[gui-talk] Fwd: Guess What? - Window-Eyes 7.5 Beta 1 - New Apps

[Steve Pattison]

From:	aaron at gwmicro.com
To:	gw-info at gwmicro.com

Disclaimer

The following message includes information regarding Window-Eyes 7.5
Beta 1. Please note that Window-Eyes 7.5 Beta 1 HAS NOT been released
at this time. We are, however, providing you with some small glimpses
into the features that Window-Eyes 7.5 Beta 1 will contain. We are
currently not answering any questions regarding the functionality of
the beta. The only things we are going to talk about will be what we
have included in our new Guess What series, which will continue daily
up to the beta release date. We will answer all questions at that time.
Please be patient; you will be rewarded.

If you are subscribed to the GW Micro or Guess What podcast feed, you
will automatically receive this Guess What in MP3 format. Check out
www.gwmicro.com/podcast for more information. For sighted users, go to
our YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/gwmicro to see the video of the
Guess What. If you want to download the MP3, read this article online,
or view more Guess What articles (when they are released), please visit
www.gwmicro.com/beta.

Enjoy!
--

Welcome to GW Micro's "Guess What?" series, an introductory look at the
highly anticipated release of Window-Eyes 7.5 Beta 1. Window-Eyes 7.5
Beta 1 is the first version of Window-Eyes to re-brand the notion of
scripts into a more comfortable and recognizable term: Apps. Window-Eyes
Apps embrace a broader sense of usage by including everything from
program enhancements that deal specifically with accessibility issues
to more convenience-oriented apps and everything in between. While the
underlying structure of these Window-Eyes enhancements is the same
industry standard that has been in place since its inception, the
concept of an app is more widely known, and the use of this term will
help eliminate the confusion often associated with the more technical
expression.

What can Apps do for you? As long as Window-Eyes is running, Apps can
stand-alone, such as an App to check the weather. Apps can make a
program accessible, such as Skype. And, Apps can enhance the functionality
of a program, such as adding functionality to Word.

Window-Eyes 7.5 Beta 1 will ship with more default Apps to make your
Window-Eyes experience even smoother. You will likely see the following
Apps ship with Window-Eyes: App Get, Auto Complete, EloquenceFix, GW
Toolkit, HotSpot, Progress Indicator, JAWS Quick Key, LVNav, MS Access,
Quick Start Wizard, Read To Me, Virtual View, Voice Rotor, WLM,
WEUpdate, Word Accent, and WordNav.

If you have been using Window-Eyes 7.2, you will undoubtedly notice
that there are new Apps that have been added to help both new and
existing users to Window-Eyes. The HotSpot App is now included to allow
advanced users to customize Window-Eyes for certain applications. The
JAWS Quick Key App will hold the hand of users from a competing screen
reader who are switching to the powerful platform of Window-Eyes.
Easily change your read-to-end voice to a different synthesizer with
the Read To Me App. The WLM App allows access to Windows Live Mail.
Some new additions include the MS Access script, which creates
out-of-the-box support for Microsoft Access.

Two of the most notable new Apps are the Quick Start Wizard and App Get.
The Quick Start Wizard will help new users of Window-Eyes get up to
speed quickly and easily. If you are installing Window-Eyes 7.5 for the
first time, the Quick Start Wizard will run automatically. I already
have Window-Eyes installed, so I need to start it manually. Let's take
a brief look at what it sets up. First, press Alt-A to get into the
Apps menu. Then, press Down Arrow to get to Quick Start Wizard and
press Enter to open the pulldown. Press Enter on Launch Wizard. The
first dialog explains what the wizard does. Press Enter to activate the
Next button. You can then select a synthesizer. Eloquence and DecTalk
Access 32 are the options available here, but if you have another
synthesizer, it would also show up as an option in addition to DecTalk
Access 32 and Eloquence. The changes will take effect immediately. The
next screen allows you to setup the punctuation. You can Tab to the
options, check the items you want, and then press Enter on the Next
button. The next dialog allows you to select your Braille display. If
you were to select a Braille display, you would be provided with more
options. Feel free to explore those options when you install Window-Eyes
7.5 Beta 1. Once complete, press Enter on the Next button. After that,
you will be asked how you want Window-Eyes to speak, such as each
character you type, each word, etc. Press Enter on the Next button. The
Quick Start Wizard then asks if you want Window-Eyes to run in the
Taskbar or in the Notification Area (formerly known as the System Tray).
The last option you are asked to set is the keyboard layout. You may
want to use the standard default keyboard layout, or you may want to
use the brand new laptop layout. Yet another new advantage that will
certainly help when using the new laptop layout, and is definitely
worth noting here, is that you can now use the CAPS lock key to act as
the Insert key. This is true when using any keyboard layout, but
extremely helpful when using a laptop. Tab to Finish, press Enter, and
you are all set to go. If you decide to cancel the wizard, your
settings will revert back to what they were. So, whether you are a new
Window-Eyes user, or whether you just want to make some simple changes
to Window-Eyes, the Quick Start Wizard is there to help you through it
all.

The next new and definitely notable App is called App Get. App Get
helps you get those innovative, handy, and helpful Apps from App
Central. We could go into the Apps menu, and access App Get, but the
easier way is to simply use the hotkey, which is Windows Key-G by
default. App Get will then begin to load all of the available Apps into
a dialog. Note that this assumes you have Internet access as it is
searching for Apps on the GW Micro server. Once the list of Apps has
been downloaded, the Apps are then put into categories, which are
Multimedia, General, Program Enhancements, Utilities, Communication,
App Development, Productivity, and Programming. Suppose you wanted to
get the Weather or Not App. You would press the Down Arrow until you
get to General and press the Right Arrow to open the node. Then, you
could either Down Arrow or press W until you hear Weather or Not. Once
on Weather or Not, you can press Tab, and you will be in the Details
read-only edit box where you read about the App. Tab again, and you can
read comments that others have posted about the App. If you still want
to install the App, you can press Tab until you get to the Install
button and press Enter. Then, press Enter on Install in the Package
Preview dialog, and then Enter to accept the license agreement.

Or, what if you want to know which Apps you have installed? Let's check
out the various ways you can do this. Press Alt-V to get into the View
menu. In this menu, you will find Refresh, All, Installed, Not
Installed, and Outdated. Let's change the view so that it only shows
our Apps that are currently installed. You are put back in the treeview,
you hear exactly how many Apps you have installed, and they are still
put into categories just as before. App Get makes finding everything
you have (or don't have) extremely simple, as well as finding updates
to Apps.

What if you wanted to find an App that you had heard about from a
friend? App Get has the ability to find Apps, too. Note that it will
only find Apps that are in the current view. First, let's put App Get
back to showing all Apps by press Alt-V, Down Arrow to All, and press
Enter. You can now easily find an App by pressing Control-F. The App
Find dialog will appear. You can search by name, author, or Description
of an App. You can also set the search so that it looks for all words
in your search criteria or matches the case. Maybe you are looking for
an App to work with Quickbooks. Type Quickbooks in the Name edit box,
and press Enter. Window-Eyes says, "Please wait," and performs the
search. The App Find dialog closes, and you are put back into the
treeview. In this case, we hear that there is one App under Productivity.
Open the treeview by pressing the Right Arrow, and then Down Arrow to
the App. You could then Tab to hear the Details and Comments. You could
also easily install the App from right here. Or, if you want to show
all Apps again, simply press F5. Feel free to explore all of the
powerful Window-Eyes Apps with App Get after you download Window-Eyes
7.5 Beta 1. As you can see, AppGet is a real time saver. It allows you
to easily find Apps and can also show you which Apps are installed, not
installed, as well as which Apps need to be updated among other
exciting features. Get ready to experience all of the power that
Window-Eyes 7.5 Beta 1 provides.

We still have a few more items that make Window-Eyes 7.5 Beta 1 an even
more well-rounded, well worth it upgrade, including some additional
features, and a solid collection of bug fixes. Stay tuned for
tomorrow's "Guess What?" to learn more about Window-Eyes 7.5 Beta 1, as
well as an exciting promotion to help you upgrade from 7.2 to 7.5.

Regards Steve
Email:  srp at internode.on.net
MSN Messenger:  internetuser383 at hotmail.com
Skype:  steve1963
Twitter:  steve9782