Quick Start Guide
First, determine what type of input best suits the user's needs:
- Braille is best for blind users.
- Keyboard is identical to normal typing.
- One-Switch and Two-Switch modes can each be used for mobility-impaired users or for users with other types of disabilities.
Each of these input options has options associated with it.
For the One-Switch mode, the user can specify:
- Time between the letter changes
- Order of symbols (alphabetical vs. most often used)
- Whether or not to display the symbols in a table
- Whether or not to display the symbols in groups for faster access
For the Two-Switch mode, the user can specify:
- The keys used to scroll through the symbols and to choose the desired symbol
- Order of symbols (alphabetical vs. most often used)
- Whether or not to display the symbols in a table
- Whether or not to display the symbols in groups for faster access
For the Keyboard and Braille modes, there are no special options. However, all the modes allow word prediction. Either the predefined word list or a custom word list can be used. To upload a word list:
- Enter a user name at the top (if multiple users use the same computer, this allows different lists to be stored for each student).
- Choose the "Use Custom List" option
- Enter the list of words in the white box in the format "this,is,a,list,of,words"
- Enter the same user name in the white box in the box labeled "User Name"
- Click "Submit"
Next, choose the output option that most fits the user's needs.
- ASL is best for deaf users, it shows the American Sign Language sign for each letter as it is entered.
- CustomPix is only available offline, and works similarly to ASL except the user can use his own pictures.
- BigText and Text display the symbol in plain text.
Next, choose the sound option that most fits the user's needs.
- Speech will say the associated letter or word as it is entered.
- Examples will say a preselected phrase associated with a certain letter ("a is for apple")
- CustomSounds is only available offline, and allows the user to use his own sounds for different symbols.
Finally, choose the cosmetic options.
- Background music can be chosen, or a user can use his own music if the application is offline.
- The size and color of the font can be specified.
- The color of the background can be specified.
Click Go!
When you get a configuration that you like, bookmark the resulting page and you can come back to it without having to configure the page again.