Short: Text reader,text speaker.Arex for Yam,AWeb Author: Rodolfo Ignazi rodign@inwind.it or rodign@tiscali.it Uploader: not yet on aminet Version: PBook8.04 Type: Miscellaneous Name: PBook Legal: FreeWare This readme has been updated for version 8.04. For those who used a previous version, please, use `Delete Prefs' then `Use Defaults' redo your choices then `Save Prefs' again, all from the `Control' menu. Installation: Because it needs translation library by Francesco Devit (see Third party Thanks chapter) you must put the content of drawers to their counterpart into your system drawers. DEVS , LIBS and LOCALE suffice for correct work of PBook, (the other stuff is for a complete installation of the amiga speaking system) then put the executable PBook wherever you want. This distribution is intended to be as less troublesome as possible so I inserted all the needed stuff. See Third party Thanks chapter again. With Yam: If you want to use it for listening to e-mails with Yam then do as follow: Step 1: Edit the third line of SpeakYamMail.rexxx, "Sys:PBook" replace the word Sys: with the path were you keep PBook.(I keep it in Sys:) Step 2: Put the script into the ARexx drawer of Yam, in Yam config click ARexx, choose a free scripts slot and put the script there as usual. Open Console and Wait for termination must be unchecked. Call it by the menu while you are on read window. With AWeb: I've prepared a simple arexx script to listen to AWeb pages but limited to what is shown in window 1 because I haven't much time this days. You may improve it, and if you do, please send a copy to me. It uses httx to translate the html to ascii. To install: Do step one of the above Yam description but on SpeakAWpage.rexx. Now the simplest installation is just to put the file SpeakAWpage.rexx into AWebpath:Plugins/ dir. and add it as command in one arexx menu item (without arguments) via AWeb GUI setting. Explanation of the bottom line: The last line of the page will remember you that there are menus to explore, "Del" key starts and stops speaking, arrows down and up to go trough the text (with shift half a page), right arrow to go to a page, left arrow (hit 4 times) sends the text of that page to a printer and RAlt F10 flips between WorkBench and PBook (Always REMEMBER RAlt-F10) Explanation of the Menus: There are five menus and explaining them item by item I will describe you all the Program: *Control. *Load New. Stops actual activity and invite you to load a new text. *Speak On Off. Starts and stops speaking (like Del key) and displays the status with an arrow. *Save Files. As PBook uses its own internal format translating the file on loading, this operation may take some time expecially on long files. This option will allow you to save the translated file so that next time the translating operation will be skipped and the reading starts immediately. You must select only the directory on the file requester. It will save 3 files .TB, .DB, .LB, when you'll load a treated file you'll have to load the .TB file ignoring the others. (By now it treats plain text files and Amiga Guide files even if crunched with Power Packer.) *Set Tab. Sets how many spaces have to be put in the text when a tab is encountered. *Save Prefs. Saves in a prefs file all the actual settings of the menus so that when you restart PBook it will use this setting. *Delete Prefs. Deletes the prefs file from Env: and EnvArc: so that when you restart PBook it will use its internal defaults. *Use Defaults. PBook will reset to its internal defaults immediately. *Reload Prefs. PBook will set itself using the prefs file. *Save Prefs As. This option permits you to save a set of settings for a certain file: i.e. If you have saved a certain file.TB on a certain directory you may save a specific setting for this file on the same directory so as when you load that file PBook will load the setting found in the same dir of the .TB file. *WB RAlt-F10. This will put PBook running in the background letting you work on other chores as PBook is a good multi tasker. You will have Pbook visible again with RAlt-F10 keys which are the keys used to toggle between WorkBench and PBook. *Quit Shift-Q You may quit the program using this menu item or by typing Q. *Speak_Mode. *By Word. *By Line. *By 1/5 of Page. This three items says that you can listen to the text word by word, line by line and by one fifth of page (about six lines) at a time. *Page Feed Aut Man. If set Aut(omatic) PBook will start talking next page when the present one is finished and displays the text on the screen. So you can listen to long documents whitout any intervention. *Serv Talk On Off. PBook says its requests and announces by voice also. if you check this to off you will put this "Service Talk" to off. *Language. *Italiano. *English. *Deutsch. Most of the times PBook recognize the language of a text among Italian, English and German (Deutsch) automatically but in some cases it can't or it's a different language so you must select the accent manually. *Alt. From this item you can select an alternative language e.g. Polski, it will not be automatically recognized but you have it at hand to be selected. *Select Alternative. From this item you will be prompted with a file requester which points to LOCALE:accents from which you can choose the accent to put on the Alt(ernative) menu item. *When English En Am. As I'm already said, the program automatically choose the language, by means of this item you may set the accent to be used between English or American when an English text is encountered. If you want to use the BigUSA.accent (which is the best in my opinion) to be automatically chosen as American you must rename it as "american.accent" in the LOCALE:accents directory the only drawback is that it's Big and take some time to be loaded the first time. OBSOLETE: If you want to switch between English and American on the fly, you have to switch them first on this menu item, then on the item which show the former choice which will show English or American. END OBSOLETE. Now (ver.8.04) the change made by this menu takes effect immediately. If you like the old behaviour, please, let me know. A NOTE about accents: For English and Italian PBook uses two renamed accents englR1.accent and italR1.accent which are the respective copy of the originals, I chose so because if I will have to modify something on the these accents I will not have to touch the originals. *Voice. *Male Female. *Normal Robot. *Pitch. *Words per Min. *Frequency. *Volume. Only few words about this entire menu: It contains all the speech regulations, you just have to browse a little trough it and have fun. *Miscel. *Move Screen. By means of this item you may move the screen around if the default position do not suit to your monitor. you have to save the preferences to keep the chosen position next time. *Start Front Back. By means of this item you may choose if PBook will run in the background on start. if you start in the background you have to use RAlt-F10 to bring its screen to the front. *Highlight Color From here you can choose which colour to use for the highlighted text while speaking. There is another little feature about PBook: If you save a document as said on Save Files menu item then you rename the three files .TB .DB .LB to Btext Bdata Bline respectively and you put PBook itself into the same dir. Now starting PBook from this dir automatically opens the document. Enjoy yourself and good luck. Anyone knows if there are a more recent version of narrator.device than 37.7 ? Please let me know. Third party Thanks: Programmed with AMOSPro and thanks to it even I can put some code down. Following are the third party software utilized by PBook. All available on Aminet. Without them and the narrator.device my program wouldn't never be born. Great thanks to all the authors. --- Short: Multilingual translator lib replacement Uploader: ffranc@comp.vuw.ac.nz (Francesco Devitt) Author: ffranc@comp.vuw.ac.nz (Francesco Devitt) Type: util/libs TITLE Translator Library (Multilingual-speech version) VERSION 42.4 --- Short: Patches Translator42.4, 43.0 to Translator43.1 Uploader: mbarlow@pacific.telebyte.net Author: mbarlow@pacific.telebyte.net Type: util/libs Requires: Translator version 42.4 or 43.0 installed; Installer Version: 43.1 Replaces: Tran43pch.lha 43.0 Distribution: Unlimited --- Short: Huge USA English Accent File. Uploader: mbarlow@pacific.telebyte.net Author: mbarlow@pacific.telebyte.net Type: util/libs Requires: Translator43.0 (See Tran43pch.lha) Version: 2.1 Distribution: Aminet --- Goodbye. Rodolfo Ignazi Via Vittorio Emanuele 10 62015 Monte San Giusto (MC) Italy Tel.(+39) 073353594 rodign@inwind.it