In order to have TRIANGLE's display read by the computer, it is necessary to have a speech screen reader and a voice synthesizer. This page provides information about supported screen readers, information on how to set-up other screen readers for proper reading of TRIANGLE's displays, and information concerning several voice synthesizers.
Screen Readers:
Voice Synthesizers
Section 1: General information about how TRIANGLE interacts with screen readers.
TRIANGLE partitions the screen depending on where the information is located; these partitions are referred to as windows. The cursor is automatically moved to the relevant section of the screen.
The most important windows contained in TRIANGLE are:
(A) The full screen editing window.
(B) The menu bar.
(C) The text region used in the plot viewer.
(D) The text region used in the table viewer.
(E) The text region used in the figure viewer.
An invisible screen tag is included with the editor and various viewers to assist users of speech screen readers to identify which window should be active. This invisible tag is in the upper left corner of the DOS screen and is seen as a space. The foreground color, invisible to sighted observers but identifiable by screen readers, tells what screen mode is active.
In addition, TRIANGLE uses several special characters for use with math and science. These characters are displayed on the screen, as GS characters on Braille displays, and can be spoken by screen readers.
In order for screen readers to take advantage of TRIANGLE's display windows and special characters, special configuration files need to be loaded into the screen reader when running TRIANGLE. The Science Access Project had developed configuration files for JAWS for DOS as well as for Vocal-Eyes versions 2.2 and 3.0. If you are using a different screen reader, please refer to the section on other speech screen readers for information on creating the needed configuration files.
Section 2. Using Jaws for DOS speech screen reader with TRIANGLE.
The configuration files that have been developed modify several of the key-code macros. Some of the macros have been changed from the standard settings to make JAWS for DOS more like JAWS for Windows and to make it work with both notebook as well as 101-key keyboards.
The modified codes are as follows:
| Action | Key-code |
| Read file | Ctrl f |
| Remap for extended character, F9 | Ctrl e |
| Remap for extended markup symbol, Alt F9 | Alt e |
| Dictionary of extended symbols, Ctrl F9 | Ctrl d |
| Read title | Ctrl t |
| Read upper left cell | Ctrl u |
| Read left cell | Ctrl l |
| Read cell position | Ctrl p |
| Read line | Ins up arrow, Alt h, or Shift F1 |
| Jaws cursor up | Alt i |
| Jaws cursor down | Alt k |
| Jaws cursor left | Alt j |
| Jaws cursor right | Alt l |
| Read color at cursor | Shift F5 or Ins 5 |
| Read active cursor position | Shift F6 |
| Read inactive cursor position | Shift F7 |
| Keypad delete | delete |
| Read word | Alt w or Ins 5 |
| Read to cursor | Alt y or Ins 7 |
| Read from cursor | Alt n or Ins 9 |
| Help mode | home row insert or Ins 1 |
Jaws Frame numbers, name, and location:
1 is menu frame 2,2 to 25,20, blue on red. 2 is plot viewer 1,19 to 25, 48, green on red. 3 is figure viewer, 16,42 to 25,80, red on red. 10 is top or title frame, 1,1 to 1,80, CTRL t. 11 is file frame, 1,43 to 1,80, CTRL f. 12 is top line of menus, 2,2 to 2,20 20 is top of figure viewer, 16,42 to 16,80, read when figure labels changed. 21 is title in table viewer, 17, 65 to 18,65. Read with CTRL t macro. 22 is column info in table viewer, 19,65 to 20,65. Read with CTRL u for upper cell. 23 is row info in table viewer. 121,65 to 22,65. Read with CTRL l for left cell. 24 is cell coordinate position, 23,65. Read with CTRL p for position. 90 is tag frame, 1,1 to 1,1 91 message activation frame 25,1 to 25,1
For more information about JAWS for DOS please see the JAWS information page.
Files associated with JAWS for DOS:
There are five files (TA.JDF, TA.JEF, TA.JFF, TA.JMF, TA.JVF) that are
included in the latest TRIANGLE download
package. These files are located in the JAWS subdirectory and should
be copied to your JAWS for DOS directory. To do this (assuming that
TRIANGLE is located in the directory c:\triangle, and JAWS for DOS is
located in c:\jaws) at the DOS prompt, use the command:
move c:\triangle\jaws\ta.j* c:\jaws\*.*
If you are using Windows, move the five files from the TRIANGLE's speech
folder to the JAWS for DOS folder. The configuration files are also
available for download here.
Section 3. Using Vocal-Eyes version 3.0 with TRIANGLE.
We recommend using the Vocal-eyes set file TA.SET, the character dictionary file TA.CHR, and key map file TA.KEY. TA.CHR includes all special GS symbols as well as the punctuation marks that most users wish to be pronounced. The latter will not be spoken in the "dictionary only" Vocal-Eyes option unless included in the TA.CHR file.
TA.CHR is too large to fit the default space provided by Vocal-Eyes, and the following command must be included in the autoexec file or the batch file just before Vocal-Eyes is started. This command sets aside the maximum amount of space for the .CHR files used by Vocal-Eyes. If the DOS prompt is in the directory where Vocal-Eyes files are located or if these files are in the path, the command is:
ve /!c9
or, if high memory is available:
loadhigh ve /!c9
The set, character, and key files are named to allow a user to use the
Vocal-Eyes automatic file-loading feature. These files will be
automatically loaded if they are located in the Vocal-Eyes directory. The
user will need to copy the TA.SET, TA.KEY, and TA.CHR files from
Triangle's VOCLEYES subdirectory to the Vocal-Eyes directory, e.g. use
the command:
copy c:\[triangle]\vocleyes\ta.set c:\[speech]
where [triangle] is the main triangle directory and [speech] is the main
Vocal-Eyes directory. Alternatively a user may wish to use a batch file
to load these three files before starting TRIANGLE, and then reload some
other set of files when exiting. For example, if Vocal-Eyes is in
directory SPEECH, and the TA.EXE, TA.SET, TA.CHR, and TA.KEY files are in
the TRIANGLE directory, a batch file could contain the following list of
commands:
cd \speech
ve /kc:\triangle\ta
ve /cc:\triangle\ta
ve /f0c:\triangle\ta.set
cd \triangle
ta
Section 4. Using Vocal-Eyes version 2.2 with TRIANGLE.
We recommend using the enclosed Vocal-Eyes set file ta22.set, the character dictionary file TA.CHR, and key map file TA.KEY. TA.CHR includes all special GS symbols as well as the punctuation marks that most users wish to be pronounced. The latter will not be spoken in the "dictionary only" Vocal-Eyes option unless included in the TA.CHR file.
TA.CHR is too large to fit the default space provided by Vocal-Eyes, and the following command must be included in the autoexec file or the batch file just before Vocal-eyes is started. This command sets aside the maximum amount of space for the .CHR files used by Vocal-Eyes. If the DOS prompt is in the directory where Vocal-Eyes files are located or if these files are in the path, the command is:
ve /!c9
or, if high memory is available:
loadhigh ve /!c9
The set, character, and key files are named to allow a user to use the Vocal-Eyes 3.0 automatic file-loading feature. They may be loaded automatically in Vocal-Eyes version 2.2 by changing the name of the original archive-distributed TA.SET file and then renaming TA22.SET to TA.SET. Alternatively a user may wish to use a batch file to load these three files before starting TRIANGLE, and then reload some other set of files when exiting. For example, if Vocal-Eyes 2.2 is in directory SPEECH, and the TA.EXE, TA22.SET, TA.CHR, and TA.KEY files are in the TRIANGLE directory, a batch file could contain the following list of commands:
cd \speech
ve /kc:\triangle\ta
ve /cc:\triangle\ta
ve /f1c:\triangle\ta22.set
cd \triangle
ta
Files associated with Vocal-Eyes:
There are three configuration files for use with the Vocal-Eyes programs. These files are TA.CHR, TA.SET, and TA.KEY for VE version 3.0. For version 2.2 use TA.CHR, TA22.SET, and TA.KEY.
The character dictionary TA.CHR file is a list of GS symbols and their names. It also includes the punctuation marks that most users want pronounced. Its purpose is to tell Vocal-Eyes how to pronounce these symbols. TA.CHR can be loaded automatically when TA.EXE is executed to start TRIANGLE, or loaded in a batch file that starts TRIANGLE, or loaded from the FILES option (Number 6 on the Vocal-Eyes Menu). If there is a problem loading the character dictionary, more memory is needed in the Vocal-Eyes buffer; when starting Vocal-Eyes, remember to use the ve /!c9 command.
TA.KEY is a file that tells Vocal-Eyes to speak a label when function keys are pressed. The labels are those appropriate to TRIANGLE. TA.KEY can be loaded automatically when TA.EXE is executed to start TRIANGLE, or loaded in a batch file that starts TRIANGLE, or loaded from the FILES option (Number 6 on the Vocal-Eyes Menu).
TA.SET is the profile file that maximizes the usefulness of TRIANGLE for Vocal-Eyes 3.0 users. TA.SET can be loaded automatically when TA.EXE is executed to start TRIANGLE, or loaded in a batch file that starts TRIANGLE, or loaded from the FILES option (Number 6 on the Vocal-Eyes Menu).
TA22.SET is the profile file that maximizes the usefulness of TRIANGLE for Vocal-Eyes 2.2 users. TA.SET can be loaded automatically when TA.EXE is executed to start TRIANGLE, or loaded in a batch file that starts TRIANGLE, or loaded from the FILES option (Number 6 on the Vocal-Eyes Menu).
Section 5. Other speech screen readers.
Most screen readers include a dictionary option for pronouncing non-standard ASCII characters. The TA.CHR file is a dictionary in the Vocal-Eyes format. GS symbols are listed in order of their position in the redefined ASCII table. Each symbol is on a single line followed on the next line by its name to be spoken. For any speech screen reader to work properly with TRIANGLE, it must be able to pronounce the GS symbols, so this table must be formatted to work with that screen reader. The punctuation pronunciation included in TA.CHR may or may not be required with other speech screen readers.
It is useful, but not essential, for a screen reader to speak labels on function keys so a user receives audio feedback about its function. A screen reader that speaks function key labels may be provided with the TA.KEY table, formatted in whatever way that screen reader requires.
Finally, a customized "profile" is needed for almost any application to be easy to use with a speech screen reader. The TA.SET file is the profile for Vocal-Eyes 3.0 when used with TRIANGLE. Users of other brands of speech screen readers must set up profiles for their use. TRIANGLE is designed to be particularly friendly to speech screen readers, so the major need for the profiles is to set the region of the screen to be spoken. The top line is a status line, and the right side of that line gives the context, usually the name of the file being edited. You may want a hot key to read the top line or set a window on the top line between positions 43 and 80 to read the context while in the editor. The entire top line should be read for status information whenever you are in one of the viewers.
The full screen window may be set for the full DOS screen, although one cannot move the cursor to the status line at the top. Some users may prefer to set the window as the rectangle between column 1, row 2 and column 80, row 25. When the focus is in the editor the tag is black on red. Note: It is possible to have focus in the editor while a viewer is covering part of the screen. This mode is not recommended for users of speech screen readers. We recommend that full screen mode be used when editing.
The menu bar is located on the screen in the rectangle column 1, row 2 to column 20, row 25. Its tag is blue on red.
The plot viewer text window is the rectangle column 1, row 19 to column 48, row 25. Its tag is green on red.
The figure viewer text window is the rectangle column 42, row 16 to column 80, row 25. Its tag is red on red. When the red on red tag appears we recommend that this window be read automatically. This tag is flashed off and back on whenever a new object is identified on the external digitizing pad, so automatic reading means that these object descriptions will be voiced automatically when selected.
We would be very pleased if users of other screen readers would share their character, key, and profile files and permit us to distribute them with TRIANGLE.
Section 6. General information about voice synthesizers.
DOS screen readers require voice synthesizers. The next sections describe information and settings for several synthesizers, namely the DECtalk Express, DoubleTalk, Type 'n Speak, and Nomad. Other synthesizers may also be used with TRIANGLE but we have not tried them. For more general information about voice synthesizers, please see the Screen reader requirements page.
Section 7. DEC Express voice synthesizer.
The DECtalk Express is an external voice synthesizer that connects to the computer via a serial "com" port. In order to use this synthesizer, the synthesizer's driver must be loaded before running the screen reader software. Loading the driver is most easily accomplished by using batch files which contain port, irq, and memory settings.
The driver for the DECtalk along with several support files are usually contained in a separate directory called "dtexp". Within the dtexp directory we recommend creating a batch file called dtexp.bat. An example of a batch file that loads the DECtalk driver for use with a computer's Com 1 port with Irq 4 and memory address 3f8 is the following:
@echo off dt_driv -r dt_driv -C 1 -B 3f8 -I 4 dt_start "DECtalk Express is connected to IRQ 4 and base address [:punc pass] 3f8.[:punc some][:sync] > NUL if not errorlevel 0 goto error if errorlevel 1 goto error echo DECtalk Express is connected. goto end :error echo DECtalk Express TSR load error, check COM port settings. pause :end
If you wanted to use the Com 2 port on your computer, the third line
should read as:
dt_driv -C 2 -B 2f8 -I 3
It has been noticed that the DECtalk will have a tendency to drop words when using the JAWS for DOS screen reader if the driver is loaded in what is called an indexed mode. The solution is to load the driver in a non-indexed mode. This can be accomplished with the /ni in the following batch file:
@Echo off REM Batch file for running JAWS version 2.31 REM for the DECtalk PC Synthesizer cd\dtexp call dtexp CD \JAWS J_DECPC %1 %2 %3 %4 %5 %6 %7 %8 %9 /B8 /d8 /E /ni cd \
If running Vocal-Eyes (assuming the DECtalk driver and batch files are in a directory called c:\dtexp and Vocal-Eyes is in c:\vocal) the batch file would look like:
@Echo off cd c:\dtexp call dtexp cd c:\vocal decpc call ve /!c9
For more information about the DECtalk, please refer to its manual.
To use the DoubleTalk synthesizer with JAWS
for DOS and TRIANGLE, the following
batch file (which assumes that JAWS is
located in the c:\jaws directory
and TRIANGLE is located in c:\triangle) can be used:
@Echo off REM Batch file for running JAWS version 2.31 REM for the Doubletalk Synthesizer CD \JAWS j_double /B8 /d8 /E /h cd \triangle ta
To use the DoubleTalk with Vocal-Eyes 3.0, the driver for the
LiteTalk can be used. This batch file uses the LiteTalk driver:
@echo off rem the following line loads the Vocal-Eyes synthesizer driver cd \VOCAL litetalk /!c1 rem the following line loads Vocal-Eyes ve /!c9 ve /kt ve /cta ve /f0 ta.set cd \triangle ta
For more information about the DoubleTalk, please refer to its product manual.
The Type 'n Speak by Blazie Engineering is a keyboard note-taking device that contains a voice synthesizer. The Type 'n Speak can be connected to a computer's serial port with an adapter cable. To use the Type 'n Speak as a voice synthesizer, you will need to set it in its "Speech Box" mode.
To use the Type 'n Speak or the Braille 'n Speak synthesizers with JAWS
for DOS and TRIANGLE, the following
batch file (which assumes that JAWS is
located in the c:\jaws directory
and TRIANGLE is located in c:\triangle) can be used:
@Echo off REM Batch file for running JAWS version 2.31 REM for the Braille 'N Speak Synthesizer CD \JAWS J_BNS %1 %2 %3 %4 %5 %6 %7 %8 %9 /COM1 /B8 /d8 /E /NI cd \triangle ta
To use the Type 'n Speak with Vocal-Eyes 3.0, the following batch file can
be used:
@echo off rem the following line loads the Vocal-Eyes synthesizer driver cd \VOCAL BNSPEAK /!c1 rem the following line loads Vocal-Eyes ve /!c9 ve /kt ve /cta ve /f0 ta.set cd \triangle ta
For more information about the Type 'n Speak, please refer to its product manual.
Section 10. NOMAD II voice synthesizer
The NOMAD II is a digitizing tablet with a built-in voice synthesizer. The
synthesizer can be used with JAWS for DOS but you will need to install the
DoubleTalk or Lite Talk synthesizer drivers. The following batch file
will run JAWS with the NOMAD II and then start TRIANGLE. The batch file
assumes that JAWS is
located in the c:\jaws directory and that TRIANGLE is located in the
c:\triangle directory. The reserved dictionary
space has been set to a maximum value (/d8) to accommodate the TRIANGLE
character dictionary.
@Echo off REM Batch file for running JAWS version 2.31 REM for the NOMAD II Synthesizer CD \JAWS MODE COM1 9600,n,8,1 J_DOUBLE %1 %2 %3 %4 %5 %6 %7 %8 %9 /COM1 /B8 /d8 /E cd \triangle ta
The NOMAD II can also be used with Vocal-Eyes using the Generic driver. The following batch file can be used to start Vocal-Eyes and then start TRIANGLE; it assumes Vocal-Eyes is in the c:\vocal directory and TRIANGLE is in c:\triangle. One problem with the NOMAD in this configuration is that it does not seem to accept commands to interrupt the speech.
@echo off cd c:\vocal rem the following line loads the Vocal-Eyes synthesizer driver GENERIC /!c1/!i4/!pn/!b9/!s1/!d8 rem the following line loads Vocal-Eyes, rem the /!c9 is to have space for TRIANGLE's character dictionary ve /!c9 cd d:\triangle ta
Still have questions about TRIANGLE? Send e-mail to: triangle@dots.physics.orst.edu