Getting
Started with NextUp Talker

 

Overview

 

NextUp Talker is a Text-To-Speech application specifically
designed for those that have lost the ability to speak.? Like TextAloud and other NextUp speech
applications, NextUp Talker synthesizes speech from text.? The difference is that while these other
applications synthesize speech from various kinds of text content, the sole
purpose of NextUp Talker is to carry on conversation.? NextUp Talker will synthesize spoken audio
from the text you type, allowing you to use your computer as a tool for
speaking with others.

 

Options available in NextUp Talker fall into two general
categories

1.     
Control over when the
text you type is spoken

2.     
Reducing the amount of
typing required to carry on conversation.

 

 

The NextUp
Talker Main Window

 

 

 

 

Speaking the
first time

When you first install NextUp Talker, the first thing to do
is get it to speak a few words just to make sure installation went well and
everything is working.

Type a few words in the ?Input Area? (see the illustration
above for the location of the input area), and press the ?Speak Input? button
on the toolbar.? Any problems at this
point are probably installation related; contact us at support@talkforme.com so we can take a
look.

 

Four Ways to
Speak Text

Use the ?Speak Text? dropdown list to control when text in
the input area is spoken.? Options are
available on the NextUp Talker Options panel to control whether or not the
input area is automatically cleared as speaking begins and/or ends.

 

?        
On Demand
? Enter a block of text into the input area, then press the ?Speak Input?
button on the toolbar.

 

?        
By Word
? As you type text into the input area, NextUp Talker will automatically speak
each word you type.

 

?        
By
Sentence ? As you type text into the input area, the current sentence will
be spoken each time you enter ?end of sentence? punctuation (period, question
mark, exclamation point).

 

?        
By
Carriage Return / Line Feed ? This option allows you to type multiple
sentences into the input area, and initiate speaking by pressing the Enter key.

 

 

Pre-Defined
Phrases

The panel on the left side of the GUI is for defining
phrases you may use often.? Right click
in this area to define folders and phrases within the folders.? Folders may contain other folders, and you
can define whatever hierarchy of phrases that is convenient for you.

 

When defining phrases, you can use the ?%? character to
define substitutable parameters.? If you
define a phrase like ?Hi %name%?, you will be prompted for ?%name% anytime you
use the phrase.? A phrase can have any
number of these parameters.

 

Phrase definition allows you to assign keyboard shortcuts to
phrases you use frequently.

 

The phrase hierarchy is also automatically maintained under
the NextUp Talker Insert menu, along with the most recently used phrases.

 

 

Inserting
Sounds

NextUp Talker can also mix in actual sound files into
speech.  You can insert a link to a sound file using the insert
menu.  For some users who have warning before losing their voice, such as is the case often with surgery, you can use your computer to
record various sound files saying things like "I love you", or
answering the phone.  These recordings can then be intermixed with text to
speech.  Another neat use is inserting sound effects.  There are a
huge number of free sound files on the internet.  A common use for these
might be to include some funny sound effects with your speech.  This is
especially helpful when speaking with children.  The funny sounds often
help children become more comfortable when talking with someone who has to use
a computer.

 

Keyboard
Shortcuts

Most of the features available in NextUp Talker are
available either on the main menu or the Predefined Phrases popup menu.?? If you look under Options (on the main
menu), you?ll see a ?Shortcut Setup? dialog which can be used for assigning
keyboard shortcuts ??The dialog allows
you to assign keyboard shortcuts for commonly used NextUp Talker actions.

 

When creating predefined phrases, you have the option of assigning
a keyboard shortcut to the phrase as you create it.? You may also use Shortcut Setup to create /
modify shortcuts for your phrases after they?ve been created.

 

 

Need Help ?

If you run into any problems at all please contact support@talkforme.com, we?ll answer you
right away.