CHAPTER 4

READING WINDOWS WITH outSPOKEN

Chapter Summary

This chapter explains how to use outSPOKEN's numeric keypad commands to 
read text and graphics and to navigate through the Windows environment. 
All outSPOKEN commands are located on the numeric keypad, and are 
illustrated in the outSPOKEN keypad diagram (Figure 1). Pointing and 
clicking (KPD 5) and outSPOKEN's use of the pointer as a reading and 
navigation cursor are explained in Section 4.1. Use of outSPOKEN's 
direction keys, DOWN (KPD 2), LEFT (KPD 4), RIGHT (KPD 6), UP (KPD 8), and 
READ (KPD 0) to read text and graphics is explained in Section 4.2. 
outSPOKEN's movement commands such as BOTTOM OF WINDOW (KPD 3), TOP OF 
WINDOW (KPD 7), and MENU BAR (SHIFT-KPD 7) are explained in Section 4.3. 
outSPOKEN's FIND command (KPD 1) is described in Section 4.4. The INFO key 
(KPD PERIOD), for reporting character, font, and pointer location 
information, is explained in Section 4.5. The TOP WINDOW command (KPD 
SLASH) and switching windows using outSPOKEN's WINDOW MENU (SHIFT-KPD SLASH) 
are explained in Section 4.6. A number of less-frequently used, but still 
important, outSPOKEN commands are listed in Section 4.7. Finally, 
outSPOKEN's ability to track highlighting and caret movement, facilitating 
the use of built-in Windows keyboard commands, is covered in Section 4.8.

4.1   outSPOKEN and the Mouse Pointer

As explained in Chapter 3 (Section 3.1), the pointer is an extremely 
important concept in Windows. The pointer also plays the vital role of 
outSPOKEN's reading and navigation cursor. While the sighted user moves the 
pointer with the mouse, or some other device, the outSPOKEN user moves the 
pointer by means of commands from the numeric keypad on the right-hand side 
of the keyboard.

As outSPOKEN reads through a window, the pointer moves to the item that has 
just been read. When reading a line (Section 4.2.1), the pointer moves to 
the end of the line that was just read and waits for the next command. 
Similarly, when reading words (Section 4.2.2) or characters (Section 4.2.3), 
the pointer follows the voice as the item is spoken. 

When reading with outSPOKEN commands, the pointer is restricted to the 
current window. This prevents text and graphics from other windows from 
blending into and being confused with the information in the window being 
read. outSPOKEN also provides ways of switching between windows when desired 
(Section 4.6).

The synchronization of voice and pointer movement allows the outSPOKEN user 
to click (Section 3.1) on the item that was just spoken. outSPOKEN's SELECT 
key (KPD 5) simulates the click of the mouse button. This key is close to 
the center of the numeric keypad and is marked, on many keyboards, with a 
raised line or dot.

4.2   Reading with outSPOKEN Commands

All outSPOKEN reading commands are issued from the numeric keypadalso known 
as the outSPOKEN keypad. These keys are illustrated in the outSPOKEN keypad 
diagram, which is included with the outSPOKEN package in both print and 
Braille (Figure 1). The main reading keys are UP (KPD 8), DOWN (KPD 2), LEFT 
(KPD 4), and RIGHT (KPD 6). These keys are arranged around the SELECT key 
(KPD 5) like a print plus sign, or a compass on a map. The READ key (KPD 0) 
is also used for reading. This key can be found at the lower-left corner of 
the keypad, and is twice the width of the other keys.

As explained in the following sub-sections, the DOWN and RIGHT keys read the 
next item (line, word, character, etc.), while UP and LEFT read previous 
items. outSPOKEN determines the logical "next" and "previous" items by 
analyzing the layout of a window. It reads through lists, toolbars, buttons, 
and text to intelligently determine the next or previous item. This means 
that the DOWN key does not always literally read down. Sometimes, the 
logical "next" item will be located somewhere other than immediately below 
the current location. For example, this might happen when two list boxes are 
beside each other, as in Figure 6. After reading the last item in the list 
box on the left, the "next" item is the top item in the list box on the 
right.

4.2.1   Reading by Line

Reading lines of text or graphics is done with outSPOKEN's UP (KPD 8), DOWN 
(KPD 2), and READ (KPD 0) keys. Pressing UP speaks the previous line and 
moves the pointer to the beginning of the line that was spoken. The DOWN key 
reads the next line and moves the pointer to the line's end. Pressing READ 
speaks the current line without moving the pointer at all.

outSPOKEN's concepts of "next" and "previous" are based on the current 
pointer location. If the pointer is at the beginning of a line, then the 
next line is the section of the line to the pointer's rightthis being the 
entire line. If the pointer is in the middle of a line, however, the "next" 
line is considered to be whatever text is between the current pointer 
position and the next line break. Pressing DOWN in this situation would read 
from the current position to the end of the line. The same concept applies 
to the UP key. If the pointer is at the end of a line, the "previous" line 
is the text between the current pointer location and the previous line 
break. If UP is pressed when the pointer is not at the beginning of a line, 
the portion of the line to the left of the pointer is read.

The READ key speaks the current line without moving the pointer. The 
location of the pointer within the current line does not matter. Whatever 
line of text the pointer is on is considered "current," and it is read from 
end to end when READ is pressed.

4.2.2   Reading by Word

Reading individual words and graphics is primarily done with outSPOKEN's 
RIGHT (KPD 6) and LEFT (KPD 4) keys. The RIGHT key read the word or graphic 
to the right of the pointer, while LEFT reads the word or graphic to the 
left.

When outSPOKEN reads to the right, it places the pointer at the right end of 
the word it just read; when reading to the left, the pointer is placed at 
the left end of the word. If the pointer is somewhere in the middle of a 
word when RIGHT or LEFT is pressed, the whole word will be read and the 
pointer will move to the end of the word in the direction indicated by the 
key that was pressed. If the pointer is at the end of a line when RIGHT is 
pressed, outSPOKEN reads the first word on the next line. A similar action 
results from pressing LEFT when the pointer is at the beginning of a line: 
outSPOKEN reads the last word of the previous line.

To read the current word without moving the pointer, use the SHIFT key with 
READ (SHIFT-KPD 0). This reads whatever word is currently under the pointer. 
If the pointer is on an icon or symbol, the name of the graphic is spoken.

Reading by word allows the user to move the pointer to icons and symbols 
(Section 3.2). Each graphic is treated as an individual word. By using the 
RIGHT and LEFT commands, the pointer can easily be placed on a graphic. 
Since icons and symbols have no real beginning or end, the pointer is placed 
in the center of any graphic that outSPOKEN moves to. When the pointer is 
placed on a graphic, the name of the item is spoken in the Graphic Voice 
(Sections 5.1.1, 5.2.1), which is usually higher in pitch than the Text 
Voice. This feature provides the outSPOKEN user easy access to any graphics 
on the screen.

outSPOKEN's system of navigation through text makes it quick and easy to 
place the pointer at either the beginning or end of a word. These functions 
are built into the reading commands themselves. For example, when reading 
text with the RIGHT key, the pointer moves to the end of each word as it is 
read. When reading with the LEFT key, the pointer moves to the beginning of 
each word. This means that pressing RIGHT and then LEFT when reading text 
reads the same word twice, but places the pointer first at the end and then 
at the beginning of the word. 

As explained above, outSPOKEN's RIGHT and LEFT keys can also be used to move 
the pointer to the center of the next or previous graphic, respectively. 
Pressing RIGHT or LEFT when on a graphic moves the pointer immediately to 
the next or previous item. For example, if the pointer is on an icon, and 
RIGHT is pressed, the pointer moves to the next item. If that item is a 
graphic, the pointer is placed at its center; if it is a word of text, the 
pointer is placed at the word's end. 

4.2.3   Reading by Character

Use the SHIFT key in conjunction with RIGHT (SHIFT-KPD 6) and LEFT (SHIFT-KPD 
4) to read right and left by character. If RIGHT is pressed while the SHIFT 
key is depressed, the character to the right of the pointer is spoken, and 
the pointer is moved to the right by one character. If the LEFT command is 
issued with the SHIFT key depressed, the character to the left is spoken, and 
the pointer is moved to the left of that character. If the previous or next 
character is a space, using SHIFT-LEFT or SHIFT-RIGHT, respectively, will say 
"Space."

When reading by character, graphics are treated as if they were characters. 
This means that in a row of icons, for example, pressing SHIFT-RIGHT moves 
from icon to icon.

outSPOKEN has the ability to announce all punctuation as it reads. This 
setting can be adjusted to set the desired level of punctuation (Section 
5.1.6). When reading by character, however, all punctuation is spoken 
regardless of the punctuation setting.

4.2.4   Other Reading Commands

READ REST OF WINDOW (CTRL-KPD 3) reads the contents of the current window 
starting from the current pointer location and finishing at the bottom right 
of the window. The pointer is moved to the end of the window when this 
command is executed.

SPELL CURRENT WORD (CTRL-KPD 0) spells the current word. This command does 
not move the pointer.

SPELL MILITARY (CTRL-SHIFT-KPD 0) is a command designed to clarify letter 
pronunciation when spelling. Occasionally, a speech synthesizer's 
pronunciation makes it difficult to distinguish certain letters from one 
another. To clarify any pronunciation ambiguities, outSPOKEN's SPELL 
MILITARY command says "alpha," for the letter a, "bravo," for the letter b, 
etc. The pointer is not moved when this command is executed. 

4.3   outSPOKEN's Movement Commands

In addition to moving the pointer by reading lines, words, and characters 
(Section 4.3), it is possible to move the pointer to a variety of locations 
without reading the intervening text. outSPOKEN provides a number of 
commands that move the pointer to locations of particular interest within 
each window. The following section describes some of the most important, 
including TOP (KPD 7), BOTTOM (KPD 3), MENU BAR (SHIFT-KPD 7), and more.

4.3.1   Moving to Top and Bottom

The top-left and bottom-right corners of a window are two extremely useful 
places to be able to access quickly and easily. outSPOKEN's TOP OF WINDOW 
(KPD 7) and BOTTOM OF WINDOW (KPD 3) commands do just this. These commands 
allow the outSPOKEN user to move to a known location within a window. This 
feature makes it much easier to explore unfamiliar windows.

The TOP OF WINDOW command (KPD 7) takes the pointer to the top-left corner 
of any window, whether it is a document, a dialog, or a menu. When TOP is 
pressed, outSPOKEN says "Top" in the System Voice (Section 5.1.1) and places 
the pointer below any title or menu bars. If these features are absent from 
the window, TOP places the pointer at the extreme upper left of the window. 
In a word processor document, for example, pressing TOP places the pointer 
at the top of the visible text in the window, but below the title bar. RIGHT 
(KPD 6) or DOWN (KPD 2) can then be used to read the text (Section 4.2).

The BOTTOM OF WINDOW command (KPD 3) also works in any window, dialog, or 
menu. When BOTTOM is pressed, outSPOKEN says "Bottom" in the System Voice 
and places the pointer in the extreme lower-right corner of the window. To 
read the bottom line of a window, for example, the user would press BOTTOM, 
then UP (KPD 8) (Section 4.2.1).

4.3.2   Moving to the Menu Bar

Moving the pointer to the menu bar (Section 3.3.1.2) is an extremely common 
and useful thing to be able to do. Pressing SHIFT with the TOP key (SHIFT-KPD 
7) places the pointer just to the left of the left-most item in the menu 
bar. The RIGHT command (KPD 6) can then be used to move the pointer to the 
menu title of interest. As explained in the section referenced above, 
clicking on the title of a menu pulls that menu down, and the pointer is 
placed in the upper-left corner of the menu. outSPOKEN's reading and 
navigation commands can then be used to move to and select a menu choice.

4.3.3   Moving to the Control Menus

CONTROL MENU-CHILD WINDOW (CTRL-KPD 7) places the pointer on the Control 
menu in the title bar of the current child window (Section 3.3.1.4). If the 
current window is not a child window, the pointer is not moved from its 
previous location. If the pointer is inside a child window, the pointer is 
placed on the Control menu in the extreme upper-left corner of the window 
and outSPOKEN says "Control menu."

CONTROL MENU-PARENT WINDOW (CTRL-SHIFT-KPD 7) places the pointer on the 
Control menu of the current parent window (Section 3.3.1.4). If the pointer 
is inside a child of that parent, the pointer moves to the parent window and 
outSPOKEN says "Control menu."

It should be noted that once in the parent window, pressing the command to 
go to the child window's control menu will have no effect, since the pointer 
is no longer in a child window.

4.3.4   Moving to Window Edges

The pointer can be moved to any of the four edges of a window by pressing 
one of outSPOKEN's direction keys in conjunction with the CTRL key (CTRL-KPD 
2, CTRL-KPD 4, CTRL-KPD 6, CTRL-KPD 8). This set of commands moves the 
pointer to the edge of the current window corresponding to the direction key 
pressed. When the pointer is moved to either the right or left edge of the 
window, the vertical position is not changed; the pointer is only moved 
horizontally. Similarly, when the pointer is moved to either the top or 
bottom edges, only its vertical location is changed. As an example, to move 
to the top edge of a window, the user holds down the CTRL key and presses the 
UP key (CTRL-KPD 8) to invoke the TOP EDGE command. The pointer is moved to 
the extreme top of the window, but retains its original horizontal position.

4.3.5   Moving by Small Increments

Most outSPOKEN commands move the pointer from object to object within a 
window. The POINTER UP, POINTER DOWN, POINTER LEFT, and POINTER RIGHT 
commands are unique in that they move the pointer regardless of whether 
there is an object to move to. Holding down CTRL and SHIFT while pressing one 
of outSPOKEN's direction keys (CTRL-SHIFT-KPD 2, CTRL-SHIFT-KPD 4, CTRL-SHIFT-
KPD 6, CTRL-SHIFT-KPD 8) moves the pointer seven pixels in the direction 
corresponding to that direction key. This gives the outSPOKEN user finer 
pointer control than can be achieved with the reading commands. It also 
provides the ability to move the pointer to empty spaces between objects in 
a window. These commands also differ from the reading commands in that they 
allow the pointer to be moved across window boundaries. 

4.4   outSPOKEN's FIND Commands

outSPOKEN's FIND TEXT/GRAPHIC command (KPD 1) is a powerful tool for placing 
the pointer on a particular text string or graphic in the current window. 
With the SHIFT key, FIND searches for a caret, and with the CTRL key, FIND 
moves to, and reads, highlighted text. This section describes FIND and all 
its features in detail.

Searching the entire active window for a particular string of text is easy 
with FIND TEXT/GRAPHIC (KPD 1). When the FIND key is pressed, outSPOKEN says 
"Find," to let the user know that it is ready to perform a search. The user 
then types the text to be searched for and presses ENTER. outSPOKEN begins 
by searching down from the pointer location. If nothing is found, the search 
wraps. This means that the search is continued from the top of the window. 
When outSPOKEN finds a match, the newly found text is spoken, and the 
pointer is placed at the end of the text that was found. If the text that 
was searched for is contained within a larger word, outSPOKEN speaks the 
entire word that was found, but places the pointer at the end of the actual 
text that was searched for. For example, if the word "elephant" is in the 
window, and the user searches for the text "leph", the word "elephant" is 
found and spoken, but the pointer is placed between the "h" and the "a" of 
"elephant."

It should be noted that FIND TEXT/GRAPHIC is not case sensitive unless 
specifically requested (see below). This means that only letter sequence is 
important, and not the capitalization of individual letters. For example, if 
the upper-case word "DOS" is in the current window, and the user does a 
search for the lower-case word "dos", the upper-case word will still be 
found. 

FIND TEXT/GRAPHIC can also locate icons and symbols by name (Section 5.2). 
After pressing FIND, simply type all or part of the name of a graphic and 
terminate the FIND request with ENTER. outSPOKEN searches the entire window 
for a graphic with a name which contains the search request. When an icon or 
symbol matching the search request is found, outSPOKEN speaks the name of 
the graphic in the Graphic Voice (Section 5.1.1) and places the pointer on 
the graphic. Note that this is the same way that the user searches for a 
string of text. Thus, if there is text in the window that also matches the 
FIND request for a graphic, that text may be found instead. To exclude text 
from a search for a graphic, simply type a CTRL-G after pressing the FIND 
key, enter the graphic name to be searched for, and then press ENTER. It 
should also be noted that only graphics that are turned on (Section 5.2) are 
locatable with FIND, unless Verbose Graphics is selected in the Graphics 
Preferences sub-dialog (Section 5.1.3).

FIND TEXT/GRAPHIC can search for text or graphics in a particular direction. 
To perform a directional search, terminate the FIND request with one of 
outSPOKEN's direction keys (Section 4.3) instead of the ENTER key. 
Terminating the FIND request with the RIGHT (KPD 6) or DOWN (KPD 2) key 
searches from the pointer location to the bottom of the window. Terminating 
the FIND request with the LEFT (KPD 4) or UP (KPD 8) key searches from the 
pointer location to the top of the window. If nothing is found in the 
specific direction, outSPOKEN says "Not found," and does not wrap around to 
search the other areas of the screen. It is important to note that when 
searching backwards using LEFT or UP, the pointer is placed at the beginning 
of any text it finds, rather than at the end. For example, if the word 
"pickle" is in the window, and the user searches backwards for the word 
"ick", the pointer will be placed between the "p" and the "i" of "pickle". 
Or, if the user searches backwards for the word "pick", the pointer will be 
placed at the beginning of the word "pickle".

FIND TEXT/GRAPHIC can be used to search for particular text attributes, such 
as highlight, underline, or bold. Searches for attributes are performed by 
pressing FIND followed by a CTRL character representing the attribute of 
interest (e.g., CTRL-H for highlight or CTRL-U for underline). To begin the 
search for that attribute, the user can search the entire screen, by 
pressing ENTER, or search only in a particular direction, by pressing an 
outSPOKEN direction key. When text with the appropriate attribute is found, 
outSPOKEN reads all the continuous text written in that attribute. When 
searching forward, the pointer is placed at the end of the text that is in 
the attribute of interest; when searching backward, the pointer is placed at 
the beginning of the text. Terminating a search request with ENTER searches 
the entire window for the attribute and places the pointer at the end of 
that section of text.

A FIND for attribute can be modified by using attribute CTRL keys in 
conjunction with one another. For example, the user could search the whole 
window for only highlighted underlined text by pressing FIND, followed by 
CTRL-H, then CTRL-U, then ENTER. To limit a search even further, the user 
could include a particular text string with attribute CTRL keys. To search 
the entire screen for the highlighted and underlined name "Joyce", the user 
would press the FIND key, followed by CTRL-H, then CTRL-U, then type the word 
"Joyce", and then press ENTER. Even if there are a number of occurrences of 
"Joyce" in the window, outSPOKEN will find only the ones that are 
highlighted and underlined. 

Attribute CTRL Keys:

CTRL-B   Search for bold text.
CTRL-C   Perform a case-sensitive FIND.
CTRL-D   Search for dimmed text.
CTRL-G   Search for graphic.
CTRL-H   Search for highlighted text.
CTRL-I   Search for italic text.
CTRL-P   Search for plain text.
CTRL-T   Search for strike-through text.
CTRL-U   Search for underlined text.

When searching for multiple attributes, the order in which the CTRL keys are 
pressed is unimportant, but it should be noted that some of these attribute 
searches behave differently from the others. These exceptions are listed 
below.

Case sensitivity (CTRL-C) is not a text attribute, but can be an important 
distinction when searching for text. For most searches, it is preferable to 
have outSPOKEN ignore any differences in capitalization between the search 
request and the found text. This makes it easier to find a word when the 
capitalization is unknown. If, however, the user is searching for a title or 
other word with known capitalization, using CTRL-C prevents FIND from 
locating the lowercase occurrence of that word.

Highlighting (CTRL-H) is an extremely important thing to be able to find 
quickly because Windows uses highlighting to indicate selected items. To 
facilitate finding highlighted text, outSPOKEN provides a FIND HIGHLIGHT 
shortcut. Pressing the CTRL key with the FIND KEY (CTRL-KPD 1) behaves 
exactly as if the user had pressed FIND, then CTRL-H, then ENTER. It 
searches for the next occurrence of highlighting in the window, and, if none 
is found, it will wrap around and continue searching from the top of the 
window.

Plain text (CTRL-P) searches for text with no special attributes. This means 
that when CTRL-P is used, only text without any attributes will be found.

It is important to note that some types of attribute searches are not 
compatible with others. One cannot search for bold and plain text, because 
plain indicates the absence of bold (or any other attribute). Similarly, it 
is not possible to search for an underlined graphic, because underlining is 
a text attribute and is not applicable to the concept of an icon or symbol. 
For this reason, if there is a conflict between any attribute CTRL keys, the 
most recent one overrides any previous ones. For example, if FIND is 
pressed, followed by CTRL-B for bold, then CTRL-P for plain, outSPOKEN 
searches for plain text, and ignores the CTRL-B.

4.5   outSPOKEN's INFO Commands

The INFO key (KPD PERIOD) reports attribute, current character, and font 
information for text, as well as the size and shape of icons and symbols. 
Pressing the INFO key with CTRL and SHIFT reports the pointer's location on 
screen, or, with CTRL alone, the pointer's location within the current 
window.

4.5.1   Font and Graphic Information

Each letter written on the screen has a font, a size, and an attribute. A 
font is a style of type which has a distinctive look and name. Many fonts 
are named after cities or corporations, and may have some descriptive terms 
in the name, such as "sans serif," meaning that there are no serifs on the 
letters. 

A font size is measured in "points," referring to the height of the letters. 
The larger a letter, the greater the number of points. 

An attribute is a way of enhancing a font to emphasize or distinguish some 
words from others. Underlining, bold, italic, and dimmed are examples of 
attributes.

The user can ask outSPOKEN to report the attribute, font, and size of the 
current letter (the letter to the right of the pointer), as well as the name 
of that letter, by pressing the INFO key. The only exception to this rule is 
when the pointer is at the end of a line. In this case, there is no current 
letter, so outSPOKEN reports on the info for the last letter of the line 
(the letter to the left of the pointer).

When reporting size, outSPOKEN speaks the height of that font in pixels, 
rather than points. If your screen resolution is 72 dots per inch, the point 
size of a font exactly corresponds to the pixel height reported by 
outSPOKEN. Higher resolution video modes have smaller pixels, and therefore 
must use more pixels to draw a letter of the appropriate height. For 
example, a 12 point font at a high video resolution may be 15 pixels high. 

If the pointer is on an icon or symbol when INFO is pressed, outSPOKEN 
reports the size of the graphic, rather than style information. This is 
because font and attribute information do not apply to graphics. The size of 
a graphic is given in the form of "X by Y Pixel Graphic," where X is the 
horizontal measurement in pixels and Y is the vertical measurement. This 
gives the user a general idea of the size and shape of the graphic.

4.5.2   Pointer Location Information

WINDOW NAME (CTRL-KPD SLASH) is an extremely convenient command. It reports 
the name of the current window without moving the pointer. If the pointer is 
in a child window, such as a document window of a word processor, this 
command speaks the name of the child window; if the pointer is in an 
application window, the name of the application window is read. In a menu, 
this command reports that the pointer is in a menu, but does not give the 
name of that menu. When used in a dialog box, WINDOW NAME reads the dialog's 
title. 

For more exact pointer location information, outSPOKEN's WHERE commands can 
be used. WHERE IN WINDOW (CTRL-KPD PERIOD) reports the location of the 
pointer with respect to the upper left corner of the current window, and 
WHERE ON SCREEN (CTRL-SHIFT-KPD PERIOD) reports the location of the pointer 
with respect to the upper left corner of the entire screen. Pointer 
locations are given in terms of percentage over and percentage down from the 
upper left corner of either the current window or the screen. For example, 
if the pointer is in the upper-left corner of a window which is located in 
the lower-right corner of the screen, pressing the WHERE IN WINDOW command 
might say something like "zero by fifteen." This means that the pointer is 
zero percent across the window (at the far left), and fifteen percent down 
the window (probably just below the title bar). Pressing the WHERE ON SCREEN 
command might say "fifty by sixty-three." This means that the pointer is 
fifty percent across the screen (halfway between the left and the right 
sides), and slightly more than halfway down the screen (slightly closer to 
the bottom than to the top). 

4.6   Switching Windows with outSPOKEN

Most of outSPOKEN's reading and movement commands (Section 4.2-4.3) restrict 
the pointer's movement to the current window. While this is important for 
reading documents or navigating menus and dialogs, it is also important to 
be able to switch quickly and easily from one window to another. Part of the 
power of the Windows interface is in its ability to display several windows 
at once, each with different information. The sighted user simply moves the 
pointer to the desired window and clicks the mouse button to activate the 
new window. The outSPOKEN user has a WINDOW MENU (SHIFT-KPD SLASH) to perform 
this same function.

outSPOKEN's WINDOW MENU (SHIFT-KPD SLASH) presents all visible windows in a 
hierarchical menu. The outSPOKEN WINDOW MENU lists every visible application 
window. If that window has child windowssuch as document windows, dialog 
boxes, or other sub-windowsthat entry in the WINDOW MENU has a sub-menu 
(Section 3.3.2) consisting of these children. If one of these child windows 
is selected from the sub-menu, the pointer is placed in that window. 
Clicking once then activates the window and brings it to the front.

The order in which the application windows are listed in the WINDOW MENU is 
determined by which application is currently active. The first item in the 
outSPOKEN WINDOW MENU is always the active application window. The 
subsequent entries are listed in the order of their last use.

Each application window's sub-menu contains its child windows, and they are 
also listed in the order of their last use. Most dialog boxes are also 
listed in these application sub-menus. 

outSPOKEN provides a shortcut command for placing the pointer in the 
currently active window. The TOP WINDOW command (KPD SLASH) places the 
pointer at the top-left corner of the active window. This command is 
extremely useful for returning to the active window if the pointer 
accidentally moves to a non-active window. 

It should be noted that there are occasionally windows which do not notify 
outSPOKEN of their presence. The TOP WINDOW command can be used to go to 
these windows. 

4.7   Additional outSPOKEN Commands

In general, the commands listed in this section are less frequently used, 
but are still extremely useful and powerful in appropriate situations. A 
casual skim of this section is probably the best way to become familiar with 
the existence of these less common commands.

FIND CARET (SHIFT-KPD 1) automatically places the pointer at the location of 
the text insertion point, or caret (Section 3.1). When the pointer is placed 
on the caret, outSPOKEN says "caret" to notify the user that the relocation 
was successful. If no caret is found, a beep is produced from the PC's 
speaker or from a sound card if one is installed. This command is extremely 
useful in such places as edit boxes and word processors, where knowledge of 
the caret's location is critical.

MOUSE DOWN/UP (KPD 9) toggles the mouse button down and up. A single press 
of the DRAG key simulates the mouse button being held down, and outSPOKEN 
says "Mouse Down." The pointer can then be moved with outSPOKEN commands to 
highlight text or drag an item to a new location (Section 3.1). When the 
pointer has reached its new location, the mouse button can be released by 
pressing the DRAG key again. At this point, outSPOKEN says "Mouse Up," 
indicating that the simulated mouse button has been released and the drag 
action is complete.

VOICE RATE FASTER (CTRL-SHIFT-KPD PLUS) increases the Baseline Voice rate by 
one step. This is a shortcut to editing the Rate edit box in the Voice 
Preferences sub-dialog (Section 5.1.1). It is a temporary way of changing 
the voice rate. The faster voice rate is not saved to disk when the rate is 
changed using this command. This means that any voice rate changes made with 
this command will no longer be in effect after quitting and restarting 
outSPOKEN. 

VOICE RATE SLOWER (CTRL-SHIFT-KPD ENTER) is the inverse of the command listed 
above. This command reduces the rate of the Baseline Voice by one step. This 
is a shortcut to editing the Rate edit box in the Voice Preferences sub-
dialog (Section 5.1.1). It is a temporary way of changing the voice rate. 
The slower voice rate is not saved to disk when the rate is changed using 
this command. This means that any voice rate changes made with this command 
will no longer be in effect after quitting and restarting outSPOKEN. 

STOP (KPD ENTER) causes outSPOKEN to immediately stop speaking. Nothing will 
be said until some other key is pressed. This command is most useful in 
conjunction with SAY-ON.

outSPOKEN OFF (CTRL-SHIFT-O) turns outSPOKEN off. This command has the same 
effect as terminating the application from the Windows Task List, but is 
easier and quicker. [Please note that this is the letter "O", typed from the 
keyboard, and not the number zero. This is the only outSPOKEN command not 
located on the numeric keypad.]

SAY-ON (CTRL-KPD ENTER), also called Automatic Text, is a command most 
commonly used with windowed DOS sessions or with terminal emulation 
applications. This feature toggles on and off with this command. When the 
feature is turned on, outSPOKEN speaks all text as the text is written to 
the screen, instead of waiting for it to be reviewed with reading commands. 
The text that is read when this feature is on is not limited to the current 
window. Generally, SAY-ON is inactive, to prevent outSPOKEN from speaking 
too much text as windows are drawn and re-drawn. This feature can also be 
turned on and off via a check box in the outSPOKEN System Preferences sub-
dialog, and is explained more fully in that section (Section 5.1.8).

4.8   Using Built-in Microsoft Windows Commands with outSPOKEN

Although outSPOKEN supports a full range of features allowing the outSPOKEN 
user to point and click, many Windows functions have keyboard shortcuts 
which perform the same action as that of the mouse pointer. These keyboard 
commands generally involve the use of the TAB key, the ALT key, or the ARROW 
keys, and perform functions such as changing highlight and focus, switching 
between windows and applications, and pulling down and selecting from menus. 
These built-in Windows commands provide convenient alternative access to 
functions that are usually performed with the mouse. outSPOKEN provides all 
the feedback and functionality necessary for using these built-in Windows 
shortcuts. The following section is a brief summary of these shortcuts and 
the way outSPOKEN interacts with them.

Please note that this is not a complete set of instructions on how to 
use built-in Windows commands. For more information about Windows 
commands, see your Microsoft Windows User Manual.

To explain how outSPOKEN supports Windows commands, it is important to 
understand the concepts of highlighting and focus. Microsoft Windows uses 
highlighting, which usually appears as inverse text, to indicate an item 
which is currently selected. Highlighting has different meanings depending 
on the situation. When a menu is pulled down, for example, the first item is 
highlighted, indicating that if the user presses ENTER, that item will be 
chosen from the menu. In a group window in Program Manager, there is always 
a highlighted program item. If ENTER is pressed, that program item will be 
launched. In a dialog's list box, the file that is highlighted will be read 
or written when the dialog is dismissed.

While highlighting indicates selected text, focus indicates a selected 
window or control. A window that has focus is generally indicated by 
inverted colors in its border. When a window or control has the focus, it 
means that anything typed from the keyboard performs some operation on that 
window or control. When a window becomes active, it has been given the 
focus. Similarly, opening a menu causes that menu to gain the focus. When a 
dialog box opens, if there is a default button, such as OK, that is the 
control which has the focus. 

The ALT key

The ALT key is most frequently used in combination with a letter key to pull 
down a menu from the menu bar. For example, holding down the ALT key while 
pressing the letter "F" usually pulls down the File menu from the menu bar 
of the active application. Similarly, holding ALT and pressing the "H" key 
pulls down the Help menu. Such shortcuts involving the ALT key are called 
"hotkeys." Because each application has its own menu titles, these hotkeys 
change from application to application. The standard way of indicating that 
a menu can be pulled down with a hotkey combination is to underline a single 
letter in the menu titleoften the first letter. This underlined letter is 
the menu's hotkey. For example, a File menu which has the letter "F" 
underlined can be accessed via the hotkey combination ALT-F.

When a menu is pulled down by way of a hotkey combination, outSPOKEN says 
"Menu" (Section 5.1.4). outSPOKEN places the pointer in the menu, and the 
highlighted menu itemusually the first oneis read (Section 5.1.7). This is 
the same result one would get by clicking on the menu's title with the 
pointer. 

Once a menu has been pulled down, there are a number of ways to make a 
selection. outSPOKEN's reading commands (Section 4.2) can be used to explore 
the menu, and when the pointer is on the desired menu item, outSPOKEN's 
SELECT key (KPD 5) can be pressed. A second method is to use the UP-ARROW and 
DOWN-ARROW keys to shift the highlighting to the previous or next menu item. 
Each time the highlighting moves, the newly highlighted item is read, and 
the pointer moves to the end of the newly highlighted item. When the desired 
item is highlighted, pressing the ENTER key dismisses the menu and executes 
the menu selection. A third method of making a menu choice is yet another 
Windows built-in command. Each of the items in the menu has a single 
underlined letter which is frequently the first letter of the item. Pressing 
this letter on the keyboard automatically selects that item and dismisses 
the menu. This feature is frequently used by advanced users who are familiar 
with the available menu choices, and who know from experience the name of 
the option they are seeking.

The ALT key performs a number of special functions in Windows. In an 
application, a single press of the ALT key highlights the first menu title 
in the menu bar. As with all other highlighting, outSPOKEN reads the newly 
highlighted item and places the pointer at the end of the highlighted item. 
When a menu title is highlighted, pressing the RIGHT-ARROW or LEFT-ARROW key 
shifts the highlight to other menu titles. Pressing ENTER pulls down the 
menu which is currently highlighted. If the ALT or ESC key is pressed when a 
menu is already pulled down, the menu is dismissed, and no selection is 
made. 

Dialog boxes frequently contain controls, such as buttons or check boxes, 
which can be selected by using a hotkey combination. For example, pressing 
ALT-O in a dialog box is often the same as clicking on the OK button. As in 
a menu bar, hotkeys within dialog boxes are indicated by a single underlined 
letter in the name of the control. As in menu titles, the first letter of 
the control name is frequently chosen to be the hotkey. These dialog control 
hotkeys are generally used by advanced users who are already familiar with 
the layout and controls of a particular dialog box. 

The ARROW Keys

It is important not to confuse the ARROW keys with outSPOKEN's direction 
keys. The ARROW keys are located between the main keyboard and the outSPOKEN 
keypad, in a group of four keys arranged in the shape of an upside-down 
print "T". The single key at the top of this group is the UP-ARROW, and the 
one directly below that is the DOWN-ARROW. The keys to the left and right of 
the DOWN-ARROW are the LEFT-ARROW and RIGHT-ARROW, respectively. 

Like hotkeys and the TAB key, ARROW keys do different things depending on the 
current active window. In most situations, ARROW keys move highlighting from 
one item to another. In a menu, for example, pressing the UP-ARROW or DOWN-
ARROW key will highlight the previous or next menu item. In Program Manager 
group windows, the ARROW keys shift the highlighting from one item to 
another. In many dialog controls (such as list and group boxes), the UP-ARROW 
and DOWN-ARROW keys shift highlighting within the focused control as they 
would in a menu. In an edit box or word processor, the RIGHT-ARROW and LEFT-
ARROW keys move the caret right or left by one character (Section 5.1.7). If 
a button or check box is highlighted, the ARROW keys move the focus between 
controls.

Focus speaking and tracking can be adjusted in the outSPOKEN Tracking 
Preferences sub-dialog. The Tracking Preferences sub-dialog offers the 
option of having outSPOKEN speak each newly highlighted item, and the option 
of having outSPOKEN move the pointer to each newly highlighted item. By 
default, as new items are highlighted, outSPOKEN reads the highlighted item 
and moves the pointer to the end of the highlighted area. This makes it 
extremely convenient for the outSPOKEN user to switch between outSPOKEN's 
pointer navigation commands and Windows' built-in commands, depending on 
what is most useful in a given situation. 

Another important use of the ARROW keys is to move the caret around in a text 
document. When using a text editor, such as Write or Notepad, pressing the 
ARROW keys moves the caret around within the text. Generally, the UP-ARROW and 
DOWN-ARROW keys move the caret up or down by one line at a time, while the 
RIGHT-ARROW and LEFT-ARROW keys move the caret right or left by a single 
character at a time. As the caret moves, outSPOKEN's default setting is to 
move the pointer to follow, and read the new line or character. From the 
Tracking Preferences sub-dialog (Section 5.1.7), the Follow Caret feature, 
which automatically moves the pointer to follow the caret whenever it moves, 
can be turned on and off. This dialog also provides the ability to turn on 
or off the Read Caret feature, which performs such functions as reading 
lines or letters when the ARROW keys are pressed in situations involving 
editable text (Section 5.1.7).

Please note that only editable text can be read with ARROW keys, because the 
caret cannot move beyond the editable region. To read menu bars, title bars, 
and scroll bars, it is most useful to use outSPOKEN's reading and navigation 
commands (Section 4.2-4.3).

The TAB Key

The TAB key is most commonly used within dialog boxes (Section 3.3.3) to 
shift the focus from one control to another. Pressing TAB in a dialog box 
might move the focus from the OK button to the Cancel button. Another TAB 
might shift focus to a combo box (Section 3.3.3.2), while yet another might 
bring the focus to a list box (Section 3.3.3.5). As each new control gains 
the focus, outSPOKEN moves the pointer to that control, and the highlighted 
item is spoken in the Focus Voice (Section 5.1.1). The ARROW keys can then be 
used to shift highlighting within the focused control, or the outSPOKEN user 
can use the pointer to read or navigate away from the highlighted item.

Pressing TAB with the ALT key toggles the user through the list of active 
applications. This is an example of the "multi-tasking" ability of Windows. 
As the ALT-TAB command is pressed, outSPOKEN says the name of the application 
that will become active if the ALT key is released. If the ALT key is held 
down, and TAB is pressed again, another application's name will be 
highlighted and spoken. This allows the Windows user to quickly and easily 
switch from one active application to another.

Please note that all functions of Microsoft Windows are fully 
documented in the Microsoft Windows Users Manual. There are also a 
number of books published about Windows by third parties. For a list of 
titles, contact your local library or book store. Recordings for the 
Blind can also supply a list of titles currently available on tape or 
in electronic media.

