When considering purchasing a textHELP!®
network version there is a number of points that should be kept in
mind:
- Our network
version enables the software to be placed on a network and any
other stand alone machines on site. This allows all users on the
site to access the software.
- Each
individual can save their own settings and defaults and can have
access to these on any computer on the site. This also allows
tutors to assess how individual students are progressing.
- Free
technical support is available from the programmers who wrote
the software.
The following is a copy of the network notes provided to aid the
installation of a textHELP!®
Read & Write v.4 site license on to a network. If
you experience any difficulties please contact support.
Overview
How The Network Version Works
The EXE file for
the Network of textHELP!®
Read & Write 4 is almost the same as the
Single User version. The main difference is that the Network EXE file
accepts a command line. The command line should be a valid network
path to a folder that the currently logged in user has got Read,
Write, Create, Directory Listing and Delete access. It is best if
users have got complete control over this folder, since it will
contain information that is specific to only that user. If the data
becomes corrupted or deleted, textHELP!®
Read & Write version 4 will create new data
by default.
When a valid
command line is passed to textHELP!®
Read & Write version 4 it handles the
information in the following way.
1. RW4 checks to
see if the user folder exists.
2. RW4 checks to
see if the user can write to the user folder.
3. RW4 checks to
see if a USER.INI file exists in the user folder. If not, a copy of
the default USER.INI file is copied from the main RW4 folder into the
user folder.
4. RW4 checks to
see if a CUSTOM.DIC file exists in the user folder. If not, a copy of
the default CUSTOM.DIC is copied from the main RW4 folder.
5. RW4 checks to
see if a phonetic map file (UKUS_CONFUSE.DAT) exists in the user's
folder. If not, a copy of the default phonetic map file is copied from
the RW4 folder.
6. RW4 checks to
see if a prediction database (10000pred.pre) exists in the user
folder. If not, a copy of the default prediction database is copied
into the user folder.
7. The textHELP!®
section of the HKCU tree of the registry is cleared to remove any
information about the previous user.
8. The list of
default voices is written to the HKCU tree of the registry. These
voices are the 8 voices which textHELP!®
Systems provide. If the computers on the network have additional SAPI
voices, these can be added to the default USER.INI file in the
[voices] section.
9. The details
that are currently stored in the USER.INI file within the user folder
are copied into the HKCU tree of the registry.
10. RW4 reads
the TH.INI file to determine which menu items should be hidden from
the user.
11. RW4 now
starts, having information in the HKCU tree of the registry that is
specific to the user.
When RW4 closes,
all the information that is normally stored in the registry is also
written to the USER.INI file in the user folder. Additionally any
changes to the prediction database, the custom-spelling dictionary,
the phonetic map and the spelling log is written to the user's folder.
Storing All Users Data On The Server
textHELP!®
Read & Write v.4 ships with a "starter" program
that manages users and passes command lines to the main RW4.EXE. This
program is called SUMPSTART.EXE.
If you choose to
store all the users data on the server, the setup program will create
a shortcut to SUMPSTART.EXE.
SUMPSTART
displays a list of all the users that exist inside the users folder.
The users' data is stored in the following way:
\\SERVER_NAME\READANDWRITE\USERS\XXX
where "XXX" is the user name of each user. For this reason
it is critical that the users have got full control of their
individual folders.
The benefits of
choosing this setup are that the installation is simple, and that
adding and removing users is as simple as adding and removing folders
inside the users folder.
The downside is
that all the files are opened over the network all of the time, and so
there may be a slight performance penalty. Additionally, many academic
network administrators (especially of larger networks ) prefer to have
applications and data stored on different servers.
Storing All
Users' Data In Their Private Space
If, during the
Client phase of the installation, you opt to provide a command line
that is a network alias to each user's private disk space (e.g.
"Z:"), then that command line is saved into the shortcut to
RW4.EXE.
The command line
that you provide MUST point to an existing folder to which each user
who is going to use RW4 has full control.
For Example:
If you entered
"Z:" as the command line, and each user had the Z: mapped to
some personal space, the Setup Program would create a shortcut as
follows:
\\SERVER_NAME\READANDWRITE\RW4.EXE
Z:
The major
benefit of this method is that it effectively creates Roaming Profiles
on a network. Additionally since this is the user's own disk space,
they could take the data to and from college on a disk.
It should be
noted that the "A:" could be provided to RW4 as a command
line, and that the data would be loaded and saved to a floppy disk,
but that the disk access is slow, and will impact on startup and exit
times for RW4.
Installation
Overview Of
Installation
The Network
edition of textHELP!®
Read & Write 4 is installed in two steps. Firstly, all the
required files are installed, or "pushed" onto the server.
Then the client files are "pulled" down onto the client. The
Server Push program is called RW4NETPUSH.EXE, and is located on the
CD. After completion of this phase, the Client Pull setup program
(called NETSETUP.EXE for Windows 95 /98 /NT or NETSETUP2K.EXE for Win
2000) will be found in the folder on the server that textHELP!®
Read & Write Version 4 was installed into.
It is feasible
to monitor the client pull phase of the installation and make a
replication package to help automate the client phase of the setup if
there are many workstations to visit.
The Server
Push
The Server Push installation program is called RW4NETPUSH.EXE. This is
a True WIN32 program, so it will only run on Windows 95, 98, NT or
2000, however, the server only acts as a disk based storage medium, so
the server files can be pushed onto any server type (UNIX, VAX for
example), not necessarily NT, or Window 95.
The Server Push
simply copies files from the compressed archive inside RW4NETPUSH.EXE
and stores them in the folder you choose during the installation. It
DOES NOT modify the registry, change any system file, or in fact copy
files anywhere apart from the folder that you choose.
The Client
Pull
Two programs are
located in the
textHELP!®
Read & Write folder. The first is called
NETSETUP.EXE. and is suitable for use on Windows 95, 98 and NT4
(Service Pack 5). The second is called NETSETUP2K.EXE and is suitable
for use on Windows 2000.
On Windows NT
computers, it is important that Service Pack 5 has been installed.
This service pack is shipped on the textHELP!®Read & Write 4 CD.
This Service Pack is not installed automatically, and must be
installed manually.
Additionally on
Windows NT computers, the client pull installation should only be
performed if you have got Administrative Access Rights.
It is
recommended (though not required) that the client computers have the
latest version of Microsoft Internet Explorer installed. At the time
of release of these Network Notes the latest version of Internet
Explorer is Version 5, which is also shipped on the textHELP!®
Read & Write 4 CD. Internet Explorer 5 includes
better support for active accessibility that previous versions. Read
& Write uses Active Accessibility for Screen Reading.
Read &
Write version 4 makes use of several Microsoft Technologies,
all of which must be installed on the local machine for it to function
correctly. These technologies are as follows.
1. Microsoft
Agent
2. L&H
Speech Engines
3. Speech
Control Panel
4. Active
Accessibility
The RW4 Client
Setup Program (Called NETSETUP.EXE or NETSETUP2K.EXE) will install
these 4 technologies automatically.
Other files that
are installed on the client machine are as follows:
1. Visual Basic
Runtime Files
2. Visual Basic
Jet Database Engine
3. Visual C++
Version 6 Runtimes for Microsoft Foundation Classes.
4. OCX and DLL
files for common windows controls. (Sliders, Tab Controls etc).
5. Read &
Write Keyboard Hook DLL.
6. textHELP!®
Spelling OCX
7. textHELP!®
Prediction OCX
8. textHELP!®
Accessibility OCX
9. textHELP!®
OCXs for Thesaurus & Word Wizard. (3 files)
10. textHELP!®
Word Prediction OCX
The other
changes that are made to the local machine by the NETSETUP.EXE are as
follows:
1. An
environment variable is added to the AUTOEXEC.BAT. This environment
variable is SET WNHOME=XXXX where XXXX is the network path to the Read
& Write 4 folder on the network without the trailing
backslash.
2. Shortcuts are
created which point to the Help File, The Guided Tour and the program
(Either RW4.EXE or SUMPSTART.EXE depending on which option you
choose).
The Client Setup
machine will require a reboot after completion.
Access Rights
Overview
The Network
Version of textHELP!®
Read & Write can reside on a Read Only share on a server,
however the command line that is passed to RW4.EXE must point to a
valid folder, to which the User has the following access rights.
1. Directory
Listing
2. File Read
3. File Write
4. Execute
5. Copy / Create
New
6. Delete
Because the
program is started with a command line, Read & Write
prevents access to databases which are shared, so the Homonyms
database is viewable, but not editable.
Administrators
Features in RW4
textHELP!®
Read & Write Version 4 includes a few new features which
may be useful for administrators who want to prevent access to Read
& Write Settings Dialogs, or who want to have a
"default configuration" for all first time users of Read
& Write.
These settings
are controlled by two files that can be found in the Read &
Write folder.
The default
user.ini file
The USER.INI
file which can be found in the Read & Write folder
is used as a template for all first time users. The INI file contains
sections for the following aspects of Read & Write.
[Abbreviations]
This section
contains a list of the abbreviations available to the user.
[Autocorrect]
This section
contains autocorrect entries in the form ERROR=CORRECTION.
[Agent]
This section
controls the characteristics of the animated character which appears
on screen.
[General]
This section
selects the default word processor (sendextraspace), and also if the
user should have access to abbreviations.
[Hotkeys]
This section
controls the default hotkeys.
[Modify]
This section
contains the table of wrongly pronounced words in the form SAYTHIS=LIKETHIS.
[Position]
This section
contains the start up screen co-ordinates of the toolbar in pixels
from the top left corner of the screen.
[Proofing]
This section
controls the characteristics of the 3 stage proofing panel.
[ScreenReading
Roles]
This section
controls ScreenReading.
[Speech]
This section
controls the speech engine.
[Spelling]
This section
controls the Spell Checker.
[Voices]
This section is
a list of SAPI compatible voices that are available on the client
computer. They are in the form TEXT_DESCRIPTION=SAPI_TTS_MODE_ID where
SAPI_TTS_MODE_ID is the GUID of the installed SAPI speech engine.
To create a copy
of USER.INI that is suitable for use on your network, you can do the
following.
1. Create a
folder on your C:\ called TEST.
2. Run RW4.EXE
C:\TEST
3. Use the
General Options Panel, The Speech Options Panel, The Spelling Options
Panel and The Prediction Options Panel to set up Read &
Write with the settings that you would like for all first time
users.
4. Close
Read & Write.
5. There will be
a copy of USER.INI in the C:\TEST folder that you can place in the
main Read & Write folder. This copy of USER.INI will be used as
the default USER.INI for all first time users.
The
texthelp.ini file
textHELP!®
Read & Write Version 4 has got a new file called
TEXTHELP.INI in the main install folder. This file can be used to hide
several options from the user. By default, everything is visible.
The file looks
like this:
[ReadAndWrite]
ManagerMenu=False
HideVoiceMenu=False
HideGeneralMenu=False
HideSpellingMenu=False
HideWordProcMenu=False
HideTextReaderMenu=False
HidePredictionMenu=False
The first
option, if set to true, hides all of the options screens from the
user, and provides a "Manager Screen", where the user is
prompted for a KeyCode combination to see the options panels. This key
code combination is CTRL ALT SHIFT and T.
The other
options are self-explanatory.
Creating New
Users If You
Use SumpStart
If you choose to
store all the users data on the server, the setup program will create
a shortcut to SUMPSTART.EXE. When this program is started, it looks
like the image to below:
This is the starter screen which all user will see when the want to
start Read & Write.
If you want to
add new users to this list, you should press your administrative key
code combination, which is : CTRL ALT SHIFT and T.
When you press
this key code combination, two new buttons become visible.
The 2 new buttons are used to Add and Remove users from the list. Each
new user has a folder created in the following location:
\\SERVER_NAME\READANDWRITE\USERS\XXX
where "XXX" is the user name of each user. For this reason
it is critical that the users have got full control of their
individual folders.
You can also
remove users by simply deleting the folder.
You can also set
up groups of users, so for example you could add a group called
"Key Stage 3". All users who select that group will share
the same data and settings. It is advisable to switch off "learn
as I type" in the prediction options panel, and also to hide
prediction options if this is the case, since users will be sharing
the same prediction database.
textHELP!®
Read & Write is supplied with three default prediction
databases.
|
10000pred.pre
|
The
10,000 most commonly used English words.
|
|
5000pred.pre
|
The
5,000 most commonly used English words. |
|
1000pred.pre
|
The 1,000
most commonly used English words.
|
BUY
NOW!
