Elegance for ElBraille Presentation Transcript

The below transcript is of an audio presentation relating to the Elegance for ElBraille product from Hartgen Consultancy. Every effort has been made to ensure the text accurately represents an exact copy of the audio presentation.

Brian Hartgen: Some people may say that the ElBraille from Elita group is a cutting edge product for the 21st century. Put very simply, it is a portable computer containing a Focus Braille display and JAWS for Windows to drive it. However, as you can imagine, the ability to command the functions of the Windows operating system and all the applications you need using a braille entry keyboard, where the regular Windows keys are not at your disposal, is perhaps not intuitive. While a concept built into JAWS can make this possible, it is not particularly easy to learn.
We're not saying that you can't do it, of course not, but we would suggest there is a huge learning adjustment to be made before these commands become second nature. But you've paid thousands of pounds or dollars for the ElBraille, and it is meant to be a portable device. While you can connect a USB keyboard to it, that is not really the answer.
Meet Elegance for ElBraille.

Elegance gives you complete control of your device without the need to remember complex key sequences. And it also means that you can do so within a matter of minutes. Provided you know the Windows keystroke or the JAWS screen reading command that you wish to use, you are able to use your ElBraille without any further thought.

The concept is a simple one. You press a key on the keyboard, which is Of-Sign Chord, or dots one, two, three, five, and six with the space bar. You will hear a small click sound, and this indicates to you that the keyboard has been suspended from its usual functionality and is in a special Elegance mode waiting for you to control the device with an appropriate command.
(Elegance Click Sound).
Note that this keyboard suspension occurs only for 30 seconds. So, you need to move on to the next step within that 30-second period. Once the keystroke has been pressed, you can type what you would like to happen. It really is as easy as that.

Use computer braille to type a command. So for example, type Windows space D, that is W-I-N-D-O-W-S, then press the space bar and type the letter D, and then press Enter. So, it is uncontracted braille that we're using here. When you press the Enter key, you will hear a sound to indicate that the Elegance mode has been terminated.
(Elegance Click Sound).

Now, that example sets Focus to the Windows desktop. So, I'll press the Of-Sign Chord, type Windows, space D, and press Enter.
JAWS: Folder view, list view. Microsoft Edge, 50 of 62.
Brian Hartgen: Now, we'll use the same procedure to run a Windows application. Again, press dots one, two, three, five, six chord with the space bar, wait for the click sound, and type Windows, space R, and press the Enter key.
JAWS: Run dialogue. Type the name of a program, folder, document, or internet resource and Windows will open it for you.
Brian Hartgen: As you've heard, the Run dialogue box appears into which you can type the name of an application, if you happen to know it, or maybe the full path of a file. I'm going to type, "winword" to launch Microsoft Word. And now I'll press Enter.
JAWS: Desktop. Folder view list view. Microsoft Edge, 50 of 62, opening. Opening Word. Document one word. Edit.
Brian Hartgen: Elegance has remembered that I am using contracted braille ordinarily. So, I can type some text in here.
JAWS: A demonstration of Elegance for ElBraille.
Brian Hartgen: Here are some other commands that you might like to use. You can of course, substitute these strategies for any keyboarding command that you happen to know. So, Control + Space + F4, that is C-O-N-T-R-O-L, space, and then F for Foxtrot, followed by figure four, that will be lower D in computer braille followed by Enter, would close the document window in this case. ALT + Space + F4 will close the application down.
JAWS: Microsoft Word, save button, ALT + S.
Brian Hartgen: It's asking me whether I want to save the changes. I'm just going to press Z chord, or Z cord for escape, because that's an easy one.
JAWS: Edit.

Brian Hartgen: If I were to type in Elegance mode Control + Space + Shift + Space P and press Enter, that should bring up the point size dialog box in Microsoft Word.
JAWS: Font size, edit combo 11.
Brian Hartgen: And again, I'll press Z Chord for escape.
JAWS: Edit.
Brian Hartgen: Although I could have easily typed a value in there if I wanted to change the point size of the text, and then pressed Enter.

Windows + Space + E will of course launch File Explorer.
JAWS: This PC items new multi-select list box. Folders expanded. 3D objects 1 of 13.

Brian Hartgen: You can also carry out any JAWS screen reading command, provided that you know the keyboard action to perform it. You can enter it on the device using Elegance for ElBraille. I'm going to give you some examples, but first of all, I'm going to ALT + Tab back over to Microsoft Word, bearing in mind that I'm currently in File Explorer. To do that, I'm going to enter Elegance mode and type ALT + Space + Tab.
JAWS: Document one word, edit.
Brian Hartgen: So, insert + Space + F7, spelling out the word, I-N-S-E-R-T, and then pressing the space bar and typing F7, that would bring up a list of links on a web page, or maybe in a document.
JAWS: No links checked for link type fields with JAWS key + F5.
Brian Hartgen: And there are no links in this document, so we received the appropriate message. Insert + Space + up arrow would read the current line.
JAWS: A demonstration of Elegance for Elbraille.
Brian Hartgen: Insert + Space + F11 would bring into view a list of icons in the system tray area of Windows. You get the idea.

It is possible to abbreviate any one of the keystrokes that I've just mentioned. Now this saves a great deal of time when controlling your device, since the full word of the keyboard action does not need to be spelled out, such as Windows. The abbreviations are Windows equals W, ALT equals A, Control equals C, Shift equals S, and I equals Insert.

Here are some examples of how you may use these abbreviations. You could type W + Space + R in order to bring into view the run dialog box as we did before. W + Space + A + Space + right arrow would press the keystroke Windows + ALT + Right arrow. Very useful for moving into a new buffer within a specialist Twitter client. I + Space + F7. This presses Insert + F7, and brings into view the list of links dialogue in a document or a webpage.

Now I have outlined the basic principles of using Elegance for ElBraille, I will go on to describing how it becomes more sophisticated and how you can make it do tricks.

What I've said so far is all very well if you are content to type out the various keystrokes in full. But this can be a little time consuming despite the fact that you can abbreviate the keystroke names. However, Elegance for ElBraille gets a little better, because you can customize your own shortcuts and abbreviations to carry out a number of tasks. This is done by launching the Elegance mode, using dots one, two, three, five, six, with a space bar as before, and typing the word "Elegance". And this opens up a file in Notepad. It has a very simple structure, and it is an easy to navigate text file.

We've provided a sample file for you. You can delete or change any entry in this file, and we would encourage you to create your own entries. So, the device will do exactly what you want it to do.

The concept is that you specify the abbreviation that you would like to type. Then you write an equals sign, and you follow it up with the action that you would like to carry out as a result. Now, there are a number of actions that you can perform. So, let's go through some of these entries in the sample file. You will then get an idea as to how it's laid out, and I'll provide some explanations as we go.

So, first of all, I'm going to type Of-Sign Chord, and then the word "Elegance".
JAWS: Elegance dot ini Notepad. Edit.
Brian Hartgen: You'll notice this time that I didn't need to press the Enter key. And that applies to any of the functionality that we're going to put in this file. You are creating your own shortcuts and abbreviations. Once Elegance knows that you have typed a shortcut that you have created, it's going to go ahead and carry out that action. So together, let's go through the Elegance Dot Ini file.
JAWS: Desk = Windows + D.
Brian Hartgen: So, the first item here is Desk = Windows + D. And that means that whenever I type the word "desk" in Elegance mode, it's going to press Windows key with D.
Let me go ahead and do that now, even though the Elegance file is open. So, I'm going to go into Elegance mode and type "desk".
JAWS: Folder view List view. Microsoft edge 50 of 62.
Brian Hartgen: And I'm Immediately focused on the Windows desktop. I'll just ALT + Tab back here over to my Elegance Dot Ini file, but you can see immediately how that is working.
JAWS: Elegance dot ini Notepad. Edit.
Brian Hartgen: I'll arrow down to see what else we have.
JAWS: Run = Windows + R.
Brian Hartgen: This is a very similar function, Run = Windows + R. So whenever I type "run" into the Elegance mode, it's going to bring up the Run dialog box for me.
JAWS: Close = ALT + F4.
Brian Hartgen: Here's a good one, Close = ALT + F4. ALT + F4 is a keystroke that you would use on a very regular basis, and it might be quite difficult for you to carry that out on the ElBraille device itself. So in that case, typing the word "close" may be a good option for you.

Now, we move on to some JAWS related keystrokes. Although in the most part, I have to say that in terms of learning how to use the braille entry keyboard, which is essentially what this is all about, is not too difficult. It is really the Windows keystrokes and those associated to applications where the learning curve is somewhat steep. However, you can enter these keystrokes if you would like to. And this is particularly helpful if you want to call a JAWS script with a complex key sequence. So, let's move down and find what we have.
JAWS: Say All = Insert + down arrow.
Brian Hartgen: So, whenever I type the phrase "Say all", it is going to press insert down arrow. Whenever you type "say all", it is looking through all of your JAWS script files and key map files to find out whether or not there is a suitable match. And if there is, it's going to call that particular script for you.
JAWS: R = Control + Numpad 5.
Brian Hartgen: Para, P-A-R-A, that's my abbreviation, is Control + numpad five. And that's quite a difficult one to carry out on the ElBraille device. It will read the current paragraph to you.
JAWS: Links = Insert + F7.
Brian Hartgen: And here's our famous list of links dialogue. Whenever I type the word "links", it's going to press insert F7.

The next keystroke or two relates to the TWBlue Twitter client, which is one that I happen to use. And again, it is quite difficult to move through the various buffers and to carry out keystrokes using the braille entry keyboard. So, I've created one or two abbreviations that help me quite a lot and the first of these is:
JAWS: RT = ALT + Windows + Right arrow.
Brian Hartgen: RT. So, whenever I type RT into Elegance mode, it will press ALT + Windows + Right arrow, which is the keystroke to move to the next available buffer. And conversely, we have:
JAWS: LT = L + Windows + Left arrow.
Brian Hartgen: LT equals ALT + Windows + Left arrow.

Let's put this into practice. We'll keep the Elegance file open because there is something even more sophisticated that I want to show you. But first of all, I'm going to go into Elegance mode and I'm going to go to the desktop by typing the word "desk".
JAWS: Folder view List view. Microsoft Edge, 50 of 62.
Brian Hartgen: And I'm going to type the letter T for tango until I get to TWBlue.
JAWS: TWBlue, 5 of 62.
Brian Hartgen: And I'll press Enter.

And I am in my list of tweets in the home timeline. I'm now going to enter Elegance mode and type RT.
JAWS: Mentions 98 of 98. List view. Radio microphone, Brian Dalton @brianhartgen at DerryLawlor Morning Brian. Those bank holidays are nice. That extra day in your back pocket, face with look of triumph, three hours ago. TWBlue, 98 of 98.
Brian Hartgen: Perfect. If I want to go back to the home timeline, I go back into Elegance mode and type "LT".
JAWS: Home. 98 of 99. List view. Queen Alex. (This prompt was cut).
Brian Hartgen: You see how quick it is? Let's carry out one more command. Remember that we could type in an abbreviation for a particular keystroke that we want to execute, that we might not have as a shorthand term at the moment. So, I can type C + Space + N for control + N, which will create a new tweet for me. So, Elegance mode, C + Space N, and press Enter.
JAWS: Tweet 0 of 280 characters dialogue. Tweet edit.
Brian Hartgen: And, here I am in the new tweet dialog box, where upon I can write in contracted braille the tweet that I want to send, and then I can press enter. I won't do that at the moment; I'll just press Escape.
JAWS: List view. Queen Alexander. (This prompt was cut).
Brian Hartgen: Using Elegance mode, I'm now going to ALT + Tab back over to my configuration file by typing A + Space + Tab, T-A-B, and pressing Enter.
JAWS: Elegance dot ini notepad. Edit.
Brian Hartgen: Here I am back in the file. So, we'll continue to review.

There is one other Windows keystroke that I've put in here.
JAWS: FWD = Control + F.
Brian Hartgen: And this is for Microsoft Outlook. So, rather than pressing control with F, if I can't remember the key sequence that's built into JAWS to execute that keystroke, I can type the abbreviation FWD, and that will forward the focused message for me to the recipient I have in mind.

There is another function here, which is quite sophisticated, as I say. And if I press down arrow, we will get to hear what that is.
JAWS: Spelling equals D leasey spelling.docx.
Brian Hartgen: You can assign an abbreviation to launch a file. It can also be a folder of your choosing if you wish. So, the syntax here is, in my case, the word "spelling", which is my abbreviation. Then the equals sign, and then the full path where the document is located, because that is what I would like to launch when I type that word. And the full path for it on my computer is D:\leasey\spelling.docs. That's D-O-C-X. This is a document that I often use to demonstrate how effective Leasey can be in the Microsoft Word spellchecker. So whenever I use that abbreviation, it is going to launch that document for me.

You can use any abbreviation to point to any file or folder of your choosing.
So maybe there is a spreadsheet that you regularly access. It could be a program. If you know the executable path for it, you are able then to launch it with a simple abbreviation. But I'm going to try this one. So, I'll go into Elegance mode as a final exercise, and type "spelling".
JAWS: Spelling.docx. Word.
Brian Hartgen: And I'm now in the document.

When you have added your various abbreviations to the Elegance dot ini file, you press Control with S to save the file, followed by ALT + F4 in order to close Microsoft Notepad. As soon as the file is saved, you can begin using the abbreviations that you have created.

It could be that you have entered Elegance mode with Of-Sign Chord, and then you've changed your mind. For example, you may enter the mode and misspell the word "control" to represent the control key. That is not a problem. Just press Z Chord, and this mode is immediately terminated. You'll hear a sound to indicate it has been closed.

Finally, there is a conventional Windows desktop keyboard shortcut as well, which allows you to enter Elegance mode. This is ALT with Windows and function key F12, and this allows you to test this functionality using a standard desktop computer and keyboard if necessary. In other words, you do not have to have a Focus braille display, or indeed knowledge of how to use one in order to test this functionality for yourself. You can do so using a regular QWERTY keyboard.

Elegance for ElBraille is already part of our Leasey product. However, you will be able to purchase it as a standalone unit later this month, and it will be available on our company website. Just look out for a link on the home page Elegance for ElBraille.

This is Brian from Hartgen Consultancy saying thank you very much for listening to my presentation today. And this is just one of the tools that allow you as a blind person to be more productive.