Modemo Ltd

Symbol for Windows - communication

To find more information of each application please click on its name from the list below. Libraries are described briefly on a separate page.

Document Maker (DM) is a special kind of symbol/word processor - it can work with symbols too! It also finds automatically symbol if you type its name. Email software(option) makes it possible for Document maker to send and receive emails.

With Paper Chart Maker (PCM) you can build and print communication charts.

Personal Communicator (PC/PCL) is an application for speech output, environment and software control for users who can't speak or who have difficulties in using ordinary speech.

With Vocabulary Maker (VM) you build user vocabularies and libraries which can be n used by other SfW applications.

Email (EM) is used for sending and receiving emails with symbols and/or text. Email works together with Document Maker (DM).

Export Program (EXP) exports symbols, images and photos from Symbol for Windows databases to a file, to the clipboard or to a printer.

Symbol for Windows Document Maker (DM)

The Symbol for Windows Document Maker is a text processor for symbols. With this program symbol language users can write letters, poems, stories etc. in their own language. You can print the documents, save, re-open and change them as e.g. MS Word documents and send or receive them by using an e-mail application (optional).

Document Maker offers four ways of writing:

• Ctrl+H tai "Edit - Select Symbol": you'll get a standard "Select symbols" -dialog on the screen. You can search symbol e.g. by choosing first its category (nature, food etc.) from the list on the right. By double-clicking the category you can also soo its possible subcategories. The list of symbols in the chosen category appears in the middle. You can now roll the list to find the symbol. E.g. if you chose the category 'School. science' you can find a word 'teacher' from the middle. Once you have found the right name (concept), one of its representation (e.g. PCS symbol) will appear on the right. From the drop-down menu above the image you can choose the representation type (PCS, Bliss etc.).

If the library has synonyms (like several PSC -symbols representing car), you can choose the one you prefer by clicking on the symbols underneath the image.

• Ctrl+T tai "Edit -Add text symbol": "Edit text" -dialog box appears on the screen. You can write the txt on the empty line. After clicking OK your text is copied to the document.

• By using Vocabulary (symbol pages): Choose first the vocabulary you want ot use. Once you have found thesymbol you ant to use, you can copy it to the document.

NEW: You can write with symbols directly by using the keyboard. First choose Under 'Options' 'Add on Typing'. The options you have are 'Symbols' and 'Text'. You can also choose 'Show dialogs' if you want to use the symbol selection dialog box. Start by writing the first character of the name, for example 'c' for 'car'. If the speech syntheziser has been switched on, you can hear the character spoken after they have been typed. Once you have typed the whole word and pressed the space bar, the symbol of car will appear on the screen. You can also hear the word 'car' spoken. See the exmaples below.

Type first the word you want by using the keyboard. In the example part of the symbols have already been chosen. The next word/symbols is "bus":

Next press the space bar. The symbol which represents the text will appear on the screen:

If there are other images which could represent the word, you can choose one of them instead, e.g.:

You can also change the text, either by choosing another symbol or typing the text of or own,

and carry on until the document is finished.

Alternatively you can search symbols by using a search window,

or vocabulary,

and next to the symbol message you can also get the message as a written text if you want:

By using the Email add-on (purchased separately) Document Maker's messages can be sent to any email address. If the receiver also uses Document Maker, he sees the message excatly in the same form as it was written. Users of ordinaly email software will receive the text part of the message and can reply to it the usual way. The Document Maker user can hear the received text-based message spoken through the speakers if the speech syntheziser software is switched on.

Page layout

By changing the page layout you can change the outlook of the document to make it suitable to your needs. For example the size of the symbols, the distance between them and the page marginals can be adjusted. When needed, Document Maker can also automatically add text on the page along the symbols the user has chosen. The text can be placed under the symbols, right-hand side (see the image) or to the end of the document after the symbols. The text can be edited afterwards.

Customizable

The Document Maker can be adjusted to the capacities of every single user.:

• In the ‘scanning’ mode, the user operates the program via one or two switches or a joystick.
• Fewer buttons on the special button bar for symbol language users make the program less complex
• An individualized symbol ‘vocabulary’ (created with Vocabulary Maker) makes writing much easier.
• If needed, a personal vocabulary with buttons (fields with commands) can include the special button bar functions.

The program is also very useful for teachers and therapists to produce training material.

Symbol for Windows Email

Symbol for Windows Email is an email application which can send and receive Document Maker documents. The email application is available as an add-on for Document Maker.

When the document including symbols and/or letters is finished, you can send it to the recipient simply by choosing his symbol form the address book. Depending on the address settings (see the picture) messages will be send in bliss, other symbol or text format or as a HTML file.

The use is possible with a mouse, keyboard or switch(es). Once the assistant has saved configurations and recipient addresses, most users can independently send, receive and read emails. The recipient can use ordinary email application or Document together with the email add-on. The users of ordinary email application reveice symbols as an attachment and see the accompanying captions inside the email. The Document Maker/Email add-on recipient sees the message precisely as the sender. If the recipient uses another symbol system, the symbols will be replaced as well as possible with the equivalent symbols from another symbol library. If the recipient has a speech synthesizer software, it can be used to play the caption text.

Paper Chart Maker

Symbol for Windows Paper Chart Maker is used for building and printing communication charts. PCM is designed for parents, teachers and anybody else who make support material. The grid on the screen can be filled with symbols, pictures or text. Every grid can have one or two captions. Grids are easy to fill up, especially while used together with graphic vocabulary from where you can drag and drop symbols to the grid . Another option is to search symbols by its name. One the correct symbols is found it copies to the grid by pressing Enter key.

Chart layouts

PCM has ready to use chart layouts for several communication devices like Words+ MessageMate. You can also design your own chart layout by selecting its size, the amount of rows and columns, the form of the corners for the grids and so on. Every grid can have its own background color (photos and some symbols like Pictos keep their own background color).

Captions

Captions can be placed on the top or the bottom of the chart and also turn upside down when needed. When a symbols is placed on a chart, its name can be copied into a chart automatically as a caption and the text is still editable.

Personal Communicator (PC/PCL)

is a communication program for people who can't speak or have problems with speech. With Personal Communicator they can express themselves loud and clear. All you need is the program itself, user vocabulary bor building messages and a SAPI -compatible speech synthesizer.

User vocabulary

User vocabulary is a collection of pages, which amount is theoretically unlimited. Every page has symbols, photos etc. in rows and columns forming a grid. Every filed in the grid can be linked to another page. If the user selects a field with a link, program opens a page to which the field is linked to. As a default vocabulary goes to a 'Home Page' when opened.

The Content of the fields

The content of the fields can consist of symbols and photos from different libraries. Every field can also include voice or sound which is often at least as important as the visual content. Messages are built by picking up the content of the fields to the message line. When the user selects the message line, its content is played as a voice and computer speaks for the user.

Individually adaptable

Evey user has their own vocabulary which can be configured individually to make communication possible. You can choose and adjust for example:

• input method (instead of keyboard and mouse scanning can be used with one or two button).
• the outlook of cursor
• the outlook ans position of messageline
• speech synthesizer software (e.g. two different voices for different messages)
• voice feedback when you move in the application and make choices.

All user configuration information is saved under the user-specific folder.

Commands

You can link commands to fields and pages. When the user selects the field or enters or exits the page, the commands are carried out. Commands can also be linked to buttons which is useful if you make one or more special command bars for the user. You can save command bars and use them together with other user vocabularies too.

The differences between Lite and Full versions

The above mentioned are common to both Personal Communicator Lite and Full versions. The Full Version you can also control operate GEVA compatible environment control systems and emulate both mouse and keyboard. It can also operate other applications on the same or on another computer. Therefore The Personal CommunicatorFull Version is more than a speaking aid, it is a fully integrated 'control centre' for other devices and applications.

Symbol for Windows Vocabulary Maker (VM)

Symbol for Windows Vocabulary Maker is an application used for making user vocabularies for other SfW applications. Speech therapists, parents and other support persons can provide a user with Document Maker and Personal Communicator files by using Vocabulary Maker. It is easy to use and affordable so anybody who needs to build and maintain the communication system can learn how to use it - and it's affordable too!

Structure

A user vocabulary looks first similar to a standard reference vocabulary which includes all the symbols of the chosen library. But the user vocabulary can include symbols, photos and pcitures from any SfW library and have its own category structure. The features like number of pages, how they've been linked and which symbols have been used are chosen based on the user. The amount of pages in use is practically unlimited and the vocabulary can be maintained and extended at any time.

Take control over the page Layout!

Every new page you create has the default layout settings applied to, including the number of rows and columns (at least 2 by 2), default field color and so on. You can change the layout of every page and every field afterwards if needed.

Symbol for Windows Export Program

The Symbol for Windows Export Program exports symbols, images and photos from Symbol for Windows databases to a file, to the clipboard or to a printer. The program is a great help for teachers, speech therapists, parents, technicians and other people who support a symbol language user.

Image files

With the Export Program you can print every symbol, image or photo on a sheet of paper or export it to the clipboard or to a file. The destination file can be...

• bitmap (.bmp)
• Windows Metafile (.wmf)
• Enhanced Metafile (.emf)
• JPEG image (.jpg)
• GIF image (.gif).

Output type and image settings

You can change the export type (printer, clipboard, file and filetype). For settings, you can change the size and the background color of the image, edit caption texts or not to use them at all, add borders etc.. For example, there is a special setting for bliss symbols to use the draw area (matrix). Once you have exported the image, its settings can't be changed. Images on the right and on the left show the same symbols with different settings. You can export only one symbol, drawing or image at the time, exporting the whole library at one go is not possible.