ALVA Delphi MultiMedia and outSPOKEN Ensemble

The ALVA Delphi MultiMedia 440 and 480 braille displays are compatible with most MS DOS, Windows, Unix and OS/2 applications. outSPOKEN Ensemble is an easy to learn, easy to use and yet advanced screen reader for Windows 98 and 95. You will experience ALVA braille excellence in a Windows environment, especially when you use a Delphi MultiMedia braille display together with outSPOKEN Ensemble screen reader software. In addition to ALVA's dedicated product sheets, this information sheet presents the unique features of the combination of the 40- or 80-cell ALVA Delphi MultiMedia braille display and outSPOKEN Ensemble screen reader software with braille and speech output for Windows 98 and 95.

Status cells provide extra screen information

outSPOKEN Ensemble uses three status cells of the ALVA Delphi MultiMedia braille display to give additional screen information. Five modes of information can be displayed. In the preferences menu you can select one of the five possibilities:

Vertical position of the focus (cell 1) and vertical position of the braille display in a window (cell 2), and text attributes at cursor or caret position (cell 3). Vertical positions are given as a number ranging from 0 to 9, indicating the distance to the top side of the winow related to the total window height. Text attributes are given as a character (b= bold, h=highlighted, i=italic etc.). Dots 7 and 8 indicate the number of attributes at cursor or caret position. Pressing the touch cursor above status cell 3 cycles through the attributes.
Horizontal position of the focus (cell 1) and horizontal position of the braille display in a window (cell 2 ), and text attributes at cursor position (cell 3). Horizontal positions are given as a number ranging from 0 to 9, indicating the distance to the left side of the winow related to the total width.
Number of controls in a dialog box (cell 1), number of the control that has the focus (cell 2), and the mnemonics of the control type that has the focus (cell 3). Number counts of 1 to 26 are represented by characters a to z (a +-sign indicates a larger count). The mnemonics of a control type is a one-character code.
Number of items in a list (cell 1), the selected list item (cell 2), and the mnemonics of the selected list item (cell 3).
Location of the beginning (cell 1) and the end (cell 2) of the line covered on the braille display, and the percentage of the screen covered by the active window (cell 3). Locations and coverage are given as a number ranging from 0 to 9, indicating a percentage ranging from 0 to 90%.

Double Touch Cursors for additional feedback and right mouse clicks

When used together with outSPOKEN Ensemble The Double Touch Cursor keys on the ALVA Delphi MultiMedia braille display provide extra feedback about font, size and attributes of the text at cursor position.
outSPOKEN Ensemble gives you the opportunity to echo the speech name of a graphic name displayed on the braille display by pressing one of the Double Touch Cursor keys above the reading cells of the ALVA Delphi MultiMedia braille display.
Used together with the Cursor braille display key, in outSPOKEN Ensemble the Double Touch Cursor keys on the ALVA Delphi MultiMedia braille display activate Windows context sensitive menus by performing a right mouse click.

Using braille display keys together with the Touch and Double Touch Cursor keys above the status cells, you can:

open the outSPOKEN preferences dialog box,
toggle between spatial, compressed and no line breaks representation,
cycle through the attributes, if more then one attribute is assigned to text,
toggle speech follow braille function on/off,
undo left margin setting,
toggle cursor coupling on or off,
toggle show graphics on or off.

Navigation in Windows made easy with braille display keys

Using the front keys of the ALVA Delphi MultiMedia 440 and 480 outSPOKEN Ensemble makes navigation and working in Windows 98/95 very easy. Using the front keys of the braille display you can, for example:

move the cursor up, down, left and right and display the text at cursor position,
display the text at the top or the bottom of the window,
display the contents of a status line or the title of the current window,
display the current focus, highlight or caret location,
go to the top of the active window or to the Windows start button,
silence the speech synthesiser,
read the whole document in an editor or word processor while the braille display moves together with the speech,
speak the line that is shown on the braille display,
read the label of a control in a dialog box,
read the contents of the window without moving the braille display,
move the focus to the next or the previous control in a dialog box,
simulate left mouse clicks,
select the status information mode.

Braille and speech integration for maximum efficiency

outSPOKEN Ensemble allows you to customize the way in which you read, edit or receive information about what is on the screen. Mix braille and speech output in a way that best suits your individual needs. While using the front keys of the ALVA Delphi MultiMedia braille display to navigate over the screen, outSPOKEN Ensemble can have each line of text and graphics encountered read out loud. The amount of spoken feedback can also be configured to a minimum. However, since speech feedback can always be invoked through the Double Touch Cursor keys on the ALVA Delphi MultiMedia braille display, additional information is always available when you need it.

Call (888) 285-9988 for more information.

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