The primary cause of problems with DeskBots involve the Text-to-Speech software. You should have the MacinTalk Pro, MacinTalk 3 & Speech Manager extensions in your Extensions folder along with a folder called Voices that contains at least the HEK3000 voice file. You should also have the Speech control panel in your Control Panels folder. You may additionally use MacinTalk 2 and its voices if you so desire.
If DeskBots has problems initializing the TTS software you should recieve an error message with an error code in the lower left corner:
-1 This may indicate that your TTS software is not installed or is not properly installed. The best solution is to install or reinstall the software.
-2 This means that DeskBots had trouble registering the currently installed voice files. The best solution is to install or reinstall the TTS software.
-3 This indicates that the HEK3000 voice file (the default voice) could not be found. Ensure that the HEK3000 voice file is in inside the Voices folder within the Extensions folder within the System Folder.
If you have any other problems with DeskBots check the following:
User Name/Machine Name: Ensure that a user name and a machine name have been entered in the Sharing Setup control panel. DeskBots uses these for some of its phrases and may become confused if they are blank.
The DeskBots Window Doesn't Open: This usually happens only if you have extra (outdated) speech extensions installed. Ensure that you are not using older versions of the PlainTalk/MacinTalk text-to-speech software.
The Background Sound Doesn't Play Properly: Ensure that you are using the most current version of the Sound Manager. If you are attempting to use a very large background sound, you may need to give DeskBots more memory.
Speakable Items Won't Work While DeskBots is Running: Try disabling the background sound. In most cases, this is only a problem if your microphone is too near your speakers, or your sound volume is fairly loud.
If DeskBots crashes without giving an error message or if you have any other problem with DeskBots, try giving DeskBots more memory by highlighting its icon and selecting "Get Info…" from the File menu. If this still doesn't help, please contact me at one of the addresses below.
