B2G Abridged Reference Guide
Shortcuts and Navigation
Table of Contents
I.Introduction
II.Setting up WiFi
III. Checking for Updates – Firmware and the UI (User Interface)
IV.Using the file manager, ES File Explorer
V. Commands and Shortcuts
Speech Operations commands
Text Reading commands
Navigation commands
Checking for Updates on the B2G
VI.Using the NBP Editor
VII.Setting up Bluetooth (coming soon)
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Introduction:
After reading the Quick Start guide that orients you to the B2G, this quick reference guide can help you get started with basic commands and settings for your B2G. Everything mentioned here can be found in the larger more comprehensive User Interface Manual (chord h) for help.
There are 5 screens available on the Home Screen. The default is the middle one called Home Screen 3. We purposely limited what we put on the screen for you to keep things simple, and so that you can add or move icons to the home screens and tailor the B2G the way that you want it.
On Home Screen 3 there is a favorites list that is physically located on the right edge of the screen. These favorites will show up on every one of the 5 screens. They include Chrome (web browser), NBP Editor (our app to allow typing and writing documents), Apps (the icon to open the Apps page with every app on the B2G, People (Contacts or your rolodex app) and Calendar. In the middle of Home Screen 3 are two more useful apps: Settings and ES File Explorer (a file manager). On the left bottom and top of the screen are two Google options, Search (to go to Google Search directly) or Voice Search (where you can use audio to do a search), and there is a Clock app in the middle of the Screen that is there as a default
To get familiar with the Home Screen 3. You can do a chord dots 4,5 to tab to the right and read every icon on the home screen except the Clock. You can press the forward button to hear all of the icons on the Home Screen and that will include the Clock.
It is important to note that you can’t hurt the B2G by exploring and navigating apps. If you get hung up somewhere, you can press the home screen option (space + dots 123456) to go back to the main screen.
Note: It is important to realize that when you have been in an app and then press the Home Screen shortcut you will return to the last icon that you were on. So, if you hear “ES File Explorer”, you will be on the home screen. It is simply returning you to where you were before. It won’t say Home Screen 3 always. You can verify that you are on the Home Screen 3 by pressing the forward button and hearing other icons that you know are on the home screen, like Settings, Chrome, NBP Editor, Apps, etc.
I. Commands and Shortcuts: For those who are not familiar with a chord command it simply means to press the space bar with a letter or key combination at the same time. There are many key commands or shortcuts that you can learn, including some legacy commands that are used in traditional note takers.
Options Menu: It is very useful to remember that a chord o (space and letter o) brings you to a main list of Options settings in the B2G that you can access anytime, before you decide to learn specific shortcuts. When you open the Options menu, the options are in a vertical layout. After you do a chord o to open the Options Menu, do a chord dot 4 (space and the dot 4 button on the braille keyboard) to navigate down the list. To the right of each option are action buttons. For example if you were on volume or rate, to increase or decrease the rate you would do a chord dot 6 to go to the right of the option and the press the center button to increase, decrease, turn on or off that option. You can do a chord dot 3 to go left back to the main vertical list of options, and then do a chord dot 4 again to go further down the list or a chord dot 1 to go up that list. At any time after you make a change, you can do a chord z to escape back out of the Options Menu and you will be where you were before.
Many of the command chords are listed below: Don’t be overwhelmed by them. To start you can learn basic navigation, text reading or speech commands for listening.
A tab right (chord dots 4,5) is used in many apps to set up accounts and to navigate to various fields. It can also be used on the Home Screen to find apps. A tab left is (chord dots1,2)
Chord dot 4 goes down a vertical list, chord dot 1 goes up.
The edges of the square navigation pad that is located between dots 1 and 4 are used for navigation, particularly in input areas, or in some screen elements where the down edge will read everything. A good example is the Options Menu described above. If you use the navigation square it will read through every location, but the chord dot 4 will go vertical to each listed item and be more efficient in your search.
The Backward and Forward buttons on the left and right of the braille display respectively, can be used to move as well, reading icons on the apps page e.g.
To open an app or select something, you can press the Center button, (the dome in the middle of the square pad) and depending on the app, dot 8 can often be used as an enter button.
Chord s provides some basic shortcuts that you can learn to open some apps. After doing a chord s, press the down edge of the navigation square to hear instructions for each shortcut. For example, to get to the Settings Menu, press the chord S, immediately followed by the letter s for settings. It will open up with WiFi as the first item.
Other Things to Know:
Status Check: press the forward and backward button at the same time, and it will tell the battery percent remaining and if it is discharging or charging. If you press the down edge of the square navigation pad it will tell you other information, e.g. if a sim card is installed, and if WiFi is connected, it will name the WIFi account and tell you the speed in megabits per second. When you press the battery it will take up to 30 seconds to allow all of the braille notifications to be read. To circumvent that you can press dot 8 and skip the rest of the notification.
Notifications: periodically you may get notifications just like a smart phone. This is a factory default, and they can be irritating, but some people do use them. Most often it may state “WiFi is available” if you have WiFi turned on in settings, and you are not connected to your own WiFi. When this happens there is a delay from whatever function you were doing so that you can read that notification in braille with the forward button. Just as in the battery status to stop that press dot 8. A chord n will open up the notifications window if you want to read or delete them. See below to turn off notifications.
To get rid of those notifications you can go to Settings. Remember Settings is on Home Screen 3, but you can also use the shortcut by pressing a chord s, followed immediately by the letter s. It opens up the Settings list which starts with wifi, Press the center button to open it. Then press a tab right (chord dots 4,5) until you get to More Options. Then press the center button to open More Options, and use the down edge of the square pad to get to Advanced, then press the center button again to open Advanced. It lands on “navigate up.” Note, this is how Android shows the path you are in. You have drilled down through Settings and “Navigate Up” lets you go back up the list to More Options if you pressed the center button. To continue, do a chord dot 4 to go down to the first choice under Advanced which is Network Notification. Press the down edge of the square pad and it will say “Notify me when an open network is available” Press the down edge to see if the check box is checked or not. You want to uncheck that box to stop notifications.
Also go down further with a chord dot 4 until you get to “Avoid Poor Connections”. Again press the down edge of the square pad and it will say. “Don’t use a Wifi network unless it has a good internet connection.” Press the down edge once more to make sure that the check box is not checked. Now you are ready to set up WiFi.
II. Setting Up WiFi: As mentioned above, go to the Settings option either on the home screen or by doing a chord s, followed by s for settings. It opens on the WiFi option. Press the center button and it will start at “navigate up” . First check that WiFi is checked on by pressing the down edge of the square pad two times. First to WiFi then it will say checked on or off. Pressing the center button turns it on and off.
Next, do a chord dot 4 to go to the list of WiFi networks that the B2G is reading and find your router name. Press the center button to open it and will say “end”. You automatically default into the WEP password field when you open your network. Then you type your password and it will say the letter or number as you type it. You can also check the braille display and press the router keys above each cell to verify what you have typed. Note below the password field is a check box to show password. Do not check that box because it will change the input in the password field to literary braille instead of computer braille. After you have typed your password, do a tab right (chord dots 4,5) and navigate through the Show Password, show advanced options, cancel, and then connect. If you typed your password correctly it will obtain the IP address, and connect. To verify that you can then press the navigation square on your network and it will say the name and just below that it will say “connected”.
III. Checking for Updates on the B2G
· Firmware Update check- Just like a smartphone you can see if an update is available by going into settings and at the bottom of the Android list is “About Tablet” Firmware updates will not be as common as updates to the UI or user interface. Press the Center button and the first choice is b2g updates. Press the Center button and it will go to “check for updates.” Press the center button to check. You can verify if none are available by pressing the up edge of the square pad and it will tell you “No updates available” and the down edge of the square pad will say when you last checked for updates and the date.
· User Interface (UI) Update (Over the Air- via WiFi)
1. To do the UI update do a chord M with dots 7 and 8 at the same time. This brings up the Maintenance menu. Press Chord dot 4 to do down to the second item which is Update User Interface. Note, If you haven’t added apps or updates yet, it may take you to the Settings menu first to allow apps from unknown sources besides google. See #2 below on how to do that in Settings, otherwise go to the next paragraph for #3.
2. Settings is on the home screen. The shortcut is to do a Chord S, then immediately press letter s (within 2 seconds) to jump into Settings. Then do a chord dot 4 to go down the list until you get to Security press the center button to open it (again it will say “Navigate Up” to reverse your direction, so do a chord 4 again to go to Unknown Sources. Then use the down edge of the square navigation pad twice to get to the check box. If it is not checked already, press the center button and It will say Cancel, then press chord dot 4,5 or the down edge of the square pad to get to OK and press the center button to “check” the box. You will feel a tactile version of an open bracket in cell one. In cell two dots 2356 make a tactile G bullet to show that it is checked on and a tactile version of a closed bracket will be shown in cell 3.
3. To do the UI update do a chord M with dots 7 and 8 at the same time. This brings up the Maintenance menu. Chord dot 4 to do down to the second item which is Update User Interface.
Press the center button to select update the UI. Then you will choose how you want to update it. It opens on “Browser”. Use the down edge of the square pad and you will get Chrome, use the down edge again to get to “ES Downloader”.
Press center, then using the down edge again go to “just once” or “always” and press the center button. Then it will say “connecting.” After a few seconds you want to select the down edge again of the square pad to go from “open folder” to “open file.” Press the Center button to Open File, Then you will be prompted to “Cancel” or Tab right (chord dots 4,5) to “ok”. Then chord dot 4 again to “install”.
It will say “scroll view” when it is installing it. After a few seconds press a chord 4,5 again and it will go to “done”. Press the Center button on done. Now you have to do a reboot to clear out the old UI and set up the new one. So press buttons 4,5,6,8 and the down volume button at the same time and hold them for a couple of seconds. You will hear a series of 8 countdown beeps and the unit should reboot like at start-up. If it doesn’t reboot in a minute, you may not have held the chord long enough and it just shut down. Press a tab right (chord dots 4,5) to see if it starts on the Search icon followed by Chrome, NBP Editor, etc. If not, simply pull the on/off switch toward you and back on to reboot.
After it is on to Home Screen 3, press the forward, backward and space button at the same time. Then you can look at the UI Package Version.
IV. Using the file manager, ES File Explorer
This is useful file manager for copying, moving, and deleting files from a USB or SD. ES File Explorer is on Home Screen 3 when you boot up the B2G. It is next to the Setting icon.
When you press dot 8 or the center button, it opens up at the top menu screen that says “local” the easiest way to navigate to your files is to do a tab to the right (Chord dots 4,5). You will go through a two unlabeled icons that say “Linear Layout” then it will go to the “Favorites” folder which is the top of a vertical list of locations to search. Note: if you have an SD Card or USB drive inserted in the B2G they will be labeled with a 1 at the end to show that it is an external source. SDCard0 would mean internal memory within the device.