|
Driver Configuration Last updated: 08/08/2010 11:26:45 GMT |
 
|
|
Driver Configuration Last updated: 08/08/2010 11:26:45 GMT |
|
WintextCom Personal Information Manager(tm) offers some special user interface features in relation to the use of Braille displays and keyboards. For visually impaired users, the standard WTC interface relies upon the use of a speech or Braille screen reader to convey information enabling the user to operate the software, and the standard computer keyboard is used for most of the input, except where it is convenient or preferred to use special mouse simulation capabilities provided by the screen reading software.
WTC has built-in supports for some input and output devices. You can connect certain Braille display hardware to your computer that WTC can "drive" itself, producing Braille text without the use of a screen reader. Some such Braille display hardware also provides keys laid out as a perkins keyboard, dots 1237,4568, and WTC supports the use of this keyboard for typing in text and commands using Braille rather than standard single keys and combinations on the computer keyboard. In addition, with suitable keyboard hardware, WTC allows you to use a subset of the standard keys as Braille dots to enable perkins-style input.
The driver configuration string is introduced by the setup directive "D" (must be uppercase). The letter "D" is followed by a status byte --
The driver configuration string consists of option symbols and substrings following the status byte. Option symbols change options that are common to all drivers. Substrings define the characteristics of individual drivers and are introduced by the relevant option symbol. For example, "F" introduces the substring representing the configuration specific to the Freedom Scientific Braille display driver.
Configuration substrings are introduced by the relevant option symbol and terminated by a semicolon (";"). String values specified for individual settings within a substring are separated by a comma (","). After the semicolon, subsequent characters are processed as part of the top level driver configuration string. A comma or semicolon required as part of a substring specification must be embedded. If a configuration substring runs to the end of the configuration string, the semicolon is not necessary (but will not do any harm).
There is a special option symbol allowed in the driver configuration string to give you enable/disable control over individual drivers. This is the minus sign ("-"). When a minus sign is encountered, the ensuing characters are treated as a substring and ignored until the next semicolon (or end of string). Processing resumes after a semicolon. This allows you to keep all driver settings in the string but only activate the ones required. The idea is similar to using "-" as the status byte to prevent processing of the entire string, but it applies just to sections of it. In general, it is useful to be able to switch a configuration on and off without having to enter the string and delete it, respectively. For example:
"-FUSB"
specifies a Freedom Scientific Braille display connected via USN, but the driver is not actually activated. To activate it, simple delete the minus sing from before the Freedom Scientific Braille display driver specifier ("F").
For specific details of settings, see the Braille display drivers and Braille text input sections of this documentation.
The default driver configuration setup directive is:
"D-8u-BFDSJKLA<59>;-FUSB,128",
disabled. Even if it were enabled by changing the minus sign after "D" to a plus, however, it would still have no effect, since both the Braille keyboard and Freedom Scientific Braille display drivers are themselves disabled. You could enable either or both of these by removing the minus sign from before the "B" and "F" respectively. The "8u" at the beginning sets up for use of 8-dot Braille and the US Braille translate table, both of which are the defaults.
Page url: http://wtcmanual.wintextware.com/index.html?m_driver_configuration.htm