manual-en

To add an audio style to be voiced by text-to-speech to an object, select the object and then choose the ‘Audio style’ icon from the properties toolbar on the left side of the screen or right-click the object and choose ‘Audio style’ from the context menu. This will launch an audio style dialog, the top section of which allows you to specify the text to be voiced by synthetic speech from one of several sources.

The default choice is the ‘Self defined text’ radio button, which allows you to type the text you want voiced into the text field on the dialog. If you have text saved in a text file that you would like voiced instead, you can select the ‘Text from local file’ radio button, then choose the ‘Browse’ button to browse to and select your text file (.txt file). Once you have specified the text, you can check how the audio style will sound by selecting the ‘Test audio style’ button. When you are finished making changes, choose the ‘OK’ button to close the dialog and apply the audio style. The object will be shaded light pink to indicate that an audio style is associated with it.

You can also attach an existing sound file to an object to have it played when the object is clicked while the file is in explore mode. In the audio style dialog, the bottom section allows you to specify a sound file to be used as an audio style.

The default choice is the ‘Local file’ radio button, which is used to attach a sound file to the object as an audio style. Select the ‘Browse URL’ button, locate the sound file you would like to use on your computer and select it. The file path to the sound file will now appear in the text field below the sound file type selection radio buttons. You can check how the audio style will sound by selecting the ‘Test audio style’ button. When you are finished making changes, choose the ‘OK’ button to close the dialog and apply the audio style. The light pink colour will now indicate an audio style is associated with the object.

NOTE:
If you have both a text-to-speech audio style and a sound file audio style attached to the same object, the text-to-speech will be voiced first and the sound file will play after it.

Audio styles recorded from a microphone are played when the object is clicked with the mouse or digital pen while using the file in explore mode. Recorded styles are played after any text-to-speech styles are voiced. Before recording, you will need to ensure that you have a microphone connected to your computer. You can connect your microphone via the ‘Microphone’ dialog in the Settings menu.

When you have connected a microphone to your computer, you can record an audio style for an object by selecting the object, then choosing the ‘Record microphone’ icon from the properties toolbar on the left side of the screen, or by right-clicking the object and choosing ‘Record microphone’ from the context menu. As soon as you select this, recording begins and the icon in the tool bar changes to the ‘Stop recording’ icon. When you have finished speaking into the microphone, choose the ‘Stop recording’ icon from the tool bar or right-click the object and select ‘Stop recording’ from the context menu to stop the recording. Your recording will play back automatically as soon as you stop the recording, and the object will be shaded light pink to indicate that an audio style is associated with it.

NOTE:
Each object may only have one text-to-speech audio style and one recorded or sound file audio style associated with it. If you record an audio style for an object, it will replace any existing sound file you may have associated with that object previously.

To edit any type of audio style, select the object with the audio style you want to edit and then choose the Audio Style icon from the tool bar on the left side of the screen or right-click the object and choose Audio Style from the context menu. This will launch the same audio style dialog you used to create a text-to-speech audio style or attach an existing sound file.

To edit a synthesized speech audio style from self-defined text, edit the text in the text field. You can also remove the text-to-speech audio style by deleting the text from the text field in the top section of the dialog.

To edit a synthesized speech audio style from text from a local file, you will need to edit the text within the text file itself. To load text from a different file, select the Browse button, locate the new text file you would like to use and select it. You can also remove this audio style by deleting the file path to the local file from the text field in the top section of the dialog.

To edit an audio style played from a sound file, choose the ‘Browse URL’ button, browse to a different sound file on your computer and select it. It will replace the previous sound file, including any sound file recorded from a microphone, as the audio style for that object. To remove the sound file audio style, delete the file path of the sound file from the text field in the bottom section of the dialog.

When you are finished making changes, choose the ‘OK’ button to close the dialog and apply your changes.

If you would like to re-record an audio style from your microphone, simply follow the steps given above for recording from a microphone. You do not need to open the audio style dialog to do this. Please remember that recording an audio style for an object from the microphone will overwrite any other sound file audio style for that object.

You can also apply filters to a selected area only, without affecting the rest of the design; see ‘Select area; editing parts of the design’. Please note: in the images on this page, the filters are only applied to the right-hand side of the image to show the effect compared to the original image on the left.

One way to process the image so that it can better be embossed is to convert it to a line drawing. Select the Convert to Line Drawing option from the Filters menu. A slider bar will appear in the upper left corner of the screen. Drag the slider left or right until the image looks as desired.

Some images can come out better when converted to black and white rather than to a line drawing. Select the Convert to Black and White option from the Filters menu. A slider bar will appear in the upper left corner of the screen. Drag the slider left or right until the image looks as desired.

Use this filter to increase or decrease line thicknesses in the image all at once. If your image contains a lot of light, thin lines or a dark, thick lines, this filter is helpful to make them all thicker or thinner at the same time. Select Change Line Thickness from the Filters menu. When the slider appears at the upper left corner of the screen, slide it to the right to make lines thicker or to the left to make them thinner.

This option allows you to add outlines around each different colored area in an image. Contours (black lines) are added at the transition point between one color and another and the thickness of the contour lines is controlled using the slider that appears at the upper left corner of the screen when you select the filter. This filter can be helpful for simple drawings that have well-defined areas in distinct colors, but is less useful when applied to photos or other images where color fades from lighter to darker without a distinct transition point.

The use of this filter lets you soften or sharpen edges between areas of color in an image. Select Blur the Image from the Filters menu, then use the slider that appears at the upper left corner of the screen to adjust the image. Sliding the slider right will soften edges and sliding it left will sharpen the edges.

This filter is mostly used to remove certain colours in the image by converting them to white or black. In the dialog that appears, you can select which colour should be replaced from the list of colours that are present in the design. You can also adjust the colour range to include similar shades in the colour replacement. Once you are finished replacing the desired colours, click ‘OK’ to confirm the changes.

This option is mostly used when an image has a lot of black area. Choosing Negative from the Filters menu will exchange all colors in the image file with their opposites. Black areas become white, blue areas become orange, red areas become green, etc.

To rotate the entire image, select either ‘Rotate Clockwise’ or ‘Rotate anticlockwise’ from the Filters menu. The image will rotate 90 degrees in the direction you selected.

To mirror the image, select ‘Mirror Horizontally’ or ‘Mirror Vertically’ from the Filters menu. Mirroring horizontally flips the image left to right, like turning a page in a book. Mirroring vertically flips the image upside down, like turning a page in a wall calendar.

To scale the image, select it and then drag the blue square in the lower right corner of the design area diagonally to scale the image smaller or larger.

To draw a straight line, choose the ‘Draw Straight Line’ icon from the toolbar on the left side of the screen. In the design area, click the starting position for your line, then click the end position.

To draw a square, choose the Draw Square-Rectangle icon from the tool bar on the left side of the screen. Click in the design to mark the position of the first corner, then move the mouse to determine the size of the square and click a second time to confirm. Alternatively, you can click and drag, then release at the opposite corner.

By dragging the markers in one of the four corners the size can be increased or decreased. Dragging inwards or outwards with the markers in the middle of the four sides will turn the square into a rectangle.

To draw a circle, choose the ‘Draw Circle-Ellipse’ icon from the left vertical tool bar on the left side of the screen. In the design area, click the location for the first position, then move the mouse until the circle is the desired size and click again to confirm. Alternatively, you can click and drag, then release at the opposite corner.

By dragging the markers in one of the four corners the size can be increased or decreased. Dragging inwards or outwards with the markers in the middle of the four sides will turn the circle into an ellipse.

To insert a triangle into your drawing, select the ‘Draw Triangle’ icon from the left vertical toolbar. Next, select what type of triangle to insert from the right vertical properties tool bar that appears.

The bottom four icons on this tool bar show the available types of triangles. From top to bottom, the triangle types available in the tool bar are right, isosceles, equilateral and scalene. Triangles may be changed from one type to another after you have placed them in your drawing, but it is easiest to select the appropriate triangle type prior to inserting the shape.

Once you have selected the type of triangle you want, click the point in the design area where you want one of the corners and then drag until the triangle is the desired size. Alternatively, you can click and drag, then release at the opposite corner.

The ‘Angles and lines’ dialog can be used for a more mathematically oriented notation. The corners of the triangle are marked with letters A, B and C.  By default they will only show on screen (green colour, not embossed). By checking ‘Characters A, B, C at corners’ in the ‘Angles and lines’ dialog, they will also be presented in braille characters once embossed.

The corners of the triangle can each be provided with 3 types of specific lines: altitude, median line and bisector, which will be embossed as dotted lines.

A polygon consists of several lines that are connected as one object. To insert a polygon, choose the ‘Draw Polygon’ icon from the tool bar on the left side of the screen. Click in a number of positions in the design area to draw a polygon. To finish the polygon, click on the first anchor point (first purple marker) to close the polygon. Alternatively, you can click again on the last placed anchor point to make an open shape. You can also choose these two options from the toolbar or context menu by selecting ‘Close polygon’ or ‘Finalize the polygon (leave the last connection open)’.

When you have an open polygon selected, two green plus symbols on screen allow you to continue drawing at the ends of the polygon. You can also choose ‘Continue drawing at first/last endpoint’ from the context menu. The red border around a selected polygon can be used to resize it by dragging the purple markers.

You can choose between straight and curved lines between the anchor points. This allows you to make use of rounded curves in your design.

To draw freehand lines or closed shapes, choose the Draw Freehand Line or Closed Shape icon from the tool bar on the left side of the screen. In the design area, click the desired starting location and drag the mouse to create the desired line. To create a closed shape, click the desired starting location and drag the mouse to create the desired shape, returning to the starting location before releasing the mouse button.

As with the polygon, you can choose between straight and curved lines between the anchor points. The dashed red border can be used to resize the entire object.

To add round dots to your design, select the ‘Draw filled dots’ from the let vertical toolbar, then click in your design to position the dot. The size of the dot can be changed with the purple markers. The dot size can range from only one braille dot up to a large filled circle of multiple centimetres in diameter.