                                    
                                    
                                    
                                    
                                    
                                    
                     Automatic Screen Access Program
                                    
                                    
                                 (ASAP)
                                    
                                    
                              for IBM   and
                                    
                          compatible computers
                                    
                              November 1995
                                    
                                    
                         Copyright   1991, 1995
                                    
                                    
                                MicroTalk
                                    
                          917 Clear Creek Drive
                                    
                           Texarkana, TX 75503
                                    
                           Voice: 903-832-3471
                                    
                            Fax: 903-832-3517
                                    
                           Modem: 903-832-3722
                                    
                     Technical Support: 404-299-6832
                                    
                           ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

                                Trademarks

Accent is a trademark of Aicom Corporation.

Audapter is a trademark of Personal Data Systems.

ASAP and LiteTalk are trademarks of MicroTalk.

Braille 'n Speak is a trademark of Blazie Engineering.

BrailleMate is a trademark of TSI.

DEC-Talk is a trademark of Digital Equipment Corporation.

DoubleTalk and DoubleTalk LT are trademarks of RC Systems, Inc.

Echo is a trademark of Street Electronics Corporation.

IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines
Corporation.

MS-DOS is a registered trademark of MicroSoft Corporation.

Sounding Board is a trademark of GW Micro.

SynPhonix, Sonix, and Transport are trademarks of Artic
Technologies.

VoTalker is a trademark of Votrax, Inc.

WordPerfect is a registered trademark of WordPerfect Corporation.

                                  License

MicroTalk agrees to grant to you, upon receipt of the completed
registration form, a license to use the enclosed software with
the terms and restrictions set forth in this agreement.

The enclosed software and its documentation are copyrighted by
MicroTalk.  The software is protected from unauthorized
duplication by federal law.  You may not copy or reproduce this
material except as specifically set forth in this license
agreement.

1.   You may make copies of this software for your own use
provided you reproduce all copyright notices.

2.   You may not distribute copies to others.  You may, however,
transfer the original and all copies, along with this license, if
you provide MicroTalk with written notice and the transferee fills
out a registration form and agrees to be bound by the terms set
forth therein.

                                LIMITATIONS

This software is sold as is.  MicroTalk assumes no liability for
damages of any kind that may arise from the use of this software
and makes no claims about its fitness for any particular purpose.

The exclusion of implied warranties is not permitted by some
states.  The above exclusion may not apply to you.  This warranty
provides you with specific legal rights.  There may be other
rights that you have which vary from state to state.
                             Table of Contents

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
     Registration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
     The MicroTalk BBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
     Disk Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
     About This Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
     System Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

Installation: The ASAPINST Program and PORT.EXE. . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
     Install with Menus or Command Line. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
     What ASAPINST Needs to Know: Synthesizer and Port . . . . . . . . . .5
     Synthesizer and Port Keywords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
     Optional Additional Synthesizer Specific Drivers. . . . . . . . . . .7
     Use the Command "S" to Start the Speech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
     More About ASAPINST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

Getting Started. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
     General Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
     What is BIOS? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Silencing the Speech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
     Temporary Silence: Shift. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
     Normal Silence: Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
     Permanent Silence: Alt. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Refreshing Your View: Both Shift Keys. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Reviewing Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
     Line Review: 7, 8, and 9. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
     Word Review Commands: 4, 5, and 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
     Character Review Commands: 1, 2, and 3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

The Numeric Movement Commands. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
     Move to Top of Window: 0,5. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
     Move to Bottom of Window: 0,2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
     Move to Left Edge: 0,1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
     Move to Right Edge: 0,3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
     Announce Entire Screen or Window: 0,0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
     Announce from the Cursor Down: 0,.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
     Quick Read by Screens: 0, PgDn. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
     Quick Read by Screens for WordPerfect: 0, Right Arrow . . . . . . . 19
     Sentence Reading: 0 Down Arrow. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
     Type Word at Reading Cursor: 0,8. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
     Parking the Reading Cursor: 0,ENTER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
     One-Shot Control Panel Command: 0,[command] . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

The Repeat Filter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Other Audio Cues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Special Action Keys. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

The Control Panel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
     Using the Control Panel: Control-Backslash. . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
     Exit the Control Panel: Escape. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
     Changing Options in the Control Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Navigation Commands. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
     Moving Directly to a Line: A-Y. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
     Returning the Reading Cursor to the Real Cursor: Z. . . . . . . . . 25
     Routing the System Cursor: Ctrl-Z . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
     Moving to a Relative Line: Up Arrow and Down Arrow. . . . . . . . . 26
     Relative Line, Current Character: Alt-Arrows. . . . . . . . . . . . 27
     Previous and Next Paragraph: Ctrl-Up Arrow and Ctrl-Down 
          Arrow. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
     From the Cursor Right . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
     Word by Word: Ctrl-Arrows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
     Character by Character: Left Arrow and Right Arrow. . . . . . . . . 27
     The Rest of the Screen: Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
     Read Current Paragraph: Ctrl-Tap  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
     Say Reading Cursor Position: Apostrophe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
     Say Character's Attribute: Quote. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
     Say Phonetic: Period. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Altering Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
     Attribute Monitor: Alt-A. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
     Read By Screens: Alt-B. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
     Set Page: Alt-Dash and Alt-Equals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
     Color Announcement: Alt-C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
     DOS Output Announcement: Alt-D. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
     Extended ASCII Announcement: Alt-E. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
     Find Attribute or Text: Alt-F . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
     Ring Bell at Column: Alt-G. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
     Horizontal Cursor Position: Alt-H . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
     Indentation Notification: Alt-I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
     Jiffy Caps Identification: Alt-J. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
     Keystrokes Announced: Alt-K . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
     Keyboard Interception: Ctrl-I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
     Label Keys: Alt-L . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
     Most Punctuation Notification: Alt-M. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
     Numbers: Alt-N. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
     Noise with DOS Output: Alt-O. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
     Key Pad Ignore: Alt-P . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
     Quiet: Alt-Q. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
     Quit: Ctrl-Q. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
     Auto Read: Alt-R. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
     Snow Checking: Alt-S. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
     Time: Alt-T . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
     User Defined Keys: Alt-U. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
     Automated User Function: CTRL-6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
     Let User Defined Keys Pass Through: CTRL-Right Bracket. . . . . . . 44
     Viewing Method: Alt-V . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
     Announce Typing as Words: Alt-W . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
     Extended Activity Checking: Alt-X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
     Support Computers of Yesteryear: Alt-Y. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
     Zap a Command: Alt-Z. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Miscellaneous Settings and Commands. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
     Announce Version Information: Number Sign . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
     Normal BIOS Interception: Ctrl-B. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
     Delimit Word: Ctrl-D. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
     Emulation Cursor: Ctrl-E. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
     Filter Quoting: Ctrl-F. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
     Ham Radio Mode: Ctrl-H. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
     Temporary Keyboard Silence: Ctrl-K. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
     Noise Suppression: Ctrl-N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
     Changing the Path for Network Use: Ctrl-P . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

The Numeric Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
     Setting Pitch, Volume, Speed, and Special Function. . . . . . . . . 51
     Special Function: 1 to 9 F. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
     Pitch Adjustment: 1 to 9 P. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
     Speed Adjustment: 1 to 9 S. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
     Volume Adjustment: 1 to 9 V . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Windows. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
     Set Top Left of a Window: [window] T. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
     Set Bottom Right of a Window: [window] B. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
     Zooming in on a Window: [window] Z. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
     Closing a Window and Returning to a Full Screen View: 0 . . . . . . 54
     Announcing a Window's Contents: [window] A. . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
     Memorize: [window] M. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
     Recall: [memory bank] R . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
     Using a Software Cursor: [window] U . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
     Quiet Zone: [window] Q. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Monitoring Screen Activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
     Monitor Character and Read Line: 1 to 9 L . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
     Monitoring Characters and Announcing Windows: 1 to 9 C. . . . . . . 59
     Monitoring Entire Windows: 1 to 9 W . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
     Extended Monitoring: [window] E . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
     Extra Action: [setting] X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
          Triggering on Text: S settings.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
          Trigger on Text and Color: C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
          Trigger on Background or Foreground: B or F. . . . . . . . . . 62
          Monitor Action and Quiet Monitoring: M and Q . . . . . . . . . 62
          Disable and Enable Loading Extra Action Set Files: d and
               e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
          Turn Trigger Off: N. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
          When to Take Action: Appear or Disappear . . . . . . . . . . . 63
          What to Do: Set File or Key Command. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
          Example: the WordPerfect Set Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
     Loading Set Files: Ctrl-L . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

More about Set Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
     Switching from Color to Mono: Ctrl-T. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
     Column Header Announcement: 1 to 25 Ctrl-C or Ctrl-C. . . . . . . . 68
     Setting Delay: 1 to 9 Control-D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
     Space Proofing: 1 to 80 Ctrl-P. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
     Tabular Proofing: 1 to 80 Ctrl-O. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
     Setting Granularity: 1 to 9 G . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
     Dialing with a Modem: [com port] D. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
     Redial Last Number: 9D. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
     Printer Interception: [printer port] I. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Save Settings: CTRL-S. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Starting ASAP with a Different Speed, Pitch, or Volume . . . . . . . . . 73

The Lexicon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

Technical Support. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

The Brand Program. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

APPENDIX A: SYNTHESIZER SUPPORT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
     Using ASAP with DoubleTalk. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
     Using ASAP with Accent. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
     Using ASAP with Audapter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
     Using ASAP with Braille 'n Speak. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
     Using ASAP with DECtalk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
     Using ASAP with the DECtalk PC. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
     Using ASAP with the DEC-Talk Express. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
     Using ASAP with the Echo PC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
     Using ASAP with Other Echo Synthesizers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
     Using ASAP with LiteTalk and DoubleTalk LT. . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
     Using ASAP with PortTalk synthesizers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
     Using ASAP with the Sounding Board. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
     Using ASAP with SynPhonix and VoTalker. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
     Using ASAP with Other Synthesizers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
                               Introduction

Automatic Screen Access Program (ASAP), as its name suggests,
gives you speech access to applications programs automatically. 
While there are other programs that provide speech access to
applications software, ASAP lets the computer do the work for
you. That means you don't have to be a genius or even a very
patient person to start using thousands of programs with speech. 
ASAP lets you use the computer like your sighted peers; you just
start the program of interest without having to configure your
system for speech.  Of course, if you need to further tailor an
application's behavior with speech, ASAP lets you do that, too.

Once you start ASAP, it stays in the background constantly
watching the screen and notifying you about important changes
that happen.  You don't have to learn a bunch of screen access
commands; instead, you use the application's commands, and ASAP
observes the program's reactions to determine what you want to
hear.   There are also additional keys you can use to go back and
review the screen for text that you might need to hear again. 
These are accessed, for the most part, with the numeric keypad. 
In addition, ASAP has a "Control Panel" where you alter the way
it behaves.

The method you use for getting ASAP started depends on which
synthesizer you have.  The install program helps you supply this
information and creates a command, S, which you will use to start
speech.  Details about using the install program follow some
brief preliminary notes you should read.  

                               Registration

Before you get started, please take a minute to fill out the
registration card and drop it into the mail.  It is important to
register so MicroTalk can keep you informed about future editions
to this and other software.  If you like, you may simply print
the information on a separate sheet of paper and return it and
the card.  The information requested is your name and address,
your phone number, and suggestions about the manual and the
software.  Feel free, in fact, to contact MicroTalk at any time
with your ideas, suggestions, and criticisms.

                             The MicroTalk BBS

MicroTalk maintains an electronic bulletin board system (BBS)
that contains lots of ASAP related discussions, tips, and tricks. 
In addition, the BBS always contains the latest version of ASAP.

MicroTalk BBS is available 24 hours per day, 7 days a week.  The
phone number is 903-832-3722.

In order to access the BBS, you need a modem and telecommunications
software.  As a registered ASAP user, you may download new versions
of ASAP as often as you like for up to one year after the date of
purchase.  After that, MicroTalk may charge a small fee for future
upgrades.  MicroTalk encourages you to take advantage of this
liberal update policy; the program constantly improves.  

The file you need to get from the BBS is either ASAPDEMO.EXE or
ASAPDEMO.ZIP, depending on whether or not you already have the
PKUNZIP.EXE program.  If you don't have it, download ASAPDEMO.EXE.
(ASAPDEMO.EXE is a self-extracting archive; that means that to
extract the archive's components, you execute the program by typing
its name.)  If you already use PKUNZIP.EXE, you can save a little
time by downloading ASAPDEMO.ZIP.  In either case, when you extract
the components of the archive, you'll find a program called
ASAPINST.EXE and a data file called ASAP-NEW.DAT.  Details on their
usage follow shortly.

                               Disk Contents

The following files are supplied on your ASAP master disk:

ASAPINST.EXE is a program that helps automate the installation of ASAP. 
It uses one of two files, ASAP-NEW.DAT or ASAP-UP.DAT, to either
install or update your ASAP software.  Complete details about its
use are described shortly.

PORT.EXE helps you identify the port where your synthesizer is
connected.
ASAP-NEW.DAT is a compressed file containing the individual parts of the
ASAP system.  It contains the program, documentation, and
associated files in a compressed format to permit easier
distribution.  The ASAPINST program uses this file to install ASAP.

BRAND.COM is a program that lets you brand your personal serial number
into new versions of ASAP that you may download from the MicroTalk
BBS or when you receive an update on disk in the mail.  The
ASAPINST program copies this file to your ASAP directory and
automatically uses it when you install or update ASAP.  See the
section of this manual titled "The Brand Program" for more details. 

Among the files contained in ASAP-NEW.DAT or ASAP-UP.DAT, ASAPINST
extracts the following files of note and copies them to your hard
disk.

ASAP.COM is the speech access software.  It is the program you'll use to
give your other applications speech capabilities.  The ASAPINST
program creates a batch file called "S.BAT" which starts up ASAP
with the correct command line parameters for your speech
synthesizer and port as you instruct in the installation procedure.

ASAP.SET contains your preferred settings.  There are other set files
that contain settings for individual applications.

ASAP.LEX is a text file containing ASAP's lexicon.  This file is used to
add your personalized pronunciations to words the speech might not
say correctly.

GENERIC.TBL is a table of synthesizer codes provided for those who use
synthesizers that ASAP doesn't internally support.  Read about it
in the "Using Other Synthesizers" section of this manual.

ASAP.TXT is a normal text file containing the manual to ASAP.  The
ASAPINST program provides a means of reading it, but you may also
use any other file reading program or word processor that permits
importing ASCII files. 

READ.ME contains important last minute information that didn't make it
into the printed or recorded documentation.

                             About This Manual

ASAP's documentation comes in three formats, printed, on cassette
tape, and as a file on disk.  The printed manual provides sighted
users quick access to the features and functions.  The disk based
manual is in a file called ASAP.TXT.  This is the absolute latest
version of the manual and should be consulted when you get
updates to ASAP.  Finally, the manual comes in recorded format. 
The tape is recorded in the Library of Congress format, so you'll
have to have a machine capable of playing 4 tracks to use it. 
Contact your library about such a machine if you don't have one.

This manual is designed with several goals in mind.  First, it,
combined with the power and flexibility of ASAP, should get you
using the program in just a few minutes.  The manual starts with
the basics and graduates to a reference section arranged to make
learning the finer points simple.  The table of contents includes
the actual command keystrokes with, of course, the page number
where you get complete details on the particular function.  (Let
the table of contents serve as a handy command summary and road
map pointing to a full discussion of the subject.)Secondly, the
manual is designed as a tutor and reference.  The reference
section gives you helpful tips about the use of each feature
discussed.  You should give the manual a thorough reading at
least once.  (You wouldn't want to miss out on something that
makes your life easier.)  After that, keep the manual handy for
those times when you forget the particulars of a seldom used
feature or you have a new situation at hand.  It wouldn't hurt to
read the manual again in a few months once you've mastered the
program to pick up on some of the finer points that may have
eluded you the first time around.

While the contents of this manual was as complete as possible when
it was published, there may be information about the program that
has changed recently enough that it could not be included in this
text.  This is especially true in the case of the recorded
documentation.  For such information, use the ASAPINST program and
select "Information About New Features" from the menu.  Complete
details about ASAPINST's use follow shortly.

                            System Requirements

Automatic Screen Access Program requires an IBM, IBM XT, IBM AT,
IBM PS/1 or IBM PS/2 or any computer compatible with one of
these.  You need a version of PC-DOS or MS-DOS of at least 3.1. 
ASAP is written in assembly language, so its memory requirements
are minimal.  Keep in mind, though, that the lexicon is part of
ASAP, so if you make a huge lexicon, the memory requirements
increase.  If you have version 5.0 or later of MS-DOS, you can
easily load ASAP into high memory by prefixing the ASAP command
with the LH command.  Check your DOS manual for complete details
about the LH command.

              Installation: The ASAPINST Program and PORT.EXE

ASAP uses programs to help automate the installation process. 
the programs are named ASAPINST for "ASAP Install" and PORT.EXE.

The ASAPINST program serves several purposes.  First, it copies
the ASAP software and documentation from the distribution disk to
your hard disk.  Once the ASAP files are copied to the hard disk,
ASAPINST lets you select your synthesizer and the means of
connecting that synthesizer to your computer.  ASAPINST then
creates a new command named "S" that you will use to get the
speech started once the installation is complete.

PORT.EXE is a program designed for the first-time speech user to
help with installation without already having speech.  PORT.EXE
helps you identify how your synthesizer is connected to your
computer.  It checks your serial and parallel ports looking for a
speech synthesizer.  When it finds the port to which your
synthesizer is connected, you'll hear a message telling you to
press Escape to select your synthesizer.  When you press Escape,
PORT.EXE lets you pick your synthesizer from a menu with the
arrow keys, much like ASAPINST does.  When you get your
synthesizer selected, PORT.EXE lets you start ASAPINST, passing
it the information just gathered.  This is probably the best
method to use if you aren't sure where your synthesizer is
connected or if you don't already have some kind of access to the
screen.  Note that you should turn off all modems and printers
connected to your computer before starting PORT.EXE.

Besides its duties as an aid in installation, ASAPINST lets you
view the documentation and information about new program
features.  It also automates the process of updating to a newer
version of ASAP. Details about those uses appear later, though,
after the discussion on ASAPINST's role in getting your software
installed.  

Install with Menus or Command Line

You can use ASAPINST in one of two ways; either with menus or
directly from the command line.  The method you use depends on your
situation.  If you are totally blind, and this is your first
computer and speech system, or if you don't currently have speech,
you should use the command line method.  That way, you can specify
all the important information about your system by typing it in
without trying to select items from a menu with no speech.  (The
keywords used to specify this information are listed below.)  If
your synthesizer is one connected to one of your computer's serial
or parallel ports, you might also consider using the PORT program,
supplied with ASAP, to help you identify the correct information
for ASAPINST.  The only disadvantage of the PORT program is that it
can't identify some internal synthesizers, especially those that
require software in order to use them.

If you are upgrading to ASAP from another speech system, or if you
have sighted assistance around, you may select to use the menu
method of accessing the program.  (The menu method is easier,
because you don't have to type the synthesizer and port keywords as
discussed below; instead, you select your synthesizer and port
specifications from a menu.  If you don't have the speech installed
yet, though, it is easier to type the important information about
your system right from the DOS command line.)Whichever method you
choose, the first step is putting the disk containing the ASAP
software into one of your drives.

What ASAPINST Needs to Know: Synthesizer and Port

ASAPINST needs to know two things to properly install the software. 
It needs to know what kind of synthesizer you have, and, depending
on the specific synthesizer, it might need to know how that
synthesizer is connected to your computer.  While the name of the
synthesizer is usually easy to identify, you may have trouble
deciding how it is connected to your computer.  In the case of most
internal synthesizers, you won't need to provide this information. 
For those synthesizers that connect to one of your computer's
communications or printer ports, though, you will have to tell
ASAPINST which port the synthesizer is connected to. Your
communications ports are called COM1, COM2, etc., depending on how
many your computer contains.  Likewise, your printer ports are
named LPT1, LPT2, etc., depending on how many your computer
actually has installed.  The way you tell ASAPINST this information
depends on how you choose to use the install program.  If you use
ASAPINST with menus, you select the synthesizer and port from a
list with your Arrow keys.  If you use the command line method of
installing, you type the synthesizer and port keywords on the
command line as explained shortly.

To start the install program with menus, type A:ASAPINST or
B:ASAPINST depending on where the install disk is located.  Once
the main menu appears, select "Full Install," then use the Arrow
keys to move to your synthesizer's name on the synthesizer
selection menu.  If the synthesizer you chose requires a port
specification, select the port from the menu that appears after
choosing your synthesizer.

To use the install program from the command line, you type the
program's name, just as with the menu method, but you include other
information the program needs to know. That information is the name
of the synthesizer you're using, as outlined in the table below,
and the port where that synthesizer is connected to your computer. 
You separate the individual parts of the command with spaces. 
Notice the spaces that separate the keywords in the sample command
line below that shows how to use the install program to set up ASAP
for the Accent synthesizer connected to com1:

A:ASAPINST ACCENT COM1

There are three parts to this command.  The first is the name of
the program, ASAPINST.  (You may prefix ASAPINST with A: or B: to
indicate where the program is located.)  The next element of the
command line information, ACCENT, is the name of the synthesizer. 
Finally, the third keyword (specifying the port) is COM1. Each of
those elements is separated with a space.  In other words, you
would type "A:ASAPINST", a space, the name of the synthesizer,
another space, and the port to use for communication to that
synthesizer.  When you have the command line typed, press Enter to
start ASAPINST. 

Synthesizer and Port Keywords

The following is a list of synthesizer keywords used by ASAPINST
when specifying information from the command line.  It is important
to spell the name of the synthesizer correctly; if you don't spell
it correctly, ASAPINST will not know which synthesizer you use.  In
an effort to help with this task, the narrator of the cassette
edition of the manual spells the names of the synthesizers.  In
addition to the name of the synthesizer as the ASAPINST command
requires, the table below shows the possible ports each synthesizer
uses; you'll use one of those ports as the third part of the
command line installation method.  Notice that some synthesizers
don't require a port specification; in those cases, the fact is
noted with the note: "uses no port" and you don't have to put
anything in the third part of the command.

Accent         for the external Accent uses COM1, COM2, COM3, or COM4.
AccentPC       for the internal Accent synthesizer uses no port.
PB             for the APH PocketBraille uses COM1, COM2, COM3, COM4,
LPT1, LPT2, or LPT3.
Audapter       for the Audapter synthesizer uses COM1, COM2, COM3, or
COM4.
BNS            for the Braille 'n Speak uses COM1, COM2, COM3, or COM4.
DECTalk        for the external DEC-Talk uses COM1, COM2, COM3, or COM4.
DECInt         for the internal DEC-Talk that still uses a serial port
uses COM1, COM2, COM3, or COM4.
DTPC           for the new DEC-Talk PC internal synthesizer uses no
port.
DTEXP     for the DEC-Talk Express uses no port.
EDGE for the Reading Edge uses com1, com2, or com3.
DoubleTalk     for the DoubleTalk uses no port.
DoubleTalkLt   for the DoubleTalk LT uses COM1, COM2, COM3, or COM4.
Echo           for the external Echo uses COM1, COM2, COM3, or COM4.
Talk           for the internal Echo synthesizer uses no port.
Micro          for the Micro Echo uses COM1 or COM2.
KPR            for the Kurzweil Personal Reader uses COM1, COM2, COM3,
or COM4.
LT             for the LiteTalk uses COM1, COM2, COM3, COM4, LPT1, LPT2,
or LPT3.
MV             for the Multi-Voice uses COM1, COM2, COM3, or COM4.
PortTalk       for synthesizers using the PortTalk program or interface
uses COM1, COM2, COM3, or COM4.
SB             for the Sounding Board synthesizer uses no port.
Sonix210       for the Symphonix 210 uses no port.
Sonix215       for the Symphonix 215 uses no port.
TransPort      for the Transport synthesizer uses COM1, COM2, COM3, or
COM4.
VoTalker       for the Votalker synthesizer uses no port.
Other          for other synthesizers not listed here uses COM1, COM2,
COM3, COM4, LPT1, LPT2, or LPT3 depending on the specific
synthesizer.

When you type those three pieces of information and press Enter,
the install program copies the files from the ASAP disk to your
hard disk in a directory called ASAP.  If this directory doesn't
exist, ASAPINST creates it.  If you want to use a different
directory, use the menu method of installation; one of the
selections on the main menu lets you change the destination drive
and directory.

Optional Additional Synthesizer Specific Drivers

Whichever method you use (command line or menu) to install, once
you provide the synthesizer and port information, if needed,
ASAPINST begins with the installation.  If your synthesizer doesn't
require any additional software, the install program copies the
necessary files and creates the S.BAT file.  It then shows you some
information specific to your synthesizer, and, finally, returns
either to the main menu (if you used the menu method of installing)
or to DOS where you are ready to type "S" to start the speech.

If your synthesizer does require additional files, the install
program checks your autoexec.bat and config.sys files to see if you
previously installed the necessary software for your specific
synthesizer.  If ASAPINST sees these files are already installed,
the program shows you information about your synthesizer, then
returns to the main menu or to the DOS command line where you are
ready to type "S" to start the speech.

If there are additional files to use for your synthesizer, and
those files aren't already installed, the install program
asks you to insert the disk containing those files.  This disk will
have come with your synthesizer if it is required.  ASAPINST asks
you to type the drive letter of the drive that contains your newly
inserted synthesizer disk.  Once you insert the disk, type the
drive letter (or just press Enter if you put the disk in the same
drive as the ASAP distribution disk was in.).  Once ASAPINST copies
the files from your synthesizer disk, it asks you to return the
ASAP distribution disk to the drive and completes the installation
where you will either return to the main menu or, if using the
command line method, return to DOS where you can type "S" to start
the speech.

If the synthesizer specific files should be added to your
autoexec.bat or config.sys files, and you are using the menu mode,
the install program prompts you before making these changes.  If
installing via the command line, on the other hand, ASAPINST
assumes you want whatever it takes to properly install, so it
automatically adds the appropriate information to AUTOEXEC.BAT or
CONFIG.SYS if required.  If you are the kind that likes to make
changes to your CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files by hand, tell
ASAPINST you don't want it to update your autoexec.bat and
config.sys files.  If you do let ASAPINST update your autoexec.bat
and config.sys files, it first copies the old config.sys to
config.bak and your original autoexec.bat to autoexec.bak in your
ASAP directory, so if you accidentally install the wrong software,
you can restore the original autoexec.bat and config.sys files.

Use the Command "S" to Start the Speech

If you installed ASAP with the command line method, get the speech
going by typing "S" then pressing Enter.  If you used the menu
method, press Escape at the main menu to exit ASAPINST, then type
"S" and press Enter to start the speech.  If you don't get speech,
check these things:

Make sure you know what port your synthesizer is connected to.  If you
aren't sure, reboot your computer and try ASAPINST again with a
different port specification.

Spell the name of the first command line argument (the synthesizer name)
exactly as outlined in the List of Synthesizer and Port Keywords
table.  It is important that ASAPINST knows which synthesizer you
are using.

Use ASAPINST's "Read Synthesizer Information" option to determine if
there are DIP switches or special procedures required to get your
synthesizer going.

If the above steps fail, call MicroTalk technical support.

More About ASAPINST

Once you have the speech installed and running, you might want to
start ASAPINST in menu mode to follow along with the rest of the
discussion and discover some of the other things it does.

Having already explored the "Full Install" selection from
ASAPINST's main menu, take a look next at the "View Manual" menu
item.  Get to it by pressing Down Arrow until it is highlighted,
then press Enter to select it.  The ASAP manual appears.  Use the
Page Down key to move through the manual a screen at a time, or
press the Space Bar to search for a specific topic.  When you are
through reading the manual, press Escape to return to ASAPINST's
main menu.

The "Information About New Features" selection on the main menu
works much like the "View Manual" option, except that instead of
reading the manual, this selection displays information about new
features in ASAP that may have been added since the printed or
recorded manual's publication.  You may want to look through this
file and note additions since the date on your documentation.  

If you are updating your ASAP, you'll select "Update" from the main
menu of the ASAPINST program.  When you pick "Update," the install
program copies only those files on the distribution disk that are
required to update your System. It does not change your S.BAT file. 
The "Update" selection also pads out any set files with default
values if the newer version of ASAP requires set files larger than
with earlier versions.  ASAPINST does not change the way your
current set files work, it brings set files up to date with the
current version of the program. The install program also copies the
latest versions of any text files associated with the ASAP program. 
Such text files might include newer versions of the documentation
or notes concerning the newest version of ASAP.  If you are a
registered ASAP user, the "Update" selection performs one other
important function.  It uses the brand program that came with your
ASAP License to transform the update from a demonstration to a
registered version.

In addition to selecting "Update" from the main menu, you may tell
ASAPINST to update your ASAP from the command line.  To do that use
the "/u" option after typing ASAPINST like this:

ASAPINST /U

The "Destination Drive and Directory" selection on the main menu
lets you change the place where ASAP gets installed.  Normally, you
will install ASAP on the C: drive in a directory called ASAP, but
if you don't want the software stored there, choose this option to
provide a different drive and directory.

The "Change Startup Files" selection on the main menu lets you
change the way ASAP starts.  This is most often used when you
change synthesizers.  If selected, this option lets you pick a new
synthesizer and port, then changes your S.BAT file to reflect the
new information.  If you select a synthesizer that requires extra
files that come with the synthesizer, the "Change Startup Files"
selection also copies any drivers associated with the new
synthesizer and adds the information to your AUTOEXEC.BAT or
CONFIG.SYS files if appropriate.  

The "Read Information about your Synthesizer" selection lets you
view information specific to your synthesizer.  You might use this
selection to make sure your synthesizer's DIP switches are set
correctly, or to review information about setting options on your
synthesizer.

When you are finished using ASAPINST, select "Exit" from the main
menu.  You may also press Escape to exit the program.

                              Getting Started

Naturally, you're anxious to get started with ASAP, so do it.  If
you followed the installation procedure, you now have a command
called "s" which starts the speech.  Type "s" and press Enter.

ASAP announces your name or the program's serial number followed
with the message, "ASAP Installed."

After that, ASAP announces, in a low pitched voice, the state of
any modifier keys that are locked.  On AT machines, for instance,
you'll hear, "Num Locked" to indicate that key's light is on. 
The different pitch lets you know the words "Num Locked" aren't
really on the screen but are, instead, status information.

Notice that the ASAP information takes up only one line on your
screen, so if there is important information already on the
screen when you start ASAP, it will still be there once the
speech is running. 

You are now ready to take advantage of the power provided by ASAP
in your applications.

                             General Operation

Once you start ASAP, you're ready to use other applications. 
ASAP makes those programs talk as if they were written with the
speech user in mind.  The text displayed on the screen is spoken
as it goes to the screen.

In addition to letting you know about text displayed on the
screen, ASAP  also announces your keystrokes. When ASAP announces
your keystrokes, you'll notice the pitch of the pronunciation of
a letter is raised if that letter is a capital letter.  This
pitch elevation is also active while editing on a character-by-
character basis (when you use the arrow or delete keys). Of
course, if you like you may modify this behavior so the keys you
type are spoken as words instead of characters or not spoken at
all.  These are functions of the "Control Panel."

The Control Panel is where you control ASAP.  It lets you adjust
the speed, volume, and pitch of your synthesizer as well as a
variety of preference options related to how the program behaves. 
You may also use the Control Panel to review text already
displayed on the screen, but you'll usually review the screen
interactively with the keys on the numeric keypad.  By using the
numeric keypad, you avoid going into a special mode just to
examine the screen.

For the most part, that's all there is to it.  ASAP is designed
to automatically work with your applications, and it does.  From
now on, just use the applications without concerns about the
speech environment.

The remainder of the manual gives you options for customizing the
speech and its behavior to your tastes and discusses handling
special situations.

                               What is BIOS?

As you use ASAP, you'll want to become familiar with some of the
ways other programs use to put characters on the screen.  In
general, there are three methods for getting text on the screen. 
The first is through graphics.  Some programs draw text
characters in a graphics environment.  ASAP (or any other screen
access package) can't work with this kind of program.  Another
method for getting text to the screen is to use DOS or the BIOS
(Basic Input Output System) which are both available to all
programs running on the PC under MS-DOS.  Examples of such
programs can be seen with all of the DOS commands and many
utility programs.  ASAP announces the text that is routed through
the BIOS, but it isn't necessary for a program to use BIOS for
ASAP to work.  In general, in fact, most programs work better
when they don't use BIOS.

The third method for putting text on the screen is for the program
to put it directly on the screen itself without going through DOS
or BIOS.  The advantage of using this method rests mainly on speed. 
A program with specific requirements can put the text on the screen
much more quickly than can the more generalized DOS or BIOS
routines.  Full-fledged productivity applications usually put the
text directly on the screen.  Most word processors and editors, for
instance, use their own screen updating routines because many of
them re-write the entire screen with every key you type.  This
process would prove far too slow if the software depended on DOS or
BIOS for this.

ASAP works just fine whichever method is used to get text on the
screen, but the behavior and characteristics of the program differ
depending on the method a specific program uses.  You will, in
fact, notice that when you start an editor, ASAP won't read you the
entire screen.  (This would quickly become annoying.)  Instead,
when a program uses its own means to update the screen, ASAP uses
the cursor position and screen attributes (differing colors) to
decide what parts of the screen should be spoken.  Of course, if
you prefer, you can control ASAP so that it does announce any
differences on the screen without regard to cursor position and
screen attributes.  That is, in fact, one of the more common ways
to get an application talking more than it already does.  Again,
that adjustment is a function of the Control Panel.

When you use an application like a telecommunications program,
you'll want to configure that program to send its screen text out
standard channels if possible.  That's because you'll usually want
to hear all the text that gets displayed on the screen as it's put
there.  If a telecommunications program won't let you configure to
use BIOS for screen updating, use ASAP's monitoring capabilities to
let you know about all screen changes.  See the "Monitor Window"
section of this manual for more details.

                           Silencing the Speech

As great as it is to have automatic speech access to thousands of
programs, its just as important to have techniques for silencing
the speech.  ASAP supports three different ways to silence
speech.  The method you use depends on your needs at a particular
time.  If, for example, there is a lot of DOS output in progress,
you'll most likely want to completely turn off the speech with
the ALT key.  If you want to silence the speech and make it catch
up with real time operation, use the Control key.  Finally, and
uniquely ASAP's, you may temporarily silence speech with a press
of one of the Shift keys.  Read more about each of these methods
in the following paragraphs.

                         Temporary Silence: Shift

ASAP gives you the unique ability to silence speech temporarily. 
Temporary silence, as mentioned earlier, however, is very
difficult to implement without cooperation from the speech
synthesizer.  Once other manufacturers realize the power of this
feature, they'll surely add that capability to their systems,
too.  When they do, ASAP will add support for it for that
synthesizer.  In the meantime, this feature works flawlessly only
with DoubleTalk, LiteTalk, and DoubleTalk LT.  It also works well
with Synphonix and Vo-Talker.  It works with varying degrees of
success with other synthesizers, and MicroTalk will do everything
in its power to work with any manufacturer that wants to add
these capabilities.  Check "Appendix A" for more details about
your specific synthesizer and its ability to use Temporary
Silence.

The temporary method of silencing speech is most useful in
situations where you're working with familiar material or text
that is repetitive in nature.  The DOS DIR command provides a
good example of such a time.

Usually, when you use the "dir" command from DOS, your main
interest is with the names of the files on a disk or directory,
not the extra information concerning the number of characters and
date. Sighted computer users can simply ignore the parts of the
display they aren't interested in.  Now, you can, too.  As you
hear the name of a file, press the Shift key.  The remainder of
the line is silenced and you immediately hear the next file name.

In addition to silencing the DOS "dir" command, the Temporary
Silence command is useful for repetitive kinds of information. 
Think for instance of those bulletin boards you call with a
message header at the beginning of each message or of that
favorite utility that shows four or five lines of the same old
information every time you use it.  With the Temporary Silence
command, you can skip over the repetitive material unless you
really want to hear it.

One other word about Temporary Silence deserves mention.  The
command is extremely useful after using a Page Up or Page Down
command to skip past lines of little or no interest.  You may
also use Temporary Silence with the Auto Read command discussed
later in this manual.

On some synthesizers, the Temporary Silence command may act much
like pressing the Control key--that is, it silences the speech
and immediately brings it back if there is more to speak.  It can
be useful, even in the worst cases, with the Auto Read and Read
by Screens commands to make the command continue even after a
silence.  Those commands, as you'll see when you read about them,
are terminated with any key except the Shift.

                          Normal Silence: Control

The Control key silences speech and lets it come back as more
text is sent through your computer's BIOS. This form of the
silence command is useful when you hear a lot of information not
of particular interest, and you want to skip it.

Keep in mind that speech tends to slow down the normal activities
happening on the screen.  Use the Control key to stop the speech
and immediately pick back up with the current information on the
screen.

                          Permanent Silence: Alt

The Alt key silences speech and keeps it off until you press
another key.  This form of the silence command is useful for
commands, especially those that come through standard output that
you aren't interested in.  Press the Alt key, and the speech
stops.  Speech returns with the press of any other key.  It is
useful to use the Control key to re-engage speech, because the
program you're using won't take any action with a key like
Control or Shift.

Another notable feature about silencing speech through BIOS with
the Alt key deserves mention.  When you use Alt to silence text
routed through your computer's BIOS, ASAP makes a beep on your
computer's speaker when the program is ready for more input from
you.  One of the most common places to use this feature is in a
program or command that displays a lot of text that you don't
particularly want to read.  Many users find that it is even
useful to get the directory listing, press the Alt key, then,
when the speaker beeps, use the numeric keypad keys to look back
up at the last few lines of the directory.

There is another special feature associated with pressing Alt. 
In addition to making a bonking sound when the computer is ready
for more input from you, you can instruct ASAP to read you the
last non-blank line above the cursor. To make ASAP announce the
last non-blank line above the cursor, press Alt twice.  The
second time you press Alt, you'll hear a clicking sound with each
character that gets sent to the screen, so you'll know there is
still something going on.  Again, when all the characters get to
the screen and the computer is ready for more input, ASAP bonks
then reads you the last non-blank line above the cursor.  If you
don't want the clicking, simply press Alt yet another time; that
shuts off the clicking.  Press it again to turn the clicking back
on.

If you're using a program that doesn't send its output through
the BIOS, pressing Alt more than once has no effect, so don't
worry about doing it.

                   Refreshing Your View: Both Shift Keys

ASAP provides you a way to repeat the relevant or emphasized text
on the screen.  You refresh your view of the material displayed
on the screen by pressing both Shift keys simultaneously.  When
you do, you'll hear the text that is, in some way, distinguished
from other text on the screen.

If you have another program that uses the double Shift command
for its own purposes, ASAP passes the keys on to that
application, so there is no conflict with the program running in
the foreground.

                              Reviewing Text

While you'll usually use the application program's cursor to edit
or examine text you're working with, there are times you'll want
to use ASAP's ability to look around on the screen.  You tell
ASAP what parts of the screen you want to look at with the keys
on the numeric keypad.

Note: Don't worry if your computer doesn't have a numeric keypad;
many, especially notebook computers, use a key called FN to turn
other parts of the keyboard into the numeric keypad.  Even if you
don't have that ability, you can perform all these commands
through the Control Panel, which you'll learn more about shortly.

Using ASAP's ability to examine the screen without disturbing the
program you're running means you can look at any part of the
screen and take as much time as you like to familiarize or
clarify passages you might not have understood.  You'd also want
to use ASAP's reading commands instead of the applications cursor
commands to examine parts of the screen the application won't let
its cursor get in.  You might, for instance, want to examine the
status line of a program, and,  of course, the program doesn't
permit its own cursor in that area. The following table shows the
commands to use to review specific parts of the screen.

The commands are arranged in a logical fashion to help you easily
remember them.

Line Review: 7, 8, and 9

The top row of keys on the numeric keypad, the 7, 8, and 9, are
line oriented commands.  They read the previous, current, and
next lines, respectively.

                     Word Review Commands: 4, 5, and 6

The next row of keys on the numeric keypad, the 4, 5, and 6, are
word oriented commands.   They read the previous, current, and
next words on a line.  Pressing these commands multiple times
gives you additional information.  Pressing the Current Word
command ("5" on the numeric keypad) twice makes ASAP read on the
first press, then spell the word with the second press.  Pressing
the Current Word command yet again makes ASAP spell the word
phonetically.  Yet another press of the Current Word command goes
back to announcing the word, and the cycle repeats with spelling
the word, then spelling it phonetically..  

The previous and next word commands also perform a special
function when pressed twice.  If you're already at the end of a
line and you press the next word key, ASAP announces "right" in a
low pitched voice.  But, if you press the next word command
again, ASAP skips down to the next word on the next line.  In
fact, if the next line, and even the line after that, is blank,
ASAP skips down to the next word on the screen, no matter how
many lines down it is.  You'll hear a tone in your computer's
speaker for each line that ASAP skips to get to the next word. 
This works in a similar fashion for the previous word command
except, of course, the movement is toward the top of the screen.

                  Character Review Commands: 1, 2, and 3

The third row of numbers, the 1, 2, and 3, gives you the
previous, current, and next letters on the current line. 
Additionally, pressing 2 twice, among other things, makes ASAP
give you a phonetic pronunciation of the character.  This is
useful if you can't distinguish two letters with similar sounds. 
The system ASAP uses for phonetic pronunciation is the military
standard.  The other information announced when you press 2 twice
includes the attributes of the current character, the cursor
position, and the status of any of the locking keys. If your
cursor is on line C (the third line on the screen) and the
character under the cursor is the letter "D", ASAP might say
something like the following:

Delta, white on blue, c 1, num lock

This tells you that the character under the cursor is the letter
"D", the character is white on a blue background, the cursor is
on the third line in the first column, and that the Num Lock
light is on.  Note that if you're only interested in the reading
cursor's position on the screen without listening to the rest of
the information, there is a Control Panel command to accomplish
this.  See "Say Reading Cursor Position" later in this manual for
more details.."

The numeric keypad method of examining the screen for text that is
already displayed is different from the methods discussed in the
"Control Panel" section of this manual in the following ways:

First, the position established for reading with the numeric keypad
may be independent from the computer's cursor position.  This means
you can park the keypad's reading position on part of the screen
and leave it there while performing other editing functions.  See
"Parking the Reading Cursor" later in this section for more
information.

A second difference between using the keypad and the Control Panel
for reviewing text is the fact that the keypad's ability to examine
the screen doesn't tie up the program you are using.  In other
words, while the program is running, you may use the keypad to
examine the screen without stopping what the program is doing.  The
Control Panel, on the other hand, stops the program running in the
foreground while you are using the Control Panel.  The Control
Panel function completely takes over the keyboard--any command you
use is interpreted by ASAP, and you must "exit" the Control Panel
to return the keyboard to the application in use.  Contrast this
with the use of the number pad: If you want to hear the current
line, you just press "8".  To hear the previous line, you press
"7".  To go back and perform any function in the application you're
using, you just give the program the normal command for that
function.  To achieve the same actions using the Control Panel, you
press Control-Backslash.  This means hold down the Control key. 
Then, with the Control key still depressed, press, then release the
Backslash key.  Finally, after you release the Backslash, release
the Control key.  Pressing Control-Backslash makes ASAP go into the
Control Panel.  When you enter the Control Panel, ASAP announces
the current line.  To hear the previous line, you press Up Arrow. 
To return to the application, you must press Escape to exit the
Control Panel.  Then you can use the application's normal commands. 
You can get complete details about using the Control Panel later in
this manual.

Note: If you use the 84-key keyboard (with no separate arrow keys),
you'll need to turn on Num Lock before using the numeric keypad to
examine the screen.  You may also use the Shift key to access any
function associated with a key that would normally require toggling
the Num Lock key.  Pressing 8, for example, makes ASAP read the
current line if Num Lock is on.  You may press Shift-8 to use 8 as
an up arrow key for the application in use.

                       The Numeric Movement Commands

The 0 on the numeric keypad performs a special function.  When
you press it, ASAP waits for another key to perform one of the
functions discussed in this section of the manual.  These
commands move the reading cursor to the extremes.

                        Move to Top of Window: 0,5

Pressing 0 followed with 5 on the keypad moves the reading cursor
to the top line of the current window.  If no window is defined,
the cursor moves to the first line on the screen.  The line is
announced.

                       Move to Bottom of Window: 0,2

Pressing 0 followed with 2 moves the reading cursor to the bottom
of the current window and announces the text on that line.  If no
window is defined, the cursor moves to the last line on the
screen.

                          Move to Left Edge: 0,1

Pressing 0 followed by 1 moves the reading cursor as far left as
it can go in the current window.  If no window is defined, the
cursor moves to the left edge of the screen.  The character under
the cursor is announced.

                          Move to Right Edge: 0,3

Pressing 0 followed with 3 moves the reading cursor as far right
as it can go in the current window.  If no window is defined, the
cursor moves to the right edge of the screen.  The character is
then announced.

                   Announce Entire Screen or Window: 0,0

Pressing 0 twice reads the entire screen or currently active
window without moving the reading cursor.  While ASAP reads the
text, you may use the temporary silence key (Shift) to skip past
lines you don't want to hear.

                    Announce from the Cursor Down: 0,.

Pressing 0 followed with "." announces the contents of the
currently active window from the reading cursor position to the
end of the window or screen.  If the entire screen is the active
window, the entire screen from the cursor down is announced.  The
reading cursor position is not affected by this command.

                      Quick Read by Screens: 0, PgDn

With the rapidly increasing availability of reading material on
disk, you'll find yourself reading more and more with your
computer and its voice.  As you'll see in the "Read by Screens"
section of this manual, ASAP lets you read large amounts of text
without further interaction from you.  In other words, you can
instruct ASAP to read you the screen, once the screen is read,
ASAP tells the program you're using to move to the next screen. 
ASAP then repeats reading the screen and moving to the next screen
until you press the Alt key.  This method of reading provides a
very natural rendition of the text, because ASAP sends the text to
your synthesizer in larger blocks than normal.  (If you use the
Auto Read command, ASAP sends text to your synthesizer only a line
at a time; if your synthesizer supports it, ASAP then waits for the
synthesizer to finish speaking before it goes to the next line. 
Naturally, this makes the speech sound more choppy, but it is
appropriate to use for editing or determining screen layout.)  When
you want to read a book or instruction manual, you'll usually want
to use one of the forms of the Read by Screens command.  You'll
also usually want to make sure punctuation is turned off.

While the Read by Screens command is a little more flexible than
the Quick Read by Screens command, the quick version is much
handier to use.  The limitation is that you can use the quick
version of the command only if the program you're employing to read
files uses the Page Down key to move to the next screen of text. 
This is true most of the time, and if it is, there is no limitation
to the quick version.  If PgDn does something besides move to the
next screen in your program, you'll have to use the normal Read by
Screens command.  Note that WordPerfect is an example of a program
that doesn't use Page Down to move to the next screen; instead Page
Down makes WordPerfect move to the next page of the document you're
editing.  See "Quick Read by Screens for WordPerfect" for more
information about reading large amounts of text with WordPerfect
and ASAP.  Most editing and file reading programs, though, do use
Page Down to move to the next screen of text you're working with. 
Such programs include the List utility, Qedit editor, and Auto Read
file reading program.

           Quick Read by Screens for WordPerfect: 0, Right Arrow

Most programs use the PgDn key to move by screens.  WordPerfect,
however, uses PgDn to move to the next printed page which usually
isn't the next screen.  To accommodate WordPerfect users, ASAP
uses keypad 0 followed with the right arrow key to make
WordPerfect read by screens.

In addition to using the Read by Screens command, you can use the
Auto Read command to read continuously line by line.  The
advantage of Read by Screens is that you get a more natural
rendition of the text.  Using Auto Read, on the other hand, lets
your speech stay close to the program's cursor.  Get complete
details about Read by Screens and Auto Read in those sections of
the manual.  Also, take a look at the file WP.TXT on your ASAP
disk or in the \ASAP directory on your hard disk.  That file
gives you some extra tips and tricks for using WordPerfect with
speech.

                      Sentence Reading: 0 Down Arrow

Pressing keypad 0 followed with Down Arrow puts ASAP into
Sentence Reading mode.  When in Sentence Reading mode, ASAP
treats your Up Arrow and Down Arrow keys differently.  While in
Sentence Reading mode, the Up and Down Arrows move your
application's cursor to the previous or next sentence in the
document, then ASAP reads that sentence to you.  ASAP leaves the
cursor on the character that ends the sentence.  This is usually
a period, but it can be a question mark or exclamation point as
well.

You get out of Sentence Reading mode by pressing any key other
than Up Arrow or Down Arrow.  Pressing Left Arrow or Right Arrow,
for example, is a good way to leave Sentence Reading mode.  ASAP
exits Sentence Reading mode so easily because you won't want to
use Sentence Reading mode while in a menu or some other place in
your application that doesn't support moving the Arrow keys. 
Don't worry if you do accidentally use Sentence Reading mode in
an inappropriate place; you'll just hear a clicking sound as ASAP
tries to get the cursor to go someplace where the application
won't let it go.  Similarly, if you are at the beginning of a
document and try to move to the previous sentence, you'll hear
your computer's speaker clicking as ASAP tries to get the
application to move its cursor to a sentence that isn't there. 
Just press Control or Alt to stop ASAP from trying to get to the
next sentence.

You can still access the keypad keys to examine screen layout and
content without effecting Sentence Reading mode.

The Sentence Reading functions in ASAP let you adjust the top and
bottom lines of its search for the end of a sentence.  Use the
Page Top and Page Bottom commands to exclude status lines that
might contain items that look like the end of a sentence.  The
default for the Page Top is line 2 which leaves the top line out
of the picture for searching purposes.  The default for the
bottom line is 23 which also leaves out the bottom line.  These
defaults work fine for most applications, but you have the
flexibility to change them if you like.

You'll find Sentence Reading a powerful tool for letting you work
with text in the natural format of literary units.  Restricting
cursor movement to screen lines is an artificial handicap placed
on computer users by the limitations of the screen.  It is
surprising that word processing programs don't offer an easy
means of moving through your work in sentence units.  Once you've
tried ASAP's Sentence Reading mode for a while, you'll wonder why
anyone would edit in any other way.  You can combine Sentence
Reading with ASAP's Auto Read command to move through large
amounts of text ready to stop at any time for editing.  See more
about Auto Read later in this manual.

                     Type Word at Reading Cursor: 0,8

ASAP has a most useful feature which is accessed with 0,8 on the
keypad.  This command takes the word at the reading cursor and
types it into whatever program you're using, giving you a
convenient way to copy information from the screen without
memorizing, then re-typing it..

The type current word command can be used directly in DOS.  Think
of those times while listing a directory of a disk when you hear
a file's name, but you don't know how to spell it. 
Traditionally, you'd move the reading cursor back up to that name
on the screen, then you'd have to spell it out, remember it, then
type its name.  Instead, get a directory of files on your screen
with the "dir" or "dir/w" command.  Next, use the keypad to move
your reading cursor to a file's name that you want to use.  Press
0,8 and ASAP types out that file's name for you.  All you have to
do to start the file is press Enter.

                    Parking the Reading Cursor: 0,ENTER

  Pressing "0" on the keypad followed with Enter toggles the
behavior of the reading cursor.  Normally, ASAP's reading cursor
follows the system cursor.  When you use the current line command
(8), ASAP announces the line on which the application's cursor
rests.  You may, however, select to park the reading cursor in a
particular spot on the screen.  To do so, move the reading cursor
to the spot of interest, and issue the park command.  Use the
same command to unpark the reading cursor.

Note: The application's cursor is the cursor position of the
program you are using.  The reading cursor is an imaginary cursor
used to point at the text you want spoken.

It is sometimes useful to park the reading cursor when you're
interested in a particular part of the screen and want to keep
track of that text.  By parking the cursor on that section of the
screen, you can keep close tabs on it with the current character,
word, and line commands.

                One-Shot Control Panel Command: 0,[command]

In addition to the other review functions of the 0 key on the
numeric keypad, 0 followed by any valid Control Panel command (on
the main part of the keyboard) lets you access the Control Panel
commands without actually going into the Control Panel.  This is
useful if you want to adjust a single option in the Control
Panel.  The time command is an example of a command you'll enjoy
frequent access to. To get the time announced, you'd press 0,
Alt-T.  (Alt-T is the Control Panel command for announcing the
time.)  See more about Control Panel commands in "Control Panel"
later in this manual.

Remember that all Control Panel commands are valid when preceded
with 0 on the numeric keypad.  You can take advantage of this fact
when you want to move the reading cursor to a specific line on the
screen.  The numeric keypad method of reviewing the screen provides
no means of moving the reading cursor directly to a specific line
on the screen, but by using 0 followed with a letter from A to Y,
you can achieve this function.  Again, read about all the commands
available in the Control Panel in the appropriate part of this
manual.

                             The Repeat Filter

The more you use your computer, the more you'll notice the
tendency of programs to decorate the screen with characters that
look great, but don't add much to the speech user's enjoyment of
the program.  Often, a program prints a line of equals signs to
separate parts of a screen display.  Fortunately, ASAP gets
around this annoyance with the repeat filter.

The repeat filter lets you know about repetitive characters
without forcing you to hear all of them.  It works like this:

When ASAP sees a series of duplicate characters, it always
announces the first three.  If there are more than three, it only
says the repeating character twice, then it says the word "rep"
followed by the exact number of duplicates.  (The word "rep" is
just a shorthand way of informing you about the repetition.)  If,
for instance, there are thirty-five equals signs printed on a
line, ASAP says "equals equals rep 35".

Note that if you're not using the "Most Punctuation" setting,
ASAP won't bother you with any of the equals signs.  Instead, it
just skips past the material as if it weren't there at all. 
You'll use this feature when reading text to skip section
separators and the like.

                             Other Audio Cues

ASAP gives you the obvious benefit of speech with your speech
synthesizer.  In addition to these speech sounds, ASAP uses your
computer's speaker to provide you other kinds of information. 

When you press a key in the Control Panel that is not a valid
command, ASAP makes a "bonk" sound to inform you that the command
is not used.  Don't worry about this sound; it just lets you know
that you didn't use a valid command.

ASAP makes a beep sound when you have the Caps Lock on and you
type a character with the Shift key down.  This sound doesn't
mean anything is wrong, it just reminds you that Caps Lock is on.

ASAP makes a low-pitched buzz when you're using DOS output and you
press Alt to silence the speech.  You don't get the sound when you
press Alt--you already know when you do that--instead, it gives you
the sound when the program is finished putting text on the screen
and is ready to accept another key from you.  This feature is
useful when you examine a long directory listing.  You can type the
"dir" command and press Alt.  When the directory is on the screen,
ASAP buzzes to let you know the computer is finished displaying the
directory list.

There are two other sounds ASAP makes with your computer's speaker. 
They are the bell sound, designed to let you know when you're
typing at the end of a line, and the clicking sound, used for
making a small noise when text goes through DOS.  You can read more
about these two sounds and how to control them in the following
paragraphs.

                            Special Action Keys

In addition to the explicit commands in the Control Panel and on
the numeric keypad, and its ability to react to a program's
action from your command, ASAP acts on several keys in the
background without you giving it a command.  ASAP announces your
keystrokes, for instance.  Following is a list of the other
actions ASAP takes with other keys.

Left and Right Arrows announce the character under the cursor. 
If the cursor moves more than one position, the word under the
cursor is announced.

Up and Down Arrows announce the contents of the line where the
cursor moves when you press the arrow.  If the cursor doesn't
move when you press the arrow key, ASAP looks for color changes
on the screen.  It then looks for the color with the least use
and announces the text appearing in that color.  If this extended
checking gets in your way, turn it off in the Control Panel with
Alt-X.  

The Page Up and Page Down keys perform a rather complex function-
-when you press PgUp or PgDn, ASAP waits for the program you are
using to change the screen to the next display, then it reads the
entire screen to you.  This function proves extremely useful for
reading large amounts of text.
                      
                             The Control Panel

In addition to providing standard speech access to many off-the-
shelf software packages, ASAP lets you fine tune the system to
optimize the speech environment for the particular program in
use.  Most of the time, ASAP will automatically work with the
application you use, but the options discussed in this section of
the manual provide the ability to alter the way ASAP works.  In
addition to altering the speech environment, you can review text
already displayed on the screen with the commands available in the
Control Panel.

Once you set up a program to work a special way, ASAP lets you
preserve those settings so that the next time you use that program,
you'll get your favorite environment set up and ready to go.  See
"Saving Settings" later in this manual for details.

                Using the Control Panel: Control-Backslash

Press Control-Backslash to enter the Control Panel.  Once you
press Control-Backslash, ASAP announces the contents of the
current line on the screen.  You'll also notice that ASAP inverts
the attributes of the character at the reading cursor to point
out where the reading cursor is located.  If you use ASAP's
Control Panel commands to examine other parts of the screen, the
reading cursor's position is marked by this inverting technique. 
While you use the Control Panel, ASAP takes over all keys and
uses them for its own purposes.  The commands ASAP uses are
discussed in the following pages.

                      Exit the Control Panel: Escape

When you finish with the Control Panel, press Escape to exit and
return your keyboard to its normal operation.  When you press
Escape, ASAP announces "Exit" to confirm your action.

                   Changing Options in the Control Panel

There are two basic ways of changing options in the Control
Panel.  One of them uses the Alt key in combination with another
key.  This kind of control turns an option either on or off.  The
second kind of Control Panel command is used to adjust settings
that have several possible settings.  These kinds of adjustments
are made by using one of the number keys located at the top of
the main part of the keyboard and following that with a letter to
indicate the desired option.  Setting the top edge of a window is
an example of an option that takes several settings, so that
command starts by giving it the number of the desired setting,
then the letter of the setting..  To set the top edge of a
window, you press the number of the window you want to set, then
you press the "T" key to tell ASAP to set the top of the chosen
window.  Similarly, you set the synthesizer's speed by pressing a
number indicating the desired speed followed with the letter "s"
to indicate that you want to alter the speed setting.  There are
several commands that use numbers to indicate the value of the
command, and they are discussed in the following sections.

                            Navigation Commands

Part of the Control Panel's purpose is to position the reading
cursor to an area of interest and announce the text in that area
of the screen.  The ability to examine text on the screen is
often called "review."  When you first enter the Control Panel
with Control-Backslash, ASAP announces the line on the screen
where the cursor is located.  You then use the navigation
commands, discussed below, to maneuver the reading position to
any interesting part of the screen.

In addition to reviewing text already displayed on the screen,
the Control Panel lets you change the operation of ASAP.  Most of
the commands that alter ASAP's operation, in fact, depend on your
first pointing to the area of interest, then giving the program
the command to alter the functionality.  The window setup
commands, for instance, expect that you first move the reading
cursor to where you want the top left edge of the window before
you give the command to define the top left edge of that window. 
(Read more about setting up windows in the "Set Windows" section
of this manual.)

                      Moving Directly to a Line: A-Y

Once in the Control Panel, the letters A to Y move you directly
to a specific line on the screen and announce what's on that
line.  A moves to the top line of the screen, B moves to the
second line, and so on.  Y, of course, moves to the bottom line. 
The cursor's horizontal position isn't affected by this command.

If the program you are using has more than 25 lines of text on
the screen, you can still move directly to those lines past 25 by
starting again with the letter A along with the shift key. 
Capital A, for example, moves to line 26; capital B moves to line
27, and capital Y moves to line 50.

See also: "Moving to a Relative Line."

            Returning the Reading Cursor to the Real Cursor: Z

While it is never necessary to return the reading cursor to the
real cursor's position, it is sometimes desirable.  Recall from
the previous discussion that the letters A-Y move the reading
cursor to the indicated line.  The letter Z takes the reading
cursor back to the real cursor and announces that line.  Note
that while the letters A-Y don't affect the horizontal position
of the reading cursor, the Z command does.  It moves the reading
cursor both vertically and horizontally back to the system's
cursor.

                     Routing the System Cursor: Ctrl-Z

In addition to moving the reading cursor and returning it to the
system cursor's position, ASAP lets you move the system cursor to
where your reading cursor is positioned.  You'll find this
capability useful when you're looking around on the screen and
you realize you need to edit text on another part of the screen. 
When that happens, use ASAP's Route Cursor command to move the
application's cursor to the place on the screen where you're
looking with ASAP's reading cursor.

The Route Cursor command works by feeding your application arrow
keys to make it move its cursor until it reaches the same
position as ASAP's reading cursor.  As ASAP moves the system's
cursor, it clicks your computer's speaker to let you know
something is still happening.  Use this clicking sound to help
you notice if ASAP fails to move the cursor to the desired
position.  Normally, you won't have to worry about failing; the
only time ASAP can fail is if you instruct ASAP to put the cursor
in a place where the application won't let it g.  Think, for
example, what would happen if you told ASAP to move the system
cursor to WordPerfect's status line; ASAP would constantly feed
WordPerfect Arrow keys in an attempt to get the cursor to that
position.  You'll be able to tell the routing isn't progressing
properly by the constant clicking sound ASAP makes as it tries to
get that cursor where you desire.  If that happens, just press
the Alt or Control key to cancel the routing procedure.

Another reason routing fails is when attempting to perform this
function while in a program or a mode of a program that isn't
accepting keystrokes.  Take the instance of trying to use this
feature while in a program's help mode.  If the program isn't
prepared to move the cursor, the routing fails.  This is no
problem, because, if the program won't let you move the cursor to
a spot on the screen, you can't edit that spot anyway.

Just keep in mind that you should route the cursor while your
program is in a mode for moving the cursor.  Remember, too, that
if ASAP can't get the system cursor to the reading cursor, all
you have to do to cancel the operation is press the Alt key. 
Finally, don't be tempted by the ease of using this feature to
start examining your documents with the reading cursor.  You'll
still want to use the application's commands to move and edit;
the routing command is simply provided for those times where you
find yourself needing it.

            Moving to a Relative Line: Up Arrow and Down Arrow

While it is useful to move directly to a specific line on the
screen, you'll usually want to move either up or down one line
from the line you just read.  Use the semicolon (;) and slash (/)
keys (or the Up Arrow and Down Arrow) for this purpose.

Semicolon and Up Arrow both move your reading cursor up one line
and announce the contents of that line.  If you're already at the
top of the screen, pressing Semicolon or Up Arrow makes ASAP
announce "top" then read the current line.

Slash and Down Arrow move down one line and read the new line.  If
you're already at the bottom of the screen, pressing Slash or Down
Arrow makes ASAP say "bottom" before announcing the line's
contents.

See also: From the Cursor Right; The Rest of the Screen.

               Relative Line, Current Character: Alt-Arrows

If you want to hear only the character at the reading cursor as
you move up and down the screen, hold down the Alt key while
pressing Up Arrow or Down Arrow.  When you use the Arrows along
with the Alt key, the Arrows act just like usual, moving up or
down one line on the screen, but instead of reading the new line,
they announce only the letter at the reading cursor.  This is
useful for checking formatting.

      Previous and Next Paragraph: Ctrl-Up Arrow and Ctrl-Down Arrow

Ctrl-Up Arrow and Ctrl-Down Arrow move your reading cursor to the
previous or next paragraph on the screen.  A paragraph, for these
purposes, is defined as a group of lines separated from other
lines by one or more blank lines.

Note that this command is used to move your reading cursor.  Use
your application's commands to move the application's cursor to
the previous or next paragraph.

                           From the Cursor Right

While Semicolon and Slash read the previous and next lines of the
screen, you can modify the behavior of these two commands by
using the Shift key along with the Semicolon and Slash.  When you
do, ASAP reads only from the reading cursor's position to the
right after moving to the new line.

                         Word by Word: Ctrl-Arrows

Use Ctrl-Left Arrow and Ctrl-Right Arrow to read word by word
along a line on the screen.

Ctrl-Left Arrow moves the reading cursor to the previous word and
announces it.  If your reading cursor is already at the left edge
of the screen, ASAP says, "left," then announces the word of
interest.

Ctrl-Right Arrow moves the reading cursor to the next word on the
line and announces the word.  If your reading cursor is already at
the right edge of the screen, ASAP says, "right," then announces
the word.

            Character by Character: Left Arrow and Right Arrow

Left Arrow moves the reading cursor to the previous character on
the line and announces that character.  The character is always
announced, even if it is a punctuation character and you have
most punctuation turned off.  In addition, moving by characters
makes ASAP announce color changes on the line.  (You'll always
get some response from moving character by character.)

Right Arrow moves to the next character on the line and announces
that character.

                        The Rest of the Screen: Tab

Tab reads the remainder of the screen.  It works by starting
reading at the current line, then continuing to the end of the
screen.

                     Read Current Paragraph: Ctrl-Tap 

Ctrl-Tap reads the current paragraph.  It makes ASAP announce the
text from the line your cursor is on down toward the end of the
screen up to the first blank line on the screen.

It is sometimes useful to combine this command, using ASAP's User
Defined Key function, with your applications previous and next
paragraph commands to make the application's cursor move to the
desired paragraph then read that paragraph.

                  Say Reading Cursor Position: Apostrophe

Pressing Apostrophe announces the position of the reading cursor. 
This announcement is made in the form of a letter from A to Y to
represent one of the 25 lines on the screen followed by a number
indicating the column.  So if your reading cursor were on the
third line of the screen in the 45th column, ASAP's Say Reading
Cursor Position command would say, "C 45."

Note that ASAP's reading cursor follows the application's cursor,
so this command is often useful, especially via the One Shot
Control Panel Command.  In other words, you can obtain the
application cursor's position on the screen by pressing keypad 0
followed with the Apostrophe key.  If this were a function you
used frequently, you'd probably want to assign it an easier
command access with the User Defined Key function of ASAP.

                     Say Character's Attribute: Quote

Pressing the Quote key makes ASAP announce the attributes of the
character at the reading cursor.  When you press the Quote key,
ASAP says something like "White on Red" depending, of course, on
what the actual attributes are.

                           Say Phonetic: Period

Pressing the Period key (on the main part of the keyboard)
announces the current character phonetically.  ASAP uses the
military standard for its phonetic pronunciations.

                             Altering Settings

While the commands in the previous section discussed navigation,
this section describes commands that alter the performance of
ASAP.

                         Attribute Monitor: Alt-A

Attributes are the characteristics of a character or a group of
text that distinguish the material from the text on the rest of
the screen.  (Highlighting or color is considered a character's
attributes.)  Normally, ASAP automatically informs you about
changing attributes.    It does so with a unique algorithm that
tries to determine what catches the sighted user's eye on the
screen and announces that text.  Sometimes, though, there might
be more changing on the screen than you care to know about.  Even
though ASAP only bothers you with the text that is different from
the last time it notified you, if your interest lies in a
specific attribute, use attribute monitoring to follow the
specific attribute of interest.

To use attribute monitoring, either enter the Control Panel or
use the numeric key pad to move the reading cursor to the
attribute to monitor, then press Alt-A.  (Remember that if you're
not in the Control Panel, press key pad 0 first, then press Alt-
A.) ASAP announces the attribute of the character of interest and
offers you the chance to confirm that you want to monitor that
attribute, turn monitoring of that attribute off, or cancel
without taking any action at all.  In addition, you may select a
different attribute to monitor.

If you've already identified an attribute to monitor, ASAP
announces that previously set attribute; to use the attribute at
the reading cursor, press Alt-S.  You may also select another
attribute to monitor with the keys Alt-A to Alt-P or you can
select attributes from a menu by using Alt-Up Arrow and Alt-Down
Arrow.  Use Alt-Left Arrow to adjust foreground colors, then use
Alt-Right Arrow to select background colors. 

If you want to monitor the announced attribute, press "Y."  Press
"N" to turn off a previously monitored attribute.

See also: Granularity

                          Read By Screens: Alt-B

While reading by lines is usually the method you'll use to read
through lots of text that needs further editing or text you are
totally unfamiliar with, you'll want to read by screens for more
serious reading where large bodies of text are involved.

Reading by screens provides the advantage over the auto read
command of faster operation, thus a more natural sounding
rendition of your text.  Each method has its place.

Read by Screens works by reading your screen, giving the program
you're using the key to display the next screen, and repeating
the process indefinitely.  Since not every program uses the same
key to advance to the next screen, the read by screens feature
asks you to specify the key used to tell the application you're
using what the next screen command is.  In most cases, the key is
Page Down, but ASAP lets you specify any key for this purpose. 
(Word Perfect, for example, uses the plus (+) key on the keypad
for advancing to the next screen of text.)  If your program's
next screen key is, indeed, PgDn, ASAP also provides a shortcut
command that doesn't require you to notify it about the next
screen key.  That command is keypad 0 followed with PgDn.  ASAP
also provides a WordPerfect read by screens shortcut.  That
command is keypad 0 followed with the Right Arrow key.

When you press Alt-B, ASAP says, "Press key to use as next screen
key."  When you press the key your application uses for moving to
the next display screen, ASAP automatically exits the Control
Panel, reads the current screen, then tells the program you're
using to move on to the next screen of text.  When the screen is
read, ASAP repeats this process until you tell it to stop by
pressing one of the Alt or Control keys.

Note that while using the read by screens feature, you may still
use the Shift keys to silence individual lines of the text.  You
may also use the PgUp and PgDn keys to move quickly through
sections of text of no interest without stopping the continuous
operation.

Read by Screens reads the text to you in one of two different
ways depending on how you have the punctuation setting.  If you
are using most punctuation, ASAP makes a slight pause at the end
of each screen line.  If you aren't using most punctuation, the
reading sounds more natural, because ASAP tries to pause only at
the end of sentences.

The Read by Screens command lets you adjust the amount of text to
read on each screen in one of two ways.  First, if you're using the
full screen, use the Page Top Set and Page Bottom Set commands to
change the beginning and ending lines of the important material on
the screen. 

The second way to change the amount of text considered as a screen
page is to set an active window.  When you use Read by Screens with
an active window, only the text in that window is spoken.

See also: Auto Read; Set Page; Windows; Quick Read by Screens;
Quick Read by Screens for WordPerfect.

                     Set Page: Alt-Dash and Alt-Equals

Normally, when you use the PgUp or PgDn keys or the Read by
Screens command, ASAP assumes the window of interest to be either
the active window (if not using the full screen) or the entire
screen except for the top and bottom lines.  (Most programs use
the top and bottom lines to display status information that
doesn't drastically change from screen to screen.)  This means
that when you use one of these commands, you hear the text from
line 2 to line 24 in the full screen view.

ASAP lets you change the amount of text it considers as the
screen to be spoken when in full screen view.  The commands to
use are Alt-Dash and Alt-Equals.

To change the page size, move the reading cursor to the first
line you want announced and press Alt-Dash.  Next, if the bottom
also needs changing, move the reading position to the bottom of
the section of text of interest and press Alt-Equals.

When using the Page Set commands, ASAP reads from the top line
you specified to the bottom, all the way from the left edge of
the screen to the right.  If there is text to the left or right
of the text of interest, consider setting window in which to view
the text or consider using ASAP's View by Windows command.

See also: Windows; Auto Read; View by Column, Window, or Screen

                         Color Announcement: Alt-C

When you enable color announcement, ASAP announces color changes
dynamically.  In other words, if a program shows you a message
with blue letters, ASAP says, "blue" before reading the text. 
Whenever the color changes, you are notified.

The color announcement feature can help in some situations in
programs that, for example, display several items of information
on a single line, and one of them is highlighted.  If there were
such a screen, and it had four items, you could distinguish the
selected item quickly by noting the color change.

Normally, you won't want color announcement on--it can prove a bit
much in programs that change colors frequently.  ASAP is usually
smart enough to give you the important information when it is
needed, but you have the option to hear color announcements if you
wish.

                      DOS Output Announcement: Alt-D

ASAP normally reads all the text that is displayed through the
normal DOS channels.  (This is also known as BIOS output.) 
Usually, you'll want to hear all the text normally displayed by
DOS.  (Remember, you can temporarily disable DOS output by
pressing the Alt key.)  There are times, though, especially in
programs that both use normal DOS output and put text directly on
the screen, that you'll want to disable the DOS output.  This
situation occurs most frequently in some editors that put the
text you are editing directly on the screen and route the status
line information through the DOS output routines.  You'll be able
to tell if this is happening if a program continually announces
the position of your cursor with each key you type.  If you
observe that kind of behavior from a program, disable ASAP's DOS
output announcement while using that program.

                    Extended ASCII Announcement: Alt-E

Extended ASCII is the term used to describe the characters that
aren't part of the normal ASCII character set.  (The normal ASCII
character set consists of all the letters, numbers, and
punctuation marks.)  The extended ASCII character set consists of
those picture-like characters often used to draw boxes or lines
on the screen.  Normally, you aren't interested in these, but
having them spoken can be useful in some situations.

ASAP announces characters in the extended ASCII character set by
describing the characters.  If, for example, the character is a
vertical line, ASAP says, "vertical line."  For those characters
that are ambiguous, ASAP simply announces the character's ASCII
code value.

                       Find Attribute or Text: Alt-F

The Find command performs two functions.  First, it moves your
reading cursor to either text or attributes that you specify. 
The Find command's second purpose is to announce text of a
specific attribute.

Once you get in the Control Panel or press the keypad 0 key (to
initiate a one-shot Control Panel command), press Alt-F to access
the Find command.

ASAP says "Find" and waits for you to tell it what to find.  If
you've already used the Find command, ASAP also reminds you what
you last looked for.  (You may easily re-use this information, or
you can request a completely new search. 

There are two kinds of information you can find--either text or
attributes.  You tell the Find command what to find by either
typing in the text or by using the Alt key along with the arrow
keys to select the attribute of interest.

If you want to look for a specific word or phrase on the screen,
type that text.  When you've typed the text to find, press either
Enter or Down Arrow.  Pressing Enter makes the search begin at the
top of the screen.  Specifying the find direction with the Down
Arrow moves your reading cursor to the next occurrence of the
specified text.

To find an attribute, press Alt-Left Arrow, then press Alt-Up Arrow
or Alt-Down Arrow to select the specific attribute.  Pressing Alt-
Left Arrow tells the Find command that you want to select
attributes instead of text.  When you press Alt-Left Arrow, ASAP
says, "Foreground selection," then it announces the currently
selected attribute characteristics.  A typical example might say
something like, "Foreground selection, bright white on red."  Next,
use Alt-Up Arrow or Alt-Down Arrow to change the bright white part
of this characteristic to another attribute.  If, for example, you
pressed Alt-Down Arrow, ASAP would say, "Black on red."  To adjust
the background part of this characteristic, press Alt-Right Arrow,
then use Alt-Up Arrow and Alt-Down Arrow to change the
characteristic.  If you press Alt-Right Arrow with the sequence
above, ASAP says, "Background selection, black on red."  Pressing
Alt-Down Arrow at this point makes ASAP say, "Black on magenta."

The first sixteen selections of attribute characteristics are all
colors.  Notice that there are two additional selections--Anything
and Next Change.  You can use these two characteristics in either
the foreground or background area.  Their name indicates the
functions associated with these two selections.  The Anything
selection matches anything.  The Next Change attribute matches the
first change in the current attribute, no matter what it is.

In addition to using Alt-Up Arrow and Alt-Down Arrow to adjust the
attribute, you can use the keys Alt-A to Alt-P to adjust the
setting.  Alt-A gives you the first attribute, and Alt-P gives you
the last one.  This method of selecting permits the find command to
be automated through the User Defined Function feature of ASAP.

Here is a list of corresponding colors for the Alt commands of the
Find command.

Alt-A     Black
Alt-B     Blue
Alt-C     Green
Alt-D     Cyan
Alt-E     Red
Alt-F     Magenta
Alt-G     Brown
Alt-H     White
Alt-I     Dark Grey

Alt-J     Light Blue
Alt-K     Light Green
Alt-L     Light Cyan
Alt-M     Light Red
Alt-N     Light Magenta
Alt-O     Yellow
Alt-P     Bright White
Alt-Q     Anything
Alt-R     Next Change


If you have a monochrome display, there are a lot fewer variations
for the attribute.  In order to maintain some compatibility with
the color selection, the Alt key in combination with a letter works
by letting several of the Alt-letter keys represent the same
attribute for monochrome systems.

Alt-A     White
Alt-B     Underline
Alt-C     Black
Alt-I     Blinking
Alt-K     Intense
Alt-Q     Anything
Alt-R     Next Change

There are times when you'll just want to grab the current color
from the screen at the reading cursor.  You can do that with the
Alt-S command from within Find.

Once you've identified what to find, you tell the Find command how
to perform the find.  If you press Enter, the Find command begins
its search at the top of the screen.  If, on the other hand, you
press Down Arrow to initiate the find, the Find command begins the
search at the point of the reading cursor.  This means that you'll
probably initiate a search with the Enter key, then use the Down
Arrow to find subsequent occurrences.

Besides Enter and Down Arrow to initiate a search, you can use Alt-
Enter to announce the selected material without moving the reading
cursor.  This is useful for announcing text of a specific color or
attribute.

In summary, the Find command is accessed with Alt-F.  You then
either enter text or use the Alt-Arrow keys for attribute
selection.  If selecting attributes, use Alt-Left Arrow to let the
Alt-Up Arrow and Alt-Down Arrows give you foreground selections. 
Use Alt-Right Arrow to let the Alt-Up Arrow and Alt-Down Arrow
select different backgrounds.  Finally, when you've specified the
material to find, tell the Find command how to find it.  Tell it
how to find it by pressing Enter to begin the search from the top
of the screen, or use Down Arrow to continue a search from the
reading cursor.  You may also use Alt-Enter to announce the
selected attribute.

                        Ring Bell at Column: Alt-G

Normally, ASAP makes a tone when your cursor reaches column 72 as
you type.  You may find this useful in some editing situations,
especially when using some telecommunications software.  If you
don't want to hear the bell, use Alt-G to turn it off.

When you press Alt-G, ASAP announces, "72 is set, enter new
setting."  ASAP expects you to type a two digit number indicating
the cursor position at which you'd like to be notified.  If you
prefer no notification at all, enter 00 as the column.  This
turns off the feature.

Note that you'll find this feature most useful when using line-
oriented editors.  Word processing programs usually don't bother
you with worrying about where the cursor is located.  The bell
usually won't get in your way even while using a word processing
program, because the word processor usually wraps (moves) the
cursor to a new line before it gets to column 72 anyway.

                     Horizontal Cursor Position: Alt-H

The horizontal cursor position command lets you move the reading
cursor directly to any column on the screen.  When you press Alt-
H, ASAP says, "Horizontal position" and waits for you to type a
two digit number.  The number you type, of course, is the desired
position.  Once you type the number, ASAP moves the horizontal
position of the reading cursor to that column.

In addition to typing a two digit number to move directly to a
column, you may precede a number with either a plus (+) or dash
(-) key to make the cursor move forward or backward from the
current position.  If, for instance, you wanted to move the
cursor three places to the right, you could type +03 after
pressing the Alt-H.

                      Indentation Notification: Alt-I

Indentation notification refers to the act of informing you of
the number of spaces that precede a line of text.  If, for
instance, you read a line that said "Title" and it were preceded
with 35 spaces, ASAP would announce "35" in a low pitch before
saying "Title."

                     Jiffy Caps Identification: Alt-J

One disadvantage of using speech synthesis is the lack of a good
way to proofread.  Jiffy Caps Identification goes a long way to
remedy this drawback.  When you turn on Jiffy Caps
Identification, ASAP announces all the words that contain capital
letters in a higher than normal pitch.  This elevated pitch lets
you identify capitalized words while you read.

For other proof reading related functions see Indention
Notification, Space Proofing, and Tabular Proofing elsewhere in
this manual.

                        Keystrokes Announced: Alt-K

Usually, ASAP announces the keys you type as they are typed.  If
you are a fast typist, ASAP silences any previous keystrokes as
soon as you type another key.  You may also completely turn off
the announcement of keystrokes with Alt-K.

When you press Alt-K, ASAP responds, "Keys spoken = yes."  To
turn off the echoing of your keystrokes with speech, press "N"
for "no."

Keystroke echoing is one of those "global" commands that doesn't
get saved or altered by other programs that you might have saved
settings from.  ASAP considers that if you want keystrokes off,
you probably want to keep them off.

See also: Announce Keystrokes as Words.

                       Keyboard Interception: Ctrl-I

Under normal circumstances, ASAP works just fine with your
applications software.  There are, however, some ill-behaved
programs that completely take over the keyboard and don't provide
other programs in the system the opportunity to act on the keys
you press.  Examples of programs that exhibit this behavior
include Quicken version 5.0, IBM's 3270 emulator, and the IRMA
board software.

When you get a program that seems not to react to your
keystrokes, turn on Keyboard Interception before you run the
program.  There are two different methods ASAP uses to gain
access to these kinds of programs; one changes the interrupt
vector, and the other actually patches the code the new program
installs in the interrupt vector.  The method you use depends on
how your software works.  Normally, you will set Intercept Keys
to Yes, but if the program you are trying to access employs the
same technique as ASAP does to change the keyboard interrupt
vector, you will need to use the patch method.  You will know
that the applications software and ASAP are in a constant battle
for your keyboard interrupt vector by the loud beeps ASAP sounds as
it continually tries to get itself into the keyboard interrupt
vector.  This situation is rare, so it will probably never happen,
but if you do encounter this situation, you'll know to use the
patch method instead.

When you press CTRL-I, ASAP says, "Intercept Keys = No," and waits
for you to press either "Y" for "Yes," "N" for "No," or "P" for
"Patch."  Again, normally you will use "Y" if you need this command
at all, but the "P" setting is provided as an alternative access
technique.

Never turn on Keyboard Interception after you're already in the
program--turn it on first from the DOS prompt or a BAT file, then
start the program that takes over the keyboard.

When you set Keyboard Interception to Yes, ASAP constantly watches
the keyboard interrupt vector.  When a program takes that vector,
ASAP takes it right back.  When ASAP takes over the keyboard
interrupt vector, it examines the key you press.  If ASAP doesn't
use the key, it passes it right along to the application just as if
nothing had happened.  If, however, the key you press is one that
ASAP uses, it acts on it without the other program ever knowing
about it.  Again, Keyboard Interception isn't normally needed
because most programs behave properly and pass on keystrokes
through the system.  This command is reserved for those difficult
applications that don't conform to the rules.

In addition to changing the keyboard interrupt vector to point back
at ASAP's keyboard handler, ASAP's Keyboard Interception provides
a second method of gaining access to applications that take over
the keyboard.  When you choose the patch method, ASAP does not try
to change the keyboard vector; instead it actually patches the
newly installed keyboard interrupt code to first go to ASAP.  Then,
if ASAP doesn't need the key, it passes it along to the other
application.  Normally, you will use the "Yes" setting, but the
patch method is provided for those emulators that use the same
trick as ASAP does--watching the keyboard vector and changing it if
needed.

Keyboard Interception is a global setting.

                             Label Keys: Alt-L

ASAP lets you assign a label that gets spoken to a key.  This
feature is useful in programs like WordPerfect to announce the
function of a key, especially one of the function keys.

You can assign nearly any key to a label with these exceptions:
CTRL, Shift, Alt, Num Lock, Caps Lock, Print Screen, and Scroll
Lock.  You may, however, assign combinations of the modifier keys
with other keys.  You may, for example, set Alt-F1 to say "Alt-
F1."  In WordPerfect, on the other hand, you might want Alt-F1 to
say, "thesaurus" because that's the key that brings up
WordPerfect's thesaurus function.  Note that this label (and
others) have already been set for WordPerfect.  Those key labels
get loaded up automatically when you use WordPerfect.  New key
labels you create get saved along with other settings when you save
your settings.  See more about saving key labels and other
preferences in "Saving Settings" later in this manual.

To use ASAP's key label command, press Alt-L.  When you do, ASAP
says, "Press key to label" and waits for you to press the key to
which you wish to assign a label.  When you type the key, ASAP
announces any label previously assigned to that key, then it  says,
"Type what you want it to say" and lets you type a line that will
be spoken when that key is pressed.  Note that each label may be up
to 13 characters long and no longer.  If you try to make the line
longer than that, ASAP beeps to let you know that you can't make
the phrase any longer.  When you've typed the label, press Enter to
make ASAP accept the new key label.  If you press the wrong key or
decide you don't want to assign a label to the key you pressed,
just press Escape instead of typing a label for that key.  When you
press Escape, ASAP says, "Canceled" and does not assign any label
to the key.  Of course, if the key already had a label, that label
remains intact.

You may assign labels to up to 60 different keys in this way.  If
you try to add more than 60 key labels, ASAP says, "Key table full"
and won't let you add any more labels.  You'll have to remove some
of the previously assigned labels before you can add new ones.  You
can delete labels from keys by following the above procedure up to
the point of typing in the label for that key.  Instead of typing
a new label, press Enter without typing anything; that makes ASAP
remove that label from the key label list, thus giving you one more
entry to work with.

Key labels provide an excellent means of giving you extra feedback,
but don't get too carried away with them.  You can make your
programs talk too much.  Many of the function keys in WordPerfect,
for example, already speak appropriate information when you press
the key.  Notice that when you press F10 in WordPerfect, ASAP says,
"Document to be saved."  This particular key isn't assigned to a
label, because WordPerfect itself puts that information on the
screen, and ASAP announces it.  Adding a label to that key would
make it say more than you want.  There are other WordPerfect
commands, though, that simply bring up a menu with no title.  By
assigning labels to those kinds of function keys, you can actually
get more feedback about your WordPerfect commands than the sighted
user gets.


                   Most Punctuation Notification: Alt-M

Normally, ASAP doesn't announce punctuation characters.  If you
are a programmer, though, you might prefer knowing about all
punctuation.  If this is the case, enable Most Punctuation
notification with the Alt-M command.  When you press Alt-M, ASAP
says, "Most Punctuation = No."  Press "Y" to turn punctuation on
or press Escape to leave the setting alone.  In addition to Yes
or No settings, ASAP lets you define exceptions for each type of
punctuation.  Read more about these exceptions in the paragraphs
that follow.

Note that even if you don't have Most Punctuation notification
enabled, you'll still be able to hear the punctuation characters
as you move with the left and right arrow keys or if you type one
of the punctuation characters.  (You'll always want to know about
the character under the cursor.)

In addition to punctuation pronunciation, the Most Punctuation
command affects the pronunciation of "ASCII Graphics."  ASCII
graphics are characters that form little pictures on the screen. 
There are ASCII graphic characters for arrows, lines, and box
drawing tools.  They are often used for decorative purposes and
to indicate selected items on a list.

While Most Punctuation normally gives you all the punctuation
characters, and Most Punctuation Off gives you none, you may tell
ASAP to make exceptions to these general rules for both Most
Punctuation and Most Punctuation Off.  Instead of pressing "Y" or
"N" at the Most Punctuation prompt, select the exceptions by
pressing "E."  When you press "E," ASAP says, "Enter exceptions"
and lets you type any characters that you want to consider as
exceptions to whichever mode of punctuation is currently in use. 
In other words, if you're using Most Punctuation, and you press
"E," you may enter up to 20 characters that won't get spoken
while you're using Most Punctuation.  Likewise, if you're using
Most Punctuation Off, and you press "E," you may enter up to 20
characters that will get spoken even with Most Punctuation off. 
Don't forget to save punctuation exceptions you define if you
want to make those settings permanent.  See Saving Settings for
more information on this process.

                              Numbers: Alt-N

ASAP can announce numbers in one of two ways.  By default, it
pronounces numbers as whole numbers.  With the Numbers command,
though, you may instruct ASAP to announce numbers as individual
digits.

This feature depends on your synthesizer's ability to announce
numbers, permitting you to take advantage of special features or
characteristics your synthesizer may support.

With numbers set to "no", ASAP says the number "123" as "one two
three."  If you have numbers set to "yes," ASAP says, "one hundred
twenty-three."

                       Noise with DOS Output: Alt-O

Noise with DOS output, as funny as the name sounds, comes in
useful when using terminal communications software.  It works by
making a click each time a character is printed with normal DOS
output.  You can use this to let you monitor a remote computer's
activity.  As long as clicking continues, characters are coming
in through the modem.  When the clicking stops, characters have
stopped coming in.  Let this be your modem's activity lights.

                           Key Pad Ignore: Alt-P

If you use programs that make heavy use of the numeric keypad
normally used by ASAP for reviewing the screen, you may instruct
ASAP to ignore the use of the numeric keypad for screen review
purposes.  To do this, use Alt-P in the Control Panel.  If you
use Alt-P to ignore use of the numeric keypad, ASAP takes no
action on the keys you press on the numeric keypad and, instead,
passes those keys on to the application that requires them.

                               Quiet: Alt-Q

The Quiet command turns off ASAP.  It is intended for use by
sighted peers who might use your equipment.  When you set Quiet
to Yes, all reading stops except for the Control Panel functions.

If you occasionally use a system that other people use, consider
starting ASAP with the @qy option.  This installs ASAP, then
makes it quiet.  When you need speech on the system, just enter
the Control Panel and turn Quiet off.

Quiet is one of those commands that don't get saved when you
preserve ASAP's settings--if you want your machine to be quiet,
you will get it quiet no matter what programs are used.  You may,
however, turn Quiet mode on and off from the command line or
directly from the Control Panel.

See also: Setting Options from the Command Line; Quit.

                               Quit: Ctrl-Q

The Quit command is used to remove ASAP from memory.  This is a
command you'll probably never use, but it is provided for
convenience if you do need or want to remove ASAP from memory.

When you press Ctrl-Q, ASAP checks some vital system areas to
make sure unloading is safe.  If you've loaded other TSR programs
after ASAP, ASAP probably won't let you unload it from memory. 
You can only unload ASAP if it senses the unloading is a safe
procedure.

If ASAP determines it is safe to unload itself from memory, it
says, "Press Enter to remove ASAP" and waits for you to press
Enter.  If you decide you don't want to remove ASAP, press Escape
to cancel the command.

                             Auto Read: Alt-R

Auto Read is a feature that lets you sit back and do some serious
reading.  It works by feeding your editor down arrow keys and
then reading the line the cursor moves to just as if you were
sitting there pressing Down Arrow, listening to the new line,
then pressing another Down Arrow key.  This process continues
until you press a key.  The key you press to stop Auto Read
depends on what you want to do next.  Most of the time, you'll
want to press one of the Control keys.  That stops Auto Read
immediately and leaves your cursor right where you last heard.

All keys you press while using Auto Read are passed on to the
program you are using, so, unless you intend to use Up Arrow to
move back to the line you just heard or something else of similar
value, it is recommended that you use a key that won't enter
unwanted information into your application when you stop Auto
Read. The Alt or Control keys work ideally for this purpose.  
If you press one of the Shift keys while using Auto Read, ASAP
makes the speech stop immediately, but instead of stopping Auto
Read, ASAP skips right to the next line in the file you are
reading.  Use this feature to skim through familiar material.

The Auto Read command is what you'll want to use to read
documents that you may need to edit.  It leaves your cursor at
the end of what you just heard; contrast this with Read by
Screens which gives you a form of Auto Read but without the
cursor control.  The Read by Screens command renders text to you
more naturally, but Auto Read leaves your cursor closer to what
you just heard.  Combine the best of both worlds by turning on
ASAP's Sentence Reading mode before using the Auto Read command. 
When Sentence Reading is enabled, the Auto Read also renders a
very natural rendition of your text because the pauses fall
naturally at the ends of sentences.

You'll notice that when you get to the end of a document, ASAP
keeps sending the editor the Down Arrow key, so it sounds as if
the last line continues on forever.  To stop this, just press the
Control or Alt keys.

Note that while you issue the Auto Read command from within the
Control Panel, the Auto Read feature automatically exits the
Control Panel before beginning to feed your editor or word
processor down arrow keys.

See also: Read by Screens.

                           Snow Checking: Alt-S

Snow is a term used to describe video interference caused by
accessing the video RAM from a program at the same time the
computer is accessing the screen area on CGA type video boards. 
If you use monochrome, EGA, VGA, or if you aren't aware of the
problem, don't use the Snow Checking capabilities of ASAP--all it
does is slow down the computer.  Even if you use CGA and don't
see the screen or don't have sighted peers looking over your
shoulder, you'll probably want to leave Snow Checking off.

When Snow Checking is enabled, ASAP waits until it is safe to
read the screen before attempting any screen reads.  Since ASAP
does a lot of screen reading (after all, it is a screen reading
program), you'll want to avoid using Snow Checking if at all
possible.  Again, it doesn't hurt anything not to use Snow
Checking even if you use a CGA monitor.  The worst thing that
happens is interference on the screen.  You may, in fact, want to
leave Snow Checking off while using the computer by yourself,
then if you have a friend or peer looking at your screen, turn on
Snow Checking for that time.

Snow Checking works by waiting until your computer's hardware
isn't accessing the screen before ASAP tries to read text from
the video area.  Naturally, this is slower than just reading the
text at any time as with other monitor configurations.  This
interference is not an ASAP problem.  It results from a faulty
design in the CGA board.  Many programs offer the choice of snow
checking, and ASAP is one of them.

Snow Checking is one of those "global" settings that doesn't get
saved when you save settings.  If you always want Snow Checking
turned on, use the "@sy" option from the command line.  If you
installed the ASAP system as recommended in the "Installation"
section of this manual, you could start up ASAP with Snow
Checking set to "yes" with the command "s @sy".

                                Time: Alt-T

There isn't much that needs to be said about time announcement. 
If your computer has a clock, Alt-T announces the current time in
24 hour format.



                         User Defined Keys: Alt-U

Sometimes, you'll want to use an ASAP command often.  If that
command takes more than one keystroke, you might consider
defining a user function for that series of keys. A user function
can provide any function available from ASAP all with a single
keystroke that you define.  Laptop users who use computers that
don't have a separate numeric keypad might find this feature
particularly useful for defining the functions available on the
numeric keypad.  There is, in fact, a set file included on the
disk called LAPTOP.SET that provides the functions of the numeric
keypad with Alt key combinations.  See the file on the disk
called LAPTOP.TXT for detailed information about this setup.

To set up a user defined function, press Alt-U.  (You'll probably
want to press keypad 0 first unless you intend to work from
within the Control Panel.)  When you press the Alt-U, ASAP says,
"Define what key?" and waits for you to press a key.  The key you
press is the key that will trigger the action you're about to
define.  While it is possible to define keys such as plain
letters and numbers, you'll almost never want to do that. 
Instead, you'll want to define keys that the program you'll use
these functions in doesn't use for its own purposes.

For the sake of discussion, say you want to make Alt-1 read the
contents of window 1.  You'd press Alt-1.  Once you press the key
to define, ASAP says, "Type a delimiter" and again waits for you
to type a key.  The key ASAP is asking for with this prompt is a
key that signals the end of the definition, so you'll want to
press a key that isn't in the set of keys you're about to define. 
For the purposes of this example, press the Tab key.  (You won't
be using the Tab key in this definition.)  When you press the Tab
key, ASAP says, "Type keys to Define."

Once you've told ASAP the key to define and the delimiter key,
type the keys you want to assign to the trigger key.  In this
example, those keys are the keypad 0, the "1," and the letter
"a."  While you're defining the keys for this function, the
program performs just as it normally does, so you can insure that
what you're defining is really what you want.  In this case,
you'll hear ASAP announce the contents of window 1 just as you
told it to.

When you've typed all the keys you want included in the
definition, press the delimiter key again to tell ASAP you're
through defining.  When you do, ASAP says, "User key defined,"
and attempts to save the current settings so your new key
definition will be preserved.  If the set file can't be saved
right away, ASAP will save it at the first safe opportunity.

Once you've defined Alt-1 to read the contents of window 1, you
may press Alt-1 to announce that window whenever you want.  Note
that you don't precede a User Defined Key with the keypad 0; they
are directly accessible from the application.  If you define a User
Defined Key that uses the same key as a function in your
application, you can bypass the User Defined Key by preceeding it
with the Pass Key command.

Normally, only the final action you take with a User Defined Key
gets spoken.  Preceding a command with keypad 0, Ctrl-O makes ASAP
announce the next command then continue with the function in the
User Defined Key normally.  You may use as many Ctrl-Os as you
require.

As with other ASAP settings, the user defined keys get saved with
your set files, so you can make different keys do different things
with each program you use or even for different sections of a
single program.

If you try to define a key that's already defined, ASAP says,
"Already defined, press Escape to cancel or type delimiter."  This
message means that if you accidentally press a key that you forgot
you've used, you can press Escape to cancel the definition. 
Otherwise, if you really do want to replace the old definition,
press another delimiter key just as you normally would and proceed
with the definition.  In addition to canceling the definition or
replacing it, you can also remove a key's assignment.  To remove
the definition for a key, proceed as if you were going to define
it, except instead of adding keystrokes after the delimiter, just
press the delimiter a second time.  In other words, make a
definition with nothing in it.  When you make a definition with
nothing to do, ASAP removes that definition from its internal table
and saves the set file again just as if you had defined a function.

ASAP has room for about 250 keystrokes per set file.  When the
internal table is about to fill up while you're defining a user
function, ASAP says, "User definitions full" and terminates the
current definition.  When that happens, you might consider removing
some older definitions you may no longer use, or combine the
functions of several definitions.

A user function can use another previously defined user function,
but the act of calling upon a second function ends the first
function.  In other words, if you have a function that reads window
1 and you want to make a new function that reads window 2 and then
window 1, you can enter the keys to read window 2, then, instead of
entering the keys to read window 1, enter the key you previously
defined to read window 1.

                      Automated User Function: CTRL-6

There's one user defined key that ASAP takes special action on. 
That key is CTRL-6. If one of your user defined functions uses
CTRL-6 as its trigger character, that function gets used whenever
the program it's associated with gets loaded.  In addition, as
with all set files, different parts of the program can have an
automatic user defined function that gets used whenever some
special text appears on the screen.  See "Extra Action Windows"
for complete details about setting up action windows that load
new set files when something appears on the screen.

          Let User Defined Keys Pass Through: CTRL-Right Bracket

If you define keys with the User Defined Function command that
conflict with a command in an application, press CTRL-Right
Bracket to let user defined function keys pass through to the
application as if they weren't defined at all.  You can press
this command followed with another CTRL-Right Bracket to pass a
CTRL-Right Bracket on to the application in use.

                           Viewing Method: Alt-V

Normally, in an effort to provide as much speech feedback as
possible, ASAP focuses on the entire screen.  There are
situations, though, when you'd prefer to restrict the view.  ASAP
offers four methods of viewing the screen--by columns, field,
screen, or windows.  The method you use depends on the
application in use and the way the screen is laid out in that
application.  The default method, by screen, gives you the
maximum amount of information.  In many cases, you can restrict
the amount of material spoken by restricting the view to another
method.

When you view by columns, ASAP automatically detects the presence
of a multi-column format on the screen and reads you only the
text in the current column.  This method of viewing is extremely
handy for editing a document displayed in several columns.  If
you are viewing by screens while editing a multi-column document,
and you press Down Arrow, ASAP reads the entire line on the
screen.  But, if you were viewing by columns, ASAP would read
only the column in which the cursor is positioned.

Note that View by Columns works both interactively with the
application and while you're using the Control Panel or the keys
on the numeric keypad to review the screen.  Take, for instance,
the case of looking at information in column format.  The output
from the DOS "dir" command works for this example.  A normal
directory listing contains columns for the file's name, size,
date of modification, and the time when the file was last
modified.  If you were interested in only one of these columns of
information, you could use View by Columns to restrict your
reading to just the column the reading cursor is in.  If you wanted
to hear only the size of each file, you'd move the reading cursor
to the column containing the file sizes, then use the Previous Line
and Next Line commands to move up or down the list.  If you set
View by Columns, you'll hear only the size of each file instead of
the whole line.

Viewing by fields restricts what is spoken to groups of words. 
This method is useful in some database situations where information
is grouped in some way, yet it is not grouped in columns or
windows.

Viewing by Windows is similar to viewing by columns, except that
instead of restricting the view to a column, ASAP attempts to
restrict the view to a window drawn on the screen.  This should
probably be the default method of operation, except for the fact
that some programs don't position the cursor inside the window of
interest.  If your applications behave properly, you'll be
interested in using this method of viewing.

When you get a program that pops up a window, yet text both inside
and outside the window is spoken, you probably need to view by
windows in that program.

An good application of viewing by windows is seen when using the
List program or the WordPerfect 5.1 file list menu.  If you were
viewing one of these areas by screens, and you pressed the Down
Arrow, you'd hear more than one file name.  Viewing by windows, on
the other hand, restricts the view to the contents of the window in
which the cursor rests.

To change your viewing method, use Alt-V.  When you press Alt-V,
ASAP says, "View by" and announces the current viewing method.  To
change the viewing method, just press the first letter of the
desired method--"S" for screens, "C" for columns, or "W" for
windows.

                      Announce Typing as Words: Alt-W

Normally, ASAP announces the characters you type as they are
typed.  You may alter this behavior in two ways.  By using Alt-W,
you can make ASAP announce the characters as words.  When you do
this, you won't hear each individual character as it is typed;
instead, you'll hear the word you just typed as soon as you type
a non-alphabetic character such as a space or return.

When you turn on announcement by words, ASAP turns off the
announcement of each keystroke, but you may use Alt-K to turn on
the announcement of each keystroke while still using announcement
by words if you prefer.  

                     Extended Activity Checking: Alt-X

Extended Activity Checking refers to the process ASAP uses to
provide you extra information about what's on the screen when you
use the arrow keys.  It works by watching the cursor activity
when a key is pressed.  If no cursor activity occurs, ASAP
examines the screen and calculates the attribute or color that
occurs with the least frequency and announces the text appearing
with that attribute.  This feature is normally enabled, but you
can turn it off with Alt-X.  It is useful to note that when you
turn off Extended Activity Checking, ASAP turns into a screen
reader like the others on the market--that is, you lose the
benefits of automatic operation.  It is also useful to note that
when using telecommunications programs on some very slow
machines, it may sometimes be necessary to turn off Extended
Activity Checking.  You can determine the need for turning it off
in a telecommunications program if you seem to be losing
characters.

In addition to normal Extended Activity Checking, ASAP provides
super activity checking.  Super activity checking is used in
those programs that are extremely hostile to a speech
environment.  The most common cause of such hostility is a
program's taking over the keyboard.  When a program completely
takes over the keyboard, the screen reader never gets a chance to
act on the keys or commands you enter.  (Also see Intercept Keys
for hostile programs.)  You can tell if you need Super Activity
Checking if the program you're using doesn't talk.

Super activity checking is turned on by pressing the letter "S"
after you press the Alt-X to select Extended Activity Checking. 
You can turn off super activity checking by pressing "Y" for
normal Extended Activity Checking (the normal way you'll use
ASAP), or by choosing "N" for no kind of activity checking.

                  Support Computers of Yesteryear: Alt-Y

ASAP takes advantage of some of the advanced features of the AT
and PS/2 computers from IBM and their compatibles.  If you have
an older computer that doesn't support some of these advanced
functions, you can instruct ASAP to emulate them with the Alt-Y
command.  Unfortunately, if your computer doesn't support these
features, you won't be able to get into the Control Panel to turn
this emulation on.  Fortunately, you can specify this information
when you first start the program.  To do so, use the following
command to start the program.

ASAP @yy

If you used the INSTALL command as recommended, the "ASAP"
command line option was already put into your "S.BAT" file used
to get ASAP started.

It is recommended that you try ASAP without the @yy option first. 
Then, if you find that you can't get into the Control Panel, just
type the ASAP command again, this time followed by the @yy.  (ASAP
is smart enough to realize it is already running and takes this as
a command to change parameters, which is exactly what you want to
do.)  If it turns out that your computer requires this option, add
it to your batch file that gets the program going.

See also: Setting Options from the Command Line.

                           Zap a Command: Alt-Z

The Zap command is used to send control codes directly to your
synthesizer.  It is intended for advanced users and is, in fact,
a command you'll probably never need to use.

When you press Alt-Z, ASAP says, "Enter command and press Alt-Z
when through."  At that point, you may type any control string
that directly controls your synthesizer.  This is designed to
take advantage of special modes your synthesizer may have that
ASAP doesn't directly support.  Once you've typed the control
string, press Alt-Z to actually send that string to your
synthesizer.  Again, this command is not for the novice.  You
should possess detailed knowledge of your synthesizer's control
code system before using it.

                    Miscellaneous Settings and Commands

                 Announce Version Information: Number Sign

Pressing the Number Sign key (a shifted "3") makes ASAP announce
information about the date the program was released along with
your registration number.

Normal BIOS Interception: Ctrl-B

When DOS 5.0 was introduced, so was a bug in ANSI.SYS that makes
it very unpleasant to use with speech.  Normally, ASAP detects
and corrects the behavior so objectionable to speech users.  That
is, Normal BIOS Interception is set to "No."  There are times,
though, when you might want to turn this feature off.  There are
some programs, especially some written specifically for use with
speech synthesis, that require setting Normal BIOS Interception
to "Yes."

MS-DOS 6.0 supports the use of a switch, /R, for use with
ANSI.SYS to make its behavior more like ANSI.SYS before DOS 5.0. 
You may add the /R switch to the ANSI.SYS line in your CONFIG.SYS
file, then set ASAP's Normal BIOS Interception to "Yes."  Recall
that you can set the BIOS setting directly from the command line
with "^BY" at the end of the line.

                           Delimit Word: Ctrl-D

Normally, when you use ASAP's Next Word and Previous Word
commands to examine the screen, ASAP treats the space as a word
delimiter.  That is, ASAP moves the reading cursor to the next
group of characters past a space or a group of spaces.  By using
the Delimit Word command, you can instruct ASAP to treat another
character as a word delimiter.  This is used in cases where you
have a long string of characters separated with something other
than a space.  There are often instances, for example, of a
string of numbers all separated with commas instead of spaces. 
ASAP's Delimit Word command lets you tell ASAP to use those
commas as word boundaries.

To set the character to treat as a word delimiter, move the
reading cursor to that character, then press Ctrl-D.  ASAP then
asks if it should turn on the Delimit Word function with that
character.

                         Emulation Cursor: Ctrl-E

ASAP normally tells where your PC's cursor is located by
examining locations in the BIOS data area.  As you already saw,
you can make ASAP determine the cursor's position through the use
of a software cursor; that is, you can make ASAP treat a
character or a color on the screen as if it were the cursor,
regardless of what the BIOS data area says.  This is useful for
programs that don't use the normal PC cursor.  There is yet
another class of programs, fortunately much less in use, that
employs yet another method of tracking the cursor.  This method
involves using a BIOS service which returns the cursor position
to the calling program.  You can instruct ASAP to use this method
of determining the cursor's position if you use one of these
programs.  It should be noted that the only programs we have ever
seen that use this method are some terminal emulation packages. 
You can tell if you need to use this method by the fact that ASAP
doesn't keep up with your cursor position.  You might get into an
editor on the main frame and type a word or two, checking the
cursor position as you go.  If ASAP keeps reporting the same
cursor position, try the Ctrl-E method.

The Emulation Cursor setting is local, so if you determine that
it makes a program work for you, save the set file, and that
setting will take effect each time you start that application.

                          Filter Quoting: Ctrl-F

If you are into telecommunications and use an off-line mail
reading program to keep up with echo mail such as is found on
Fidonet, you'll know the tendency of users to quote messages
they're replying to.  While this quoting is useful to remind
others what your message regards, it is too often overused.  It
isn't uncommon, for instance, to find a message with 15 lines of
quoted material with a single line response at the end.  If you've
torn your hair out over this awful habit, you'll appreciate ASAP's
Filter Quoting feature.  When you turn Filter Quoting on, all those
lines of quoted material are not spoken, and you hear only the
response (or the current message).  Of course, if you're interested
in hearing what the quoted lines are on a particular message, you
can still use the normal screen review commands to examine any part
of the message.  The quotes are only filtered as the message is
read to you the first time.

Filter Quoting is a setting that can be saved, so if you use an
off-line mail reading program, you'll probably want to make Filter
Quoting one of the settings for that program.  See "Saving
Settings" later in this manual for details on that.

Filter Quoting works by looking for one of three characters in the
first five columns of a line.  These characters are ">," "*," and
"-."  If one of these characters is found, ASAP simply ignores that
line and moves on to the next one.


Note that Filter Quoting only works on programs like mail readers
that don't send their output through BIOS.  If you are working with
a program that does send its information through BIOS, turn this
feature off to take advantage of Filter Quoting.

                          Ham Radio Mode: Ctrl-H

Ham radio mode lets ASAP announce words with numbers in them by
spelling the entire word.  This is called ham radio mode, because
it is often useful when using ham applications for identifying
call letters without making the speech try to pronounce them as
words.

Ham radio mode is accessed with Ctrl-H.  When you press Ctrl-H,
ASAP says, "Ham Mode = No."  To turn it on, press "Y" for "Yes." 
Ham mode is a local setting, so you can save the setting for each
application you use it with.

                    Temporary Keyboard Silence: Ctrl-K

Another telecommunications feature you'll find useful is ASAP's
Temporary Keyboard Silence command.  Temporary Keyboard Silence
lets you turn off the announcing of keystrokes until you press
the next Enter key.  This feature is most useful when logging
onto a system with others in the room and you need to type a
private password.  Pressing keypad 0 followed with Ctrl-K lets
you temporarily turn off the speech while you type your password. 
When you press the Enter key, your speech comes back on.  You may
find it useful to make a user defined key for your
telecommunications program that lets you use Ctrl-K without
hitting keypad 0 first.  See "User Defined Keys" for more
information on this procedure.

                         Noise Suppression: Ctrl-N

Pressing Ctrl-N makes ASAP prompt, "Noise Suppression = No." 
Press "Y" to make ASAP suppress noises it generates through your
computer's speaker.  Such noises include beeps ASAP makes when
using the Read By Screens command and beeps associated with using
the Next Word and Previous Word commands when the reading cursor
moves to a new line on the screen.

Noise Suppression is a global command, so once set, it stays in
effect no matter the application.

                 Changing the Path for Network Use: Ctrl-P

If you are using ASAP in a network environment, you may wish to
let each ASAP user set a path to hold private set files specific
to that user.  To do this, use ASAP's Change Path command,
accessed with Ctrl-P.  When you press Ctrl-P, ASAP asks, "Enter
New Path" and waits for you to type a valid directory path to
indicate where ASAP's set files are stored.

Don't forget that you can also modify the path setting from the
command line when you start ASAP.  To do this, add "^p" and the
path to the end of the line that starts ASAP.  The following
example shows an ASAP command line that starts ASAP up for use
with the LiteTalk connected to COM2 and the path set to C:\LARRY:

ASAP LT COM2 ^PC:\LARRY\

                           The Numeric Commands

ASAP, in addition to the commands already discussed, supports
several commands that use numeric adjustments.  These are all
invoked by pressing the number of interest (from 1 to 9) followed
with a letter to indicate the adjustment desired.  (You must use
the numbers at the top of the keyboard, not those on the numeric
keypad.)  The following paragraphs describe these commands.

            Setting Pitch, Volume, Speed, and Special Function


You may adjust several of your synthesizer's basic operating
characteristics by using the number commands followed with a key
letter.  The key letters are S for Speed, P for Pitch, V for
Volume, and F for Special Function.  Pressing keypad 0 followed
with 5S, for instance, sets your synthesizer's speed to 5.

Keep in mind that all the synthesizer commands are global
parameters.  That means that they maintain their values between
applications.  This also means you don't save them with your set
files.  To start up your synthesizer with a specific speed, volume,
pitch, or special function, add the number and letter to the end of
the command line.  The following line shows a typical setup for the
Accent synthesizer:

ASAP accent lpt3 6s4v

The above line tells ASAP to use an Accent synthesizer in LPT3 with
speed 6 and volume 4.

                        Special Function: 1 to 9 F

Many synthesizers offer features that aren't found on all
synthesizers.  The Special Function setting lets you control
these special functions.  As the program is supplied, ASAP
supports special functions for the DoubleTalk and LiteTalk, the
Artic and VoTalker, and the DEC-Talk.  Check the section of this
manual discussing your synthesizer for information about the
Special Function with respect to your system.

The DoubleTalk and LiteTalk's user function affects a feature
called the "filter" value.  The filter value adjusts the voice
quality.  One of the settings, number 9, raises the filter to a
high value that, when combined with speed level 9, provides
extremely fast speech.

The Artic and VoTalker's user function command affects a
parameter known as the filter, much like the filter available for
DoubleTalk and LiteTalk.

The DEC-Talk's user function command changes the voices.  Recall
from your DEC-Talk manual that the synthesizer comes with 9
different voices.  The user function can be used to switch
between these voices.  One note of interest is that one of the
parameters used to make these special voices is the pitch value,
so you may also have to adjust the pitch to maintain the voice of
interest.

                        Pitch Adjustment: 1 to 9 P

Many synthesizers support the ability to adjust the average pitch
of the speech.  ASAP lets you adjust your synthesizer's average
pitch by pressing a number from 1 to 9 followed with the letter
"P."

ASAP confirms your new pitch setting by saying, in the new pitch,
"Pitch set."

Recall that when ASAP notifies you about a capital letter, it
raises the pitch by 5 notches.  That means that if your pitch
level is set to a number above 5, the pitch actually "rolls
around" past the highest level and gives you a lower pitch
notification.

                        Speed Adjustment: 1 to 9 S

ASAP lets you set one of 9 different speeds to conform to your
listening abilities.  As you become more experienced, you'll
probably use faster speeds.  At first, though, you'll probably
want to use the lower settings.

When ASAP starts, it uses speed 5.  You may change it by pressing
a number from 1 to 9 followed by the letter "S."  ASAP confirms
your adjustment by saying "Speed set" at the new speed.

Don't forget that once you're a little more accustomed with
speech synthesis, you'll want to take advantage of ASAP's ability
to make the speech start at any speed, volume, or pitch you wish. 
If you want to start ASAP with speed 8, for example, just change
the command that starts ASAP from "ASAP" to "ASAP 8s".  Of
course, you'll probably want to do this in your AUTOEXEC.BAT or
S.BAT file.  Get complete details about this capability in the
section called "Setting Options from the Command Line."

                        Volume Adjustment: 1 to 9 V

ASAP supports 9 volume levels.  The program starts out with the
volume set at level 5, but you may change it at any time or
instruct the program to start with a different volume level. 
Just press a number from 1 to 9 followed by the letter "V."  ASAP
responds with a message saying "Volume set" at the new volume
level.

                                  Windows

ASAP supports the use of windows to help monitor screen activity. 
Windows, in this context, are regions of the screen that might
each contain relevant information.  In addition to windows used
by the application, you can also make windows to access specific
parts of the screen that aren't visually indicated.  Defining
windows lets you restrict the amount of information on
complicated screens so you focus on the areas you are interested
in.  Normally, you'll want to use ASAP's View by Windows command
to restrict ASAP's view to the material within windows as defined
by the application.  (Using View by Windows lets ASAP identify
and define the application's windows automatically.)  There are
times, however, when you'll want to manually define windows for
specific purposes.  The commands in this section explain this
procedure.

Window commands are preceded with the window number of interest. 
(Since ASAP supports the use of nine different windows, you can
use numbers from 1 to 9.  These numbers must, however, be typed
from the main part of the keyboard since the keypad numbers are
used to move about and read the screen.)  Don't forget that you can
precede these commands and any other Control Panel commands with
keypad 0 without actually going into the Control Panel.

Depending on what you want to do with a window, you'll follow the
window number with a letter that tells ASAP what to do with that
window.  Pressing "A," for example, tells ASAP to announce the
contents of that window.

By default, all nine windows are defined to the entire screen.  You
change the definition of a window with the Set Top Left and Set
Bottom Right commands as discussed shortly.

                   Set Top Left of a Window: [window] T
                 Set Bottom Right of a Window: [window] B

You use the Set Top Left and Set Bottom Right commands to define
a window. 

Since windows must be defined before use, you'll want to use the
commands to tell ASAP what part of the screen it should consider
as a window.

To define a window, move your reading position to the top left of
the prospective window.  You don't necessarily need to know the
exact position of the top left by its row and column number;
you'll often use the reading cursor to move to the top left of
the prospective window by the text without even knowing exactly
what row and column you're on.

After you get the reading cursor to the top left edge of the new
window, decide which window number to use.  You may choose a
number between 1 and 9.  When you decide, press that number, then
press the letter "T".  Pressing the window number followed with
"T," tells ASAP to use the reading cursor's position as the top
left edge of that window.  ASAP responds with "Top left was A 1,
set to C 5?"  This example assumes you moved the reading cursor
up to row C (the third row), column 5.  Notice that ASAP tells
you what the top left was previously set to, so you can cancel
the setting if the old setting is something you want to keep.  If
the new setting is agreeable, press "Y" or Enter to accept the
new setting.  Otherwise, press Escape to cancel the action.

To set the bottom of the window, move to the place you want to
define as the bottom right corner, press the window number again,
and press "B" for "bottom."  Again, ASAP confirms your action by
announcing "Bottom right was Y 80, set to X 50?"  Again, you can
press "Y" or Enter to accept the new setting, or press Escape to
cancel the action and maintain the previous value.

                    Zooming in on a Window: [window] Z

Once you've defined windows for a particular application, use the
"Z" key to zoom in on and make the window active.  You zoom in on
a window by pressing the window number followed by the letter
"Z".  To make the window named 1 active, you'd enter the Control
Panel (or use 0 on the keypad), press "1", then press "Z".  ASAP
responds by announcing the text on the line you were last on in
that window.  If this is the first time you zoom in on a
particular window, the top line of that window is announced
instead.  

When you zoom in on a window, your attention is focused on that
section of the screen.  You may still use the Control Panel to
see any other part of the screen, but all monitoring and activity
checking is confined to the active window.

When you zoom back in on a previously used window, ASAP puts your
reading position in the exact spot in that window where it was
when you left the window.  In other words, if your reading
position were at line 5, column 3 in window 1, and you zoomed in
on window 2, then returned to window 1, your reading position
would be returned to row 5, column 3.

          Closing a Window and Returning to a Full Screen View: 0

While the numbers 1 through 9 prepare you to work with a window
with the number you type, the number 0 closes any active window
and returns you to a full screen view.  When you press 0, ASAP
says, "Full screen" and makes the entire screen the active
window.  Note that even though you close a window, you may still
zoom in on it later, announce the contents of the window, or
perform any of the other window-related commands.  Closing a
window doesn't affect its definition, it merely changes your
focus to the full screen.

Don't confuse the 0 used for resetting your view to the full
screen with the 0 (on the numeric keypad) used for the one-shot
Control Panel commands.  Remember, the numbers at the top of your
keyboard are used for window-related activities, and resetting
your view to the full screen is a window-related action.

                Announcing a Window's Contents: [window] A

It is possible to announce a window's contents without selecting
the window.  To do so, press the window number of interest, then
press "A" for "announce."  The announcing has no effect on the
currently active window, nor does it affect the reading position. 
It simply announces the contents of one of the other windows.

                           Memorize: [window] M

There are a lot of times when you'll see a phone number on the
screen that you'd like to jot down.  ASAP lets you memorize nine
different little pieces of information for recall later.  ASAP
stores the information in "memory banks."  There are nine
different memory banks you may use to store bits of information,
and each memory bank holds 16 characters of text.

To memorize information, set a window corresponding to the text
to memorize.  Use the window number of the memory bank you want
to store the information in.

Once you set the window for the information to memorize, press
the memory bank number that corresponds to the window and then
press "M".  ASAP responds by announcing the text in that window
as it memorizes it.

See also: Set Top Left, Set Bottom Right; Recall

                          Recall: [memory bank] R

Once you've memorized a little jot of information, ASAP remains
ready to recall the information when you ask for it.  It types
out the information just as if you had typed it out on the
keyboard.  You won't want to use the recall command, in fact,
unless the application you're using is ready to take such
information.  You wouldn't want, for example, to use the recall
command while in the help screen of some program.  Instead, use
it either in an editor when you're ready for that specific piece
of information or when some program asks for the information.

To recall the information, follow these easy steps:

1.  Press "0" on the keypad.  Remember, this lets you use a
Control Panel command without actually going into the Control
Panel.  The recall command, in fact, cannot be used from within
the Control Panel.  If you were in the Control Panel when you
issued the recall command, the Control Panel would interpret all
the characters from the memory bank as if they were Control Panel
commands, and this is not what you want.

2.  Press the number of the memory bank where you stored the
information.

3.  Press the letter "R".

See also: Memorize.

                    Using a Software Cursor: [window] U

While most applications use the normal system cursor (which is
defined by the computer's BIOS), some programs, for one reason or
another, choose to emulate the system cursor by making their own
cursor out of a different color pattern or a specific character
(such as an arrow pointing to the right)  These emulated cursors
are called "software cursors" because the cursor is made with the
software running at the moment rather than with the BIOS.

As you already know, the cursor is used to focus your attention
to the point of action on the screen.  ASAP, recognizing that
most applications use the normal system cursor, normally focuses
on the system cursor, too.  That way, when you use the Read
Current Line command, you hear the line where the cursor is
positioned.  If you use a program that pins the system cursor to
some place on the screen, you will know because when you use the
Read Current Line command, you always hear the same thing no
matter what you do to the application.  In many cases, ASAP works
perfectly with such programs without doing a thing, because ASAP
automatically announces color changes that might occur when you
use the application.  The Read Current Line command, however,
might continually yield the same line.  Often, this won't matter. 
If it does, and you need to use commands on the numeric keypad to
closely examine your current position, you'll want to let ASAP
know that it should be looking for a software cursor instead of
continuing to focus on the system cursor.

There are also applications that use two cursors, one of them to
edit and the other to provide additional information about the
material to edit.  Often, the second cursor is not a cursor in
the real sense of the word, but instead, colors or attributes are
changed to mark a position of importance to that application.
WordPerfect is an example of an application that uses this
technique in the "reveal codes" mode.  In this mode, the screen
is split into two sections.  The upper part of the screen appears
normally and uses the real cursor.  The bottom section shows the
same text along with the hidden formatting codes.  WordPerfect
uses a software cursor to indicate the editing position in this
window.  If you have a color monitor, the cursor is shown, for
example, as a character with a red background.

Note: if an application uses only a software cursor and not the
real cursor, ASAP is smart enough to realize this and
automatically switches to software cursor tracking for that
application.  The only time you need to manually specify the use
of software cursor tracking is when the application uses both
cursor techniques and you prefer focusing on the software cursor.

ASAP lets you use the software cursor as your editing cursor.  To
use a software cursor, you must follow these steps.

 1.  Define a window to use as the section of the screen that
     contains the software cursor.  If the software cursor can
     appear anywhere on the screen, define a window as the entire
     screen.  (Restricting software cursor tracking to a window is
     necessary in case the application uses the same attribute to
     display other kinds of information other places on the
     screen.)  

 2.  Move to the character that represents the attribute of the
     software cursor.  In other words, if the software cursor is
     represented by a letter displayed in red with a white
     background, move to that character.  Similarly, if the
     software cursor is represented by a specific character, move
     to that character with the reading cursor.

 3.  Press the window number you set up in step 1 followed by the
     letter "U".

When you complete step 3, ASAP announces the attributes of the
cursor you've selected and offers to turn it on.  It might say,
"White on red.  Use cursor color = no."  If the information is
correct, press "Y" for "yes."  If, on the other hand, you want ASAP
to consider an ASCII character as the cursor, press "A" for
"ASCII."

In addition to turning the cursor color monitoring on, ASAP lets
you turn it off in order to use a previously set color.  If you
come upon a situation where the cursor can be one of two different
colors, use a second window with the same boundaries as the first,
and identify the secondary color in the second window.  ASAP looks
for software cursors in all the windows you've specified in the
order from lowest to highest.

If you've already set up a cursor color for a section of the screen
and later turned it off, use the "P" (for previous) command to use
the previously selected colors.  This prevents you from having to
move your reading cursor to the color of interest before turning on
the software cursor again.  If using an ASCII cursor, you must move
the reading cursor back to that character to turn it back on after
turning it off.

In addition to selecting Yes, No, or Previous at the software
cursor prompt, you may use Alt along with the arrow keys to change
the color selection.  This method of setting the software cursor
lets you set up colors without moving your reading cursor to the
attribute of interest.  Note, however, that you still have to move
the reading cursor to the character to specify if you use the ASCII
cursor method.  The Alt Arrow combinations are handy for quickly
setting up attributes you already know or for setting up attributes
for colors that aren't currently on the screen.

                          Quiet Zone: [window] Q

Sometimes, an application's screen displays material that is
annoying or that you just don't want to hear.  There are also
times, when reading some kinds of lists, for instance, when you
don't want to hear the material in the middle of the line.  ASAP
lets you define a Quiet Zone to mask out any material that
appears in that zone.

To set a Quiet Zone, first define a window to bound the area. 
If, for example, there were a clock at the upper right corner of
the screen, you might set the top left edge of window 8 for A 50
and the bottom right edge of window 8 for A 80.  Window 8 is used
in this example, but you can use any window number.  You'll use
whatever window number you choose when it comes time to turn on
the Quiet Zone.

Once you define a window to use as a Quiet Zone, press that
window number followed by the letter "Q."  When you do, ASAP says
something like the following:

Quiet Zone was A 1, A 1.

Set to A 50, A 80?

Quiet Zone = No

This message shows you what the Quiet Zone was previously set to
and what you are about to change it to.  If you agree to set the
Quiet Zone to A 50, A 80, press the letter "Y" for "yes."  If you
see that this isn't really what you want to do, press Escape; no
action is taken.  You may also turn off a Quiet Zone that was
previously on by pressing "N" for "no."

Quiet Zones get saved with your set files, so you can set up a
program once and forget about it.

                        Monitoring Screen Activity

While ASAP performs admirably at anticipating what you want to
hear with screen activity, it can't cover every possible
situation.  For those rare exceptions, there is a wide range of
powerful tools to help customize the information you get from an
application.  Probably the most useful of these tools is the
Window Monitor; often it makes a program talk more than it does
naturally by relaxing ASAP's discrimination about what gets
spoken. The following paragraphs describe some of ASAP's screen
monitoring functions.  

                 Monitor Character and Read Line: 1 to 9 L

ASAP lets you monitor up to 9 different characters on the screen. 
When the character at the monitored position changes, ASAP reads
the entire line where that character is located.  (See the
following sections for other types of monitoring functions.)

To set up a monitor for line reading, get your cursor to the
position on the screen to monitor and press the number you wish
to assign to the monitored character.  Numbers, again, range from
1 to 9.  Next, press "L" for "line."  ASAP lets you confirm your
selection or cancel the command if you pressed the command
sequence by mistake.  You may also turn off previously set
monitored positions by pressing the number assigned to the
monitor, pressing "L", and then telling the program "no."

          Monitoring Characters and Announcing Windows: 1 to 9 C

In addition to monitoring characters to hear the line that the
character appears on, you can have ASAP announce one of the
windows when the monitored character changes.

To turn on monitoring with windows announced, move your cursor to
the position on the screen you are interested in, then type the
number of the window to read.  Next, type "C" for "character." 
Again, you may at this point either turn on the monitoring,
cancel the action, or turn off a previously set monitor.

                    Monitoring Entire Windows: 1 to 9 W

In addition to monitoring characters to hear lines and windows,
ASAP lets you monitor an entire window.  When a character in the
window changes, ASAP announces the line within the window of the
character that changed.  This is probably the most used of the
monitoring features; if monitoring a window doesn't get an
application talking, there is probably nothing that will.  You'll
monitor entire windows when you want to hear about any changes in
the window.

To turn on monitoring of windows, press the number of the window
to monitor followed with the letter "W" for "window."  As usual,
ASAP announces the current status of that window's monitoring
(either "yes" or "no") and lets you change the status by turning
it on with "Y" or turning it off with "N".

                      Extended Monitoring: [window] E

Sometimes you want to watch one section of the screen yet
announce another part of the screen when the section being
watched changes.  You can do that with Extended Monitoring. 
Here's how it works:

First, set up the window to monitor in the usual way.  Second,
define a second window that will be the window to announce when the
first window changes.  Finally, press the number of the first
window (the one to watch) followed with the letter "E."  ASAP tells
you what is the current extended window (the one to be read when
the first window changes) and tells you to press another number to
indicate the window to announce.  If, for example, you chose to
monitor window 1 and announce window 2, you'd press 1e.  ASAP
announces, "Nothing is announced.  Enter the window to announce or
0 to turn it off."  You would then press "2" to announce the
contents of window 2 when window 1 changes.

                         Extra Action: [setting] X

While ASAP automatically loads a new set file to provide custom
speech settings for each application you use, ASAP also lets you
watch different parts of the screen for something to appear or
disappear within that application.  When that happens, ASAP
either loads up a whole new batch of settings or lets you perform
a User Defined Key function.  This is useful when a program
contains many different sections that act differently with speech
or sections you want the speech to perform differently in.

To use the Extra Action feature, get into the program you want to
fine tune.  Set up the speech environment how you want for the
main part of the program, then save the settings.  (Save ASAP's
settings with Ctrl-S from the Control Panel or keypad 0 followed
with Ctrl-S from anywhere else.)  When you next start that
program, ASAP loads those default settings.

Once you've saved your preferred settings for the main part of
the program, give the program the commands to get to the section
you want to fine tune.  Once you get to that section, find
something on the screen that uniquely identifies this particular
part of the program.  In the set files created for use for
WordPerfect, for instance, a good choice for the reveal codes
screen would be the word "Reveal" on WordPerfect's status line.

Hint:  While looking for a unique word to identify a specific
part of an application, be watching to see if there is some
unique text that always indicates you are back at the main screen
of the program.  In the case of the WordPerfect program, this
word is "Pos" which appears on line Y at column 72.  If there is
a word that meets this criterion, make an Extra Action trigger to
use the base set file.  That way, when that word appears on the
screen, ASAP uses your default speech environment when that
screen appears.  It is a good idea to set the phrase or word that
loads the default settings first, because, as you create new
settings, they inherit the current settings; that means that
you've already got a way to unload that set file and pull back in
the default settings before you even get started.  If you don't
quite follow the concept of re-loading the default preferred
settings, don't worry about it.  You'll get more information on
that later and as you practice creating your own settings.

Taking the case of the WordPerfect reveal codes screen as an
example of using the Extra Action feature, notice that when you're
using the reveal codes screen, the word "reveal" appears on the
status line.  Use your reading cursor to find and move to that
word.  Once you have the reading cursor on the first letter of the
word, press keypad 0, then a number from the top part of the main
part of the keyboard.  (That number represents the setting area to
use; there are nine possible areas for each set file.)  Once you
press the number, press "x".  When you do, ASAP says, "Extra Action
= No," indicating that area has not previously been set.  Now press
"s" to set ASAP to look for that word in that position on the
screen.  When you press "s," ASAP asks when you want to take the
action; either when the text appears or when the text disappears. 
(Press either "a" or "d" to indicate your choice.  In this case,
you would want "a," because you want to load a new set file when
the word "reveal" appears at position y 7.  Next, ASAP asks if you
want to load a new set file or use a User Defined Key; for this
example, press "s" for "set file."  Finally, ASAP asks you to type
the number of the set file to load.  This number should be from 0
to 99.  (Use 0 to indicate you want to load the default set file. 
Don't worry that the set file you want to load doesn't yet exist;
when the conditions are met, ASAP tells you it is loading the new
set file, and you can then make changes to the speech environment,
then save the new set file.

Triggering on Text: S settings.)

Once you put your reading cursor on the area of interest to trigger
some action, you can trigger the action based on the text, the text
and the color, the background color, or the foreground color.  The
most general way to trigger settings is with text and no color. 
This is most often used because it depends only on the text; if you
change the program's color scheme or switch to a monochrome
display, the settings still trigger.  Use "s" to set the trigger
for text only.

Trigger on Text and Color: C

In addition to "s" to set the trigger for text, you can restrict
the trigger more by using "c".  When you use "c," the text must
appear; in addition, the same color must be used.  You would want
to use "c" if the "s" setting was two general and there is the
possibility of text appearing where the trigger action is set. 
Note that if you set up the trigger for a color, you will want to
make provisions to also set the color if the application you are
using will run on a monochrome system.  See "Switching from Color
to Mono" later in this manual for more details on that process.

Trigger on Background or Foreground: B or F

Along with "s" and "c," you may use "b" and "f" for "background"
and "foreground."  When you set the trigger for background or
foreground, only the background or foreground color is used to
trigger the action; the text at the indicated position doesn't
matter.

Monitor Action and Quiet Monitoring: M and Q

In addition to "s," "c," "b," and "f," you may use "m" and "q" to
"monitor" and "quiet" the loading of set files.  Each time you make
a new Extra Action function, ASAP turns on monitoring of set files
to help you confirm that what you think you are doing is actually
happening.  Once you've confirmed your actions, you'll want to use
the "q" setting to quiet this monitoring.  Likewise, if you decide
you want to later monitor loading set files, use "m" to turn
monitoring on.  Note that the initial number you type (before the
"x" for Extra Action) doesn't matter for the Monitor and Quiet
settings; the Monitor and Quiet settings effect all the areas being
monitored for Extra Action.

Disable and Enable Loading Extra Action Set Files: d and e

The disable option lets you turn off ASAP's loading of set files or
User Defined Key functions when an action area is set.  This is
used primarily when you get into a situation where you need to
adjust a set file, but that set file doesn't stay around long
enough to work with because it is triggering the loading of another
set file.  Using the disable option, you can get into the program
and adjust the set file action areas as you like.  To re-enable the
loading of set files, use E instead of D. Again, as with the
"quiet" and "monitor" selections, the number you press to access
"disable" or "enable" doesn't matter; you just need to press one of
the numbers to gain access to the Extra Action area.

Turn Trigger Off: N

You may turn off one of the areas you are monitoring by pressing
the number of that area, the "x," and a "n" for "No."  When the
Extra Action is turned off, the specified action does not take
place.

When to Take Action: Appear or Disappear

After you've selected the number of the action window and set what
to trigger on, ASAP asks when you want to take the action; either
when the text appears or when it disappears.  Press "a" to indicate
"appears" or "d" for "disappears."  This setting lets you control
when the action should take place.  If the text appears on the
screen, the specified action occurs if you selected "appear."  If
you select "disappear," the action takes place when the text
disappears from the screen.  This means that the text must have
already been on the screen, then disappeared in order for the
specified action to take place.  In other words, if you set an
action to trigger when text disappears, it will not trigger just
because the text is not currently on the screen; it triggers when
the text appears, then disappears.  In most cases, you'll use the
"appear" setting, but "disappear" comes in handy in cases where the
main part of a program does not have some unique text on the screen
that can be used for triggering loading of the default settings. 
In other words, in the case of the WordPerfect reveal codes screen,
you could have the new set file watch for the word "reveal" to
disappear from the screen and when that happens, load the default
settings.  In this case, though, it is much easier to have one of
the Extra Action areas set to watch for the word "pos" at position
y 72 and load set file 0 when it appears.  Again, if you can find
the unique word that indicates that you are back at the main screen
of an application, it is best to set an Extra Action window to load
set file 0 for that condition; that way, as you create new set
files, they will already have a way to unload themselves.  (By
convention, Extra Action area number 9 is used to retrieve the
original settings.  That leaves you with the first eight areas in
case you want to load other set files once you are at that screen.)

Note that while you may specify "disappear" as the "when" section
of the Extra Action, that text has to already be on the screen when
you first create the Extra Action area.  (Remember, you use the
reading cursor to point to that text.)

What to Do: Set File or Key Command

Once you've told ASAP what to look for and when to take the action,
it is time to tell it what to do.  You may either have ASAP load a
new settings file (indicated by pressing "s," or you may have ASAP
execute a User Defined Key function (by using "k.")  In most cases,
you'll use "s" for "set file."  When you press "s," ASAP asks you
to type a two digit number representing the set file to load when
the specified action occurs.  This number can be in the range from
0 to 99.  Use set file 0 to retrieve the default settings.  When
you type the number of the set file to load, ASAP saves the set
file you are currently working with.  This is necessary to preserve
the settings you just made, because if you had chosen to load a new
set file when text appears on the screen, that new set file gets
loaded right away (because the text is already on the screen.)  If,
on the other hand, you indicated you wanted to load the set file
when the text disappears, the specified set file won't get loaded
until the indicated text disappears from the screen.

When you use a User Defined Key function (by selecting "k" at the
"What to Do" prompt) as a trigger action, ASAP asks you to press
the key that represents the User Defined Key.  You will likely want
to have already set a User Defined Key before selecting this
option, but it isn't absolutely necessary.  See User Defined Keys
later in this manual for complete details on setting up User
Defined Keys.  Once you've pressed the User Defined Key to execute,
ASAP saves the set file to permanently record the new settings.

When you have the action set, ASAP watches the part of the screen
you indicated in the command for the specified text or color and
the specified type (either appear or disappear.)  When the
conditions are met, ASAP either loads up a new file of settings or
executes the specified User Defined Key.

Take a look at the supplied WordPerfect settings files for an
example of how Extra Action functions work.  The documentation to
these settings is contained in the file called WP.TXT in your ASAP
directory.  While those settings are already created, you might
want to follow the discussion below for hints and tips for creating
set files for other applications.

Example: the WordPerfect Set Files

When you first start WordPerfect, ASAP automatically loads up a
settings file called WP.SET from the ASAP directory.  This
particular settings file doesn't do much except watch for certain
key words that identify WordPerfect screens or modes that don't
normally work particularly well with speech.  One of these key
words is "Reveal" which appears at position Y 7.  When you press
Alt-F3 to bring up the Reveal Codes screen, WordPerfect splits the
screen into two parts.  The top half of the screen contains normal
text and a normal cursor.  The bottom part of the screen, on the
other hand, contains text with codes in it.  What's more, the
cursor used to mark the place you're editing in the bottom part of
the screen is identified by a color different from the rest of that
part of the screen.  Normally, ASAP can handle the use of this kind
of cursor (called a software cursor).  Unfortunately, when there
are both types of cursors on the screen, ASAP wants to use the more
traditional system cursor.  It is in cases like this that ASAP's
software cursor facility is used.  Follow these steps to setup ASAP
to handle this situation.

First, press Alt-F3 to bring up the Reveal Codes screen.  Notice
that the word "Reveal" appears at line Y column 7.

Use the reading cursor movement commands (on the numeric keypad) to
move your reading cursor to that position.

Next, decide which set file area to use when this word appears on
the screen as it does now.  For the sake of this example, use 1 as
the area.

Having selected 1 as the desired area, press keypad 0 followed with
1 (at the top of the keyboard).  As with the rest of the numeric
functions, ASAP responds, "Option" and waits for you to tell it
what to do next.

Press "X" to tell ASAP to use the Extra Action function.  When you
press the "X," ASAP says, "Extra Action = No."  It says, "No"
because there's no extra action currently defined.  That's what
you're about to do now.

To set the extra action window, press "S" for "set."  When you
press "S," ASAP records the cursor position and the text, then it
asks you if you want to take the action when the text appears or
disappears.  Press "a" for "appears," because you want to load a
new set file when that text appears on the screen.  Next, ASAP
asks, "What to Do: Set File or Key Command."  Press "s" for "set
file."  Finally, ASAP asks which set file to load when the
conditions are met.  Type 01 to indicate you want to load set file
1 when "reveal" appears at position Y 7.  Once you type the set
file number to load, ASAP saves the set file currently in use. 
This is WP.SET in this case.  You'll hear ASAP announce its actions
as they occur.  ASAP says, "Set Reveal at Y 7" while it records,
then it says, "Saving WP.SET" as it saves the current settings. 
Next, since the text appears on the screen now, ASAP loads up a new
set file that corresponds to the number you indicated with the set
file number.

  If WP.001 doesn't yet exist, it inherits the settings passed to
it from the settings in use when the trigger happens.  You'll hear
ASAP say, "Loading WP.001" as it loads up the new settings.

Now that WP.001 is in use, it is time to define the window that
contains the software cursor.  Notice that the Reveal Codes window
goes from N 1 to X 80.  Use the Set Top Left and Set Bottom Right
commands to set up this area of the screen.  In the set files
supplied on the disk, window 1 was used, but you can select any
window.

After setting the window, move the reading cursor to the software
cursor.  If you're at the top of the file, this will be at position
N 1.  When you get the reading cursor to the software cursor, press
1 U to tell ASAP to use the software cursor in window 1 at the
reading cursor.  When you press 1 U, ASAP says the color of the
character at the reading cursor and adds, "Use Software Cursor =
No."  Press "Y" to tell ASAP to use that as the software cursor. 
If you like, press Ctrl-S to save the current settings now.  If
you're using a monochrome screen, though, you've got another step
to perform because in monochrome mode, WordPerfect displays the
codes that the cursor rests on with yet another color.  The
solution here is to set up a second window with exactly the same
boundaries as the first, move the cursor and the reading cursor to
a code, then tell ASAP to use that color as another software cursor
if the first one wasn't found.  This happens because if ASAP
doesn't find the specified software cursor in the first window, it
looks through any other windows you've set up with software cursors
until it finds one.  If it finds no software cursors at all, it
uses the system cursor.

Once you've set up window 2 and told ASAP to use the software
cursor that corresponds to the attribute WordPerfect uses for
displaying codes with the cursor on them, press another Ctrl-S to
save this set file again.

Finally, you're ready to tell ASAP how to recover the original
settings.  This happens when you press another Alt-F3 to return to
the normal editing screen.  Go ahead and press Alt-F3 now and get
the regular editing screen back.  Notice that while you've pressed
the WordPerfect command to return to the normal editing screen,
you're still using the settings from WP.001; this is because we
haven't yet told ASAP how to retrieve the normal, default settings.

Notice that the word "Pos" appears at position Y 70.  Move your
reading cursor to that position and press 9 X S.  When you press 9
X S, ASAP announces "Pos Set at Y 70" while it records the
information.  Next, ASAP asks if the action should happen when the
text appears or disappears; type "a" for "appears."  Finally, ASAP
asks if you want to load a set file or perform a User Defined key
function; press "s" to indicate "set file."  Finally, ASAP asks you
to type the number of the set file to load.  In this case, you'll
want to load set file 0 which is the default settings for the
current application.  ASAP says, "Saving WP.001" while it saves the
old settings file that was just in use.  Finally, since the trigger
text appears in the action window, ASAP loads up the new set file
again.  It announces, "Loading WP.SET" as it does.

Notice that ASAP announces the fact that it is saving and loading
set files while you're defining them.  You'll usually want to know
this while you're creating new settings.  When you've perfected
your work, though, you'll want to shut off this announcement. 
Actually, the next time you run ASAP, those announcements won't
happen unless you want them.  But, you can turn them off, too, if
you like.  To turn off the announcements, press 1 X Q (for Quiet.) 
Note that you can also turn this monitoring of saving and loading
back on by pressing 1 X M (for "monitor.")

Hint: when you first create a set of files like those described
here, it is a good idea to go ahead and set up trigger text number
9 right off.  That way, when the new setting files inherit the
characteristics of the original, they'll already be setup to
recover the original settings.  If you do this, though, be careful
to save your new creations before switching back to a screen that
contains the action text.

This all sounds rather complicated, and it is.  Fortunately, ASAP
works fine for many programs without any settings files at all. 
Take comfort in the fact that you can use these techniques to set
up an environment to your exact taste, save it once, and use it
from then on.

                         Loading Set Files: Ctrl-L

As an aid to creating set files, ASAP gives you the ability to
manually load specific set files for the application you are
using.  There are two ways to load set files manually.  Pressing
Ctrl-L makes ASAP load the base set file for the application in
use.  In addition, you can precede the Ctrl-L with a number from
1 to 99 to indicate which set file for that application you want
to load.  Pressing 53 followed with Ctrl-L, for example, loads
set file number 53 for the application in use at the time.  Even
though there is not yet a set file with the desired number, you
may still want to load that file, make adjustments to the
operating environment, then save that set file for later use with
the Ctrl-S command.  (See "Saving Set Files" later in this
manual.)

                           More about Set Files

Once you've created a masterpiece set file, you might be
interested in sharing it with other ASAP users.  They'd sure
appreciate it, and you'd probably love to get some creations from
other ASAP users.

When you create a group of set files for an application, take the
time to document your work.  A good way to do this is to include
a text file explaining how the set files work, what program they
work with, and what versions of the program they've been tested
with.  By convention, you should give this a name that includes
the set file's name with an extension of ".TXT".

Take a look at the file called WP.TXT for an example of how you
might document your work.

Also please take the time to configure your set files to work
with both monochrome and color displays if necessary.  Look at
the next section for details on this procedure.

                   Switching from Color to Mono: Ctrl-T

ASAP's set files work with both monochrome and color displays. 
It takes some effort on your part, though, to insure this.

The Ctrl-T command is used to toggle what ASAP considers as your
screen display for the purpose of setting up a monochrome setting
if you have a color display or setting up a color setting if you
have a monochrome display.

In addition to switching ASAP's identity, you have to tell your
applications program to switch to another mode, too.  Most
applications provide this capability, but you'll have to consult
that program's documentation for specifics on how it is
accomplished.  In WordPerfect, for instance, you can start up the
application in monochrome mode by adding "/mono" to the command
line along with the "WP".

Please indicate if you weren't able to create the alternate
configuration when documenting your set files for others to use.

If you'd like to share your set files, feel free to upload them to
the MicroTalk BBS.  Use an archiving program like PKZIP.EXE to pack
all the files into one file for downloading.

If you don't have a modem or you're just unfamiliar with
telecommunications, mail them to MicroTalk.  The staff will be glad
to place them on the board for you.

           Column Header Announcement: 1 to 25 Ctrl-C or Ctrl-C

ASAP's column announcement functions announce the contents of a
field plus the column that heads that field.  The command is
designed to be used within a User Defined Key function.  If the
application you use employs the Tab key to move from field to
field, for example, you would want to define a User Defined Key
that gave your application the tab to move to the next field then
the Column Heading Announcement command.  You would, of course,
assign this new User Defined Key to the Tab so you can still use
the application's original command keys.  

There are two forms of the Column Heading Announcement Command. 
In the first form, you specify the number of the line on the
screen where the column headings appear.  ASAP then determines
the size of the column and announces both the contents of the
field and the column heading. 

The second form of the Column Heading Announce command requires a
little setup.  To use the second form of the command, you must
set windows around each of the column headings.  It does not
matter if the column headings contain more than one line.  You
should also start with window 1 as the furthest left and progress
from there.  Once you have the column headings defined as
windows, pressing Ctrl-C (with no preceding number) makes ASAP
announce the contents of the field followed by the column
heading.  The heading is announced as the entire window, so this
command works beautifully for multi-line column headings.  The
field size is derived by finding the first window who's left and
right edges contain the cursor's horizontal position and using
those values for the field's left and right edges. 

                      Setting Delay: 1 to 9 Control-D

ASAP's Delay adjustment is used to tell ASAP to slow down for use
with systems that require extra time to update the screen.  This
function is most often used in an emulator setting where you are
using a remote system that requires more time than normal to
update the screen.  By increasing the delay value (normally set to
3), you tell ASAP to wait extra time while giving the system time
to update the screen.

The delay value gets saved with your set files, so you can leave
this setting on a responsive value for most applications while
increasing it for those applications that require the extra delay.

                      Space Proofing: 1 to 80 Ctrl-P

Space Proofing alerts you about unusual spacing in your documents
as you read.  You decide the number of spaces you want to know
about, then type that number followed by Ctrl-P.  ASAP responds,
"Space Proofing Set."  From then on, anytime ASAP sees words
separated by that number or more spaces, it tells you the number
of spaces.  You'll usually set this value to 2.  That way, you
can insure your sentences all end with two spaces and that there
are no accidentally inserted spaces between other words in your
document.  Note that another handy tool for proofing is ASAP's
Sentence Reading mode.

Turn Space Proofing off by using the value 80.  This tells ASAP
that any amount of spacing is fine with you and that you don't
want to know about it.

                     Tabular Proofing: 1 to 80 Ctrl-O

Tabular Proofing works much like Space Proofing discussed in the
previous section except that instead of announcing the number of
spaces, Tabular Proofing announces the column number of any word
that is separated from the previous word by the number of spaces
you specified.  In a multi-column document, Tabular Proofing
announces the column numbers of each column of text.  This
command is most useful when proofing documents that contain
columns or other tabular material.

Turn Tabular Proofing off by specifying the value 80.  This
instructs ASAP to ignore any spacing.

                       Setting Granularity: 1 to 9 G

You'll notice that some programs, especially those with extremely
complex screen displays, seem like they give more information
than is necessary.  You can restrict the amount of information
provided by adjusting the granularity.

Granularity refers to the amount of activity ASAP informs you
about.  Normally, ASAP lets you know about every change that
occurs on the screen.  This can result in problems, for instance,
with a program that announces both the item you move to and the
item you leave when using the arrow keys to select a menu option. 
This happens because ASAP informs you about what changes on the
screen.  Sometimes, that change is merely the change as a menu
selection goes back to its normal state.  If this happens, try
increasing the granularity by 1 at a time until the duplicate
announcements cease.

When ASAP starts, the granularity level is set to 1.  The higher
you make the number, the less speech you'll hear.

Note: there are some programs that use DOS output to print menus. 
Changing the granularity may not affect such programs.  You can,
however, turn off ASAP's DOS output (with Alt-D) and improve this
situation.  

                    Dialing with a Modem: [com port] D

ASAP supports the use of a modem to dial phone numbers on the
screen.  To dial a number, move your cursor to the first digit of
the number, then press the number of the com port where your
modem is connected followed by the letter "D" (for "dial.")

When you use the dial command, ASAP dials the number and tells
you to press the space bar to release the line from the modem. 
You should pick up the phone's handset, then press the space bar
to make the modem hang up.

ASAP recognizes the semicolon (;) in a phone number to indicate a
pause in the dialing.  When ASAP gets to the ";", it pauses and
lets you press space to continue dialing the numbers following
the ";" or escape to stop dialing at that point.  This proves
usefull 

                          Redial Last Number: 9D

Since there is no com port 9, ASAP uses the command 9D for a
special purpose--it redials the last number you dialed with the
[com port] D command.  Once the number is dialed, the redial
command behaves exactly like the dial command--that is, it tells
you to pick up the phone and press space to release the line from
the modem.

You'll find the Redial command useful when you dial a number
that's busy.  With the Redial command, you can remove the phone
number from the screen and get back to work on something else. 
When you get ready to redial the number, just press 9D from that
application.  (You don't have to have the phone number on the
screen to redial it.)

                  Printer Interception: [printer port] I

ASAP lets you intercept the text that normally goes to a parallel
printer port.  This is often useful for programs that insist on
being difficult about getting speech access in an acceptable
manner.  If the program you are trying to use offers a way to print
the progress of the program, you can turn on printer interception
and tell the program to print.  If your telecommunications software
doesn't offer a way to send its text through BIOS, you'll want to
use printer interception and then instruct the software to print
what is received over the modem.  The printer interception feature
respects the state of noisy DOS output, so, even though the text
isn't really going through DOS, you can still benefit from the
clicking with each character that goes to the printer (or the
speech in this case).  Recall that noisy DOS output provides a
convenient means of monitoring modem activity.

Turn on printer interception from the Control Panel by pressing the
number of the printer port followed with the letter "I".  ASAP
shows you the current status of printer interception for that port
and allows you to alter it.  As with all such status messages, ASAP
shows you the current state of printer interception for that port
and lets you change it with "Y" for "yes" or "N" for "no."  Any
other key cancels the operation without affecting the status
indicated.

                           Save Settings: CTRL-S

While extensive changes to ASAP's operating environment are
rarely necessary, they are possible.  More often, you'll make
very minor changes to a program's operating characteristics.  The
Telix telecommunications program, for instance, is used with DOS
output set to noisy.  This gives a clicking sound as characters
come in.  Another example is the DOS command line.  Most users
prefer to leave the punctuation set to "off."  There may be an
editor, though, that you always use with punctuation set to "on."

Once you've set up the way ASAP operates with a specific program,
use CTRL-S to save those settings.  (Don't forget to precede the
Ctrl-S with keypad 0 if you're not already in the Control Panel.) 
The next time you use that program, ASAP automatically uses the
settings you just saved.  You can also save the settings you
prefer for general use from the DOS command line or a shell
program to make ASAP revert back to those settings whenever you
return to the command line or to the shell program.

When you use a program that you haven't saved settings for, ASAP
maintains the settings in effect when you started that program.

ASAP saves its settings in the directory where ASAP resides. 
Usually, this is C:\ASAP, but it doesn't really matter.  The
settings are saved in a file whose name is derived from the name
of the program in use when you save the settings.  The name
consists of the program's name followed with an extension of
"SET".  If, for example, you saved the settings while you were in
a program called TESTER, the settings would be saved in a file
called TESTER.SET in the ASAP directory.  ASAP lets you know the
name of the settings file, because when you press CTRL-S, it says,
"Saving TESTER.SET."  Once the file is safely placed on disk, ASAP
says, "Done."  If something happens where ASAP can't save the
settings, it lets you know with the message, "Error" instead of
"Done."

When you start up the TESTER program, ASAP grabs those settings
from TESTER.SET and leaves your operating environment just as you
prefer it.  If you save the settings from the primary shell, ASAP
puts your preferences in a file called ASAP.SET.  (The shell is
what's responsible for launching your other programs--this is
usually COMMAND.COM, but there are alternatives.)  Each time you
return to the shell, those settings are used.  It is a good idea to
keep the ASAP.SET file--this gives you "standard" operating
settings that will probably work with most other applications.  If
you do need to make adjustments to an application, the primary
settings are revived when you return to the shell.  You might also
want to copy ASAP.SET to COMMAND.SET.  That way, if you use a
program's "shell" command to get into the DOS environment, you'll
get the settings you prefer for DOS automatically.

There are times you'll want to save settings from an application
even when you don't really need to in normal circumstances.  Think,
for example, of using the "Edit" command from Telix.  As you'll
recall from the Telix documentation, pressing Alt-A starts up your
editor.  If you saved settings for Telix and you don't have
settings saved for your editor program, the Telix settings get
passed on to the editor.  This isn't necessarily bad, but you can
have the settings exactly the way you like them no matter how the
application was started, and there's no reason not to do so.

You may wish to save settings for little things.  If you prefer to
use the DOSSHELL or the command line with no punctuation and you
like your favorite editor to be used with most punctuation, go
ahead and save those settings--it's quick and easy.

Be aware that ASAP sometimes waits before saving your settings
until DOS tells ASAP that it is safe to do so.  If ASAP doesn't
say, "Saving," when you press CTRL-S, don't worry, your settings
will get saved at the first safe opportunity.

There are some programs that start and end so quickly that you
might not have the chance to save settings.  The PKUNZIP.EXE
program, for instance, usually won't wait around for a keystroke
from you to save the settings.  You can make adjustments like you
want for PKUNZIP.EXE from the DOS command prompt, and those
settings are inherited when you start PKUNZIP, but unless you're
fast on the keyboard, it is tough to get them saved for that
program and others like it that don't wait for user input.  One way
to save settings for such programs is to make the adjustments from
the DOS command line, then save the settings there.  As usual,
you'll hear ASAP say, "Saving ASAP Settings."  Once the settings
are saved, use the DOS copy command to copy the file ASAP.SET to
PKUNZIP.SET.  That way, when you start PKUNZIP, those settings will
get used.  If you do that, don't forget to return your ASAP
settings back to the way you normally want them to be for the DOS
command line.

There are some settings that ASAP doesn't save.  In general, these
are settings that are usually associated with global operations. 
In other words, they are the kind of settings that you like no
matter what program you're using.  The settings ASAP does not save
are pitch, speed, User Function, volume, Keystroke Echoing, and
Memories.  ASAP does not save the setting that defines a computer
of yesteryear (Alt-Y) nor does it save the Quiet mode (Alt-Q).  By
taking this approach, ASAP lets you share your favorite settings
with other ASAP users without affecting that user's global
preferences.  Likewise, you can enjoy the benefit of other people's
settings without having to fool around with your globally preferred
settings.

To start ASAP with your preferred speech settings or other global
settings, specify the options on the command line as discussed in
the next section.

The MicroTalk BBS offers settings that various users have designed
for several applications.  You may download these by contacting the
MicroTalk BBS.

          Starting ASAP with a Different Speed, Pitch, or Volume

There are some ASAP commands that don't get saved in set files. 
In general, the kinds of things that don't get saved are those
things that you would not want changed if you used another
person's set files.  Settings like speed, pitch, and volume fall
into this category.

While you can't save settings like pitch, speed, and volume with
the Save Settings command, you can still start ASAP with your
favorite speech settings.  This is accomplished by specifying
those settings right on the command line.

The options you type on the command line are the exact same
commands you use from the Control Panel.  You don't, however,
have to precede commands with the one-shot Control Panel command. 
ASAP assumes that if you're adding options from the command line,
they'll be accepted as is.

Notice that you can't put an Alt on the command line.  To
represent Alt on the command line, use the at sign (@).  To
represent Alt-K, use "@K".  Don't forget the "Y" or "N" after the
@K option.  

It is possible to put control character combinations on the command
line.  There are, however, many editors that won't let you type a
control character.  ASAP provides a means of specifying control
characters acceptable to nearly any editor.  You tell ASAP about
control characters on the command line by preceding the letter of
interest with a carat sign (^).  The command for removing ASAP from
memory is Ctrl-Q.  By adding ^q to the ASAP command line, you can
remove ASAP from memory in a batch file.  (Recall that you can
execute another copy of ASAP with command line options and have
those options effect the copy of ASAP already running.)  Keeping
that fact and ASAP's ability to interpret the carat as a control
character indicator in mind, notice you can have a line in a batch
file like the following to remove ASAP from memory:

ASAP ^QY

Note that if you use the caret on the command line, and you use the
4DOS command interpreter, you'll have to temporarily change 4DOS's
separator character.  This is easily accomplished, however.  Check
your 4DOS manual for complete details.

If you used the INSTALL program (as recommended), there's a small
batch program on your hard disk called S.BAT.  You start up ASAP by
typing "s" at the DOS command prompt.  You can edit the S.BAT file
to add settings that take effect when you start ASAP or you can add
them when you type the "s" command.  If you want the same settings
all the time, it is best to edit the S.BAT file, but if you just
want to change a setting once in a while, you're better off adding
the commands to the "s" command when you type it.  You can start up
with speed 9, for instance, with the command "s 9s", or you can add
"9s" to your S.BAT file to have ASAP always start up with speed
nine.  If you add the "9s" before the first per cent sign in the
S.BAT file, you can make ASAP normally start with speed nine, then
if, once in a while, you want to start with a different speed, you
can add the speed command to the end of the command line you use to
start S.BAT.  The command "s 7s", for example, starts ASAP with
speed seven, even if you have a 9s in the S.BAT file.

                                The Lexicon

ASAP supports the use of a lexicon to correct pronunciations that
your synthesizer fouls up.  The lexicon is a plain ASCII text
file called ASAP.LEX that gets loaded when you first start ASAP. 
The lexicon file gets loaded from the directory where ASAP
resides.  The lexicon contains a list of words, each on a
separate line, that are considered exceptions.  Anytime ASAP is
about to say a word, it first checks its lexicon to see if you've
made an exception for that word.

As mentioned, the lexicon is a plain ASCII text file with a word
entry on each line.  The words must be in alphabetical order. 
This keeps the time for ASAP to find a word to a bare minimum.

You modify the lexicon by using an editing program to add, modify,
or delete words from the list.

Each entry in the lexicon contains the word to find (in lower case
letters,) an optional root word indicator (the "*" character,) a
space to separate the word from its proper pronunciation, and a
phonetic spelling of the word to make it sound like you want.

A typical entry in the lexicon looks like this:

irs i r s

Note that without this entry in the lexicon, your synthesizer would
pronounce these three important letters together as if they were a
word.  The lexicon entry tells ASAP to speak the letters i, r, and
s separately.

The root word indicator lets you inform ASAP that the word in
question should be considered a root word and to accept any word
that matches the part up to the "*" indicator.  This is useful to
cover a whole family of words with a single lexicon entry.

The entry that follows tells ASAP to look for words that start with
"psych" and change any word that begins with those letters to sound
like "sike."

psych* sike

Many synthesizers have trouble with the letter "A."  They don't
seem to want to pronounce the long a sound.  You can force your
synthesizer to say a long a when one is required by spelling a word
that sounds like the long a sound.  Consider the following example:

vga v g aye

Your lexicon can be of any size up to the maximum amount of RAM in
your computer.  Of course, you'd never want to create one that big,
but you do have room for lots of entries.  Remember that when you
modify the lexicon, you'll have to reboot your system or remove
ASAP from memory and run it again to make those changes take
effect.

                             Technical Support

In addition to its support during normal business hours (from
9:00 to 6:00 EST), ASAP help, information, and updates can be
accessed via modem 24 hours a day, seven days a week.  The phone
number is (502) 893-2269.  Call the system at any baud rate from
300 to 9600. 

                             The Brand Program

BRAND.COM is a program that contains your serial number.  When
you download an update from the MicroTalk BBS or get an update
disk in the mail, you'll use the brand program to insert your
serial number into the new version of ASAP.  If you don't, ASAP
will keep reminding you to do so.

If you get an update, there will be a program called INSTALL that
will take care of all updating necessary and inserting your
serial number, but if you're the type who likes to do things by
hand, here's what to do.

Make ASAP the current directory and type "Brand", then press
Enter.

The BRAND program explains its purpose, then it places your
serial number into the ASAP program.  When it is finished, it
will announce, "Your ASAP was successfully branded."

                      APPENDIX A: SYNTHESIZER SUPPORT

This appendix discusses specifics about various synthesizers
supported by ASAP.  Note that while the discussion of each
synthesizer shows an example of how to use the "ASAP" command
with parameters for that synthesizer, if you used the "install"
command, you won't need to type the command listed in the
discussion of your synthesizer.  Recall that INSTALL makes a new
command that contains the specific commands for the synthesizer
you selected.  All you have to do is type the letter "s".

                        Using ASAP with DoubleTalk

There are no special instructions for using ASAP with DoubleTalk. 
ASAP automatically sees DoubleTalk and uses it unless you specify
otherwise on the command line.

                          Using ASAP with Accent

If you use Accent-PC, make sure you've installed the device
driver as described in the Accent documentation.  After that, you
can get ASAP started with the Accent-PC with the following
command:

ASAP accent lpt3

If you're using the AccentSA, make sure your synthesizer's DIP
switches are set as they came from the factory.  This is
important.  ASAP will appear to work with the AccentSA if the
switches aren't exactly right, but you'll lose data.  Just insure
those DIP switches are set as the manual for the Accent
recommends, and all will go well.

The command to start ASAP with the AccentSA is much like that for
the Accent-PC, except that instead of lpt3, you use one of the
com ports.  The following command is typical:

ASAP accent com1

                         Using ASAP with Audapter

To begin using ASAP with the Audapter synthesizer, turn on the
synthesizer and hold the rocker switch down to do a factory reset
as the manual recommends.  (You do a factory reset by holding the
rocker switch down all the way to the left for 10 seconds when
you turn on the synthesizer.)  After you've reset the factory
settings once, you shouldn't need to that again.

Following is a sample command line for use with the Audapter:

ASAP audapter com1

                     Using ASAP with Braille 'n Speak

ASAP supports the new commands available to Braille 'n Speak.  In
fact, you must have a Braille 'n Speak with a ROM revision of at
least June 1991 to use ASAP with the Braille 'n Speak support. 
This doesn't mean you can't use older Braille 'n Speaks, it just
means that you'll have to use the "Echo" synthesizer or the
"Generic" synthesizer setups for older Braille 'n Speak machines.

Before you can use ASAP with Braille 'n Speak, you must set
Braille 'n Speak to 9600 baud, 8 data bits, 1 stop bit, and no
parity.  In addition, you need to set handshaking to "software." 
Finally, you need to turn on "speech box mode."  If you've got an
older Braille 'n Speak, you'll also need to set the punctuation
to "none."  This is done for you automatically with the newer
Braille 'n Speaks.  If you still hear punctuation characters when
you've turned them off with ASAP, you'll know that you need to
turn them off from the Braille 'n Speak.

To use ASAP with Braille 'n Speak, use a command like the
following:

ASAP bns com1

                          Using ASAP with DECtalk

To use ASAP with DECtalk, make sure the settings are 9600 baud, 8
data bits, no parity, and software (Xon-Xoff) handshaking.  This
is how the synthesizer is shipped, so if you haven't changed
anything, you should be in good shape.

Start ASAP with the command:

ASAP dectalk com1

You may, of course, substitute another port for the "com1" shown
in this example.

DECtalk is very slow to react to commands to silence it and even
slower to resume speech after silencing.  The temporary silence
command, therefore, is rather unresponsive, but it is still
useful when using the Auto Read or Read by Screens features
described earlier in the manual.

Using ASAP with the DECtalk PC

The DECtalk PC is different from the DECtalk that interfaces
through one of your computer's serial ports.  The DECtalk PC is a
circuit board with no serial interface; instead the communication
occurs through software that talks directly to the card.  This
makes the DECtalk much more responsive than earlier models of the
DECtalk.

Use DTPC as the synthesizer key word when using the Install program
on the ASAP distribution disk.

You don't have to specify DTPC on the ASAP command line.  If you've
installed the software as described in the Installation manual that
came with the DECtalk PC, ASAP will recognize the software and will
assume that's what you want to use.  If you do want to use ASAP
with another synthesizer, simply remove the DECtalk software from
memory before running ASAP.  A command like "dt_driv -r" would do
the trick.

                   Using ASAP with the DEC-Talk Express

Before installing ASAP for use with DEC-Talk Express, you should
install the driver software that came with your synthesizer. 
Once the synthesizer drivers are installed, ASAP automatically
detects the DEC-Talk Express, so if you are running ASAP from the
command line, you can just type "ASAP" without any additional
command line parameters.  If this is your first time installing
ASAP, however, you will want to use the menu selection on the
installation screen to specify DEC-Talk Express.

Note that there were problems with DEC-Talk Express driver
versions dated before October 28, 1994.  If your Express doesn't
work properly with ASAP, check the date on your driver software.  

                        Using ASAP with the Echo PC

When using ASAP with the Echo PC, make sure the synthesizer is
set to 9600 baud, 8 data bits, 1 stop bit, and no parity.  

Use the following command to get ASAP going with the Echo:

ASAP echo com1

(You may substitute another com port for "com1" in this example.)

The temporary silence command is not available for this
synthesizer.

The Auto Read and Read by Screens commands aren't available for
this synthesizer.  These commands do work, but the actual text
gets way ahead of what you're hearing on the synthesizer.

                  Using ASAP with Other Echo Synthesizers

Street Electronics Corporation makes a number of internal Echo
synthesizers.  ASAP supports these.  To use one of these
synthesizers, you must first run the Textalker program that came
with your synthesizer.  The Textalker program is contained in a
file called TALK.EXE.  The TALK.EXE program takes two parameters
for its information.  Those parameters are the port to emulate
and the keys to use to stop the speech.  Following is an example
batch file to use for starting up the synthesizer with ASAP.  Note
that this is what will be created in S.BAT if you use the "install"
command as described earlier in this manual.

echo off
talk lpt3 all
ASAP talk lpt3


                Using ASAP with LiteTalk and DoubleTalk LT

To use ASAP with LiteTalk or DoubleTalk LT connected to one of
your serial ports, use the following command:

ASAP lt com1

If you've connected the LiteTalk synthesizer to one of your
parallel ports, use this command:

ASAP lt lpt1

Note that DoubleTalk LT does not use a parallel port, so you can
use this command only with LiteTalk.

Note that if you use LiteTalk and you have to turn off power to
the synthesizer, you can re-initialize the baud rate by turning
on the synthesizer, then pressing one of the Shift keys on your
computer.  See more about baud rate initialization in the
LiteTalk manual.  You may also set the synthesizer with the
settings currently in ASAP by pressing both shift keys.

                   Using ASAP with PortTalk synthesizers

ASAP supports the PortTalk command set.  PortTalk is a program
originally written by Artic Technologies to make interfacing
their synthesizers easier for other screen access manufacturers. 
While ASAP supports Artic synthesizers without the use of
PortTalk, ASAP does provide PortTalk support for other speech
synthesizers that use the PortTalk command set.  Such
synthesizers include TSI's BrailleMate, Artic's Transport, and
several others.

                    Using ASAP with the Sounding Board

To use ASAP with the Sounding Board, install the speech software
for the synthesizer as described in the Sounding Board's manual. 
It is recommended that you use the options to turn off Sounding
Board's use of the function keys and to make the speech buffer as
small as possible.  A value of about 80 characters seems to work
best.

After the speech software is installed, use the following command
to get ASAP going with the Sounding Board:

ASAP sb lpt3

                  Using ASAP with SynPhonix and VoTalker

ASAP directly supports the SynPhonix and VoTalker synthesizers. 
Each of these synthesizers, however, requires the software that
came supplied with the synthesizer to make it talk.  Once that
software is started, ASAP automatically detects the presence of
that software and adds the screen access features for which it is
famous.  The software that came with your synthesizer is called
SONIXTTS.COM (for the SynPhonix) or, in the case of the VoTalker,
SONIX.COM and TTS.COM.

To get the system going with the Votalker, you need three
commands: "sonix", "tts", and "ASAP".  To get the system going
with the SynPhonix, you need two commands: "sonixtts" and "ASAP".

                    Using ASAP with Other Synthesizers

While not specifically mentioned, ASAP supports a variety of
other synthesizers.  You can modify the file on your disk called
GENERIC.TBL to plug in the specific codes to adjust your
synthesizer, or you can even use the table as it comes from
MicroTalk with no specific codes.

To add codes for your synthesizer, you'll need a text editor that
supports plain ASCII files.  Load the GENERIC.TBL file into your
editor and fill in the areas between the slashes on each line
with the specific codes to perform the function shown at the end
of each line.
