[access-uk] Re: Jaws 13 and voices

  • From: "Kevin Lloyd" <kevin.lloyd3@xxxxxxx>
  • To: <access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Tue, 20 Mar 2012 17:27:39 -0000

Hi Jeff.

Take a look at the voice adjustment settings in Jaws.  There are a number of 
profiles that come as default I think so you should see a number of choices 
there that will provide a more natural sounding voice such as Daniel.

Taken from the Jaws help topics:

Voice Adjustment
Use the Voice Adjustment dialog box to create a new or edit an existing voice 
profile. A voice profile consists of a synthesizer, voice, and other speech 
parameters. You can customize these settings to create a unique voice profile 
for any application on your computer, and then give the profile an easily 
identifiable name for quick selection in the future. For example, if you want 
to create a proofreading profile to use when reviewing Word documents, you 
could start with the Eloquence synthesizer, slow the speech rate, and then save 
it as the Word Proofreading voice profile. The next time you are reviewing a 
Word document, you can press INSERT+CTRL+S and select Word Proofreading for the 
Microsoft Word voice profile. 

The Voice Adjustment dialog box lets you start with a synthesizer's factory 
default settings to use as a template, so that in addition to application 
specific profiles, you can change and save speech settings so that they apply 
globally for all JAWS speech in any application. After configuring a JAWS 
default profile, you can quickly switch between it and others by pressing 
INSERT+CTRL+S.

The following describes the Voice Adjustment settings.

Profile Group Box
Use the Profile controls to select an existing profile that you want to edit or 
to select a factory default profile that can be used as a template to create a 
new voice profile. 

Tip: To save your current voice settings as a voice profile, choose the Save As 
button.

Name
Use this combo box to select the voice profile that you want to use. This 
provides a starting point for you to select a synthesizer and modify various 
options in this dialog box. After customizing your voice settings, you can name 
it and save it as a new profile using the Save As button. 

Delete
Use this button to delete a voice profile. This button is not available for the 
standard Eloquence - (factory), SAPI 5 - (factory), and RealSpeak Solo Direct - 
(factory) voice profiles.

Synthesizer Group Box
Use the Synthesizer controls to select a different speech synthesizer and 
synthesizer language.

Name
Use this combo box to select the speech synthesizer that you want to use for 
your voice profile. Once you have selected a synthesizer, you can then choose a 
language and eventually a specific voice. 

Language
Select the synthesizer language that you want the selected profile to use. The 
available languages are determined by the speech synthesizer you are using.

Detect SAPI 4 Synthesizers
This button installs older SAPI 4 synthesizers. These synthesizers do not work 
with all operating systems, such as Windows Vista. 

Choose the Detect SAPI 4 Synthesizers button to find the other compatible 
synthesizers installed on your system. After compatible synthesizers are 
located, the Update Synthesizer List dialog box appears. On the left side of 
the dialog box, there is a list of the available SAPI synthesizers. The buttons 
in this dialog box let you add or remove synthesizers. 

To add a new synthesizer: 

  1.. Select one or more synthesizers from the Available SAPI Synthesizer list. 
  2.. Choose the Add button to add just the selected synthesizers to the 
Synthesizer List for JAWS, or choose Add All to move all synthesizers to the 
Synthesizer List for JAWS. 
To remove a synthesizer from the Synthesizer List for JAWS:

  1.. Select one or more synthesizers from the Synthesizer List for JAWS . 
  2.. Choose the Remove button to remove only the selected synthesizers, or 
choose Remove All to remove all the synthesizers from the Synthesizer List for 
JAWS . 
Voice Group Box
Use the Voice controls to change various characteristics of synthesized speech 
in JAWS.

Adjust
You can configure JAWS so that slight variations to JAWS speech are heard when 
using different cursors, for example, the PC Cursor versus the Virtual Cursor, 
or when navigating different parts of an application's interface, for example, 
menus and dialog boxes, or when listening to helpful information such as tutor 
messages. The Adjust combo box lets you select specific voice context and then 
set various voice parameters, such as speech rate and punctuation, so that you 
can easily distinguish where and what JAWS is reading on your computer screen. 
The following describes the items in the Adjust combo box. 

  a.. All Context - When selected, you can make one set of changes to the Voice 
controls that can then be applied at once to the PC Cursor Voice, JAWS Cursor 
Voice, Keyboard Voice, Tutor and Message Voice, and Menu and Dialog Voice items 
listed in this combo box. 
  b.. PC Cursor Voice - The PC Cursor is the primary cursor used in JAWS. It 
corresponds to the system focus. To use a specific voice to distinguish when 
JAWS is reading a document, moving through or selecting options or icons, and 
performing most standard Windows functions, select PC Cursor and then change 
voice parameters such as speech rate, punctuation, person, and so on. 
  c.. JAWS Cursor Voice - The JAWS Cursor is linked to mouse pointer functions 
in Windows and other applications. Select JAWS Cursor and then change other 
voice settings in the Voice group to differentiate when the JAWS Cursor is 
active. 
  d.. Keyboard Voice - Use the Keyboard voice when you want JAWS to announce 
characters and words in a different voice when typing echo is on. To customize 
the Keyboard voice, select this item and then change voice settings such as 
rate, punctuation, and so on. 
  e.. Tutor and Message Voice - Use this item when you want tutor messages 
announced in a specific voice. A tutor message can provide navigation tips in 
Windows and other applications. For example, if you press ALT to access an 
application's menu bar, JAWS announces the message, "To navigate, press LEFT or 
RIGHT ARROW." To customize the Tutor and Message voice, select this item and 
then change voice settings such as rate, punctuation, and so on. 
  f.. Menu and Dialog Voice - Use this item to hear menus and dialog boxes 
announced using different voice settings. 
Rate
Use this scroll bar to adjust the rate of speech for the currently selected 
synthesizer. Press RIGHT ARROW, UP ARROW, or PAGE UP to increase the speech 
rate. Press LEFT ARROW, DOWN ARROW, or PAGE DOWN to decrease the speech rate. 

Punctuation
This combo box allows you to specify how much punctuation JAWS speaks. 
Available options are None, Some, Most, and All. Most is selected by default.

Person
Use the Person list to select which synthesizer voice you want to use with a 
specific Adjust combo box item. The voices that are available are determined by 
which speech synthesizer you selected in the Synthesizer group.

Pitch
The Pitch slider allows you to adjust the pitch for the currently selected 
voice. Note that some SAPI5 and RealSpeak Solo Direct synthesizers do not 
support pitch change like Eloquence and some other hardware and software 
synthesizers.

Volume
Use this scroll bar to adjust the volume of some hardware speech synthesizers. 
Press LEFT ARROW, DOWN ARROW, or PAGE DOWN to decrease the synthesizer volume. 
Press RIGHT ARROW, UP ARROW, or PAGE UP to increase the synthesizer volume. If 
you are using Eloquence as the speech synthesizer, use the system volume to 
adjust volume control.

Spell Rate Change Percent
Enter a value that will decrease the speech rate when JAWS spells words or 
lines. This item is only available for some synthesizers and when the Adjust 
combo box is set to All Context.

Upper Case Pitch Case Percent 
Enter a value to vary the pitch when you type or navigate across capital 
letters. This item is only available for some synthesizers and when the Adjust 
combo box is set to All Context. 

Say All Group Box
JAWS can immediately switch from one synthesizer, for example, Eloquence 
Software, to another, such as SAPI 5 or RealSpeak Solo Direct, when using the 
Say All command (INSERT+DOWN ARROW). While the default Eloquence voice may be 
useful for reading and navigating short text such as prior or next line, 
sentence, or paragraph, it may not be the preferred voice for longer passages 
of text. The SAPI 5 or RealSpeak Solo Direct voice chosen remains active during 
the Say All even as you fast forward, rewind, speed up, or slow down. However, 
when you stop the Say All, the Eloquence voice returns. 

Use the following controls in the Say All group to set preferences for how the 
Say All command works.

Speech Synthesizer
Use this combo box to select the synthesizer used for Say All. Select either 
Default, SAPI 5, or RealSpeak Solo Direct. When using Default, all other 
controls in the Say All group are unavailable. Also, note that RealSpeak Solo 
Direct is only available if you have downloaded and installed a RealSpeak Solo 
Direct voice. 

If the Say All synthesizer is Default, then either SAPI 5 or RealSpeak Solo 
Direct will be used for an Alternate Say All (ALT+INSERT+DOWN ARROW). If either 
SAPI 5 or RealSpeak Solo Direct is selected, the Default synthesizer is used 
for Alternate Say All. 

Rate
Use this slider to select a comfortable speech rate for the Say All voice. PAGE 
DOWN and PAGE UP change the rate of speech by larger increments, while the UP 
ARROW and DOWN ARROW keys make more gradual changes.

Punctuation
Use this list to set the punctuation level used by JAWS when the Say All voice 
speaks. Use the UP or DOWN ARROW keys to select a punctuation level. The 
options available are None, Some, Most, which is the default, and All.

Person
The Person combo box lets you to select which SAPI 5 or RealSpeak Solo Direct 
synthesizer voice to use for Say All. 

Pitch
The Pitch slider allows you to adjust the pitch for the currently selected 
voice. Note that some SAPI5 and RealSpeak Solo Direct synthesizers do not 
support pitch change like Eloquence and some other hardware and software 
synthesizers.

Volume 
Use the slider to increase or decrease the Say All speech volume. The DOWN 
ARROW , LEFT ARROW, and PAGE DOWN keys decrease volume, and the UP ARROW, RIGHT 
ARROW, and PAGE UP keys increase volume.

OK
This button saves any changes made and then closes the Voice Adjustment dialog 
box. This button is not available when changes are made to any factory default 
voice profile template. You must use the Save As button to save any changes 
made to a factory template.

Save As
Choose this button to save your current voice settings as part of a voice 
profile. Type a name for your voice profile or select an existing profile from 
the list. If you select an existing profile, that profile's individual voice 
settings will be overwritten by the new settings when you choose OK. 

Apply
Use this button to apply and save any changes made to the voice profile 
settings without exiting the Voice Adjustment dialog box. 

Cancel
When you select this button, any changes you have made are discarded, and the 
Voice Adjustment dialog box closes. 

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Kevin Lloyd
E-mail: kevin.lloyd3@xxxxxxx
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: jeff flint 
  To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
  Sent: Tuesday, March 20, 2012 3:48 PM
  Subject: [access-uk] Jaws 13 and voices


  I  would love to use a  different voice for the reading cursor than the jaws 
cursor, are any additional voice voices built in or is it more complex?
  Jeff

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