

Henter-Joyce, Inc. Newsletter April 1994


WINDOWS


     The development of JAWS for Windows (JFW) is
proceeding smoothly.  We are planning to start
distributing the software to our beta testers in the very
near future.  Once our beta testers have pushed JAWS for
Windows as hard as they can and we have responded to
their suggestions, then we will be ready to release our
newest software innovation.


     JAWS for Windows is much more than a translation of
JAWS to the graphical user interface of Microsoft Windows
-- it is a completely new screen reader!  It will enable
blind PC users, for the first time,  to fully step into
the Windows generation of software programs.  JFW takes
the strongest features from JAWS, developed over the past
seven years, and combines them with the advances made
available by the graphical environment of Windows.  The
results will impress the longtime users of DOS software
and will be a significant aid to those who will be
learning to use a PC for the first time.


     Thus far, over a year of work has gone into the
development of JFW.  The depth of our program design will
establish performance standards that will overshadow the
attempts of all others who have tried to create a screen
reader for Windows.  JFW is not a partial tool for
limited access to Windows based software -- it is a full
set of tools that provide complete access.


     The fully integrated features of JFW take advantage
of Windows' ability to speed up routine tasks and
simplify complex activities.  JFW invisibly conforms to
the standard operation of Windows.  It assumes that the
blind PC user wants to interact with Windows and
application software programs in a manner consistent with
sighted PC users.  Thus JFW users begin by using the same
keys as would be used by sighted users when not using a
mouse.  JFW adds automatic speech functions and preserves
the sense that the user is actually using a software
program running under Windows.


     The set-up of JFW is managed by the fully
interactive "JAWS Control Panel", which is equally
friendly to beginners and experts alike.  The
comprehensive JAMAL macro language makes JAWS macros more
powerful and flexible than they have ever been.  The
ability to have access to detailed descriptive
information about text size, font selection and other
screen characteristics goes far beyond the simple ability
to read the words on the screen.  The detailed context
sensitive help system virtually eliminates the need for
separate documentation, because the JFW software manual
is built into the software.


     No other screen reader for a graphical user
interface offers so much ease of use and power in one
program.  JFW will be ready to use right out of the box
and you will not outgrow it, because it can respond to
the advances introduced into Windows and your application
software.  It is truly going to be a breakthrough that is
worth the wait.


     For an early peek at JAWS for Windows, please join
us at the National Federation for the Blind and the
American Council for the Blind conventions in July.  For
additional information about our summer convention
schedule or for additional information about Windows,
please call us at 800-336-5658.

Henter-Joyce Awarded D.O.D. Contract


     Henter-Joyce, Inc., is pleased to announce that they
have been awarded a contract to provide reading machines
to the U.S. Department of Defense.  These PC based
reading systems will enable blind and visually impaired
employees to listen to printed materials that the
computer reads aloud.  The reading machines are a
combination of Henter-Joyce's powerful 486DX2-66
transportable computer (HJ220), with a Hewlett-Packard
Scanner and Arkenstone's "An Open Book" software.  The
Department of Defense has plans to purchase up to sixty
reading machines over the next three years.


PRAISE FOR H-J TECHNICAL SUPPORT


     The quality of our technical support has always been
a Henter-Joyce strength.  We pride ourselves in giving
free, prompt, and accurate advice to our customers. 
Since hiring Jeff Belina, who now works as our
Manager of Technical Support, we have been able to
establish a new standard for technical support.  The
following letter sums up the opinion of many of our
customers.


     "I am writing this letter in regards to one of your
employee's in technical support.  This individual has
been assisting me for the past four years with the usage
of JAWS on a wide range of PC's and laptop computers. 
Recently, he was of great assistance in the usage of JAWS
with HandiCODE.  The individual I am speaking about is
Jeff Belina.


     Mr. Belina has called me at home or at work to
assist me with my problems when using JAWS with unique
adaptive computer configurations.  I have spent up to an
hour with Jeff on some  of my technical issues.  He has
been always very polite and immediately sent out files on
disk to repair my problems.


     I have been an adaptive computer instructor for four
years and worked with adaptive computer products for nine
years, and during that time I have not met a technical
support person like Jeff Belina yet.  If we had more
technical support individuals like Mr. Belina, this field
would be a much better place to work."


          Christopher M. McMillan, Computer Specialist

          VA Medical Center, West Haven, CT

Assistive Technology Loans


     The Virginia Department for the Visually Handicapped
is administering a new low interest loan program to
support the purchase of assistive technology by Virginia
residents.  The interest rate is 3% below the prime rate. 
Loans range from $500 to $10,000 and may be repaid over
sixty months.  To receive an application, or to find out
if you qualify for the loan, call or write Phil Mertz,
Assistive Technology Loan Program, VDVH, 397 Azalea
Avenue, Richmond, VA  23227.



     Glenn Smith, the Henter-Joyce sales representative
for Virginia, would be happy to assist persons complete
a Virginia loan application and to prepare a list of
equipment and to summarize the intended usefulness of the
products to be purchased.  This assistance is offered
without charge.  Glenn can be contacted at 703-455-3770.


     For information about the Adaptive Technology Loan
Program in North Carolina, contact Larry Bauerer,
Technology Loan Coordinator, 704-375-3977, Programs for
Accessible Living, 1012 South Kings Drive, Suite G-2,
Charlotte, NC 28283.  This is a partnership program
between Programs for Accessible Living (independent
living center) and Nations Bank.


     Other states also may be setting up low interest
loan programs to help disabled persons to purchase
assistive technology.  Please let us know about loan
programs in your state so that we can spread the word to
others.

 
FROM SAILING TO SALES
(An Employee Biography)


     We would like you to "meet" Charles Potts, our
National Sales Manager.


     It was through the Lions Club that Charles met Ted
Henter.  Ted was  presenting a program on the JAWS screen
reading program to the Lions Club where Charles was a
member.  Through the conversations that followed, it
became clear that Charles might be able to combine his
interest in computers with his desire to work toward
improving the lifestyle of visually impaired persons. 
These interests soon led him to a position at Henter-
Joyce where he has become our National Sales Manager.


     Charles, a believer in Ted's maxim that a
salesperson should always exceed the client's
expectation, is always ready to answer your questions
about our products, whether it's for a single program or
for a complete computer system.  He strives to keep up
with other related products that you may need to
accomplish your goals and is a wealth of information.

               

     Charles was a Maryland native before moving to
Florida in 1979.  He was born and raised in the Baltimore
area.  He later moved to Annapolis where he started
sailing.  He and two friends eventually set off on a
major journey in a thirty-five foot sailboat.  They
traveled up the east coast to Cape Cod, and joined in
with the Marblehead to Halifax race before sailing on to
St. Johns and making the long crossing to Scotland.  They
ultimately reached Sweden before sailing back home.


     After returning to the U.S. and the University of
Baltimore, Charles completed his accounting studies.  He
received the Gold Key Award; graduating with the second
highest average.  For many years he enjoyed a successful
career in public accounting where he specialized in
system design and computerization.  He left the field to
salvage two unrelated companies that were on the brink of
bankruptcy before moving to Florida.


     Charles began to operate his own commercial real
estate company known as Fairplay Realty after moving to
Florida, and became very active with the Clearwater Lions
Club.  This served as the impetus for his entry into the
field of visual impairment.  He has served on the Boards
of Directors of the Lions Club for many years and on the
Board of Directors of the local IBM  Computer Club.  He
also served on the Board of Directors of the Pinellas
Center for the Visually Impaired -- our local facility
for the training of blind and visually impaired persons.


     You will find that Charles always has a smile for
you, and in the winter, he will be more than happy to
tell Northerners about how nice it is to live in sunny
Florida.


310,000 DICTIONARY DEFINITIONS AND MUCH MORE


     The popular College Edition of the American Heritage
Electronic Dictionary (AHD) is now available for purchase
either separately or with any of our software packages. 
Users can quickly use the AHD software to expand their
vocabulary, check spelling, and learn the meaning of
words all at the touch of a key.  Put the cursor on a
word, press a key, and the definition and its
pronunciation appear on the screen.  Words can be cut
from definitions and pasted into documents, thus
eliminating the need for retyping.  The anagram function
can unscramble misspelled words and display a list of
words that contain the re-arranged letters.  In addition
to these functions, a thesaurus is featured along with
several other powerful tools for those who work with
words.


     The AHD may be purchased from Henter-Joyce for $99.
or may be  purchased as part of other Henter-Joyce
software packages.  The AHD comes with a manual in print
and on disk, and is easy to install and use.


NEW H-J DEALER -- AN OLD PRO!


     Mitch Green of Lincoln, Nebraska, is a recent
addition to our dealer network.  Mitch has been a
longtime friend of H-J and has recently entered the
business world of adaptive technology.  His vigor and
product knowledge make him a natural to succeed, and we
are pleased to have him on our team.


     Mitch used JAWS Version 1.0 while a student in high
school.  He would call us on the 800 number between
classes just to kill some time and see what was
happening.  After completing high school, Mitch was
determined to be involved with H-J, so he purchased a bus
ticket and made the journey to Florida.  With guidance
and encouragement from Ted Henter, Mitch returned to
Nebraska where he pursued studies in (what else) computer
programming.


     As destiny would have it, Mitch ended up being Ted
Henter's roommate while they were getting guide dogs at
Guiding Eyes.  Mitch began putting into place the plans
for his business, which was to provide others with the
tools he used for independence, just as Ted had done for
him.


     During our recent conversation, I asked Mitch why he
had chosen JAWS and what kept him interested in H-J.  He
said that it was the sound of the Accent synthesizer and
his need for a compatible screen reader that first
captured his attention. It was the flexibility of JAWS
that made it the hands-down winner.  Today he states that
the dual cursors and "macros on the fly" make JAWS
powerful enough to keep up with his many computer needs. 
Finally, Mitch points out that the soft-keys give him the
ability to configure the keyboard to meet the individual
needs of each client. 


     When Mitch isn't pounding the keyboard, he enjoys
spending time on his HAM radio or skiing (both snow &
water).  He extends a standing invitation to other users
and dealers of H-J products to meet him via the phone or
on H-J's BBS.  You can contact Mitch Green and
Alternative Technologies at (402) 438-3637.


     To our network of H-J dealers:  Please let us know
if you would like to have your work featured in future
issues of "News From Henter-Joyce".



Henter-Joyce Technical Bulletin April 1994

A MACRO TO REMOVE UNWANTED HARD CARRIAGE RETURNS
FROM WORDPERFECT DOCUMENTS


     When you retrieve a DOS text file into WordPerfect,
a hard carriage return is automatically placed at the end
of each line in the document.  The Hard Carriage Return
(hard return) is inserted by WordPerfect to keep the
physical format of the original document intact.  This is
desirable if the text needs to be restricted to separate
lines, as when preparing batch files; however, it can be
a significant source of irritation if you plan to edit
the DOS text file and create a properly formatted
WordPerfect document.  If you edit a document with hard
returns at the end of each line, then WordPerfect will be
unable to automatically rearrange partial lines of text
into full lines of text.  Some lines will contain  a word
or two while other lines will stretch from margin to
margin.  This creates a printed document that appears to
be very haphazard.


     In a word processing program, one or more hard
returns are used at the end of paragraphs or after
headings to create a definite ending point and to add
blank lines.  Word processing programs also use a Soft
Carriage Return (soft return) to temporarily mark the end
of lines.  The locations of these soft returns change as
you edit text so that text can move to fill up empty
space.  Thus, text is constantly shifting between lines
on the PC's screen as you add and delete text.  Soft
returns allow WordPerfect to reformat paragraphs, but
hard returns in the middle of paragraphs and sentences
prevent reformatting. 


     The following JAWS 2.3 macro, CONTROL + DOWN ARROW,
can be created to remove hard returns that are in the
middle of paragraphs.  It will not remove hard returns
that create blank lines (hard return characters located
in column 1), or the hard returns that intentionally
terminate a paragraph.  When the macro is used, it will
delete an unwanted hard return and then read the
additional text that has moved up to the end of the line. 
It will also try to delete the indent at the start of a
paragraph, which you may not want.  If the hard return is
where it should be, then the macro will beep and you can
use the macro to find and check the correctness of the
next hard return.


     Information contained in brackets "[ ]" represents
a macro function.  Information contained in braces "{ }"
identifies the name of a key or combination of keys. 
Information contained in parentheses "( )" explains the
purpose or intent of the macro function.  Letters or
words not enclosed by brackets or parentheses is
information that is typed into the macro.  Spaces between
items in a macro have been added to help with
readability.

[BIOS Macro Start] {CONTROL + DOWN ARROW}

1.   (The macro begins by instructing WP to use its own
     strategy to move the PC Cursor to the next
     "paragraph" after a hard return.)

2.   [Pause Macro] [Pause Macro]  [Pause Macro] (The
     macro waits for WP to finish moving the cursor.)

3.   [Route JAWS to PC] (move JAWS Cursor to the
     location of the PC Cursor.)

4.   [Prior line] (Move the JAWS Cursor up one line.)

5.   [Menus] s \016 {ENTER} x {ENTER} (Invoke the JAWS
     menu system and use the search function to test for
     the hard return character in this case, ASCII 016. 
     The presence of the hard return character indicates
     a blank line.  The notes at the end of this
     bulletin present information regarding the
     selection of the hard return character in WP.)

6.   [If] [Success flag] [Then] [Beep] (if the ASCII
     character that indicates a hard return is found,
     then beep.)

7.   [Else] [Menus] s ---- {ENTER} x {ENTER} (Otherwise,
     if the hard return character is not found, then
     invoke the menu system and check for a soft page
     break, which is indicated by a string of dashes.)

8.   [If] [Success flag] [Then] [Beep] (If a soft page
     break is found, then beep.)

9.   [Label begin] soft page break [Label end] (Speak
     this message after the beep when a soft page break
     is found.)

10.  [Else] [Menus] s ==== {ENTER} x {ENTER} (Otherwise,
     invoke the menu system and check for a hard page
     break.  A string of EQUAL SIGNS are used by WP to
     indicate a hard page break.)

11.  [If] [Success flag] [Then] [Beep] (If a hard page
     break is found, then beep.)

12.  [Label begin] hard page break [Label end] (Speak
     this message after the beep when a hard page break
     is found.)

13.  [Else] [Perform macro]{CONTROL + DELETE} (If the
     three preceding tests described in steps 5, 7, and
     10, fail to find a hard return, a soft page break,
     or a hard page break, then call another JAWS macro
     to delete the hard return.  The CONTROL + DELETE
     macro that is used to delete the hard return is
     presented later.)

14.  [PC Cursor] [Prior line] (After doing all of the
     preceding, then turn on the PC Cursor and move it
     up one line in the text.)

15.  [Endif] (Terminates influence of inner most nested
     "if-then-else" statement.)

16.  [Endif] (Terminates the influence of the middle
     nested "if-then-else" statement.)

17.  [Endif] (Terminates the influence of the outer most
     "if-then-else" statement.)

18.  [Macro End] (indicates the end of the CONTROL +
     DOWN ARROW BIOS macro.)


[Macro Start] {CONTROL + DELETE}

1.   [PC Cursor] (Turn on the PC Cursor.)

2.   [Prior character] (Move the PC Cursor left one
     character.)

3.   [Say prior character] (Move the PC Cursor left
     again and say the character.)

4.   [Menus] s {SPACE CHARACTER} {ENTER} x {ENTER}
     (Invoke the JAWS menu system and check for the
     presence of the SPACE CHARACTER.)

5.   [If] [Success flag] [Then] [Next character] (If a
     SPACE CHARACTER is found, then move the PC Cursor
     one character to the right.)

6.   [Else] [Next character] (Move the PC Cursor to the
     right one character when the SPACE CHARACTER was
     not found by the test in step 4.)

7.   {SPACE CHARACTER} (Place a SPACE CHARACTER at the
     position of the PC Cursor to separate words.  This
     is necessary to keep words from being combined when
     the unwanted hard return is deleted.)

8.   [Endif] (End the influence of the "if-then-else"
     statement.)

9.   [Delete] (This will delete the hard return
     character.)

10.  [Pause Macro]  [Pause Macro]  [Pause Macro] (Wait
     for WP to rearrange text on the screen.)

11.  [Say from to] c {SPACE} 80 (Speak the text between
     the cursor and the end of the line at column 80.)

12.  [Macro End] (End of CONTROL + DELETE macro.)



     This macro assumes that WordPerfect is using a
graphic character (ASCII \016) to indicate a hard
carriage return.  WordPerfect may be set up to use a
variety of characters to indicate a hard return;
including the SPACE CHARACTER which appears as a blank
space.


     If your configuration for  WP does not use the \016
for the hard return, then you can either change the above
macro to match your WP configuration, or you can change
your WP setup to match this macro.  To determine what
character is being used as the hard return character, you
can just press the ENTER key while working in WP and then
use an arrow key to Move the PC Cursor left one space. 
Press the 5-key on the number pad twice within one
second, and the ASCII value for the character will be
spoken.  JAWS should say something such as "graphic 16". 
The number that is spoken is the number that you must use
when writing your macro.  In the preceding example, the
return character is represented by a "\016".  


     If JAWS says "space" when you press the 5-key, then
this means that WP is not using a visible graphic
character to indicate hard returns.  If this is the case,
then you will need to use the WP setup menu to select a
hard return character. You can do this by pressing SHIFT
+ F1, 2, 6, 4.  When this menu is selected, the PC cursor
will be on the hard return display character.  At this
point WP expects you to enter a three digit ASCII value
to indicate the return character.  Hold down the ALT key
and press the appropriate three numbers on the numeric
keypad.  (Do not release the ALT key until you have
pressed all three numbers.)  This is the common way of
generating characters that are not already on the
keyboard.  If you decide to restore the use of the SPACE
CHARACTER as the indicator for a hard return, then just
press the SPACEBAR at the prompt.


     If you are using the standard JAWS configuration for
WP, then you will probably have to delete a few JAWS
macros to access the ALT + number keypad keys you will
need to enter the ASCII value.  Several of the ALT +
number pad keys are used in WP to move and speak within
menus and within the reveal-codes window.  You can
temporarily delete the macros by selecting "delete" from
the macro menu of the JAWS menu system. Press the macro
key to be deleted when prompted.


     With a bit of creativity, the preceding macro
structure could be modified to solve other problems that
are troublesome to the visually impaired users of work
processing programs.  For example, perhaps a macro to
remove extra spaces between words could be developed.  A
macro of this type would need to check to be sure that
extra spaces are not deleted after periods, question
marks, colons, and exclamation points where two spaces
are customarily used.  The macro would probably need to
include the use of the WP search function to find each
occurrence of two blank spaces.  If this is not a
challenging proposal, then consider adding checks to
insure that two and only two spaces are placed  after
punctuation that should be followed by two spaces.  If
someone comes up with reliable macros that meet these
specifications, then we will publish the solution in our
next Technical Bulletin and of course provide full credit
to the solver of the problem.


TECHNICAL QUESTIONS?


     If you would like to submit questions or ideas for
this bulletin regarding H-J products, then please contact
us.  Questions can be left on our BBS 813-528-8903, or
you can talk with us toll free at 800-336-5658.

Henter-Joyce, Inc. 
2100 62nd Ave., N.
St. Petersburg, FL  33702


