Tutorial:How to:
From time to time you may want to know how to perform an operation in SpeakOn. All frequent operations can be performed by using a simple keystroke. Other operations are performed from the menus. The following will explain how to do this without the need to go to the manual.
First some relevant SpeakOn principles:
- All media in SpeakOn, either on your computer or the Internet, are treated and operated in the same way, so the same keystrokes do similar jobs everywhere.
- All media tasks in SpeakOn have 2 or 3 controls, always including a Library and a Player.
- All operations that you need to do quickly are done using the controls with the keys: Up, Down, Left, Right, Enter, Ctrl + Enter, Shift + Enter and Ctrl + Shift + Enter (the last three are used less often).
- Operations that you need to do less frequently are done using the Main keys (the function keys on the standard keyboard) F1 to F8, these include speech, audio, information, navigation and help.
- Everything else is done from the Main menu. This menu also duplicates operations possible with the controls and function keys.
- With the exception of speech and audio, you can operate SpeakOn entirely from the menus which is useful when you learn the system but not very efficient for day-to-day use.
- Everything in SpeakOn is context sensitive so the focus in SpeakOn is very important. While the controls and function keys themselves work in the same way, the menu may be different based on the media type loaded.
- The menu items available in the Main menu, accessed when the focus is in the Library and the Player, are different although some features are available from both. A general guideline is that if you want to find or open something, it is done from the Library or its menu; if you want to play something or want to perform operations related to the played media, this is done from the Player or its menu.
- You can find any keystrokes from either the Help menu [F1] (7) or the Main menu [Alt] (9) where keystrokes are indicated if available.
- To find generally what keystrokes are available using the Main keys (function keys on the standard keyboard), bring the Help menu [F1] (7) and browse the Main keys sub-menu. When you select a command it is actually invoked and the menu closes.
- To find out what keystrokes are available in the Library for a particular media type, make sure that the focus is on the directory or media of interest.
- To find out what keystrokes are available in the Player for a particular media type, make sure that the Player is loaded with the media you are interested in; for example, for Podcast make sure that the Player is playing a Podcast.
- When the focus is where you want it to be, bring up the Help menu [F1] (7) and browse the Context keys for the current control (followed by the control name). When you select a command it is invoked and the menu closes.
- In exactly the same way, after the focus is where you want it to be, bring the Main menu [Alt] (9) and the menu for the current media type is displayed including any shortcuts if available.
Note that in the Library, sometimes the location of the focus is important; for example, you cannot play the Podcast directory itself so if the focus is on this directory, you will not find the Play sub-menu. In this case, the focus needs to be on a RSS feed (because it can be played).
The Quick menu in SpeakOn is an exact copy of the Main menu but without any commands which have a keystroke associated with them and without any settings sub-menus. So if you want to invoke a menu item which does not have a keystroke and is not settings, the menu is less cluttered and you can find the operation you need quicker.
On the standard keyboard, you bring up the Quick menu by using one of the following keys: [Application] or [Shift + F10] or [Shift + F4] (the first two keys are standard in Windows programs for context menus).