PLEXTALK RECORDING SOFTWARE USER MANUAL

1 About this Manual
1.1 Legal and Copyright Information
1.2 Information about navigating the manual
1.3 Sample exercises
2 Software Features and Limitations
2.1 Features of the Plextalk Recording Software (PRS)
2.2 Limitations of the PRS Software
3 Introduction to DAISY
3.1 What is DAISY?
3.2 Main features of DAISY
3.3 Types of DAISY book
3.4 Navigating a DAISY book
3.5 Main elements of a DAISY book
3.6 Main processes involved in producing an audio DAISY book
4 Getting Started
4.1 Terminology used in the software
4.2 Recommended system requirements
4.3 Installation and uninstallation of PRS
4.4 Launching and Exiting PRS
5 Accessing the PRS software
5.1 Description of the main screen interface
5.2 Operation from the keyboard
5.3 Information about using speech with PRS
6 Configuring PRS
6.1 Customising the Voice Guidance feature
6.2 Customising the display settings
6.3 Setting the default folder for recordings
6.4 Selecting the default CD writer
6.5 Exercises for configuring PRS
7 Opening and Creating New Projects
7.1 Opening an existing projects
7.2 Creating a new project
7.3 Opening an existing book from CD
7.4 Exercises for opening projects and existing books
8 Navigating and playing projects
8.1 Navigating sections and phrases
8.2 Playing sections or phrases
8.3 Continuous play
8.4 Adjusting playback speed
8.5 Adjusting playback volume
8.6 Getting section and phrase information
8.7 Searching for heading text
8.8 Jumping to Pages
8.9 Jumping to Groups
8.10 Jumping to Marks
8.11 Jumping to Events
8.12 Exercises in playing and moving around a project
9 Recording
9.1 Checking the Volume Control options for the computer
9.2 Selecting the required input device
9.3 Confirmation of the storage information
9.4 Setting up the recording functions
9.5 Selecting the recording mode
9.6 Adjusting the recording volume
9.7 Exercises for practicing recording techniques
10 Editing
10.1 Selecting multiple sections or phrases
10.2 Standard editing commands for phrases and sections
10.3 Editing a section
10.4 Editing phrases
10.5 Undoing editing
10.6 Editing the section properties
10.7 Setting and removing page information
10.8 Setting and removing group information
10.9 Marks
10.10 Setting page, group or mark codes whilst recording
10.11 Comments
10.12 Exercises in editing a project
11 Creating and Editing the Table of Contents
11.1 ToC (Table of Contents)
11.2 CSV (Comma Separated Variables)
11.3 TXT (Text)
11.4 Running the "ToC Import" process
11.5 Exercises in working with Tables of Contents (ToC)
12 Building the book
12.1 How to run the "Build Book" process
12.2 Outline of the alterations involved in the "Build Book" process
13 Creating the CD
13.1 Configuring PRS for your CD writer
13.2 Writing the CD
13.3 Explanation of the CD writing dialogue box
14 Additional Features of PRS
14.1 DAISY import
14.2 Audio Import
14.3 Audio Export
14.4 Text Import
14.5 Detecting the pause time
14.6 Exercises for the additional features of PRS
APPENDICES
Appendix A - Sample Exercises
Appendix B - Menu Details
Appendix C - Short-cut Details
Appendix D - Technical Details

1 About this Manual

1.1 Legal and Copyright Information

SHINANOKENSHI reserves the right to make improvements in the products described in this manual at any time without prior notice.

SHINANOKENSHI makes no representation or warranties with respect to the contents hereof and specifically disclaims any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for any particular purpose. Further, SHINANOKENSHI Corp. reserves the right to revise this manual and to make changes in its content without obligation to notify any person or organization of such revision or change.

This manual is copyrighted, all rights reserved. It may not be copied, photocopied, translated, or reduced to any electronic medium or machine-readable form without SHINANOKENSHI's prior permission.

Manual copyright SHINANOKENSHI Corp. edition July 2004.

MPEG Layer-3 audio compression technology licensed by Fraunhofer IIS and THOMSON multimedia.
http://www.iis.fhg.de/

Licenses and Trademarks - All licenses and trademarks are property of their respective owners.

1.2 Information about navigating the manual

This manual has been written in a logical sequence which should allow new users and advanced users to easily find the information they are looking for. New users should be able to build up their knowledge gradually by working methodically through the chapters whilst advanced users may wish to skip some chapters or sections and go directly to information about the more complex features.

The manual has been written in HTML format to allow you to view it in your web browser. You can navigate through the text from start to finish or you can use the links and headings to find particular items of interest.

The main heading and all chapter headings are at level 1, sections are at level 2 and sub sections are at level 3. All items in the Contents list are linked to the related part of the manual with hyperlinks. At the end of every chapter, there is a link back to the Contents list.

1.3 Sample exercises

Throughout the manual, reference is made to sample exercises available in Appendix A. A copy of these exercises and some sample projects are available on the "PTR1/PTR2 User's Guide" CD(\PRS\Sample Projects), provided with your software. The sample projects should be used in conjunction with the exercises.

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2 Software Features and Limitations

This chapter details some of the main features of the PRS software and some of the physical limitations which apply when used with different operating systems.

2.1 Features of the Plextalk Recording Software (PRS)

The PRS software is a DAISY2.02 production tool which can import DAISY2.0 content for editing or upgrading. Please note that PRS can only produce DAISY books that are structured audio and it does not have the capability of producing full text DAISY books.

The main features of this version of the software are as follows:

• It enables a blind or partially sighted person to create a DAISY audio book independently.
• All menus and navigation are fully accessible from the keyboard.
• Built-in voice guidance and display options allow you to customise the software for your particular needs.
• Recordings can be edited easily using word processing style commands.
• Use of MP3 encoding gives up to 90 hours of audio recording on a single CD.
• Built-in CD writing facilities - you don't need a separate software for this purpose.
• Capable of creating multiple book CDs.
• Import and edit existing DAISY books or combine several books into one.
• Text import feature to allow rapid conversion of text to an audio format using synthesized speech.
• Table of Contents (ToC) import feature to speed up the production process.
• Audio conversion facility to change the audio format of your projects.

2.2 Limitations of the PRS Software

Depending on which operating system you are using, the PRS software is limited as follows:

2.2.1 Limitations when using Windows 2000 or XP

• Maximum number of sections - 99,999
• Maximum number of phrases in a section - 99,999
• Maximum number of specified pages - 999,999 (see Note 1 below)
• Maximum size of an audio file (MP3 or WAV) - 2 GB
• Maximum character length - 127 characters (see Note 2 below)

2.2.2 Limitations when using Windows ME or 98 SE

• Maximum number of sections - 2000 (see Note 3 below)
• Maximum number of phrases in a section - 2000 (see Note 3 below)
• Maximum number of specified pages - 999,999 (see Note 1 below)
• Maximum size of an audio file (MP3 or WAV) - 2 GB
• Maximum character length - 127 characters (see Note 2 below)

  Note 1: Although you can specify up to 999,999 pages, you cannot specify Page 0 (zero)
  Note 2: The character length referred to here is the text in the section property and book information dialogue boxes.
  Note 3: When using Windows ME/98 SE, there is a practical limitation of 2000 sections/phrases because of the time taken to refresh the list view. If editing an extremely large book, it is highly recommended that you use Windows 2000 or Windows XP.

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3 Introduction to DAISY

This chapter gives an overview of the DAISY format and some of the terminology used. It also gives information about the structure of a DAISY project and the processes involved in producing a DAISY book. If you are a new DAISY user, you should read this chapter thoroughly. If you are an experienced DAISY user, you may wish to skim read the chapter or bypass it altogether.

3.1 What is DAISY?

DAISY is an acronym which stands for Digital Accessible Information SYstem. It is the information format which is being developed as the international standard for digital talking books. DAISY books can be played on a dedicated hardware player or on a computer equipped with the appropriate software.

3.2 Main features of DAISY

The main features of the DAISY format are as follows:

Compression of information - with high levels of compression available, it is possible to store up to 90 hours of digital audio on a single CD. Imagine storing a similar amount of audio on cassette tapes!
Speed of Navigation - the DAISY format includes a range of features which enable the reader to quickly access parts of the book. These features include 6 levels of navigation, coding of pages and groups and the ability to move backwards or forwards a phrase at a time. These items will be discussed in more detail later in this chapter.
Multi-media capability - in addition to digital audio, the DAISY format is able to incorporate text, graphics and even video to provide the reader with a fully synchronized reading experience.

3.3 Types of DAISY book

The DAISY format allows for 6 types of DAISY book which range from audio books with no navigation structure to books with text and no audio. A brief description of each type is given below:

• Type 1 - Audio without structure: The simplest type of book. Direct navigation to points within the book is not possible.
• Type 2 - Audio and structure only: A marked up text file contains the structure of the book and provides links to features such as headings and page numbers. This allows the end user to navigate directly to those points. The marked up file is called the Table of Contents or ToC.
• Type 3 - Audio with structure and partial text: As well as containing the structure, the marked up file contains some text from the book, for example, for a glossary or index. If listening to the book on a pc the text will appear on screen and the user will be able to search for words within the text.
• Type 4 - Audio and full text: This is the most time consuming type of book to produce but provides the most access. Audio and text are fully synchronised throughout the book, so that the correct text appears on screen as the audio is being read.
• Type 5 - Full text and partial audio: the book has structure and complete text but only limited audio. The marked up file contains the structure and the text of the book, but there is only audio for part of the text. The end user can navigate through the text.
• Type 6 - Full text and no audio: This is electronic text with structure, there are no audio files.

  Note: As the PRS package is designed to produce structured audio only talking books, it has no facilities for including text, graphics or video. For this reason, this manual only deals with the production of Type 2 DAISY books (structured audio).

3.4 Navigating a DAISY book

A DAISY book can have up to 6 levels of navigation. The number of levels in a book will depend on the structure of the original book. The levels are hierarchical with Level 1 the highest level of navigation and Level 6 the lowest.

There are no fixed rules about how the DAISY navigation levels should be used and people's views on how this should be done will vary. For simple books which only have chapters, it is likely that only one level (Level 1 equating to chapters) will be used. For more complex books, which may have chapters, sections and sub sections, there might be 3 levels used (Level 1 for chapters, Level 2 for sections and Level 3 for sub sections). Once the book has been created, the levels of navigation are fixed and cannot be altered by the reader.

When trying to find a specific part of a book, the reader would tend to use a higher level (perhaps Level 1 or Level 2) to find the main area of interest, and would then change to a lower level of navigation to home in more on the information they are looking for. This allows them to bypass large portions of the book that they have no interest in at that time.

DAISY books can allow the reader can go directly to specific pages. To make this possible, the producer of the book must include the page codes at the correct locations when they create the book. Pages cannot be coded by the reader.

Two other DAISY navigation features, namely "Groups" and "Phrases" are available to the producer of the DAISY project. Both of these features give the reader extra navigation options and are explained in the chapter called "Getting Started" later in this manual.

Once the book is complete, the reader can add bookmarks at relevant places to enable them to find the marked locations at a later stage. The number of permitted bookmarks will depend on the player used but generally there will be more capacity than the reader requires. Bookmarks are the only item that the reader can insert and remove.

3.5 Main elements of a DAISY book

A DAISY book consists of a number of items. A brief summary of these is given below:

• Audio files - these are the main building blocks of any audio DAISY book. The DAISY format is able to work with audio formats including MP3 and WAV. The selection of the audio format for a particular recording will depend on the audio quality required and the estimated length of the recording. A DAISY book may contain a single audio file or a large number of individual files depending on how the recording was made. The audio files created by the PRS software are all named in the same style. This is the letter "a" followed by 6 numbers and with a file extension ".MP3" or ".WAV".
• Navigation files - in order to enable the reader to quickly move around a DAISY book, the software creates a number of navigation files automatically. There are 2 main types of navigation file. Firstly there are files which have a ".HTML" or ".HTM" file extension. The most important of these is the "NCC.HTML" or "NCC.HTM" file. In this context "NCC" stands for "Navigation Control Centre". This NCC file contains information about how the book is structured and how the audio files should be linked together. The second type of navigation file can be recognised by their ".SMIL" file extension and are generally called the "smile files". These files control the timing of the audio playback. Without these files, the audio files would not be 'linked' together and could only be played like tracks on a standard music CD. All the smile files that are generated by the PRS software will have the same style of file name. This is the three letters "ptk" followed by 6 numbers and with a file extension of ".SMIL".
• Book information - This is information about the original print book and about the people involved in creating the DAISY book. This includes the title of the book, the name of the author, the publisher, the ISBN, the name of the narrator(s), the name of the book producer and the language. Although it is possible to create a DAISY book without completing this information, it is good practice to aim to fill in as much information as possible. The information provided will be used as "meta data" in the NCC file along with the Table of Contents information. Meta data is just the name given to this kind of information in the marked up file.
• Table of Contents or ToC - this is information which is stored in a marked up text file which controls the outline structure of the DAISY book. It acts as a link between the audio files and the navigation files.

3.6 Main processes involved in producing an audio DAISY book

When producing an audio DAISY book, there are a number of tasks to complete. In outline, these are as follows:

• Starting the new project - this is very similar to the idea of creating a new document in a word processor. By choosing to create a new DAISY project, you will be given an empty project in which to generate your new book.
• Completing the book information - this can be done at any time during the process of creating the book but is probably best done at the beginning.
• Creating the Table of Contents - this can be done before or after the recording and will very much depend on the type of recording you are making.
• Recording the audio - there are 2 main options for generating the recording. It can either be recorded direct into the DAISY software or can be recorded separately and imported into the project afterwards. The method selected will depend on the type of DAISY book you are producing.
• Editing the project - it is rare for a recording to be perfect first time so there is likely to be a need to edit it afterwards. The editing process also enable the producer of the DAISY book to check the structure of the new DAISY book and to insert heading, level, page and other navigation information if they haven't been entered previously.
• Building the final book - after the editing has been completed, all DAISY books must be run through a process called "building the book". This process finalises a number of items. It also automatically enters the date of completion into the book information.
• Writing the CD - this is the final process required to give you a CD of your DAISY book. The CD can either be a master CD or a distribution CD. Distribution CDs cannot be edited.

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4 Getting Started

By now, you should have a reasonable overview about the way a DAISY book is structured and produced. This chapter focuses on how you get started with using the PRS software.

4.1 Terminology used in the software

In order to avoid any confusion with terminology, the most commonly used terms used in the PRS software are explained below. It is stressed that the way these terms are defined relates to their use in the PRS software and may not be used in the same context in other publications.

4.1.1 Project

A project is a DAISY book before it is finished. The final process of building the book is the point at which the project is complete. At this stage it would be called a DAISY book.

4.1.2 Book

A "book" is a finished project. At this stage it is ready for distribution. If further editing of the book were required subsequently, the book would have to be imported into the PRS software as a new project.

4.1.3 Title

Throughout this manual the term "title" refers to the title of a book.

4.1.4 Section

A "section" in the PRS software refers to the segment of audio between one heading and the next. A section is generally made up of a number of phrases but can have as few as one phrase. Each section will have a heading and a heading level associated with it. Do not get confused between sections in the PRS software and sections of this manual!

4.1.5 Heading

A "heading" is the text associated with a section. The default text for all section headings is the word "Heading". A more descriptive heading can be entered by the producer of the project. The heading text forms the basis of the Table of Contents and is used in the NCC file.

4.1.6 Level

The "level" of a section refers to its DAISY navigation level. As mentioned earlier in the manual, the producer of the DAISY book can choose from 6 levels of navigation. These are known as Level 1, Level 2, Level 3 and so on. Level 1 is the highest level of navigation and Level 6 the lowest. Every section in a DAISY project/book has an associated level of navigation. The default level for all sections is Level 1. The level can be altered by the producer of the project but cannot be altered by the reader.

4.1.7 Phrase

When the book is being recorded, the audio files are automatically divided into segments called "phrases". The recording software will decide on where a phrase starts and ends based on the amount of silence between one piece of audio and the next. The length of silence permitted before a new phrase is created is called the "pause time" and can be adjusted by the person making the DAISY recording. In order to break the audio up into phrases that are not too long or short, a fast reader might require a short pause time and a slower reader a longer pause time. When the recording is finished, the reader can use the phrases as an additional navigation feature.

4.1.8 Page

A "Page" refers to a code placed into the DAISY project. The page code is attached to a phrase and can be inserted or removed by the project producer before it is completed. It should be noted that page coding in the final DAISY book may not match the pages in the original printed text book depending on the needs of the project. For example, page numbering in the DAISY book may start at the point where the printed book content starts, ignoring the page numbering of items such as the preface, dedication and extraneous information.

4.1.9 Group

The "group" coding is a flexible navigation feature and can be used by the project producer to relate to elements in the book that they wish to reference separately from the other navigation features. For example, the producer may choose to use the group code to identify each paragraph, though this would be very labour intensive. It might also be used to reference other items such as points of note, warnings, diagrams or tables. As with most DAISY elements, the group coding is decided upon by the producer and cannot be altered by the reader.

4.1.10 Mark

A mark is a way in which the producer of the project can identify particular phrases in the project that may need further attention. Marks do not affect the playback of the finished book but would normally be removed by the producer before finalising the project.

4.1.11 Event

An event includes all of the following: the first phrase in every section; phrases coded with the "Page" code and phrases coded with the "Group" code. Phrases marked with the "Mark" code are not considered to be "events".

4.2 Recommended system requirements

SHINANOKENSHI recommends the following system environment for running the PRS software. SHINANOKENSHI does not guarantee proper operation of the software on systems which do not meet this specification.

Recommended Specification:

• Computer: PC/AT compatible machine
• Operating System: XP (Home/Professional), Windows 2000, ME or 98 SE
• Processor (CPU): Intel Celeron 400 MHz or higher
• Memory: 128 MB or higher
• Screen Resolution: 800 by 600 pixels or higher
• Hard Disk (HDD): 1 GB for software installation (including temporary image file area for CD writing) and 2 GB or more of free disk space for recorded content
• Sound card
• CDR/CDRW Drive: A list of recommended drives is given at Appendix D, Table D1
• Voice Guidance: To comply with Microsoft Speech API 4.0 as following TTS engine. (Included this software)
  Mary, Mike, Sam, Mary (for Telephone), Mike (for Telephone), Female Whisper, Mary in Space, Mary in Hall, Mary in Stadium, RoboSoft Six, RoboSoft Five, RoboSoft Four, Male Whisper, RoboSoft One, RoboSoft Two, RoboSoft Three, Mike in Hall, Mike in Stadium, Mike in Space.

4.3 Installation and uninstallation of PRS

This section of the manual explains how to install and uninstall the PRS software.

Note: The file name for set-up or the version number appearing on the screen will be different from the one written on the manual after the upgrade has been done.

4.3.1 Installing PRS

To install the PRS software do the following:

• Connect the Plextalk PTR1/PTR2 recorder to your computer and ensure that the device is recognised by your system. This is required because the software will not install without first recognising the PTR1/PTR2 drive. You should refer to the PTR1/PTR2 User Guide for detailed instructions of how to connect the PTR1/PTR2 to your computer for the first time.
• Insert the PTR1/PTR2 User Guide CD into the PTR1/PTR2.
• From the Windows Start Menu, select the "Run" option. Once in the "Run" dialogue box, select the "Browse" button and navigate to the "PRS" folder on the CD. Locate and highlight the file called "PRSsetup2_XX_XX_XXE.exe" and press the "Enter" key. This will return you to the "Run" dialogue box with the correct filename entered in the command line. Press the "Enter" key once more and the installation wizard will start.
  
  
  
  
• If the computer is unable to recognise the CD, an error message will be displayed at this stage. Check that the PTR1/PTR2 is correctly connected and installed before re-trying.
  
  
  
  
• If the PTR1/PTR2 is correctly recognised, the "Welcome" dialogue box will appear. Press the "Next" button to continue.
  
  
  
  
• The "Licence Agreement" dialogue box will appear. In order to continue with the installation, you should read the agreement and then press the "Yes" button. If you do not accept the terms of the agreement, press the "No" button and the installation will abort.
  
  
  
  
• If you accept the agreement, the "Choose Destination Location" dialogue box will appear. You may choose to accept the default installation location or enter an alternative folder name in the edit field provided. Once you have made your choice, press the "Install" button and the installation process will start.
  
  
  
  
• When the installation process is complete, the "Install Shield Wizard Complete" dialogue box will appear. Press the "Finish" button and re-start your computer.
  
  
  
  
• Installation of the PRS software should now be complete.

4.3.2 Uninstalling PRS

To uninstall the PRS software do the following:

• From the Windows Start Menu, select the "Settings" menu and then the "Control Panel" option and press the "Enter" key.
• The Windows Control Panel will appear. From the list of items, select "Add/Remove Programs".
  
  
  
  
• The "Add/Remove Programs" dialogue box will appear. From the list of installed components, select "Plextalk Recording Software" and press the "Change/Remove" button.
  
  
  
  
• A dialogue box containing the following text will appear: "Whenever install the PRS on your PC, you need the PLEXTALK Portable Recorder (PTR1 or PTR2) and the original installation disc. Do you wish to completely remove "PLEXTALK Recording Software" and all its components?"
• To continue uninstalling the PRS software, press the "Yes" button.
  
  
  
  
• The uninstallation will start.
  
  
  
  
• After a short pause, the "Maintenance Complete" dialogue box will appear. Press the "Finish" button to complete the process.
  

4.4 Launching and Exiting PRS

This section of the manual explains how to launch and exit the PRS software.

4.4.1 Launching PRS

In order to launch the PRS software, do the following:

• Select the "Plextalk Recording Software" icon on the desktop, or, from the Windows Start Menu, select the Programs menu then the "Plextalk Recording Software" menu and then the "Plextalk Recording Software" short cut. When you have selected the relevant short cut, press the "Enter" key.
• Either of these options will launch the software.
• The first time you launch the PRS software, the voice guidance feature will be present. Later in this chapter you will be shown how to turn it off or customise it according to your needs.
  
  
  
  
• After a short pause, the "Selection of the Operation" dialogue box will appear. This gives you 3 options. You can choose to open an existing project, create a new project or import an existing DAISY book. Use your "Up" or "Down" Arrow keys to select the required operation and then press the "Enter" key. Pressing the "Escape" key at this stage will launch the software with no project loaded. The voice guidance will announce "the project does not exist".
• If you select "Open", you will be presented with a standard file open dialogue box, in which you need to highlight the project folder and file that is to be opened, and then press the "Open" button.
• If you select "New", you need to give the software some additional information for the new project to be set up. This is done using 3 simple dialogue boxes which appear one after the other. Firstly you will have to specify the audio format that you wish to use for the project. The next box asks you to specify a project name and folder in which it is to be saved. Finally you will be presented with the "Book Information" dialogue box - you can either enter the book information at this point or at any other time before the project is finalised.
• If you select "DAISY Import", you will again be presented with 3 dialogue boxes. The first asks you to specify the NCC.HTML or NCC.HTM file that is to be imported. The second allows you to specify the audio format to be used and the third asks you to specify the location and project name for the imported book. Further detail about the DAISY Import feature is given in Section 14.1 in this manual.

4.4.2 Exiting PRS

To exit the PRS software, do the following:

• Select "Exit" from the "File" menu or press Alt+F4.
• The "Exit Confirmation" dialogue box will appear. If you are sure that you wish to exit the programme, press the "Enter" key or "OK" button. If you wish to return to the project you are editing, press the "Cancel" button or the "Escape" key.

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5 Accessing the PRS software

This chapter gives details about the software interface, how to access it from the keyboard and the voice guidance feature.

5.1 Description of the main screen interface

The main screen in the PRS software is laid out like a typical Windows application. There is a Title Bar at the top, under which there is a Menu Bar and a Tool Bar. The remaining screen is divided into 3 areas: the Section List, the Phrase List and the Monitoring Display area.

The Section List is immediately under the main toolbar and stretches across the entire width of the application window. The Phrase List and the Monitoring Display areas are both below the Section list, with the Phrase List on the left and the Monitoring Display on the right. Each of the main items on the screen is described in more detail below.

5.1.1 Menu Bar

This has 7 items. From left to right, these are: File, Edit, Move, Control, Tool, Option and Help. Keyboard navigation of the Menu Bar and the associated drop-down menus conforms to normal Windows standards. A full list of the items on each drop down menu is given at Appendix B. A list of the available short cut keystrokes is given at Appendix C.

5.1.2 Main Toolbar

This toolbar contains icons for features that affect the project as a whole and also the Windows editing features that you would expect to find in most Windows applications. It consists of 13 icons immediately under the Menu Bar. From left to right, these are: New project, Open project, Cut, Copy, Paste, Undo, Recording settings, Build book, CD writing, Find heading, Book information, Storage information and HTML Help. If a mouse pointer is positioned over any of these icons, a text tool tip is displayed to tell you what feature the icon represents. All of these features can be accessed through the menus or by keyboard short cuts as well as from the Toolbar.

5.1.3 Section List

The Section List is split into 7 columns with the following headings: Section, Level, Heading, Phrase, Length, Page, and Comment. When the project contains recorded material, this area will list all the sections in the project. Relevant details for each section will be displayed in the columns to the right of the section number.

5.1.4 Centre Toolbar

Between the Section List and the Phrase List, there is a toolbar which has 8 buttons. Most of the features are for editing the properties of sections or phrases. From left to right, they are: Level up, Level down, Section creation, Group, Page, Mark, Recording mode toggle and Play speed. All features can be accessed using keyboard alternatives.

5.1.5 Phrase List

The phrase List is split into 8 columns with the following headings: Phrase, Length, Pause, Group, Page, Mark, Audio file name and Comment. When the project contains recorded material, this area will list all the phrases in the section which is highlighted in the Section List. Relevant details for each phrase will be displayed in the columns to the right of the phrase number.

5.1.6 Lower Toolbar

Under the Phrase List, there is a third toolbar with 7 icons. This toolbar can be used to control the playing and recording of the project. From left to right, the icons are: First phrase, Previous phrase, Play, Next phrase, Last phrase, Stop and Record.

5.1.7 Monitoring Display

Level with the phrase List, at the bottom right corner of the screen, is another box. This lists, vertically, 7 items related to the monitoring of recording and playing levels and the status of the project. From top to bottom, these are: Recording level slider, Playback volume slider, Section information window, Phrase information window, Status window, Recording format and Recorded format.

5.2 Operation from the keyboard

All features of the PRS software can be accessed either by keyboard commands or by using the mouse. Most of the keyboard commands follow the standard Windows pattern, for example, Cut, Copy and Paste use the keystrokes "Control+X", "Control+C" and "Control+V" respectively. This section details some of the most useful keyboard commands. A comprehensive list of keyboard commands is provided at Appendix B & Appendix C.

5.2.1 Tab key

On the main screen, this key will switch the focus from the Section List to the Phrase List and vice versa. If the voice guidance is on, you will hear "Section" or "Phrase" to tell you which list the focus has moved to. Within dialogue boxes, "Tab" or "Shift+Tab" will move you forward or backwards around the dialogue box.

5.2.2 Arrow keys

Within the Section List or the Phrase List, the Arrow keys will move you up or down on the list of sections or phrases. In lists that are in dialogue boxes, they will allow you to change a selection.

5.2.3 F12 or F9 keys

These 2 keys have identical meanings in the PRS software and which one you use is a matter of personal preference. The usage of the keys depends on the situation as follows:

• If the focus is on the Section List, pressing "F12" or "F9" will cause the voice guidance to speak the section information for the section selected.
• If the focus is on the Phrase List, pressing "F12" or "F9" will cause the voice guidance to speak the phrase information for the phrase selected.
• If the focus is in a dialogue box, pressing "F12" or "F9" will cause the voice guidance to speak the item you are highlighting.
• When the PRS software is processing a command such as a DAISY Import or Audio Export, pressing "F12" or "F9" will indicate the percentage of the operation that has been completed.
• Note: The F12 and F9 keys will only have the above effects if the Voice Guidance feature is turned on.

5.2.4 Shift+F1 key

Pressing this key combination when the focus is on the Section List or Phrase List will cause the voice guidance to speak the following items: Input volume (from microphone or other input device), Wave out volume, Section selected, Total number of sections, Phrase selected, Total number of phrases, the Recording format and the Recorded format.

5.2.5 Alt key

This has the standard Windows usage and, when pressed, will take the PC focus to the Menu Bar. If pressed whilst you are on the Menu Bar or in a drop down menu, it will close all drop down menus and return the focus to the Section List or Phrase List.

5.2.6 Control key

This can be used to mute the voice guidance at any time.

5.3 Information about using speech with PRS

The PRS is supplied with a built-in Voice Guidance facility. The text to speech engine used conforms to Microsoft's speech API 4.0. With the speech enabled, it is possible for a totally blind user to use the PRS software independently.

As the built-in speech is likely to clash with other screen reading packages, it is recommended that you turn off other screen readers when launching the PRS software. SHINANOKENSHI is unable to guarantee the proper function of PRS or the built-in voice guidance if you use other screen reading software.

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6 Configuring PRS

This chapter describes how to configure some of the features of the PRS software basic operation. This includes altering the speech and display settings. There is also information on setting up the default folder for recordings and the default CDR/CDRW drive.

6.1 Customising the Voice Guidance feature

After installation of the PRS software, the Voice Guidance will be active with default settings. You may wish to turn off the voice altogether or customise it to your own preferences. This section describes how to make these alterations.

6.1.1 Turning the Voice Guidance "On" or "Off"

The Voice Guidance can be on or off when editing your project. You can also select to have voice guidance turned off during recording so that it is not picked up in the audio. If, however, you turn the voice guidance off during editing, this will also automatically disable it during recording as well. To turn the Voice Guidance on or off, do the following:

• Select the "Option" menu from the Menu Bar or press "Alt+O".
• On the drop down menu select the "Voice Guidance" option or press "G". This will leave you in the Voice Guidance dialogue box.
  
  
  
  
• Press the "Tab" key to move to the "Guidance at Editing" or "Guidance at Recording" elements and use your "Up" or "Down" Arrow keys to set each item to "On" or "Off".
• Press the "OK" button or the "Enter" key to save your selections.

  Note: The settings that you select will become the default settings for the future.

6.1.2 Customising the voice options

In order to select a different voice or to adjust the settings such as speed, pitch or volume, do the following:

• Select the "Option" menu from the Menu Bar or press "Alt+O".
• On the drop down menu, select the "Selection of the TTS Engine" option or press "S". This will leave you in the dialogue box where you can select a different TTS engine or make alterations to the existing one.
  
  
  
  
• Press "Tab" or "Shift+Tab" to move around this dialogue box and "Up" or "Down" Arrow keys to make alterations to the various settings. Larger modifications can be made by using the "Page up" or "Page down" keys.
• The items that can be altered are: the TTS engine used, pitch, speed and volume.
• When you are happy with your alterations, press the "OK" button or the "Enter" key.
• If you wish to cancel your alterations, press the "Cancel" button or the "Escape" key.

  Note 1: The list of TTS engines available to you in this dialogue will depend on other software you have installed on your computer as well as PRS.
  Note 2: If you make a mistake with your modifications to the pitch, speed or volume, you can use the "Default" button to reset these values to their original setting for that TTS engine.
  Note 3: The settings you select in this dialogue box will become the default settings when you start PRS in the future.

6.2 Customising the display settings

This section describes how to modify the font size in lists and message boxes.

6.2.1 Modifying the list font size

The list font size affects the size of text in the Section and Phrase Lists on the main screen. To modify the list font, do the following:

• Select the "Option" menu from the Menu Bar or press "Alt+O".
• Select the "List font size" option from the drop down menu or press "F".
• From the list that appears, use the "Up" or "Down" Arrows to choose your desired setting. The options are Largest (G), Larger (L), Smaller (S) and Smallest (A).
• Press the "Enter" key to make your selection.

6.2.2 Modifying the message font size

The message font will affect the size of text you see in dialogue boxes. To modify the message font, do the following:

• Select the "Option" menu from the Menu Bar or press "Alt+O".
• Select the "Message font size" option from the drop down menu or press "M".
• From the list that appears, use the "Up" or "Down" Arrows to choose your desired setting. The options are Largest (G), Larger (L), Smaller (S) and Smallest (A).
• Press the "Enter" key to make your selection.

  Note: In both situations above, Largest is 2.5, Larger is 2.0, Smaller is 1.5 and Smallest is 1.0 times the standard Windows icon font size.

6.3 Setting the default folder for recordings

Before working with the software it is worth taking a few moments to decide where you want your PRS projects to be located. PRS allows you to specify a default folder which can be an existing folder or a new one. This section explains how to set the default folder for your system.

6.3.1 Setting an existing folder as the default folder

To set an existing folder to be your default folder, do the following:

• Select the "Option" menu from the Menu Bar or press "Alt+O".
• Select the "Recording" option from the drop down menu or press "R".
• Alternatively you can press "Control+R" directly from the main screen.
• This will take you to the "Recording Function" dialogue box. The detail of this dialogue will be discussed later in this manual.
• If you wish to enter the folder name manually, tab round the dialogue box to the "Open folder when new creation" edit box. Type in the desired folder path and name and press "Enter" to confirm your folder selection.
• If you wish to select an existing folder from a folder list, tab round the dialogue box to the "Select folder" button and press "Enter". You will end up in another dialogue box.
  
  
  
  
• Press "Shift+Tab" to go to the folder list. Use your "Up" or "Down" Arrow keys to select the required folder. The Right and Left Arrow keys can be used to open or close the list of sub folders respectively. Once you have highlighted the required folder, press "Enter" to confirm this selection. You will return to the "Recording Function" dialogue box. Press "Enter" once again to complete the process.

6.3.2 Creating a new folder to be the default folder

To create a new folder and set it as the default folder, do the following:

• Select the "Option" menu from the Menu Bar or press "Alt+O".
• Select the "Recording" option from the drop down menu or press "R".
• Alternatively you can press "Control+R" directly from the main screen.
• This will take you to the "Recording Function" dialogue box. The detail of this dialogue will be discussed later in this manual.
• Tab round the dialogue box to the "Select file" button and press "Enter". This will open another dialogue box.
• Press "Shift+Tab" to go to the folder list. Use your "Up" or "Down" Arrow keys to select the folder in which you wish to create your new folder. The Right and Left Arrow keys can be used to open or close the list of sub folders respectively.
• Once you have highlighted the required folder, press "Shift+Tab" to select the "New folder" button and press "Enter".
• Type in the folder name for the folder which will become the default folder. If you do not type in a name, the default name of "New folder" will be assumed.
• Press the "Enter" key to confirm the entry.
• Press "Enter" again to confirm the selection of the new folder. This will return you to the "Recording function" dialogue box. Press "Enter" one last time to complete the process.

6.4 Selecting the default CD writer

Although you may not require to use the CD writing facility for some time, it is a good idea to configure the software for this at an early stage to avoid unnecessary errors later on. This section details how to set up the software to work with your selected CD writer.

To configure the software to work with your desired CD writer, do the following:

• Select the "Option" menu from the Menu Bar or press "Alt+O".
• Select the "CDR Drive" option from the drop down menu or press "D".
• Alternatively you can press "Control+D" directly from the main screen.
  
  
  
  
• This will take you to the "Setting of the CDR Drive" dialogue box. This dialogue has 2 elements, a list of available CDR/CDRW drives and a radio button which allows you to turn on or off the facility for creating a temporary image file whilst recording.
• The focus will be on the list of available drives. Use the "Up" or "Down" Arrow keys to select your preferred drive.
• Press "Tab" to move to the radio button for the temporary image setting. Use "Up" or "Down" Arrows to set this feature to "On" or "Off".
• Press the "Enter" key to confirm your selections.

  Note: After confirming your selection, this will become the default selection in the future. You can also change the selected drive or the temporary image setting at any time.

6.5 Exercises for configuring PRS

You have now covered the basic methods of configuring the PRS software. Before continuing, you may wish to practice some of these skills. Exercise 1 in Appendix A gives you some ideas of things to try.

Return to Chapter 6 of ToC

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7 Opening and Creating New Projects

This chapter details how to open existing projects from the hard disk and how to create new projects. It also describes how to open existing completed DAISY books from CD to prepare them for further editing.

7.1 Opening an existing projects

This section of the manual describes how to open an existing PRS project from the hard disk. This can be done when the software is launched or from within the programme after it is loaded. The dialogue box, which appears in both cases, is identical.

The 2 methods of opening an existing project are detailed below. Following this the dialogue box itself is described.

7.1.1 Method 1 - if you are not already in the PRS software

• Launch the PRS as described in an earlier section of the manual.
• Select "Open" from the "Selection of the Operation" dialogue box which appears and press "Enter".

7.1.2 Method 2 - if you are already using the PRS software

• Select the "File" menu from the Main Bar or press "Alt+F".
• Select "Open" from the drop down menu or press "O".
• Alternatively you can press "Control+O" directly from the main screen.

7.1.3 Description of the "Open" dialogue box

Both methods above will cause the "Open" dialogue box to appear. It has 6 elements and can be navigated by pressing the "Tab" key to move forwards or "Shift+Tab" to move backwards. The 6 elements are as follows:

• File name edit field - type the required file name. You can use up to 63 alphanumeric characters for the name of the project folder - do not use spaces. Use "Alt+N" to jump to this element from anywhere else in the dialogue box.
• Files of Type combo box - select the type of file to be opened from the list provided. You will be offered either "Project file (NCC.IMDN)" or "NCC (NCC.HTML ; NCC.HTM)". To open an existing project, you should select the Project file option. Use "Alt+T" to jump to this element from anywhere else in the dialogue box.
• Look IN combo box - use the "Up" or "Down" Arrow keys to locate the folder which contains your existing project and press "Enter" once you have highlighted it. The contents of the folder will be displayed in the list box provided. Use "Alt+I" to jump to this element from anywhere else in the dialogue box.
• File List - this will display the contents of the selected folder in the "Look in" combo. Use your "Up" or "Down" Arrow keys to move up and down the list or the initial letter of the file you are looking for (Note: PRS project files will always be called "NCC.IMDN"). To choose a file or folder in this list, highlight the item and press the "Enter" key. Use the "Backspace" key to move up one level in the folder structure.
• Open button - once you have selected the "NCC.IMDN" file for the project you wish to open, press the "Open" button and the project will be loaded.
• Alternatively you can use "Alt+O".
• Cancel button - Tab to the "Cancel" button and press "Enter" if you no longer wish to open an existing project. You can also press the "Escape" key if you prefer.

7.2 Creating a new project

This section of the manual describes how to create a new PRS project. This can be done when the software is launched or from within the programme after it is loaded. The series of dialogue boxes, which appear in both cases, are identical.

The 2 methods of creating a new project are detailed below. Following this the 3 dialogue boxes themselves are described in the order that they appear.

7.2.1 Method 1 - if you are not already in the PRS software

• Launch the PRS as described in an earlier section of the manual.
• Select "New" from the "Selection of the Operation" dialogue box which appears and press "Enter".

7.2.2 Method 2 - if you are already using the PRS software

• Select the "File" menu from the Menu Bar or press "Alt+F".
• Select "New" from the drop down menu or press "N".
• Alternatively you can press "Control+N" directly from the main screen.

  Having chosen to create a new project, you will be offered a series of 3 dialogue boxes. The first is for setting the recording format for the project. The next gives you an opportunity to specify a name and folder for your new project. The third is for entering the book information if you wish. The 3 dialogue boxes are described in more detail below:

7.2.3 Description of the "Recording Format" dialogue box

The first dialogue box to appear is the "Recording Format" dialogue. This is used to specify the recording format you wish to use in the new project. It has 3 elements and can be navigated by pressing the "Tab" key to move forwards or "Shift+Tab" to move backwards. The 3 elements are as follows:

• Recording Format combo box - use your "Up" or "Down" Arrow keys to select your preferred recording format. You can choose from the following10 formats: PCM 44.1 kHz Stereo, PCM 44.1 kHz Mono, PCM 22.05 kHz Mono, MP3 256 kbps Stereo, MP3 128 kbps Stereo, MP3 64 kbps Mono, MP3 48 kbps Mono, MP3 32 kbps Mono, MP3 24 kbps Mono and MP3 16 kbps Mono. The PCM 44.1 kHz Stereo option will give the highest sound quality but will use the most disk space. A table showing the recording times available for each recording format, on different types of CD, is given at Appendix D, Table D2.
• OK button - once you have selected the required recording format from the list provided, press the "OK" button to accept your selection.
• Cancel button - Tab to the "Cancel" button and press "Enter" if you no longer wish to specify a recording format. You can also press the "Escape" key if you prefer.

  Note: Once you select a recording format, you will not be able to change it when the project is being edited. You will, however, be able to change the format by using the "Audio Export" feature of the PRS software which is described later, in this manual.

7.2.4 Description of the "Folder Name" dialogue box

The second of the 3 dialogue boxes is the "Folder Name" dialogue. It is used to specify the name and location of the new project folder. It has 6 elements and can be navigated by pressing the "Tab" key to move forwards or "Shift+Tab" to move backwards. The 6 elements are as follows:

• File name edit field - type the required file name. You can use up to 63 alphanumeric characters for the name of the project folder - do not use spaces. Use "Alt+N" to jump to this element from anywhere else in the dialogue box.
• Save as Type combo box - in this instance, you are only offered the choice of "Project File" so you do not require to specify anything in this field. Use "Alt+T" to jump to this element from anywhere else in the dialogue box.
• Save IN combo box - use the "Up" or "Down" Arrow keys to locate the folder where you wish to save your new project folder. Press "Enter" once you have highlighted a folder in order to view its contents. These will be displayed in the list box provided. Use "Alt+I" to jump to this element from anywhere else in the dialogue box.
• File List - this will display the contents of the selected folder in the "Save in" combo. Use your "Up" or "Down" Arrow keys to move up and down the list or the initial letter of the folder you are looking for. To choose a file or folder in this list, highlight it and press the "Enter" key. Use the "Backspace" key to move up one level in the folder structure.
• Save button - once you have typed a name for the new project and specified the folder in which it is to be saved, press the "Save" button.
• Alternatively you can use "Alt+S". A confirmation dialogue box will appear. Press the "Enter" key to confirm or the "Escape" key to abort.
• Cancel button - Tab to the "Cancel" button and press "Enter" if you no longer wish to create a new project. You can also press the "Escape" key if you prefer.

7.2.5 Description of the "Book Information" dialogue

The last of the 3 dialogue boxes is the "Book Information" dialogue and is used to enter a range of important information about the original printed book and about the people who have created the DAISY version. This information can be completed at any time during the editing of the project up to the point where the book is built. The dialogue has 11 main elements (apart from the "OK" and "Cancel" buttons) and can be navigated by pressing the "Tab" key to move forwards or "Shift+Tab" to move backwards. The 11 elements are nearly all simple edit boxes for entering textual information.

A brief description of these elements follows:

• Title - title of the original printed book.
• Author - name of the author.
• ISBN - unique code for the original print book.
• Identifier - this is a randomly generated code which should be unique for this project. The PRS software can generate this automatically if left blank.
• Publisher - name of the publishing organisation.
• Language - this is a combo box with a list of available languages. English is the default on installation.
• Narrator - the name or names of those doing the reading.
• Character Set - default entry is ISO-8859-1.
• Subject - the topic of the content of the DAISY book.
• Scheme of subject - keywords or classification codes.
• DTB Producer - name of the person generating the DAISY book.

  Note: When this dialogue appears, if you do not wish to enter the data at the time, simply press the "Enter" key and the dialogue will vanish.

7.3 Opening an existing book from CD

This section describes how to open a finished DAISY book in order to do further editing. The procedure is useful if you wish to use the PRS to edit a recording that you have created on the Plextalk PTR1/PTR2 portable recorder. The "DAISY Import" feature is similar to the procedure described in this section but it is more versatile. The "DAISY Import" feature is described in detail in Section 14.1 of this manual.

In outline, opening an existing DAISY book involves: locating the required NCC file, setting the correct audio format for the new project (if necessary), selecting the folder where you wish to save the new project and running the import process.

To carry out this process, do the following:

• Select "File" from the Menu Bar or press "Alt+F".
• Select "Open" from the drop down menu or press "O".
• Alternatively you can press "Control+O" directly from the main screen. The "Open" dialogue will be displayed.
  
  
  
  
• Press "Tab" to go to the "Files of Type" element.
• Use the "Up" or "Down" Arrow keys to set the type to "NCC (NCC.HTML ; NCC.HTM)".
• Tab to the "Look In" box and select the drive where your CD book is located.
• Tab to the list box showing the contents of the selected drive and use the "Up" or "Down" Arrow keys to select the folder which contains the finished book.
• Press "Enter" to select this folder. You can use the "Backspace" key to move up a level in the folder structure.
• When you have located the required folder, the list box should display one NCC file with either an "HTML" or "HTM" file extension.
• Select the file and press "Enter". This will start the process of opening your book.
• If the audio format of the existing book is not recognised by the PRS software, the "Recording Format" dialogue will appear.
  Select the desired audio format from the list and press "Enter".
  
  
  
  
• Next a dialogue box will appear which prompts you to specify a project name and a location where you wish to save the imported project. Type in a project name and specify the required location in the list box provided. When complete, tab to the "Save" button and press "Enter" or press "Alt+S".
• A confirmation dialogue box will appear. Press "Enter" to confirm that you wish to save the new project in this location.
• After confirming this dialogue box, the import process will start. During this process, the Voice Guidance will intermittently say "Running". If you wish to check the progress of this procedure at any time, press the "F12" or "F9" key and the percentage complete will be spoken.

  Note 1: When saving the new project, the file name can include up to 63 alphanumeric characters. Do not use spaces.
  Note 2: If you are importing a large project, this process may take some time so be patient.

7.4 Exercises for opening projects and existing books

You should now have a good idea of how to open existing projects and books. If you would like to practice these procedures, Exercise 2 in Appendix A sets you some simple tasks.

Return to Chapter 7 of ToC

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8 Navigating and playing projects

This chapter explains how to navigate around your project and how to play sections and phrases. It also explains how to use some of the additional navigation features of the PRS software.

8.1 Navigating sections and phrases

To navigate around the Section or Phrase Lists, do the following:

• Press "Tab" to select the Section List or the Phrase List. The Voice Guidance will say "Section" or "Phrase" to indicate the list you have moved to.
• Once you have selected the list you want, use your "Up" or "Down" Arrows to go to the section or phrase you wish to play.
• Additionally, you can use "Home" or "End" to move to the first or last section or phrase in the Section or Phrase List you are in.

8.2 Playing sections or phrases

To play or stop a section or phrase, do the following:

• Select the required section or phrase as above.
• Press the "Left" or "Right" Arrow key. In the Section List, the first phrase will play and then stop. In the Phrase List, the selected phrase will play and then stop.
• To stop play, select "Stop" from the "Control" drop down menu or press the "Spacebar".

8.3 Continuous play

To play continuously, do the following:

• Select "Play Continuously" from the "Control" drop down menu or press "F5" from the main screen. The project will play continuously from the start of the selected section or phrase until the end of the project.
• To stop continuous play, select "Stop" from the "Control" drop down menu or press "Spacebar".

8.4 Adjusting playback speed

To adjust the playback speed, do the following:

• To increase playback speed, select "Speed up" from the "Control" drop down menu or press "F6".
• To decrease playback speed, select "Speed down" from the "Control" drop down menu or press "Shift+F6".
• The speed can be adjusted to 5 positions which are 0.75, 1, 1.5, 2 and 3 times the normal speed.
  
  
  
  

  Note: The speed selected will become the default speed.

8.5 Adjusting playback volume

To adjust the playback volume (Wave out volume), do the following:

• To increase the volume of the playback, select "Wave out up" from the "Control" drop down menu or press the "F3" key.
• To decrease the playback volume, select "Wave out down" from the "Control" drop down menu or press "Shift+F3".

  Note: The new volume setting will become the default volume.

8.6 Getting section and phrase information

This section describes how to obtain section and phrase information.

To acquire section or phrase information, do the following:

• Select the section or phrase you want information about.
• Press the "F12" or "F9" key to hear the information for that item.
• In sections, the Voice Guidance will speak the Section number, the Section heading, the Section level, the number of phrases in the section and the total time to play the section.
• In phrases, the Voice Guidance will speak the Phrase number, the Phrase attributes (such as page or group information), the Length of the phrase, the amount of pause time in the phrase and the file name where the audio is stored.

8.7 Searching for heading text

A section heading is the text associated with the section. The heading information can be used to search for a section in the project.

To search for heading text, do the following:

• Select the "Find" option from the "Move" drop down menu or press "Control+F". The search dialogue box will appear.
  
  
  
  
• Type in the text you wish to search for and press "Enter". PRS will locate the first section whose heading contains the specified text. The first phrase of the section which has been found will be played.
• If you wish to continue searching for the same text, press the "Enter" key again.
• If you have found the section you were looking for, press "Tab" to go to the "End" button and press "Enter" or press the "Escape" key. The find dialogue box will disappear and the section containing the text that was searched for last will be highlighted.
• If the specified text is not found in any of the headings, a dialogue box will inform you of the search failure. Press the "Enter" key to return to the main screen. If you wish to search for different text, repeat the procedure above.

8.8 Jumping to Pages

To jump forwards or backwards to the next page, do the following:

• To jump from the current phrase position to the next page, select the "Next Page" option from the "Move" drop down menu or press "Control+Down Arrow".
• To jump from the current phrase position to the previous page, select the "Previous Page" option from the "Move" drop down menu or press "Control+Up Arrow".

8.9 Jumping to Groups

To jump forwards or backwards to the next group, do the following:

• To jump from the current phrase position to the next group, select the "Next Group" option from the "Move" drop down menu or press "Shift+Right Arrow".
• To jump from the current phrase position to the previous group, select the "Previous Group" option from the "Move" drop down menu or press "Shift+Left Arrow".

8.10 Jumping to Marks

To jump forwards or backwards to the next mark, do the following:

• To jump from the current phrase position to the next mark, select the "Next Mark" option from the "Move" drop down menu or press "Control+Right Arrow".
• To jump from the current phrase position to the previous mark, select the "Previous Mark" option from the "Move" drop down menu or press "Control+Left Arrow".

8.11 Jumping to Events

To jump forwards or backwards to the next event, do the following:

• To jump from the current phrase position to the next event, select the "Next Event" option from the "Move" drop down menu or press "Shift+J".
• To jump from the current phrase position to the previous event, select the "Previous Event" option from the "Move" drop down menu or press "Shift+F".

8.12 Exercises in playing and moving around a project

You should now have a good knowledge of how to move around a project and play sections and phrases. Exercise 3 in Appendix A gives you an opportunity to try out these skills in a real project.

Return to Chapter 8 of ToC

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9 Recording

This chapter details how to set up your computer and software to make a recording.

9.1 Checking the Volume Control options for the computer

Before trying to record a project, it is worth checking the Volume Control settings within your operating system. You will need to ensure that the devices that you intend to use for recording, such as the microphone or line in sockets on your sound card, have been activated in the Windows Volume Controls. If this has not been done, you will not be able to record in the PRS software. For further information on how to make these checks, refer to your Windows Help system.

9.2 Selecting the required input device

Having ensured that your Windows system is properly configured, you now need to set up the PRS to accept audio input from the correct source. You can choose to record from the microphone socket or from the line in socket on your sound card. If you want to make a live recording you would probably want to use your microphone. If you wished to record from another device such as a cassette player or CD player, you would use the Line in option.

To set up the PRS software for either of these input sources, do the following:

• Select the "Control" menu from the Menu Bar or press "Alt+C".
• Select the "Selection of the Recording Volume Control" option from the drop down menu or press "V".
• This will open a sub menu with 2 items, "Line" and "Microphone". Use the "Up" or "Down" Arrow keys to select the option you wish to use for the recording input and press the "Enter" key.

9.3 Confirmation of the storage information

Either before or after recording, you may wish to check the recording capacity of your system. This section details how to acquire information such as the recording format, the recorded time, the disk space used, the available recording time and the available disk capacity.

To acquire the storage information, do the following:

• Select the "Tool" menu from the Menu Bar or press "Alt+T".
• Select the "Storage Information" option from the drop down menu or press "S".
• Alternatively you can press "Control+S" directly from the main screen.
  
  
  
  
• A dialogue with this information will appear. Press "Enter" when you have read the required details. If you wish the Voice Guidance to repeat the information, press the "F9" or "F12" key.

9.4 Setting up the recording functions

Several recording features can be customised by the producer of the DAISY project. These include the phrase pause time, noise level, section pause time, whether to create a new audio file or not, time to stop recording and the recording speed. This section outlines the purposes of each of these settings and how to make changes.

To access the "Recording Function" dialogue box, do the following:

• Select the "Option" menu from the Menu Bar or press "Alt+O".
• Select the "Recording" option from the drop down menu or press "R".
• Alternatively, you can press "Control+R" directly from the main screen.
  
  
  
  
• This will open the "Recording Function" dialogue box where you can alter the following settings. Use the "Tab" key to move around the dialogue. Press the "OK" button to confirm alterations or "Cancel" to abort the changes.

9.4.1 Phrase pause time

The phrase pause time is the amount of silence that the PRS software will accept before automatically creating a new phrase. Pause times can be set in increments of 0.1 seconds, in the range 0.1 seconds to 1.0 seconds. The default setting on installation is 0.4 seconds.

9.4.2 Noise level

The noise level is the level of background noise. If this is high, PRS will find it difficult to split phrases and the recording will be one long phrase. If there is no background noise, you may end up with too many phrases. PRS offers you 10 noise levels, from -20dB to -40dB. The default setting is normal. If the background noise is high, set this option to "High" and if there is no background noise, set the option to "Low". Low noise levels are typically around -40 dB, normal noise level is around -28 dB and High noise level is around -20 dB.

9.4.3 Section pause time

The section pause time is the amount of silence that PRS will allow before automatically creating a new section and continuing to record. This is particularly useful when recording from tape cassettes and other media as it can greatly reduce the editing time required. The Section Pause time can be set in increments of 1 second in the range of 1 second up to 5 seconds. This setting can be ignored if set to "Nothing". The default setting is "Nothing".

Note: The Section Pause time is only valid in "Overwrite" recording mode.

9.4.4 Create a new audio file

This setting allows you to specify if PRS should take a new audio file when a new section is created. The default setting is "Yes". If you are recording in a location where the recording level is low such as in a conference or lecture room, set this setting to "No" and you should be able to record the low levels.

9.4.5 Time to stop recording

This setting would generally be used when recording from cassette or other device. The setting can be used to specify an amount of silence after which the recording will stop automatically. The available settings are 10 seconds, 20 seconds, 30 seconds, 1 minute, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, 4 minutes and 5 minutes. This setting can be ignored if set to "Nothing". The default setting is "Nothing".

9.4.6 Recording speed

This can be set to "Normal" (1x) or "Double" (2x) speed and is useful if you have a cassette player or other device which can play at double speed. This will half the time to record from that device. For normal use, set this to "Normal" and set it to "Double" if using a device capable of playing at double speed.

9.4.7 Remove DC offset

This option may help to reduce static noise from DC power sources. Noise of this kind can cause problems with phrase detection and it is recommended that, if you have tried changing the "Noise Level" options without success, you should try this option. There are 2 settings, "On" and "Off". The default setting is "Off".

9.4.8 Sound Boost

This option makes recording volume larger as selected decibel. Please enable this option when input volume of the sound device can not achieve the level you want. However, if sound contains certain noise, please turn off sound boost because sound boost amplifies the noise as well.

9.4.9 Open folder when new creation and "Select Folder"

By using these 2 elements, you can specify a default folder for all project recordings. These were described in more detail earlier in the manual.

9.5 Selecting the recording mode

Within the PRS software, there are 2 recording modes that can be used. These are "Overwrite" and "Punch-in" modes. This section explains the meaning of these modes and describes how to select the desired mode for recording.

9.5.1 Changing recording mode

To change from "Overwrite" to "Punch-in" mode or vice versa, do the following:

• Select the "Control" menu from the Menu Bar or press "Alt+C".
• Select the "Record Mode" option from the drop down menu or press "M".
• Alternatively you can press "F7" directly from the main screen. The Voice Guidance will announce the selected mode.
• Repeat the process until you have selected your desired recording mode.
  
  
  

  Note: Whichever setting you last select during a session, will become the default setting.

9.5.2 Recording in "Overwrite" mode

"Overwrite" mode allows the producer to overwrite the whole of a specified section, from the selected phrase onwards, regardless of how long the original section was or how long the new recording is. The new recording will overwrite all phrases in the current section from the selected phrase onwards. It will not overwrite audio in the following sections!

To record in "Overwrite" mode, do the following:

• Ensure that you have selected "Overwrite" mode recording as detailed above.
• Move to the phrase which is the first phrase in the section that is to be overwritten.
• Select the "Control" menu from the Menu Bar or press "Alt+C".
• Select "Record" from the drop down menu or press "R".
• Alternatively, you can press "F8" directly from the main screen.
• This will place you in a test recording mode. At this point you can adjust the recording volume for this section of the project. The Voice Guidance will indicate if the level is "High", "Good" or "Low".
• Once you are happy with the recording level, press "F8" a second time and the recording will start.
• To stop recording,