Thunder Manual 16 April 2008

8/8/2019 Thunder Manual 16 April 2008

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THUNDER SCREENREADER USER GUIDE(For Windows XP & Vista)

APRIL 2008

1 ABOUT THE FREEWARE LICENCE2 IMPORTANT NOTE3 ABOUT THE THUNDER SCREENREADER4 SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS5 DOWNLOADING THUNDER SCREENREADER6 INSTALLING THUNDER FROM A DISK 7 FOR SEEING USERS AND TEACHERS8 THUNDER SCREENREADER HELP9 MUSICAL TONES10 THUNDER SCREENREADER SETTINGS11 DIFFERENT METHODS OF READING12 MICROSOFT WORD KEYS13 THUNDER KEYSTROKES FOR MS WORD14 TABLES IN MICROSOFT WORD15 SPEAKING PUNCTUATION16 REPEATING SPEECH17 STOP SPEECH18 EMAIL19 “WHERE AM I” KEYS20 MOUSE CONTROL KEYS21 THE THUNDER MARKER SYSTEM22 HOW TO GET MORE HELP



1. ABOUT THE FREEWARE LICENCE

When you installed this free screenreadersoftware called Thunder, you agreed byaccepting the licence that you would notdistribute the software without the expresspermission of Sensory Software Ltd, thecreators of the Thunder software package.

Thunder screenreader talking software isabsolutely free of charge to blind people andthose supporting them throughout the world.It is free to individuals and to organisations.

2. IMPORTANT NOTE

NKP stands for Numeric Keypad, not thelettersN K P.

ALT is the Left-hand ALT key only.

The Capslock key is used for somescreenreader functions. If you need a block of text capitalised, type your text in lowercase, highlight it, press ALT + O, then E thenENTER and your text will change from lowerto upper case. If you prefer, you can holddown the SHIFT Key each time you want acapitalised letter.

To use the Internet you will need our textbrowser website. This comes as part of theThunder installation. There is a website

devoted to WebbIE which iswww.webbie.org.uk , where you find more

http://www.webbie.org.uk/




information about WebbIE and sometimes amore up-to-date version.

WebbIE is also totally free for use throughoutthe world for both individuals andorganisations.

3. ABOUT THE THUNDER SCREENREADER

Thunder screenreader is software that makesa computer talk to you. Without needing tosee the screen you will be able to writeletters and documents, hear what you havetyped letter by letter or word by word,change the speed and voice, and repeat whatyou have just heard and more. It will speak menus and dialog boxes. You will have fullspeech feedback for most text-based wordprocessing tasks including editing documentsin Microsoft Word, WordPad or Notepad.

You will be able to keep in touch with friendsand family in complete privacy by using emailwith all the functions of Outlook Express.

You will be able to read masses of information on the Internet on any subjectfrom the price of first class stamps to zebras’life expectancy. You will be able to search forinformation and get answers in seconds. Youwill be able to enjoy live and listen againradio, and fill in forms for Internet shopping,banking etc. To do this you will need WebbIE,our Internet text browser. You can’t use

Internet Explorer on its own at the momentbut this will be possible fairly soon.



If you want to download and enjoy music, e-books and radio etc, you will needAlternative Real Player. You can downloadAlternative Real Player fromwww.webbie.org.uk .

We have other software packages as well asThunder. You might be wanting to pay for ahigh quality Thunder voice. You might like toscan and listen to hardcopy books orcorrespondence; or see large letters andpictures on your computer screen. Visit ourother websites: www.screenreader.co.uk orwww.screenreader.biz for more information.www.screenreader4free.eu is where you willfind versions of Thunder in other languages.

We welcome all feedback. In particular, wewant to hear if there are problems and errorsin the software.

4. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

The Thunder Screenreader takes just amoment to download or install from a disk. Itwill work well on modern Windows-based

computers and laptops runningWindows2000, XP and Vista. It will not work on Windows98, ME or earlier. It needs amultimedia computer with a Sound card,speakers or headphones, and a CD-ROM driveif you are installing it from a disk.

5. DOWNLOADING THUNDER SCREENREADER


http://www.screenreader.co.uk/

http://www.screenreader.biz/

http://www.screenreader4free.eu/


http://www.screenreader.co.uk/

http://www.screenreader.biz/

http://www.screenreader4free.eu/



To download Thunder, go towww.screenreader.net, Click on the largeicon at the top of the screen or the Thunder& Manuals Link. Fill in the registration form,at least an e-mail address, and Submit.Follow the security and downloadinstructions as they appear on the screen.The download is safe and fairly quick,depending on your Internet connectionspeed. When the download and installationare finished, reboot. When you start up thecomputer again, you will hear speech.

6. INSTALLING THUNDER FROM A DISK

The installation is easy and Windows-standard.

Reboot after installing Thunderscreenreader. When the computer starts upagain, you will hear speech. From then on, asyou press keys, you will hear what ishappening on the screen.There will be an option to Run Thunder froma memory stick or other media for those notwanting to install the software.

7. FOR SEEING USERS AND TEACHERS

Teaching visually-impaired people to enjoythe computer is fundamentally different fromthe way most of us work within Windows orApple Mac. Those who can’t see where themouse pointer is must use keyboard shortcutkeys to do the equivalent of point and click.

This will in time often become quicker and



more visually relaxing for those who have alittle sight and struggle with the mouse. Here is an introduction to some shortcutkeys: Bring up the Start Menu by pressing theWindows key (Second key in from the left-hand side nearest to you).

Get to menu choices with ALT, CURSOR keysand ENTER.

Move around dialog boxes with the TAB key,CURSOR keys and ENTER.

Leave menus or dialog boxes with theESCAPE key (left-hand key furthest awayfrom you).

Toggle checkboxes ticked or unticked withthe SPACEBAR.

Move between radio button choices with theCURSOR keys.

Read and listen line by line with the CURSORkeys.

When learning Windows shortcut keys, beaware of the underlined letter in menus anddialog boxes, e.g. F is underlined in the FileMenu.

Windows standard Shortcut keys can be used

instead of the mouse for such tasks asopening a file or printing a document, e.g.



CTRL + N opens a new document.

CTRL + O opens an existing document andSHIFT + TAB takes you amongst the list of existing files.

CTRL + P ENTER will print the document youare working on.

There are short video clips on our websitewww.screenreader.net explaining how to dothese things.Keystrokes are also built into thescreenreader for tasks such as reading a lineor repeating the last speech you might havemissed. Here are some screenreaderkeystrokes which you can use in MicrosoftWord, Notepad or Outlook Express:

CAPSLOCK + L reads the current line.

CAPSLOCK + ; (Semicolon) repeats the lastspeech you might have missed.

CAPSLOCK + Shift + ; (Semicolon) spells thelast speech you might have missed.

In the Hotkeys list, you will find full details of all such keystrokes.

8. THUNDER SCREENREADER HELP

http://www.screenreader.net/




Several documents are available on thewebsite to download or read online to helpwith writing documents in Microsoft Word,doing emails with Outlook Express and usingthe Internet with WebbIE.

“Help” is available at any time within thescreenreader program.

To get to HelpAfter you have switched on your computerand heard the “Welcome” sound fromThunder you are at the Desktop. A messagebox appears in the left-hand top corner of the screen and contains two items: Help andSettings. Press the TAB key until you hearthe word “help”. Then press ENTER and theHelp file will start to speak.

You can stop it by pressing the CONTROLKEY, or you can read it line by line with theCURSOR (ARROW) KEYS.

You can repeat the whole document bypressing TAB to hear “Repeat”, and pressENTER, or if you want to leave Help, pressTAB until you hear OK and press ENTER. Thehelp page disappears.

9. MUSICAL TONES

Use Music on/off: ALT + M in Settings

You will hear musical tones as you moveabout the screen. They are intended to help

you build up a mental picture of where youare and where things are on the screen.



The metallic tones go higher as you move upthe screen with the CURSOR Keys or NumericKeypad NKP8. The tones go lower as youmove down the screen with the CURSOR keyor NKP2. The more wooden tones go higheras you move to the right with the NKP6 andlower as you move to the left or NKP4. Youcan either dab at these keys or hold themdown to move more quickly.

You will hear characters spoken as you moveacross the screen using the Right and LeftCURSOR keys. You will also hear five levels of tone: the highest indicating a capital letter,the next down indicating a lower case letter,then punctuation, and the lower indicating aspace. The lowest tone of all indicates thatyou are about to move on to a new line.

If you move word by word by holding downthe CTRL and pressing RIGHT or LEFTCURSOR you will hear the pitch rise as you goto the right and fall as you go to the left toindicate where you are on the line.

You will find these tones particularly usefulwhen proof-reading documents, but if theyare too distracting, you can turn them off,see section 10 THUNDER SCREENREADERSETTINGS - “Use Music”.

10. THUNDER SCREENREADER SETTINGS

“Settings” is where you can change how

Thunder speaks, its volume and speed,whether it speaks letter by letter, word by



word or both, whether punctuation is spokenand more. Experiment until you find whatyou like and you can always have it work thatway, but you can change at any time,perhaps having a slower speed when readingunfamiliar webpages.

To get to “Settings” after you have switchedon and are at the Desktop, press TAB untilyou hear “Settings”. Alternatively, to get toSETTINGS from anywhere, press ALT + /(Forward Slash) and you are among thechoices.

To explore the list of settings you canchange, keep pressing TAB, or hold downSHIFT and dab at TAB to go back through thelist.

Some settings such as Novice Mode, have just two choices, on or off. The Screenreaderwill say “checked” and “unchecked” as youpress the SPACEBAR. Leave it “checked” if you want the feature, or “unchecked” if youdon’t. This is a toggle key. You can insteaduse the hotkeys listed below to switchbetween “checked” or “unchecked”.

If there are more than two choices you willneed to press the cursor keys to make thechange. For example, to decrease the speed,TAB to “Speed” and Cursor up and CursorDown to increase or decrease speed.

To save changes so that your PC always

speaks as you want, press ALT and CURSORDOWN until you hear “Save configuration”.



Press ENTER twice. You will be back toThunder. If you were in a document or youremails, hold down ALT and dab at TAB till youhear what you were in.

Here are some of the Settings choices youcan make:

NOVICE MODE on/off: ALT + NWhen Novice Mode is “checked” you hearlots of speech prompts to remind you of whatyou can do which may be useful to abeginner, but it may become distracting.Turn it off in “Settings” by pressing TAB untilyou reach “Novice Mode” and pressSPACEBAR to “uncheck” it.

ECHO CHARACTERS: ALT + CECHO WORDS: ALT + W You can choose whether Thunder speaksletter by letter as you type or word by wordor both.

SPEED CHANGE: ALT + SCursor UP and DOWN to the speed of speechyou like.

VOICE CHANGE: press Tab until you hear“Sam” or one of the other voices and thenCursor UP and DOWN to the one you like. If you need a better voice or another language,please check out the website or get acomputer buddy to do it for you.www.screenreader4free.eu is the official EUThunder website where you will find Thunder

in five European languages.



www.screenreader.net is the officialCompany website for Thunder information.

VOLUME CHANGE: ALT + VCursor UP and DOWN until you find thevolume you want. You will probably also havea volume knob on your speakers or laptopwhich may be quicker and easier to use.

HOME AND END KEYS You can choose to have them spoken whenyou press them, “Checked” or not“unchecked”.

SPEAK MODIFIERSThe Modifier keys are Alt, Control and Shift.Beginners may like to hear them spoken. Altand control keys have useful functions withinWindows. Shift, when held down as a letter ispressed, turns a lower case letter into acapital.

SPEAK SPACE, TAB AND ENTERWhen this option is checked, these keys willspeak. It’s a great help to beginners and youcan uncheck, turn it off, when it starts toirritate you.

PUNCTUATION LEVEL: ALT + P You can choose how much punctuation isspoken, some, all or none. When listening toa book, you will not want to hearpunctuation. But if you are checking a letteryou have typed, you may well want to hearthat your punctuation is as you intended it to

be. The up or down cursor moves youbetween some, all or none.





USE MUSIC ON/OFF: ALT + MTurning “Music” off will stop the tones youhear as you move the cursor or mousepointer about the screen.

BEEP FOR CAPITALSWhen this is “checked”, you will hear a beepor quack when you type a capital letter. Thiscan be very helpful.

SPELL NUMBERS DIGITSWhen this is “checked”, you will hearnumbers spoken as single digits. E.G., thenumber 111 will be spoken one one one, notone hundred and eleven. This helps whenreading long numbers such as telephonenumbers.

SPEAK SHORTCUT KEYS: ALT + K Shortcut keys are used instead of the mouse

for making something particularhappen. It can help to have theshortcut underlined letter spoken if you are a beginner or are exploring anew program. E.G., In Microsoft Wordwhen Shortcuts keys are “checked” if you press ALT + F for the file menuyou will hear “file shortcut ALT F” asconfirmation.

When you have chosen the way you want tohear Thunder speak to you, save thatSettings choice with Alt + F S or TAB to hear“SAVE” and press ENTER.



But you might want to change one or moresetting temporarily. You might need to slowdown the voice speed when reading adifficult document. In this case, just pressENTER after making your change.

11. DIFFERENT METHODS OF READING

The following keys enable you to read:

A character at a time: Right or Left CursorA word at a time: CTRL Right or Left CursorNext line: Down CursorPrevious line: Up CursorCurrent line: CAPSLOCK + LCurrent line to cursor: CAPSLOCK + K Current word to cursor: CAPSLOCK + JCharacter at cursor: CAPSLOCK + IWHOLE Document: CAPSLOCK + SPACEBARHighlighted text: CAPSLOCK + HCAPSLOCK + F: Read the focusObject: CAPSLOCK + O

You can read letter by letter with RIGHT orLEFT CURSOR keys, and word by word byholding down the CTRL key and dabbing atthe RIGHT or LEFT CURSOR keys. You canread the next line with The DOWN CURSORkey, and CURSOR UP to read the previousline.

There are some special Screenreader reading

keys which let you keep your fingers on the



home keys as typists are taught to do, andthe cursor will not move.

CAPSLOCK + L reads the line you are on inmost situations but you can still cursor up ordown and back again to read the line.

CAPSLOCK + K reads the line to where thecursor is including the letter at the cursorpoint so you know exactly where the cursoris on the line.

CAPSLOCK + I reads where the cursor is andCAPSLOCK + J reads the word just to wherethe cursor is. These are for precision editingso you don’t need to take your fingers fromthe home position to check what is thereletter by letter with the left or right cursorkeys.

CAPSLOCK + F reads whatever is currently infocus. It would read a message box, asecurity dialog box, and it might try to readeverything on the screen.

CAPSLOCK + O speaks the Object that is infocus or under the mouse pointer. This couldbe the clock in the bottom right-hand cornerof the screen, for instance.

CAPSLOCK + H reads what is highlighted atthe time. Highlighting is used when copyingand pasting, deleting and changing the fontsize of text amongst other things.

Highlight characters by holding down theLEFT SHIFT and moving the Left or Right



Cursor keys. Highlight words by holdingdown the LEFT SHIFT and CTRL keys with theleft hand and moving the Left or Right Cursorkeys.

Document Read: CAPSLOCK + SPACEBARPause reading: DOWN or UP CURSOR KEYSWith “Document Read” you can read a longdocument without having to touch thekeyboard. To start andstop reading at any point, press the Cursorkeys, and the cursor will remain at the pointwhere you stopped reading. You can use thisfacility in most situations.

12. MICROSOFT WORD KEYS

Start new document: CTRL + NOpen file: CTRL + O or ALT + F then OPrint file: CTRL + P then ENTERSpell Check document: CAPSLOCK + N,Application Key (or NKP Minus) then CursorKeysSave document: CTRL + S or ALT + F then SClose document: ALT + F then CExit Microsoft Word: ALT + F4 or ALT + Fthen XChange to capitalised (Title) text:Highlighted title words, then ALT + O then E.then ENTERBold on/off: CTRL + BCentre text: CTRL + EHighlight whole document or list: CTRL + AItalics on/off: CTRL + IAlign left: CTRL + L

Align right: CTRL + RUnderline on/off: CTRL + U



Many of these keys will work in otherapplications.

13. THUNDER KEYSTROKES FOR MicrosoftWORD

Speak font information: ALT + 5Speak text alignment: ALT + 6Speak highlighted text: CAPSLOCK + HSpeak page number: ALT + 2Speak Word Count: ALT + 8Speak tables location: ALT + 3Speak tables location and cell content: ALT+9Change spoken punctuation level: Alt + 4 orNKP 1

Speak font information, ALT + 5, lets youCheck your font and use of bold, underline,italics. To check for left or right alignment orcentred text, press ALT + 6.

Check your highlighted text by pressingCAPSLOCK + H. As you de-select what youhighlighted, you will hear precisely what youhave de-selected.Spell what you have highlighted with SHIFT +CAPSLOCK + SEMICOLON.Spell phonetically ALT + SEMICOLON.

Checking your spelling has been made veryeasy when you use Thunder. Place the cursor

at the start of your document. PressCAPSLOCK + N to take you to the next error



word. Then press either the right mouse click key, NKP Minus, or the Application Key,which is just to the left of the right Controlkey. A list of suggestions and choicesappears and you cursor down and pressENTER on the choice you want to make. PressCAPSLOCK + N again to move on to the nexterror word.If you don’t want the suggestions, pressESCAPE and you are back in your documentat the start of the “error” word and you canmake any changes manually. You will be toldwhen there are no more error words.

14. TABLES IN Microsoft Word

When you listen to a Microsoft Worddocument containing a table, Thunder willspeak the word “table” at the end of eachtable row.

If you use tables in Microsoft Word, PressALT + 3 to hear which column and which rowyou are focused on at any time. Press ALT +9 and you will hear the contents of the cellyou are in as well as the column and row of the cell. Press TAB and you will hear thecontents of each cell as you move around thetable.

15. SPEAKING PUNCTUATION

Pressing ALT + 4 switches spokenpunctuation between all, some and none.Alternatively, press Numeric Keypad 1

(NKP1).



When listening to a book you have found onthe Internet or a disk, you may prefer not tohear punctuation. But when you are writingan important letter, you will want to hear allthe punctuation.

16. REPEATING SPEECH

Repeat last speech: CAPSLOCK + SEMICOLONRepeat and spell last speech: CAPSLOCK +SHIFT + SEMICOLONRepeat last speech phonetically: ALT +SEMICOLON

Even the most experienced speech userssometimes miss what has been spoken firsttime. The above keys will work for you in anysituation at any time. If you frequently missspeech, try a slower speed or different voice-see Section 10 On Settings.

17. STOP SPEECH

Stop speech until next keystroke: CTRLStop speech until next Screenreadercommand: SHIFT + CAPSLOCK + ALT + M(mute)Close down Screenreader: ALT + F4Stop speech if you are a seeing user: go tothe Thunder message box at the top left of the Desktop and click on the white X on thered background in the top right corner.

However useful speech is, there are times

when you need to silence it. Press the CTRL



key to stop it instantly at any time in everysituation.

To silence speech for a while as you listen toan audio file or radio station, hold downSHIFT + CAPSLOCK + ALT and press M(mute). To hear speech again, press anyScreenreader keystroke such as CAPSLOCK +L.

To stop speech, you can turn down thevolume to Zero on your speakers if they havea volume knob or hold down ALT and dab atTAB until you reach the screenreaderMessage Box where the screenreaderannounces itself. Press ALT + F4. You will beasked to confirm that you really do want toclose the screenreader down and losespeech.

To revive the speech, press CAPSLOCK +Shift + S.

18. EMAIL

Outlook Express must be set up on your PCso that it goes straight to the Inbox whenyou launch it, and you must have somemessages waiting to be read in your Inbox.

Cursor UP and DOWN the inbox and pressTAB (not ENTER) on the message you wish toread. The whole message will be spoken toyou or you can read the message line by linewith the cursor keys.



Reply to the message: CTRL + R then typeyour reply.

Send a message or your reply: ALT + S withthe message or reply on-screen.

Write New message: CTRL + N then type therecipient’s email address. Press TAB twiceand type in a subject heading. Press TAB, youwill hear the word “Pane”, and type yourmessage, then send it by pressing Alt + S.

Windows Mail has replaced Outlook Expressin Windows Vista.

19. “WHERE AM I” keys

X-Y co-ordinates (where the cursor is on thescreen in row and column numbers):CAPSLOCK + / (forward slash)Read the name of the program or documentyou are in: SHIFT + CAPSLOCK + N

Windows applications are very visual andoften have cluttered screens. Thunder’s“WHERE AM I” keys can tell you preciselywhere you are and what you are doing. Theyare particularly helpful when exploring andbuilding up a mental picture of what is on thescreen.

Some people like to know where the mousepointer is. You will hear two numbers whenyou Press CAPSLOCK + / (forward slash) – thekey to the left of the right shift key. These

numbers represent the horizontal distancefrom the left side and the vertical distance



from the top of the screen. If for instanceyour screen resolution is set to 800 x 600,and your mouse pointer is down towards thebottom and the right-hand side, you will hearsomething like “column 790, row 580”.

To hear the name of the program ordocument you are in when you have severalopen, press SHIFT + CAPSLOCK + N. To movebetween programs that may be open, holddown the ALT KEY and keep dabbing at TAB.

Within a word-processor, the musical tonesand CAPSLOCK + / (forward slash) will proveyour best location guides. ALT + 3 when inMicrosoft Word will give your table row andcolumn position. ALT + 2 will tell you whichpage you are on.

You can press the “WHERE AM I” Keyswhenever you need a reminder and useThunder’s repeat functions if you don’t hearsome speech first time, SHIFT + CAPSLOCK +SEMICOLON.

20. MOUSE CONTROL KEYS

Move mouse pointer generally with theNUMERIC KEYPAD (NKP) KEYS to:

Top left-hand corner of the screen: NKP7Bottom right-hand corner: NKP3Top edge: CAPSLOCK + NKP7Bottom edge: CAPSLOCK + NKP3Left edge: CAPSLOCK + NKP1

Right edge: CAPSLOCK + NKP9



Up the screen: NKP8Down the screen: NKP2To the left: NKP4To the right: NKP6

MOUSE CLICKSLeft click: NKP5Double click: NKP5 twiceRight click: NKP MINUSMove about the screen by Pixel: NKP* (STAR)

Seeing people use the mouse for most tasks,but someone with little or no sight can’tpoint and click a handheld mouse. Instead,the screenreader drives the mouse pointerround the screen when you press the NKPkeys as above.

You will have to use the mouse pointer whenyou need to set and go to markers and toaccess some CD-ROMS or some anti-virusprograms.

21. THE THUNDER MARKER SYSTEM

Marker go to: CAPSLOCK + G followed by aletterMarker set: CAPSLOCK + S followed by aletterTidy window: CAPSLOCK + T

Markers take you straight to a specific pointon the screen that you will want to go toregularly, such as the clock at the bottom of the Desktop or the favourite link on a

website.



To set a marker at your chosen spot, with theNKP keys, put the mouse pointer where youwill want to start reading. Then pressCAPSLOCK + S (set) followed by a letter toremind you of that spot, such as C for clock,S for status bar. That marker will be saved soyou can come back to it.

To go to your marked spot again, pressCAPSLOCK + G (go to) followed by the letteryou chose.

There is a refinement that you may just needif there are unforeseen problems. CAPSLOCK + T tidies the window which you might needto do before you set markers and againbefore you go back to them. Generally, youwill not need this tidy window function.

22. HOW TO GET MORE HELP

We have found that many people withcomputer knowledge are only too pleased togive time and energy to supporting those of us who have a visual disability. There is muchto be said for having a seeing person or anexperienced visually impaired computer userto guide you through the first difficultencounters with the computer. Thescreenreader speech software behaves likeany other Windows-based program. It shouldbe possible for a computer friend to be of great service to you in the early days.

Your local college or society for blind people

may run computer classes, or put you in



touch with someone who might just know abit more than you do.

We are building up a bank of usefulinformation and tutorials on our website,www.screenreader.net.

If you are a Tutor helping a visually impairedperson, there is useful information at theabove website and specifically athttp://www.fue-bfw-dueren.de/ATutor/index.php and thisinformation is available in five EU languages.

We want to encourage grassroots supportand tuition everywhere so please don’tstruggle alone. Encourage your localorganisation, school or college to supportyou and other blind or partially-sightedfriends.

So good luck and enjoy the new experienceswhich the talking computer will open up toyou.

Copyright Screenreader.net 2006-8.Doc. Ref. 16 April 2008


http://www.fue-bfw-dueren.de/ATutor/index.php





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Thunder Manual 16 April 2008