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L A R G E P R I N T D O S USER'S GUIDE A BIRD'S EYE VIEW Version 2.6 March 28, 1989 (C)Copyright VisionWare Software, Inc. 1988 PO 1676 Brookline, MA 02146 TABLE OF CONTENTS I. BEFORE GETTING STARTED 1. WHAT DO YOU NEED TO RUN LARGE PRINT DOS? 2. WHAT ELSE DO YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR SYSTEM? 3. HOW TO INSTALL LARGE PRINT DOS. 4. HOW TO LOAD LARGE PRINT DOS. a. Loading LP-DOS from a floppy drive. b. Loading LP-DOS from a hard drive. c. Loading automatically using the AUTOEXEC.BAT file. 5. THE LP-DOS "HOT-KEY". 6. WHAT IF LP-DOS WILL NOT LOAD ON YOUR SYSTEM? II. GETTING STARTED 1. HOW TO START THE LARGE PRINT DOS PROGRAM. 2. OVERVIEW OF THE LARGE PRINT DOS PROGRAM. III. THE BASICS OF LARGE PRINT DOS INTRODUCTION 1. READING THE LARGE PRINT PAGE. How to... a. enter the page reading mode: The MODE key. b. scan the page across the screen: The ARROW keys. c. move to the edge of the page: Home, End, PgUp, and PgDn. d. move to the beginning and end of text. e. read the page line-by-line: The Return key. f. display the cursor area: The Spacebar key. 2. ADJUSTING THE SIZE OF THE PRINT. How to... a. increase or decrease character size: The + and - keys. b. adjust character height: Shift + and Shift -. 3. THE ZOOM FEATURE. How to... a. zoom down to normal size: The [Ins / 0] key. b. change the color of the crosshair: Shift [Ins / 0]. c. use the crosshair to select what you want to enlarge. 4. CHANGING PAGE COLORS. How to... a. change the color of the page: The F2 key. b. change the page border color: The F3 key. c. choose the alternate color pallete: The F4 key. 5. LET'S START TYPING AGAIN. How to... a. switch back to the typing mode: The MODE key. b. switch to a moving cursor: The Scroll-Lock key. 6. HOW TO TURN LARGE PRINT OFF - AND ON AGAIN. KEYBOARD SUMMARY: BASIC KEYBOARD FUNCTIONS I BEFORE GETTING STARTED 1. WHAT DO YOU NEED TO RUN LARGE PRINT DOS? LP-DOS runs on all IBM PS/2 computers. LP-DOS also runs on PCs, XTs, ATs, laptops, and compatibles with a variety of display adaptor and monitor combinations. You will find a list of the various display combinations that work with LP-DOS in the "LP-DOS and Your Computer System" reference guide. The best way to find out how well LP-DOS will run on your computer is to use the LPCHECK program included on your LP-DOS disk. The LPCHECK program examines your system and displays what it finds, on your computer screen. LPCHECK will tell you whether LP-DOS will run on your system. If LP-DOS will not run on your system then LPCHECK displays helpful suggestions on how to upgrade your display system so that you will be able to use LP-DOS on your computer. To run LPCHECK: 1. Insert the LP-DOS Product disk in drive A. 2. Type: A: <Press return> LPCHECK <Press return> LPCHECK will report what it finds on your computer screen. 2. WHAT ELSE DO YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR SYSTEM? If your system contains: - A non-IBM EGA or VGA display adaptor, - A MCGA display adaptor (PS/2 Models 25 and 30), - A CGA system or laptop, then you will find information of special interest to you in Section I of the "LP-DOS and Your Computer System" reference guide. 3. HOW TO INSTALL LARGE PRINT DOS. LP-DOS is copy-protected. This means that you must use a special procedure to install LP-DOS on your hard disk and to create back-up working copies. You can install up to three (3) working copies of LP-DOS. The copies are intended for your convenient use. They can be kept anywhere: business, school, or home. Remember that the copies are meant for the use of one individual and are not intended for redistribution. If you have the LP-DOS Deluxe Edition, the installation procedure will also install the El-Picasso graphics magnification utility. To install the LP-DOS software from drive A to hard drive C: 1. Insert the original LP-DOS Product diskette in drive A. 2. Type: A: <Press return> GO H <Press return> The GO command will automatically set-up hard disk C and install the LP-DOS software. You will find more information on the GO command in Section II, "How To Back Up The LP-DOS Disk", in the LP-DOS AND YOUR COMPUTER SYSTEM reference guide. The section explains how to use the GO command to install LP-DOS on hard drives other than drive C and how to install back-up copies onto floppy disks. The section also explains how to transfer a back-up copy from one disk to another disk. 4. HOW TO LOAD LARGE PRINT DOS. a. LOADING LP-DOS FROM A FLOPPY DRIVE. 1. Insert the LP-DOS Product diskette (or a working copy that you installed) in drive A. 2. Type: A: <Press return> LPDOS <Press return> If you have the LP-DOS Deluxe Edition, the El-Picasso graphics magnification utility will be loaded with the LP-DOS text magnification program. b. LOADING LP-DOS FROM A HARD DRIVE. If you have installed LP-DOS on hard disk C: 1. Change to the root directory of drive C. Type: C: <Press return> CD C:\ <Press return> 2. To load LP-DOS, type: LPDOS <Press return> If you have the LP-DOS Deluxe Edition, the El-Picasso graphics magnification utility will be loaded with the LP-DOS text magnification program. c. LOADING AUTOMATICALLY USING THE AUTOEXEC.BAT FILE. You can arrange to have the LP-DOS software automatically load each time you start-up your computer. This is done by including a set of statements at the beginning of a file called AUTOEXEC.BAT on your system disk. You will find information on how to load LP-DOS automatically in Section III of the "LP-DOS and Your Computer System" reference guide. 5. THE LP-DOS "HOT-KEY" LP-DOS uses the auxiliary * key located near the numberpad and arrow keys on the right side of most keyboards for a special purpose. (This key is the * PrtSc key located below the Return key on many older PC keyboards). This key is used as a "hot-key" to switch between the typing mode and the LP-DOS reading mode. If you are using a laptop or a system with a small, space-saving keyboard then the auxiliary * key may not be conveniently accessible. You can choose to use the ` (ACCENT) key instead. Do not worry if this key is used by other programs. LP-DOS lets you share the key with your other programs when necessary. To choose the ` for your hot-key, type: LPDOS ` when you load LP-DOS. 6. WHAT IF LP-DOS WILL NOT LOAD ON YOUR SYSTEM? If you are not able to load LP-DOS on your system then check the following: 1. Use the LPCHECK program to verify that LP-DOS will work on your display system. You will find information on the LPCHECK program and a list of display combinations that work with LP-DOS in Section I of the "LP-DOS and Your Computer System" reference guide. 2. LP-DOS must be loaded before your other software in order for the other programs to appear in large print. Check to make sure that your Autoexec.bat does not load programs before you load LP-DOS. Loading programs before LP-DOS can sometimes prevent LP-DOS from functioning properly. To correct the problem, rearrange the order in which you load your programs so that LP-DOS is loaded first. 3. If you are loading LP-DOS using a back-up copy then check to make sure that you installed the LP-DOS software properly. You will find complete information on how to install the LP-DOS software to make back-up copies in Section II of the "LP-DOS and Your Computer System" reference guide. II GETTING STARTED 1. HOW TO START THE LARGE PRINT DOS PROGRAM. a. To start Large Print DOS, insert the diskette in the default drive and type LPDOS. You will see the "LARGE PRINT DOS" title on the screen followed by a display of the copyright notice. The copyright notice tells you that this copy of the LARGE PRINT DOS software is for your use in accordance with the "VISIONWARE SOFTWARE, INC. END USER SOFTWARE LICENSE AGREEMENT". Press any key to continue. b. If you have the LP-DOS Deluxe Edition, the El-Picasso graphics magnification utility will also be loaded. The El-Picasso title screen will appear on the screen after the LP-DOS title screen. You will want to read the "El-Picasso User's Guide" to learn how to use the El-Picasso graphics magnification utility. 2. OVERVIEW OF THE LARGE PRINT DOS PROGRAM When you use the LARGE PRINT DOS program, your programs will operate as normal except that everything is displayed in large print. To see this, just start typing. As you type, you will notice a blinking line in the middle of the screen. This blinking line is called the cursor. The cursor indicates the location where your typing appears. Notice that your typing always appears right in front of you. You never have to hunt for the cursor because it always appears in the same location on the screen. What you see before you is part of a 25 line, 80 column wide page. Because of the size of the print, it is not possible to display the entire page at one time. In the next section, you will learn how you can read the entire page, any time you wish, by scanning the large print page across the screen. You will also learn how you can adjust print size and change screen color or select positive/negative image according to your personal preference. III BASIC FEATURES INTRODUCTION This section presents the basics of LARGE PRINT DOS. After reading this section, you will know how to: 1. Read the large print page any time you wish. 2. Select 25 different print sizes. 3. Zoom down to view the entire page in normal print. 4. Change screen color or select positive/negative immage. 5. Switch from a stationary cursor that stays in one place to a moving cursor that moves across the screen. 6. Turn large print off - and on again. You will soon see for yourself that using the LARGE PRINT DOS program is a matter of a few simple keystrokes. 1. READING THE LARGE PRINT PAGE LARGE PRINT DOS has a PAGE READING MODE that allows you to read large print by moving the page around the screen. You can read any part of the large print page, any time you want. All the keys necessary to read the page are located conveniently near each other on the numeric keypad on the right side of the keyboard. 1a. HOW TO ENTER THE PAGE READING MODE: The MODE key. Suppose you wish to see or read part of the page that is not in view while you are typing. Press the MODE key. The MODE key is the "*" key located on or next to the numeric keypad. On IBM PC and XT models, the MODE key is the [* /PrtSc] key located below the return key. Notice that the blinking cursor has disappeared. You are now in the page reading mode. You can use the ARROW keys to scan the page across the screen and read any part of the page that you wish. 1b. HOW TO SCAN THE PAGE ACROSS THE SCREEN: The ARROW keys. Use the ARROW keys to move the page on the screen. Right-Arrow lets you see what's ahead. Left-Arrow lets you see what's behind. Up-Arrow lets you see what's above. Down-Arrow lets you see what's below. Holding these keys depressed continues motion in the chosen direction until the key is released. The page is surrounded by a contrasting border. The page border comes into view when you reach the left, right, top, or bottom edges of the page. When you press an ARROW key and reach the edge of the page, motion stops. 1c. HOW TO MOVE TO THE EDGE OF THE PAGE: Home, End, PgUp, and PgDn. You can also move directly to the edges of the page. Home moves to the left edge of the page. End moves to the right edge of the page. PgUp moves up to the top edge of the page. PgDn moves down to the bottom edge of the page. 1d. HOW TO MOVE TO THE BEGINNING AND END OF TEXT: The Ctl PgUp and Ctl PgDn keys. It is often convenient to be able to move directly to the beginning or end of the text. Ctl PgUp moves to the first word of the page. Ctl PgDn moves to the final word of the page. The Ctl PgUp key is very helpful when you want to quickly find the beginning of text or the first word of the page. When you press the key, the first line of text will be displayed in the middle of the screen. 1e. HOW TO READ THE PAGE LINE-BY-LINE: The RETURN key. After you have read a line of text with the ARROW keys, you can begin the next line by pressing the RETURN (Enter) key. Pressing the RETURN key brings the beginning of the next line into view until the bottom of the page is reached. The return key is very useful for line-by-line reading. 1f. HOW TO DISPLAY THE CURSOR AREA: The Spacebar key. Finally, suppose you once again want to display the section of the page centered around the cursor. You can display this area without leaving the reading mode by pressing the SPACEBAR. Pressing the Spacebar is a quick way to get back to the reading mode starting point. 2. ADJUSTING THE SIZE OF THE PRINT LARGE PRINT DOS lets you choose from a range of 25 large print sizes. Both the height and width of the characters can be varied. This allows you to optimize the amount of information on the screen and read with comfort. 2a. HOW TO INCREASE OR DECREASE CHARACTER SIZE: The + and - keys. To decrease size, press the MINUS key on the numeric keypad. To increase size, press the PLUS key on the numeric keypad. NOTE: You may sometimes hear one or two BEEPs when you press the + or - keys. A single beep indicates that your PC is performing an operation that must take precedence over the + or - operations. Examples of this are disk access operations. If you hear one beep, momentarily exit the reading mode, let the PC operation complete, then re-enter the reading mode and try + and - again. The disk used to load the LARGE PRINT DOS program should be inserted when you press + or -. Two beeps indicate that the program disk was not found. Simply insert the disk and try again. 2b. HOW TO ADJUST THE CHARACTER HEIGHT: Shift + and Shift -. You can alter character height without changing the character width by pressing Shift + and Shift -. Shift + increases character height. Shift - decreases character height. Altering the character height allows you to increase character size without diminishing the number of letters displayed on each line. This feature enables you to optimize your use of the display screen. 3. THE ZOOM FEATURE You may occasionally find it useful to view the entire page as it normally appears on the screen. The format of visual information is often as important as the words themselves. Zooming down to display the full page lets you view the entire page in context even if you are not able to read the small print. 3a. HOW TO ZOOM DOWN TO NORMAL SIZE: The [Ins / 0] key The [Ins / 0] key on the numberpad is the "instant ZOOM" key. Press the ZOOM key. You will see the entire 25 line, 80 character wide page displayed in normal print. You will also see a CROSSHAIR superimposed on the area of the page that was formerly displayed in large print. 3b. HOW TO CHANGE THE COLOR OF THE CROSSHAIR: Shift [Ins / 0]. You can change the color of the crosshair or make it flash by pressing Shift ZOOM. There are 8 distinct color/flashing combinations. Each time you press Shift ZOOM you will see a different combination. The eighth press of Shift ZOOM returns to the original selection. If you pass a color combination that you like, press the "\" key followed by Shift ZOOM. The \ reverses the order of the selection rotation. 3c. HOW TO USE THE CROSSHAIR TO SELECT WHAT YOU WANT TO ENLARGE You can move the crosshair around the screen to identify the section of the page that you would like to enlarge. The ARROW keys move the crosshair in the direction that you choose. In addition: Home moves the crosshair to the left edge. End moves the crosshair to the right edge. PgUp moves the crosshair to the top of the page. PgDn moves the crosshair to the bottom of the page. When you want to return to large print (zoom up), press the ZOOM key again. The area of the screen highlighted by the crosshair will be displayed in large print. 4. CHANGING PAGE COLORS The LARGE PRINT DOS program has a number of features that you can change according to personal preference. Among these are the color of the page, the border color, or positive/negative image. These special features are selected in the page reading mode via the function keys located on the left side of the keyboard. 4a. HOW TO CHANGE THE COLOR OF THE PAGE: The F2 key. You may wish to change the color of the page or select reverse video. To do this, press F2 until you find a foreground/ background combination that you like. There are six selections. Each time you press F2, you get a different color combination. Among the six selections are positive (black on white) and negative (white on black). The sixth time you press F2, you will return to the original selection. If you pass a color combination that you like, press \. The \ key reverses the order of the color selection rotation. 4b. HOW TO CHANGE THE PAGE BORDER COLOR: The F3 key. The page is surrounded by a contrasting border that comes into view when you reach the beginning or end of a line, or the top or bottom of the page. You can change the border color or eliminate it by pressing F3. The border is eliminated by selecting the border color that matches the background color of the page. If you pass a border color that you like, press \ to reverse the order of the color rotation. 4c. HOW TO CHOOSE THE ALTERNATE COLOR PALETTE: The F4 key. F4 lets you switch between two color sets for selecting the page and page border colors. Note: This function works on CGA and MCGA systems only. 5. LET'S START TYPING AGAIN Now that you have learned the basics of LARGE PRINT DOS, you are ready to start typing and do some real work! 5a. HOW TO SWITCH BACK TO THE TYPING MODE: The MODE key. Press the MODE key, [* / PrtSc]. The mode key is used to switch between the typing and page reading modes. You will once again see the blinking cursor right where you left it. You can now start typig. 5b. HOW TO SWITCH TO A MOVING CURSOR: The Scroll-Lock key. You have already learned that the LARGE PRINT DOS cursor stays in one place on the screen. This is very helpful to many people with low vision because they can focus on one location and see everything that is typed. The LARGE PRINT DOS program also offers a moving cursor option. The moving cursor maximizes the amount of information on the screen. The cursor position moves as you type until the edge of the screen is reached. Then the page shifts as new information is added. You can switch from the stationary cursor to the moving cursor by pressing Scroll-Lock when you are ready to exit the reading mode. Pressing Scroll-Lock brings you back to the typing mode. This time you will find that the cursor moves when you type. The moving cursor can be easily distinguished from the stationary cursor. The stationary cursor is marked by a flashing underline that stays in one place; the moving cursor appears as a flashing arrow above a flashing underline and moves as you type. Each time you press Scroll-Lock to exit the reading mode, you will switch back and forth between the moving cursor and the stationary cursor. When you have decided on the type of cursor that you prefer, re-enter the typing mode by pressing the MODE key. LARGE PRINT DOS automatically recalls the type of cursor that you last selected. 6. HOW TO TURN LARGE PRINT OFF - AND ON AGAIN Finally, you can turn off large print and switch to normal print operation at any time. This feature works on computers equipped with EGA, MCGA, or VGA display adaptors. The feature has no effect on CGA based systems. To switch off large print operation, press the ZOOM key to change to normal print size. Then press the "*" MODE key to exit the reading mode. You can now continue your work. The print will remain in normal size. To resume large print operation at any time, simply press the "**" MODE key once again. LARGE PRINT DOS BASIC KEYBOARD FUNCTIONS [* / PrtSc] LP-DOS MODE KEY, switch between Typing or Numberpad * Mode and Page Reading Mode. PAGE READING MODE KEYS: Right-Arrow Move forward. Left-Arrow Move backward. Up-Arrow Move upward. Down-Arrow Move downward. Home Move to left edge of page. End Move to right edge of page. PgUp Move to top of page. PgDn Move to bottom of page. Return (Enter) Move to the beginning of the next line. Ctl PgUp Move to the first word of the page. Ctl PgDn Move to the final word of the page. Spacebar Move to current cursor location without leaving page reading mode. Numberpad + Increase print size (width and height). Numberpad - Decrease print size (width and height). Shift + Increase print height. Shift - Decrease print height. Ins / 0 (Zoom) Zoom down to normal print; Zoom up to large print. Shift Zoom Change zoom crosshair color. F2 Select page color. F3 Select page border color. F4 Select alternate color palette. \ Reverse color rotation direction. Scroll-Lock Exit page reading mode and switch between stationary cursor and moving cursor.