CONTENTS

Introduction to Dictionary Manager
Dictionary Manager Basics
Dictionary Manager Menu Options

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Introduction to Dictionary Manager

The Dictionary Manager lets you change the way JAWS speaks words, phrases,
abbreviations, or symbols. If JAWS mispronounces your name, for example, you
can change the pronunciation with the Dictionary Manager. You can also assign
a sound to play, speak the word in a different language, or any combination of
these options. JAWS contains a large dictionary of words and their
pronunciations. As a word is read on the screen, JAWS checks it against the
dictionary and follows the rules when it speaks the word. You can use the
Dictionary Manager to Add, Change, or Delete word pronunciation rules.

Tip: Dictionary Manager allows you to modify the way JAWS reads whole words or
part of words. To redefine pronunciation of specific characters, refer to
Adding Speech for Special Symbols.

Dictionary Manager Basics


Dictionary Manager Menu Options


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Dictionary Manager Basics

Add a Word to the Dictionary Manager


Change or Delete Existing Entries


Shared Dictionary Files

As with all the JAWS Managers, you can change the options for all applications
by modifying the Default Dictionary file, or only change the options for a
specific application by modifying the Dictionary file for that program. The
easy way to open the Dictionary file for the current application is to press
INSERT+D while using the application. This keystroke opens the Dictionary
Manager and opens the Application Dictionary file. If the current application
does not have an Application Dictionary file, JAWS creates one for you. JAWS
creates dictionary files using the name of the program file and the extension
.jdf, for JAWS Dictionary File. The default JAWS Dictionary file that controls
all applications including JAWS, is named Default.jdf. To open the Default
Dictionary file, open the Dictionary Manager with the keystroke INSERT+D, and
press CTRL+SHIFT+D to open Default.jdf.

If JAWS mispronounces your name, it is likely that you would want to change
this in the default file. You might use an application dictionary file to
change things like abbreviations in e-mail, but not in your word processor.
For example, in Microsoft Outlook, you might want w/ to be pronounced, "with,"
but in Microsoft Word, you may need to know if it is abbreviated or not.

Add a Word to the Dictionary Manager

Add a word to Dictionary Manager to specify how you want JAWS to pronounce
that word.

Locate the word in an application and move the active cursor to the beginning
of the word.
Press INSERT+F2, select "Dictionary Manager," and press ENTER. You can also
use the shortcut INSERT+D. If the appplication does not currently have a
dictionary (.jdf) file, JAWS creates a new file. Press ENTER to accept the
suggested file name or type a new name and choose OK.
When Dictionary Manager opens:
If you want to change how the word is pronounced only in the current
application, choose the Add button.
If you want to change how the word is pronounced in all applications, press
CTRL+SHIFT+D, then choose the Add button.
When you choose Add, the Add Dictionary Definition dialog box opens. The
Actual Word edit box displays the word that was at the location of the active
cursor when you first opened Dictionary Manager. You may need to delete
punctuation marks from the end of the actual word. If the word you want to add
is different than the contents of the edit box, edit or replace what is there
with the word you want to add.
Press TAB to move to the Replacement Word edit box and type the corrected
pronunciation. When you add or change a dictionary definition, you are telling
JAWS how to phonetically pronounce the word. The Replacement Word can be a
word or a combination of letters and spaces. You may need to try several
combinations until JAWS speaks the word or phrase correctly. Press the access
key ALT+A to hear the actual word, and press ALT+R to hear the replacement
word. If you only want to assign a sound or different language to the word,
leave the Replacement Word edit box blank. However, if you do not type a
replacement word when assigning a sound, JAWS plays the sound and does not
speak the word at all. To hear both the word and the sound, type the word as
is in the Replacement Word edit box.
If you want JAWS to play a sound when you read this word, choose the Select
Sound button. Use the arrow keys to select the sound you want JAWS to play and
choose OK. To sample the sound that you selected, choose the Play Sound
button.
Tip: The Open Sound dialog box only displays sound files in your user and
shared settings folders. To use a sound saved in another location, choose the
Import button. Navigate to the folder where the sound is located, select it,
and press ENTER to copy the sound into your user settings folder. You can then
select the sound from the list.

If you want JAWS to read the word using a different language, select the
language in the Language list. The list only displays languages that are
supported by the active JAWS synthesizer.
When you are satisfied with the way JAWS speaks the word, press ENTER to
accept the change.
Press CTRL+S to save your changes to the JAWS dictionary file. JAWS saves new
or modified dictionary files in your user settings folder.
Note: The Configuration Manager can be used to turn off the dictionary when
you do not want the dictionary changes to affect screen reading. Press
INSERT+F2 to open the Run JAWS Manager dialog and select Configuration
Manager. In the Set Options menu, select Text Processing. Press TAB to move to
Dictionary Processing, and press SPACEBAR to clear the check box.

Root Word Pronunciation Changes

Dictionary Manager also lets you specify the root of a word, and have all the
extensions of it pronounced correctly. So with one entry, you could change the
pronunciation of "reposition," "repositioning," and "repositions." Just follow
the steps above, but add an asterisk (*) at the end of the word in the Actual
Word edit box within Dictionary Manager. Type in the replacement word as
normal. For example, type "reposition*" in the Actual Word edit box, and type
"re position" in the Replacement Word edit box.

Change or Delete Existing Entries in the Dictionary Manager

You can change or delete entries that you have added to the current dictionary
file. To change an entry, select it in the Dictionary Entries list. If the
list of entries is long, you can search for the word by typing it into the
Search for Entries edit box. After you select the entry you want to change or
delete, choose either the Change or Delete button. Choosing the Change button
opens the Change Dictionary Definition dialog box. You can then make any
changes to the entry.

Similarly, you can choose the Delete button to delete the selected dictionary
entry. JAWS prompts you to confirm your choice to delete the entry.

When you have finished changing or deleting entries, press CTRL+S to save your
changes to the dictionary file.

Shared Dictionary Files

JAWS allows you to have both user and shared versions of a dictionary file for
the same application. JAWS applies the settings in user dictionary files only
when a particular user is logged on to the computer. The settings in shared
files apply to all users on the computer or network. This allows system
administrators to create dictionary entries for all users on a network or
computer. If a user creates a modified version of a shared dictionary file,
those settings override the shared settings while that user is logged on the
computer.

JAWS saves shared dictionary files in Documents and Settings\All
Users\Application Data\Freedom Scientific\JAWS\X (where X is the JAWS version
number)\Settings\Enu. JAWS saves your user dictionary files in Documents and
Settings\User Name\Application Data\Freedom Scientific\JAWS\X (where X is the
JAWS version number)\Settings\Enu.


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Dictionary Manager Menu Options

The Dictionary Manager dialog Menu Bar offers three options:

File


View


Help


File Menu

In the File menu, you have the following options:

New - Choose New to add Dictionary files for applications that do not already
have .jdf files. After you choose this command, type a name for this
dictionary file and press ENTER.

Note: Pressing INSERT+D while in the current application automatically opens a
new dictionary file if one does not exist for that application.

Open - If you want to make a change to the Dictionary files for several
applications, select the .jdf file for the application from the Open File
dialog and press ENTER to open the Dictionary file. You can then add, change,
or delete a dictionary entry for that application. The list of files contains
both shared and user files located in the JAWS settings folders. To copy a
dictionary file from another location into your user settings folder, choose
the Import button.

Save - Saves the dictionary file after changes are entered. If the file is
unnamed, a Save As dialog box opens. It is important to name the file with the
same name as the program file. JAWS will save the file with the extension
.jdf.

Open Default File - If you want the word to be spoken the same way in every
application, choose Open Default File (CTRL+SHIFT+D) to add, change, or delete
default dictionary entries.

View Menu

In the View menu, you have the following options:

Toolbar - Press ENTER to display or hide a basic toolbar menu in the
Dictionary Manager dialog.

Status Bar - Press ENTER to display or hide the status of the current
processing request.

Display Full Path - Press ENTER to display or hide the complete current file
location.

Help Menu


In the Help menu, you have the following options:

Help Topics - This option opens JAWS help to the Dictionary Manager help
topics.

About Dictionary Manager - This option displays information about the specific
Dictionary Manager version.


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