What's new in J-Say Pro 8.0

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Introduction

We are very pleased to bring you the anticipated release of J-Say Pro version 8.0, containing the very latest technological innovations in voice input and output technology!

Building on the success, stability and feature-rich earlier releases, J-Say Pro version 8.0 is designed to function alongside the latest and greatest technology. So if you buy a new Windows computer today, chances are it will accommodate J-Say technology.

In summary, J-Say Pro 8.0 brings to you:

Compatibility with Microsoft’s Windows7 operating system, both 32 and 64 bit editions;
Internet activation facility, so you can get your product activated much faster;
Compatibility with Research It – a tool which ordinarily provides users of the JAWS for Windows screen-reader with the ability to look up important information quickly, such as products from the Amazon online store, news stories and more;
New internet update facility which not only allows you to check for product updates, but also gives you a list of the features contained in the update and allows you to download and install it if you wish. It is through the new internet update facility that we will be bringing to you a “feature pack” for J-Say, free of charge, soon.

Operating System and Software Compatibility

J-Say Pro 8.0 is directly compatible with the following operating systems and applications:

Windows XP Home
Windows XP Pro
Windows Media Centre Edition
All releases of Windows Vista
All releases of Windows 7

J-Say Pro should not under any circumstances be installed on any other Operating System than those listed, as this will result in J-Say Pro not functioning, and potential system instability.

J-Say Pro 8.0 directly supports the use of Microsoft Office 2007 only and this release of the Microsoft Office suite must be used when working with the technology. Should you require a release of J-say Pro which supports Microsoft Office 2003, please contact your J-Say Pro supplier for further information.

Additionally in order to use J-Say Pro the following products are also required.

JAWS for Windows, version 11.0, build 1446 or later, preferably build 1461.
Dragon NaturallySpeaking Professional, version 10.1. This is not Dragon NaturallySpeaking Professional 10.0 Service Pack 1.

New Features and Enhancements

Compatibility with Windows7

Full compatibility now exists between J-Say Pro and the Microsoft Windows7 operating system which many people have been asking for. All features are fully functional, including those which you rely upon, such as J-Say shortcuts, easy text selection, backing up voice files and more. Our beta testers in many English speaking countries are delighted with the functionality delivered by J-Say Pro when working alongside Windows7.

Please note: When launching the J-Say Pro 8.0 interface on computers hosting the Windows7 64 bit operating system, the Windows Shortcuts labelled “J-Say” located on the Start Menu and Windows Desktop do not function. You should use the Shortcut entitled “Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10.1” instead.

Activating J-Say Using the Internet

Following the installation of your new J-Say Pro product, you will need to activate it. During the past seven years of the existence of J-Say Pro, activation has undergone various changes: first, on floppy diskette and then on CD. Activation, (unless otherwise agreed between you and your J-Say Pro supplier), is now carried out quickly using the internet. In addition to providing a more reliable and rapid activation, it also means that, if necessary, the entire J-Say Pro product can be downloaded using the internet rather than supplied on CD media. Unless there is an alternative preference, all J-Say Pro customers are supplied with media and hard copy manuals. The activation process is described at the end of this document.

Software Updates

J-Say Pro version 8.0 now contains an update facility which makes it possible for you to receive the very latest updates for this product version from our company. Updates will include new features and improvements to the software. An internet connection will be needed in order to check for updates.

We are very excited about the new internet update facility! We look forward very much to bringing to you new enhancements and features in the coming months! We will now describe how to use “Check for Updates” using the voice and keyboard.

In order to check to see if any J-Say Pro 8.0 updates are available, please follow these steps.

Use the voice command “Check Updates” or activate the final item in the “Configuration Wizard”.
J-Say Pro will check our company web site to learn whether any updates are available.
If no updates are found, a Dialog box will appear with an “OK” Button in focus, advising you that no updates have been found. Press the SPACE BAR to activate the “OK” Button, dismiss the Dialog Box and return to the application which previously had focus prior to activating the “Configuration Wizard”. The voice command “Press the Button” will also accomplish this process.
If an update has been found on the internet, a Dialog Box will appear containing “Yes”, “No” and “Cancel” Buttons. Each of these can be reached by pressing the TAB key and the appropriate Button activated by pressing the SPACE BAR. Alternatively, use the voice commands “Click Yes”, “Click No” or “Click Cancel”.
The Dialog Box states that an update has been found and asks if you would like to read what is new in the update. Assuming the “Yes” Button is activated, a screen of text appears using the JAWS Virtual Viewer. This can be navigated through much like a Microsoft Word document using the Arrow keys (or text reading voice commands) and it is also displayed on the computer monitor. The text details the new improvements which relate to the update which has been found.
If having read the details of the new features you decide that you do not wish to update at this time, press the ESCAPE key or say “Cancel That”.
At the end of the text is a Hyperlink. If the ENTER key is pressed when the Link is in focus, or the command “Confirm That” is spoken, the update will be downloaded from the internet. Under most circumstances, this can take approximately 30 seconds, but this will vary depending upon the speed of your connection to the internet. When the ENTER key is pressed to initiate the update process, or you say “Confirm That”, you are advised to “please wait”.
At the end of the update process, a Dialog Box will appear containing “Yes”, “No” and “Cancel” Buttons. Each of these can be reached by pressing the TAB key and the appropriate Button activated by pressing the SPACE BAR. Alternatively, you can say “Click Yes”, “Click No” or “Click Cancel”.
The Dialog Box states that the update has been downloaded to the computer and asks if you would like to restart the computer. You are unable to take advantage of the new features provided by the update until the computer is restarted. Selecting the “Yes” Button at this stage will restart the computer automatically. To execute this function by voice, say “Click Yes”.

Using Research It with J-Say

Research It is a versatile tool that provides quick access to data while also making it easy to return to your primary task. It uses what is known as a lookup source and the Virtual Viewer to find information, whether it is the meaning of a word, your local weather forecast, top news stories, sports scores, directions to and information about a local business, and more. Using just a few keystrokes or voice commands, you can launch Research It from any application on your computer. Please note: for lookup sources specific to the UK, please contact us.

To quickly lookup an item of interest using Research It, do the following:

Press INSERT+SPACEBAR, R or say “Research It”.
The Research It Dialog Box appears with focus in the Word or Phrase Edit Combo Box. If focus was within a text edit environment, (such as a Microsoft Word document) prior to initiating the Research It Dialog Box, the Edit Combo box is populated with the word on which the cursor was placed. Dictating or typing a word will erase the current selection in the Edit Combo Box.
(If appropriate) type or dictate a word, phrase, date, tracking number, or other item into the edit combo box, press TAB or say “Next Control”, and then select a lookup source from the list. You can do this either by speaking the name of the item you wish to move to directly, such as “Business Search” or “Amazon”, or by using the “Move Up” and “Move Down” voice commands, such as “Move Down Five”.

Finally, press ENTER or say “Confirm That” to carry out the search.

If the lookup source does not require a specific search to be carried out, such as “BBC Top News Stories”, you do not need to dictate or type anything into the Edit Combo box initially in focus. Just press TAB or say “Next Control” and select the source.

After a few seconds, the JAWS Virtual Viewer window opens and displays the search results. You should pay particular attention to the text at the top of the screen as it may contain useful guidance, such as “news stories are contained at the first level 1 heading”. This means that, when you activate a Link as described below to bring a full news story (or other item) into view, you will subsequently need to locate the first heading at that level.

You now have several choices. You can either:

Press DOWN ARROW or use the “Move Down One” command to move through (and hear) each line in turn. In the case of computed search results from a news story site, you will hear first the Link which, when activated, will set focus to the full news item, followed by the summary. When the desired Link is focused, press ENTER or say “Confirm That”.
Perhaps more easily, say “select a Link” (or press Insert+F7) to bring into view the list of Links. Use the “Move” commands to locate the Link of interest and then press ENTER or say “Confirm That” to activate it.

Whichever method is chosen, you are now taken to the web page containing the item you have selected.

Research It Example by Voice

Imagine you are reading a document in Microsoft Word or on a web page and you find an unfamiliar word. You would like to look up its meaning using Wiktionary – an online dictionary.

Ensure the cursor is placed directly on the word you wish to know the meaning of.
Use the voice command “Research It” to bring into view the research It Dialog Box.
The word is already in the Edit Combo box, so say “Next Control” to choose the lookup source.
Say “Wiktionary” to move to the Wiktionary lookup source.
Say “Confirm That” to research the meaning of the word.
The Virtual Viewer screen appears containing the text relating to the meaning of the word. Use the standard text reading voice commands to hear the definition.
Say “Cancel That” to exit the Virtual Viewer screen and return to your web page or document.

Upgrading from a Previous Version of J-say Pro

This document assumes you are using J-Say Pro version 7.0 and wish to upgrade the product to 8.0. If you have an earlier release of J-say installed on your computer, please consult your J-Say Pro supplier for advice.

If you precisely carry out the process described below, you will not need to create a new Dragon NaturallySpeaking Professional voice profile as you already should be using Dragon NaturallySpeaking Professional version 10.1.

Uninstalling J-Say Pro Version 7.0

We strongly recommend that you first uninstall J-Say Pro version 7.0 from the “J-Say Pro 7.0” item located in the “Add/Remove Programs” item found within the Windows “Control Panel”.

JAWS for Windows Considerations

Prior to installing the J-Say Pro 8.0 application it is important to ensure that the correct version and build of the JAWS For Windows Screen Reader is installed on your machine, and that if JAWS has already been used on the machine which is to host J-Say Pro 8.0 Technology the installation is taken back to the “Default” settings.

The version of JAWS For Windows which is to be used with this version of J-Say Pro (V8.0) is:

JAWS For Windows version 11.0
And the correct build is

build 1446 or later, preferably 1461.

If JAWS For Windows version 11.0 has already been installed on the machine follow these steps To check to see what build is already installed :

Press “Insert+J”, to navigate to the “JAWS” Window.
Press “ALT+H” to activate the “Help” menu item.
Navigate to the “About” Menu Item using the “Up/Down arrow” keys, and when this Menu Item is focused press the “Enter” Key.
Analysing the content of the resulting text will establish the currently installed version and build of JAWS For Windows. The “Insert+B” keystroke can be pressed to cause JAWS to read the contents of the Dialog Box.
Press “Escape” to exit the Dialog Box.

If the version and build number conforms to the above compatibility information, and no changes have been made to JAWS For Windows since it’s installation on the machine, no further action needs to be taken and you should proceed to the next section of this document.

However if any changes have been made since the JAWS For Windows software was installed, the settings will need to be returned to their defaults.

Installing JAWS for Windows For the First Time or Reverting to the Default Settings

Please work through the following sequence if JAWS for Windows build 1446 or 1461 has not been installed on the machine or needs to be returned to the default settings.

Note, if you are not in possession of the build 1446 or 1461 file required, an Internet Connection will be needed in order to carry out this process! If you have recently purchased JAWS for Windows 11.0 and you are installing from the CD, please do not assume that the latest (and required) build of JAWS is present on the disc.

Locate the file
“J11.0.1446 or 1461.exe”
If you do not already have this file it can be downloaded from the J-Say page of the T&T Consultancy Ltd web site by visiting
www.tandt-consultancy.com
and activate the “J-say” link. A link exists on the “J-Say” page to download the JAWS program which you should activate in order to do so.
Locate the file and press Enter to commence the JAWS Installation program.
What happens next will depend on whether or not JAWS has been previously installed on the machine.
If JAWS has not been installed before then the setup program will begin a fresh installation of JAWS. Please follow all on-screen instructions, choosing the “Typical” installation when the “Installation Selection” screen is displayed.
If an earlier build of JAWS version 11 has previously been installed on the machine, you will be advised that it is possible to update your copy of the program. Please go ahead and do this following all on-screen instructions to update the version of JAWS to build 1446.
If however JAWS For Windows 11 build 1446 or 1461 has been previously installed on the machine, you should choose the “Repair” option from the “Install Maintenance” selection screen.
If a Dialog Box appears during the “Repair” process notifying you that JAWS settings have been detected relative to your Windows User Profile, you should select the “Yes” Button which confirms that the settings should be removed from the computer.
At the end of the installation process you will be prompted to re-start the computer and you should comply with this request.

Please note that if Step 6 above applied to your installation of JAWS, in other words if you were updating the JAWS software to build 1446 or 1461 from an earlier build, you will need to delete any JAWS user settings relative to your Windows local settings:

Log onto the computer using your user account settings or if you are a Network Administrator you should use the credentials of the person using the Assistive Technology.
Select the Windows “Start Menu”.
Select “Programs” or “All Programs”.
Select “JAWS 11.0”.
Select “Explore JAWS”.
Select “Explore My Settings”.
Delete any files contained within the folder which is revealed. There is no need to delete any sub-folders contained within the displayed folder.
Close the window displaying the folder to return to the Windows Desktop.

JAWS Activation and Configuration

Once the computer has re-started following a JAWS installation, and when the Windows Operating System is fully loaded, the JAWS “Start-Up Wizard” will appear. The JAWS “Start-Up Wizard” allows you to make personal changes to the way in which Speech and Braille-based output is delivered. For example, the speech rate can be changed in order that JAWS can talk more slowly or quickly.

The JAWS “Start-Up Wizard” provides five screens for making changes. You must click the “Finish” Button on the fifth screen for any changes to take effect. Unlike when using previous releases of J-Say Pro, it is quite permissible and safe to make changes within the JAWS “Start-Up Wizard” at this time should you wish to do so prior to installing the J-Say Pro software. However, under no circumstances should any additional custom script files be installed to the computer (should you have any) until the J-Say Pro software has been installed. Failure to observe this requirement will result in J-Say Pro not being able to function.

Should you decide not to make any changes within the JAWS “Start-Up Wizard” at this time, these can be made once all the software is installed and configured. When the JAWS “Start-Up Wizard” appears, press the “Escape” key to dismiss it. It can always be brought into view once again by activating the “Help” menu item available from the JAWS application window, then select “Help” and “Start-Up Wizard”. The J-Say Pro “Learning Module” describes this process in detail.

Finally, your JAWS software will need to be activated which is necessary for your J-Say Pro technology to be successfully authorised. From the JAWS application window you should select the “Help” menu item, followed by “Update Authorisation”. The prompts within this screen are automatically announced by the JAWS software and are self-explanatory.

Installation

Finally the J-Say Pro application needs to be installed and activated.

Locate the J-Say Pro CD-ROM and place it in your CD-ROM Drive.
The J-Say Pro software CD will under normal circumstances auto run and the J-Say Pro Installer will launch.
If the installation does not start automatically log on to the CD Drive, locate the “startup.exe” program and press “ENTER”.
The J-Say Pro Installer is fully accessible, so please simply follow the on-screen instructions which will be read out automatically by JAWS For Windows! However, when obeying the setup instructions, you will be requested to make a choice as to whether a “Typical” or “Complete” installation of J-Say Pro should be carried out. If you wish to use the J-Say Audio Transcription facilities as described within Chapter 22 of the “Learning Module”, which would be the case if you plan to use J-Say Pro with an audio recorder for dictation purposes, you should select the “Complete Installation” option. The options are selected from a group of two Radio Buttons and you should use the “Up/Down Arrow” keys to select the required option, then press “Tab” to move to the “Next” Button and press the “Space Bar”. The installation of all files to the computer is likely to take several minutes.
At the end of the installation process you will be informed that the computer will be re-started. It is crucial that this re-start occurs in order to successfully complete the J-Say Pro installation process.

Please note that computer drive “C” now contains an additional folder entitled “FileStore”. This folder should not be deleted since it contains a copy of the JAWS settings present on your computer which were in use prior to the installation of J-Say Pro 8.0. If at any time you wish to uninstall J-Say Pro, this folder will be used to copy the previously backed-up settings to the relevant Freedom Scientific folder on the computer for JAWS to use so that it can continue to provide you with both speech and Braille access to it. If this folder is deleted then the JAWS software will be unusable if J-Say is uninstalled until a JAWS “Repair” is carried out.

When the computer has restarted, J-Say will be functioning in “Demonstration Mode”. You can successfully use J-Say in this mode for a further 14 computing sessions. In other words, you can restart the computer up to 14 further times prior to the demonstration period expiring and J-Say becoming unusable. Demonstration Mode makes it possible for you to trial or activate J-Say Pro, however you will be interrupted from time to time by messages being announced, advising you that you are using the product in Demonstration Mode.

you will need to activate your copy of J-Say Pro in order that it can be made fully functional.

J-Say uses a key on the keyboard which we refer to as the J-Say Key. This Key is the Grave Accent Key, situated to the immediate left of figure 1 on the QWERTY keyboard.

Internet Activation

In most situations, The J-Say program can be activated using the Internet and, as a consequence, the J-Say Pro Authorisation File will be placed in your JAWS shared settings folder.

Please carry out the following steps in order to activate J-Say Pro via the Internet.

Please ensure that JAWS is running and that you have an active connection to the Internet.
Press the J-Say (Grave Accent) Key. JAWS will say “J-Say”, indicating that the J-Say Key has been pressed.
Release the J-Say Key.
Press Control+Shift+A all together. This is the “Activation” command.
A Dialog Box will appear which will ask if you would like to activate J-Say using the Internet. If you would like to go ahead with the activation, press the letter “Y” or click the “Yes” Button. If you would prefer to activate the product manually (see below), press the letter “N” or click the “No” Button. If you change your mind and do not wish to activate the product at this time, press the Escape Key to click the “Cancel” Button. In addition, any of the controls in this Dialog Box can be reached by pressing the Tab Key and the focused Button can be activated by pressing the Space Bar.
If the “Yes” Button was activated, JAWS will then check its serial number against any licences which are currently available on the T&T Consultancy Ltd server. If a valid licence is found, the Authorisation File will be downloaded from the Internet and you will be prompted to re-start the computer in order that the product can be successfully activated. A Dialog Box will appear which will ask if you would like to re-start the computer. Press the letter “Y” or click the “Yes” Button.

When the computer re-starts, and JAWS is launched, you will hear the words “J-Say Pro 8.0 from T&T Consultancy Limited is Active”, but you will not hear an announcement regarding the number of times you have started the computer with J-Say in Demonstration Mode. The J-Say product has therefore been successfully activated.

There will be situations where it will not be possible for you to activate J-Say Pro via the Internet. Therefore, we have provided a method where the product can be activated manually.

If Internet activation is not possible, please contact the company from which you purchased J-Say Pro. A representative will make arrangements with you to activate the product manually. This will involve sending you a CD or (more probably) an Email with a file attached to it.

The file you will receive either on a CD or by Email will be entitled “JSayProAuth8.JSB” and is a “read-only” file understood by the JAWS software. If you have received the file by Email, save it to a folder on your computer’s hard disk. You should be aware of the location of the folder into which the file is being saved, such as “c:temp”.

Please ensure that JAWS is running.
Press the J-Say (Grave Accent) Key. JAWS will say “J-Say”, indicating that the J-Say Key has been pressed.
Release the J-Say Key.
Press Control+Shift+A together.
A Dialog Box will appear which will ask if you would like to activate J-Say Pro using the Internet. Because we are activating the product manually, please press the letter “N” or click the “No” Button. If you change your mind and do not wish to activate the product at this time, press the Escape Key to click the “Cancel” Button. In addition, any of the controls in this Dialog Box can be reached by pressing the Tab Key and the focused Button can be activated by pressing the Space Bar.
If the “No” Button was activated, a Dialog Box will appear with an Edit Box in focus. The question this Dialog Box asks is for the full path of the Authorisation File excluding the file name. In our previous example, if the file is stored in a folder entitled “Temp” on drive “C” of the computer, please type “c:temp”. The path can consist of multiple words with spaces. If the file is located in the root of a drive, such as CD-ROM drive “D”, please type “d:”
When the location has been typed, please press Enter. The file will be copied from the specified location to the JAWS settings folder.
If the file cannot be located, a Dialog Box will appear with an “OK” Button in focus, advising you of this and that the activation has not been successful. Press the Space Bar to dismiss the “OK” Button. Focus will return to the application previously in the foreground prior to using the J-Say activation facility. You would then need to start the activation process again from the beginning.
Assuming the file was successfully located and copied, you will be prompted to re-start the computer in order that the product can be successfully activated. A Dialog Box will appear which will ask if you would like to re-start the computer. Press the letter “Y” or click the “Yes” Button.

When the computer re-starts, and JAWS is launched, you will hear the words “J-Say from T&T Consultancy Limited is Active”, but you will not hear an announcement regarding the number of times you have started the computer with J-Say in Demonstration Mode. The J-Say product has therefore been successfully activated.

Note: J-Say Pro can be installed on any computer onto which your current version of JAWS For Windows has been installed. However, Do not under any circumstances attempt to install J-Say Pro on a computer using a different JAWS For Windows serial number than that for which your J-Say Pro Authorisation has been created. This will result in the JAWS software not working properly!