Home

Mind Express Version 3.0 User Manual

1. Bhange director Style Style 2 x Edit style Extra Text on screen dog Levell Level2 Level3 Actions Message Sound Command f Noun Other Personal pronoun C Verb Data Cancel IV Filin Text and Level 1 New Action De te Action 7 Select the Sound option and browse the Mind Express sounds folder for the sound of a dog barking Once you have selected this sound click OK For more information on assigning sounds to a cc square see Sound on page 38 Mind Express User Manual The dog square now contains two actions at level 1 8 Click OK 9 Choose Mode gt Mouse 10 Click the dog square You hear first the message dog and then the sound of a dog barking gy Ifyou want to remove an action select the action from the Actions list at the left of the dialog box and then click Delete action C Tni Mind Express English S ound Cea 42 Mind Express User Manual 43 Mind Express User Manual Chapter 6 44 Working with Letters Mind Express allows you to create letters A letter can consist of a series of symbols of a text or both Thanks to the speech synthesis engine the letter can be read out loud Letters are recorded in the sentence window at the bottom of the Mind Express window underneath the communication grid You can resize the sentence window as you see fit depending on how much space you wish to r
2. scanned Mind Express User Manual Auditory scanning You can have Mind Express read out the text assigned to the squares when they are scanned The volume and speed of speech for auditory scanning can be set to your preferences To activate the auditory scanning option 1 Choose Options gt Scanning The Scanning dialog box appears Number of rounds fi 0 es Setup 2 Select the Auditory scanning option by clicking the corresponding check box The auditory scanning option is now enabled Number of rounds Skip empty sections gennensnnnusnensnusnnnnsunnnnnsusnunusunsng 3 Click Setup The Speech output dialog box appears Speech output x Type text and press Test speech 12345 Language British English L amp H VOICE Volume E IE RE ae a ee a 4 Ifnecessary modify the speech Volume and Speed settings 56 5 Click Test speech to check the results of your settings 6 Click Close 7 Click OK When scanning your communication grid you hear the text for every scanned square Auditory scanning with keyword When scanning purely auditory it can be annoying to have to listen to the full text message for every square Mind Express offers you the option of assigning short keywords to the squares in acommunication grid You could for example assign the keyword monkey to the square with the message the monkey likes to eat bananas When using
3. 7 Right mouse click in mouse mode go to Edit window I Fast input a a je Wee divelliproaress bar e Background Setting Description Use coloured background for Bliss If this option is enabled depending on the Bliss symbol s word class the corresponding symbols background colour is used For more information on the background colours used with Bliss symbols see also Options gt Symbol sets gt Bliss on page 60 Use coloured background for PCS If this option is enabled the PCS symbols use the background colours from the Bliss symbols symbol set e Automatic return seeing eset Automatic return to main page If this option is enabled and you are using a grid with several pages Mind Express auto page 1 matically returns to the first page after you have selected a square on one of the other pages Automatic return to level 1 If this option is enabled and you are using several information levels Mind Express auto matically returns to level 1 after you have selected one square at level 2 or 3 Automatic return to present tense If this option is enabled Mind Express automatically reverts to the present tense after you have selected one verb in a different tense Automatic return to singular If this option is enabled Mind Express automatically reverts to the singular form after you have selected a noun in the plural form Use a function page If this option is enabled you can create a function page
4. Mind Express Version 3 0 User Manual Licence agreement Please read the following licence agreement carefully before you install Mind Express If you object to this licence agreement please return the complete Mind Express package to Technologie amp Integratie Technologie amp Integratie grants you the right to use this copy of Mind Express on a single computer You are allowed to make one copy of this software for backup purposes only The Mind Express software is the property of Technologie amp Integratie and is protected according to the author s law and international copyright agreement Copyright Copyright Technologie amp Integratie All rights reserved No part of this publication may be reproduced stored in a retrieval system translated to any language or transmitted in any form or by any means be it electronic mechanical magnetic optical chemical manual recording or otherwise without prior written permission by Technologie amp Integratie Our address Technologie en Integratie Mind Express Sint Pietersnieuwstraat 41 B 9000 Gent Belgium info tni be www tni be Trademarks Bliss symbols used in this program are derived from the symbols described in the work Semantography original copyright C K Bliss 1949 Checked and approved 1996 by BCI monitors The Picture Communication Symbols 1991 1998 Mayer Johnson Co USA All rights reserved worldwide The Rebus Symbol Collection Widgit
5. Also the grid is centred on the page e Youcan print communication grids with or without the spacing between the squares If you choose not to print the spacing the space between the squares is left blank To print a communication grid 1 Choose File gt Print The Print dialog box appears With text without text Print m Proportions Entire page Own proportions in millimeter Horizontal Vertical IV Print intervening space in colour 2 Select the print options of your choice 3 Click OK The standard Windows Print dialog box appears and you can now print the communication grid 13 Closing Mind Express Before you leave Mind Express a dialog box appears prompting you to confirm whether you wish to leave the program without saving the current communica tion grid To save the grid and leave Mind Express click Yes Mind Express x 2 Save changes in colour bls 3 No Cancel To exit Mind Express 1 Choose File gt Exit 2 Indicate whether you want to exit Mind Express with or without saving the current grid Mind Express exits Mind Express User Manual 14 Mind Express User Manual Chapter 3 15 The Contents Dialog Box As soon as you have created a communication grid as described in the procedure Creating a new communi cation grid on page 8 you are ready to determine the contents of the grid Mind Express of
6. e Scanning with 1 switch In this scanning mode the next line column or square is scanned automati cally The speed with which the selection moves through the grid can be set by entering the scanning time in milliseconds in the Scanning mode area At a scanning time of 2000 msec for example there will be a two second interval before the next square or line is scanned Scanning mode Scanning with 1 switch Scan time msec Scanning with 2 switches Denton e Scanning with 2 switches You can also scan a grid with 2 switches For Column line and Line column scanning you can define both scanning switches by clicking Definition The Definition 2 switch scan ning dialog box appears Scanning method Scanning mode Line column Scanning with 1 switch C Linear Scan time 500 msec Column line ee C Snake p Block i anton Definition 2 switch scanning x 1 Select Line switch 1 Select Column switch 2 Select square switch 1 2 Goto Line switch 2 Select Line switch 1 Go to Column switch 2 Select square switch 1 i Cancel 54 The following switches can be set up as scanning switches Left mouse button Right mouse button f key Se ee IP Scanning preferences Depending on whether you are using 1 or 2 switch scanning you can set anumber of scanning preferences The following tables give an overview of the scanning pref
7. page 20 in your grid that contains only command squares You can create links to this page by including a square on every page that moves the user to this function page When the user selects a command or function from the function page Mind Express automatically reverts to the previous page Mind Express User Manual e Sounds 63 Setting Use beep with function keys this option is enabled you hear a beep when you select a command square this option is enabled you hear a this option is enabled you hear a beep when you select a command square when you select a command square Use sound for dragging If this option is enabled you hear a sound when dragging squares with the mouse Use Use sound on empty square on Use sound on empty square square If this option is enabled you hear a sound when you select an empty square this option is enabled you hear a sound when you select an If this option is enabled you hear a sound when you select an empty square square Use beep with scanning and joystick If this option is enabled you hear a sound when Mind Express scans a block row column or square e Start with mode Select one of these options to determine the mode which will be active when you open a file in Mind Express e Read text of function key Select this option if you want to hear the text that is assigned to command squares e Right mouse click in mouse mode go to Edit mode Select this
8. sing Choose one of these functions to use a verb in either the first or third person singular This option is very useful if you want to create a question in which the verb precedes the personal pronoun I ein Levell Level2 Level M Eillin Text and Level 1 Actions Message Sound Command CMD Grammar functions Past Participle Infinitive Present tense Past tense J Grammar functions Letter functions Open file Future tense Quit Plural Run application Singular Serial port 1st pers sing New Action Delete Action Speech 3rd pers sin AOP o xl Letter functions If you select the Letter functions command a list of subcommands for use in letters appears sy For more information on letters see also Working n 1 with Letters on page 44 Mind Express 32 User Manual Choose one of the subcommands that you want to e Quit Windows Assign this command to the square attach to a square you want to use to exit Windows CMD Letter functions CMD Quit Quit Mind Express Quit Windows Grammar functions Letter functions pen file Open file oe Run application You can use this command to open a file in Mind Express Click the Browse button to search for the file you want to use You can use this command to start another program from Mind Express Click Browse to search for a program to open You can choose another educ
9. Cancel assign a name and background image to each of the Fill in horizontally and vertically the amount HERE of squares you desire max 1000 squares Apply to all The Grid dialog box appears pages in the grid per page Horizontal 110 Vertical 5 Spacing a Background E Colour Use background picture C WINDOWS Gold Weave bmp COLETTE sn ar IV Best fit EHENEEEEE Ben To create anew communication grid 1 Start Mind Express See also Starting Mind Express on page 8 2 Click File gt New A Name box The communication grid currently contains one page You can give this page a name by entering text in the Name box If for example you want to work around the food theme you could call this page Food You can assign a different name to every page in a file Page Nane fi Food v Food Cancel 4 You can now decide how many squares both hori zontally and vertically you want to include in your communication grid Also you can determine the spacing between the squares An example If you want to create a grid with 5 squares across and 4 down and with a 4 spacing Mind Express 10 User Manual between the individual squares you complete the After finishing this procedure your communica fields in the Grid dialog box as shown below tion grid will be ready for use It looks like the grid shown below ee E Fill in horizontally
10. Delete Action Cancel A B A Main commands B Subcommands If you assign a command to a square you can use that square in the grid as a navigation tool or for other func tions You can use it to go to a different page in the grid or to activate a different level For more information on working with commands see also Working with commands on page 30 To assign a command to a square 1 Repeat step 1 to step 5 of the procedure To assign a message to a square on page 37 2 Select the Command option The Contents dialog box now looks like this I em Levell Level2 Level M Filin Text and Level 1 Actions Message Sound Go to level Go to page Grammar functions Run application Serial port Speech New Action Delete Action 3 Select a command from the list 39 The list of subcommands appears in the area to the right of the main command list 3 Eu Level Level2 Levels IV Eill in Text and Level 1 Actions Message Sound Command Next page Previous page Go to level Grammar functions Letter functions Open file Quit Run application Serial port Speech New Action Delete Action 4 Select a subcommand from the list S Eu Level Level2 Levels IV Fill in Text and Level 1 Actions Message Sound Command CMD Go to page Next page Go to level Previous page Gram
11. Express User Manual 6 Click OK The style is applied to the selected square in the communication grid Applying a style to multiple squares The Windows environments allows you to select several squares at the same time by using the Shift and or Control keys You can use this option to apply a style to a number of squares in a single action Select a number of squares and right click the selected area in the grid The Select style dialog box appears where you can select the style you want to apply to the selected squares in the grid Select style x Style Style 1 r Edit style Cancel Editing squares After you have created a communication grid you can still modify its general properties number of squares as well as the position of the squares in the grid The following standard Windows commands are available in Mind Express from the Mode menu or you can also use the corresponding short cut keys cor fee 28 ow You can only use these commands while in edit RS mode Select Mode gt Edit to go into edit mode Follow the procedure below to find out how to repeat the bear square in the empty square or how to move the bear square to the empty square To edit the squares in a communication grid 1 Choose File gt Open The Open dialog box appears Open MEI File name Files of type Bliss Files bls Cancel I Open as read only 7 2 Select th
12. Express English animals bls Pictures CATni Mind Express English Pictures chicken WMF CATni Mind Express English Pictures donkey WMF CATni Mind Express English Pictures duck Y MF CAWINDOWS Gold Weave bmp S ounds CATni Mind Express English Sounds hello wav Other files or programs C Program Files Windows Media Playerjwmplayer exe g Use the information in this text file to copy all the external files used in the communication grid to all other PCs on which you would like to use the grid Mode The entire Mode menu has been discussed earlier in this User Manual For more information see e Mouse on page 51 e Scanning on page 52 e Joystick or multiple switch on page 57 e Editing squares on page 28 Mind Express User Manual Options Options gt Cursor Mind Express offers you a number of cursor pointer options To choose another pointer 1 Choose Options gt Cursor The Cursor dialog box appears C Cursor 1 Cursor 2 with level indication Cursor 3 standard Windows cursor O 5 amp Cursor 4 mouse indicator Cancel 2 Select the radio button preceding the option of your choice 3 Click OK The pointer of your choice is used immediately Options gt Indicator You can determine how Mind Express will indicate the squares in the communication grid Also you can set different indicators for three different user modes e
13. Message e Sound e Command Each of the types of actions mentioned above is detailed further in this chapter This chapter examines the third part of the Contents dialog box For more information on the Contents dialog box see also The Contents Dialog Box on page 15 Text on screen ankle Extra A _ li Levell Level2 Levels f Noun Other Yerb Hew Action Delete Action Actions ie Message Sound Command Personal pronoun Data IY Fill in Text and Level 1 fre SSC A Level tabs B Action list C Action types D Word classes Mind Express User Manual Message If you complete a square in your communication grid you can choose to listen to the text that goes with the picture at once You can assign one message per level to every square Also this message can be anything you like because you can modify the default text that comes with the selected symbol For example you can assign an entire sentence to a certain square ya You can assign messages to a square on all three Ca RS information levels 1 2 and 3 36 When assigning a message to a square Mind Express offers you a number of options concerning the message s word class Word class You can choose from a number of word classes when entering a message in Mind Express This allows you to conjugate verbs define plural forms and use personal pronouns The table belo
14. You can use this option to temporarily stop composing the letter to use the communication grid without including the selected squares in the letter 9 Do one of the following e Choose Letter gt Save to save the letter e Choose Letter gt Save as to save the letter under a different name or under a different square The Windows standard Save dialog box appears 10 Choose Letter gt Print The Windows standard Print dialog box appears gy The user can use the letter functions if these were RS included in the communication grid in the form of command squares For more information on using commands see Working with commands on page 30 48 Saving letters Saving letters via the menu bar In Mind Express you can save any letters you composed by choosing Letter gt Save just as you would do for any other type of file You can choose Letter gt Save as to save letters under a different name Saving letters in the communication grid You can enable the Mind Express user to save his letters To allow the user to do this you need to include command squares with the Letter functions subcom mands Store or Save as in the communication grid With the command square Store you can save the letter or a sentence in an empty level of a square of your choice An empty level is a level to which you have not assigned any information via Mode gt Edit With the command square Save as you can save the letter as a file
15. and vertically th t ar nn Liwe per page Apply to all Horizontal 5 Vertical 4 Spacing 4 x Click Apply to all if you want to apply this lay out to all pages in the file Click New page to create a new page possibly with a different number of squares 5 You can choose the background colour that is used between the squares in the grid or you can choose a background image s on ined Yan colour A wa To modify the lay out of the grid after you created SOUL DA ENTE APPRATS MONY Waren youcen r it to change the number of squares across for Se IE SDISLEOE a example click Options gt Grid The Grid dialog box appears in which you can make the required e Click Browse to find the image you want to use changes as a background image You can modify the image s position and dimensions in the grid Completing the squares in a Colour Use background picture communication grid Browse Horizontal position Middle i The procedure below contains the basic rules for Vertical position Middle j f f 17 Bestik completing a communication grid By executing this T Maintain aspect ratio procedure you take your first steps in designing your EEE EEE ey I Eee Nae agen Ne tant own communication grid wu To modify the background colour of the squares To complete the squares in a communication themselves see Changing the background on grid page 25 1 Choose File gt New 6 C
16. auditory scanning you will only hear the keyword monkey allowing you to scan the grid more quickly and efficiently To assign a keyword for auditory scanning to a square 1 Double click or right click the square in the communication grid to which you want to assign a keyword The Contents dialog box appears 2 Click Extra Mind Express User Manual The Extra dialog box appears Keyword for auditory scanning en Horizontal size Vertical size cence 3 Enter a keyword for auditory scanning in the text box 4 Click OK When you scan this square with auditory scanning only the keyword is produced by the speech engine and not the full message Joystick or multiple switch Finally you can also use Mind Express with a joystick You can connect the joystick to your sound card s game port The preference settings that apply to the mouse can often be used to determine how the joystick is used For more information see also Mouse preferences on page 51 You can also use the arrow keys on the keyboard to simulate a joystick In this case use the Enter key or the Space Bar as the selection key For more information on connecting a joystick see your Windows manual and the manual of your joystick 57 Mind Express User Manual 58 Mind Express User Manual Chapter 8 Reference This chapter contains a description of the menu items that have not yet been discussed in this
17. dictionary You can link a personal dictionary file to the speech output engine In this dictionary you include words that are not pronounced properly by the speech synthesis engine To compose a pronunciation dictionary 1 Choose User gt Dictionary gt Select dictionary Mind Express 65 User Manual The Select dictionary dialog box appears 10 If necessary select the option Case sensitive to allow Mind Express to treat for example mouse and Mouse as different words Select dictionary Fr Tni Mind Express English personal pro Browse I Case sensitive Edit Cancel 2 Select the Use dictionary option 11 Click OK Use the buttons Update and Delete in the Dictionary dialog box to modify words in the dictionary or to remove them Select the Phonetic transcription option if you want to enter a phonetic transcription of a word in the Destina tion box The phonetic script used in Mind Express has been listed in the tables below for your reference 3 Click New to create a new dictionary The Dictionary dialog box appears e Vowels and diphthongs UK English word list Source New Add Destination J Phonetic transcription IRES Delete 4 Click New 5 In the Source text box enter the word that is pronounced incorrectly 6 Enter the new pronunciation in the Destination text box Sometimes it may suffice to split a complex word into its component parts b
18. ei N w You can assign sounds to a square on the three information levels To assign a sound to a square 1 Repeat step 1 to step 5 of the procedure To assign a message to a square but choose level 2 instead of level 1 Select the Sound action type 38 The Contents dialog box now looks like this 3 Do one of the following e Select the option Use existing WAV file and click Browse to search for the appropriate sound file SND C Tni Mind Express Nedg C TniMind Express Nederlands4G ok a e Select the option Record a sound message and record the sound of your choice by clicking the button You can save the recorded sound by clicking the Save as button 4 Click OK You have now assigned a sound on level 2 to the selected square If you click the bear square in the grid at level 2 you will hear the selected or recorded sound Mind Express User Manual Commands Finally you can also attach commands or functions to squares in a communication grid These commands can be letter options grammatical options or other commands Mind Express offers nine main commands Each of these commands contains a number of subcom mands as shown below Levell Level2 Level3 Actions C Message Sound Command CMD Go to level IV Eillin Text and Level 1 Go to page Grammar functions Letter functions Open file Quit Run application Serial port New Action
19. grid with a new different name If you save acommunication grid all the parameters you have set scanner settings prefer ences colour settings font settings etc are stored with the grid 12 An example you can choose to save a single communi cation grid with two different names because the grid will be used by two persons who work with different scanner settings To save a communication grid 1 Do one of the following e Choose File gt Save to save the communication grid with the same name You can for example do this after modifying the grid s parameters The changes to the file are saved e Choose File gt Save as to save the communica tion grid under a different name The Save as dialog box appears Save in E Mind Express English j al c File name Jnewfile bls Save as type Bliss Files bls x Cancel I Open as read only 7 G 2 Enter the new file name in the File name box and click Save You have saved the communication grid under a new name Printing a communication grid As soon as you have created a communication grid you can print it Mind Express offers you the following print options before you print the grid e You can print the communication with or without text Mind Express User Manual e You can print the complete page or you can enter customised page dimensions Mind Express will resize the squares in the grid for the best possible fit
20. linked to a square To save a letter with a Store command square 1 Write a letter For more information on writing a letter see also Writing a letter on page 47 2 Select the command square Store 3 Select a level 4 Click the square to which you want to assign the letter The square s colour changes to green if the letter has been saved or to red if no empty level is available for the selected square gu If you do not select a level when using the Store function Mind Express will store the letter in the first empty level for the selected square Mind Express User Manual To save a letter with the Save as command square 1 Write a letter For more information on writing a letter see also Writing a letter on page 47 2 Select the command square Save as 3 Click a square for example the square apple The letter is now saved as apple brf 49 Mind Express User Manual 50 Mind Express User Manual Chapter 7 User Modes Mind Express offers you a number of user modes that allow you to configure your communication grids to best suit the needs and skills of the users e Mouse e Scan with 1 or 2 switches e Joystick or multiple switch In this chapter you will find detailed descriptions of the options available for each of these three modes enabling you to select the most suitable combination of options for the user Mouse Using the mouse you can click the squ
21. lt lt en E E lt u i i A Preference settings for the sentence window 3 Click OK The preference settings you selected are applied to The table below lists the preference settings for the the current communication grid sentence window and their effects seing ascot Use sentence window If this option is enabled the sentence window is displayed in the Mind Express window underneath the communication grid If this option is disabled the sentence window is not shown Pronounce each word during the construction of If this option is enabled every word you select in the communication grid is sentences pronounced via speech synthesis at once Include function keys in sentence window If this option is enabled the command squares you use in your letters for example to use the plural form of a noun are displayed in the sentence window This allows an extra check on the correct usage of the command squares Activate Write letter function at start up If this option is enabled you can start writing your letter as soon as Mind Express has started This means that you do not need to choose Letter gt Write to start recording this letter Read letter by clicking the sentence window If this option is enabled clicking the sentence window triggers the reading of the letter Mind Express User Manual User settings Mind Express offers you the following user settings which allow you to configure the writing proces
22. open an existing grid eee Message Sound Command e Choose File gt New and create a new communi fbear xl cation grid Noun C Other Personal pronoun C Verb Data For more information on creating a new communi cation grid see also Creating a new communica tion grid on page 8 New Action Delete Action 2 Choose Mode gt Edit 6 Enter the information you want to assign to the square in the message box in the Contents dialog 3 Double click or right click one of the empty squares box For example brown bear in the grid 7 Select the appropriate word class The Contents dialog box appears 8 Click Data to view the details on the selected word 4 Select a symbol for example bear class Mind Express User Manual 10 11 The dialog box corresponding to the selected word class appears brown bear brown bears gt If you want to listen to the message you entered click the speaker button Eg to the right of the message box The speech synthesis engine immedi ately produces the message you entered Click OK Choose Mode gt Mouse As soon as you click the bear square in the grid you will hear the message brown bear Sound You can also link the squares in your communication grid to a sound That sound may be an existing wav file or a sound file that you record in Mind Express To record sounds you will need a microphone l7
23. option if you want the Contents dialog box to appear if you right click a square while in mouse mode ga f you are in Edit mode choose Mode gt Edit the BE Contents dialog box appears whenever you right click a square in the grid regardless of whether this option is enabled or not e Fast input Select this option to enter text in squares without having to access the Contents dialog box Make sure you are in edit mode choose Mode gt Edit and select a square You can now enter the text directly into the square If you press Enter level 1 information is filled in as well In addi tion you can use the following short cut keys e Shift left right arrow to cycle through the different symbol sets e Shift up down arrow to cycle through the symbol list in alphabetic order Options gt Serial port Choose Options gt Serial port to modify the settings for the serial port This is important if you are using environmental control applications The Serial port dialog box appears Serial Port x Fort com Baud rate 9600 r Parity None Data bits E E Cancel i Stop bits Select the settings of your choice and click OK User User gt Select user You can configure Mind Express for optimal use by more than one user For every user you can set different preference settings dictionary files letter settings etc To set up the different user profiles 1 Choose User gt Select use
24. square for the three levels Dy You can assign a maximum of 5 actions per level MM 9 1 2o0r3 For a detailed explanation of how to work with actions and levels see Working with Actions and Levels on page 35 Mind Express User Manual 22 Mind Express 23 User Manual Chapter 4 The Lay out of a Communication Grid To make sure that you get the feel of creating commu How much space should be left between the squares nication grids this chapter will expand on the many and what colour this free space should be options Mind Express offers you when building a communication grid e Whether you want to use a background image This chapter covers the following topics It is recommended to limit the number of squares in a grid to ensure that it remains clearly legible and e Grid settings comprehensible For more information on the Grid dialog box see also Creating a new communication e Modifying styles grid on page 8 e Applying styles You can also use the Extra button in the Contents dialog box to merge certain squares in the communica e Editing squares tion grid e Working with commands To merge squares in a communication grid Working with communication grids that have a 1 Create anew communication grid pleasant lay out is more fun for the user Mind Express offers you various options to create an attractive lay out For more information on creating new communi for your communication grids catio
25. symbols are contained in the default pictures folder and the Symbol list remains empty click Change directory The Directories dialog box appears You can now enter the correct path to the folder containing your customised images and illustrations If you do not know the exact path to this folder click Browse to search for it Directories x Picture directory JE TritMind Express Erglish Pictures My Pi Wave directory CTritMind Express EnglishSounds Browse OF Cancel 7 Click OK The symbols in your personal folder appear in the main Symbol list and you can now select them for use in your communication grid Text Mind Express not only allows you to work with symbols illustrations and photographs but also with text 18 If you select a symbol from one of the symbol sets the text associated with it automatically appears in the Text on screen box as shown in the illustration below CONTENTS C BLISS PCS C PCScolor Picto Beta Rebus Other Main category Picture beverage and food x coffee Subcategory apple juice beer beverages chocolate milk Henge directo Style Style 2 instant tea kool ade lemonade ha Edit style Text on K ie I Extra 7 Fii Levell Level2 Level M Eillin Text and Level 1 If you want to display another text caption for the symbol than the one offered by default simply enter the new text in the Text on screen box For example if
26. you want to display the text hot with the coffee symbol instead of the default text coffee enter hot in the Text on screen box ET C BLISS C PCS C PCScolor Picto Beta C Rebus C Other Picture Main category beverage and food x coffee Is apple juice beer chocolate milk Subcategory beverages v henge directory Style drink Style 2 instant tea kool ade lemonade xl Edit style Text on G fa I Extra I Fii Levell Level Level3 M Eillin Text and Level 1 gy Ifyou enter an on screen text that is too long to fit QS in the grid square the text is split over two lines as soon as there is a space in the text Make sure that the text does not overlap with the used symbol Fill in Text and Level 1 If you select the option Fill in Text and Level 1 by clicking the check box corresponding to this option M Eilin Text andLevel the on screen text is added to the symbol automatically as soon as the symbol is selected in the symbol list Also the level one information for this square is automatically completed This is a useful option if you want to quickly create communication grids in which the symbols display their default text Mind Express User Manual If this option is disabled the text is not added to the symbol in the square automatically and the level one information is not automatically included Modifying text styles Mind Express offers you a number of
27. 6 bit compatible with Multimedia system MMSYSTEM Minimum system requirements for Mind Express with RealSpeak The minimum system requirements for Mind Express with RealSpeak are the following e Pentium PC 300 MHz or faster e 32 MB RAM Mind Express User Manual e MS Windows 95 98 or Windows NT or later e sound card preferably 16 bit compatible with Multimedia system MMSYSTEM Security Mind Express is protected by either hardware or soft ware protection e If your version contains a hardware key HASP dongle you should insert it into your PC s parallel port e If your version features software protection a window displaying a code appears when you start Mind Express Mail this code to T amp I at the following e mail address mind express tni be You will then receive a new code that allows you to unlock the program Demo files Mind Express comes with a number of standard demo files that give you a taste of what can be achieved with the program These demo files can also be a source of inspiration and can help you to create your own Mind Express projects The demos have been built with the different sets of symbols that can be used in Mind Express The last two letters of the demo file names refer to the set of symbols that was used be stands for Beta bl stands for Bliss pc stands for PCS pi stands for Picto and re stands for Rebus Some examples e demo3p
28. CS PCScolor C Pa Bao Rebus Other A Main category Picture frai categories X a Subcategory frall subcategories x Henge directory a Style Style 2 Edit style 4 You can select a category and subcategory from the Main category and Subcategory lists to filter the symbol list The Symbol list is updated immediately and displays only the selected category of symbols 5 Do one of the following e Select a symbol from the symbol list e Enter the name of the symbol of your choice in the Picture text box The selected symbol appears in the preview area to the right of the symbol list CONTENTS x C Picto 2 2 BLISS PCS C PCScolor Picto Beta Rebus Other chocolate Style Style 2 Edit style 6 Click OK Main category Picture beverage and food v a chocolate Subcategory dessert Bhange directory The Contents dialog box closes and the selected symbol appears in the communication grid Kur For more information on changing the look of the RM squares in a communication grid see The Lay out of a Communication Grid on page 23 17 Using other symbols Mind Express allows you to use symbols other than those included in the default symbol sets For example you can use photo s or your own drawings and illustra tions Remember to save the images you want to use in Mind Express in one of the following formats e WMF Windows Metafi
29. IYINGSSDIES eisen 27 Editing Squares nn eaaa eae aE aeara aaae 28 Working with COMMAMNAS c cccscesesssssseeserssssassesseseseesersaesaees 30 Working with Actions and Levels cssssssssssseesseseseeees 35 MESSAGE een 36 SOUN oeu a 38 Con Danger 39 Switching levels uneeeeensensennensnensennennennnnnennnnnnnennennnennennennen 39 Multiple actions per level cccscssssssssssssssssssssessssseeseess 41 Mind Express User Manual Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Working with Letters un eu 44 Preferences for the sentence windoW cuuunsesennensenennnennennnennen 44 USERSEEUNGS ee ee 46 WIIEING A EHER nenne 47 SAVDO OCLC ES een 48 User ModE Sirain seen 51 MOUSE osiin E E N E T 51 SCALING oa maate 52 Joystick or multiple switch nenesensensersesensnnennennennnennennennnennenn 57 Referenten ent 59 Fe eaten euch 59 VIO GLE RECENT EEN EB ERESEE PR ERREEUREHAEEE 59 OPONSE 60 RJ E A EEEE AAEE AEE A AE EEEE 63 PAGE ee EE EEEE EEE asian E E E E ern e 67 IS EEE TA 68 MENU ae ET RER 68 ED lan nennen see 69 Bss Editor sun ale 71 Mind Express and Bliss Editor ccccssssssssssssssssesseeseeseeees 71 Ataw ground rules ce e 71 Creating a new Bliss symbol uuunessesensennennennnennennennnennennennen 72 The menu Dar File aan 73 Themen Dar Edit vun 73 The menu bar INS Yt c cccescsssssssssssssssssseseessrssessessessessesersrees 74 The menu bar Symbol ccceccs
30. Mouse mode e Scanning joystick mode e Edit mode To set the indicator 1 Choose Options gt Indicator 60 The Indicator dialog box appears Indicator Ed Scan joystick mode Edit mode I se Dale J B c Wie C No J ZE C Cancel A User modes B Indicator options C Colour button 2 Select one of the following modes e Mouse mode e Scanning joystick mode e Edit mode 3 Select one of the indicator options by clicking the corresponding radio button 4 Ifnecessary change the indicator colour by pressing the Colour button A standard Windows dialog box appears in which you can select a new colour for the indicator 5 Click OK Your indicator settings are now applied in the corresponding mode Options gt Symbol sets gt Bliss Mind Express offers you a number of extra customisa tion options for the Bliss symbol set To modify the settings for the Bliss symbol set 1 Choose Options gt Symbol sets gt Bliss Mind Express User Manual The Bliss dialog box appears Size of pencil a A T Use background colour Cancel Background colour Nouns Colour Verbs Colour Colour Colour B Adjectives Personal pronouns Functions Other Colour NUUUHO alle Eh Colour Standard colours A Pencil size B Colours 2 Set the pencil size with which the Bliss symbols are drawn wu The optimal pencil size depends on the resolution of your screen If not al
31. Pause scanning after number of rounds DE Sew A Scanning methods B Scanning modes C Scanning preferences Mind Express first scans all the columns in the grid and then the squares in the selected column Number of rounds I Skip empty squares T Auditory scanning The first row of the grid is scanned from left to right the second from right to left and so on Scanning modes The grid is divided into blocks When you select one of these blocks it is divided into to new smaller blocks This process is repeated until your selection has narrowed down to a single square 2 Select a scanning method For more information on the different scanning methods see Scanning methods on page 53 3 Select a scanning mode You can choose one of two scanning modes scanning with 1 switch or scanning with 2 switches depending on the user s skills and your scanning preferences For more information on the different scanning cc modes see Scanning modes on page 53 4 Select the scanning preferences of your choice For more information on the different scanning preferences see Scanning preferences on page 54 5 Click OK Your scanning settings are stored with the current communication grid 6 Choose Mode gt Scan The scanning settings you selected in the Scanning dialog box are applied gw To quit scanning mode press Escape Esc w Mind Express User Manual
32. Serial port Speech New Action Delete Action Go to page By assigning the command Go to page to a specific square in a grid you can jump to another page in your communication grid Mind Express User Manual If you enabled the option Automatic return to main page page 1 in the Preferences dialog box you return to the main page after performing an action on the other page S p Levell Level2 Level IV FEillin Text and Level 1 Actions C Message C Sound Command Go to level Grammar functions Run application Serial port Speech New Action Delete Action Grammar functions You can assign the following grammar functions to a square in a communication grid e Past participle Infinitive Present tense Past tense Future tense Choose one of these functions to conjugate the selected verb in the corresponding tense If you have enabled the option Automatic return to present tense in the Preferences dialog box only the first verb you select will be conjugated in the selected tense Any following verbs you select will revert to the present tense e Plural Singular Choose one of these options to put the next noun you select in the corresponding number If you have enabled the option Automatic return to singular in the Preferences dialog box only the first noun you select will be in the indicated number and any following nouns will be singular 31 e 1st 3rd pers
33. Software Ltd 1993 1999 TM Mind Express is a trademark of Technologie amp Integratie Mind Express User Manual Contents Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Introduction ss site eee re ores me areey res 3 What is Mind Express ccccsccsscssessssesseseseseseeaseeserssesseseesenss 3 Who should read this User Manual c cccscsssecsseeseeseeen 4 How to use this User Manul csceccsssecsrssssssessrsssesersersasees 4 Installing Mind Express and Bliss Editor cccsccseseeseeeeeeeees 4 Demo Eee 5 Getting Started with Mind Express eeeseessssssosssonssnnnnnnnennnnnn 8 Starting Mind Express uunessessnsennennensnennennennennennennnnnennennenennenn 8 Creating a new communication Qrid eressesennerennennennneennennennnennnn 8 Completing the squares in a communication grid 10 Opening an existing communication grid uenersenerneeeneennennenennn 11 Saving a communication grid unsessessnsennernennnnennenennnennnennennen 12 Printing a communication gQrid useesersesennereneennennennnennennennnennen 12 VO SIG MINT EXPrO S een 13 The Contents Dialog Box sessssssessesssessesseessesseessesseessesseessesse 15 The lay out of the Contents dialog box unneeeeensenneeeeeennennenno 15 SYINDO rettete 16 TE ae 18 LVO ee aa age 20 The Lay out of a Communication Grid essrerenn 23 GUNG SO THINGS einen 23 Modilyingswvles elle 24 ADP
34. User Manual The menu items have been dealt with in order of appearance on the menus This means that the File menu is covered first and the Help menu is discussed last Hind Express animals bls Page 1 level 1 File Mode Options User Page Letter Menu Help In this chapter you will find procedures as well as descriptions of the commands and options on the menus In addition you will encounter frequent refer ences to procedures that were dealt with elsewhere in this User Manual File File gt Export list If you want to copy Mind Express files to a different PC it is very important that you also copy the sound and image files that were used in the file to the new destina tion To find out exactly which sound and image files were used in the Mind Express file you can use the export list The export list is a text file txt containing the paths to all the image files and sound files that were used in the Mind Express file It may also contain references to any other programs that were linked to squares in the communication grid If for example you assigned the command Run application to a specific square in the grid you should make sure that the application you linked to the square is also installed on the PC to which you are copying the file 59 To review the export list Choose File gt Export list The export list text file appears Bm Ei fj explist txt Notepad File Edit Search Help CATni Mind
35. a square all other clicks within a period of 5 seconds 5000 msec are ignored Mind Express User Manual Dwell selection Description 52 If you enable this option the square over which the pointer has been positioned is automatically selected after a set period of time For example if you enter 2000 msec and you hold the pointer over a square for longer than 2 seconds that square is automatically selected Repeat dwell selection Use dwell progress bar If you enable this option dwell selection is repeated every time the selected period passes For example when a dwell selection time of 2 seconds has been set the square over which you hold the pointer will be automatically selected every two seconds until you move the pointer to a different square If this option is enabled a progress bar appears at the bottom of the square indi cating the time that has passed in the dwell selection interval To use the mouse 1 Choose File gt Open and open a communication grid of your choice 2 Choose Mode gt Mouse You can now use the communication grid with the mouse trackball or touchscreen Dy You can determine in which user mode Mind RS Express will start For more information on prefer ence settings see also Options gt Preferences on page 61 Scanning Mind Express can also be used with a 1 or 2 switch scanning system To work with a scanner 1 Choose File gt Open and open the communic
36. a value from 20 to 99 in the box The example below shows an image that is aligned with the left bottom edge of the square and covers 60 of the square s surface Picture Horizontal position Left v Vertical position Bottom v Percentage eo 7 5 Click OK Your changes are applied to the communication grid raed Applying styles As soon as you have defined a number of styles you can apply them when creating or modifying communica tion grids To apply a specific style 1 Do one of the following e Choose File gt Open to open an existing communication grid e Choose File gt New and create a new grid For more information on creating anew communi cation grid see also Creating a new communica tion grid on page 8 2 Choose Mode gt Edit 3 Double click or right click one of the squares in the grid The Contents dialog box appears 4 Select a style from the Style list The style you selected is applied to the preview image directly above the Style list CONTENTS C BLISS PCS C PCScolor Picto Beta Rebus Other Main category Picture Subcategory frai subcategories x Bhange directory Text on screen monkey Style 4 yy 7 Fii Levell Level2 Level3 VW Eillin Text and Level 1 5 If necessary click Edit style to modify the style you selected For more information on modifying styles see Modifying styles on page 24 Mind
37. age to open the Go to dialog box User gt Dictionary gt Edit dictionary Go to page Choose User gt Dictionary gt Edit dictionary if you fi Page 1 want to modify the active dictionary Cancel Use the same procedure as in To compose a pronunci ation dictionary on page 64 Open the page list and select the page of your choice If your communication grid covers more than 20 pages the surplus pages are not displayed in part 2 of the Page menu but you can still jump to them by using the Go to dialog box Mind Express User Manual gy You can assign names to the pages in your grid For RS more information see Creating a new communi cation grid on page 8 Letter You can find all the information on the commands on the Letter menu in the chapter Working with Letters on page 44 Menu Menu gt Restricted menu You can activate a restricted menu in Mind Express so that the user cannot access all the functions of the program This means that the user can only work with the communication grid itself and is unable to modify any settings or dictionaries To activate the restricted menu Choose Menu gt Restricted menu The restricted menu bar looks like this Hind Express animals bls Page 1 level 1 Page Menu From the restricted menu bar the user can only access the Page menu to navigate between the pages in the grid and the option Full menu to revert to the no
38. all Choose Edit gt Select all to select all parts of the current symbol You can also use the space bar for this purpose Edit gt Show grid Choose Edit gt Show grid to make the grid visible or to make it disappear Mind Express User Manual The menu bar Insert Below you find an overview in order of appearance of the commands on the Insert menu Insert gt Basic symbol Choose Insert gt Basic symbol to make the dialog box with basic symbols appear Click one of the basic symbols to make it immediately appear in the Bliss Editor window s work area Iop 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 3 T gt l aS Insert gt Bliss symbol Choose Insert gt Bliss symbol to make the Bliss symbol dialog box appear Select a symbol from the list or immediately type the name of the symbol you want in the Symbol box Then click Insert to make the symbol appear in the main dialog box BLISS symbols Symbol strawbeny The menu bar Symbol Below you find an overview in order of appearance of the commands on the Symbol menu This menu contains all the commands that you can apply to the symbol lists 74 Symbol gt New Choose Symbol gt New to insert a new symbol You can also use the Insert key on your keyboard Symbol gt Remove Choose Symbol gt Remove to remove a symbol from the list gy As soon as you have removed a symbol you can no BB longer restore it Symbol gt Next Prev
39. ares in the communication grid A single click can trigger a sound produce a word or a sentence or execute acommand wu The settings that are relevant for the mouse also Eag RS apply to the trackball and the touch screen D1 Mouse preferences Choose Options gt Preferences to access the Prefer ences dialog box In the Selection area of the Preferences dialog box you can find a number of mouse settings as indicated below Selection T Drag n drop T React when you hit the button Use a delay with mouse or joystick selection fi O00 msec Tl Dwell selection Regestdivelleelection P Wee diel progress bar These preference settings apply also to the joystick The table below gives an overview of the different mouse preference settings and their effects Setting Drag n drop You can drag the squares in a grid to a different location with the mouse To do this click the square and drag it to its new location while holding down the left mouse button Release the left mouse button when the square has reached its new loca tion disabled the squares are selected on release of the left mouse button React when you hit the button As soon as the left mouse button is pressed the square is selected If this option is Use a delay with mouse or joystick selection You can enter a delay period during which all mouse clicks will be ignored If you enter for example 5000 msec after selecting
40. ation grid of your choice 2 Choose Mode gt Scan You can now scan the communication grid Dy You can determine in which user mode Mind RS Express will start For more information on prefer ence settings see also Options gt Preferences on page 61 Mind Express offers you a number of scanning methods modes and options that allow you to configure grid scanning to best suit the user To set the scanner options 1 Choose Options gt Scanning Mind Express User Manual The Scanning dialog box appears m Scanning method Line column C Linear A C Column line C Snake Block Scanning with 1 switch Scan time 500 msec Scanning with 2 switches Denton Scanning mode B Colors Delay 200d msec Number of rounds in selected row column 3 IV Retum to top left after selection J Return to top left with switch 2 I Stop scanning with switch 2 53 Scanning methods You can choose one of the following scanning methods Line column Mind Express first scans all the lines in the grid and then the squares in the selected line All the squares are scanned in a linear fashion from left to right starting at the top line Linear Column line T React when you hit the button T Start scanning by pressing down the button select on release J Select full row column after row column scan IV Double time on first symbol T
41. ational program an MP3 player audio or an AVI player audio and video For example you can assign actions to start the card game Microsoft Solitaire or the drawing program Microsoft Paint to squares in your grid Grammar functions Letter functions CMD Run application C Progr C Program Files Accessories MS Grammar functions Letter functions Open file Quit Quit This command has two subcommands that you can attach to a square in your communication grid e Quit Mind Express Assign this command to the Serial port square you want to use to close Mind Express You can use Mind Express in combination with envi ronmental control tools This command allows you to determine the information that should be sent to the serial port Mind Express User Manual For more information on using the serial port see Options gt Serial port on page 63 CMD Serial po Go to level Go to page Grammar functions Speech You can use the speech commands to increase or decrease the speech volume or to interrupt the speech 33 Mind Express User Manual 34 Mind Express User Manual Chapter 5 35 Working with Actions and Levels Mind Express allows you to attach several actions to every square in your communication grid Three levels are available for use in every square Within a level you can define the following types of actions e
42. box see also the procedure To use other symbols on page 17 Options gt Preferences You can set different Mind Express preference settings for every communication grid The preference settings for selecting items and for the sentence window have already been discussed in e Mouse preferences on page 51 e Preferences for the sentence window on page 44 Mind Express 62 User Manual The functions of the other preference settings are explained in the following tables Background Sentence window I Use coloured background for BLISS symbols I Use Sentence window I Use coloured background for PCS symbols IV Pronounce each word during construction of sentences T Include function keys in sentence window Automatic return I Automatic return to main page page 1 I Activate write Letter function at startup IV Automatic return to level 1 J Read letter by clicking on Sentence window IV Automatic return to present tense r Sounds IV Automatic return to singular J Use beep with function keys I Use a function page page 20 V Use sound for dragging V Use sound on empty square Selection T Drag n drop I React when you hit the button Start with mode I Use beep with scanning amp joystick P Use a delay with mouse or joystick selection Mouse Scanning Joystick I Dwell selection fi 000 msec JE Benet dwellselection J Read text of function keys
43. c bls is a demo created with the PCS symbol set e demo 5bl bls is a demo created with the Bliss symbol set To open a demo file 1 Start Mind Express For more information see Starting Mind Express on page 8 2 Choose File gt Open The Open dialog box appears in which you can select the demo of your choice Click Open The demo file of your choice opens in Mind Express The following paragraphs contain short descriptions for each of the standard demo files Demo 1 In demo file 1 the user has to indicate the colour of a number of objects The object is displayed at the top of the communication grid and the colour options are listed at the bottom In the example using Beta symbols demolbe bls another style is used for the colour of the text For more information on changing and applying text styles see also Modifying the text style on page 25 Demo 2 Demo 2 focuses on the recognition of a number of sounds The user clicks the ear button hears a sound and should then indicate the appropriate object For more information on using sound in Mind Express see Sound on page 38 Mind Express User Manual Demo 3 Demo 3 is a simple maze The user should first click the square at the start of the maze at which point the exer cise will be explained Afterwards the user can click a sequence of squares representing his path through the maze Demo 4 Demo 4 contains a number of comm
44. csescssssssseessessrsassessrseseesersaesaees 74 The menu bar Info ccccccccccccsseeesccccccccsseeetscececcesseneceueeeeseseeaees 75 Mind Express User Manual Chapter 1 Introduction What is Mind Express Mind Express is a multimedia program that allows you to develop vocabularies unique exercises and games for communication therapeutic and educational purposes These exercises and games are cast into the form of communication grids A communication grid is a file that consists of one or more Mind Express pages With Mind Express you can teach others fundamental communication skills You can practise basic skills such as colour recognition arithmetic and reading or you can use Mind Express to build games The possibilities are next to endless However Mind Express has even more to offer It can help you along in the often difficult search for an appro priate means of communication You can use Mind Express to experiment until you reach a suitable vocab ulary find the optimal set of symbols and the most effi cient selection method Step by step you can create a communication grid that meets your personal require ments and practise its use until Mind Express becomes your personal means of communication You will notice at once that Mind Express is a user friendly tool with a wide range of possible applications ensuring that you too can find solutions for alternative and augmentative communication Windows en
45. cture list The text street appears above the symbol in the Opening an existing preview area communication grid CONTENTS x BLISS C PES C PCScolor Picto C Beta C Rebus C Ohe GESTED At any time you can open a vocabulary that you made Main category Picture a CC earlier Mind Express will set the parameters for this Subcategory vocabulary automatically frall subcategories x Brendes To open an existing file tyle 7 z me 1 Choose File gt Open Extra p Text on screen street vjr Levell Level2 Level3 M Eillin Text and Level 1 8 Proceed to the second part of the Contents dialog box and e Select the Message option e Enter a sentence in the message text box for example This is my street Mind Express User Manual The Open dialog box appears Look in a Mind Express English g j c File name colour bls Files of type Bliss Files bls x Cancel I Open as read only Li 2 Select the communication grid you want to open and click Open In this case the grid colour is opened s Mind Express colour bis Page 1 level 1 Eile Mode Options User Page Letter Menu Help What is the colour of 3 You can now use this communication grid or you can modify it further if necessary Saving a communication grid You can save the changes that you have made to a communication grid You can also save a
46. d ME image For more information on selecting a back e Vertical position the image can be centred verti zo image see To create a new communica cally or can be aligned with the top or bottom edge tion grid on page 9 of the square e Percentage the percentage of the square that is covered by the image can be set At 100 the entire square is covered by the image while at 50 only half the surface of the square is covered Background Border size 2 x ransparent squares Background color C Clour To change the position of the image in the square 5 Choose a background colour for the squares by clicking Colour 1 Choose Options gt Style Mind Express User Manual The Style dialog box appears Style Style name Style 1 Style 4 Select all Style 5 Style 6 Import Style 7 Style 8 Style 9 J Em r Test Background Mind Express English Border size fo I Transparent squares Font Background color Clour Horizontal position Middle Picture Vertical position Top Horizontal position Middle gt A IV Text in square Vertical position Bottom x Percentage 100 x Z A Picture area 2 Select the style you want to modify from the Style list 3 Inthe Picture area select the appropriate Hori zontal and Vertical position settings for the image in the square 4 Select a percentage from the Percentage list or enter
47. e applied to the grid Modifying styles When you first use Mind Express you will notice that it contains 20 styles You can redefine these styles and adapt their properties as you see fit Every time you create a new communication grid Mind Express auto matically uses the styles from the last file you worked with To modify styles 1 Do one of the following e Choose File gt Open to open an existing communication grid e Choose File gt New and create a new grid For more information on creating a new communi cation grid see also Creating a new communica tion grid on page 8 2 Choose Options gt Style Mind Express User Manual The Style dialog box appears Style Style name Style 1 Style 3 Style 4 Select all Style 5 Style 6 Import Style 7 Style 8 Style 9 E 3 r Background 5 Border size fo x Mind Express English Transparent squares Font Background color Clour Horizontal position Middle 7 Vertical position Top x IV Text in square Picture Horizontal position Middle Vertical position Bottom Percentage 100 x Z 3 You can now select one or more styles from the list of existing styles and modify one of the following properties e Text e Background e Picture Use the Shift and or Control keys to select several styles at once in the Style list You can also import and export existing styles This is e
48. e communication grid of your choice and click Open Mind Express 29 User Manual The selected communication grid appears e Select the bear square and choose Mode gt Copy or press Ctrl C Then select the empty square and choose Mode gt Paste or press Ctrl V 3 Choose Mode gt Edit RON OMINE TONOWANG e Select the bear square and drag it to the empty square with the pointer 5 Do one of the following e Choose File gt Save to save the file under its original name e Choose File gt Save as to save the file under a new name Dy You can use the Shift and or Control keys to select r several squares at the same time and copy them to different pages in the same file or even to another Mind Express file Mind Express User Manual Working with commands You can create command squares in your communica tion grids The following commands are available Go to level Go to page Grammar functions Letter functions Open file Quit Run application Serial port Speech For more information on assigning commands see also cc gt gt Commands on page 39 At the top of the Picture list in the symbol sets BLISS and PCS you will find symbols for most of the commands listed above If you select one of these symbols the corresponding action is linked to the square automatically CONTENTS x BLISS PCS C PCScolor Picto Beta Rebus Other TEETE Main category Picture ai cate
49. er Manual Symbols Mind Express contains a number of symbol sets that contain true symbols as well as images and drawings Apart from the symbols included in these sets you can also create your own symbols for use in Mind Express Symbol sets The symbols you use to complete your communication grid are selected from a number of lists You can choose a list of symbols a symbol set by selecting the set of your choice from the list at the top of the Contents dialog box as indicated below CONTENTS x C BLISS C PCS PCScolor C Pict Beta Rebus Other dog You can choose one of the following symbol sets e BLISS the BLISS symbol set consists of a long alphabetical list of symbols This standard set is part of the Mind Express basic package In addition you can use the BLISS editor to create new BLISS symbols For more information on the BLISS editor see Bliss Editor on page 71 e PCS PCS stands for Picture Communication Symbols The set includes a list of 100 sample symbols The complete PCS symbol set consists of over 5000 symbols and is available as an extra option from your Mind Express dealer If you already have a BoardMaker licence you are entitled to receive the entire PCS set without charge e Picto Picto stands for Pictogram The sample list included in Mind Express contains 25 symbols The full list of Picto symbols can be obtained for an extra charge from your Mind Express dealer 16 e Beta The de
50. erences used specifically with 1 switch scanning and the preferences used for other purposes Mind Express 90 User Manual e Scanning preferences for 1 switch scanning Return to top left with switch 2 If you enable this option the user can use switch 2 for example the right mouse button to return to the first square in the grid If this option is disabled and the user scans beyond the square of his choice he she needs to scan the entire grid once more before being able to return to the square of his her choice Stop scanning with switch 2 If you enable this option scanning is temporarily interrupted when the user presses switch 2 This option can only be used in 1 switch scanning mode To resume scan ning press switch 1 Double time on first symbol If you enable this option the interval between scanning the first and second squares in the grid is doubled This applies only to Line column and Column line scanning with 1 switch Start scanning by pressing down the button If you enable this option scanning begins as soon as you press the switch and stops select on release when you release it at which point the square line or column that was scanned when you released the switch is selected Pause scanning after a number of rounds If you enable this option scanning stops automatically when no selection has been made within a set number of rounds through the grid Scanning resumes when you press switch 1 e Scanning preference
51. eserve for viewing the letter You can find all the letter related commands on the Letter menu in the Mind Express menu bar New letter write Read Stop Open letter Save letter Save letter az Print letter Resize letter window The User menu also contains 3 additional letter related user settings as shown below Page Letter Menu Help Select user Speech output Dichonary Fon Letter setup Page setup In this chapter you will find a detailed overview of each of the letter commands and you will learn how to record a letter in Mind Express This chapter contains the following sections e Preferences for the sentence window e User settings e Writing a letter Preferences for the sentence window Before you start writing a letter you should first deter mine the preference settings of your choice for the sentence window The sentence window is the area on the screen in which you will compose your letter gy Your preference settings are saved along with the a8 file To change the sentence window preference settings 1 Choose Options gt Preferences The Preferences dialog box appears This dialog box contains amongst others the preference settings for the sentence window as shown below Mind Express 45 User Manual 2 Enable the settings of your choice by selecting the corresponding check boxes Preferences fioo BEDESL GWE SElECUGHT USE cell DTOGiess Dar Kar
52. f you change levels by clicking a different level tab the colour of the tab pages changes The level 2 tab page is green and the level 3 tab page is blue An example To the square dog in a communication grid you can assign different messages on different levels Mind Express User Manual e level 1 if the square dog is selected at level 1 the message the dog waggles its tail is produced by the speech synthesis engine In other words a message has been assigned to level 1 e level 2 if the square dog is selected at level 2 you hear the message the dog is called Blacky fe f f MSG The dog is called Blacky The dog is called Blacky K e level3 if the square dog is selected at level 3 you hear the question where is my dog MSG Where is my dog Although this example only included messages you can also assign sounds and commands to squares at each of the three levels For more information on using actions and working with levels see also Working with Actions and Levels on page 35 21 For more information on assigning messages sounds and commands see also e Message on page 36 e Sound on page 38 e Commands on page 39 Multiple actions per level You can assign one or more actions to a square per information level This means that you can link one or more messages sounds or commands to a
53. fers you a number of options to enter information in the squares of a communication grid Each of these options is covered in detail in this chapter The lay out of the Contents dialog box You can find nearly all of the options to enter informa tion in a communication grid in the Contents dialog box You will find this to be the most important tool for creating useful grids in Mind Express gy You can also access the Contents dialog box by RS right clicking a square while in mouse mode See also Options gt Preferences on page 61 To open the Contents dialog box 1 Choose Mode gt Edit 2 Double click or right click one of the empty squares in the communication grid The Contents dialog box appears The illustration below offers a global overview of the three main functions in the Contents dialog box These functions are described in detail at a later point in this chapter CONTENTS x C BLISS C PCS C PCScolor Picto Beta Rebus Other Main category Picture ankle fi fan categories v ankle og Subcategory A al subcategories Henge directory B Text on screen Jankle Levell Level2 Level3 ctions Message Sound Command Jake iE Noun C Other L New Action Delete Action C Verb Personal pronoun Data Style Style 2 x Edit style Extra V Fillin Text and Level 1 A Symbols B Text C Levels Mind Express Us
54. gories aa 1 Past participle Subcategory 1 Past participle all subcategories x 1 Past participle 2 Infinitive Hanae directory 5 Tre dawn Style 3 Volume down 4 Yolume up 4 Yolume up 5 Present tense Text on screen Past participle Levell Level2 Level3 Style 2 x M Eillin Text and Level 1 ctons C Message Sound Command CMD Grammar functions Past H Go to level Go to page Infinitive Grammar functions Present tense Letter functions Past tense Open file Futur Tense Quit Plural Run application Singular Serial port 1st pers sing New Action Delete Action Speech 3rd pers sing Of course you can also assign a command to any square containing any symbol of your choice 30 In the following paragraphs you will find an overview of the main commands and their subcommands in the order in which they are presented in the Contents dialog box Go to level By assigning the command Go to level 1 2 or 3 toa certain square in a grid you can use the contents of the different square levels If you have enabled the Automatic return to level 1 option in the Preferences dialog box the new level will only be enabled for the first square you select I em Levell Level Level3 M Eillin Text and Level 1 Actions C Message Sound Command CMD Go to level Go to page Grammar functions Letter functions Open file Quit Run application
55. he part of the symbol symbol in the Name box Click Insert e For composite symbols the distance between the different parts is 1 4 of the standard distance re Creating a new Bliss symbol You can use Bliss Editor to create your own Bliss aoe The symbol of your choice appears in the Bliss symbols which you can use afterwards in your commu a Editor window nication grids 3 Type a name for the Bliss symbol in the Name box To create a new Bliss symbol YP y of the main dialog box This name will be used in 1 Start Bliss Editor the Mind Express Bliss symbol list For more information on starting Bliss Editor see x x Me a Vag Ue OO also To start Bliss Editor on page 71 symbol type all meanings in the Name box sepa rated by a comma Mind Express User Manual 4 Select the appropriate word class by clicking one of the radio buttons The grid takes on a different colour for every word class An example when you select Substantive the grid turns orange For more information on colour settings see also Options gt Symbol sets gt Bliss on page 60 5 Choose File gt Save or press Enter to save the Bliss symbol The menu bar File Below you find a chronological overview of the commands on the File menu File gt Save Choose File gt Save to save the current symbol Alterna tively you can also press Enter on your keyboard The symbol you just saved is added to the Bliss symbol li
56. he message dog 15 Click the 2 square in the grid to activate level 2 then click the dog square once more You hear the sound of a dog barking Multiple actions per level You can define multiple actions per level One level may contain for example two commands There is a maximum of five actions per information level per square An example to the dog square you can assign both the message dog and the barking sound at level 1 To assign multiple actions at the same level to a square 1 Do one of the following e Choose File gt Open to open an existing grid e Choose File gt New and create a new communi cation grid For more information on creating a new communi cation grid see also Creating a new communica tion grid on page 8 2 Choose Mode gt Edit 3 Double click or right click an empty square in the grid The Contents dialog box appears 41 4 Select dog from the Beta symbol set or enter the word dog in the Picture text box CONTENTS C BLISS PCS PCScolor Picto Beta C Rebus Other Main category Picture Subcategory animals henge decta 5 Assign the message dog to the square at level 1 For more information on assigning messages see Message on page 36 6 Stay at level 1 and click the New action button CONTENTS x C BLISS PCS C PCScolor Picto Beta Rebus Other Main category Picture nature had Subcategory
57. ious First Last Use these functions to view the next previous first or last symbol in the list You can also use the corre sponding keys on the keyboard Function Previous Page Up Last End Symbol gt Find Find next Use these functions to find symbols in the list of your personal Bliss symbols Mind Express User Manual Choose Symbols gt Find to open the Find dialog box Find what M Match whole word only Cancel Insert the name of the symbol you are looking for in the Find what box If you want the result to completely match the name of the symbol you are looking for select the option Match whole word only If you want to see all the symbols in which the word occurs do not select this option Choose Symbol gt Find next to find the next symbol that corresponds to your look up criteria For this purpose you can also use the F3 key Symbol gt Ungroup Group Choose Symbol gt Group to group the component parts of a symbol As soon as a symbol is grouped you can no longer select the separate parts clicking any of the parts of the symbol selects the entire symbol You can undo this operation by choosing Symbol gt Ungroup 19 The menu bar Info Click Info on the menu bar to make the following dialog box containing information on Bliss Editor appear BLISS editor x Bliss editor Version 2 0 Technologie amp Integratie Infottri be ox Mind Express User Manua
58. ition of the text in the square e Place the text inside or outside the symbol s square e Use background colour for the text Mind Express User Manual A few examples Text Mind Express English Font Horizontal position Middle BE Vertical position Top x V Text in square M Use x T ext background Text Mind Express English Horizontal position Left Yertical position Top x V Text in square I Use text background Text background olau 5 Click OK The changes to the text style are applied to the text in the current square and to all other squares using the same style Levels The third area of the Contents dialog box contains three tab pages each corresponding to one of the three infor mation levels that you can assign to a square in a communication grid Each level can contain one or more actions For example to the square strawberry cocktail ktail 20 you can assign the level one message strawberry On the second level you can enter red and on the third level you can include the sentence I like strawberries Tf ET yous BE A arr Level Lever Levels M Eillin Text and Level 1 Actions Message Sound Command dea q Noun Other Personal pronoun C Verb Data New Action Delete Action A Level tabs I
59. l 76 Mind Express User Manual Index A Actions Multiple per level 21 41 Actions and levels Working with 35 Applications starting 32 Applying Styles 27 Styles to multiple squares 28 Auditory scanning 56 With keyword 56 B Background Changing 25 Modifying 25 Betasymbols 16 Bliss Editor 71 Ground rules 71 Installation 4 Bliss symbols 16 Creatingnew 72 C Commands 39 Working with 30 Communication grids 11 Completing 10 Creating 8 Lay out 23 Opening 11 Printing 12 Saving 12 Completing Communication grids 10 Squares 10 Contents dialogue box 15 Lay out 15 144 Creating Communication grids 8 New Bliss symbol 72 Demo 1 Demo 2 Demo 3 Demo 4 Demo 5 Demo 6 Demo 7 Demo 8 Demo files 5 NN N N N N DW UO 09 E Edit Clear Delete 73 Cut Paste Copy 73 Restore 73 Show grid 73 Editing Squares 28 Text styles 19 F File 59 Exit 73 Export list 59 Open command 32 Save 73 Fillintextandlevell 18 Font 46 G Getting started with Mind Express 8 Gotolevel 30 Go to page 30 Mind Express User Manual Grammar functions 31 Grid settings 23 Ground rules for Bliss Editor 71 H Help 69 Info 69 Mind Express Help 69 Insertmenu 74 Basic symbol 74 Bliss symbol 74 Inserting Basic symbols 74 Bliss symbols 74 Installation Bliss Editor 4 Mind Express 4 Installing 4 Introduction 3 J Joystick 57 K Keywords for auditory scanning 56 L Lay out of communication grids 23 La
60. l the parts of the symbols are clearly visible try using a larger pencil size SQ NS w 3 Set the colours for the background of the Bliss symbols by clicking the corresponding Colour buttons You can set a different colour for each word class 4 Click the Standard colours button to revert to the original colour settings 5 Click OK The pencil size and background colours are applied when you use Bliss symbols in a communication grid and when you create new symbols with the Bliss Editor For more information on the Bliss Editor see also Bliss Editor on page 71 Options gt Symbol sets gt Rebus As for the Bliss symbol set you can adjust the pencil size used to draw the Rebus symbols 61 To modify the pencil size for the Rebus symbol set 1 Choose Options gt Symbol sets gt Rebus The Line dialog box appears E ka Cancel 2 Do one of the following Line thickness e Choose a pencil size from the Line thickness list e Enter a pencil size of your choice in the list box 3 Click OK The new pencil size is applied to all existing Rebus symbols in your communication grids and when you create new Rebus symbols Options gt Directories In the Directories dialog box you can specify the folders in which you store images and sound files that you want to use in Mind Express You can also use it to change the path to these folders For more information on the Directories dialog
61. le e BMP Bitmap e GIF Graphics Interchange Format e JPG Joint Photographic Experts Group Store your customised images and illustrations in a new subfolder of the images folder that was created during Mind Express installation For example you could save your own images in the folder C Tni Mind Express English Pictures My Pictures This folder is added to the Main category list If you add subfolders to your own folder these are listed in the Subcategory list To use other symbols 1 Usea drawing program such as Windows Paint to create your own new pictures or save existing illus trations and photographs in JPEG GIF BMP or WME format in the default picture folder or in a new subfolder of the default folder 2 Do one of the following e Choose File gt Open to open an existing communication grid e Choose File gt New to create a new communi cation grid For more information on creating anew communi cation grid see also Creating a new communica tion grid on page 8 3 Choose Mode gt Edit Mind Express User Manual 4 Double click or right click the square in the communication grid where you want to use the new symbol The Contents dialog box appears 5 Select the Other option from the symbol sets list at the top of the dialog box The symbols in the Pictures folder appear in the Symbol list CONTENTS C BLISS C PCS C PCScolor Picto C Beta C Ret chocolate 6 Ifno
62. lick OK to confirm your changes The Grid dialog box appears 2 Create anew communication grid as described in the procedure To create a new communication grid on page 9 3 Choose Mode gt Edit Mind Express 11 User Manual 4 Double click or right click one of the empty squares e Select the word class Other in the grid The Contents dialog box appears Levelt Level2 Level a ase Message C Sound Command 5 Select one of the symbol sets at the top of the KE Contents dialog box C Nan Tieseesseeeeey r Lorsona pronoun C Veb New Action Delete Action Data co NTS GT PCS PCScolor Picto Beta C Rebus C Other Ane 6 Select the symbol of your choice from the list of 9 Click OK symbols or enter the name of the symbol you want to use in the Picture box You have now entered all the information needed to complete your first square in the communication rid CONTENTS 8 BLISS PCS C PCScolor Picto Beta C Rebus Other Main category oe 10 Choose Mode gt Mouse and click the newly frai categories x Subcategory completed square fran subcategories x Henge decta Style You will now hear the message This is my street Style 1 7 Edit styl EEE Follow this procedure to complete all the squares in Text on screen street Estra P your communication grid Levell Level Level3 l 7 Click the selected symbol in the Pi
63. mar functions Letter functions Open file Quit Run application Serial port Speech New Action Delete Action 5 Click OK If you click the square in the grid to which you assigned this action Mind Express will automati cally jump to the next page Switching levels You can attach information to the squares in a grid on three different levels But how can you switch between levels 1 and 2 and between levels 2 and 3 It suffices to create a new square in your grid to which you attach the command Go to level 2 or Go to level 3 In fact you are creating command squares in your grid that help you activate the different information levels Mind Express User Manual The example and procedure below illustrate this clearly To build the communication grid depicted above 1 Do one of the following e Choose File gt Open to open an existing grid e Choose File gt New and create anew communi cation grid For more information on creating a new communi cation grid see also Creating a new communica tion grid on page 8 2 Choose Mode gt Edit 3 Double click or right click an empty square in the grid The Contents dialog box appears 4 Select dog from the Beta symbol set as shown below or enter the word dog in the Picture text box CONTENTS BLISS PCS PCScolor Picto Beta C Rebus Other Main category Picture Subcategory Bhange director
64. mind express tni be www tni be Click OK to leave this dialog box 69 Mind Express User Manual 70 Mind Express User Manual Chapter 9 Bliss Editor Bliss Editor is an accessory to Mind Express that allows you to create your own Bliss symbols Bliss Editor is based on the standard Bliss rules You can use the basic shapes to create new Bliss symbols or you can combine existing Bliss symbols To start Bliss Editor 1 Click the Start button at the bottom left corner of the screen 2 Move the pointer to Programs 3 Hold the pointer over Programs until the list of available programs appears 4 Hold the pointer over Mind Express 5 Click Bliss Editor Bm El Bliss editor File Edit Insert Symbol Info Name ftest Part of speech C Substantive C Verb C Person Adjective gt Other C Function Ready WA Read this chapter to learn how you can create a new Bliss symbol You can also find all relevant information on the Bliss Editor functions 71 Mind Express and Bliss Editor The symbols you create using Bliss Editor automatically appear in the Bliss symbol list at the top of the Contents dialog box in Mind Express For more information on the Contents dialog box see also The Contents Dialog Box on page 15 You can use your own Bliss symbols to create acommu nication grid in the same way as you would with the other symbol sets Beta PCS in Mind Express Mind Expre
65. mo set of Beta symbols included in Mind Express contains 25 symbols Once again the complete symbol set can be obtained from your Mind Express dealer If you already have a Beta licence you are entitled to receive the entire Beta set without charge e Rebus The sample set of Rebus symbols included in Mind Express has 100 symbols The complete set of symbols can be obtained for an extra charge from your Mind Express dealer unless you have a Writing with Symbols 2000 licence in which case you are entitled to receive the full set free of charge e Other You can create your own symbols in any graphic package or you can use existing illustra tions It is important that these images are saved in one of the following formats WMF Windows Metafile BMP Bitmap GIF Graphics Inter change Format or JPG Joint Photographic Experts Group The symbol sets described above have been divided into different categories This allows you to filter the main symbol list so that you can find the symbol of your choice quickly To select a symbol from a symbol set 1 Choose Mode gt Edit 2 Double click or right click the square in the communication grid to which you want to assign a symbol The Contents dialog box appears W Select a symbol set at the top of the dialog box by clicking the radio button preceding the set name Mind Express User Manual The symbol list now displays the symbols from the selected set BLISS P
66. n grids see Creating a new communication grid on page 8 Most of the lay out commands in Mind Express can be accessed through the Options menu 2 Choose Mode gt Edit 3 Double click or right click an empty square in the grid Grid settings You can determine the overall structure of your communication grid in the Grid dialog box This dialog box appears automatically when you choose File gt New When creating a new communication grid you need to decide in advance e Of how many squares the grid will consist down and across Mind Express User Manual The Contents dialog box appears BLISS PCS PCScolor Picto Beta C Rebus C Other Main category Picture Subcategory 1 Past participle 1 Past participle 2 Infinitive 2 Infinitive far subcategories v ange directory 3 Volume down Style 3 Volume down Style 1 x 4 Volume up 4 Yolume up 5 Present tense Text on screen Edit stule_ 4 Click Extra The Extra dialog box appears Keyword for auditory scanning en o Horizontal size Vertical size 5 Enter the new horizontal and vertical dimensions you want to assign to the square If you enter 2 in both the Horizontal and Vertical size boxes the selected square becomes twice as large as the other squares in the grid as shown below 6 Click OK 24 The Extra dialog box closes and the Contents dialog box reappears 7 Click OK Your changes ar
67. ol size value of 5 results in very small symbols while a value of 30 results in very large symbols 4 Click OK The letter setup settings are applied as soon as you start writing a letter Page setup In the Page setup settings you can determine the page margins you want to use and in what orientation you wish to print the letter portrait or landscape To modify the page setup settings 1 Choose User gt Letter gt Page setup Mind Express User Manual The Page setup dialog box appears Cancel Format Aa 297 x 210 mm Orientation Margins in mm Portrait Left fe Right fe C Landscape Top fS Bottom 8 2 By default the page format is set to A4 You can modify e The page orientation to print the letter in either landscape or portrait lay out e The margins from the edges of the paper 3 Click OK These settings are applied as soon as you print a letter Writing a letter Follow the procedure below to learn how to write a letter in Mind Express The step by step instructions provide you with the ideal basis for further experiments To write a letter 1 Choose File gt Open and open an existing grid with which you want to compose a letter 47 2 Choose Options gt Preferences and enable the appropriate sentence window options in the Prefer ences dialog box Sentence window IV Use Sentence window IV Pronounce word at the construction of sentences T Include functi
68. on keys in sentence window I Activate Write Letter function at startup I Read letter by clicking on Sentence window For more information on the preference settings for the sentence window see Preferences for the sentence window on page 44 3 Choose Letter gt New letter You are now ready to start writing a new letter 4 Choose Letter gt Resize letter window You can now determine the size of the sentence window Click the blue horizontal bar at the top of the sentence window and drag it up or down gw The bar dividing the communication grid and the RM sentence window is blue when it is selected and grey when it is not Mind Express Sample1 bls Page 1 level 1 Eile Mode Options User Page Letter Menu Help Build Speal ABC A ABCO ABC Plural Past tense Future tense Li L2 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 P2 Pa P4 Past participle Page 5 PP Ps A Communication grid B Sentence window resizing bar C Sentence window 5 Choose Letter gt Write Mind Express User Manual 6 Select the squares in the communication grid that you want to use in the letter by clicking them Depending on the letter settings the text the symbols or both the text and the symbols will appear in the sentence window have a dog A hos s ty 7 Choose Letter gt Read The letter is read out 8 Choose Letter gt Stop The recording of the letter is stopped and the sentence window is disabled
69. options to modify the font and position of the text in the squares of your communication grids To modify the text style 1 Choose Mode gt Edit 2 Double click or right click the square in the communication grid for which you want to modify the text style The Contents dialog box appears CONTENTS Ed C BLISS PCS C PCScolor Picto Beta Rebus Other Main category Picture beverage and food x cocktail Subcategory apple juice beer beverages 7 chocolate milk Henge directory cocktail instant tea kool ade lemonade Text on screen cocktail Extra Fii Levell Level2 Level VW Fillin Text and Level 1 3 Click Edit style 19 The Style dialog box appears Background Border size fi Oo I Transparent squares Background color C Clour Picture Horizontal position Middle Vertical position Botton T Use text background Percentage 75 x Text background aau OK Cancel Mind Express English Font Horizontal position Middle Vertical position Top I Text in square A Text area Make all the required changes to the settings in the Text area You have the following options e Change the text font To do this click Font A standard Windows font modification dialog box appears in which you can select the font family style and size of your choice e Change the Horizontal and Vertical pos
70. r Mind Express User Manual The User dialog box appears Select user User 1 Delete New user En I Show this window at startup 2 Enter the name of the new user in the New user text box 3 Click Add The name of the new user is added to the file 4 Select the option Show this window at start up The next time you start Mind Express the User dialog box appears before you can begin working 5 Click OK User gt Speech output The text to speech engine that comes with Mind Express allows you to listen to the messages that you assign to the squares in the communication grid Also you can determine the characteristics of the speech output such as the voice the volume and the speed of speech in the Speech output dialog box To modify the speech output settings 1 Choose User gt Speech output 64 The Speech output dialog box appears Type text and press Test speech Language British English L amp H x Voice Jane 22kHZ z Volume pennn Speed pE Pich jr EBEN T No speech output Close 2 Ifnecessary modify the Volume and Speed settings 3 Enter a sentence in the text box and click the Test speech button You hear the result of your new settings If you decide not to use speech output in your communication grid select the option No speech output 4 Click Close Your speech output settings take effect immedi ately User gt Dictionary gt Select
71. r that covers the remaining functionality of Mind Express Finally this User Manual also contains a description of the Bliss Editor an accessory to Mind Express that allows you to create your own Bliss symbols This User Manual consists of the following chapters e Chapter 2 Getting Started with Mind Express e Chapter 3 The Contents Dialog Box e Chapter 4 The Lay out of a Communication Grid e Chapter 5 Working with Actions and Levels e Chapter 6 Working with Letters e Chapter 7 User Modes e Chapter 8 Reference e Chapter 9 Bliss Editor Installing Mind Express and Bliss Editor To install Mind Express and Bliss Editor you should insert the Mind Express cd rom into the cd rom drive If the installation does not start automatically click Start gt Run and start the program Setup from the cd rom You are guided through the installation procedure by the Mind Express installation wizard Follow the on screen instructions to install both programs correctly System requirements In order to be able to use Mind Express efficiently you should make sure that your system meets a number of minimum system requirements The two versions of Mind Express with or without RealSpeak have different system requirements Minimum system requirements for Mind Express The minimum system requirements for Mind Express are the following e Pentium PC e 8MBRAM e MS Windows 95 98 or Windows NT or later e sound card preferably 1
72. rmal menu bar You can secure this option with a password For more information on the password see Menu gt Change password on page 68 gy In restricted menu mode the mouse can only be RS moved in the Mind Express main window This means that the user cannot move the mouse to the 68 title bar of the window to exit Mind Express or run any other applications Menu gt Change password You can secure Mind Express with a password No pass word is set when Mind Express has just been installed Follow the procedure below to enter or modify the pass word To set the password 1 Choose Menu gt Change password The Change password dialog box appears Change password x Give old password f Give new password Fr Confirm new password Cancel 2 Enter the old password in the Give old password box Kur If no password has been set yet leave this text box OS empty 3 Enter the new password in the Give new password and Confirm new password boxes 4 Click OK The password has been changed Mind Express User Manual Help Help gt Mind Express Help You can access the on line help files for this User Manual by choosing Help gt Mind Express Help Help gt Info Choose Help gt Info to view the version information on Mind Express The Info dialog box appears en Mind Express gs Version 3 0 Technologie amp Integratie St Pietersnieuwstraat 41 B 9000 Gent BELGIUM Email
73. s even more precisely to meet your personal needs e Font e Letter setup e Page setup Font You can change the look of the text in your letters This means that you can change the font family size style etc to suit your preferences To set the font type for your letter 1 Choose User gt Letter gt Font The standard Windows Font dialog box appears Font 21x Eont Font style Size arial Regular IE Cancel Arial Black d italic M Arial Narrow atekicon AvantGarde B ook AvantGarde B ook Oblic AvantGarde Demi I Strikeout AaBbYyZz M Underline AaBbYyzz ae Effects Sample Color Black v Script western 2 Select the font options of your choice 3 Click OK These settings are applied as soon as you start writing a letter 46 Letter setup In the Letter setup settings you can determine whether you want to include only the symbols only the text or both in your letters To modify the letter setup settings 1 Choose User gt Letter gt Letter setup The Letter dialog box appears Size of symbols E v Only symbols Cancel Only text Both text and symbols 2 Select the appropriate option to determine whether you want to include in your letters only the symbols only the text or both text and symbols 3 Ifyou are using symbols in your letters enter a symbol size in the Size of symbols box Enter a value between 1 and 30 A symb
74. s for 1 and 2 switch scan ning Preference setting Description Number of rounds in selected row column If you enable this option and you enter for example 3 in this box the selected row or column is scanned 3 times before moving on to the next column or line unless you select a square in the line or column Return to top left after selection If you enable this option scanning resumes from the top left square or the first row column depending on the current scanning method in the grid after you have made a selection This means that you do not need to wait until the entire communi cation grid has been scanned to make your next selection React when you hit the button If you enable this option the current square column or line is selected as soon as you press the switch If this option is disabled the default setting the selection is made when you release the switch after pressing it Select full row column after row column If you enable this option the full row or column is selected after the current row or scan column has been fully scanned This means that you can press the switch to move to the next row column when the entire row column is selected This option applies only to Line column and Column line scanning Skip empty squares If you enable this option the empty squares in the grid are skipped automatically Auditory scanning If you enable this option the text for every square is read out when the squares are
75. specially useful if you work with different computers and want to maintain style consistency If you export and import your defined styles there is no need to repeat the time consuming style creation process Use the following buttons to select all 20 styles to import styles or to export styles o Select all Import e Export 11 25 Modifying the text style If you create communication grids with symbols and text or with text only you can use the Style dialog box to modify the properties of that text For more information on modifying text styles see Modifying text styles on page 19 Changing the background The Background area of the Style dialog box offers you the following options to modify the background prop erties of the selected square e Youcan adapt the border width around the pictures in the squares e Youcan make the squares transparent This is useful if you are using a background image in the grid e You can set the square s background colour To modify the background of the squares ina grid 1 Choose Options gt Style The Style dialog box appears Style Style name Style 1 Style 3 Style 4 Select all Style 5 Style 6 Import Style 7 Style 8 Stule 9 Em Te Background i Border size 0 A Mind Express Enalish EG E nd xpress onas I Transparent squares Font Background color Clour Horizontal position Middle Tisture Yertical posi
76. ss allows you to set the following options for the Bliss symbols e Pencil size e Background colour For more information on these settings see also Options gt Symbol sets gt Bliss on page 60 A few ground rules Take the following ground rules into account when you create your own Bliss symbols Mind Express User Manual e The standard Bliss area contains a top line and a bottom line These are the two thick lines in the grid The distance between these two lines is the standard distance This means that the Bliss symbols are always placed between these two lines except in a few cases 72 The Bliss Editor window appears Bliss editor OF Xx File Edit Insert Symbol Info Name Po Part of speech C Substantive C Verb C Person Adjective Other C Function Ready Y 2 Do one of the following e Choose Insert gt Basic symbol and choose a A Top line B Bottom line symbol from the list by clicking it e Indicators are placed at 1 4 of the standard distance from the top line This can also be at a quarter above Tor the top part of the Bliss symbol if that Bliss symbol PPP ef af ef of of e itself exceeds the top line Indicators give a gram a a ee fo matical meaning to a Bliss symbol e Pointers are placed at 1 8 of the standard distance e Choose Insert gt Bliss symbol Choose a from the symbol Pointers are used to point at a symbol from the list or type the name of t
77. st which you can also see in Mind Express File gt Exit Choose File gt Exit to close Bliss Editor The menu bar Edit Below you find an overview of the functions in the Edit menu in order of their appearance on the menu Use these functions to edit symbols The changes are however only applied to the current symbol in the main dialog box 73 Edit gt Restore Choose Edit gt Restore to undo a change you have made to a symbol Ku You can only restore changes that have not been RS saved Edit gt Cut Paste Copy These standard Windows functions allow you to select a symbol or parts of a symbol and to cut copy and paste them For this purpose the clipboard is used and the position of the symbol symbol parts within the grid is saved Edit gt Clear Delete Choose Edit gt Clear to delete an entire symbol The name the colour and all the parts of the symbol disap pear The Bliss Editor window s work area is empty wu When you delete a symbol it does not disappear a Eag from the symbol list Only the symbol contents are removed If you want to completely delete a symbol from the list choose Symbol gt Remove Choose Edit gt Delete to delete only the selected parts of a symbol You can select certain parts of a symbol by clicking them with the mouse The selected parts then turn blue You can also select several parts of a symbol at once by holding down the Shift key Edit gt Select
78. tion Top Horizontal position Middle IV Text in square Vertical position Bottom x Percentage 100 x Text background C aau A Background area 2 Select the style that you want to modify Mind Express 26 User Manual 3 Select a border width from the Border size list or A standard Window colour palette appears from enter a value from 0 to 99 in the box which you can select a background colour for the selected square A border size of 50 results in a broad border around the image whereas a border size of 10 results in a Background rather small border The examples below illustrate oo this pr inciple I Transparent squares Background CI Clour Background Border size I Transparent squares Background color C Clour 6 Click OK Your changes are applied to the lay out of the communication grid Background Border ECH na A a Changing the position of the image in the square In the Picture area of the Style dialog box you can change the position of the image in the square You can choose one or more of the following options 4 Select the option Transparent squares if you do not want to use a background colour but want to i Horizontal position the image can be centred in use a background image instead the square or can be aligned with the left or right edge of the square wa Choose Options gt Grid to select a backgroun
79. ts 4 Rebus symbol set 16 Reference 59 S Saving Communication grids 12 Letters 48 Scanning 52 Auditory with keywords 56 Scanning methods 53 Scanning modes 53 79 Scanning preferences 54 Scanning with keywords 56 Security 5 Sentence window Preferences 44 Resizing 47 What 44 Serial port 32 Some ground rules for Bliss Editor 71 Sound 38 Speech 33 Squares Applying styles 28 Completing 10 Editing 28 Starting Applications 32 Programs 32 Structure ofthis User Manual 4 Styles Applying 27 Applying to multiple squares 28 Applying to squares 28 Modifying 24 Switching levels 39 Symbol Find Find next 74 New 74 Next Previous First Last 74 Remove 74 Ungroup Group 75 Symbol sets 16 Symbols 16 Other 17 System requirements 4 Minimum for Mind Express 4 Minimum for Mind Express with RealSpeak 4 T Text 18 Text and level 1 fillin 18 Text styles modifying 19 25 Mind Express User Manual U User 63 Dictionary gt Edit dictionary 67 Dictionary gt Select dictionary 64 Modes 51 Select user 63 Settings 46 User Manual For who 4 Howtouse 4 Structure 4 WwW What is Mind Express 3 Who should read this User Manual 4 Windows environment 3 Word class 36 Working with actions and levels 35 Working with commands 30 Working with letters 44 Working with Mind Express 3
80. unication charts Every chart in the communication grid contains naviga tion squares command squares that allow the user to browse through the different pages You can use these charts as a basis communication grid and optionally you can expand it to meet the individual needs of the user For more information see also Working with commands on page 30 Demo 5 Demo 5 is a spelling exercise Using the letter commands you can spell out a word and listen to it afterwards The separate characters in the letter are joined into a word In order for the diphthongs to be joined place a minus sign after the diphthong For more information on Mind Express and speech see also User gt Speech output on page 64 Demo 6 Demo 6 is a domino game in which the user needs to select the consecutive domino blocks to play the game Demo 7 Demo 7 is an association game in which the user can group the symbols that belong together This exercise employs the drag function For more information on dragging items see also Mouse on page 51 Demo 8 Demo 8 uses background images Mind Express User Manual Mind Express User Manual Chapter 2 Getting Started with Mind Express The start up screen appears and Mind Express starts This chapter describes the basic procedures that you need to master in order to be able to work with Mind Express in a correct and efficient way Take the time to execute the proced
81. ures listed here they are an ideal basis for further experiments This chapter covers the following topics e Starting Mind Express e Creating anew communication grid e Completing the squares in a communication grid e Opening an existing communication grid e Saving a communication grid e Printing a communication grid e Closing Mind Express Starting Mind Express To start Mind Express 1 Click the Start button at the bottom left corner of the screen 2 Move the pointer to Programs 3 Hold the pointer over Programs until the list of available programs appears 4 Click Mind Express You can also start Mind Express directly by double clicking the Mind Express icon on the desktop Mind Express English Creating a new communication grid As soon as you have started Mind Express you are ready to create Mind Express files or communication grids A communication grid is a vocabulary that you can compose yourself by using symbol and optionally text charts A communication grid can consist of several pages Mind Express 9 User Manual When you create a new communication grid you have to enter the number of squares you want to use per page in the Grid dialog box This setting can differ from page to page within the same communication grid This a lt means that you can have several pages with different Page Name 1 as 1 Page 1 x Page 1 square sizes colours and spacing In addition you can
82. ut for other words from other languages etc you may need to enter a phonetic transcription 7 Click the Speak button to hear both the original and the new words in succession 8 Click Add 9 Click OK The correct pronunciation is now saved and you return to the Select dictionary dialog box Mind Express 66 User Manual e Consonants UK English e Vowels and diphthongs US English j ju you fil stop fe ewe T o amp U e Consonants US English ee nm een Be Mind Express 67 User Manual plt pit You can use the Page menu to navigate between the Ap top pages in the communication grid and to create new k t u pages with the same grid lay out as the previous pages bit The Page menu is shown below got Page Letter Menu Help Next Pop eat Previous Fobn Add new page Ins A fat First Home Last End thin 1 Page 1 Seal 2 Page 3 Fage 3 B ship 4 Page 4 5 Fage 5 vat Go to page then A Part 1 B Part 2 Zeal The Page menu can be divided into two parts li Z R leisure het hat e Part 1 contains the commands allowing you to navigate between pages or to create new pages You k t amp s catch can also apply these commands by using the corre J amp ZEOR ni journey sponding short cut keys l ma e Part 2 gives you an overview of the pages in the current communication grid To navigate between these pages either click the page you want to view or click Go to p
83. vironment Mind Express operates in the user friendly and familiar Windows environment As a result you will find mastering the program an easy thing to do Working with Mind Express You can use Mind Express with the following input devices e mouse e trackball e touch screen e joystick or multiple switch e scanning with 1 or 2 keys The different options available for each of the above input devices are explained in detail elsewhere in this User Manual Mind Express and speech Mind Express comes in two versions e aversion with the Eurovocs text to speech system e aversion with RealSpeak Mind Express with RealSpeak offers you a higher quality of speech and a more natural voice Mind Express is SAPI compliant This means that you can use Mind Express with any text to speech system that supports SAPI Mind Express User Manual Who should read this User Manual This User Manual is intended for therapists and parents who wish to use Mind Express to create a vocabulary This vocabulary can be used for purely communicative purposes but just as well for therapeutic and educa tional purposes Also disabled people can find useful tips in this User Manual that will allow them to expand their vocabulary independently How to use this User Manual This User Manual is mostly task oriented This means that the tasks you execute most frequently are described in detail Apart from this there is a Reference chapte
84. w gives you an overview of the word classes available in Mind Express and of the dialog boxes you use to enter their details You can open these dialog boxes by clicking Data in the Contents dialog box Word class and options dialog box bear OF bears Noun Select Noun if you entered a noun in the message box and you wish to use the plural form of the noun Other Select this option if you want to enter a sentence in the message box You can also enter the sentence of your choice in the Indefinite dialog box Singular Plural Cancel Indefinite am afraid of beard Mind Express 37 User Manual Word class and options dialog box Personal pronoun Personal pronoun x The pronouns I you he she we you they are all personal Bacar pronouns You can also designate proper names as personal o o 9 pronouns to make sure that these proper names are used i 5 with the proper verb form Cancel Verb Select Verb if the word you entered in the message box is a verb and you wish to use its conjugation Mind Express will Infinitive Jeary automatically enter the correct conjugation in the Verb Present Tense cary he carries Past Tense carried Present Participle taning Past Participle Jcaied dialog box To assign a message to a square 5 Click one of the level tabs to select the level to which you want to assign the message 1 Do one of the following e Choose File gt Open to
85. y Style Style 2 Edit style 5 Assign the message dog to this square at level 1 6 7 8 9 CONTENTS x 40 For more information on assigning messages to cc squares see Message on page 36 C BLISS PCS PCScolor Picto Beta Rebus Other Main category Picture Cr Subcategory animas Henge cirectary Style Style 2 7 Edit style Text on screen dos Extra I Fli Levell Level Level I Filin Text and Level 1 Actions Message Sound Command dog lt a Noun Other Personal pronoun C Verb New Action Delete Action Data Cancel Select the Level 2 tab Select the Sound option Select Use existing WAV file and click Browse to search the Mind Express sounds folder for the dog sound Click OK when you have selected the dog sound The dog square now contains information on two levels 1 and 2 For more information on assigning sounds to a cc square see Sound on page 38 Click OK 10 Double click or right click an empty square in the 1 grid The Contents dialog box appears 1 Select asecond symbol from the Beta symbol set 12 Assign the main command Go to level and the subcommand Level 2 to this square Mind Express User Manual For more information on assigning commands to a cc square see Commands on page 39 13 Choose Mode gt Mouse 14 Click the dog square You hear t
86. y out ofthe Contents dialogue box 15 Letter functions 31 Letter setup 46 Letters 68 Functions 31 Printing 48 Saving 48 Setup 46 Working with 44 78 Level 20 Actions per 21 Goto 30 Multiple actions 21 41 Switching 39 What 20 M Menu 68 Change password 68 Restricted menu 68 Menu bar Edit 73 File 73 Info 75 Insert 74 Symbol 74 Message 36 Mind Express Definition 3 Getting started with 8 Installation 4 Minimum system requirements 4 What 3 Working with 3 Mind Express and Bliss Editor installation 4 Mind Express with RealSpeak Minimum system requirements 4 Minimum system requirements 4 Mind Express 4 Mind Express with RealSpeak 4 Mode menu 59 Modes 51 Modifying Background 25 Image position in squares 26 Styles 24 Text styles 25 Mouse 51 Mode 51 Preferences 51 Multiple actions per level 21 41 Multiple squares Applying styles 28 Multiple switch 57 Mind Express User Manual o Open file command 32 Opening communication grids 11 Options 60 Cursor 60 Directories 61 Indicator 60 Preferences 61 Serial port 63 Symbol sets gt Bliss 60 Symbol sets gt Rebus 61 Options menu 60 Other symbols 17 P Page Goto 30 Go to command 30 Page menu 67 PCS symbol set 16 Per level multiple actions 41 Picto symbol set 16 Port serial 32 Preferences 44 Mouse 51 Sentence window 44 Printing Communication grids 12 Letters 48 Programs starting 32 R RealSpeak and Mind Express Minimum system requiremen

Mind Express Version 3.0 User Manual

Contents

Download Pdf Manuals

Related Search

Related Contents