Getting Started

If the computer you are using has the icon, please double-click the “Assistive Technology Loader” icon.
You will be presented with a screen explaining the login process and providing information about the AT Loader. The AT Loader will guide you through the process of logging in and selecting your software. Any software currently installed on the computer at the time of the installation, or after every 30 days, will be updated on the radio button list. To update this list, you will need to access the menu items, which are, at the time of this revision of this guide, currently inaccessible. You will be required to login with your O-Key e-mail address and password. This information can be found on your O-Key page. If you have trouble finding this information, please visit http://okey.okstate.edu/ or contact the IT Helpdesk.
You can Tab through each field to get to O-Key Email Address, O-Key Password, and the software selection area. When you are done inputting this information, you can tab to the “Start” button, which will log you in and automatically start your software. This may take a few moments.
When you are done using your software, return to the AT Loader, exit the AT software you were using, and click either “Logout” or “Exit” to properly ensure that you are logged out of the computer and to prevent a malicious user from accessing your settings after you. For best results, restart the computer.

Using OpenBook

Ultimately, OpenBook is simple enough to let you set a document on a scanner, start scanning it, and then have it read to you. To complete this process, start OpenBook using the hotkey Alt+Ctrl+O from the Windows desktop. You will be asked to login. Just select your username from the drop-down box and click “OK”, and you’ll be logged in with your custom settings. If you do not have a login in the box, enter your e-mail address or your short O-Key username, and click OK. A profile will be created for you.

Scanning

Begin by placing a document on the scanner bed. The document should be text face-down, but the actual orientation of the text doesn’t matter, as OpenBook will automatically reorient the page when it recognizes the text. Ensure that the page is squarely positioned on the scanner bed, whatever direction that may be, to prevent inaccuracies. A page that is slightly askew on the scanner will increase the errors on the page and decrease the ability to recognize text. At this time, you may also be interested in choosing whether OpenBook scans for accuracy or speed. These options are available on the Scan menu, accessible by pressing Alt+S, and then either “A” for accuracy or “E” for speed. If you’re not in a hurry, the recommended and default option is “Accuracy.” When you are ready to scan a document, press the Insert key or the F4 key, and the scanner should start up. During this time, you will be notified that the software is busy scanning by a beep every few moments. Once the scanning and recognition stages have completed, OpenBook will begin reading the document.

Changing Voice Settings

To change your voice settings, you can either use the hotkeys Ctrl+1 (to slow down reading speed) or Ctrl+2 (to speed up reading speed). For other options, including pitch, volume, and voices, press Ctrl+G to get to the settings menu, followed by “P” to get to the Speech settings window. This will allow you to set the voice, volume, rate, and pitch for the reading and menu voices. Additionally, if the computer you’re using has additional voices installed, you may be able to listen with these voices, some of which may be more human-like and provide a higher quality of speech. If you’d like to change to a different speech system, then select the appropriate item from the “Synthesizer” drop-down box.

Finding Help & More Information

To reach the Online help section, hit the F1 key or the Keypad Minus key. From OpenBook’s editor, you can select this item to have OpenBook read an overview of basic operation. You can then press the ENTER key for more help. From here you can go to a list of the manual chapters or a key-word search function. Use the arrow keys to move within a document, menu, or dialog box.

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