Using the Main Window

The KeySpell Main Window includes the following main features:

The Menu Bar is used to access the File Menu , View Menu , Topic Menu , Options Menu, Suggestion Menu and Help Menu .

The Toolbar is used for quick access to commonly used features.

The Source Word Box is where the initial word to search for is received.

The Word Filter Box is where masking, or filtering out, of specific sections of a word selected from the Word Grid is carried out to narrow down the available Suggestions. Four Masking control buttons are normally displayed in the Box. Once a selection has been made the display changes to match the format of the Source Word Box and contains the chosen word; the masking control buttons disappear at this point. Clicking on the Start/Stop Search Button will restore the masking control buttons.

The Concentrator Button provides control over the number of Suggestions displayed in the Word Grid by fixing one or more letters at the start of the word.

The Topic Button is used to change the current Dictionary Topic .

The Word Start Button specifies whether the word is to commence with a vowel or a consonant.

The Start/Stop Search Button stops a search if one is in progress and starts one if the system is idle. The button icon shows the status of the search mechanism.

The Word Grid is where each Suggestion is displayed in its respective Word Grid Box and each can be selected for use in subsequent searches.

There are six Display Windows.

If you wish to access the Main Window, press '1' to switch focus to this window from any other KeySpell window.

RELATED TOPICS: Using the Display windows


Using the Context Window

The Context Window is used to display examples of the way that a word might be used within a sentence.  As some words can have several different meanings depending upon their context, KeySpell provides one or more context examples to display different uses of the word.

Next to each example, KeySpell displays an icon to indicate the part of speech relevant to the example. Additional useful information may be displayed: for example, where the word might be used as a surname or a place name. Where the word is used principally in a specific sphere, such as law or medicine, a note is displayed.

To the left of each context example, an icon is displayed to indicate one or more of the following:

•	Noun and its plural where appropriate (plurals not fully available in Version 2)

•	Verb	 and verb tenses

•	Adverb

•	Adjective and its positive, comparative and superlative where appropriate

•	Miscellaneous (preposition, conjunction, pronoun or determiner)

•	Alternative spelling(s)

•	Confusable (displays a reference to the confusables window)

•	Homophone (displays a reference to the homophones window)

•	Specialist usage (for example, words used mainly in scientific or legal contexts)

•	US- and UK-specific spellings where variation exists between US and British English

•	A taboo or obscene connotation

•	A slang or informal usage

•	An archaic or little-used word

Some icons are used for more than one context example. The Context Window provides information of any word which is correctly spelt in the Source Word Box or is a currently highlighted Suggestion.

KeySpell will speak Context examples automatically when Suggestions are selected if the relevant option has been set in the 'Search, Speech, Colours' item of the [Options Menu] via the Speech Tab. Successive clicks on a word displayed in the Word Grid will speak the next Context example in the displayed list.

If more than eight items are displayed in the Context Window it will be necessary to use the Scroll Bar to view hidden items. Alternatively, double-clicking on the Context Window Title Bar will display all items. If the text “KeySpell Test Display” is typed into the Source Word Box at any time, all icons and details of their use will be displayed.

Usage Panel

The Context Window contains a panel in which a summary of the information displayed alongside icons is presented, with some brief additional information. The following information is supplied, depending on whether or not it is appropriate:

Part of speech (noun, verb, adjective, adverb, preposition, pronoun, interjection, conjunction, sentence connector, determiner, misc POS, POS undefined)

•	Information on singular and plural forms of nouns

•	Whether the word is a homophone or a confusable

•	Whether an alternative spelling exists for the word (recognised in either Collins or Oxford dictionaries)

•	Specialist usage (for example, words used in scientific or legal contexts)

•	US-UK difference (where variation exists between US and British English)

•	Obscenity (includes taboo words such as racialist words)

•	Slang or informal usage

•	Little-used or archaic

•	Difficulty level (Schonell lists 1 - 6, 7 = Junior, 8 = Senior, 9 = Unusual, 10 = Obscure, * = unclassified)

•	Personal name or place name

•	Important classifications within the natural word (e.g. plants, creatures)

•	Whether the word is frequently misspelt (identified in Guinness Awful Spellers’ Dictionary)

The definition of specialist usage is more open than in the main display area. Words which are important in a specific arena but which also have a more general usage are usually displayed.

If a large amount of information is presented so that some items are not visible, hidden items can be revealed through using the appropriate Scroll Bar. Alternatively, double-clicking on the Context Window Title Bar will display all items.

Press 2 to see the Context Window, give it the focus or minimise it  whenever a KeySpell window has the Windows focus.


Using the History Window

The History Window provides a quick mechanism for retracing the steps taken when attempting to find a word.  Each time a change is made to the Word Filter , or the Topic Button , that change is recorded in the History Window.  These changes are recorded using a tree diagram, which provides an easy way to navigate between previous sets of Suggestions.  KeySpell adds a [Search Description] for each set of Suggestions recorded in the tree.

Search descriptions

Each search description has an icon, an optional number and a partial word.  Other entries in the tree are [Dictionary Topics].  The search descriptions are added to the classification which is current when the Word Filter Box contents are changed.

The number is the number of Suggestions 'hidden' by the Suggestion that is currently in the Word Filter.

The partial word shows the 'fixed' letters from the Word Filter, at the start or end of the word, and three dots concealing letters not yet fixed.  See Using the Word Filter .

The icons attached to the search descriptions are as follows:

The 'Closed Mouth' means consonants start the dotted section of the word.

The 'Open Mouth' means vowels start the dotted section of the word.

The 'Bulls-eye' marks a word chosen as correct, i.e. the 'target'.

Simply click on a search description (not a Topic) to navigate instantly to a previous condition.  The Word Filter contents and the Dictionary Topic will switch to show your previous Suggestion.

To expand or contract a section of the tree, click on the + (plus) and - (minus) symbols respectively.  the user can also navigate around the tree using the keyboard arrow keys.

Press 5 to see the History Window, give it the focus or minimise it  whenever a KeySpell window has the Windows focus.


Using the Homophones Window

The Homophones Window is used to display homophones. Even those with excellent spelling skills may often fail to identify the correct homophone for a particular word.  Words which are homophones sound exactly the same but are spelt differently, for example 'tax' and 'tacks', or 'wheal' and 'wheel'.

When KeySpell identifies a word with homophonic variants, it will display all these in the Homophones Window.  Each homophone can be spoken out by selecting (clicking on) it from the list.  All homophonic variants of any word which is selected from the Word Grid are provided.  In some cases the spelling of a particular word will be substantially different from that of its homophones.

The Homophones list displays two or more homophones of a selected word.  Homophones in the list are spoken out automatically when selected.  Note that context examples for the highlighted word in the list are automatically displayed in the Context Window . The examples of Context for each homophone can also be heard.

By double-clicking on a homophone entry in the Homophone Window the word is placed in the Source Word Box which automatically initiates a new search using the word as its basis.

Press 4 to see the Homophones Window, give it the focus or minimise it  whenever a KeySpell window has the Windows focus.


Using the Confusables Window

The Confusables Window is used to display confusables of the current word.  Confusables are words that can be mistaken for others, for example, 'were' and ‘where'.  When confusables exist for a particular word, a list of alternatives will be displayed.

The Confusables list displays one or more confusables of a word.  Confusables in the list are spoken out automatically when selected.  Note that context examples for the highlighted word in the list are automatically displayed in the Context Window .  Context examples for each confusable can also be heard

By double-clicking on a entry in the Confusables Window the word is placed in the Source Word Box which automatically initiates a new search using the word as its basis.

Press 3 to see the Confusables Window, give it the focus or minimise it whenever a KeySpell window has the Windows focus.


Using the Phonix Window

The Phonix Window displays the phonemic make-up of a word and enables it to be pronounced phoneme by phoneme.

A few words will have no pronunciation model (those for most plural nouns are not yet available) and the Phonix system cannot assist in these cases.

If the left mouse button is clicked when the mouse cursor is over an element of the word, the pronunciation is restricted to that single phoneme. Alternatively, clicking the left mouse button anywhere else in the display area of the window will initiate the pronunciation of the word currently highlighted in the Word Grid provided phonemes are displayed in the Phonix Window.

Any word displayed in the Phonix Window is split into phonemes which are portrayed as one or more letters beneath an icon. Each icon represents the sound of the phoneme when correctly pronounced. The letter(s) represent the spelling of the phoneme.

Press 6 to see the Phonix Window, give it the focus or minimise it  whenever a KeySpell window has the Windows focus.


Using the File Menu

The File Menu contains three items: ‘Change dictionary’; ‘Restore default dictionary’ and ‘Exit’. The user will not normally need to use this menu item.

•	‘Change dictionary’ to access one or more additional dictionaries if they have been provided. Normally, these will have been made available after a request by the user. For example, special lists of foreign or technical words might be made available. The location of any alternative dictionary will be provided when the product is supplied.

•	‘Restore default dictionary’ will restore the dictionary which was made active during the installation process. If the user finds at any time that problems have been encountered in loading an alternative dictionary, the default should be re-loaded and assistance should be sought from the supplier.

•	‘Exit’ to close KeySpell. This is the recommended way of closing KeySpell.


Using the View Menu

The [View Menu] contains 8 items:

•	‘Context' to access the Context Window

•	‘Confusable' to access the Confusables Window

•	‘Homophones' to access the Homophones Window

•	‘History' to access the History Window

•	‘Phonix' to access the Phonix Window

•	‘Toolbar' to access the KeySpell Toolbar

•	‘Status Bar' to access the Status Bar

•	‘Arrange’ to select the View Mode via the Arrange Sub-Menu

The Arrange Sub-Menu contains 5 items:

•	‘Full screen' to select the full-screen mode for the Main Window

•	‘Vertical’ to arrange  the vertical mode for the display via a sub-menu

•	‘Horizontal’ to arrange the horizontal mode for the Main Window via a sub-menu

•	‘Custom' to arrange the Custom Window as previously defined by the user

•	Save as Custom Arrangement' to save the Custom Window for future use

The ‘Custom’ item will be greyed out if no custom arrangement has previously been set by the user.

Selecting ‘Horizontal’ or ‘Vertical’ will produce a further sub-menu which has 5 items:

•	‘Context' to arrange the Context Window

•	‘History' to arrange the History Window

•	‘Phonix' to arrange the Phonix Window

•	‘Sound-alikes' to arrange the Context Window, Homophones Window  and the Confusables Window

•	‘Tile Word 97' to arrange the Word 97 Window

The user can set up a Custom Window simply by configuring an arrangement of one or more KeySpell windows and then clicking on the menu item 'Save as Custom Arrangement' which will store the arrangement. The Custom window can subsequently be accessed and used by clicking on the 'Custom' item in the 'Arrange' sub-menu.

RELATED TOPICS	Using the Display windows


Using the Topic Menu

The Topic Menu contains each of the Dictionary Topics defined via the Dictionary Classifier. Clicking on any item will select the relevant Dictionary Topic on which all subsequent Suggestions obtained from searches will be based until a new Topic is selected. Topics are more conveniently selected by using the Topic Button but will provide a quicker way of switching Topics when many have been selected.

RELATED TOPICS	Using the Dictionary Classifier ;


Using the Options Menu

The Options Menu contains 4 items:

•	'Search, Speech, Colour' to customise KeySpell search, speech and  display  parameters

•	'Dictionary Topics' to customise the Dictionary Topics

•	'Font' to access a standard Windows dialogue box to change the text font for all subsidiary KeySpell windows

•	‘Advanced’ to gain access by the Advanced Sub-Menu to advanced features of the KeySpell product under password control.

The ‘Advanced’ sub-menu contains three items:

•	‘Access’ to gain access to KeySpell’s advanced features.

•	‘Password’ to set the password to be used to control access to KeySpell’s advanced features.

•	‘Default’ to remove password control from KeySpell’s advanced features.

Immediately after the initial installation, the user has full access to KeySpell’s advanced features. Certain features may be considered inappropriate to some users of the system, for example access to taboo or obscene words or to those relevant only in specific arenas, such as law or medicine. A supervisor of the system can set a password so that the initially open access to the advanced features is locked and can only be gained by entering a password. The password can subsequently be changed or removed as required.

RELATED TOPICS	Customising KeySpell ; Using the Dictionary Classifier


Using the Topic Button

Clicking on the Topic Button enables different Dictionary Topics to be selected. It is hidden if there is no word in the Source Word Box. KeySpell associates icons with each Topic and the button shows the icon representing the current Topic.

Each click on the button will successively select new Topics.    Suggestions will be appropriate to the Topic selected. You can change the Topic at any time, whether or not KeySpell is searching for suggestions.  If you right-click on the button the Topic Menu pops up, giving you direct access to any Topic you require.

RELATED TOPICS	Using the Dictionary Classifier


Using the Suggestion Menu

The Suggestion Menu contains 5 items:

•	'Drilldown' --  to 'drilldown' into Suggestions.  Clicking on this item has the same effect as clicking on the Drilldown Button

•	‘Undo drilldown’ – Undoes the last Drilldown.  Returns the Word Grid to its state before the last Drilldown.

•	‘Undo all’ – Undoes all drilldowns. Returns the Word Grid to its state before you started drilling down.

•	'Choose' --  to choose a Suggestion from the Word Grid.  Clicking on this item has the same effect as clicking on the Choose Word Button

•	'Search afresh' --  to search afresh using the Suggestion from the Word Grid.  Clicking on this item has the same effect as clicking on the Search Afresh Button

RELATED TOPICS	Using the Word Grid ; Using the Word Filter ; Using Keyboard shortcuts


Using the KeySpell Toolbar

The KeySpell Toolbar in the [Main Window] provides access to a number of features via the Toolbar Buttons.

The window-related buttons toggle on and off the relevant window being displayed.

The View Context Button

The Button Icon bears the motif "2".

Clicking on the View Context Button on the KeySpell Toolbar enables the [Context Window] to be displayed.

The View Confusables Button

The Button Icon bears the motif "3".

Clicking on the View Confusables Button on the KeySpell Toolbar enables the [Confusables Window] to be displayed.

The View Homophones Button

The Button Icon bears the motif "4".

Clicking on the View Homophones Button on the KeySpell Toolbar enables the [Homophones Window] to be displayed.

The View History Button

The Button Icon bears the motif "5".

Clicking on the View History Button on the KeySpell Toolbar enables the [History Window] to be displayed.

The View Phonix Button

The Button Icon bears the motif "6".

Clicking on the View Phonix Button on the KeySpell Toolbar enables the [Phonix Window] to be displayed.

The Speak Context Button

The button's icon motif is an exclamation mark enclosed by a speech balloon.

Clicking on the Speak Context Button makes KeySpell speak the currently selected Suggestion from the [Word Grid] along with the first example context displayed in the Context Window. To hear subsequent contexts from the Context Window, it is necessary to click the appropriate Suggestion panel successively to hear the different contexts. The context is still played even if the [Context Window] is hidden.

The Choose Word Button

The button's icon motif is a tick.

Clicking on the Choose Word Button enables the selected Suggestion in the [Word Grid] to be passed to the [Word Filter Box]. The word is locked until a new source word is provided or the [Start/Stop Search Button] is clicked on to start another search process. Once locked, the buttons on the word grid are deactivated and are no longer displayed.

If no word is currently highlighted, the button will be greyed out.

The Start/Stop Search Button

The button's icon motif is a miniature icon of the professor graphic.

Clicking on the Start/Stop Search Button is used to start or re-start a search for Suggestions or to stop a search when one is in progress. The search is based on the word typed into the Source Word Box .

The Drilldown Button

The button's icon motif is a downward pointing triangle.

Clicking on the Drilldown Button enables new Suggestions to be displayed all having the same [Left Mask] and [Differ]. The [Drilldown Button] places the word currently highlighted in the [Word Grid] into the [Word Filter Box]. If no word is currently highlighted, the button will be greyed out.

The Search Afresh Button

The button's icon motif is a plus sign.

The Search Afresh Button starts a completely new search for Suggestions based on the selected Suggestion from the [Word Grid]. It has the same effect as if the word was typed into the [Source Word Box].

If no word is currently highlighted, the button will be greyed out.

The Access Word Button

The button’s icon motif is the conventional Microsoft Word icon used within the word processing package itself.

The Access Word Button switches the Windows focus immediately from KeySpell to the current input cursor position set by the user in Microsoft Word, regardless of what subsidiary KeySpell windows are displayed.

If the icon is greyed out, this indicated that the link between Microsoft Word and KeySpell has not been established. In this case, KeySpell should be linked via the Word Tools Menu, through selecting the ‘Install KeySpell for Word’ item.

The user should note that the link between Microsoft Word and KeySpell should always be established through loading Word first. If KeySpell is loaded first and an attempt is subsequently made to link the systems, unpredictable results may occur. In this case, KeySpell should be unloaded and KeySpell should then be uninstalled via the Word Tools Menu.

To return to KeySpell from Microsoft Word, click on the the ‘eye’ icon on the KeySpell Word Toolbar.

Alternatively, to switch between KeySpell and Word, the keyboard can be used: holding down the ‘Alt’ key and pressing ‘1’ will toggle between the two systems.

RELATED TOPICS	Using the Word Grid ; Using the Word Filter


Using the Display windows

KeySpell has six display windows, each performing a particular function.

•	The Main Window referred to as KeySpell Window 1

•	The Context Window referred to as KeySpell Window 2

•	The Confusables Window referred to as KeySpell Window 3

•	The Homophones Window referred to as KeySpell Window 4

•	The History Window referred to as KeySpell Window 5

•	The Phonix Window referred to as KeySpell Window 6

The Main Window is where spellings can be entered and checked against the dictionary. It is also where Suggestions are displayed. Customisation can be effected using this window, via various dialogue boxes.

The Context Window displays example sentences of the Suggestion which has been selected in the Word Grid .

The History Window records all stages in attempting to find the assumed correct word and provides an easy way for the user to retrace steps taken.

The Homophones Window displays homophones of the Suggestion selected in the Word grid.

The Confusables Window displays words likely to be mistaken for the selected Suggestion in the Word Grid.

The Phonix Window displays the phonemic make-up of the selected Suggestion from the Word Grid and enables it to be pronounced phoneme by phoneme.

Each subsidiary window can be displayed by pressing the appropriate number (2 - 6) on the keyboard when the Main Window has the Windows focus. Alternatively, clicking on the appropriate numbered button in the Toolbar has the same effect. A third method of displaying a window is by selecting the required item from the View Menu in the Menu Bar. If more than one subsidiary window is required to be displayed at the same time, the user can design a custom arrangement and save it. If the Sound-alikes arrangement is selected, three windows will appear automatically: Context, Confusables and Homophones.

The layout of all windows, main and subsidiary, changes as they are resized. All windows are 'squeezable’, i.e. their dimensions can be changed from full screen down to very small areas without distortion. They can all be maximised through double clicking on the Title Bar. If the Main Window is minimised, all subsidiary windows disappear and will reappear when the Main Window is re-displayed. KeySpell can be closed down by clicking the conventional “X” button on the Title Bar. All windows position settings are retained on exiting the program and will be used to restore the display on reloading.

Various Window Arrangements can be accessed from the Main Window, enabling different combinations to be viewed by selecting from the View Menu under the 'Arrange' item. The user is able to customise a view to suit particular requirements.

When KeySpell is displaying in full-screen or horizontal view mode, it is set to operate so that the Word Grid forms a matrix of two columns of either four or six Suggestions (depending on the appropriate setting in the Options Box ).

The layout of the Display Windows changes as they are resized. The Main Window changes from the 3 by 3 Word grid matrix to a 9-element vertical list as resizing proceeds. The Windows Taskbar can be right-clicked on by the mouse to tile KeySpell windows, horizontally, vertically or cascaded.

RELATED TOPICS: Using the KeySpell Toolbar; Arranging Window displays


Arranging Window Displays

There are four view modes which can be set from the View Menu under the 'Arrange' item.

•	Full view, providing a full-screen view of the KeySpell Main Window

•	Vertical view, with the Main Window to the right of the screen display

•	Horizontal view, with the Main Window at the bottom of the screen display

•	Custom view, providing a view defined by the user and saved as a custom arrangement

In full-screen view mode, the subsidiary windows (2 - 6) are displayed superimposed on the Main Window. The Word Grid is configured as two columns of either four or six panels, depending on the appropriate setting in the Options Search dialogue box.

In vertical view mode, the subsidiary windows (2 - 6) are displayed to the left of the Main Window. The Word Grid is displayed as a single column of eight or twelve items, depending on the appropriate setting in the Options Search dialogue box.

In horizontal view mode, the subsidiary windows (2 - 6) are displayed above the Main Window. The Word Grid is configured as two columns of either four or six panels, depending on the appropriate setting in the Options Search dialogue box.

In custom view mode, the subsidiary windows (2 - 6) are displayed as set by the user.

In vertical and horizontal view modes, the subsidiary window(s) will appear in the ‘tiled area’ which is occupied by Microsoft Word’s document window when the option for tiling has been selected. This enables the user to switch to and from Microsoft Word to the subsidiary window(s), while leaving the KeySpell Main Window to the right or bottom of the screen.

In each mode, several layouts are available:

•	The Context Layout showing the Context Window in the default KeySpell tiled area to the left (vertical mode) or the top (horizontal mode) of the screen display

•	The History Layout showing the History Window in the default KeySpell tiled area to the left (vertical mode) or the top (horizontal mode) of the screen display

•	The Phonix Layout showing the Homophones Window, the Confusables Window and the Phonix Window together in the default KeySpell tiled area to the left (vertical mode) or the top (horizontal mode) of the screen display

•	The Sound-alikes Layout showing the Homophones Window, the Confusables Window and the Context Window together in the default KeySpell tiled area to the left (vertical mode) or the top (horizontal mode) of the screen display.

RELATED TOPICS Using the KeySpell Toolbar ; Using Display Windows ; Using the Word Grid ; Customising Search Parameters


Customising KeySpell

Other than the customisation of the arrangement for the Main and Subsidiary Windows which are via the [View Menu], all customisation is carried out via the [Options Menu].

•	To change settings which control aspects of KeySpell's search mechanism, click on the 'Search, Speech, Colour' item of the [Options Menu]. Then click on the 'Search' tab in the dialogue box which is displayed.

•	To change settings which affect KeySpell's spoken output, click on the 'Search, Speech, Colour' item of the [Options Menu]. Then click on the 'Speech' tab in the dialogue box which is displayed.

•	To change settings which affect the colour configuration of the Suggestions and [Word filter Box] contents, click on the 'Search, Speech, Colour' item of the [Options Menu]. Then click on the 'Colour' tab in the dialogue box which is displayed.

•	To change the way in which the Dictionary topics are defined, click on the 'Dictionary Topics' item of the [Options Menu]. You will then be able to access the [Dictionary Classifier].

RELATED TOPICS	Customising fonts ; Customising Colours ; Customising Speech ; Customising Search Parameters ; Customising a Window Arrangement ; Using the Dictionary Classifier


Customising Search Parameters

Appropriate search controls can be modified via the ‘Search’ tab in the [Options Dialogue Box]. This is accessed via the ‘Search, Speech, Colour’ item in the [Options menu].

Single character masking

Single character masking provides an alternative to masking using phonetically based groups of  letters. When this item is selected by checking the appropriate check box, it is not possible to enable the [Start Word Button] which is therefore then greyed out.

Customising the Word Grid Display

Type one or more characters in the data field with the legend "Text entered here..." and they will replace the numbers in the [Word Grid Box] which normally represent the number of hidden suggestions.  You may find it useful to enter a legend such as "More ..." or "+" if the numbers distract you but you wish to be provided with information on the fact that some suggestions are hidden.

RELATED TOPICS Using the Word Filter .

Configuring the criteria for the search for Suggestions

Clicking on the check box bearing the legend "Always search ..." will control whether or not Suggestions are to be searched for when the Source Word exists in the complete KeySpell Dictionary. If the check box is checked, a search will be carried out whatever word is entered. If the check box is not checked, there will be no automatic search initiated if the word exists in the dictionary. The  search will not be initiated even if the word does not exist in the particular Topic which has been set.

When the search is prevented for words in the Dictionary, a search can still be carried out simply by clicking on the Start/Stop Search Button.

Configuring the criteria for the enabling of word start discrimination

Clicking on the check box bearing the legend "Enable the Start Word Button" will control whether Suggestions will be displayed together regardless of whether they start with vowels or consonants. If the check box is checked, Suggestions will be segregated: when the 'mouth' icon is in the open position, only Suggestions starting with a vowel are displayed; when the 'mouth' icon is in the closed position, only Suggestions starting with a consonant are displayed. The [Start Word Button] can be clicked by the user to switch from one state to the other.

If single character masking is set KeySpell cannot activate the start word button and words with vowel and consonant starts will be mixed, they cannot be segregated for display purposes.

Number of Suggestions to be displayed

The number of suggestions to be displayed within the Word Grid can be changed from eight to twelve and vice versa, simply by clicking on the required value.


Customising Speech Parameters

Speaking out information

KeySpell incorporates a text-to-speech engine which can read text in a natural sounding human voice.  The user  can adjust when KeySpell talks, and also how the voice sounds.

Setting controls can be modified via the ‘Speech’ tab in the Options Dialogue Box. This is accessed via the ‘Search, Speech, Colour’ item in the Options menu.

There are four settings to control when KeySpell talks and six settings to control how KeySpell talks.

Obtaining spoken information on progress

The check box with the legend 'Speak Progress' controls whether KeySpell speaks out information on progress made with the search for Suggestions. If the box is checked, a progress message is regularly spoken out while a search is carried out. Unless a low-powered computer is being used or extremely long words are being checked, searches are rarely longer than fifteen seconds and progress message are not usually of value.

Obtaining an echo of the word entered

The check box with the legend 'Speak words as you enter them' controls whether KeySpell reads out the word in the Source Word box.  If the box is checked, the partly completed word will be echoed back after each key is pressed.

Obtaining spoken information on Spelling Suggestions

The check box with the legend 'Speak Suggestions you click' controls whether words in the Word Grid are spoken out when they are selected by mouse or keyboard.

If the box is not checked, no spoken output occurs unless the check box with the legend 'Speak the context automatically' is checked in which case words will be spoken out along with the relevant context.

Obtaining spoken information on contexts

The check box with the legend 'Speak the context automatically' controls whether context examples are automatically spoken out when you select an item in the Context Window. If the box is not checked, only the word will be spoken out and then only if the check box with the legend 'Speak spelling suggestions you click' is checked.

Controlling the volume of spoken output

Adjust the Volume Slider to increase or decrease the speech loudness.  Note that KeySpell's volume setting is a percentage of the master volume set in Windows.  This master volume can be adjusted using the Windows Volume Control and also via mixer applications supplied with some sound cards.

Controlling the rate of spoken output

Adjust the Rate Slider to increase or decrease the speed at which KeySpell talks.

Controlling the pitch of spoken output

Adjust the Pitch Slider to raise or lower the pitch at which KeySpell talks.

Language

The language can be changed from British English to US English and to other languages, where these are supplied by clicking on the required language in the ‘Language’ list box. The availability of languages other than British English will depend on the version of KeySpell which has been supplied.

Character

The character of the voice can be changed by clicking on the required character of the voice in the ‘Character’ list box, ranging from normal to singing. Some selections are not appropriate for general use.

Voice

The voice can be changed from male to female and vice versa by clicking on the relevant name, Carol or Peter, by clicking on the required voice in the ‘Voice’ list box.


Customising Colour Parameters

To change settings which affect the colour configuration of the Suggestions and [Word filter Box] contents, click on the 'Search, Speech Colours' item of the [Options Menu]. Then click on the 'Colours' tab in the dialogue box which is displayed.

Standard or Windows colours

Select either Standard colours or Windows system colours for the selection of colours to be used, by clicking on the appropriate radio button. KeySpell will track any changes you make to your desktop colours.  Standard colours are strong colours available on all Windows 95 PC's.

Setting colours for Word Filter Box

Using the 'Choose colours' list box, select the colour you want to use for your selected control area here.  This list box shows standard colours or Windows system colours depending on your setting of the Standard or Windows colours option.

Selecting the Filter Control area for colours

Using the 'Control area' list box, select the control area whose colour you want to change here.

Editing custom colours for filter

Using the 'Edit custom colour' button, you can program your own special colour here.  Then you can select and use it in the 'Choose colour'  list box where the special colour will be identified as '<custom>'.

Cancelling Filter colour changes

By clicking the 'Reset' button, restore the colours to the way they were when you started the colour option dialog.

Setting default Filter colours

By clicking on the 'Default' button you can set the colours to KeySpell's normal settings, matching your Windows desktop.  You lose any special colours you may have previously set.


Customising Dictionary topics

The ‘Entire’ topic

The Entire Topic can be customised completely by the user. When KeySpell is first installed, the Topic will contain all Classes which will be available for searches when the Topic is made active. If a user requires a class which contains only a selection of these classes, this is effected simply by unchecking those Classes which are not required. If the user decides that having only one Topic  would be convenient, all the relevant Classes can be defined for this Topic and there will then be no need to use the Choose Topic Button. In most cases, the user will decide to use a customised selection of Classes for the Entire Class, along with a few additional Topics.

See Using the Dictionary Classifier


Customising fonts

Changes can be made to the font settings of KeySpell's subsidiary windows via the 'Font' item in the Options Menu. These do not effect the general settings used by Windows nor do they affect the font used in the Word Grid.

This uses a standard Windows facility with its own help system. Click on the '?' symbol and then click on the item on which you require assistance. Relevant Windows Help information will be provided.


Using the Help Menu

The Help menu contains eight items:

•	'KeySpell Help ' displays KeySpell On-line Help.

•	‘Welcome screen’ displays brief introductory information about the product.

•	‘Tutorial’ displays a guide to get you started with KeySpell.

•	'Keyboard shortcuts' displays a table of [Keyboard Shortcut Keys].

•	‘FAQ’s and troubleshooting’ displays frequently asked questions and answers.

•	‘KeySpell web site’ to gain access to the KeySpell internet site

•	'Using Windows Help' displays Windows Help for using Help generally.

•	'About' displays information about KeySpell, including the license agreement and 'read-me' file.


The Welcome Screen

The welcome screen provides basic information on KeySpell and is intended principally briefly to advise those unfamiliar with the product about its features. It can be displayed at any time by selecting the relevant menu item in the Help Menu.

The welcome screen will be displayed whenever KeySpell is loaded unless the relevant item has been deselected in the Search dialogue box of the Options Menu. To prevent the welcome screen from appearing the “Show welcome screen at startup” check box should be unchecked.

RELATED TOPICS:	Welcome ; Using the Help Menu ; Using the Options Menu


FAQ's and Troubleshooting Guide

FAQ1 - Why are no Suggestions displayed for the word I have entered in the [Word Source Box]?

•	Check that you have selected your required [Dictionary Topic] - perhaps you need a Topic with a wider catchment.

•	Check that you do not have the [Concentrator] set at too restrictive a level.  If the Concentrator is active (at any level), the [Concentrate Search Button] will appear on a red field which provides a warning.

•	Check that you have selected the correct word start mode via the [WordStart Box] for the display of Suggestions.  If you are looking for "elephant" and consonant word starts are requested, no words starting with vowels will appear.

FAQ2 - Why can't I find the Suggestion(s) I expect when I enter a word into the [Word Source Box]?

The most frequent reason for this question is a misunderstanding about the way that KeySpell works. KeySpell presents Suggestions in a structured way to prevent the user having to scroll through large lists of words. When more than nine Suggestions are displayed, the first display of the [Word Grid] will contain only one example of the starting vowel or consonant group; you will need to use the [Drilldown Button] to find the Suggestion(s) you require. For a more detailed explanation, refer to the [Word Grid] help topic.

If this is not the reason for your question, then read on.

•	Check that you have selected your required [Dictionary Topic] - perhaps you need a Topic with a wider catchment

•	Check that you do not have the [Concentrator] slider set at too restrictive a level

FAQ3 - Why is there no context example for the Suggestion I need to investigate?

With 200,000 words and an estimated 250,000 associated contexts to produce, this task will inevitably take some further time. KeySpell Limited is discussing working with a major dictionary publisher to see whether a link can be made to existing data banks of context examples. Please keep looking at our Web Site on www.keyspell.com for information on this.

FAQ4 - Can I get a dictionary definition of a Suggestion that I am investigating?

KeySpell enables you to drag-and-drop or copy-and-paste Suggestions into any electronic dictionary system able to receive them. You can also copy words from any source document or database by either of these methods into KeySpell's [Source Word Box] for checking and subsequent return in a corrected or unchanged form to their origin.

FAQ5 - Why did it take so long for any Suggestions to appear in the [Word Grid]?

It is likely that your word was made up of several syllables containing phonemes which have a wide variety of possible spellings. However, searches taking more than ten seconds for words starting with a consonant are unusual on most reasonably well resourced machines; searches take longer if the word starts with a vowel.  In practice, you will often find that you can stop the search before it is complete because you will find that unlikely word starts are being produced as the search continues.

If this problem is causing you concern, try unloading unnecessary programs and releasing more memory for Windows to use. If your problem persists, contact KeySpell Limited for advice.

As a guide, given the word 'incapacitate', KeySpell should take about 13 seconds on a 200 MHz processor to complete the search.

Version 2 of KeySpell has a considerably improved search mechanism which has speeded up searches by up to 500 times. On a Pentium  machine searches should rarely take longer than ten seconds and the majority will be much quicker.

FAQ6 - Why did so many Suggestions appear in the [Word Grid] for the [Source Word] I typed in?

If you had an 'avalanche' of Suggestions, one of two reasons may be relevant:

•	Your [Dictionary Topic] had a broad catchment, containing a [Dictionary Class] such as Entire.

•	The word was simply phonetically ambiguous.

N.B. It is almost impossible to predict simply looking at a word in the English language how phonetically ambiguous it is. In other words, it is difficult to forecast how many Suggestions will be produced from the [Source Word].

If you find that there are so many suggestions that your task is made difficult in searching for the required word, try restricting the search using the [Left Mask] or the [Right Mask] or the [Concentrator].

FAQ7 - How can I make the task of searching through the Suggestions simpler?

•	Try restricting the search to a more restrictive [Dictionary Topic].

•	Try using the [Concentrator] if you are reasonably confident about the first one or more letters in the word.

•	Try using the [Left Mask] if you are reasonably confident about the first one or more letters in the word.

•	Try using the [Right Mask] in the [Word Filter] if you are reasonably confident about the end of the word.

FAQ8 - How can I reduce the number of Suggestions in the [Word Grid]?

•	Try restricting the search to a more restrictive [Dictionary Topic].

•	Try using the [Concentrator] if you are reasonably confident about the first one or more letters in the word.

•	Try using the [Left Mask] if you are reasonably confident about the first one or more letters in the word.

•	Try using the [Right Mask] in the [Word Filter] if you are reasonably confident about the end of the word.

FAQ9 - How can I speed up the search for Suggestions?

Try using the [Concentrator] if you are reasonably confident about the first one or more letters in the word.

•	Alternatively, try using the [Left Mask] in the [Word Filter] if you are reasonably confident about the first one or more letters in the word.

FAQ10 - Why did KeySpell not provide Suggestions for a simple typing mistake like "griend" for "friend"?

KeySpell does not check for typographical errors such as substitutions, reversals, deletions and insertions. Other products such as Microsoft Word's spelling checker are reasonably successful at doing this. KeySpell’s major function is to assist with phonetically-based errors which affect everybody to varying degrees. More general spelling checkers such as that provided with Microsoft Word are not good at checking for even fairly straightforward phonetically-based errors.

However, KeySpell does assist where typographical deletions and insertions have some phonetic basis, such as "acomodation" for "accommodation". In other words, provided that the error retains a phonetic similarity with the correct form of the word, KeySpell covers a wide range of types of spelling error.

FA11 - Why when I am using Microsoft Word can I not transfer my word to KeySpell for checking?

There are several possible causes of this problem:

•	Check that you have Microsoft Word 8 (or Word 97 from the Microsoft Office 97 suite) loaded

•	If you are using Word 8, check that you have installed KeySpell for Word via the relevant item on the [Word Tools menu].

•	You may have a dialogue box open in KeySpell. If so, a warning message should be produced by KeySpell. Close the box and continue your task.

•	Check that you have properly positioned the cursor on the word you need to transfer. If you position it on a space between words or on a punctuation or special character, you will transfer one or more characters to KeySpell and not the word: KeySpell only handles strings of alphabetic characters.

N.B. You cannot arrange for words to be automatically transferred to KeySpell from any program other than Microsoft Word 8 (Word 97). You need to copy-and-paste or drag-and-drop the word into KeySpell's [Source Word Window] with other products.

FA12 - Why when I am using Microsoft Word do I see a square symbol in the [Source Word Box] rather than the word when I try to transfer my word to KeySpell for checking?

Check that you have properly positioned the cursor on the word you need to transfer. If you position it on a space between words or on punctuation or special character, you will transfer one or more special characters to KeySpell and not the word: KeySpell only handles strings of alphabetic characters.

Be particularly careful with hyphenated words that you do not transfer the hyphen instead of part of the hyphenated word.

N.B. with KeySpell you can check each part of a hyphenated word separately, unlike Microsoft Word which needs to check the whole word at once which often prevents it from offering any suggestions at all.

FAQ 13 - Why does KeySpell remove hyphens or apostrophes in a word which is transferred from Word to KeySpell?

KeySpell ignores hyphens, apostrophes and spaces in any characters which are transferred into the [Source Word Box], wherever they come from. You must check  hyphenated words as separate words on each side of the hyphen.  Apostrophes will be ignored and must be inserted back into the word after KeySpell has checked the characters themselves. If you are unsure whether an apostrophe or hyphen should be present, see whether KeySpell provides a suitable suggestion for the whole word. Many previously hyphenated words are losing their hyphenation in common usage and KeySpell will continually reflect these changes as new versions are published.

FAQ 14 - Why does KeySpell remove the spaces  in a phrase which is transferred from Word to KeySpell?

KeySpell ignores hyphens, apostrophes and spaces in any characters which are transferred into the [Source Word Box], wherever they come from. This enables KeySpell to check for mistakes in breaking words such as “tomorrow” into “to” and “morrow”. This is especially useful when correcting speech recognition errors.

FAQ15 - Why are no Suggestions displayed for the word I have entered in the [Word Source Box] and yet the 'Search progress Button' icon is indicating that Suggestions have been found?

Change the [Word Start Button] from vowel starts to consonant starts or vice versa. Suggestions will be hidden if the [Word Start Button] is active. Refer to [Configuring KeySpell] for more information on this.

FAQ16 - Why is the ‘Suggestion Menu’ on the Menu Bar greyed out?

The Suggestion Menu is automatically greyed out when the Source Word Box is empty, i.e. when no word has been entered for analysis.

The Suggestion Menu is also greyed out when no choice has been selected from the Word Grid. As soon as a suggestion is selected, the Suggestion Menu becomes active. The Menu is also active once a suggestion has been chosen (by clicking on the ‘Choose’ button or pressing the appropriate key).

FAQ 17 - Why is the ‘Topics Menu’ on the Menu Bar greyed out?

The ‘Topics Menu’ is greyed out when a suggestion has been chosen and KeySpell awaits the input of a new word into the Source Word Box.

FAQ 18 - Why is the ‘Options Menu’ on the Menu Bar greyed out?

The ‘Options Menu’ is greyed out when a suggestion has been chosen and KeySpell awaits the input of a new word into the Source Word Box.

FAQ 19 - Why is the Topic Button missing?

The ‘Topic Button’ does not appear unless a word has been entered in the Source Word Box.

FAQ 20 - I typed 	in a word starting with a consonant and KeySpell is not producing suggestions starting with a vowel, even though it has done so before for the same type of word. Why is this?

If you have the [Single Character Masking] check box checked in the ‘Search’ folder in the ‘Options’ dialogue box this problem should not occur. If you experience difficulties, it is suggested that you should work with single character masking by checking the box.

Otherwise, if you have the [Start Word Button] check box unchecked in the ‘Search’ folder in the ‘Options’ dialogue box, this problem should not occur.

If you have the [Start Word Button] checked, then make sure that the [Left Mask] is at its leftmost position after you have typed in the word.


Speaking out information

See: Customising Speech Parameters


Using the Source Word Box

A word which requires inspection can be entered into the Source Word Box from several different sources:

•	It can be typed in.

•	It can be spelt or spoken in via a speech recognition system.

•	It can be copied in automatically from a Word 97 document by clicking on the KeySpell Word 97 Toolbar.

•	It can be copied in by copy-and-paste from any text field from any Windows application.

•	It can be dragged in and dropped from a document.

As soon as the word is entered into the Source Word Box, KeySpell will  search the dictionary for the word. If the word is found in the dictionary, the 'found' icon will be displayed on the Start/Stop Search Button.  If the word is not found in the dictionary or KeySpell has been configured to search regardless of the word being found, KeySpell will look for suggestions and will display the 'busy' icon.  Any valid Suggestions will appear in the [Word Grid] as the search progresses.  The setting of the Concentrator and the Dictionary Topic which is active will control the contents of the Word Grid.

RELATED TOPICS	Using the Concentrator ; Using the Dictionary Classifier


Using the Word Filter

The Word Filter Box displays the Filter Word, on which searches are performed, based on the word entered into the Source Word Box or based on a Suggestion promoted from the Word Grid . By using the Left Mask or the Right Mask control buttons, the user can quickly narrow down Suggestions displayed in the [Word Grid] and find the one required.

The user can promote a Suggestion from a Word Grid Box to the Word Filter Box by clicking on the Drilldown Button.

The Word Filter Box is particularly useful when the user is confident about the starting letter(s) of a word. Having typed in a word in the Source Word Box, the user then clicks successively on the Extend Left Mask Button for as long as there is confidence about it being correct.

RELATED TOPICS: Using the Extend Left Mask Button ; Using the Contract Left Mask Button ; Using the Extend Right Mask Button ; Using the Contract Right Mask Button ; Using the Drilldown Button ; Keyboard Control of Masking


'Drilling down' into Spelling Suggestions

Drilling down promotes the selected Suggestion from the [Word Grid], and places it in the Filter.

This has the effect of displaying a new selection of Suggestions, all starting with the new left mask of the word in the filter.

You can also drag and drop Suggestions from the [Word Grid] to the Filter by dragging the square handle in the top left of the Spelling Suggestion.  You can Promote by double-clicking a Suggestion and by using Keyboard shortcuts.  All these methods do selection and promotion in one action.


Using Drag and Drop

There is a small square at the top left of the Spelling Choice; this is the drag handle.  If the user point at this square the user can drag a Suggestion to one of two other boxes: the Word Filter Box and the Source Word Box. The Suggestion can also be dragged and dropped into any application which can accept this mode of edit, for example a word processing document, spreadsheet element or database field.


Selecting a Dictionary Topic

You can select a Dictionary Topic from the [Topic Menu] which appears on the Main Window Menu Bar or via a mouse right-click on the [Topic Button].  It gives direct access to any of the Dictionary Topics that you have set up or which were installed with KeySpell.

RELATED TOPICS	Configuring KeySpell Dictionary; Dictionary Topics


Using the Start/Stop Search Button

The button's icon motif is an icon of the professor graphic.

Clicking on the Start/Stop Search Button is used to start or re-start a search for Suggestions or to stop a search when one is in progress. The search is based on the word typed into the [Source Word Box].

RELATED TOPICS	Using the Word Grid ; Using the Word Filter


Using the Word Start Button

Clicking on the Word Start Button shows the 'open mouth' icon if the suggestion starts with a vowel, or the 'closed mouth' icon if the suggestion starts with a consonant. Click the button to change the Word Grid to display words with vowel starts if they are currently consonant starts and vice-versa.

The button appears after KeySpell has searched for Suggestions and is hidden when the Word Filter Left Mask control is moved off the leftmost position, fixing the word start as vowel or consonant.

RELATED TOPICS	Using the Word Grid ; Using the Word Filter


Using the Word Grid

Masking

After the user enters a word in the Source Word Box KeySpell searches its Dictionary for words that the user might be seeking.  It then generates 'Suggestions' based on the source word. KeySpell often produces many Suggestions. These are placed in a 'Word Grid' which is an array of words, arranged in a convenient manner for the user to inspect. Each Word Grid Box contains a  single Suggestion. Page: 39
Suggestions having phonetic similarity will be displayed in the Word Grid.

When a large number  of Suggestions are produced, a process of 'Masking' assists in searching for the required spelling, narrowing down the choices as the target is approached.  The masking treats words either as groups of consecutive vowels and consonants or simply as letters of the alphabet (when working in single character mode). Vowels and consonants frequently combine together to represent phonemes in the English language: 'ch', 'sh', 'gh', 'ck', 'ou', 'uou' and so on. Some users may therefore prefer to work with vowel and consonant groups and others may choose to work character by character.

The principal of the system is that the user explores a given Suggestion by looking at each vowel or consonant group or individual letter, one by one, starting at the beginning of the word. When a Suggestion first appears in the appropriate Word Grid Box,  the whole word is 'unmasked'.

Masking enables part of a word to be fixed, reducing the 'unknown', or 'unmasked’, part of the word which is causing the user difficulties. The masked area can be extended or reduced at the start and the end of a word. As the unmasked part of a word becomes smaller, the number of Suggestions displayed is correspondingly reduced. Masking can be carried out from the start of a word towards the end, which changes the extent of the Left Mask, or from the end of the word towards the start, which changes the extent of the Right Mask.

The consonant or vowel group (or the letter when working in single character mode) immediately to the right of the Left mask is called  the 'Differ Area'. 'Hidden' Suggestions (those not currently displayed in the Word Grid), will all have the same start as the currently displayed Suggestion, up to and including the Differ Area.

The user inspects the Suggestion by means of clicking on various control buttons. These buttons can be identified by placing the mouse cursor over the Word Grid Buttons and waiting for the tool-tip to appear. By clicking on the relevant button, the Left Mask  will be extended or will contract and the Differ Area will move correspondingly.

The Drilldown Button changes the display of the Word Grid so that all Suggestions then have the same Left Mask and all show a unique Differ Area.

When a Suggestion displayed in a Word Grid Box is examined by progressively 'drilling down' into the hidden  Suggestions,  the Differ Area will successively 'jump' from a consonant group to a vowel group or from one letter to the next (when working in single character mode). The number at the top right of the [Word Grid Box] is the number of 'hidden' Suggestions the user can find by 'drilling down' into the hidden Suggestions.

Page: 39
The [Undo Drilldown Button] reduces the Left Mask back  towards the start of the word. The unmasked area is increased by the contracted area of the Left Mask. It has the same effect as the Contract Left Mask Button in the Word Filter Box.

After a word has been received by KeySpell via the Source Word Box, the Word Grid will display the results of the search which will automatically be initiated. The [Word Grid] will display up to 8 or 12 Suggestions at a time, depending on the setting in the Search tab of the Options dialogue. The list can be scrolled up and down using the Scroll Bar to the right of the Word Grid to display any hidden items when the list is longer than the Grid capacity.  Thereafter, the user can control the way in which the Suggestions are displayed by using the 'Drilldown' and 'Previous Left Mask' control buttons.

The user can click on any Word Grid Box to hear a Suggestion spoken out. The user can hear the Suggestion spoken with an appropriate context, using the Speak Context Button on the Tool Bar. The user can see an example of its use in the [Context Window] via the View menu. The appropriate setting must be made via the 'Search, Speech, Colour' item in the Options Menu via the Speech Tab to hear Suggestions and the related Contexts spoken out.

The Choose Word Button causes the Suggestion in the Word Grid Box to be passed to the Word Filter Box. The word is then locked until a new source word is provided or the Start/Stop Search Button is clicked on to start up another search process.  If KeySpell is being used with an automatic link from Microsoft Word 97, the chosen Suggestion will automatically be transferred to Word's current document.

The Search Afresh Button causes the word in the Word Grid Box to be used as a new Source Word to initiate a new search. The result is the same as if the word in the Word Grid Box were to be typed into the Source Word Box.

If a right mouse click is made on a Word Grid Box, the Suggestion Menu appears. This is identical to the menu on the KeySpell menu bar.

The Suggestion Menu contains 5 items:

•	'Drilldown' --  to 'drilldown' into Suggestions.  Clicking on this item has the same effect as clicking on the Drilldown Button

•	‘Undo drilldown’ – Undoes the last Drilldown.  Returns the Word Grid to its state before the last Drilldown.

•	‘Undo all’ – Undoes all drilldowns. Returns the Word Grid to its state before you started drilling down.

•	'Choose' --  to choose a Suggestion from the Word Grid.  Clicking on this item has the same effect as clicking on the Choose Word Button

•	'Search afresh' --  to search afresh using the Suggestion from the Word Grid.  Clicking on this item has the same effect as clicking on the Search Afresh Button

You will quickly understand the various elements of the [Word Grid] fully by working through the relevant tutorial.

RELATED TOPICS	Configuring Search Parameters ; Capitalisation of Suggestions


Using the Concentrator

When the user first uses KeySpell, the Concentrator is inactive.  When KeySpell is closed down the Concentrator is set to the position last used.  When the Concentrator is inactive, KeySpell searches for all valid spellings which have reasonable phonetic similarity to the word the user entered in the Source.  For a spelling such as 'shuv', KeySpell displays the first group of Suggestions in the [Word Grid] under phonetic groups starting with 'sh',  's',  'ch', 'g', ‘j’ and so on.  KeySpell will progressively display Suggestions as the various phonetic groups of words are explored.

When the user is uncertain of the spelling of the start of the word,  a relatively large number of Suggestions needs to be displayed. As the user gains confidence, it may quickly be possible to start using the Concentrator. The result is to reduce the number of Suggestions substantially.

With long and difficult words, the user will find great benefit in successfully spelling the first two or three characters and using the [Concentrator] to limit the size of the [Word Grid]. KeySpell's speed and effectiveness is substantially enhanced and a spelling such as 'magnivosnd' quickly produces 'magnificent' as the first Suggestion in the [Word Grid].


Using the Extend Left Mask Button

The button’s icon motif is a rightward facing triangle.

The Extend Left Mask Button extends the Left Mask  from the start of the word, rightwards towards the end of the word. The unmasked area is therefore reduced, cutting down the number of Suggestions offered and hence tightening the search. The change in masking will be by a single letter when single character masking has been selected in the Search tab of the Options Dialogue Box. Otherwise the change will be by a vowel or consonant group of one or more letters.

RELATED TOPICS	Using the Word Grid ; Using the Word Filter ; Keyboard Control of Masking


Using the Contract Left Mask Button

The button’s icon motif is a leftward facing triangle.

Clicking on the Contract Left Mask Button enables the masked area to be reduced leftward towards the word start.  This reduces the number of Suggestions offered and hence tightens the search.

As a Suggestion displayed in a Word Grid Box is examined by progressively extending the Left Mask, KeySpell will successively 'jump' from a consonant group to a vowel group of by a single letter. The change will be by a single letter when single character masking has been selected in the Search tab of the Options Dialogue Box. Otherwise the change will be by a vowel or consonant group of one or more letters.

RELATED TOPICS	Using the Word Grid ; Using the Word Filter ; Keyboard Control of Masking


Using the Extend Right Mask Button

The button’s icon motif is a leftward pointing triangle.

Clicking on the Extend Right Mask Button enables the right mask to be extended and the unmasked area is correspondingly reduced away from the end of the word. The change in masking will be by a single letter when single character masking has been selected in the Search tab of the Options Dialogue Box. Otherwise the change will be by a vowel or consonant group of one or more letters.

RELATED TOPICS	Using the Word Grid ; Using the Word Filter ; Keyboard Control of Masking


Using the Contract Right Mask Button

The button’s icon motif is a rightward pointing triangle.

Clicking on the Contract Right Mask Button enables the right mask to be reduced and the unmasked area is correspondingly extended towards the end of the word. The change in masking will be by a single letter when single character masking has been selected in the Search tab of the Options Dialogue Box. Otherwise the change will be by a vowel or consonant group of one or more letters.

RELATED TOPICS	Using the Word Grid ; Using the Word Filter ; Keyboard Control of Masking


Restoring the Previous Left Mask

Clicking on the Previous Left Mask Button enables the masked area to be reduced towards the start of the word. It has the same effect as clicking on the Contract Left Mask Button. The change will be by a single letter when single character masking has been selected in the Search Dialogue Box. Otherwise the change will be by a vowel or consonant group of one or more letters.

RELATED TOPICS	Using the Word Grid ; Using the Word Filter


Using the Drilldown Button

Clicking on this button promotes the selected Suggestion from the Word Grid, and places it in the Filter.  This has the effect of displaying a new selection of Suggestions, all starting with the new left mask of the word in the filter.

The user can also drag and drop Suggestions from the Word Grid to the Filter by dragging the square handle in the top left of the Spelling Suggestion.  the user can Promote by double-clicking a Suggestion and by using Keyboard shortcuts.  All these methods do selection and promotion in one action.

RELATED TOPICS	Using the Word Grid ; Using the Word Filter


Using the Choose Word Button

The button's icon motif is a tick.

When the Choose Word Button is clicked the selected Suggestion is copied from the Word Grid and placed in the Word Filter Box.  If the original word was transferred into KeySpell from a Word 97 document using the automatic transfer system, the Suggestion will automatically be transferred to the Word 97 document at the appropriate location. If the word was transferred by ‘cut and paste’ or ‘drag and drop’ techniques, the user will need to decide on the appropriate location for the word to be returned.

Once the button is clicked, further access to the Word Grid is locked out unless the Start/Stop Search Button is clicked, when a new search will be initiated.

You can also drag and drop words from a Word Grid Box to the Chosen Word box by dragging the handle in the top left of a Word Grid Box.

The word will be indicated by a smiley face in the History Window.  The action also locks the History; it will not be modified further.

RELATED TOPICS	Using the Word Filter ; Using the Word Grid ; Using the Word History


Using the Search Afresh Button

The button's icon motif is a plus sign.

The Search Afresh Button starts a completely new search for Suggestions by performing a new search based on the selected Suggestion from the [Word Grid]. It has the same effect as if the word was typed into the [Source Word Box].

If no word is currently highlighted, the button will be greyed out.

RELATED TOPICS	Using the Word Grid ; Using the Word Filter


Using Keyboard shortcuts

The following keyboard shortcuts can be used when any KeySpell window has the Windows focus:

Key	Action

1	Switch focus to Main Window.

2	Display, switch focus to or minimise Context Window.

3	Display, switch focus to or minimise Confusables Window.

4	Display, switch focus to or minimise Homophones Window.

5	Display, switch focus to or minimise History Window

6	Display, switch focus to or minimise Phonix Window.

F1	Get on-line context related KeySpell Help.

F2	Step the Concentrator to its next setting.

F3	Toggle the start of words from consonants to vowels or vice-versa. This is inactive if single character masking has been selected.

F4	Speak the selected Suggestion and the relevant context.

F5	Start or stop searching for Suggestions.

F6	Search afresh. Use the selected Suggestion from the Word Grid for a fresh search.

F7	Choose the selected Suggestion from the Word Grid as the correct spelling. It will be placed in the Word Filter Box and will be transferred to the target application (MS Word) if an automatic link exists.

F8	Step the Classifier to the previous Dictionary Topic.

F9	Step the Classifier to the next Dictionary Topic.

F11	Undo drilldown.

Ctrl+F11	Undo all drilldowns.

F12	Drilldown into Suggestions.  (Places the selected Suggestion from the Word Grid into the Word Filter Box and extends the left mask.)

Use the Page Up and Page Down buttons to scroll the selection through the  Word Grid.

Use the Home and End keys to go to the top and bottom of the suggestions in the Word Grid.

Use the Ctrl and Shift Keys in conjunction with Arrow Keys to adjust the masking in the Word Filter Box.

Ctrl + F2	Set Vertical ‘Context’ window arrangement.

Shift + F2	Set Horizontal ‘Context’ window arrangement.

Ctrl + F3	Set Vertical ‘Sound-alikes’ window arrangement.

Shift + F3	Set Horizontal ‘Sound-alikes’ window arrangement.

Ctrl + F5	Set Vertical ‘History’ window arrangement.

Shift + F5	Set Horizontal ‘History’ window arrangement.

Ctrl + F6	Set Vertical ‘Phonix’ window arrangement.

Shift + F6	Set Horizontal ‘Phonix’ window arrangement.

Ctrl + F7	Set Vertical ‘Tile MS Word’ window arrangement.

Shift + F7	Set Horizontal ‘Tile MS Word’ window arrangement.

Ctrl + F8	Set Custom window arrangement.

Alt + 1	Show MS Word.

The following keyboard shortcuts can be used within Microsoft Word 97:

Alt + 1	Show KeySpell.

Alt + 2	Search for the current marked word using KeySpell.

Alt + 3	Check for homophones in document.

Alt + 4	Clear homophone-related highlighting from document.

Alt + 5	Speak highlighted word.


Using KeySpell with Microsoft Word

WARNING. THIS INTERFACE WILL NOT OPERATE WITH VERSIONS OF MICROSOFT WORD PREVIOUS TO WORD 8, (WORD 97).

KeySpell can be used alongside Microsoft Word 97 to check and correct words in a document, and also to detect homophones.  The following features are available when using Word 97 through the [Word 97 KeySpell Toolbar]:

To install the interface at initial KeySpell installation, simply click on the [Tools Menu] and then click on the menu item bearing the legend 'Install KeySpell for Word'. This will display a dialogue box containing a check box. Check this box and then press 'OK'.

To uninstall the interface, carry out the same operation except for un-checking the check box.

Once the interface has been installed, KeySpell will load automatically when it is required when Word is being used.

The interface consists of the template file 'KsInterface.dot' which will be installed in your Microsoft Office startup directory. This directory is usually 'C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\Startup'. If you have installed MS Office somewhere else in your system you may have to copy the interface file manually to the correct location of the MS Office startup directory. For information on the startup location see the topics on 'Global Templates' and 'Add-in Programs' in [MS Word Help].

The interface will be removed automatically if you uninstall KeySpell.

IMPORTANT

Please ensure that KeySpell is working stand-alone, without MS Word, and before you try using the interface.

When the interface is active you will see the KeySpell menu and [Word 97 KeySpell Toolbar] available in MS Word's [View+Toolbars] command. Keyspell integration with MSWord functions through this menu and toolbar.

[Word 97 KeySpell Menu and Toolbar] operations with their Shortcut Key definitions are as follows:

Show

Use the Show option on the [Word 97 KeySpell Menu and Toolbar] to show KeySpell when working in Microsoft Word.

Press Alt+1 to show KeySpell from within Word 97.

Hide

Use the Hide option on the [Word 97 KeySpell Menu and Toolbar] to hide KeySpell when working in Microsoft Word.

Press Alt+6 to show KeySpell from within Word 97.

Search

Use the Search option on the [Word 97 KeySpell Menu and Toolbar] to check a word from the document with KeySpell.  The word will be first be transferred to the Source, and a search performed.  If a new word is chosen, the document will automatically be updated.

Using the mouse, select Search from the toolbar, or right-click on a word and choose the KeySpell option to start a search.

This sends the current document word (under the cursor) to KeySpell for checking. When you choose a word in KeySpell, it replaces the word in your document. You can also get this function from the KeySpell item on right-click popup shortcut menus.

Using the keyboard, press Alt+2 to start a search.

Scan

Use the Scan option on the [Word 97 KeySpell Menu and Toolbar] to detect homophones in a Word document.  After scanning the entire document, words which have homophones with will be highlighted with a yellow background (with a white document display) or a red background (with a blue document display0.  Note that highlighted words will be saved with the document, unless they are removed using the Clear option.

Using the mouse, select Scan from the [Word 97 KeySpell Menu and Toolbar] to scan the document.  After leaving the mouse pointer over a highlighted word, a pop-up window will appear displaying the homophone alternatives.

This marks as highlighted areas all the words in the document for which KeySpell has homophones. Subsequently, when the cursor is placed over a marked word, a comment will appear informing the user of the alternative homophones for that word.

After leaving the mouse pointer over a highlighted homophone, a [Homophone Pop-up Window] will appear, displaying alternatives for the word.

Using the keyboard, press Alt+3 to perform a scan.

Clear

Use the Clear option on the [Word 97 KeySpell Menu and Toolbar] to remove homophone highlighting from a document, marked using the Scan command.

Using the mouse, select Clear from the [Word 97 KeySpell Menu and Toolbar] to clear homophone marking from the document.

Using the keyboard, press Alt+4 to clear a scan.

Speak Selection

Choosing 'Speak Selection' on the [Word 97 KeySpell Menu and Toolbar] will read any highlighted section of text within the Word document using KeySpell's text-to-speech facility.  When no selection has been made in the document, the character after the cursor position will be spoken.  To select words in a document, either click and drag an area using the left mouse button, or hold down the Shift and Arrow Keys together.

Using the mouse, select Speak from the [Word 97 KeySpell Menu and Toolbar], or right-click on a word and choose the 'Speak Selection' option to read the highlighted section.

Using the keyboard, press Alt+5 to speak the selection.

See the section on Customising Speech to alter the characteristics of KeySpell's voice.

CHECKING FOR SPELLING ERRORS

The most effective way of using KeySpell with Microsoft Word is as a “piggyback” spell checker. Let Word do the main spelling checking and switch to KeySpell when Word fails to assist, which many people find is surprisingly often.

The best mode to work in is to use the Word ‘red-lining’ option to identify spelling errors and then to use a right mouse click to show the spelling suggestions. To select ‘red lining’, choose the ‘Options’ Item on the Tools Menu on the Word Menu Bar. Then select the ‘Spelling & Grammar’ folder and check the ‘Check spelling as you type’ check box.

Once red-lining is active, a right mouse click will cause Word to display a number of choices on a drop-down menu. When required, KeySpell can be activated simply by clicking on the KeySpell menu item. Once a suggestion for a replacement for the red-lined word has been selected from the KeySpell [Word Grid], the word is automatically entered into the document in place of the misspelt word.


Target users of KeySpell

KeySpell is intended for all those having a need to check spellings of words used in the English language, ranging from those struggling to use English as a second language, children learning to write and dyslexic sufferers with varying degrees of literacy problems.

The system has been designed to provide maximum flexibility of use without the need to partition the dictionary. Users can customise the way KeySpell accesses the dictionary to maximise its performance.


General principles of KeySpell

KeySpell operates entirely on the basis of analysing the way that the English language works with regard to spelling.  It does not rely on look-up tables of exceptions for specific spelling errors.  Of even greater importance, it bases its knowledge of the language on the words in the dictionary supplied with the particular version of KeySpell. Version 2 of keySpell has a dictionary of 150,000 words. the user can select relevant sections of the dictionary, depending on individual requirements.

KeySpell is a word guide rather than a spelling checker.  Most checkers will only identify spelling faults and provide alternatives for these; they will not show homophones or confusables (sound-alikes).

The evaluation version of KeySpell operates primarily (though not entirely) on a phonetic basis.  This means that misspelt words such as 'tryumf' for 'triumph' will produce suggestions whereas 'briumph' will not do so.

Anagrammatical jumbling such as 'hopsital' for 'hospital' will also not be catered for unless it is also phonetically similar, such as 'hynms' for 'hymns'.

Because KeySpell is phonetically based, it will produce all valid alternatives of a source word provided that they are sufficiently homophonically similar, i.e. that they sound similar to the ear.  For example, spellings of 'bowt', 'bot', 'bowht', 'bhot' and 'boht' will all produce 'boat' but 'byt' will not.


Correction of vowel strings

A 'vowel string' is taken to mean two or more successive vowels in a word, e.g.  the 'oa' in boat is a two-character vowel string.

People having problems with written English often spell words with too many vowels, for example 'tooels' for 'tools' or 'tabyoulate' for 'tabulate'.  Alternatively, they may omit them altogether as 'lctrc' for 'electric'.  KeySpell handles many different types of problems with vowels.

If a user is uncertain whether a vowel should be placed between consonants it may be left out altogether. KeySpell will usually make assumptions about the likely presence of a vowel in a string of consonants and generate valid alternatives on this basis. For instance, 'mgnfcnt' will produce 'magnificent' (and 'magnificence' but no other suggestions).

Where the user is in doubt, the best policy is not to guess the correct vowel spelling but to provide what is believed to be the shortest vowel string which has the required pronunciation.  For instance, 'butifull' would be typed for 'beautiful'.  Struggling with such attempts as 'byoutifewell' will have no practical benefit and could lead to valid alternatives being missed by KeySpell.

In general, when in doubt, avoid vowel strings longer than two letters. If you are confident about the phonetic value of a vowel but not the spelling, try a single vowel first.


Correction of consonant strings

Many people, even those with generally good spelling skills, will often have problems with certain spellings, especially where the word is of foreign extraction or is not in common usage.  Even some commonly used words such as 'receipt', 'gauge', 'speech' and 'accommodation' are frequently misspelt by those with considerable literary ability.

As an illustration of the difficulties faced by a person facing the task of spelling English words for the first time, consider the possible alternatives of the 's' sound as found in 'season'.  This sound can be produced or approximated to in the English language by any of the following consonants or consonant pairs: 's' as in 'seen', 'sc' as in 'scene', 'z' as in 'criticize', 'sw' as in 'answer', 'c' as in 'receive', 'x' as in 'xylophone', 'sh' (as in 'almshouse'), 'rs' as in 'parse', 'ws' as in 'slows', 'ghs' as in 'sighs'.

KeySpell will attempt to provide suggestions for a wide variety of errors in consonant strings.  This process necessarily has to be a compromise between providing very long lists of suggestions and missing the required alternative spelling or alternative word.

KeySpell will work best if the user produces a suggestion for a consonant string with an approximate pronunciation which is as short as  possible.  Even if it is not very close to the correct pronunciation, KeySpell will usually manage to make good suggestions for the required word.  For instance, the spelling 'angshus' for 'anxious' is preferable to 'annckshus'.


Simplifying consonant string spellings

N.B.  Some tutors may wish to disregard these guidelines on the grounds that it may encourage users to take short cuts and might then stultify any learning process.

When the user is in doubt over producing the correct consonant string, the following rules can be adopted.  These  will give KeySpell maximum power in assisting the user.

•	Avoid doubled consonants (as in 'butter' and 'dizzy'), using a single letter instead.

•	Avoid the use of the letter 'h' at all times of doubt, especially in association with 'g' as in 'rough' and 'ghost'.

•	Avoid the use of the letter 'z' at all times of doubt (use 's' instead).

•	Avoid the use of the letter 'c' at all times of doubt (use 's' or 'k' instead).

•	Avoid 'ck' for the letter 'c' with 'hard' pronunciation as in 'cut'.  Instead, use 'k' in cases of doubt.  This will produce 'cable' from 'kable', 'occur' from 'okur'.

•	Avoid 'gh' to produce a 'g' sound as used in 'ghost', using 'g' instead.  This will produce 'ghost' from 'gost', 'ghastly' from 'gastly'.

•	Avoid 'gh' to produce an 'f' sound as used in 'rough', using 'f' instead.  This will produce 'rough' from 'rouf'.

•	Avoid 'sc', 'z' and 'c' for the letter 'c' with 'soft' pronunciation as in 'centre'.  Instead, use 's' in case of doubt.  This will produce 'receive' from 'reseive'.

•	Avoid 'x', 'z' and 'sc' for the letter 's' as in 'simple'.  Instead, use 's' in case of doubt.  This will produce 'xylophone' from 'sylophone', 'zoo' from 'soo', 'scene' from 'seen'.

•	Avoid 'ch' and 'sh' spellings for the 'ch/sh' sound found in 'chips' and 'ships'.  Instead, use 'j' in cases of doubt.  This will produce both 'ships' and 'chips' from 'jips'.  Never use a string such as 'sch' and 'tsch' for this sound unless it is certain that it is correct.

•	Avoid 'cc', 'xh' and 'ggs' spellings for the 'x' sound found in 'accept'.  Instead, use 'x' in case of doubt.  This will produce 'accept' from 'axept', 'eggs' from 'ex' and 'exhaust' from 'exaust'.  Never use a string such as 'chs' and 'cks' for this sound unless it is certain that it is correct.


Dropped word endings

KeySpell will be particularly useful for those who have trouble with endings of words.  For instance, people suffering from loss of hearing often identify spoken words incorrectly and interpret words in such a way that their spelling suffers.

The user need not struggle with silent or near-silent endings of words as KeySpell will always provide suggestions wherever they are considered to be relevant.  This will provide 'gate' from 'gat' and 'adept' from 'adep'.


Acknowledgement

KeySpell Limited wishes to acknowledge the growing body of experts and enthusiasts who have been and are continuing to assist in developing this powerful KeySpell tool.  These come from a variety of fields from linguists and phoneticists to computer scientists and systems analysts.  There are few people who will not benefit from the use of KeySpell, even if only to check the spelling of the occasional word which escapes detection in a conventionally organised dictionary. The tool is becoming increasingly useful for those such as web-surfers who need to search for key-words which they cannot spell accurately.


Company Information

For further information contact KeySpell Limited:

KeySpell Limited

P.O. Box 49

NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE

NE20 9WN

e-mail:   info@keyspell.com

Internet: www.keyspell.com


KeySpell Limited's development strategy

KeySpell Limited's policy in developing its products is to keep abreast of developing technologies and continually to introduce them into its systems.

Sales of KeySpell are exclusively managed by Words Worldwide Limited, trading as W3, through a network of distributors in the Special Needs, language studies and general educational markets.

Pricing is maintained at levels which should prove affordable to all but the most stretched budgets.  At the same time sufficient cash must be generated to enable development of ever more powerful products for the benefit of users.  W3 does not believe in constant cost-cutting to maintain market share but instead relies on the excellence of its products to gain market advantage.


Operation of KeySpell

KeySpell operates in a quite different manner to any other spelling checker or guide on the market. The presentation of Suggestions is made in a unique manner. It is strongly recommended that you use the on-line 'help' system to become acquainted with this before making extensive use of the product.

The main differences you will notice when comparing with conventional spell checkers are as follows:

•	The full list of suggestions for any word being explored is larger than with conventional checkers. This is because KeySpell is addressing the huge variety of possible ways of spelling a word to account for phonetically based interpretations of the word as they might be understood by the user.

•	To assist the user in handling large lists, KeySpell has a unique filtering system which reduces the number of Suggestions presented to the user at any one time. In this way, the suggestions are not all presented in a long scrollable list as in competitive products.

•	Suggestions are presented in a structured manner. If more suggestions are generated than can be fitted onto the nine-member grid then the first list presented contains a single example of the different start for a word. If the word input by the user starts with a consonant, only consonants are presented; if a vowel, only vowels are presented.

•	During examination of the results of the first search, the user can switch from consonant to vowel or vice versa, simply by clicking on the [Word Start Button]. This enables an abortive search to be curtailed at the outset. For example, spelling 'empathy' as 'mpathy' or 'hotel' as 'otel' will require a switch from consonant to vowel or vice-versa. Some users may find this mechanism confusing or unnecessary and it can be disabled through the options menu.

•	The user is taken through the word in steps as successive parts of the word are explored, moving alternatively from one or more consonants to one or more vowels.

•	The user can retrace the steps taken in reaching a particular spelling suggestion through the teaching mechanism presented via the [History Window].

•	Lists of suggestions for alternative spellings are optionally presented as a three-by-three grid rather than the conventional vertically arranged list. This assists those users who find lists difficult to handle.

•	The user can listen to the words spoken out by the synthesised voice. This assists in the selection of the correct word. KeySpell will read aloud, letter by letter or the full word.

•	If there is no spelling error in the [Source Word Box], no search for alternatives is carried out unless the word has been highlighted in a document and KeySpell has been configured to check words automatically. However, automatic searching can be forced for all occasions by enabling the facility through the [Options Menu].

•	KeySpell can help the user to narrow down the Suggestions presented through the [Right Mask]. By extending the [Right Mask], the number of valid suggestions is filtered out and selection of the required suggestion becomes simpler.


Advanced display features

It is now possible to use the Windows management system to organise the KeySpell display windows automatically. By clicking the right mouse button on a blank section of the Windows task bar the user can organise all active KeySpell windows with any other windows selected. They can be organised as horizontally or vertically tiled windows or in cascade format.

When any window in the KeySpell system has the Windows focus, pressing an appropriate key successively in the range 1 through to 6 will cause the relevant window to cycle through the following statuses:

•	Press key (1-6):	Window displayed without focus;

•	Press again:	Window displayed with focus;

•	And again:	Window rendered invisible.

The windows referenced by the keystrokes are:

  1= [Main Window]

  2= [Context Window]

  3= [History Window]

  4= Homophone Window

  5= [Confusables Window]

  6= [Phonix Window]

All KeySpell windows are 'squeeze-enabled' which means they can be reoriented to suit the user. By dragging edges or corners of the KeySpell windows in the conventional Windows manner, the relevant window can be changed from a vertically oriented window to a horizontally oriented window.  The features within relevant window will be automatically resized and reorientate themselves as the window dimensions are changed. This enables the [Main Window] to be switched from the normal three-by-three display matrix to a conventional nine-member vertically arranged list simply by dragging an edge of the window.

Window display topics can be saved during a user session and retrieved when reloading KeySpell.

By double-clicking on any KeySpell window's title-bar the window is maximised. It can be returned to its orignal dimensions by double-clicking again.


Use of KeySpell with other word processors

You may be using a word processor other than Word 8 (Word 97). Automatic transfer of the word to be checked to KeySpell and the return of the chosen replacement word to the word-processor document is not possible in this case.

Documents required for checking by KeySpell should first be copied to the clipboard in the usual way using mouse, keyboard or voice command. KeySpell should then be brought up and the word can then be pasted into the 'Enter word' Box]. KeySpell then operates in the same way as when the word is typed into the Box]

Once the user has decided on the correct Suggestion from the displayed alternatives, the word can be copied back onto the clipboard and pasted back into the source text where the corrected word automatically replaces that originally typed.


Copy-and-paste to and from KeySpell

Conventional copy-and-paste techniques can be used to pass text to and from KeySpell. Text copied to the clipboard from any application program can be pasted into the 'Enter Word' Box]. Similarly, text can be copied to the clipboard from the 'Chosen Word' box and pasted to any application program at the position of the insertion cursor.

This facility enables KeySpell to operate with word processors and speech recognition system Suggestion lists (see the relevant sections of this read-me file).

Users should note that KeySpell is currently intended to operate with single words. Pasted text containing more than a single word will produce unpredictable results.


Using KeySpell with Collins Electronic Dictionary and Thesaurus

Collins Electronic Dictionary and Thesaurus can both be used very effectively with KeySpell. Words can be transferred at will via copy-and-paste between the Collins and KeySpell environments. Drag-and-drop is not implemented on the Collins system and words dragged from Keystone cannot be dropped into the Collins system.

The Collins Dictionary or Thesaurus are positioned and sized so that on loading they occupy the area used by the KeySpell subsidiary windows in the various default arrangements.

Use of KeySpell with the Collins programs enables a user to have access to the following powerful facilities to explore any word spelt:

•	Alternative spellings for the original word

•	Spoken pronunciations of each alternative word

•	Pronunciation guide (via Collins)

•	Spoken and displayed contexts of each alternative word

•	Identification of the part of speech of the alternative word

•	Definition of the alternative word (via Collins)

•	Thesaurus entries for the alternative word (via Collins)


Using KeySpell with Voice Recognition Equipment

KeySpell can be used with speech recognition equipment to assist the user to correct words on the [Word Grid] for alternatives to the spoken word. The word on the [Word Grid] should be selected in the normal way, by keyboard, mouse or voice command. KeySpell should then be brought up and the word can then be pasted into the 'Enter word' Box]. KeySpell then operates in the same way as when the word is typed into the Box].

Once the user has decided on the correct Suggestion from the displayed alternatives, the word can be copied back onto the clipboard and pasted back into the recognition corrections where the corrected word automatically replaces that originally or spelt.

Current development is taking place on providing a special dialogue box to be used with voice products so that the KeySpell can be activated simply by pressing an additional button.

Users should note that KeySpell is currently intended to operate with single words. Pasted text containing more than a single word will produce unpredictable results.


Using KeySpell with other products

KeySpell can be used with any software product which implements copy-and-paste and/or drag-and-drop facilities. This allows checks to be made on the entry of words for communications on the Internet and insertion of data into spreadsheets and database. However, for maximum effectiveness of KeySpell, Word 97 should be used. A speech and/or optical recognition system will further enhance KeySpell's effectiveness.


Using KeySpell with Philips SpeechMike

When used with the Philips Speech Mike and voice recognition equipment, the programmable buttons on the microphone handset enable KeySpell's functionality to be enhanced. Items in a passage of text can be highlighted, spoken out and transferred to the input window for checking, simply by pressing the appropriate button on the handset. Once an alternative word has been selected, another button is pressed to return the corrected word to the location of the original word. Specially programmed Speech Mikes can be obtained from Words Worldwide Ltd.


Using KeySpell with IRISpen

KeySpell can be used with the IRISpen from IRIS. This device operates in much the same way as the data transfer facilities of the Philips Speech Mike. The unit comprises of a special light pen which enables an item of text to be highlighted in an area of text on the computer screen. This can then be spoken out and/or transferred to KeySpell. Specially programmed IRISpens can be obtained from Words Worldwide Ltd.


Using the Dictionary Classifier

The 'Dictionary Topics' item in the Options Menu displays the Dictionary Classifier dialogue box.

KeySpell has a dictionary of over 200,000 words containing a wide variety of classes of word. The Dictionary Classifier lets the user access a limited part of the dictionary if required. This reduces the possibility of confusion where many unknown words might be presented as Suggestions. It also enables the user to define an area of the dictionary of specific interest such as surnames, place names and professional topics.

The Dictionary Classifier Dialogue Box

Please note: The particular version of KeySpell you are using may contain a reduced set of topics or the topics themselves may differ from those described in this help text. Most demonstration systems will contain only one or two topics from the those described here.

The Dictionary Classifier dialogue box consists of two main parts.

The left-hand section enables the user to select from a vertical list which of the 32 KeySpell Topics are to be activated. The icon which will be used for each Topic on the  [Choose New Topic Button] is displayed in a panel at the head of the section. By clicking on successive Topic names in the list the relevant icon will be displayed. The check box against each Topic item can be checked or unchecked, depending on whether the user requires that particular Topic to be active in the customised system. The initial installation will set up various default selections.

When a particular item is clicked on, the respective Dictionary Classes making up that Topic are displayed on the right hand side of the dialogue box. In most cases a single class makes up the Topic. The  check box against each Class item can be checked or unchecked, depending on whether the user requires that particular class to make up the Topic in the customised system.

The right-hand section facilitates selection of the class(es) which are required to make up the Topic.

Topic	Active at Installation	Classes contained	Details of Classes
Adjectives	No	Adjectives	All adjectives in dictionary
Adverbs	No	Adverbs	All adverbs in dictionary
Arts	No	Arts	Arts word list
Business	No	Business	Business word list
Confusables	Yes	Confusables	All confusables in dictionary
Dialect	No	Dialect	Dialect word list
Eng(ineering)	No	Eng(ineering)	Engineering word list
Literacy	Yes	Fred 1 Fred 2 Fred 3 Fred 4 Fred 5 Fred 6	Fred Schonell group 1 Fred Schonell group 2 Fred Schonell group 3 Fred Schonell group 4 Fred Schonell group 5 Fred Schonell group 6
Guinness	Yes	Guinness	Guinness ‘awful spellings’
Homophones	Yes	Homophones	All homophones in dictionary
Junior	Yes	Fred 1- 6 Junior	Fred Schonell groups 1 - 6 Words used by those older than 10
Law	No	Law	Legal word list
Medical	No	Medical	Medical word list
Natural	No	Natural	Natural world word list
Noun	No	Noun	All nouns in dictionary
Obscure	No	Obscure	Words not in common usage
People	Yes	People	Personal first names and surnames
General	Yes	Junior; Senior; Fred	Vocabulary ages 15 - 16
Places	Yes	Places	Place names and other proper names
Science	No	Science	Science word list
Slang	No	Slang	Slang and informal usage word list
Spell UK	No	Spell UK	UK spellings differing from US
Spell US	No	Spell US	US spellings differing from UK
Sport	No	Sport	Sport and Recreation word list
Secret	No	Secret	Taboo and Offensive word list
Unusual	Yes	Fred 1- 6 Junior Senior Unusual	Fred Schonell groups 1 - 6 Words used by those older than 10 Words used by those older than 13 Words used by those older than 16
Verbs	No	Verbs	All verbs in dictionary
Entire	No	All classes	All words in dictionary
Pro-Technical	No	Eng(ineering) Medical Science	Engineering word list Medical word list Science word list
Pro-Non-Tech	No	Arts Business Law Sport	Arts word list Business word list Legal word list Sport and recreation word list
Sound-alikes	Yes	Confusables Homophones	All confusables in dictionary All homophones in dictionary

The ‘Fred’ Topics and Classes are based on the word groups listed in the Spelling Guide produced by Professor Fred Schonell. All tenses of the verbs included in each list have been added where they are missing in the original lists, along with comparatives and superlatives of all adjectives and the plurals of all nouns.

No new words have been added other than those based on the original Schonell selection. Words such as ‘cat’ are not included as these were omitted from the original lists. Where a comprehensive list of words is required for children of any age, it is recommended that the Junior Topic is selected. This contains all the Schonell words plus others considered to be relevant to the age groups up to 13.

Difficulty levels

The difficulty levels which are displayed in the [Context Window] relate to the various word lists as follows:

•	Level 1 relates to Fred 1

•	Level 2 relates to Fred 2

•	Level 3 relates to Fred 3

•	Level 4 relates to Fred 4

•	Level 5 relates to Fred 5

•	Level 6 relates to Fred 6

•	Level 7 relates to Junior

•	Level 8 relates to Senior

•	Level 9 relates to Unusual

•	Level 10 relates to Obscure

Other than level 10, all levels include all the words for a previous level, i.e. level 9 includes all words for levels 1 through to 8. It is not possible to select only a section of the dictionary for any particular Topic. For instance if levels 1, 3 and 4 were intended, level 2 will automatically be selected as soon as level 3 is chosen.

The taboo and offensive word list can be protected by password control. KeySpell is first installed with the ‘Secret’ Topic accessible but inactive. The user can control the subsequent accessibility through the definition of a password via the [Advanced] item on the [Options Menu], locking out all other users. Classes other than ‘Secret’ can be locked out but a special version of KeySpell must be requested to provide this facility.

Guinness list

The word list provided in the Guinness Awful Spellers’ Dictionary has been used as a basis for indicating common spelling errors. This will often be of help to those wishing to narrow a search. By selecting the Guinness Topic for searching, the words displayed in the [Word Grid] will be restricted to commonly misspelt words.

Words included in Dictionary Classes

The words included in each Dictionary Class have been chosen so that each forms a reasonably coherent working group of words, allowing maximum flexibility of use to both student and teacher. The teacher can switch from, say, verbs to adverbs or from the Literacy level to Unusual simply by clicking on the [Choose Topic Button].

Conversion from US to UK spelling and vice versa

A particularly useful feature of KeySpell is its ability to provide suggestions for US and UK spelling variants. At a time when US spellings are becoming increasingly prevalent with the expansion of the Internet, the likelihood of spelling errors is increasing significantly.

To explore US spellings, click on the Spell US Topic and enter the word to be checked into the [Source Word Box]. Either the suspected US or the intended UK spelling can be entered. A selection of homophonically similar words spelt with the US spelling convention will be produced, from which a selection can be made in the normal way.

To explore UK spellings the same procedure is adopted through clicking on the Spell UK Topic.

US spellings will not appear in the Suggestions provided in the Word Grid. However, if the US spelling is correct in the Source Word Box the Context Window will display the fact that a US spelling has been detected.  All words which have different spellings in US and UK spelling conventions will be identified in both the Context Window and the Usage Panel.

This conversion facility does not enable KeySpell to be used in the American English arena and the US English version of the program must be obtained for this purpose.

Selecting a Dictionary Topic for a Search

The user can select a Dictionary Topic from the Topic Menu which appears on the Main Window Menu Bar or via a mouse right-click on the Choose Topic Button.  It gives direct access to any of the Topics that have been set up by the user via the Dictionary Topics item on the Options Menu or which were installed with KeySpell.

An important feature of KeySpell is the ability to check on the situation where a word entered in the Source Word Box appears not to be producing the Suggestions expected. By clicking and holding down the Choose Topic Button, all suggestions found will be displayed for as long as the button remains depressed. Excluded class suggestions will not be displayed if password control of advanced features has been enabled, and access is off.

See Using the Options Menu


Capitalisation of Suggestions

The rules for capitalisation of Suggestions by KeySpell are as follows:

When a word which is being searched is capitalised the capitalisation is

preserved, regardless of whether a capitalised word is found in the dictionary. This enables capital letters at the start of sentences and in titles to remain as capitals. Therefore, if 'Defighned' is found in the text, then it will be replaced by 'Defined' if the user selects the relevant Suggestion “defined”.

When a word is being searched for which is not capitalised, it will be changed to a capitalised word if a replacement is chosen which is capitalised. Therefore, if 'exter' is found in the text, it will be replaced by 'Exeter' in the Word filter Box.


Tutorial

To follow this example, the colour settings should be set as described below. If you have changed the colour settings since starting KeySpell, you will need to reset them as described. (Even if you have not changed the colours, following the steps provided will show you how to change colour settings for subsequent use.) If you do not set the colours to agree with the example, you will not be able to compare your results easily. This may lead to confusion.

Follow these steps to fix the colour settings for the example:

Step 1: Click on the Options menu

Step 2: Click on the Search, Speech, Colour item

Step 3: Click on the Colours tab

Step 4: Click on the radio button for Standard Colours

Then carry out the settings of colours to be used for each area of the Word Filter display as follows. For each control area, do the following:

Step 5: Click on the relevant area in the Control Area list box

Step 6: Click on the required colour in the Choose Colour list box

Repeat these two steps (5 and 6) for each of the control areas (below) so that the following settings are made:

Set Unmasked Background to Dark Green

Set Unmasked Text to White

Set Masked Background to Dark Red

Set Masked Text to Yellow

Set Differ Background to Light Grey

Set Differ Text to Black

The Word Filter colours have now been set to those used in the example. Click on 'OK' and you are now ready to see how KeySpell operates.

Click on the Topic Menu and click on the 'Slang' item. This will access words from the 'KeySpell Dictionary' which have been defined as slang.

Click on the View Menu and then click on the Arrange Sub-Menu and select the Vertical menu item, then the Sound-alikes menu item from the sub-menu. This will display the Sound-alikes Windows to the left of KeySpell's Main Window.

Then, type in the example word "kapas" which we shall assume is an incorrect spelling for "cuppas". KeySpell will automatically identify words which are phonetically similar to the misspelt word "kapas" and are also considered to be slang words in the English language.

If you want to make KeySpell search again, place the mouse cursor over the icon showing the professor on the right of the screen (a tool-tip/caption box will soon appear showing the caption 'Start or Stop search'). If you click on this icon, you will see the professor (and KeySpell) carry out a search of the Dictionary.

The following initial Suggestions are shown in the vertically arranged Word Grid . In each Word Grid Box you will see a number on the right-hand side. This is the number of additional suggestions which start with the same letter as the Suggestion in that particular Word Grid Box. For instance, "capers" 'hides' 12 additional words which start with the consonant 'c'.

The full list of Suggestions and the numbers of additional suggestions hidden from view are:

kippers	(2)

capers	(12)

chapess	(8)

crappiest	(5)

grapes	(5)

Notice that the leading consonant(s) of each Suggestion is/are marked with black text on a light grey background. This is the Differ area which defines the area of the word currently under inspection where there is phonetic similarity but the spelling is different. 'Hidden' Suggestions will all have the same start to the word, up to and including the Differ area displayed.

Now you need to see which word sounds phonetically most like the one you intended (which we are assuming here to be "capers").

Click on each Word Grid Box and listen to the text-to-speech synthesiser (TTS) speaking out the Suggestions and their relevant context examples. Successive clicks on the same box will produce additional examples of contexts or other information. You should find that "capers" sounds more like "cuppas" than any of the other suggestions. This is the option which we shall inspect in more detail (before deciding whether to move to any other 'top level' Suggestions).

You will notice that as you click on each Word Grid Box, a white rectangle appears and encloses the Suggestion and the 'hidden suggestions' number. This rectangle indicates that the particular Suggestion is the one currently under inspection (it has the Windows Focus).

When the white rectangle is displayed around a suggestion, you can use the Speak Context Button, (the 'i' in a speech bubble in the Toolbar ) to hear the word spoken instead of clicking on the relevant Word Grid Box. Additional information is also provided: an example of context is spoken out to help ensure the selection of the correct word. If no rectangle appears, the button on the Toolbar is greyed out (it becomes inactive) and the choice cannot be read.

To inspect words sounding like "capers" we then need to 'drill down' into the Suggestions starting with the consonant 'c'. Place the mouse cursor over the Drilldown Button - the icon showing a down-pointing triangle to the right of the word (a tool-tip/caption box will soon appear showing the caption 'Drilldown into "capers"'). If you now click on this icon, you will 'drill down' into the Suggestions starting with the consonant 'c'.

When you 'drill down' in this way, you will notice several changes have occurred.

Firstly, all Suggestions now start with 'c'.

Secondly, the 'c' now forms the Left Mask (yellow text on a dark red background) and the Differ area (black text on light grey) has now switched to the following letters (in this case a vowel 'string'). The Differ area is displayed on all those Suggestions which 'hide' further suggestions, i.e. "capers", "cuppas" and "coppers". Again, the Differ area is showing the point up to which the hidden words sound similar.

Thirdly, the Word Filter Box which shows the suggestion used for the 'drilldown' process is highlighted with the Left Mask and the Differ in the same way as in each Word Grid Box. At this point, you can return to the previous state of the inspection before you used the Drilldown Button. Place the mouse cursor over the icon showing a upward-pointing triangle to the right of the word (a tool-tip/caption box will soon appear showing the caption 'Undo drilldown'). If you now click on this icon, you will see the display return to its initial state. You can now 'drill down' into the Suggestions starting with the consonant 'c' once again.

In effect, the dark red background (mask) indicates which letters have been selected as 'correct' and the light grey background (differ) shows the letter(s) following these that are under consideration.

So, Suggestions are now presented in groups where all words commence with 'c' (Left Mask) but the following vowel differs. So, we have:

capers	(4)

cuppas	(2)

coppers	(4)

As before, you will probably agree that "capers" still sounds closer to the desired word than the others, but "cuppas" and "coppers" also sound similar.

To continue the inspection of "capers" you can now click again on the Drilldown Button to the right of the Word Grid Box for "capers".  The left mask is now represented by 'ca'. No Differ area is displayed in the Word Grid Boxes because there are no longer any hidden suggestions. KeySpell now produces:

capers

carhops

carbies

carbs

carpets

At this stage you may decide, having listened to the pronunciations of the four different Suggestions, that none of the Suggestions is the required spelling. Assuming that this is the case, click on the Undo Drilldown button of any Word Grid Box. The display will return to the previous inspection state.

At this stage then, the choices "capers", "cuppas" and "coppers" are listed.

This time, let us assume that some further assistance beyond that given by the spoken suggestions is needed. The Context Window provides one or more examples of the way in which a given word might be used. In the case of slang words, a brief definition is shown. If the Context Window is not showing, it can be displayed by clicking on the Toolbar button marked '2'.

Now click on each Word Grid Box in turn and look at the Context Window display in each case. You will see a definition of the suggestion in the Word Grid. If you click on a displayed context, it will be spoken out.

Assuming that you are satisfied that "cuppas" is the intended spelling, place the mouse cursor over the icon showing a tick to the left of the word (a tool-tip/caption box will soon appear showing the caption 'Choose "cuppas"'). This is the Choose Word Button . If you now click on this icon, the spelling is copied to the Word Grid Box. If you had transferred the word from Microsoft Word 97 using the KeySpell interface, the selected suggestion would automatically be transferred to the appropriate place in your Word document. Otherwise, you can copy and paste the word into another package.

If a mistake has been made, and an error has been made in selecting the suggestion "cuppas", then this can be remedied. At present, the Word Grid has been locked by the selection of the word "cuppas". It can be unlocked by simply restarting the search for choices. This is done by clicking on the professor icon on the right as before. Once this has been done, the selection of another Suggestion can proceed.


Getting Support

Although technical support is not provided free of charge for KeySpell 99, reasonable queries will be responded to. To contact KeySpell Limited for assistance see Company Information.

Company Information


Keyboard Control of Masking

The keyboard can be used to alter the masking instead of clicking on the control buttons. By pressing Ctrl + arrow keys  the left mask my be moved in either direction. Similarly, pressing Shift + arrow keys moves the right mask in either direction. The Word Filter Box must have the Windows focus for the keyboard to have effect. When the Box has the focus a small square is displayed to the right of the masked word.

RELATED TOPICS	Using the Word Grid ; Using the Word Filter


Using the Concentrate Search Button

By using the Concentrator, the user can select a level at which the search for alternative spellings is carried out. More or less suggestions are generated, depending on the setting of the Concentrator.

The Concentrator is accessed via the Concentrate Search Button, the leftmost of the large main control buttons within the Main Window, between  the [Word Grid] and the Toolbar. Each time that the button is clicked on, the Concentrator setting is advanced from position 1 to 2, 3, 4 and then back to its initial position. The button icon illustrates the degree of concentration of the Suggestions: the higher the level, the fewer choices are presented.

RELATED TOPICS	Using the Concentrator


Welcome

http://www.keyspell.com

KeySpell 99 demonstration version

Welcome to KeySpell 99.  This version allows free usage for an unlimited period. The only limitation of this version is that the dictionary is restricted to a comprehensive list of over 10,000 slang words. For a complete display of the other dictionary topics offered by the full version (containing over 200,000 words), simply type 'KeySpellTestDisplay' into the Source Word Box on the main KeySpell window and press 2 (to show the Context window).

KeySpell 99

KeySpell operates in a quite different manner to any other spelling checker on the market. The presentation of Suggestions is made in a unique way. It is therefore strongly recommended that you use the Tutorial and the on-line context-sensitive "help" system before extensively using the product.

Speech capability

Text to Speech capability is incorporated with the product allowing you to hear individual words or blocks of text read out to you. KeySpell can also be used with voice recognition products currently on the market.

KeySpell and MS Word 97

KeySpell has a direct link to MS Word 97 (once it has been installed through the Tools menu in Word). With this direct link, the full version of KeySpell can be evoked as soon as the programs spellchecker ceases to be of assistance. A document can also be scanned for words that sound alike (over 2,000 exist in the English language), enabling the user to check these quickly and accurately. A scan can be undertaken with this version although the associated contexts are not present.

RELATED TOPICS:

Tutorial ; Company Information

Internet web site: http://www.keyspell.com