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User Guide

Contents

  1. Listen with your Mouse
  2. Main Story Controls - Play/Pause, Record and Stop buttons
  3. Keyboard Controls (Hotkeys) for Blind Users
  4. Spoken Translation
  5. Listen to Adobe PDF Files and Microsoft Word Documents
  6. Change Reading Speed
  7. Change Text Size
  8. Text Highlighter Colours
  9. Right-click Talking Dictionary
  10. Change Pronunciation of Words
  11. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. Listen with your Mouse

Point and Listen

With the "On/Off" button you can listen to the text on this website by simply pointing your mouse at the text you want to hear.

  1. Click the "On/Off" button on the toolbar or toolbox.
  2. When this button is on (GREEN), any text you point your mouse at will be read to you. You can also hear any text descriptions of images (called "alt-tags").
  3. Click the "On/Off" button again to turn the Point and Listen tool off (RED).

N.B. If you click on the page with your mouse while ROKTalk is reading, it will pause the speech. See the Click and Listen section below for more information.

Click and Listen

You can also hear (and pause) the text on this website by clicking with your mouse.

  1. To make ROKTalk begin speaking from a particular word, double click with your mouse on the word you would like the speech to begin from.
  2. To pause the speech, click once anywhere on the page (apart from links).

N.B. These controls also work when you are using the Point and Listen feature, and the Main Story buttons - if ROKTalk is reading the text, clicking your mouse will pause the speech.

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2. Main Story Controls - Play/Pause, Record and Stop buttons

The "Play/Pause", "Record" and "Stop" buttons give you control over the main text on the page.

Play/Pause button

Record button

Stop button

N.B. If you click with your mouse while ROKTalk is reading, it will pause the speech. See Listen with your Mouse for more information.

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3. Keyboard Controls (Hotkeys) for Blind Users

You can also hear and navigate this website using your keyboard. We call these controls "Hotkeys". They are similar to the keys used on "JAWS", a popular and well-known screen-reader, so blind users should be fairly comfortable using the system.

Turn Hotkeys On/Off

Press the F9 key or ALT +1 to turn Hotkeys on or off - when you do this, you will hear a message to tell you whether Hotkeys are on or off.

When Hotkeys are turned on, you can use the following keys to hear and navigate this website:

Basic Keyboard Controls

S - Start / Pause Main Story

H - Read the next heading

SHIFT + H - Read the previous heading

P - Read the next paragraph

SHIFT + P - Read the previous paragraph

Headings are the short descriptions of a story or paragraph that usually come before a longer passage of text. Try pressing the P key after pressing the H key to hear the paragraph that follows the heading.

A - Read the next link

SHIFT + A - Read the previous link

ENTER - follow a link to the next page

BACKSPACE - return to the previous page

Links are words, images or buttons that take you from one page to another on a website. When ROKTalk has read a link that you want to follow, press the ENTER key. You can go back to the page you were viewing before by pressing BACKSPACE.

V - Read again

If you want to listen to any text you have just heard again, press the V key.

M - Turn the Point and Listen tool On/Off.

When you press the M key, any text you point your mouse at will be read to you. Press the M key again to turn the Point and Listen tool off.

Z - Zoom In

SHIFT + Z - Zoom Out

Use these keys to increase and decrease the size of the text on the page.

Additional (more advanced) Keyboard Controls

E - Go to the next editable input

F8 - Exit the editable input

An editable input is an area on a site where you can enter information, such as registration or contact forms.
Pressing the E key de-activates Hotkeys so you can enter text in the editable input. When you press the F8 key, Hotkeys will be re-activated.

L - Read the next list

SHIFT + L - Read the previous list

I - Read the next item in a list

SHIFT + I - Read the previous item in a list

T - Go to the next table

SHIFT + T - Go to the previous table

X - Go to the next DIV

SHIFT + X - Go to the previous DIV

DIVs are pieces of HTML code sometimes used on websites to divide the page into separate sections.

Full stop + SHIFT - Go to the next element

Comma + SHIFT - Go to the previous element

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4. Spoken Translation

You can choose to hear the English text on this website spoken in another language. You will also see a text translation at the top of the screen.

ROKTalk can currently speak translations in French, Spanish, German and Polish, with more languages to come in the near future.

  1. Click the "Help & Languages" button on the toolbar or toolbox to open the Help & Languages page
  2. Select the language you would like to hear by clicking its flag symbol at the top of the Help & Languages page.
  3. Click the "Close Window" button to close the Help & Languages page.
  4. Click the "On/Off" button on the toolbar so that it is GREEN. Make sure your speakers are switched on!
  5. Point your mouse at any text on the page, and you will hear ROKTalk read it in the language you have selected. You will also see a text translation appear at the top of the screen.

N.B. The Spoken Translation feature is only available to organisations that have purchased ROKTalk Plus. The standard version of ROKTalk does not include the Spoken Translation feature.

DISCLAIMER
The translation service is provided by Google Translate. This is one of the best instant online translation services available today, but no online service can provide a perfect translation every time.

We apologize for any errors the translator might make - the best way to avoid translation mistakes is for organisations to use plain English on their websites. Well-structured sentences using simple words and phrases allow the translator to work most effectively.

If you are in any doubt about a translation that the tool has provided, especially if it regards important information such as medical or legal advice, we strongly recommend that you contact the organisation directly.

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5. Listen to Adobe PDF files and Microsoft Word Documents

With ROKTalk you can listen to Adobe PDF files and Microsoft Word documents.

  1. On the Help & Languages page, click the small box next to the words "Convert compatible document links to talking text" - when the tool is activated, you will see a tick in the box.
  2. When you next open a PDF or Word file from this website, ROKTalk will convert it to HTML (it will look different to the original PDF or Word file).
  3. You will then be able to listen to the text on the converted file using the ROKTalk controls. (To find out how to use the controls, read the rest of the information on this page).
  4. To see PDF and Word files as normal, click the small box on the Help & Languages page to remove the tick. This will de-activate the document converter.

N.B. The document converter works best when organisations provide simple, well-constructed documents. Files that are badly constructed make it difficult for the document converter to read the text clearly.

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6. Change Reading Speed

You can adjust the reading speed of the ROKTalk voice to make it easier to hear and understand.

  1. Click the "Help & Languages" button to open the Help & Languages page
  2. Open the drop-down menu which says "Normal reading speed". (N.B. If you have previously changed this setting, the box will indicate your current reading speed).
  3. Choose your desired reading speed from the list that appears.

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7. Change Text Size

You can change the size of the text to make it easier for you to read.

  1. Click the "+" and "-" buttons on the toolbar or toolobox to make the text bigger or smaller.
  2. To reset the text to its original size, click the "Reset" button. (This is the button with a circular arrow usually located between the "+" and "-" buttons).

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8. Text Highlighter Colours

You can choose to highlight words as they are read, and select the highlighter colour.

  1. Click the "Help & Languages" button to open the Help & Languages page.
  2. On the Help & Languages page, click the small box next to the words "Highlight words as they are read" - a small tick will appear in the box when text highlighting is activated.
  3. Click the "Close Window" button to close the Help & Languages page.
  4. Click the "Highlight" button (usually with a paint palette symbol) on the toolbox or toolbar. A choice of colours will appear.
  5. Choose the colour in which you want the text to be highlighted.
  6. To turn the highlighter off again, click the small box on the Help & Languages page to remove the tick.

N.B. Some toolboxes show the text highlighter colours on the toolbox itself. Simply click the colour of your choice and ROKTalk will automatically use it to highlight the text.

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9. Right-click Talking Dictionary

ROKTalk also includes a talking dictionary, so you can find out the meaning of words you don't know.

  1. Right-click with your mouse on the word you don't understand. A small ROKTalk menu will appear alongside your browser's normal right-click menu.
  2. Click the link on the ROKTalk menu that says "Look up your word".
  3. The talking dictionary will read out what the word means.

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10. Change Pronunciation of Words

You can let us know if you think a word is not pronounced correctly - we will change words that are mispronounced by ROKTalk.

  1. Right-click with your mouse on the word that sounds wrong. A small ROKTalk menu will appear alongside your browser's normal right-click menu.
  2. Click the link on the Talkets menu that says "Your word is mispronounced".
  3. We will instantly receive a message telling us to review and correct the word's pronunciation, which we can usually do quite quickly. The word will then be spoken correctly when ROKTalk reads it.

N.B. Unfortunately there are some words whose pronunciation we might not be able to change, even if we know that they will sometimes be spoken incorrectly.

This is because some words are written the same, but can be spoken in several different ways - just think of the word "read" for example, which can be pronounced either like "red" or "reed".

The ROKTalk software has to guess how to pronounce words like this depending on their context, and unfortunately it is not always correct. We are constantly working to improve the software's understanding of context, so that pronunciation mistakes will gradually disappear.

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11. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What do I need to use ROKTalk?

You need a modern Internet browser with Flash 6, JavaScript (both are almost always already enabled on most computers) and sound (speakers or headphones).

Do I need to download anything?

The overwhelming majority of computers will already have everything you need to use ROKTalk installed, so you should not need to download anything.
If you do not have Flash 6 or JavaScript, however, you need to download these to use ROKTalk.
Visit the Technical Requirements page to see how you can check that Flash and JavaScript are enabled.

Will ROKTalk work with my browser?

Almost certainly - ROKTalk works with the vast majority of web browsers.
As a general rule, we make all critical features available to the present and previous versions of Internet Explorer, Safari and FireFox, and we try to make as many features as possible available to any other browsers as well.

What can ROKTalk read?

ROKTalk can read any text on a website, including text descriptions of images (called "alt-tags"). It can also read Microsoft Word documents and Adobe PDF files that are provided on a website.

I can't hear any sound. What's the problem?

  1. Check that your speakers are plugged in and switched on!
  2. Check that JavaScript and Flash version 6 (or later) are enabled on your browser (99% of Internet-enabled computers already have Flash installed).

Does ROKTalk interfere with screen readers?

No. ROKTalk is switched off by default, so it should not interfere with screen readers. ROKTalk cannot fundamentally interfere with the screen reader (e.g. at a registry level) because it is not installed on your computer.

How can blind users open a browser to use a ROKTalk-enabled site without a screen reader?

  1. On a Microsoft Windows machine, press the Windows key and the E key together
  2. Press the ALT key and the D key together
  3. Type the URL of a ROKTalk enabled website and press the Return/Enter key.

You can then use the ROKTalk Keyboard Controls to navigate and listen to the website. See above for a list of Keyboard Controls.

Where's the toolbar?

Look for a "Show Tools" button at the top of the page on a website.

  1. Click the "Show Tools" button to show the toolbar. If you're struggling to find it, try pressing Alt + 1 twice
  2. The toolbar will appear at the bottom of the screen

N.B. Some organisations have customised the "Show Tools" button to suit the style of their websites, but it will usually say something like "Click to show text reader", "Switch Talking Text Toolbar On", or "Click to Show Tools".

Some websites offer the ROKTalk toolbox or their own customised controls instead of the toolbar. These are embedded on the page, so the tools should be visible and ready-to-use at all times.

Why does the text highlighter occasionally highlight the wrong word?

Websites are more complicated than they look - very occasionally the highlighter cannot read certain parts of the code used to design a site.
ROKTalk may also occasionally lose its way on the page, and highlight the wrong word. It will then use clever algorithms to correct itself quickly, however. We are continually working to improve this very occasional glitch.

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