages influence the way the field responds in running mode e Speech specify what speech to use for this field e Commands specify any commands to execute when this field is selected e Link specify the page this field links to 6 1 Layout per field and per symbol or image 6 1 1 Color The color of fields can be set in a number of ways The Colorbar provides a quick and easy way to color fields When it is visible you can activate a color by clicking on it Read section 1 3 Colorbar to find out how to hide unhide the Colorbar and how to change the settings of the Colorbar A small cross in one of the colored boxes shows which color is the active color If there is a
24. age 22 2011 Handicom NL User Manual SfW Personal Communicator 28 December 201 1 These default settings can be overruled by a page s own settings for fields see section 4 1 Field layout 6 1 3 Settings per symbol or image Select the field and choose Properties Current field or choose Current field from the pop up menu Go to the tab menu Content Select the symbol or image and click on the button Options You can set the scaling and the use of colors Scaling Symbols and images can keep their own aspect ratio or they can be stretched up automatically so that they take up as much space as possible Colors You can force the symbol or image to be drawn in black and white Opposite indicator you can add an opposite indicator see chapter 5 4 Opposite indicator 6 2 Sentence bar options In the Field Properties dialog tab menu Sentence bar you can change the settings concerning the sentence bar When the user selects this field should the content of the field be added to the sentence bar or not If you answer this question with Yes you can also choose if you want the program to add a space while building the sentence bar text 6 3 Speech and sounds The speech for each field is by default determined by the field label You can override this setting by changing the speech options of a field Tip You can test the speech output of a field in Facilitator Mode select the field and choose Field
25. age using the menu Find Click on Go to page and choose the page from the list A third possibility is to follow the links in the chart hold the Ctrl key pressed down and click on a field that links to another page to follow the link Tip To go to the previous page you can press the Backspace key To change the settings of the page e select Properties Current page in the menu or e press the right mouse button and select Current page in the pop up menu or e press the toolbar button Page properties With the Page properties dialog that opens up you can set the options for one page in the Communication Chart If you want to change e g the font used for field labels in all fields on this page change the label font of the page All fields on this page will use this font unless the setting is overruled on a more detailed level that is in the field settings for one field Setting the options to Default will result in using the options set for the Chart Properties Vocabulary Global Properties in the menu or pop up menu All the pages that are available in the dialog are discussed in the paragraphs below 4 1 Field layout This is very much like the Field properties you can set for the entire communication chart but here you set them for one page and not for the whole chart See section 2 2 Default settings for fields The main difference is that now you can use the default options set for the entire chart 4 2 Page
26. ages that are present in the underlying folder If you want the folder to be represented by another image you have to place an image called Folder xxx xxx being a valid graphical extension BMP GIF JPG JPEG WMF or EMF in the underlying folder 8 2 2 Folder Explorer layout settings You can also change how the files are shown how many rows and columns at a time with what background colour et cetera First make sure that the graphic menu is editable Right click on a field in the graphic menu and choose Editable in the pop up menu Then right click on a field in the graphic menu and choose Page properties from the menu You can now change a number of settings On the tab menu Page e The number of rows and columns e The background colour of the page this will only be visible when there is a space between the fields e The space between the fields e The colour and the width of the borders around the fields e The background colour of the fields that refer to another folder On the tab menu Field e The background colour of the fields e Font placing and scaling of the label this is the file name e Scaling of the image Finally click on OK The settings will be saved and will be used even the next time you run the program 8 3 Sounds and music link to the Sound Player The Sound Player is a browser that shows sound files that are found in part of the folders on the computer The Sound Player temporarily r
27. art extra scan time percentage The Restart extra scan time is the time added to the step time for the first step at each scan level For instance if the step time is 1000 milliseconds 1 second and the restart extra scan time is 100 percent the cursor waits 2 seconds on the first step of each level Tremor delay and Debounce delay in milliseconds Some users who have a tremor can press a switch by accident If the program would react to those accidental movements it would cost the user a lot of time to undo what the program does next Page 46 2011 Handicom NL User Manual SfW Personal Communicator 28 December 201 1 If you set a tremor delay the program does not react when the switch is pressed shorter than the time for the tremor delay If you set a debounce delay the program stops listening to the switches after a selection until the time for the debounce delay is over If there are two switches the tremor delay and debounce delay will be the same for both Note you can also set the tremor delay and the debounce delay for the mouse buttons This will enable some users to work with regular mouse input in stead of switches To do this choose Options Input type from the menu select standard input and click the Options button 2011 Handicom NL Page 47 User Manual SfW Personal Communicator 28 December 2011 13 Toolbar buttons cee a RR 08 a er 5 et M 4 5 Page 48 2011 Ha
28. columns choose File New Blank To add a page without rows and columns to an existing chart rightclick on a field and choose add blank page Or select the field to which you want to add a link to a new free layout page and choose Field Add Freelayout page from the menu A link to the new page will be added to the selected field To follow the link click on the field while keeping the Ctrl key pressed down In the new blank page there are no rows and columns Directly above the paper there are a couple of extra buttons To the left of the paper you can see a bar in the same colour as the paper This bar is empty except for one small box This will change when you start filling the page See chapter 7 2 Cells 7 1 2 Colouring the chart By default the page is light blue You can change the color of the page through the page properties dialogue From the menu choose Properties Current page Or rightclick the page and choose Page properties In the dialogue that appears click the tab Page In the box Page color click the button Select and choose a color Click OK 7 1 3 The background image Choosing a background image is not obligatory but it can make your page look nice and even come in handy A background picture can provide the symbols and texts on the page with a meaningful context Choosing a background image goes like this Click this button A dialogue appears Page 26 2011 Handi
29. com NL User Manual SfW Personal Communicator 28 December 201 1 Page properties FreeLayout Page Background image Add image from database a Add image from file This dialogue can also be opened through the menu by clicking Properties Current page Using a symbol as background Click the button Add image from database The standard Symbol for Windows symbol selection dialogue appears Read more about this dialogue in paragraph 5 1 Placing symbols Select Symbol dialogue 2011 Handicom NL Page 27 User Manual SfW Personal Communicator 28 December 2011 I Select Symbol Category Concept Representation Standard category structure l Sclera 4 0 activities clothing personal belongings E communication sentence structure In descriptions 1 o clock eating drinking 10 emotions 10 a m house housekeeping 10 o clock illness handicap m Dus ck leisure time recreation and sport 2 e nature 2 o clock amp persons 3 religion 3 o clock school science M society 4 o clock the human body 1 4 p m time Festivals 5 work industry and office o clock 7 la atii Hide small categories and add their content to the parent category Include concepts in subcategories always true For the root category Remember the currently selected category Choose a symbol Click the OK button The s
30. d off Tip when using scanning and automatic movement of the cursor you have to make sure that the step time is long enough to hear the feedback 10 4 3 Interrupt speaker speech Select Options Speech The speech options dialog appears in which you can turn interrupt speaker speech on or off If the program is not allowed to interrupt the speaker it puts all messages for the speaker in a queue If it is allowed to interrupt the speaker the program will interrupt the speaker at the moment the user selects the sentence bar 10 5 Synthesizer settings Select Options Synthesizer in the menu A dialog will open where you can select one or two speech synthesizers and one or two voices Depending on the engine and the voice of your choice you can change a number of voice parameters volume rate speed pitch central voice frequency voice dynamics frequency alteration aspiration For clipboard readers no voice can be chosen This also means it is not possible to change the voice by setting the parameters Notes The 16 bit versions of the InfoVocs can be used but they function like a clipboard reader the text is copied to the clipboard and then sent to the speech synthesizer The name and settings of the speech synthesizer s will be stored in the computer s registry 2011 Handicom NL Page 39 User Manual SfW Personal Communicator 28 December 2011 10 6 Start up with a certain chart and comma
31. does not react to mouseclicks which are shorter than the tremor delay e After a mouseclick the program doesn t notice mouseclicks for the time of the debounce delay 10 4 Speech options In running mode the program can say or play something whenever e the user navigates through the chart option feedback on navigation e the user selects a field option feedback on selection e the sentence bar is selected The Personal Communicator can control two voices a speaker voice and a feedback voice It depends on your speech synthesizer if you can select and configure one or two voices see section 10 5 Synthesizer settings The speaker voice represents the user when he wants to communicate to other people The feedback voice can give the user audible feedback when navigating the chart and or when selecting fields pages Blind or sight impaired people will need this voice to know where the cursor is The feedback voice will usually not be as loud as the speaker voice because the user doesn t use this voice to communicate to other people If the program is not allowed to interrupt the speaker it puts all messages for the speaker in a queue If it is allowed to interrupt the speaker the program will interrupt the speaker if there is a new message for the speaker to pronounce 10 4 1 Feedback on selection Select Options Speech The speech options dialog appears in which you can turn feedback on selection on or off Which voice wil
32. e button Create page from template Choose a file of the type vcp and click OK The program suggests a new page name in this case the filename minus the extension that you can change if you want When you click on OK again the page is added to the chart It is stored in the chart file like all other pages so the changes that you make to this page won t affect the template If you have used the Page Manager to add a page from template don t forget to make at least two links one from another page in the chart to the new page and one from the new page to one of the other pages Notes e From Paper Chart Maker charts only the visual content of the fields will be copied Symbols images photo s texts and the colors used will appear in the new Personal Communicator page The other information that the Paper Chart Maker saves in a 2011 Handicom NL Page 13 User Manual SfW Personal Communicator 28 December 2011 chart such as commands that are linked to a field and the size of the chart will be neglected e Toa Paper Chart Maker chart the Personal Communicator will always automatically add an extra row on top with a link to the previous page in the top left field 3 4 Export a page You must use the Page Manager to export pages from the Personal Communicator chart An exported page can be imported in another Personal Communicator template page or as a Paper Chart Maker chart Open the Page Manager Tools
33. e file or use the browse button to look on the harddisk a CD DVD or USB stick You can also find imported images through the images files manager For more information on this read paragraph 11 3 When you press Enter the dialog disappears the Vocabulary displays the first page that contains a symbol with the given name method 1 the selected symbol method 2 or the given file name method 3 Find Next Find Previous The symbol symbol name or imported image may occur in the Chart more than once on different pages e Choose Find Find next or Find previous from the menu or e Press the Find Next toolbar button or the Find Previous toolbar button The Chart will display the next match until the last one is displayed 1 5 Vocabulary You can use a Reference Vocabulary to find and place symbols from symbol databases and images from your computer The Vocabulary also called a graphic menu or a selection set can give access to A standard vocabulary with all symbols in one symbol database presuming he has a license for it The symbols are arranged according to the standard Symbol for Windows category structure A special user vocabulary files such as images and sounds on the computer possibly only files in one folder Page 6 2011 Handicom NL User Manual SfW Personal Communicator 28 December 201 1 And there s more When a page in the Vocabulary is meant to be used for word prediction
34. e label on the tab menu Content under Field label 5 8 Fields with dynamic content In the case of fields with dynamic content the visible information depends on the invisible information This is how it works To the user a field with dynamic content looks like a field with a stack of symbols on it Every time the user selects the field the next symbol is shown But technically a field with dynamic content is a field with a link to another page The symbols of the other page are shown one by one through this field To link dynamic content to a field rightclick on the field and choose Edit dynamic content Or if the page that you want to use as dynamic content already exists change the link type of the field see chapter 6 5 3 Link type If no dynamic content was linked to the field before a new page will be made after you type a name for the page Then the new page is opened On this page static fields will be visible but they will just like links be ignored by the field with dynamic content To edit the dynamic content later on rightclick on the field and choose Edit dynamic content again The underlying page will be opened Or go to that page using the Page Selector look for the name of the current page in the toolbar click on the arrow next to the page name and choose the page from the list that appears The fields can be filled just like any other fields with symbols images and text 2011 Handicom NL P
35. ect it and indicate the size Tilas ns B in these boxes The left box indicates the width the right cell indicates the height of the cell 7 2 5 Colouring a cell You can give each cell its own background colour Make sure the colourbar is visible choose View Colourbar in the menu choose a colour and click the cell Don t forget to inactivate the colour in the colourbar by clicking the same colour again otherwise every cell you click on will be coloured accordingly A different way to colour a cell is through the field properties dialogue From the menu choose Options Current field or right click on the field and choose Field properties In the dialogue that appears click the Field tab In the dropdown box Field colour click the Select button and choose a colour Click OK Click OK again to close the dialogue The default colour of the cells is white How to change the default colour of cells is described in paragraph 7 1 4 7 2 6 Making a cell transparent To make a cell transparent select the cell and click this button To undo the transparency and give the cell it s own background colour back select the cell and click this button Remember to select the right cell first 7 2 7 Adding symbols pictures or text to a cell You can add items to a cell in the same way you would when using a page with rows and columns Each field can be filled with one or more symbols from different symboldatabases one or more p
36. elected symbol is placed in the example box Click OK again to use the symbol as background A picture or photograph as background To choose a picture or photograph from your computer as background click this button Click the button Add image from file A dialogue appears where you can select a picture file from your computer By default the folder My Documents is opened Note that your pictures are automatically placed in your My Pictures folder by Windows Tip In the folder My Pictures you will find Example Images Ink By double clicking this you will open a folder with examples of pictures that have been installed during the Symbol for Windows installation Now choose a picture or photograph and click OK The picture is now in the example box Any previously selected symbol or picture will have been replaced because only one picture or symbol can serve as background Click OK again to use the picture as background for your chart 7 1 4 The default cell colour The default field color is white To alter the default colour of the cells so that every new cell gets that colour choose Properties Current page from the menu Below the word Field colour click the button Select Select a colour and click OK Click OK again to close the dialogue 7 1 5 Label settings Choose Options Current page in the menu or right click on the page and choose Page settings In the dialogue that appears click the tab Field Pa
37. enu Select a field and start typing the name of the symbol you want to place As soon as you press a letter or number key a through z 1 through 0 the dialog is displayed Note use the Select Symbol button in the Field Properties dialog if you don t want to replace the field s contents by the symbol you select Concept names and synonyms The list in the middle contains not symbol names but concepts instead Of one database several symbols can be linked to one concept For instance if there are several symbols for the concept house they are all linked to the concept house When you click on a concept name in the list in the middle only the first symbol that is linked to the concept is shown in the preview box to the right If there are more symbols available for the chosen concept the buttons Show Previous Synonym and Show New Synonym will be enabled indicating the synonym number and the total number of synonyms available for this concept 2011 Handicom NL Page 17 User Manual SfW Personal Communicator 28 December 2011 Databases On the right a list shows which database is currently selected You can choose another database selecting one from the list that unfolds when you click the small arrow key at the right of the list The list will only show names of databases that are available for you Categories On the left you see the Symbol for Windows category structure When you click on the name of
38. eplaces the chart when the user switches from the chart to the Folder Explorer by clicking on a field in the chart The top left field in the Folder Explorer refers back to the chart There is a Play button to play a sound file Right click on the field in the chart that should be used to switch to the Sound Player and choose Current Field from the popup menu Or left click on the field and choose Properties Current Field from the menu Go to the tab menu Link Choose Switch to Folder Explorer as the link type The settings for the content and the layout can be changed in the same way as the settings for the Folder Explorer see the previous paragraph 2011 Handicom NL Page 33 User Manual SfW Personal Communicator 28 December 2011 9 Commands and command bars 9 1 About commands The Personal Communicator can execute one or more commands when the user e selects a field e enters or exits a page e selects a command bar button Adding commands to fields and pages To add commands to a field or page you must edit the properties of the field or the page Use the menu Properties or the pop up menu to open the Field Properties or Page Properties dialog On the Commands page you can list the commands to be executed see also section 4 5 Commands page settings and section 6 4 Commands field settings Section 9 2 Command bars explains how to create a command bar 9 1 1 Light version and normal version The Lig
39. ers the Personal Communicator normal version can also be used as a Virtual Keyboard displayed on screen the user uses scanning techniques to select fields the Personal Communicator sends keystrokes or mouse messages to the same computer or to another computer These three types of communication to another person to the environment and to another computer can be combined and seamlessly integrated into one communication chart giving the user a unified and simple to use device to do all communication About this manual The first part of this manual explains how to make a chart add pages fill fields with symbols images and text set different options for fields etc The second part explains how to adjust the program to a particular user with the choice of the input method the selection and configuring of voices and so on 2011 Handicom NL Page 3 User Manual SfW Personal Communicator 28 December 2011 1 Window of the Personal Communicator Start the Personal Communicator for instance by selecting the program icon in the Start Menu Programs Symbol for Windows Personal Communicator When you run the Personal Communicator for the first time you will see an image similar to this 7 Personal Communicator Start File Edit Field Find Properties Command bar Options Tools Help SG a amp 5 5 E es v By default the program shows an empty chart with a grid You can read a previously
40. es You can print the entire chart or a part of it Choose File Print Now you can choose if you want to print the current page only or the current page and the underlying pages or the entire chart Then you can select one of the three styles with 1 2 or 3 pages per sheet You can also adjust the printer settings before you click on OK using the button Printer settings This can also be done via File Printer settings 11 2 Translate a chart into another symbol language You can translate all symbols from any symbol database or from one particular symbol database into another database Choose Tools Translate vocabulary When you select the option translate anyway for unmatched symbols the symbols will disappear leaving an open space behind They will become visible again at the moment they are translated back into the original symbol language 11 3 View all used files Select Tools Images files manager to view the user files and all other files that the chart has in use This feature can come in handy when searching for pictures in the chart or when you want to move some of the pictures to another computer Note that from version 4 0 onwards it is no longer necessary to move picture files along with the chart if you have saved the chart with extension pccx It is still necessary however for charts with extension pcc because this file format only saves a reference to the picture not the picture itself 11 4
41. fields of the other page are shown through this field one by one Select a page from the list below See also chapter 5 Fields visual content Note You can find the Concept browser and the Folder explorer in Edit mode in the menu Tools Reference Vocabulary 6 5 4 Option add content to sentence bar When you add a link to a field it s appearance changes On a grid page fields with a link get a folded corner On a free layout page fields with a link get a small paper clip in the top right hand corner When you click on a field with a folded corner the other page is shown By default the content of the field will not be placed in the sentence bar But you can change that Right click on the field that links to another page in the chart and choose Current Field or left click on the field and choose Properties Current Field from the menu Go to the tab menu Link On this tab menu you can check the option Add content to output If this option is checked the field has one corner cut off at the top right It doesn t only work as a link When the user selects this field it s content will be added to the sentence bar and the page that the field links to will be shown 2011 Handicom NL Page 25 User Manual SfW Personal Communicator 28 December 2011 T Free Layout 7 1 How to start with a free layout chart 7 1 4 Making a new empty chart To start with a new empty chart with a starting page that has no rows and
42. file the old format In that case imported pictures are not saved with the file When moving the file to another computer these pictures will have to be moved to exactly the same location as on the first computer to make sure the Personal Communicator can load them into the file when it s opened Charts with extension pcc can be opened by older versions of the Personal Communicator but note that free layout pages can t be viewed in older versions This means you can only exchange free layout files with other computers if that computer has a Gold version installed 2011 Handicom NL Page 31 User Manual SfW Personal Communicator 28 December 2011 8 Give the user access to symbols and files outside the chart 8 1 Symbols link to the Concept Browser The Concept Browser is a browser for a Symbol for Windows database The symbols are arranged according to the Symbol for Windows category structure The Concept Browser temporarily replaces the chart when the user switches from the chart to the Concept Browser by clicking on a field in the chart The top left field in the Concept Browser refers back to the chart Right click on the field in the chart that should be used to switch to the Concept Browser and choose Current Field from the popup menu Or left click on the field and choose Properties Current Field from the menu Go to the tab menu Link Choose Switch to Concept Browser as the link type 8 1 1 Database setting
43. ge 28 2011 Handicom NL User Manual SfW Personal Communicator 28 December 201 1 In the section Label settings you can change several Label settings Putting labels above or below symbols or hiding all labels Below the word Placement click one of the possibilities No labels Above the symbols or Below the symbols Font type of the label Click the button Font to select a font type size colour and style for the labels Note some of the rarer fonts may not be installed on other computers If you want to open a chart on another computer and the specified font is not installed there the Paper Chart Maker will substitute a font that looks like it 7 1 6 Settings for symbols pictures and other text Choose Options Current page from the menu or right click on the page and choose Page settings In the dialogue that appears click the tab Field Scaling By default all symbols etc retain their own proportions The Paper Chart Maker can also stretch the contents of a cell to fill the entire cell To do this choose Stretch in the Scaling section Note You can stretch a single symbol too It works the same as with symbols in a normal chart with rows and columns Read more in paragraph 6 1 2 Text font The font of the text that is placed in the middle of the cell not the label text can be changed Click the button Font to select font size colour and style for the texts inside the cells Note some of the rarer fonts
44. h the option Sentence bar visible on this page is checked see section 4 3 Sentence bar options 1 2 Menu and toolbar Through the menu below the blue caption you can operate the program and change all settings The toolbar gives access to a selection of the program s facilities see chapter 13 Toolbar buttons 1 3 Colorbar The Colorbar provides an efficient way to set background colors of fields on a page see section 6 1 1 Color The Personal Communicator offers a choice of colors from a palette of 64 colors You can change sixteen colors You can assign any of these 64 colors to a field using the toolbar click on the small arrow that points downwards or using the Colorbar The hatched box in the Colorbar located at the top deletes the field s background color making it transparent 1 3 4 Define custom colors The 48 basic colors in the program can t be changed But you can define 16 custom colors Choose Options Colors from the menu or click the toolbar button Select Color The standard Windows Color Dialog appears 1 3 2 Colorbar settings Choose Options Colorbar in the menu to change the colorbar s settings A dialog appears Through this dialog you can e hide or unhide the Colorbar e position the Colorbar to the top left bottom or right of the chart e set the number of bars to one or two e change the size of the color boxes 1 4 The chart A complete communication chart has one
45. he key once Notes e In running mode the Symbol for Windows software responds only to those keyboard keys which are indicated as switches It won t react to other keys However Alt F10 can still be used to switch to the facilitator mode e When you switch to another program while the Symbol for Windows program is running in running mode the other program behaves in precisely the other way it responds to all keys like it normally does except to the two keys which are indicated as switches Despite it s being put into the background the Symbol for Windows program still responds to those two keys 12 1 5 Mousebuttons No further information is needed if the mousebuttons are used as switches Note When the mouse is used for scanning purposes the mouse pointer disappears in running mode The program only reacts to mouseclicks not to the moves of the mouse Meanwhile the mouse can t be used in other programs since the Symbol for Windows program reacts to the mouseclicks Page 44 2011 Handicom NL User Manual SfW Personal Communicator 28 December 201 1 12 2 Switch number and function scan technique One or two switches can be used to operate this Symbol for Windows program In both cases there are two scanning techniques to choose from Each scan technique has its own characteristics It depends on the user which scan technique will be best In the 2 Switch scan techniques it can t be said beforehand which task
46. ht version of the Personal Communicator can only execute commands which are related to the application itself e g a command to turn the volume up or to raise the scan speed or to print the content of the sentence bar It cannot execute commands to control other software or to communicate with other hardware e g a system for environment control The normal version of the Personal Communicator can execute many other commands such as environment control commands keyboard commands and mouse commands With these it is possible to create e g a virtual keyboard page an environment control center page or a configuration page in a chart 9 1 2 Command sets Command files can be made with the Command Editor The following command files for the Personal Communicator are always supplied with Symbol for Windows For both the Light and the Standard version Democmds cmds SentenceBar cmds Speaker cmds Feedback cmds Speaktime cmds Scanning cmds The commands in the following command sets can only be used in the Standard version Local keyboard cmds Local mouse cmds Serialkeys keyb cmds Serialkeys mouse cmds VirtualKeyboard cmds and all the command files with a name that begins with Gewa 9 1 3 Detailed information about commands Some remarks per group of commands Application Delay1000 means wait one second One second is 1000 milliseconds So delay500 means wait half a second etc With the Command Editor you can make other
47. ictures from your computer text or all of these things together A field can also function as a link to another page which can be a normal grid page or a free layout page Read more about filling cells in chapter 5 To create a link from a field to a new page with free layout read paragraph 7 1 1 of this manual 7 2 8 Scanning on a page with free layout To the left of the page you can find the cell bar Whenever you start working on a chart it is empty except for one single box This box represents the first cell on the page When you add cells more boxes are added to the cell bar Each box is a miniature representation of the cell on the page The boxes are placed in a specific order whenever you add a cell to the page it is placed on top of the previous cells so newer cells are placed in the front whereas older cells are placed in the back If the page is in a chart that is controlled by scanning the order of the boxes is not only based on their placement from front to back but also the scanning order This means it is important to check if this is the order you want the page to be scanned in Page 30 2011 Handicom NL User Manual SfW Personal Communicator 28 December 201 1 When you click and drag the boxes up or down you can move the corresponding cells backwards or forwards on the page respectively Another way to do this is to select a cell and move it forwards or backwards by clicking these buttons Lo E
48. if that field is selected another page is shown This is what dynamic screens are Charts can hold a virtually unlimited number of fields arranged on 1 or more pages Since June 2010 Symbol for Windows programs offer the possibility to create pages without a grid You can decide for yourself which layout you want to create This way a chart can become a conversation picture a page in a reading book or a selection set in the shape of your own house with a page for each room and even each cupboard where you can place all symbols in their natural context More about the Free Layout feature can be found in chapter 7 Input types alternative control The user can use the normal mouse or keyboard or any adapted mouse or keyboard attached to the computer touch screens mouse touch pads etc Input using 1or 2 Switches is supported through scanning techniques Controlling your environment The Personal Communicator Light is a Communication Aid Besides that the Personal Communicator normal version can enable the user to communicate to his environment to another computer etc Each field on a chart can be programmed as an environment control button to open doors switch on lights change the channel on a television set etc You will need third party hardware to do the actual environment control but the Personal Communicator can send any command needed to a serial e g USB port to control this hardware Virtual keyboard For scan us
49. iles that are found in part of the folders on the computer The Folder Explorer temporarily replaces the chart when the user switches from the chart to the Folder Explorer by clicking on a field in the chart The top left field in the Folder Explorer refers back to the chart Right click on the field in the chart that should be used to switch to the Folder Explorer and choose Current Field from the popup menu Or left click on the field and choose Properties Current Field from the menu Go to the tab menu Link Choose Switch to Folder Explorer as the link type Page 32 2011 Handicom NL User Manual SfW Personal Communicator 28 December 201 1 8 2 1 Folder Explorer content settings First switch to Explore folder Tools Reference Vocabulary Folder Explorer Right click on a field in the graphic menu and choose Viewer properties from the pop up menu In the window that appears you can choose which folder will be shown first but also e fthe user can explore other folders e Which folders the user is allowed to look in only the given folder and the folders therein e The type of files that should be shown possibly only files with a certain extension e What other information becomes visible the name of the folder file name extension Finally click on OK The settings will be saved and will be used even the next time you run the program A subfolder field has a folded corner and it shows the first two im
50. in the user root directory and in the program directory Note You can also choose Options User files in the menu and fill out the file name of the chart Page 42 2011 Handicom NL User Manual SfW Personal Communicator 28 December 201 1 11 7 Configure serial port for environment control The Personal Communicator Plus can be used to operate a device for environment control Connect the device to the serial port of the computer Go to Options Environment Control in the menu to change the settings for the serial port Note probably you will also have to create commands for this particular device using the Command Editor The Personal Communicator Plus can send commands to the serial port to which the device for environment control is connected when the user selects a field or button or enters exits the page Link the command to one or more fields pages and or buttons 2011 Handicom NL Page 43 User Manual SfW Personal Communicator 28 December 2011 12 Scan options Scanning enables end users to operate Symbol for Windows software such as the Personal Communicator and Memory by themselves All they need is one or two Switches 12 1 Switch connection types The switch es can be connected to the printer port or the serial e g USB port of the computer Joystick buttons mousebuttons and keyboard keys can also be used as switches generally they will only be brought into action for testing purpose
51. ing on the button Accept if you want to type another word to follow the chosen word directly without a space 2011 Handicom NL Page 49 User Manual SfW Personal Communicator 28 December 2011 14 2 Settings Different settings affect the Word Prediction s behaviour You can change the settings via the menu Properties Word Prediction 14 2 1 Show word endings De Word Prediction can produce word endings for verbs nouns and adjectives When you check this option there will be three dots after each word that can be inflected After a click on that word the different forms will be shown in the word prediction column 14 2 2 Lexicon size The lexicon is a word list with information about the frequency of the use of the words With the scroll bar you can limit the size of this lexicon When you do this the lexicon with the words sorted by frequency will be shortened The words that are left out are less frequently used words 14 2 3 Maximum number of results Tell how many results you want to see at a time The maximum is 99 If you set the maximum to 5 you can click the New Prediction button in the supplied alphabet pages to see the next 5 predictions 14 2 4 Minimum word length Words that are shorter than the minimum word length will not be included in the prediction 14 2 5 Prediction font Click on this button to set the font type and size for the words in the column at the left Note the font of longer word
52. ion types 44 12 2 Switch number and function scan technique 45 12 3 Cursor movement scan strategy 45 12 4 Default action after selection only for grid pages 46 12 5 Timer settings for grid pages AND free layout pages 46 13 Toolbar buttons 2 eterne rerit ree coe d cene aai nes eye coe nd a ia hinawakan 48 14 Annex 1 Word Prediction ertet etras LOCI Ioa recen ea Rar Eee innA 49 14 1 Starting and using Word Prediction ee 49 14 2 Settirigs 2 idee ner re Peer c Rte CREER OD Meet RR leas Hebr e ete Res 50 15 Annex 2 Grammar Guided Writing ss 51 1541 Navigation fil retiennent tee ee aote ede aed neta 51 15 2 Speech outp ut 1 eene ederet est ene dae edge Re e certes 51 15 3 PREVIGW FOWA RE a a aae e a E a a eaaa 51 15 4 Action histOby LOW pedet i a a aa A 51 15 5 Input for Concept To Text conversion 51 15 6 Concept T o Text r sulter ne halte en enel et etr ted eg eene ee eoe 52 Page 2 2011 Handicom NL User Manual SfW Personal Communicator 28 December 201 1 Introduction The Personal Communicator is a computer program enabling people without speech to communicate Dynamic screen The user display is a dynamic screen on the screen there is an array of fields If a field is selected the Personal Communicator will do something for the user usually speak one of more words Some fields link to another page
53. is link type will bring the user back to the start page e Go to previous page this type of link will bring the user back to the page he came from To make this possible the program keeps track of the pages the user visits e Stay in field the field sort of links to itself This can be useful for scan users if they want to repeat a certain selection e g volume control The cursor will stay on the field in fact it returns to the field continuously e Switch to Concept browser when the user follows this link the COMPIC database will be opened with the symbols arranged according to the Symbol for Windows category structure You can change the settings for the Concept browser e g which database it should show The next chapter explains how to change the settings for the Concept browser e Switch to Folder explorer to display files on the computer see paragraph 1 5 4 View files or play sounds via the Vocabulary The next chapter explains how to change the other settings for the Folder explorer e Switch to Sound player to display sound files on the computer in the Vocabulary with a play and stop button The next chapter explains how to change the other settings for the Sound player e Dynamic content To the user a field with dynamic content is a field with a stack of symbols that he can browse through But technically a field with dynamic content is a field with a link to another page When the user selects this field the
54. ist in the middle very quickly by typing the first letters of the concept symbol you look for First click in the list or in the box on top of that list You could also use the Find and Find Next button to look for a word or the part of a word The part of the word is looked for in all categories If a name is found in which the part of the word occurs the category list shows to which category it belongs adding a gray background to the name of that category Note Keep in mind that the names of concepts can differ from the original symbol names that are used within each database And if you are looking for a particular symbol don t forget to check for synonyms Place a symbol Select a concept name and if necessary a synonym and press Enter or click OK to place it in the field The name of the symbol will be used as label of the field Click Cancel or press Esc to return to the chart without placing a symbol 5 2 Placing symbols Reference Vocabulary 5 2 1 How to place symbols using the Reference Vocabulary First open a Reference Vocabulary see chapter 1 5 1 Open hide unhide or close a Reference Vocabulary With the mouse you can simply drag the symbol to the field Left click on the symbol keep the left mouse button down and move the mouse to the field on the chart before you release the mouse button If you press and hold down the Ctrl key while dropping a field from the reference chart on a field in the Communication Char
55. k on a field Select a field and press Ctrl Enter on a field Select Properties Current field in the menu Press the right mouse button and select Current ffield in the pop up menu Click on the toolbar button Field properties Tab menu Contents With the first tab menu Contents you can edit the graphical content of the field one or more symbols imported images and texts There are three buttons to add graphics e Add symbol from database this will open the Select Symbol dialog described in below e Add image from file a file open dialog will be opened where you can select the image you want to use e Add text a dialog will be opened where you can type the text you want to use in the field The other buttons on the page are e Left Right with these you can re arrange the graphics select one graphic it will get a blue background and then select Left or Right e Delete delete the selected graphic Clear delete all graphics This tab menu will be mentioned in every paragraph of this chapter 5 1 Placing symbols Select Symbol dialog To open the Select Symbol dialog you can e Press the Select Symbol button on the Contents page of the field properties dialog see the introduction of this chapter Select a field and choose Field Select Symbol from the menu Select a field and click the Select Symbol button on the toolbar Right click on a field and choose Select Symbol from the pop up m
56. k to the Start page and to go to the previous page You can create several command bars and in running mode you can change between them if required depending on the active page 9 2 1 Create a new command bar or edit the current one Select Command bar New to make a new command bar or Command bar Edit to edit the currently loaded command bar A dialog will open where you can determine which buttons are available and what the command bar should look like 1 Command bar settings Open the dialog tab menu General to change the settings for the command bar The button size can be set between 24 and 150 pixels You can pick one of the program s 64 colors to be used as background color for the buttons or for the button bar All buttons will have the same background color The font you choose will be used for the text on all buttons Note The options for text alignment and shrinking wrapping long text can t be used yet 2 Buttons Open the dialog tab menu Buttons to add or edit the buttons in the command bar For each button you can define e one or more commands to execute when the button is selected e the symbol image or text to show on the button e the feedback message Description of the available buttons on this dialog page Edit edit the currently selected button Add add a new button Delete delete the selected button Clear delete all buttons Move Up re arrange the buttons moving the selec
57. l be heard 1 When the user selects a field In almost all cases the feedback voice will be used The Speaker voice is heard only when Page 38 2011 Handicom NL User Manual SfW Personal Communicator 28 December 201 1 e the sentence bar is not visible and e the speaker speech is not suppressed this is one of the properties of a page When the option Speak even if added to the sentence bar is checked choose Options Speech in the menu to check or uncheck this option the Speaker voice will be used to read a field s content after selecting the field When both options feedback on selection and Speak even if added to the sentence bar are checked the Speaker voice is used to read a field s content after selecting the field When the sentence bar is visible and the option feedback on selection is turned off neither of the voices will be heard when the user selects a field unless the option Speak even if added to the sentence bar is checked 2 When the user selects the sentence bar For the content of the sentence bar the speaker voice will be used unless the speaker speech is suppressed for the page 10 4 2 Feedback on navigation Select Options Speech The speech options dialog appears in which you can turn feedback on navigation on or off Which voice will be heard When the user navigates through the chart the feedback voice will be heard unless feedback on navigation is turne
58. l types can be found in chapter 10 3 Input options standard or scanning There are many different ways to go to another page in the chart You can e Press the Ctrl key hold it down and left click on a field that refers to another page Press Ctrl G select a page and click OK Use the menu Find Go To Page select a page and click OK Press the little arrow next to the page name in the toolbar and select a page Richt click on a field and choose Go To Page from the pop up menu select a page and click OK Tip use the Backspace key in the facilitator mode to go back to the previous page 1 4 2 Finding symbols and images in the chart To find a symbol in the chart e Select Find Find from the menu or e Press Ctrl F or e Press the toolbar button Find With the dialog that appears you can look for symbols first two pages or for images last page Method 1 Type a name On the first tab card you can type the name of the symbol you are looking for or just a few characters that must form part of the name of the symbol Method 2 Browse the categories When you press the button with the text Select a symbol the dialog with the category structure will be opened The use of this dialog is explained in section 5 1 Placing symbols Select Symbol dialog Method 3 Look for a certain file A Chart can contain imported images You can look for a particular image if you know the file name Type the name of th
59. may not be installed on other computers If you want to open a chart on another computer and the specified font is not installed there the Paper Chart Maker will substitute a font that looks like it 7 2 Cells After choosing the page colour and the background image you can start putting symbols pictures and text on the page 7 2 1 Creating a new cell On a new page with free layout there is always one cell to start with To add more cells simply click this button i 7 2 2 Deleting a cell Deleting a cell is just as easy Select the cell and press this button Or press the Delete key on the keyboard 7 2 3 Moving a cell To move a cell you can drag it with your mouse Click on the cell keep the left mouse button pressed down and drag it to the spot you want to move it to To position a cell very precisely click the cell and enter the exact position at the top of the zo Tio B page in these boxes The left box indicates the horizontal position the right box indicates the vertical position 2011 Handicom NL Page 29 User Manual SfW Personal Communicator 28 December 2011 7 2 4 Enlarging or shrinking a cell There are two ways to enlarge or shrink a cell With the mouse click the edge of a cell keep the left mouse button pressed down and drag the edge of the cell inward or outward to make the cell smaller or bigger respectively To indicate the precise measures of the cell click the cell to sel
60. mmand line parameters Add a command line parameter to run the program using autosave in facilitator mode with a particular chart and or user settings The parameter should be typed without spaces It can be put between inverted commas but this is not obligatory So parameterwithoutspaces and parameterwithoutspaces are both accepted If a parameter doesn t begin with or it is interpreted as a filename 11 6 1 Autosave Add the parameter autosave to the command line to run the program in autosave mode In this mode the program will save without asking 11 6 2 Specify user edit mode at startup Add the parameter edit to the command line to run the program in edit mode facilitator mode Without this parameter the program always starts in running mode user mode 11 6 3 Specify user options at startup Add the parameter u usersettingsfilename to the command line to run the program with the user settings found in the indicated file The program will look for this file in the indicated full path in the user root directory and in the program directory Note When the program closes it stores all user settings in the computer s registry If no user settings parameter has been added to the command line the program uses the settings it finds in the registry 11 6 4 Specify chart to use at startup Add the chart s filename to the command line The program will look for this file in the indicated full path
61. n from the menu or e press the right mouse button select Text Representation from the pop up menu or e select the field you want to add text to and press Ctrl R or e select the field you want to add text to and click the toolbar button Text Representation A dialog will appear where you enter the text you want to use Note The text you type this way will replace the contents of the selected field You can also add text with the Field Properties dialog Open the dialog tab menu Content and click the button Add text then you can type a text If the loaded Vocabulary contains text instead of graphics you can copy the text into the Communication Chart just like all symbols in the vocabulary 5 6 Re arrange the content of a field You can use either the field properties dialog or the drag and drop method to move symbols images or texts in a field To delete one symbol image or text from a field that contains more than one symbol image text you have to use the Field Properties dialog Open the dialog page Content select the symbol image or text you want to remove and click the button Delete The Clear button wipes all contents off the field Drag and drop Ctrl key You can rearrange symbols images or text in a field using the Ctrl key Left click on the symbol image or text Press and hold down the Ctrl key Move the mouse until the position is right Release the mousebutton While dropping on a
62. n active color every mouseclick on a field changes the color of that field into the currently activated color You can disable a color by clicking again on the color s box in the Colorbar or by selecting another color To color a field you can also e select the field you want to color and choose Field Field color from the menu or e richt click on the field and choose Field clor from the pop up menu or e click the small arrow next to the toolbar button Color and pick a color You can also use the Field properties dialog tab menu Field Read the instructions at the beginning of this chapter to find out how to open that dialog Click the Select button under Field color 6 1 2 Settings for label and graphic per field The tab menu Field of the Field Properties dialog allows you to change the e Label Settings placement scaling and font e Graphic Settings scaling for symbols images and font for text and the e Color of a field The label can be omitted or placed above or below the symbols When a label is too long to fit in a field a smaller font size will be used if the option Shrink long labels is checked The option stretch graphic settings means the image is stretched so that it takes up all space in the field Default Every setting has an option default The default options of a field are first defined in the Vocabulary Global properties see section 2 2 Default settings for fields P
63. n it with Word or the Adobe Acrobat Reader 2011 Handicom NL Page 7 User Manual SfW Personal Communicator 28 December 2011 1 5 3 Browse a symbol database using the vocabulary window Instead of an individual vocabulary you can browse a symbol database using the vocabulary window Choose Tools Reference Vocabulary Concept browser The COMPIC database will be opened in the vocabulary window with the symbols arranged according to the Symbol for Windows category structure If you want the Concept browser to show another database choose Properties Concept browser Now you can select a database from a list Note If you don t have a license for the database you will see very few symbols You can also change the layout of the Concept Browser Chapter 8 1 2 Layout settings explains what you can change and how to do that Tip The user can be given the possibility to switch to the Concept Browser from the chart or from an individual vocabulary Choose the field in the chart or vocabulary and in the field properties choose Switch to Concept Browser as the link type The top left field of the Concept Browser refers back to the chart or the individual vocabulary 1 5 4 View files or play sounds via the Vocabulary Choose Reference Vocabulary in the menu Tools and click on Explore folder or Sound Player The reference vocabulary window will now show the contents images or sounds respectively of one f
64. nd bar Normally the program starts up with an empty chart in facilitator mode To change that and make the program start up with a certain chart and optionally a certain command bar use the menu Options User Files In the small dialog that appears you can fill out the file name of the chart and the command bar for the user When you click OK the program wants to know if you want to load that chart and command bar immediately in edit mode If you don t want that the program will load that chart and command bar the next time you run the program Then it will start in running mode 10 7 Import export user settings It is useful to save user settings in separate files when different end users work with the Personal Communicator on the current computer or when the current user wants to Switch to another computer The files containing user settings are called configuration files They can be imported and exported via the menu Tools User settings Import user settings Export user settings The following settings are saved in a configuration file e input type and all settings for that input type name of the chart file name of the command bar sentence bar settings and feedback messages cursor settings speech options synthesizer configuration and voice settings Page 40 2011 Handicom NL User Manual SfW Personal Communicator 28 December 201 1 11 Extra and advanced program options 11 1 Print one or more pag
65. ndicom NL User Manual SfW Personal Communicator 28 December 201 1 14 Annex 1 Word Prediction Word Prediction is part of FlexLex the Symbol for Windows module for linguistic support in Symbol for Windows applications FlexLex can support the user in a number of Symbol for Windows with word prediction grammar help and concept to text conversion Scan users will be able to use the Word Prediction because it is integrated in the Vocabulary The Word Prediction is based on a number of word lists The first contains thousands of words sorted alphabetically A number behind every word indicates the place of that word in the list would it be sorted by frequency of the use of the words The second list contains word pairs This list helps to predict which words most often follow a given word There is a third list in which you can enter words yourself Open the file NL PR LXS usually this file is located in the directory C Program Files Common Files Handicom Shared Databases FlexLex with a simple text processor like Notepad Type one word on each line The words in this list will be regarded as topmost frequent words 14 1 Starting and using Word Prediction When the Word Prediction is active you will see A row above the Vocabulary with the already chosen letters or words A column at the left side of the Vocabulary with predicted words The Word Prediction is activated as soon as you enter a page of the type word prediction
66. nother field the contents of the field dragged from will be inserted in or added to the contents of the field dropped on Field Properties dialog Page 20 2011 Handicom NL in User Manual SfW Personal Communicator 28 December 2011 The tab menu Content in the Field Properties dialog contains two buttons to move symbols images or text to another position in the field Select a symbol image or piece of text and click the Right button to move it one step to the right or click the Left button to move it one place to the left 5 7 Text of the label Each field can have a label Whether the label is visible or not and whether its position is on top of or below the symbol depends on the chart settings see section 2 2 Default settings for fields the page settings for fields see section 4 1 Field layout and the field s own settings see section 6 1 2 Settings for label and graphic The label will be generated when you place the first symbol in a field but you can always change the label of the field Select the field you want to change the label of and e select Field Text Label from the menu or e press the right mouse button and select Text Label from the pop up menu or e press Ctrl T or e click the Text label button in the toolbar A dialog will appear where you can type the text for the label Alternative Set the field label using the Field Properties dialog Type the text for th
67. o the empty field If the field already contained one or more symbols images or text the content stays the same The content of the field is not changed when you use the Field Properties dialog to add a link e Open the tab menu Link e Specify a link type e Click the small arrow next to the edit box Link to page A list shows up with all the pages present in the Communication Chart e Select the page the field should link to Note It is not allowed to create a link that refers to a page itself 6 5 2 Delete a link To remove a link e select the field with the link that should be broken and select Field Delete link in the menu or e press the right mouse button on a field and select Delete link in the pop up menu Alternatively you can open the Field Properties dialog tab menu Link Set the link type to none The link to the page will be broken but the page itself will remain present in the Communication Chart You can make a new link from the same page or from another page 6 5 3 Link type On the Link page in the Field Properties dialog you can not only set or clear a link but you can also change the type of the link There are three link types Page 24 2011 Handicom NL User Manual SfW Personal Communicator 28 December 201 1 e Goto page go to another page the field links to another page select one from the list below This is the default type of link Goto start page th
68. older on the computer By default this is the folder C Program Files Handicom Symforwin Images or C Program Files Handicom Symforwin Sounds But you can also choose another folder and change many other settings both for the content and the layout An explanation of the settings can be found in chapter 8 2 Images on the computer link to the Folder Explorer e 1 5 5 Resize the Vocabulary You can resize reference chart using the splitter between the Communicator Chart and the reference chart e click on the border between the reference chart and the communication chart the mouse cursor will change e if the mouse cursor looks like two lines with to arrows pointing outwards press and hold the left mouse button and move the mouse release the mouse button on the location where you want to have the dividing line Note if the area for the reference chart is too small it will disappear Find the splitter at the edge of the window and move it further inward from the edge 1 5 6 Browse the Vocabulary The Vocabulary is structured like a grid of boxes Each box in the grid can have three states 1 It can be empty 2 It can hold one or more symbols images and texts When the Vocabulary is used to view files on the computer each field contains only one file 3 It can hold a reference to another page sub menu with symbols or to another folder on the computer The boxes with a reference to another page or to another folder on
69. on When the user selects that field or button or when the user enters or exits that page the command will be executed That way you can load and or close command bars in running mode For instance when the user leaves the start page replacing it by another command bar and to re open the first one when the user enters the start page again Page 36 2011 Handicom NL User Manual SfW Personal Communicator 28 December 201 1 10 User settings 10 1 Cursor By changing the appearance of the cursor you can influence the user friendliness and effectiveness of the program very much To change it choose Options Cursor appearance in the menu Pick the style Frame Led or Hatched size and color that best meet the user s needs 10 2 Sentence bar The sentence bar is not visible in facilitator mode only in running mode In running mode it will be visible except on pages for which the option Sentence bar visible on this page is unchecked see section 4 3 Sentence bar options 10 2 1 Settings Choose Options Sentence bar page Appearance to change the sentence bar s appearance and the number of lines it can keep in memory What the sentence bar looks like depends on the settings for the sentence bar not on the page settings the sentence bar looks the same on every page Location the location of the sentence bar can be at the top or at the bottom of the Screen Color select one of the program s 64 colors Keep in
70. on add content to sentence bar 2 7 Create save and open charts 2 7 1 Creating a new chart with a grid Select File New from the menu to create a new grid chart To create a new blank chart to fill using free layout read chapter 7 Free Layout If the current chart has changed you will be asked if you want to save these changes Alternatively you can press Ctrl N on the keyboard or press the New toolbarbutton 2 7 2 Opening an existing chart Select File Open from the menu to open an existing chart If the current chart has changed you will be asked if you want to save these changes Next locate the file containing the chart you want to open Alternatively you can press Ctrl O on the keyboard or press the Open button on the toolbar 2 7 3 Saving a chart Select File Save or File Save As from the menu to save the current chart The first Save saves the chart under the same name overwriting the existing file If you are editing a new chart the Save function automatically activates the Save As function Save As saves the chart but allows you to enter a new name Select the directory you want to save your file in enter a filename for the chart and press OK Alternatively for the Save function you can press Ctrl S on the keyboard or press the Save button on the toolbar The charts that you create with the Personal Communicator version 4 0 and newer are by default saved with extension pccx This
71. or columns When the option Row first is checked the cursor starts by scanning the rows a vertical movement 2011 Handicom NL Page 45 User Manual SfW Personal Communicator 28 December 2011 e fields the cursor always ends doing a linear scan giving the user the possibility to select a field For every scan level you can determine what the cursor must do Halves can be divided in half If a chart is very big it might be a good idea to use half scanning on two or more successive scan levels For instance choose half scanning for level 1 split vertically and half scanning split horizontally on level 2 The user will now be able to select e g the right half of the chart first next the right half is divided in two halves horizontally and the user can select the upper or lower half Linear scanning follows row column scanning If the cursor is instructed to indicate rows or columns on a certain level it must do a linear scan on the next scan level The user selects a row or a column logically the next step is to choose a field in that row or column Maximum number of rounds Set a maximum number of rounds for each level When the maximum number of rounds is reached before the user makes a selection the cursor returns to the previous scanning level Note the user might have to wait a long time before the cursor has returned to scan level 0 if the number of rounds is high on all levels and if the default action af
72. or more pages You can only see one page at a time Each page has a number of fields arranged in a grid of columns and rows or a collection of symbols placed freely on the page with or without a background picture On a page with a grid you can set the number of rows and columns but all fields will always be the same size Each field whether it is placed on a grid page or a blank page can contain one or more symbols from a database texts and images from your own image files You can also place a text label set the background color etc Each field can have a link to another page allowing navigation through the chart by selecting fields On a grid page fields with a link have a folded corner On a free layout page a field with a link has a small paperclip in the top right hand corner Of course each field can also have its own piece of speech or sound that has to be played back when the user selects the field 1 4 4 Navigating You can select a field by clicking on it with the mouse or by using the cursor keys There are different parts of the screen Only the part of the screen that has the focus indicated 2011 Handicom NL Page 5 d TA User Manual SfW Personal Communicator 28 December 2011 by a thick red line around that section will react to the keys you press on the keyboard or the scanningbuttons Use Tab to shift the focus clockwise Shift Tab to move it the other way round More about alternative contro
73. outside the charrt 32 2011 Handicom NL Page 1 User Manual SfW Personal Communicator 28 December 2011 8 1 Symbols link to the Concept Browser 32 8 2 Images on the computer link to the Folder Explorer 32 8 3 Sounds and music link to the Sound Player 33 9 Commands and command bars ss 34 91 About commioandgS at iE e tee tret efus Oto at bal A hifi use feu ni Puis dad 34 9 2 Commland Dars ao de eai E Ha ee EU ep teret MM teenies tae bead 35 10 USEF settings T 37 TOT GUESOF et o toto zii octo ene Eee titt be dI eto e ote Tea eie ACER 37 10 2 Sentence Dar rerit rette rte ionem tut 37 10 3 Input options standard or scanning 38 10 4 Speech Options frs odere el aia sara ea ec e e eh ea argu e DV pae nean ae 38 10 5 Synthesizer settings 39 10 6 Start up with a certain chart and command bar 40 10 7 Import export user settings 40 11 Extra and advanced program options 41 11 1 Print one or more pages ter ence in aient 41 11 2 Translate a chart into another symbol language 41 11 3 View all sed TOS x2 rez 36 A iiri et ete Pee HR roma daret ee GRE 41 11 4 Change default directories ennnen 41 11 5 Caching speed up a slow computer 41 11 6 Command line parameters 42 11 7 Configure serial port for environment control 43 LPs imc 44 12 1 Switch connect
74. ow below shows from which possibilities you will be able to choose after selection of the current field 15 4 Action history row When the option Action history row is checked there will be an extra row that shows all the choices that have been made in the process of building the current sentence 15 5 Input for Concept To Text conversion When the option Input for C2T concept to text conversion is checked the concept numbers that belong to the chosen symbols and other commands for the concept to text conversion will become visible on a separate row This option is very useful for software developers and makers of navigation files but it is not for users By default this row will not become visible 2011 Handicom NL Page 51 User Manual SfW Personal Communicator 28 December 2011 15 6 Concept To Text result The Grammar Guided Writing converts symbols concepts in fact to fluent text When the option C2T concept to text result is checked the preliminary result of this conversion will be visible in a separate row Page 52 2011 Handicom NL
75. s After connecting the switch es joystick mouse or keyboard to the computer select the correct kind of switches in the Scanning Options dialog 12 1 1 Switches on printer port For switches connected to the printer port you need to give the port number Advanced settings Note for technicians the Advanced settings button opens up a dialog to change the Switch input connection type For each switch you can choose from N C DNS OOP We ve already put out the settings for Handicom s printer port connector Click the button of the same name to adjust the settings to this connector type 12 1 2 Joystick buttons To be able to use joystick buttons as switches you have to fill out the right port number 12 1 3 Switches on serial port For switches connected to the serial port you have to give the port number Advanced settings Note for technicians press the Advanced settings button to open a dialog about the switch input connection type For each switch you can choose from N C RLSD RI DSR CTS Output signals can be DSR and or CTS When you are using Handicom s serial port connector the Cameleon 3 or the Wivik connector you can press the button of the same name The settings will be adjusted automatically The button for the Wivik connector is disabled because we don t have all the technical specifications for this connector type yet 12 1 4 Keys keyboard To fill in a key that should be used as a switch press t
76. s 2 through 6 you can find information about creating grid pages In chapter 7 you can read more about creating free layout pages See for more tips and tricks the special guide to making a Vocabulary 2 1 Vocabulary Global Properties Adjust the chart settings before adding any grid pages the chart settings affect the looks and the settings of every new grid page With the Vocabulary Global Properties dialog you can set the overall options for the entire Communication Chart If you want to change e g the font used for field labels of all fields change the label font in the Vocabulary Options dialog All fields will use this font unless the setting is overruled on a more detailed level that is if a page has its own settings for fields or if a field has its own settings To open the Vocabulary Properties Dialog do one of the following e Select Properties Vocabulary Properties in the menu e Press the right mouse button and select Vocabulary Properties in the pop up menu e Press the toolbar button Vocabulary Properties The following pages are available in the dialog e Field default settings for fields Page default settings for pages Speech Global to set the start page Sentence bar 2 2 Default settings for fields The page Field allows you to set the default field layout You can set e the default background color e the place font and scaling of the labels e graphic drawing options e the font to u
77. s will automatically be reduced so that the word fits in the field 14 2 6 Output font You set the font type and size for the output the words in the row above the Vocabulary 14 2 7 Restore defaults With the button Restore defaults you can set all settings back to the default settings 14 2 8 Language The results of the Word Prediction and if desired the word endings will be in the language that has been chosen in the active application Page 50 2011 Handicom NL User Manual SfW Personal Communicator 28 December 201 1 15 Annex 2 Grammar Guided Writing Grammar Guided Writing is part of the module FlexLex a module that can provide linguistic support in Symbol for Windows applications The Grammar Guided Writing helps users build grammatically correct sentences The Grammar Guided Writing is activated automatically when the Vocabulary has to open a page of the type Grammar Guidance When this happens the Vocabulary will be replaced by a number of horizontal rows Every row holds a different kind of information How many rows there are depends on the settings You can change the settings via the menu Properties Grammar Guided Writing The row that takes up most of the space is the row in which the user has to make choiches during the process of building a sentence The Backspace key can be used to go one step backwards in this process 15 1 Navigation file In the navigation file information is stored
78. se for text that comes in the place of symbols The option stretch graphic settings means the image is stretched so that it takes up all space in the field 2 3 Default settings for pages 2 3 1 Page viewer type The tab menu Page allows you to set the default page type at the bottom Vocabulary For normal Vocabulary pages you can choose between Grid one image per field and Grid multiple images per field The second one is the default type Word prediction Page 10 2011 Handicom NL User Manual SfW Personal Communicator 28 December 201 1 Though it is possible to choose this viewer type as the default it will almost never happen that most pages in a chart are of this type This page type is usually the setting for an individual page see chapter 4 2 Page type and page layout Grammar guidance When a page in a Vocabulary is of the type Grammar Guidance the program will try in running mode to run Grammar Guidance one part of FlexLex a module for linguistic support to show this page If Grammar Guidance isn t available the page will be shown as a normal Vocabulary page with multiple images per field Special Grammar Guidance commands will be ignored In a chart with grammar guidance all pages will usually be of this type Tips when making a grammar guidance chart it is very useful to open a command bar with the commands Previous page and Start page to go to the previous page you can
79. sor If the harddisk is slow you can save time by storing smaller files It takes more time to store larger files Note that it takes more time to open a compressed file than it would take 2011 Handicom NL Page 41 User Manual SfW Personal Communicator 28 December 2011 to open a normal file If your processor is slow it may cost so much time to open compressed files that this setting has no effect or a negative effect on the performance of the program A computer with a slow processor and a faster harddisk will reach better performance with a lower compression level Max number of images in memory 2 to 250 Actually the program stores an image of each page so you can also read Max number of pages in memory Note that this is the maximum number of images that the caching System keeps in the working memory RAM You can t limit the number of pages that are stored on the harddisk If your harddisk is small it might be a good idea to raise the compression level Max cache memory size in kilobytes The space the cached pages can take up in the working memory RAM is limited by this setting Note that you can t limit the total size of the files that are stored on the harddisk Cache directory Specify a directory to store the files in By default the program creates and uses a Cache directory in the program group directory usually the directory SymForWin Caching active Check this option to activate caching 11 6 Co
80. t You can also type feedback messages for fields that refer to e another page e the start page e the previous page Note s is a formula that extends the text of the feedback message with the name of the page the field links to So when the field refers to a page Food the text of the feedback message will be food where you type s 2 5 Start page The Start page is the page that will be shown to the user as the start page When the user mode starts this page will be activated This setting can also be changed using the Page Manager Tools Page Manager in the menu 2011 Handicom NL Page 11 User Manual SfW Personal Communicator 28 December 2011 2 6 Default settings for the sentence bar On the tab menu Sentence bar you can change the default settings for the sentence bar e Visibility If the option Sentence bar visible for this page is checked the sentence bar will by default be visible when a page is displayed in running mode e Content Decide whether the content of fields must be added to the sentence bar when the user selects them e Spaces Choose if you want the program to add spaces while building the sentence bar text Note the content of fields with a link is by not placed in the sentence bar when you select the field To change this so that the content of the field with the link will be added to the sentence bar as well you have to adjust the settings of the field see 6 5 4 Opti
81. t the contents of the field dragged from will be inserted in or added to the contents of the field dropped on You can also use another method 1 Right click on a symbol in the Vocabulary Page 18 2011 Handicom NL User Manual SfW Personal Communicator 28 December 201 1 2 Choose Copy from the pop up menu 3 Right click on a field on the chart 4 Choose Paste from the pop up menu With the keyboard you can only use the Copy and Paste method First make sure the Vocabulary is focused use the Tab key Browse the database using the cursor keys and the Enter key Select the symbol you want to place and choose Edit Copy from the menu Use the Tab key to move the focus to the chart Select the field you want to place the symbol in Choose Edit Paste from the menu The symbol is placed in the field together with its name oo0RON Note It is possible to change a Reference Vocabulary to a limited extent See chapter 1 5 2 Change a Reference Vocabulary 5 2 2 Finding symbols and images in the Reference Vocabulary To find a symbol or image in the Vocabulary you can use the Find function e Select Find Find in Vocabulary from the menu or e richt click on the Vocabulary and select Find from the pop up menu The dialog that appears is described in paragraph 1 4 2 Finding symbols and images in the chart Find next The symbol symbol name or file name that you are looking for may occur in the Vocabulary more
82. t as many times There is a checkbox in the bottom left of the scan settings dialog Check this to activate the balanced input method 12 3 Cursor movement scan strategy This paragraph is about the scanning movement on a grip page and a couple of general scanning rules that apply to grid pages as well as free layout pages To learn more about scanning on a free layout page read paragraph 7 2 8 General rule goes for grid pages AND free layout pages The cursor always starts by indicating the elements in the main window of the program This is scan level 0 In the Personal Communicator scan level 0 means that the cursor indicates the chart the command bar and the sentence bar including scroll buttons in that order In Memory it means the cursor indicates the charts area the Restart button if visible and the Player s area if there are two players who don t change turns automatically Level 1 to 4 only applies to scanning grid pages Every time when the user makes a selection the next scanning level is activated level 1 4 For instance on scan level 0 the user selects the chart The cursor enters the chart and the next scanning level becomes active On every scan level higher than 0 the cursor can indicate either e halves the chart is divided in halves It can split the chart in two halves horizontally check this option if you want that or vertically e rows or columns the cursor goes on by indicating rows
83. t field from the pop up menu and click the button Import Image on the tab menu Contents The imported image will be added to the field s contents Using the menu pop up menu or toolbar 2011 Handicom NL Page 19 User Manual SfW Personal Communicator 28 December 2011 Alternatively you can select a field and then e select Field Import Picture from the menu or e press the right mouse button and select Import Picture from the pop up menu or e click the toolbar button Import Picture A dialog will appear where you can browse your computer looking for the file containing the image you want to use Note the image you select this way will replace the contents of the active field If you don t want that you will have to open the Field Properties dialog first 5 4 Opposite indicator Every single symbol and image can be drawn with a opposite indicator in the form of a Cross or a line in one of the colors black white or red Right click on a field and choose Current field from the pop up menu go to the tab menu Content and select the symbol or image Then click on the button Options and select the desired indicator For explanation about the other drawing options see 6 1 3 Settings per symbol or image 5 5 Adding text You can have text at the position where usually symbols and images will appear The quickest way to add text e Click the field you want to place an image in and select Field Text Representatio
84. ted button one place up Move Down re arrange the buttons moving the selected button one place down 2011 Handicom NL Page 35 User Manual SfW Personal Communicator 28 December 2011 Notes 1 If you want to use commands you will first have to load a Command set select File Load Command List to open a set of commands 2 The command you select for a command bar will be copied into the command bar The file containing the command list is no longer needed and it is not necessary to have the file present on the computer of the end user It is however required that you have the file containing the command bar definition present on the end user s computer 9 2 2 Save a command bar In the menu select Command bar Save to save the current command bar or Command bar Save as to save it under a new name 9 2 3 Specify a command bar for a user Select Options User Files in the menu Enter the file name of the command bar in the box Initial command bar for this user This filename is stored together with the other settings for this user This happens every time when the program is closed the user settings are stored in the registry You can also save user settings in a file see section 10 7 Import export user settings 9 2 4 Load or close command bars in running mode With the Command Editor you can create a command to load a specific command bar This command can be linked to a field page or command bar butt
85. ter selection is not go outmost see the next paragraph 12 4 Default action after selection only for grid pages Where does the cursor go after the user has made a selection This depends on the setting for the default action after selection The cursor can e stay at the currently active point this means the cursor stays at the same scan level and it resumes the linear scan moving on from the field the user selected e go home the cursor stays at the same scan level and it resumes the linear scan but it doesn t move on from the selected field it returns to the start of that scan level e go out the cursor falls back to the previous scan level and moves on from the point where the user made the previous selection e go out then home the cursor falls back to the previous scan level but it starts at the beginning of that level instead of moving on from the point where the user made the previous selection e go outmost the cursor returns to scan level 0 The Start page will become visible e go outmost and in again the cursor returns to scan level 1 The Start page will become visible 12 5 Timer settings for grid pages AND free layout pages Step time in milliseconds The Step time is the time the cursor takes for every step For instance if the step time is 500 milliseconds the cursor waits half a second on every item the button bar the sentence bar a button the chart a half a row column or a field Rest
86. the Word Prediction module will be started in the Vocabulary window When a page in the Vocabulary is meant to be used for grammatical support the Grammatical Support module will be started See for more information chapter 2 3 1 Page viewer type chapter 4 2 Page type and page layout and the appendices Tip With the Image Manager you can make new Symbol for Windows databases create a vocabulary based on a new database and use that as reference vocabulary 1 5 1 Open hide unhide or close a Reference Vocabulary Open a vocabulary If you want to open an individual vocabulary choose Tools Reference Vocabulary Open Vocabulary from the menu Vocabulary files have the extension mnu Pcc files can be opened as a reference vocabulary as well Select a vocabulary and click OK or press Enter The reference vocabulary will be loaded into memory and will be shown on screen Hide unhide the vocabulary You can hide the reference chart by closing the window click the little cross or by clicking on the Vocabulary toolbar The data of the reference chart will still remain in memory the reference chart is only hidden To unhide it click the toolbar button again or check the menu option Tools Reference Vocabulary Vocabulary visible Close a vocabulary If you want to release the memory used by the reference chart e g if the system warns you that the system is running low on memory or when you notice that the computer
87. the computer have a folded edge like a paper page Page 8 2011 Handicom NL User Manual SfW Personal Communicator 28 December 201 1 When you click on such a field you go to the other page in the vocabulary or to the other folder on the computer The reference in the top left corner returns you to the previous page or the parent folder You can select a field by clicking on it with the mouse or by using the cursor keys and pressing Enter If you have selected a box with a reference to another page the other page will be displayed Chapter 5 2 2 Finding symbols and images in the Reference Vocabulary explains how to find a symbol image or text in a vocabulary 2011 Handicom NL Page 9 User Manual SfW Personal Communicator 28 December 2011 2 Charts and chart settings for grid pages A Communicator Chart is an article of use So before you start making a chart you have to think about the use of it What is the purpose of this chart Who is going to use it What are the user s wishes and needs and what are his or her possibilities It s a good idea to put the structure of the chart down on paper before actually making it Don t add too many pages or too many links if the user can t handle a complex structure Write the page names down too To keep the chart neatly arranged it is important to use clear page names Write down which pages have to be grid pages and which ones blank free layout pages In chapter
88. type and page layout Apart from the page name the page properties you can set here are all the same as the page properties you can set for the entire communication chart The difference is that you set them here for one page See section 2 3 Default settings for pages Word Prediction When a page in a Vocabulary is of the type Word prediction the program will try in running mode to run Word prediction one part of FlexLex a module for linguistic support to show this page If Word prediction isn t available the page will be shown as a normal Vocabulary page with multiple images per field Special Word prediction commands such as Accept word will be ignored Note If you reduce the number of rows or the number of columns the contents of the fields at the right or bottom edge of the page may get lost 4 3 Sentence bar options In the Field Properties dialog page Sentence bar you can change the page settings for the sentence bar These are the same as the sentence bar properties that you can set for the entire communication chart See section 2 6 Default settings for the sentence bar By default the content of a field with a link is not placed in the sentence bar To find out how to change this read paragraph 6 5 4 Option add content to sentence bar 2011 Handicom NL Page 15 User Manual SfW Personal Communicator 28 December 2011 4 4 Speech Open the Page Properties dialog tab menu Speech to set
89. will be assigned to which switch This will show as soon as you start to use the program in the scanning mode 1 Switch auto scan The cursor moves automatically The user must push the switch at the right moment to make a selection 1 Switch user scan The user must press the switch and keep it pressed down to move cursor To make a selection the user must stop pressing the switch at the right moment 2 Switch single step The first switch is used to move the cursor step by step With the other switch the user can select the column row field etc that the cursor indicates 2 Switch user scan The cursor moves automatically as long as the first switch is pressed down It stops when the user releases the switch The second switch must be used to confirm the selection 12 2 1 Option balanced input For users who use two switches it is recommendable to use the balanced input method With this method you use one switch per scan level Normally one switch is used to move the cursor The other switch is used to make a selection or confirm a selection With the balanced input method the switches change functions as soon as a selection is made or confirmed So then the other switch is used to move the cursor and the first Switch is used to make a selection or confirm a selection This method prevents overburdening of one hand or foot or neck or whatever body parts are used to handle the switches because the user has to use both switches abou

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