Handy Tech
Elektronik GmbH
Active Braille
Quick Start
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4
Quick Start
4.1 The Active Braille as Braille Display
In order to operate the Active Braille as a Braille display under Windows, you need a
special program called a screen reader to control the display, which is not included with
the Active Braille itself. To use the Active Braille as a Braille display connect the USB
cable to the USB port on your PC or use the wireless Bluetooth connection.
Please make sure that your Active Braille is properly connected and switched on before
starting up the screen reader program, because otherwise the screen reader will not be
able to detect it. As a rule, the screen reader will display the selected position within the
active window on the Braille display. For example, if you are moving through a menu, the
selected menu item is displayed. The reading keys [TD] and [TU] allow you to move
through text. In word processing programs such as Microsoft Word, you can also position
the cursor with the cursor routing keys. In addition, the [CR] keys will also allow you to
activate menu items or functions directly (e.g. when you are prompted for a yes or no
answer with
'Y/N'
, pressing the [CR] key above the "y" has the same effect as entering
"y").
The screen reader program converts the text and graphic contents of the Windows screen
into speech and Braille. Generally, the computer's built-in sound card is employed for the
speech output function. The display of Braille is achieved with the help of your Active
Braille, after the screen display information has been forwarded from the screen reader to
the Braille display. All standard screen readers are compatible with Handy Tech's Active
Braille. During the installation of the screen reader software, all you need to do is to select
Handy Tech. The Braille display then automatically adjusts correctly to your Active Braille.
When starting your screen reader the first time, a small start up window appears which
displays the name of the Braille system detected by the program, the interface used for
communication, and the country currently selected. The various screen reader program
functions are assigned to specific keys on your Active Braille. How to operate your Active
Braille as a Braille display using Window-Eyes for Windows is described in Section7.1. A
summary of the essential functions of JAWS can be found in Section 7.2 and for
Hal/SuperNova in Section 7.3.
4.2 The Active Braille as Notepad
4.2.1 Navigating the Menu
Turn the Active Braille on and navigate through the menu using the [TU] and [TD] keys.
Pressing [TRC] or the [CR] keys activates functions or opens submenus; by pressing
[TLC] you can close the functions and submenus. [SPC+1 2 3] or [SPC+4 5 6] sends you
to the first or last item on the menu, respectively.
A detailed description of the menu items is contained in chapter 5.1.