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GWKB1078 : The Voice Sense and the virtual cursor

These instructions are relevant to all firmware versions of the Voice Sense notetaker with the Perkins keyboard.

Did you know that the Voice Sense has a virtual cursor? There are times when you need to browse some information that the Voice Sense has spoken too quickly, or you may need to see how something is spelled.

Normally when you are in an edit box or in the word processor, you can move your cursor by using the standard move commands. A few examples of these are; space-dot-2 to move to the previous word, space-dot-3 to move to the previous character, space-dots-2-5 to hear the current word, and space-dots-3-6 to hear the current character. These keys however, will not work if you are in a list box or a dialog box. A common list box is found in the File Manager. What if you want to see how a file name is spelled?

With the virtual cursor, you can get access to any information which is presented regardless of whether it's in an edit box or not. The main difference between the system cursor commands and the virtual cursor commands is that the space bar is used for the system cursor and either F2 or F3 is used for the virtual cursor.

For example; space-dots-3-6 reads the current character where the system cursor is located. F2-dots-3-6 will read the current character where the virtual cursor is located. The following list shows what combination of keys to use for moving the virtual cursor. Make sure to press the function key and the following keys all at the same time. Remember that you can use either F2 or F3 for these key combinations.

1. Dots-1-4 - reads current line.
2. Dots-2-5 - reads current word.
3. Dots-3-6 - reads current character.
4. Dot-2 - moves to the previous word.
5. Dot-5 - moves to the next word.
6. Dot-3 - moves to the previous character.
7. Dot-6 - moves to the next character.

In the case of the current word combination, pressing it a second time will spell the word. Pressing it a third time will spell the word phonetically. In the case of the current character combination, pressing it a second time will say the character phonetically.

Here's an example of using the virtual cursor to see the spelling of the database folder of the flash disk.

1. With the Voice Sense already powered on, press F1 to open the main program menu.
2. Press the letter F to open the File manager.
3. Press ENTER to open the flashdisk.
4. In most cases you will hear, "Database folder X Y." In this case the letters X and why are the current index and total number of items. These will be different for everyone. If you don't hear anything about the database folder, simply press the letter D until you do.
5. At this point your virtual cursor is on the first letter of the word, "database." So, if you press F2-Dots-3-6, you will hear, "d."
6. If you press F2-Dots-2-5, you will get the spelling of, "database."
7. If you press F2-Dot-5, you will hear the word, "folder." This is because the actual line is, "Database folder X Y." So, with the virtual cursor, you have access to all the information spoken.
8. Pressing F2-Dot-6 will now take you to the next character of the word, "folder."

As you can see, the virtual cursor is a powerful tool which can give you access to all information you may need. It is good to note that what you hear will change slightly depending on what the View/Input mode option is set to. This option is changed with space-G and can be done from anywhere in the Voice Sense. The options are; Computer Braille, Uncontracted Braille, and Contracted Braille. In the case of the word, "folder," If you have this option set to Contracted Braille, then as you move by character, you will hear, "f o l d er." If you have this option set to Computer Braille, you will hear each letter separately. This is because there is a symbol in Contracted Braille for the letters, "ER," when they are together.

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