OK, all you listers,
who so patiently have been waiting for the new Extended Dictionary app, that I
have announced was under development.
YOUR WAIT HAS COME TO AN END!
The full package, is now available from app central.
Name: Extended Dictionary;
Version: 0.60;
Category: Utilities;
Release date: 2012-08-31.
Below you will find a paste of a couple of the chapters, taken from the User's
Guide of the Extended Dictionary. This should give you a good feeling of what
the app might do for you. Please take your time to study the User's Guide in
full, as it will greatly answer many of the questions you have. You can open
the User's Guide from anywhere on your computer, at any time, by hitting the
hotkey:
Alt-Shift-9.
It will automatically keep track of which chapter you last read, so it will be
easy to pick up on your reading at a later state.
Hopefully, you will find this app to meet your expectations. I know it has been
a long wait for many of you, but there has been a few things to sort out.
May I once again, thank you ALL the Beta-group, who so generously gave of their
time and efforts - as well as the whole app developing community, who has given
me many feedbacks and suggestions. A great thanks to Chip Orange, for his
thorough Scripting-classes.
Please, take your time to read the information pasted below, and enjoy the
package.
Regards,
David P
(Norway)
The Author of the Extended Dictionary package.
---Taken from the User's Guide:
SUPPORT
Due to the great number of users, and the complexity of individual built of
Entries and Dictionaries, the Author is unable to offer individual support for
users of this package. As the end-user, you therefore are encouraged to make
use of the general communication channels for Window-Eyes related products.
Here you will have assistance from a number of technical and dictionary
experienced users. The Author of the Extended Dictionary package, will also
participate on the GW mailinglist for Window-Eyes, to the extend time and
energy permits.
Thanks for your understanding in this regard.
FEATURES
Of The Extended Dictionary Package
The Extended Dictionary package offers you the following features. Please, be
sure to read the full documentation, to learn the full meaning of all the
features.
Simple and seemless installation. Installs in approximately two minutes.
Separate Voice-Specific Dictionary for each voice installed on your computer -
ensures optimal flexibility in tayloring the exceptions and replacements to the
individual voice.
Separate Software-Specific Dictionaries, ensures optimal tayloring of
exceptions and replacements - even down to the individual applications you are
using.
Each synthetic voice can have its own set of Software-Specific Dictionaries for
the individual applications you are using.
Simple and easy editing of your Dictionary files, directly in Windows Notepad.
Simple Entry structure. Like: children=kids.
You can use any character in your Original string, and replace it with very few
limitations.
You can enter a single character, or a combination of characters, a word, part
of a word, or a whole phrase or expression - as your Original string. This
means, you can have a phrase like:
Simon says: "Go home!"
replaced with things like:
The manager is tired.
All text can be replaced with sound clips, small sound files on your computer.
Easy-to-use functions for Backup and Restoration of your complete set of XL
Dictionaries.
Thorough User's Guide, holding more than 50 chapters. Dealing with Dictionary
building from very simple entries, way up to really advanced entry-making.
Filled with real-life samples.
Specially designed feature for capturing spoken phrases.
Specially designed feature for validating dictionaries. Will let the user know,
if conflicting entries are found.
Simple and intuitive User Interface in English, Dutch or Norwegian.
Automatically switching UI Language, based on the synthetic voice currently in
use.
Most dates now should be spoken in full version - like Janurary 26th, instead
of just a set of numbers.
Fractional numbers from 1 to 100 included. You no longer will hear a fraction
read as a set of two numbers. Rather you will hear things like "three tenths",
"half" or "three quarter".
Measurements in inches will be recognized and pronounced accordingly. the ruler
now will be "12 inch" long, instead of only 12, or "12 Quote".
A number of abbreviations, words and manufacturer names are handled by the
shipping Dictionaries.
A few emoticons are included.
And more.
INSTALLING AND INITIATING THE PACKAGE
The Extended Dictionary app, will disregard the native Exception dictionary of
Window-Eyes. You won't need this Built-in feature of Window-Eyes anyway, since
all your existing entries should automatically be integrated with the Extended
Dictionary from now on.
Installing the Extended Dictionary app, is pretty easy. Simply run the
downloaded .WEPM file. Window-Eyes will immediately initiate the app, and make
it an integrated part of your screen reader experience.
First time you run the app, it will need to unpack the whole set of
dictionaries that ship with the package, along with the documentation files and
a few other files. All of this unpacking might take a few moments. You will
hear a few messages spoken throughout the process. This is all normal. Simply
give the installation process the needed time.
Throughout its performance, the Extended Dictionary app, will actually be
using these shipped Dictionaries, as the basis for any new dictionary created.
We will look more into this at a later state.
All your existing native Dictionary files from your User Profile folder, will
be preserved untouched by the Extended Dictionary app. Whenever you turn off -
or uninstall the Extended Dictionary, your Window-Eyes therefore will
automatically return back to its original functionality.
After installing,the app will automatically initiate itself. If the GW AudioKit
is installed and active on your system, you will hear an audible notification,
indicating the activation of the Extended Dictionary. You will immediately have
a Basic Voice-Specific dictionary, created for your currently active speech
synthesizer. In other words, if you are running the Standard Eloquence Reed
voice, the app will immediately have created the Voice-Speicific Dictionary for
Eloquence, US English, Reed. It will further have copied all the entries of
your old general Exception dictionary file, into this Voice-Specific
Dictionary. This way, you should be able to start out, exactly where you left
off from the build-in dictionary of Window-Eyes itself. It will further have
added on a good amount of new entries, from the shipping dictionary for this
voice or language. And you will right away, get in touch with the power of the
Extended Dictionary.
Let's now say, you decided to switch to another voice. What about, for
instance, if you switched to the voice Mike, provided by Microsoft - and which
is actually a SAPI voice. Soon as you have activated the new voice, the
Extended Dictionary app, will immediately create a Voice-Specific dictionary
for Microsoft Mike. And, again, it will copy the contents from your old general
Exception dictionary file, into the newly created Voice-Specific Dictionary.
This way, you will have a good set out, for any dictionaries, and you are ready
to make the specific tayloring for your specific voice.
There is no real limit to how many voices you could have installed on your
computer simultaneously. And, there should be few limitations as to the
dictionaries for each voice. If you are working with three different voices,
your Extended Dictionary will create three Voice-Specific Dictionaries. Do you
work with 15 different voices, then you will have 15 Voice-Specific
Dictionaries on your computer. Since each voice will have its own directory on
the computer, there is little chance of any conflict between any of the
dictionaries.
NOTES:
Switching from one voice to the other, the system will have to unload the
dictionary for the former voice, and then load the dictionary for the new
voice. This might take a second - particularly on slow systems like netbooks -
and meanwhile your voice could be performing some speech. This speech, that
would take place in between the unloading of the old former dictionary and the
loading of the new one, might be performed without any modification. In given
cases, you might also experience drop-out, or a delay in the speech, through
this switching period. This is quite normal.
The Extended Dictionary DOES NOT directly interfere with Character, Graphics,
and Key Label Dictionaries of Window-Eyes. These Dictionaries should be left
turned ON, and unaltered. The Extended Dictionary will mainly replace - and
extend - the native EXCEPTION Dictionary of Window-Eyes.
You are encouraged to make a backup of your current Window-Eyes' User Profile,
before attempting to install and run the Extended Dictionary package.
REMARKS:
If you are currently using a voice that has not yet been used with the extended
Dictionary, you will be warned that an User Interface Language (UI Language)
for the current voice, has not yet been set. You thereafter will be provided a
list of currently available languages. It is important that you find the
language best supported by your active synthetic voice. We will be dealing
thoroughly with this in a later section of this documentation.
To benefit from the Sound Clip feature of the Extended Dictionary, you need to
have the GWAudioKit app installed, and activated. The Extended Dictionary will
perform fine without, but you will not be able to hear any sound clips. Having
the GW AudioKit installed, will further ensure you get notification sounds,
whenever certain actions are performed by the Extended Dictionary app.
---End of paste.---
