Victor Reader Soft

Humanware /

VR Soft 2.5

USER GUIDE

by HumanWare

revision 1-20081028

About VR Soft

Welcome to Victor Reader Soft 2.5. This Digital Talking Book Software is ideal to listen to your favorite best sellers, novels, and magazines. Victor Reader’s friendly interface includes the advanced navigation features, display customization, and much more. In addition to its reading features, Victor Reader synchronizes the text display with voice so you can see the text as it is being read. Also, several different user settings are available and saved automatically so you can customize the software to suit your specific needs. You can easily navigate through the Table of Contents and structure of the book to quickly find the desired information. This software supports all books recorded in the Daisy format, an international standard for digital talking books.

You will find several sections providing information on how to install Victor Reader, a table of shortcut keys, a short description on how to read a book, a detailed description of the Application window, its menus and dialog boxes, and information on how to contact HumanWare.

Table of Contents

1.Overview of VR Soft

1.1System requirements

1.2Installation Instructions

1.3Shortcut Keys

2.Victor Reader User Interface

2.1Title Bar

2.2Menu Bar

2.3Toolbar

2.4Application Window

2.4.1Global Navigation View

2.4.2Text View

3.Using Victor Reader

3.1Reading a book

3.2Text to Speech settings and Message output

3.3Basic Functions

3.3.1Play/Stop, Fast Forward, Rewind

3.3.2Adjusting the volume (V, Shift + V) and reading speed (S, Shift + S)

3.3.3Setting user preferences

3.3.4Setting Sleep Mode

3.3.5Changing, closing the current book

3.3.6Exiting Victor Reader

3.4Navigation

3.4.1Element

3.5Annotations

4.Menus

4.1Book Menu (Alt + B)

4.1.1Open (Control + O)

4.1.2Close Book (Control + F4)

4.1.3Info (I)

4.1.4Exit Victor Reader (ALT + F4)

4.2Find menu (Alt + F)

4.2.1Find (Control + F)

4.2.2Find Next (F3)

4.3Navigation Menu

4.3.1Next Element (Right arrow)

4.3.2Previous Element (Left arrow)

4.3.3Navigation Element (Up and Down arrows)

4.3.4Go to Page (G)

4.3.5Go to Heading (Control + G)

4.3.6Beginning of Book (Control + Home)

4.3.7End of Book (Control + End)

4.3.8Where Am I? (W)

4.4Annotations Menu

4.4.1Quick Bookmark

4.4.2All Annotations (Bookmarks, Highlights and Text Notes)

4.4.3Bookmark

4.4.4Highlight

4.4.5Text Note

4.5Settings Menu

4.5.1Audio

4.5.2Display

4.5.3User Profile (Control + U)

4.6Help Menu

4.6.1Key Describer (D)

4.6.2User guide (F1)

4.6.3About Victor Reader

4.6.4About Daisy

4.6.5About Bookshare.org

5.HumanWare Canada Contact Information

1. Overview of VR Soft

1.1 System requirements

The recommended minimum system requirements for Victor Reader are as follows:

SpecificationMinimum Requirement

Operating systemWindows 2000 or XP

RAM128 MB

Available hard disk space for installation100 MB

1.2 Installation Instructions

Use Explorer to open the installation file and follow the onscreen instructions:

Welcome screen: Select Next;
End-User license agreement: Read the License agreement and select "I accept the terms in the License Agreement" if you agree with the stipulated conditions. Select Next to continue.
Select Installation folder: Select Next to install in default folder or select Browse to change installation folder.
Ready to Install: Press Install to begin installation.
Software installed: Once installation is complete, select Finish to close installation window.

By default VR Soft will be installed in the Program Files\Humanware\Victor Reader Bookshare.org folder. A shortcut will be placed on the desktop.

1.3 Shortcut Keys

CommandShortcut

Book menuALT + B

Open BookControl + O

Close BookControl + F4

Info I

Exit ALT + F4

Find menuALT + F

Find Control + F

Find nextF3

Navigation menuALT + N

Next element Right arrow

Previous element Left arrow

Go to PageG

Go to heading Control + G

Beginning of BookControl + Home

End of Book Control + End

Where am I?W

Navigation modeZ

Annotations menuALT + O

Go to Quick BookmarkQ

Insert Quick BookmarkControl + Q

Go to Annotation A

Annotation ViewAlt + A

Remove Annotation Shift + A

Go to Bookmark B

Insert Bookmark Control + B

Remove Bookmark Shift + B

Go to Highlight H

Insert Highlight Control + H

Remove Highlight Shift + H

Go to Text note T

Insert Text note Control + T

Remove Text note Shift + T

Export Text notesControl + X

Settings menuALT + S

FontControl + P

LayoutControl + S

User ProfileControl + U

Help menuALT + H

Key DescriberD

User Guide F1

CancelEsc

ConfirmEnter

Fast ForwardPress and hold F

Go to next level X1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Go to previous level XShift + 1, Shift + 2…

Next Page Page down

Play/Stop Space bar

Previous Page Page up

RewindPress and hold R

Scroll downDown arrow

Scroll upUp arrow

Sleep mode setting9

Speed downShift + S

Speed up S

Volume downShift + V

Volume up V

Text Note shortcuts:

Beginning of LineHome

End of LineEnd

Next CharacterRight arrow

Next LineDown arrow

Next ParagraphControl + Down arrow

Next ScreenPage down

Next WordControl + Right arrow

Previous CharacterLeft arrow

Previous LineUp arrow

Previous ParagraphControl + Up arrow

Previous ScreenPage up

Previous WordControl + Left arrow

2. Victor Reader User Interface

The User Interface includes a Title Bar, the Menu Bar, a Toolbar and the Application Window.

2.1 Title Bar

The Title Bar is located at the top of the Application window; it shows the application name.

2.2 Menu Bar

Beneath the Title Bar is the Menu Bar. It contains from left to right the following menus: Book, Find, Navigation, Annotations, Settings, and Help. See Menus section for details.

2.3 Toolbar

Beneath the Menu bar is the Toolbar.

The Toolbar is comprised of the following components:

Open Book button: To open a book or update the contents of your bookshelf. Updating bookshelf needs to be done manually upon first use of the application or when adding new books.

Insert Bookmark button: To insert a Bookmark at the current location.

Previous and Next Bookmark buttons: To go to the previous or next Bookmark.

Insert Text Note button: To insert a Text Note at the current location.

Previous and Next Text Note buttons: To go to the previous or next Text Note.

Previous Page icon: to move to the previous page.

Go to Page box and Go button: enter the desired page and press Go or Enter to move to the selected page.

Next page button: to move to the next page.

Font size list box: from the list, select the text font size.

Find box and Go button: enter the text you wish to find and press Go or Enter to move to the selected text.

Rewind, Play/Stop, and Fast forward buttons. To rewind and fast forward, press once to start, and press a second time to end.

Volume button: use the slider to adjust volume.

Speed button: use the slider to adjust speed.

Humanware logo: press to access the Humanware website.

Bookshare logo: press to access the Bookshare website.

When moving the mouse cursor over these icons, Victor Reader will display and announce the corresponding tooltip.

2.4 Application Window

The Victor Reader Application Window is divided into two views: the Global Navigation View on the left and the Text View on the right. To move back and forth between these views, press the Tab or Shift + Tab keys.

2.4.1 Global Navigation View

The Global Navigation View is comprised of 2 tabs. The first displays the book’s heading structure, the other shows the annotations list. The Global Navigation View can be resized in the Settings Menu under the Layout option. Use the Up or Down arrows to select the navigation element. When selecting an item in the Global Navigation View, the Text View scrolls to the corresponding position in the text.

2.4.2 Text View

The Text View is located to the right of the Global Navigation View and can be resized in the Settings Menu under the Layout option. The Text View displays the contents of the book currently being read. When reading a book, you will find that the current section will be highlighted and the book position in the Text View will be synchronized with the Global Navigation View. When reading a book, the display will scroll down, moving the cursor or highlighting the text according to the book’s indexing, letting you see the text as it is being read. In DAISY mode, use the Up or Down arrows to select the navigation element and the Left or Right arrows to move to the previous or next items. You can also use your mouse to set the current position in the book. If in Text mode, pressing the arrows will move the cursor in the selected direction.

3. Using Victor Reader

3.1 Reading a book

To read a book, select the toolbar’s Open Book icon. Alternatively from the Book menu, select the Open Book option (Control + O). Once the Open book dialog is open, you can use the Browse path button to select a specific location or select the desired source (Favorites or known locations) from the Source list box.

The Bookshelf list box will display all the books available on the selected source. Navigate through the books listed using the up and down arrow keys or the scrollbar. When scrolling through the list, you will hear the book titles listed. Stop at the desired book. To open a book, press Enter, the book will open, the Text View will appear and Victor Reader will announce the title of the book.

Note that when you select the Open Book option, any book that is already open will be automatically closed. You can only have one book open at any given time.

3.2 Text to Speech settings and Message output

Text and application messages can be heard using different Text-to-speech engines. You can also determine if messages will be heard or not.

To silence application messages (or to turn them back on), go to the Settings menu, select Audio. From the Messages submenu, select Text-to-Speech or No speech. To change the Text-To-Speech voice, from the Settings Menu choose Audio - TTS Settings option. Then select the desired voice from the installed Text-to-Speech engines. You can also modify the Speed and Volume of the selected TTS voice selected. These modifications will affect messages and text reading.

3.3 Basic Functions

3.3.1 Play/Stop, Fast Forward, Rewind

To start reading, press Play/Stop (Spacebar) Victor Reader will start reading at the current position in your book. You can stop reading at any time by pressing Play/Stop again. Press and hold F to Fast Forward. To Rewind, press and hold the R key. You can also use the icons on the toolbar.

3.3.2 Adjusting the volume (V, Shift + V) and reading speed (S, Shift + S)

To adjust the volume, select the appropriate option from the Settings Menu or press V to increase or Shift + V to decrease the volume from 0 to 10. Similarly, the reading speed can be adjusted in the Settings Menu or using the S key to increase and the Shift + S keys to decrease the speed from –3 to 10.

3.3.3 Setting user preferences

Once the Volume and the Reading Speed are set, you can adjust the text color, background color, font and font size in all views. To set your preferences, select the Display/Font submenu item from the Settings Menu. See Settings Menu section for details. Please note that your settings will be saved for your next session. Settings can also be customized for each user in the User Profile dialog box (Control + U). Here is a list of parameters that will be saved in the User Profile: Current position in book, Annotations, Open book favorites list, Background and text color, Font name, Font size, Font style, Frame and views sizes, Playback mode, Message mode, Speed, Text-to-speech voice name, Volume, Mapping mode, Last book read location.

3.3.4 Setting Sleep Mode

The Sleep Mode (9) key lets you program a delay period after which Victor Reader will stop playing. Press the 9 key to program a stopping delay of 15 minutes. Each additional “Sleep Mode” keystroke will add 15 minutes delay, up to a maximum of 60 minutes. The next key press will disable the Sleep Mode (Sleep off) and the cycle starts over.

3.3.5 Changing, closing the current book

To close a book without exiting Victor Reader, select the toolbar’s Open Book icon. Alternatively from the Book menu select Close book (Control +F4) or the Open Book option (Control + O) and press Cancel. To change the current book, from the Open Book dialog select a new book.

3.3.6 Exiting Victor Reader

To exit the application, go to the Book menu and select Exit (ALT + F4). When exiting Victor Reader, your position, annotations and user settings will be saved for your next session in the same book.

3.4 Navigation

There are a number of navigation options available such as: Go to Page (G), Go to Heading (Control + G) Go to Annotation (A), Go to Text Note (T), Go to Quick Bookmark (Q), Go to Bookmark (B), Go to the Beginning of book (Control + Home) and Go to the End of book (Control + End). You can also navigate by element or level.

3.4.1 Element

You can select the navigation element in the Navigation Menu or use the Up and Down arrows when you are in the Global Navigation and Text View. To move to the next or previous element use the Right and Left arrows. Victor Reader will announce the selected element, then move to the selected element and start reading. Victor Reader allows you to navigate by Page, Phrase, Levels 1 to 6, or any other existing indexed element defined by the book producer. These differ from book to book but typically level 1 means chapter, level 2 means section, and so on. The page element may not be present on all books. The phrase level is usually the smallest navigation element but the book producer may define otherwise. The phrase level is always provided but its extent depends on the book producer.

3.5 Annotations

Annotations include Bookmarks, Highlights and Text Notes. Access the Annotations menu to insert, delete or go to an annotation at any time when reading a book.

You can also insert a Quick Bookmark (Control + Q) to save the location where you stopped reading. Press Control + Q until you hear "Quick Bookmark inserted". To go to a Quick Bookmark, press Q. You will hear "Reaching Quick Bookmark", Victor Reader will start reading from the quick bookmark’s location. See Annotations Menu section for details.

4. Menus

The Victor Reader Menus include the following: Book, Find, Navigation, Annotations, Settings, and Help.

4.1 Book Menu (Alt + B)

The Book Menu contains the following options: Open book (Control + O), Close book, Info, and Exit.

4.1.1 Open (Control + O)

When starting Victor Reader or when choosing this option from the Book Menu (Control + O), the Open Book dialog will open. Victor Reader will close the currently opened book, if any, before bringing up the Open Book dialog. Select the book source. Books can be found on Local drives, Network Drives or Favorites. When using Victor Reader for the first time, or when adding new books, you need to update the bookshelf manually. Use the arrow keys to go to the desired book from the list. To select, press Enter, or TAB to reach the Open button and press Enter.

NOTE: When starting Victor Reader, the User Profile Dialog will open if there is more than one user profile.

4.1.1.1 Book Dialog Box

The Open Book dialog consists of the Source box, the Browse path button, the Bookshelf list box, and seven buttons as follows: The Add to Favorites, Update Bookshelf, Delete book, Add All to Favorites, Delete from Favorites, Cancel and Open buttons.

NOTE: When selecting Favorites, Victor Reader will disable the Add to Favorites and Add All to Favorites buttons and enable the Delete from Favorites button. When selecting books from the Bookshelf, the Open button becomes active. Pressing Enter will open the selected book.

4.1.1.2 Source Box

The Source Box is located on the upper part of the dialog box, allowing you to select the source where Victor Reader will look for books.

4.1.1.3 Browse Path Button

The Browse Path button is located on the right of the Source box. It opens the Browse Path dialog allowing the user to choose a specific path to look for books.

Browse Path dialog: The Look In edit box is located on the upper part of the Browse Path dialog and shows the path to the selected folder. Beneath the Look In edit box, you will find a tree view Folders/Drivers box, which shows the available folders and drives. At the bottom, are the Ok and Cancel buttons. The following is the order in which these items appear when using the TAB key: The Look In edit box, Folders/drives tree view box, Ok button, and Cancel button.

4.1.1.4 Bookshelf Box

The Bookshelf box lists all the available books in the selected source (local drives, Network Drives or Favorites). When selecting Favorites, Victor Reader will list all the books that have been added to the Favorites book list (Add to Favorites or Add All to Favorites buttons). To navigate through the available sources, use the mouse or Up/Down arrows.

4.1.1.5 Open Book Dialog Buttons

Beneath the Bookshelf box you will find seven buttons as follows:

The Add to Favorites button: adds the selected (highlighted) book found in the Bookshelf to the Favorites books list.