Tutorial:The Manager:
To view this manual, SpeakOn's home page, get information about your installed version of SpeakOn, check for updates and update SpeakOn, use the Main menu in the Manager (the first task which loads automatically when you start SpeakOn). Press the 'Main' [Alt] (9) key to bring up the menu.
Viewing this manual
In the Main menu, select the Help > 'Online SpeakOn manual' menu item.
SpeakOn launches Internet Explorer automatically with the manual's front page (the index) ready for you to browse.
This manual is always revised for the latest version of SpeakOn. If your version of SpeakOn is not the latest one, you will be asked to update your version first (as the manual is not relevant to your current version of SpeakOn). After updating your version of SpeakOn to the latest one which is a procedure taking only a few minutes from the Main menu, you should be able to view this manual from the Help menu.
As Internet Explorer is used to view the manual, you will need your screen reader or magnifier running before you select this option from the Help menu. You can switch between SpeakOn and Internet Explorer in the usual Windows way [Alt + Tab].
Please note that you can always view this manual from the SpeakOn page on the a-technic website at:
http://www.a-technic.net/speakon.htm
SpeakOn Home page
In the Main menu, select the Help > 'SpeakOn home page' menu item.
SpeakOn launches Internet Explorer automatically with SpeakOn's home page ready for you to browse.
Version information
In the Main menu, select the Help > 'About' menu item. The version number and date of your SpeakOn version are announced.
Checking for an available update and updating SpeakOn
From the Main menu, select the Help > 'Check for update' menu item. SpeakOn will ask you to wait while checking for an available update. This may take approximately ten seconds.
If your version of SpeakOn is the latest available, you will be notified about this. If your version of SpeakOn needs updating, a 'confirm' task will start by asking you to confirm that you want to update SpeakOn. You can select to cancel this operation by pressing the 'Cancel' [Esc] (0) key or you can confirm for the update process to continue by pressing the 'Select' [Enter] (5) key.
The following procedure will work on most computers but if the update fails for some reason or the update is unsuccessful, please follow the procedure under the heading 'Updating SpeakOn manually from an old version' at the end of this page.
If you confirm that you want to update to the latest version, a new task called 'Update' will start. You will be placed in the only control in this task - the 'Update and install' action control.
To start the download, press the 'Select' key. After a few seconds, the download will start and you will be notified at intervals of 5% of the download size about its progress.
When the download is complete, you will be notified. At this stage, your screen reader or magnifier should be running and SpeakOn will be shut down automatically. The SpeakOn installer wizard (which is a Windows program that requires a screen reader or magnifier to operate) will start. Follow the installation instructions; in practice to update, just accept all default settings and SpeakOn will be updated. All your previous SpeakOn settings, if any, and any media which you may have downloaded, will be preserved.
Updating SpeakOn manually from an old version :
If your attempt to upgrade SpeakOn by installing the new version on top of your older installation fails, follow the procedure below:
1. Remove SpeakOn using 'Add and remove programs' in the Control Panel.
2. Delete the folder C:\SpeakOn (assuming you installed SpeakOn before on the 'C' drive). Important: Do not delete any other SpeakOn folders (folders starting with the phrase 'SpeakOn_' on your C drive). These folders contain any media that you may have downloaded before or settings information.
3. Download and install the new version of SpeakOn from:
http://www.a-technic.net/SpeakOn/install/SpeakOnInstall.exe
Depending on the version you upgrade from, you may have to specify again any usernames and passwords to services that you may be using but all your previous media will be preserved.