Automated Functions, Inc.
6424 North 28th St.
Arlington, VA 22207
TEL: 703-536-7741
FAX: 703-536-7920

----
November 15, 1995

This version of SmarTalk is 1.21. The files are dated 11-15-95,
1:21 PM. 

* A new argument "B" was added to the SmarTalk options.  This
argument determines if SmarTalk allows the user to send data to
"both" the "L" and the "F" printer ports.  This argument may be
useful for networks.  When the "B1" argument is given it tells
SmarTalk to only accept data on the "F" port.  The default is
"B0" which tells SmarTalk to accept data from both the "L" and
"F" ports.  For example, the following only accepts data on
LPT3. 

xs_talk L1 F3 I7 B1

The above is useful for networks since it frees LPT1 for a
network printer.  The "B" argument may be given on the
SMARTALK.BAT command line or changed inside the batch file. 

* The SmarTalk install program was changed to detect strobe timing
on the parallel ports.  The install program places the strobe
time in the SmarTalk batch file.  This is the "T" argument.  This
should help SmarTalk work more automatically with some parallel
ports which are slow to respond. 

* SmarTalk and outSPOKEN for Windows. 

The outSPOKEN install program, as of this date, does not have an
option for SmarTalk.  SmarTalk can still work well with outSPOKEN
by following these instructions. 

You should first configure SmarTalk as a "flipper" screen
reader.  outSPOKEN uses the flipper synthesizer drivers for all
output to speech units.  You do this by transferring to the
smartalk directory and typing "makeflip". 

cd c:\smartalk
makeflip
cd \

You only have to do this once.  You can install outSPOKEN by
running their install program.  This program asks for a
synthesizer driver.  You should type in "accent".  The install
program also asks for the "communication port or type 0 for an
internal synthesizer".  You should type "0" for SmarTalk.  This
tells the outSPOKEN accent program to use LPT3 for its output. 

The above works with SmarTalk since the smartalk.bat file uses a
"F3" argument to indicate data will be accepted from LPT3. 

Once the outSPOKEN install program is finished it adds the
following line at the end of your autoexec.bat file. 

c:\osw\accent

You should add a line before this one in order to run SmarTalk
before the accent driver.  The command is: 

call c:\smartalk.bat

When you start your computer the SmarTalk and then the accent
program will run.  You may then follow the outSPOKEN instructions
for running Windows with outSPOKEN. 

----
October 12, 1995

This version of SmarTalk is 1.20. The files are dated 10-12-95, 1:20 PM.

* This is a major update to the SmarTalk software. Changes have been 
made to the install program, SmarTalk now works better with certain 
network operating systems, and the new software can run without using 
interrupts. 

* The install program

The install program uses beeps to indicate its status. It uses a
high beep to indicate the LPT port number. It starts checking
LPT1 (one high beep) then if SmarTalk is not found moves to the
next port. LPT2 is specified with 2 high beeps. 

If SmarTalk is not detected it makes a series of descending
beeps. If this happens, make sure the unit has AC power or a good
battery. You should also make sure it is securely connected to
your computer. You may then try the install program again. 

Remember, the install program will not locate SmarTalk unless it
has power and is attached to a parallel port. 

* SmarTalk Using Interrupt 0.

SmarTalk works best when it can use a hardware interrupt (usually
IRQ 5 or IRQ 7). If one of these interrupts is not available
SmarTalk can still speak. It will use IRQ0 which is the timer
interrupt. 

When you install SmarTalk it will check for interrupt 7 and 5. If
it cannot locate this it will use interrupt 0. 

SmarTalk may not talk as fast on interrupt 0. You should try to
change your PC to free either interrupt 5 or 7. If not, interrupt
0 will allow you to work with your screen reader. You may notice
a slight delay in speech when the computer is writing to the disk
or performing calculations. 

* JAWS And Shift Keys

The previous version of SmarTalk did not allow JAWS to send the
shift keys through to the application program when a JAWS macro
was being used. This problem was solved by changing the
makejaws.bat file. This new file does not take the shift keys
from JAWS and the macros work well. 

This problem was discovered by running JAWS with WordPerfect. The
shift F10 key would perform a F10 command instead of a shift F10.

* SmarTalk And Networks

SmarTalk has been changed to work better with networks. The
program ST_INIT has been eliminated. Two programs called ST_CHECK
and ST_RUN have taken its place. ST_CHECK determines if there is
sufficient XMS memory for SmarTalk. ST_RUN activates SmarTalk and
enables it to speak. 

The programs ST_CHECK and ST_RUN are used in the SMARTALK.BAT
file. They are not intended to be run directly by the user. this
new configuration makes SmarTalk more compatible with networks. 

* New Command Arguments

The SMARTALK.BAT file now supports the following arguments.

/Verbose Tells SmarTalk to be more verbose when loading its data.
/Quiet Tells SmarTalk to be quiet and not speak the introduction
   message. 
/CMS Tells SmarTalk to run in Conventional Memory Space
   (takes more memory).

* Changing Batteries

SmarTalk is designed to allow you to change batteries without
affecting your screen reader. If SmarTalk does not talk after
changing the battery, tap the rewind key twice quickly. Tapping
the rewind key twice quickly after changing the battery tells
SmarTalk to initialize its hardware. This is a good way to make
sure SmarTalk detects that it should turn its power back on. This
"trick" can also be used if the AC power is disconnected or the
parallel cord is detached. 

----
June 26, 1995

This version of SmarTalk is 1.12. The files are dated 6-26-95, 1:12 PM.

* SmarTalk and ASAP

When using SmarTalk with the ASAP screen reader you must give the
line printer port number on the ASAP command line.  If you use
the SmarTalk "makeasap.bat" file you may use port LPT3.  The ASAP
command line will look similar to: 

asap accent lpt3

You may have to edit the ASAP "s.bat" file to add the "LPT3"
parameter.  If you do not use an LPT parameter ASAP cannot find
SmarTalk and it will not talk. 


* Changing batteries, disconnecting SmarTalk

If the SmarTalk battery is changed or the unit is disconnected,
it tries to initialize when it is attached.  The electronic
circuit usually detects that it was "off line" and now it is back
"on line".  The user only has to make the unit say something in
order to initialize it.  In some situations this is not
detected.  If SmarTalk does not talk after it has been
disconnected you can tap the rewind key twice quickly.  Tapping
rewind twice (this is usually the left shift key) will make
SmarTalk perform an initialization.  This only occurs after the
unit has been disconnected or has lost power.  You should also
make the unit say something after you tap the rewind key twice. 

* SmarTalk and Soft VERT

When using SmarTalk with Soft VERT you do not need to issue any
"vu" command to indicate a speech synthesizer.  The "gosv" batch
file should look like. 

smartalk
sv

If the Soft VERT "F2" key is pressed in Review Mode it will say
you are using the Personal VERT synthesizer.  This works well
with SmarTalk since it uses the same command sequences. 

* New Optimize option

A new option "/O" (Optimize) was added to the command line. This option tries 
to optimize the use of the parallel port. Whether you need to use it depends 
on the parallel card and the computer.   

SmarTalk uses the regular timing for the parallel port. The optimize option 
decreases this timing and therefore over drives the port. This may not work 
on all computers.  

The optimize option is a number from 1 to 9. The 1 decreases the "strobe" 
time by 10%.  The 9 decreases it by 90%.  

The SmarTest program also accepts this optimize option. It can be used to 
determine how fast you can drive your parallel port. If SmarTalk does not 
talk on an optimize number you have gone too far in over driving the port.  
Just use a smaller number.  

Example:

smartalk o1

smartalk o5

The optimize option will not make SmarTalk talk any faster. It will give a 
little more time to your running application programs. It may also make 
some parallel ports work with SmarTalk.  

* Bug Fixes

The "makesp" batch file has been changed to include two additional 
parameters. These are "v8" and "d9". The "v8" makes the voice tone setting 
higher and the "d9" addes a larger feedback buffer. The "d9" makes Screen 
Power talk in a more natural way with SmarTalk. These options are described 
in the SmarTalk manual, but the batch file did not include them.  

The "SetSmart" program has been fixed to correct a bug. The rate tables for 
some of the screen readers were not saved on disk. This caused the rates for 
some screen readers to not be uniform. You must run the new screen reader 
batch file (i.e. MAKESV, MAKEASAP) to make the settings correct.  

Please note that if you ever get an update to your SmarTalk software, you
should follow the original install procedure, and then run the batch file
that sets SmarTalk for your screen reader.

----
May 22, 1995

Some minor changes to the MAKEOB.BAT and MAKEJFW.BAT files were made so that
if MAKEOB or MAKEJFW is entered without a pathname, the batch file will try
to modify the .INI files in the default directories for those programs. The
diagnostic messages were also improved. 

----
April 26, 1995

The newest version of the SmarTalk software is version 1.11. 
The files are dated 4-26-95, 1:11 PM.

Some words that were mispronounced have been fixed.  
A minor bug in the rewind logic was fixed.  
This bug occurred when the rewind buffer was full and the rewind key was 
pressed more than once.  This caused SmarTalk to erase the rewind buffer and 
then start speaking the new text.  

A new batch file called MAKEOB.BAT has been added to the SmarTalk directory.
Users of An Open Book can use this batch file to update a previously installed
version of An Open Book to use the SmarTalk synthesizer. This is a bit easier
than re-installing An Open Book.

A new program called SmarTest (SmarTalk Test program) has been added to the
disk. The files SMARTEST.EXE and SMARTEST.TXT will be copied to the
SMARTALK directory during installation. The SmarTest program is used to
test SmarTalk, the parallel port, and the cable. It should be useful if
SmarTalk doesn't work right away. See the SMARTEST.TXT file for more
information on using SmarTest.

The install program and the "make" programs (i.e. MAKEJAWS.BAT, MAKESV.BAT)
have been changed slightly. The manual (in the section "Conserving Memory")
says that they will automatically load S_TALK.EXE or XS_TALK.EXE into high 
memory. To avoid conflicts with versions of DOS prior to 5.0, and to avoid 
conflicts with third party memory managers, the program is no longer 
automatically loaded high. If you wish to load the program high to save
memory, see the documentation for the memory manager you are using. If you
are able to run all your programs, then you don't even need to worry about
loading the programs high.


----
General information

Please feel free to share the new version of the SmarTalk software with anyone
who needs it. The easiest way would be to use the DOS DISKCOPY command. Just 
insert your installation disk in drive A, then type

DISKCOPY A: A:

and hit enter (change the A: to B: if that is where your disk fits). The 
system will prompt you to insert the source disk (your original), then the 
destination disk (the copy you are making). It may prompt you to swap these
several times.

