
            Installation Notes for ALVA Braille Display Drivers
                               Version 3.1.0.0


CONTENTS

1	INTRODUCTION

2 	INSTALLATION
2.1	SETUP PROGRAM
2.2	PLUG AND PLAY INSTALLATION OF THE USB SYSTEM DRIVER
2.3	MULTIPLE SCREEN READERS INSTALLED?
2.4	ALVA WINDOWS DRIVERS IN USE


3	SCREEN READER DEPENDENT ISSUES
3.1	Freedom Scientific: JAWS FOR WINDOWS
3.2	Dolphin: SUPERNOVA and HAL
3.3 	OTHER SCREEN READERS

4	CONTACT INFORMATION


1 	INTRODUCTION

The ALVA Drivers version 3.x are a redesigned set of the drivers that are required when using an ALVA braille display with any of the popular screen readers. This set of 32-bit drivers replaces the previous set that partially consisted of 16-bit drivers. It may be used on any Microsoft Windows platform, although certain communication modes (e.g. USB) are not supported by all Microsoft Windows operating systems (e.g. Windows 95/NT); see section 2.4 for detailed information on this issue.

This document explains how to install the ALVA Windows drivers version 3.x for the ALVA ABT3, Delphi, Satellite series of braille displays, and the MPO5500 mobile phone organizer. This document is current as of June 2004.

Users of the ALVA MPO5500 should also check the information on the installation CD coming with the MPO5500.

2.	INSTALLATION

Before starting the installation, make sure that your screen reader has been properly installed for the appropriate ALVA braille display model. Additionally, if no previous ALVA drivers have been installed on your computer, make sure not to switch on the braille terminal before the installation has been completed, in order to prevent the 'Add new hardware wizard' from appearing.

2.1	SETUP PROGRAM

Insert the CD-ROM containing the ALVA drivers into your CD-ROM drive. The setup program will automatically start if Autorun is enabled for your CD-ROM device. Otherwise, start the setup program manually by activating 'Run...' from the Start Menu and then entering the path to your CD-ROM drive followed by setup.exe (e.g. D:\Setup.exe, assuming 'D:' is the drive letter for your CD-ROM drive).

Once the setup program begins, you will be prompted for the path leading to the location where the installer should copy the driver file Abt.dll to. This location is either the main installation folder of your screen reader (e.g. C:\Jaws37 in the case of JAWS for Windows v3.7), or one of its subfolders (e.g. c:\Program Files\Sam\Alva in the case of Supernova or Hal). Provide the path to the relevant folder, either by typing it, or by clicking the 'Browse' button and then selecting it. Click the 'Next' button to continue.

The installer will then copy the file Abt.dll to the specified location, as well as copy all of the other driver files to their designated folders. Further, when any of the driver files needs to be registered in the Windows Registry, the setup program will do so. Note that on Windows XP, during the copying of files, a message window (entitled 'Hardware Installation') may appear, indicating that the software you are installing has not passed Windows Logo testing. Ignore this message by clicking the 'Continue anyway' button.

Finally, the setup program will prompt you to reboot your computer in order to complete the installation procedure. Select either 'Yes, I want to restart my computer now' or 'No, I will restart my computer later', and click the 'OK' button. Note that you must restart your computer in order to properly complete the installation.

NOTE: When using an ALVA Satellite braille display with USB communication, the installation is not yet entirely complete. When, after the final reboot, the Satellite is switched on, the Windows 'Found New Hardware Wizard' will be started. In its first window, make sure the radio button 'Install the software automatically (Recommended)' is selected, and click the 'Next' button. The wizard will then start searching for files. The next window will present the results of this search in the form of a list with appropriate driver files. Depending on whether or not the ALVA Drivers CD-ROM is inserted into your CD-ROM drive, there will be two entries or only one entry shown. Make sure the entry C:\WinX\Inf\Abtusb32.inf is selected (where 'C:' is the drive letter of the partition which contains your Windows installation, and where 'WinX' is the name of the installation folder of your Windows version (e.g. C:\Windows\Inf\Abtusb32.inf in the case of Windows 95/98/ME/XP, or C:\Winnt\Inf\Abtusb32.inf in the case of Windows NT/2000)). Click the 'Next' button to continue. The wizard will then install the required files. An audible signal issued by the braille display will inform you that communication has been established. Finally, the wizard will inform you it has successfully installed the device. Click the 'OK' button and the installation of the ALVA Satellite USB drivers will be complete.

2.2 PLUG AND PLAY INSTALLATION OF THE USB SYSTEM DRIVER

For Windows 98, ME, 2000 and XP the USB kernel driver may alternately be installed by using the Plug And Play procedure of Microsoft Windows. You can simply follow the instructions presented to you by the Windows 'Add new hardware Wizard'. Note that in order to get the braille display operational, you still need to install the Abt.dll file afterwards by using the setup program as described in section 2.1. The procedure to use the 'Add New Hardware Wizard' is as follows (please make sure that the ALVA drivers CD-ROM as well as your Windows installation CD-ROM are available):

1. Start Microsoft Windows.

2. Connect the USB cable to one of the USB ports of the computer, and plug the other end of the cable into the corresponding port of the ALVA Satellite braille display.

3. Switch on the braille display.

4. Windows will indicate that it has located new hardware, and the Microsoft Windows 'Add new hardware Wizard' will appear.

5. The 'Add new hardware Wizard' will first indicate that it has found a Generic USB Hub. Generally this driver has been installed during the setup of your Windows system, and is therefore already present on your hard disk. If not, the 'Add new hardware wizard' will ask for the Windows installation CD-ROM to copy the driver to your computer.

6. The 'Add new hardware Wizard' will then inform you that it has found an ALVA Satellite braille display, and will next ask you to indicate the location where it may find the respective system driver. Use the 'Browse' button to locate the ABTUSB32.INF file in the folder "Drivers" on the ALVA Drivers CD-ROM.

After completing the 'Add new hardware Wizard', the installation of the USB system driver will be completed.

2.3	MULTIPLE SCREEN READERS INSTALLED?

If you have multiple screen readers installed on your computer, you will need to complete the ALVA Drivers Setup program for each of these screen readers. For each screen reader, when prompted to do so, specify the designated folder to install the application driver Abt.dll to.

2.4	ALVA WINDOWS DRIVERS IN USE

The Setup program will automatically detect which version of Microsoft Windows is in use on your computer, and will then install the appropriate ALVA drivers. This section lists the different drivers which will be in use for the different Microsoft Windows versions after the installation.

                 WIN95: WIN98/ME: WINNT: WIN 2000: WIN XP:  Description:
ABT.DLL            X	   X        X        X        X     32-bit High level driver
ABTPAR.SYS         -       X        -        X        X     32-bit Parallel kernel driver
ABTPARNT.SYS       -       -        X        -        -     32-bit Parallel kernel driver for NT
ABTUSB32.SYS       -       X        -        X        X     32-bit USB system driver

Please note the following:

- For serial communication only the abt.dll file is needed. No specific kernel driver is required, as on all platforms the standard Windows serial driver will be used.
- In Windows 95 only the serial port can be used for communication.
- Windows NT does not support USB. Therefore, on Windows NT systems, communication with an ALVA Satellite braille display must take place using the serial port.

3	SCREEN READER DEPENDENT ISSUES

3.1	Freedom Scientific: JAWS FOR WINDOWS

The following steps will ensure proper operation of the ALVA drivers V3.3 with the JAWS for Windows screen reader software.

a. Install JAWS. During JAWS setup, specify the ALVA braille display model you want to install.

b. Install the ALVA drivers using the Setup program, as described in section 2.1. Typically the location for the application driver ABT.DLL to be copied to is C:\JawsXX, where 'XX' is the version number of the JAWS version you are using.

c. After having completed the Setup routine, browse to the folder Freedom Scientific located on the ALVA drivers CD-ROM. In this folder you will find an updated version of the JAWS braille driver Alva.jlb. This file is required for communication between JAWS for Windows and an ALVA braille display. Replace the existing ALVA.jlb file in the JAWS installation folder on your hard disk with the updated one. You will need to unload JAWS prior to replacing the existing Alva.jlb file.

d. Next, make sure that the Jfw.ini file in the JAWS installation folder contains the following entries in the [BrailleDisplays] section:

    [BrailleDisplays]
    'Braille1Name'       is used for reference to the correct key map section in Default.jkm.
    'Braille1LongName'   is the name used in the JAWS menu.
    'Braille1Port'       refers to the port on the computer that should be used for communication.
    'Braille1Driver'     points to the Alva.jlb driver, which is the specific JAWS braille driver for ALVA braille displays.
 
It is only necessary to change the 'Braille1Port' entry. The change to make depends on the method of communication you are using:

    Braille1Port=COM1:   if the braille display is connected to serial port COM1.
    Braille1Port=LPT1:   if the braille display is connected to parallel port LPT1.
    Braille1Port=USB     if the braille display is connected to a USB port.

NOTE 1: If you are using another port (such as COM2 or LPT3), change the number in the port reference accordingly (e.g., Braille1Port=COM2:).

NOTE 2: If you frequently change communication methods or port assignments, you may also specify Braille1port=AUTO:. In this case the driver will auto-detect the port being used. Note that when you switch from using an ALVA Satellite braille display to using a non-Satellite model (or vice versa), without using the JAWS Installation Maintanance, you will have to change the sections 'Braille1Name' and 'Braille1Longname' in order for JAWS to use the correct keymap, and to correctly refer to the display within its menu.

e. Finally, save the changes to JFW.INI, and restart JAWS so that the changes will take effect.

3.2	Dolphin: SUPERNOVA and HAL.


a. Don't connect your ALVA Satellite, to prevent the "Add new hardware" wizard from being started.

b. Install Supernova, or Hal, and the SAM (Synthesizer Access Manager).

c. Before executing the following steps, make sure Supernova/Hal and SAM are unloaded from memory. To do this, go to the Supernova/Hal application window and close the application (ALT+F4). You can unload SAM from the Programs menu: Programs -> SAM -> Quit SAM.

d. Browse to the folder "Dolphin" located on the ALVA drivers CD-ROM. In this folder you will find an updated version of the SAM braille driver Abtsam.dll and other files necessary for communication between SAM and an ALVA braille display. Copy the files from the "Dolphin" folder to the \Sam\Alva folder on your hard disk. Typically, the path to this folder will be C:\Program Files\Sam\Alva or C:\Program Files\Dolphin\Sam\Alva, depending on the version of Supernova/Hal you are using.

If the Dolphin folder does not contain Abtsam.dll, please note the following. Because Abtsam.dll is a system file, and Windows by default hides these files, you must first make it visible by activating the option 'Show all files' (or, depending on your Windows version, 'Show system and hidden files' or 'Show protected operating system files'), that can be found in the Folder Options. Typically, in Win 9x and NT the Folder Options are located in: Windows Explorer -> View -> Folder Options -> View (in Win95 and NT 'Folder Options' is called simply 'Options'). Under Win2000/XP and ME, you will find them in: Windows Explorer -> Tools -> Folder Options -> View.

e. Run the ALVA Setup program (setup.exe) as described in section 2.1. The destination location for the application driver Abt.dll must be the subfolder Sam\Alva. Typically, the path to this folder will be C:\Program Files\Sam\Alva or C:\Program Files\Dolphin\Sam\Alva (depending on the version of Supernova/Hal you are using).

f. Reboot your computer.

g. Connect your ALVA braille display to the PC and switch it on. 

h. Upon reboot, start Hal or Supernova and run SAM. Let SAM auto-detect the attached ALVA braille display.

After having executed these steps, Hal or Supernova will be using the new drivers.


3.3 OTHER SCREEN READERS

The ALVA Braille drivers version 3.x are not compatible with 16-bit screen readers such as outSPOKEN for Windows. However, the USB system driver can be used within the existing structure of the old set of drivers.

Window-Eyes users should upgrade to the ALVA Braille drivers 3.x if a version later than 4.11 of Window-Eyes is being used.

Updating the ALVA braille drivers for other screen readers will generally be similar to the procedures previously described. However, you should contact your vendor or software manufacturer for information on possible deviations on these procedures. Furthermore you can consult one of the websites listed below for the most recent information on compatibility of the ALVA braille drivers with your screen reader.

4. CONTACT INFORMATION

Europe:

ALVA B.V.
Leemansweg 51
P.O. box 7014
6801 HA Arnhem
The Netherlands
Phone: +31 (0)26 384 1 384
fax: +31 (0)26 384 1 300
website: www.alva-bv.nl
e-mail: info@alva-bv.nl

North America and Canada:

ALVA Access Group, Inc.
436 14th Street
Suite 700
Oakland, CA 94612 USA
website: www.aagi.com
e-mail: braille@aagi.com
support: (510) 451-0871
general info: (510) 451-ALVA (2582)
fax: (510) 451-0878

June 2004
ALVA B.V.