HI John, JP: >I guess I'll just have to play with it. I might be >using keys already in use, but I didn't think that was the case. Is >there specific key combinations or modifiers that one can use over >others?
I don't think there's a general prescription for key combinations if you're defining them for "All Applications". I was surprised to find that my key combination for Yvonne's suggested "Start Speaking Selected Text" worked if I didn't start it in VoiceOver. If I selected text, then used the keyboard shortcut that I'd made for "All Applications" nothing would happen. (I'd taken the precaution of restarting my computer after making the keyboard shortcut assignment since this was for "All Applications"). However, when I toggled VoiceOver off, and then gave the same keyboard shortcut, and toggled VoiceOver on again, everything worked. Since the text selection was already made, whether VoiceOver was on or off did not affect the selection being sent to the keyboard shortcut, and this started speaking as soon as I gave my assigned shortcut keys. I turned VoiceOver on again right away. The sequence I chose doesn't seem to work when I have VoiceOver on. Maybe another one will work. As far as I know, this sequence doesn't appear in any of the lists of VoiceOver keyboard shortcuts and doesn't do anything in any app that I've tried it in before making the assignment. I'm not going to post sequences that didn't work with VoiceOver. The example I used for the ReplayAt AppleScript under iTunes was fine under VoiceOver, but I wasn't trying to find something that worked for all applications. John, if you're trying your shortcut key for Yvonne's suggestion to "Start Speaking Selected Text" you can see if it works with VoiceOver toggled off. Otherwise, try defining shortcuts first for specific applications, and do it when the apps are closed. We'll probably all just have to play with this a bit. I might try just making a definition for Safari or for TextEdit. I use the Services menu options, but for web pages I'll often use the TextEdit menu option under Services of "New Window Containing Selection" instead of the Speech "Start Speaking Text" directly. I find it's easier and more stable to make selections there, and I can just quit the TextEdit window without saving when I'm done, but this is personal preference. Cheers, Esther
