VarioUltra
User Guide
Item number: 106020H24
User guide version: 1.4
English 06/2017
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About BAUM
BAUM Retec AG has been a leading provider of products and services
for blind and visually impaired people for more than 35 years. The high
quality and innovative braille products, desktop magnifiers, reading
machines, and software solutions are developed and manufactured in
Germany, and are ideal for educational, professional and private use.
Our Mission
“We believe in independence for every person who is blind or visually
impaired. We passionately apply our skills and experiences toward
developing solutions that reinforce success at school and work, and
improve quality of life.
We always question the way things have been done in the past. We
explore new and innovative ways to solve problems. Our approach
includes ergonomics, thoughtful design, and materials that meet the
highest quality standards. We care deeply about our customers, and help
and support them as much as we can. We care about our employees
too, and support them to reach their highest potential, ensuring a secure
and lasting working environment.
We develop innovative technology solutions that provide independence
for people who are blind or visually impaired. Our high-quality solutions
allow visually impaired people to magnify their world, and blind people to
access electronic and print content with speech or braille output.”
Wolfgang Baum, Chief Executive
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Congratulations! You are now the proud owner of the new VarioUltra,
the smart braille display from BAUM Retec in Germany. The purpose of
this user guide is to introduce you to the main functions of the device,
with several step-by-step examples that you can follow along with on
your VarioUltra. These steps in turn will help you gain experience with
your new device.
If you are an experienced user of VarioUltra, we have added “** New **
with v1.4” to the beginning of sections that are changed or truly new
with software v1.4.
- VarioUltra is shipped with the Device Lock switch in the locked
position. On the left side of VarioUltra, slide this switch away from
you to unlock the device. It’s the switch closest to the front left
corner of VarioUltra.
- In the USA, VarioUltra ships by default with US English Contracted
Braille (grade 2) selected. It's possible to toggle between this and
US English Computer Braille. Refer to section 3.4
of this manual
for additional details.
- We encourage you to read chapter 1 this manual in its entirety,
especially if you’re new to refreshable braille displays and braille
notetakers. This will help familiarize yourself with VarioUltra, the
keyboard and button layout, and the command structure.
- Information on pairing via Bluetooth can be found in section 2.3.
- For lists of VarioUltra commands, and commands that you can use
when working with VoiceOver, JAWS, and other screen readers,
please refer to chapter 14
.
- Please keep the original packaging materials. You never know
when you’ll need them, and if VarioUltra does need to be shipped
anywhere, it will help ensure the device is not damaged in transit.
Still need help?
- In the USA, call (855) 620-7985, or email
support@baumusa.com
.
- In the UK, call (0800) 043-3199, or email
support@baumuk.com
.
- For all other countries, please contact BAUM in Germany,
support@baum.de
Please have your product serial number available to provide to the
support specialist. A braille label with your serial number can be found
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underneath VarioUltra; you will need to remove VarioUltra from
the carrying case to read it. Alternatively, go to Help > About inside the
main menu in Braille Notetaker mode.
Context Sensitive Help is provided in Braille Notetaker mode. Use
command B9+B2B6 to open the Context Sensitive Help. Use the D2 and
D5 buttons to navigate through the help messages. Confirm with OK to
exit.
Copyright © 2017 BAUM Retec AG, Industriestr. 15, 74909
Meckesheim, Germany. All rights reserved. No part of this publication
may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored
in a database or retrieval system, without prior written permission from
BAUM Retec AG.
All efforts have been made to ensure that information contained in this
document is correct at the time of issue. Neither BAUM Retec AG nor its
representatives assume any responsibility for errors or omissions. Nor is
any liability assumed for damages resulting from the use of information
contained herein.
Licenses and trademarks
All licenses and trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter 1: First Impressions ............................................................................................. 11
1.1 What’s in the Box? ............................................................................................................. 11
1.2 Physical Tour of VarioUltra. ................................................................................................ 11
1.3 Switching on VarioUltra for the First Time. ......................................................................... 13
1.4 Charging the Device. .......................................................................................................... 14
1.5 Checking Battery Level. ...................................................................................................... 15
1.6 Braille Notetaker Commands. ............................................................................................ 15
1.7 Braille Notetaker Main Menu. ............................................................................................ 15
1.8 Braille Notetaker Main Menu Elements. ............................................................................. 16
1.9 Confirmation Prompts. ....................................................................................................... 17
1.10 Help & Context Sensitive Help. ......................................................................................... 17
1.11 Updating VarioUltra. ........................................................................................................ 18
1.12 Update via Windows PC. .................................................................................................. 19
1.13 Update via USB Stick. ....................................................................................................... 20
1.14 Update via Settings > System > Update. ........................................................................... 21
Chapter 2: Braille Display Mode ....................................................................................... 23
2.1 Introduction to Braille Display Mode. ................................................................................. 23
2.2 Using VarioUltra as a USB Braille Display. ........................................................................... 24
2.2.1 VarioUltra with JAWS (USB). ............................................................................................ 24
2.2.2 VarioUltra with Mac OS & VoiceOver (USB). ................................................................... 25
2.2.3 VarioUltra with Window-Eyes. ........................................................................................ 25
2.2.4 VarioUltra with NVDA. ..................................................................................................... 26
2.2.5 VarioUltra with Dolphin SuperNova. ............................................................................... 26
2.3 Bluetooth: Pairing and Connecting, Defined ....................................................................... 27
2.4 Is Bluetooth Off or On? ...................................................................................................... 27
2.5 Using VarioUltra as a Bluetooth Braille Display. ................................................................. 28
2.5.1 Connecting with a Paired Bluetooth Device / Wake up an iOS/Android device from
Standby ................................................................................................................................... 29
2.5.2 VarioUltra with Windows PC (Bluetooth). ....................................................................... 30
2.5.3 Bluetooth COM Ports for use with JAWS. ........................................................................ 30
2.5.4 VarioUltra with JAWS (Bluetooth). .................................................................................. 31
2.5.5 VarioUltra v1.33 with an iOS Device (Bluetooth). ............................................................ 32
2.5.5.1 VarioUltra v1.4 with an iOS Device (Bluetooth) ............................................................ 32
2.5.6 VarioUltra with an iOS Device (Bluetooth, old method). .................................................. 33
2.5.7 Paste Contents of Clipboard to Mobile Device ................................................................. 34
2.5.7.1 Braille Key Simulation ....................................................................................................... 35
2.5.7.2 HID Key Simulation ........................................................................................................... 36
2.5.8 VarioUltra with Mac OS & VoiceOver (Bluetooth). ........................................................... 37
2.5.9 VarioUltra with Mac OS & VoiceOver (Bluetooth, old method). ....................................... 37
2.5.10 VarioUltra with an Android Device (Bluetooth). ............................................................ 39
2.6 Switching Between Connected Bluetooth Devices .............................................................. 40
2.7 Mapping Bluetooth Channels. ............................................................................................ 40
2.8 Using VarioUltra with Linux ................................................................................................ 41
2.9 Suppressing Connection Messages. ....................................................................................
44
Chapter 3: Braille Notetaker Mode. .................................................................................. 45
3.1 Command Menus. .............................................................................................................. 46
3.2 Braille Tables / Supported Braille. ...................................................................................... 47
3.3 Unified English Braille (UEB). .............................................................................................. 47
3.4 Master Switch: Changing Settings. ...................................................................................... 48
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3.5 Default Braille Codes .......................................................................................................... 49
3.6 Braille in BRF and RTF Documents ...................................................................................... 51
3.7 Braille Inside Menus, Messages, and Dialogs ...................................................................... 51
Chapter 4: Word Processor Application. ........................................................................... 52
4.1 Typing a Document. ........................................................................................................... 52
4.2 Navigating within a Document. .......................................................................................... 53
4.3 Remembering Last Reading Position. ................................................................................. 54
4.4 Display All File Types. ......................................................................................................... 54
4.5 Editing PowerPoint Documents. ......................................................................................... 54
4.6 Command Menus. .............................................................................................................. 54
4.6.1 File Menu ............................................................................................................................. 54
4.6.2 Edit Menu. ........................................................................................................................... 57
4.6.4 Insert Menu. ........................................................................................................................ 60
4.6.5 Navigate Menu. ................................................................................................................... 60
4.6.6 Tools Menu. ......................................................................................................................... 60
4.7 Exit Word Processor. .......................................................................................................... 62
Chapter 5: PDF Viewer. ..................................................................................................... 63
5.1 Command Menus. .............................................................................................................. 63
5.2 Starting PDF Viewer and Opening a Document ................................................................... 63
5.3 Opening a Password Protected PDF File ............................................................................. 64
5.4 Navigating Within a PDF Document .................................................................................... 64
5.5 Page Navigation ................................................................................................................. 65
5.6 Reading a Document with Columns .................................................................................... 65
5.7 Link Navigation. ................................................................................................................. 66
5.8 Bookmarks. ........................................................................................................................ 66
5.9 Reading Position and Other Document Information. .......................................................... 66
5.10 Save PDF Document as a Text File. ................................................................................... 67
5.11 Highlight and Copy Text in a PDF File. ............................................................................... 67
5.12 Find. ................................................................................................................................. 68
5.13 Exit PDF Viewer. ............................................................................................................... 68
Chapter 6: Excel Viewer. ................................................................................................... 69
6.1 Command Menus. .............................................................................................................. 69
6.2 Starting Excel Viewer and Opening a Document. ................................................................ 69
6.3 Save Excel Files as a Text File. ............................................................................................. 70
6.4 Copying Cell Content to the Clipboard. ............................................................................... 70
6.5 Excel Document Information. ............................................................................................. 70
6.6 Reading by Cells, Row, or Column. ..................................................................................... 70
6.7 Reading by Cell. .................................................................................................................. 71
6.8 Reading by Row. ................................................................................................................ 71
6.9 Reading by Column. ........................................................................................................... 72
6.10 Reading Files with Multiple Worksheets. .......................................................................... 72
6.11 Find and Find next. ........................................................................................................... 73
6.12 Define Column Heading. ................................................................................................... 73
6.13 Define Row Heading. ........................................................................................................ 74
6.14 Edit or Delete Heading Definition. .................................................................................... 74
6.15 Reading Cell Comments. ................................................................................................... 74
6.16 Exit Excel Viewer .............................................................................................................. 75
Chapter 7: Calculator. ....................................................................................................... 76
7.1 Command Menus. .............................................................................................................. 76
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7.2 Entering Numbers and Operators ....................................................................................... 77
7.3 Inputting Calculations. ....................................................................................................... 78
7.4 Editing Calculations. ........................................................................................................... 78
7.5 Navigating within Current and Previous Calculations. ......................................................... 78
7.6 Using the Clipboard. ........................................................................................................... 79
7.7 Settings. ............................................................................................................................. 79
7.8 Memory List and Memory Functions. ................................................................................. 79
7.9 Scientific Mathematical Functions. ..................................................................................... 81
7.10 Basic Calculations. ............................................................................................................ 81
7.11 Powers, Logarithms, Etc. .................................................................................................. 81
7.14 Conversions...................................................................................................................... 82
7.15 Exit Calculator. ................................................................................................................. 83
Chapter 8: Timers. ............................................................................................................ 83
8.1 Timer. ................................................................................................................................ 83
8.2 Stopwatch. ......................................................................................................................... 84
8.3 Alarm Clock. ....................................................................................................................... 85
8.4 Exit Timers. ........................................................................................................................ 86
Chapter 9: File Manager. .................................................................................................. 88
9.1 Command Menus. .............................................................................................................. 88
9.2 Navigating Around File Manager. ....................................................................................... 88
9.3 Create a New Folder. .......................................................................................................... 89
9.4 Open a File or Folder. ......................................................................................................... 90
9.5 Opening Files from Within the Word Processor Application ............................................... 90
9.6 Delete a File or Folder ........................................................................................................ 91
9.7 Rename a File or Folder ...................................................................................................... 92
9.8 Create a New Blank Document ........................................................................................... 92
9.9 Opening Documents ........................................................................................................... 93
9.10 Introduction. .................................................................................................................... 94
9.11 Entering and Navigating the File Manager. ....................................................................... 94
9.12 Additional Information about Files and Folders. ............................................................... 95
9.13 Using File Manager with External USB Stick. ..................................................................... 95
9.14 Using VarioUltra as an External Drive on a PC. .................................................................. 96
9.15 Exit File Manager. ............................................................................................................. 96
Chapter 10: Settings Menu. .............................................................................................. 97
10.1 Settings Sub Menu Items. ................................................................................................. 97
10.2 Settings > Alerts Menu. .................................................................................................... 97
10.2.1 Alerts > Volume. ................................................................................................................ 98
10.2.2 Alerts > Vibration On/Off. ................................................................................................. 98
10.3 Settings > Braille Menu. .................................................................................................. 98
10.3.1 Braille > Braille Presentation. ............................................................................................ 99
10.3.1.1 Braille > Left/Right Margin. ............................................................................................ 99
10.3.1.2 Braille > Line Jump/Drag. ............................................................................................... 99
10.3.1.3 Braille > Show Messages With/Without Word Wrap. ................................................. 100
10.3.1.4 Braille > Dot Strength. .................................................................................................. 100
10.3.2 Braille > Cursor menu. ................................................................................................. 100
10.3.3 Braille > Default Braille Codes. ........................................................................................ 102
10.3.4 Braille > Standard Braille Tables ...................................................................................... 103
10.3.5 Braille > Hide and Display Braille Dots 7 and 8 ............................................................... 103
10.4 Settings > Display Settings .............................................................................................. 104
10.4.1 Display Settings > Menu Shortcut Commands ................................................................ 104
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10.4.2 Display Settings > Hotkeys. ............................................................................................. 104
10.4.3 Display Settings > Templates ........................................................................................... 105
10.4.3.1 Templates > Menu Item ............................................................................................... 107
10.4.3.2 Templates > Button ...................................................................................................... 108
10.4.3.3 Templates > Checkbox ................................................................................................. 108
10.4.3.4 Templates > Textbox .................................................................................................... 108
10.4.3.5 Templates > Textbox Read Only ................................................................................... 109
10.4.3.6 Templates > List Box ..................................................................................................... 109
10.4.3.7 Templates > File ........................................................................................................... 109
10.4.3.8 Templates > Folder. ...................................................................................................... 110
10.4.4 Display Settings > Password Options. ............................................................................. 110
10.4.5 Display Settings > Messages. ........................................................................................... 111
10.5 Settings > Keyboard........................................................................................................ 111
10.5.1 Keyboard > B7 Key. .......................................................................................................... 111
10.5.2 Keyboard > B8 Key. .......................................................................................................... 112
10.5.3 Keyboard > Double Stroke............................................................................................... 112
10.5.4 Keyboard > One Hand Mode. .......................................................................................... 112
10.5.5 Keyboard > Key Mapping ................................................................................................ 115
10.5.7 Keyboard > Auto Repeat for Navistick ............................................................................ 116
10.5.8 Keyboard > Auto Scroll .................................................................................................... 116
10.6 Settings > Date and Time .............................................................................................. 116
10.6.1 Date and Time > Date. ..................................................................................................... 117
10.6.2 Date and Time > Time. .................................................................................................... 117
10.6.3 Date and Time > Date and Time Format. ........................................................................ 118
10.6.4 Date and Time > Time Zone. ........................................................................................... 118
10.7 Settings > Power Management. .................................................................................... 119
10.7.1 Power Management > Auto Suspend. ............................................................................ 119
10.7.2 Power Management > Battery. ....................................................................................... 119
10.8 Settings > IO Profiles. .................................................................................................... 121
10.8.1 IO Profiles > Loading a Profile. ........................................................................................ 122
10.8.2 IO Profiles > Create and Save a New Profile.................................................................... 122
10.8.3 IO Profiles > Use Selected Profile. ................................................................................... 123
10.9 Braille Display Mode Menu. .......................................................................................... 123
10.9.1 Braille Display Mode > Device Emulation........................................................................ 124
10.9.2 Braille Display Mode > Enable Bluetooth Automatically. ............................................... 124
10.9.3 Braille Display Mode > Vibrate on Device Connected. .................................................... 124
10.9.4 Braille Display Mode > Show Message if Device Connected. .......................................... 125
10.9.5 Braille Display Mode > Key Simulation Properties. ......................................................... 125
10.10 Settings > Bluetooth Menu. ........................................................................................ 127
10.11 Settings > System Menu. ............................................................................................. 127
10.11.1 System > Update. .......................................................................................................... 128
10.11.2 System > Disk Cleanup. ................................................................................................. 128
10.11.3 System > Reset Device. ................................................................................................. 128
10.12 Exit Settings ................................................................................................................ 129
Chapter 11: Help Menu. ................................................................................................. 130
11.1 Exit Help ....................................................................................................................... 130
Chapter 12: Contact BAUM ............................................................................................. 130
Chapter 13: Acknowledgements ..................................................................................... 132
Chapter 14: Appendices .................................................................................................. 132
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14.1 VarioUltra iOS Commands .............................................................................................. 132
14.2 VarioUltra BrailleBack Commands .................................................................................. 134
14.3 VarioUltra Commands .................................................................................................... 136
14.4 JAWS Commands ........................................................................................................... 138
14.5 VarioUltra Commands for Mac OSX ................................................................................ 139
14.6 VarioUltra Menu Structure ............................................................................................. 141
Compliances ................................................................................................................... 149
CE Conformity ........................................................................................................................ 149
FCC Conformity ...................................................................................................................... 149
Environmentally friendly disposal according to EU-Directive 2012/19/EU .............................. 150
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Chapter 1: First Impressions
1.1 What’s in the Box?
VarioUltra is shipped inside 2 cardboard boxes to help protect it during
transit. We recommend you keep these in case VarioUltra ever needs to
be sent to us for service.
The contents of the box include:
1) A braille Quick Reference Guide
2) A braille Product Registration Card. Customers in the USA can also
register online at
http://www.baumusa.com/support/product-
registration/
3) A VarioUltra braille display; it can be found inside additional protective
packaging.
4) A carrying case and strap. They’re contained inside a plastic bag. The
strap connects to the strap anchor clips that are already added to
VarioUltra
5) A USB to micro USB cable, and a square USB plug. The USB plug
has the US-style prongs folded into the square. Unfold them to plug
into a power outlet.
6) A small box with a variety of international plug adaptors. Unless
you’re using VarioUltra outside of the USA, there should be no need
to worry about these adaptors.
Although the VarioUltra battery is charged during the production
process, the battery may not be at 100% charge by the time it reaches
you. You can charge it at any time by connecting the micro USB end of
the cable into the micro USB port on the left side of VarioUltra, and plug
the other end—the USB plug—into an electrical outlet. When VarioUltra
is connected to a power source, braille cells will fill to indicate how fully
charged the battery is. For example, if your device is 50% charged, you
can expect to find all the dots raised on cells on the left half of the
display. When fully charged, all dots on all cells will be showing.
We recommend using the carrying case when traveling with VarioUltra.
While the device is very durable, it is still an electronic device. Take care
to avoid dropping VarioUltra, or exposing it to liquid, as damage is not
covered under warranty.
1.2 Physical Tour of VarioUltra.
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VarioUltra includes a braille keyboard, a braille line with cursor routing
buttons, and a variety of other buttons and switches.
A BAUM braille keyboard is ergonomic by design. The 8 braille keys are
laid out in a slightly curved fashion. If you hold your hands parallel with
each other, you may miss dots 1 and 4 which sit more forward than the
other keys. Move the palms of your hands in the direction of the front
corners of VarioUltra and your fingers should naturally align with the
button layout. Braille keys are referred to throughout this manual as B1,
B2, etc., all the way to B8.
Depending on the VarioUltra model you own, it will have either 20 or 40
braille cells, and an equal number of cursor routing buttons that can be
found directly above each cell. Use cursor routing buttons to move the
cursor within a document, or to select options inside menus.
Display Buttons. There are 6 display buttons in all, 3 on each side of the
braille line. These buttons are used to navigate around a document as
you read. These buttons are also used to command and control certain
devices such as an iPhone or iPad. Display buttons are referred to as
D1, D2, etc. D1, D2, and D3 are on the left side of the device, while D4,
D5, and D6 are on the right.
Thumb Keys are located below the braille line, along the front, angled
edge of VarioUltra. They are an inch wide by half an inch tall. In braille
display mode, both buttons function as a space bar. In braille notetaker
mode, the one on the left is used as a command key; the one on the
right is space. The thumb keys are referred to as B9 and B0 throughout
this document.
The Navistick is a 5-way joystick, located between the two thumb keys.
Use Navistick to move left, right, up, or down by tapping the edge of the
button in the desired direction. Pressing in on the middle part of the
Navistick selects and/or confirms options within the menu structure of
VarioUltra. The Navistick can also be used to move through a document,
or to move through menus.
System Keys are small, circular buttons located along the front edge of
VarioUltra. You will find S1 and S2 to the left of the left thumb key, and
S3 and S4 to the right of the right thumb key. When in Braille Notetaker
mode, a long press of S3 always takes you back to the main menu. A
short press of S3 inside applications will open or close the Command
Menu.
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There are two USB ports on the left edge of VarioUltra. The standard
USB port is for use with a standard USB stick. The smaller, micro USB
port is used to connect to power, or to connect to a Windows or Mac
computer.
There are two slider switches on the left side of VarioUltra: one is the
Device Mode switch; the other is the Lock Switch. The one next to the
micro USB port is the Device Mode switch. When facing toward the back
of VarioUltra, you will be in Braille Notetaker mode. When facing toward
the front, you will be in Braille Display mode. The Lock Switch is closest
to the front. When facing away from you, VarioUltra is unlocked. When
facing toward you, VarioUltra is locked. When locked, no buttons work,
including the power button.
The power button can be found on the right side of VarioUltra. When
switched off, a short press of the power button starts VarioUltra. Once
on, a short press of the power button puts VarioUltra into Suspend
mode. A short press wakes it up again, and so on.
If you hold the power button for 15-20 seconds, VarioUltra will reboot. To
shut down VarioUltra completely, hold down the S4 key, press and
release the power button, and immediately release S4. VarioUltra will
vibrate and shut down.
1.3 Switching on VarioUltra for the First Time.
Your VarioUltra should arrive with the lock switch in the locked position.
Slide this switch to the unlocked position, and press and release the
power button. From a cold start, VarioUltra boots up in about 45
seconds.
During the boot up process, you will witness a progress bar of dots 7
and 8, followed by a flashing cursor at cell position 1, and the name
“VarioUltra 20” or “VarioUltra 40” displayed beside it. When this
message disappears, your device is ready to use. If your device is in
Braille Notetaker mode, you will be at the top of the main menu, which
means Word Processor is displayed. If your device is in Braille Display
mode, you will probably see USB displayed for a few seconds, and then
the display goes blank until you choose to connect to something.
Note that if VarioUltra was previously in suspend mode, a short tap of
the power button wakes up the device in a couple of seconds. It just
wakes up where you left off. Note too that VarioUltra will switch off after
14
10 minutes of inactivity. It’s possible to lengthen this time default, or
switch it off completely so that your device only switches off when you
press the power button. Suspend mode will not happen if you are
actively connected to a USB or Bluetooth device.
To turn VarioUltra off completely, press and hold system key S4 and
then tap and release the power button. VarioUltra will vibrate and power
off. If VarioUltra is connected to a power supply or connected to a
computer via USB, the braille display will show a row of braille cells with
all dots showing on each cell, indicating the charge level of the battery. If
VarioUltra is not connected to anything, the braille display will be blank
when switched off completely. Switching VarioUltra off completely is
recommended during extended periods when it will not be used. This will
help preserve battery life over longer periods of time.
1.4 Charging the Device.
VarioUltra has an internal Lithium ion battery that is charged via the
micro USB to standard type A USB cable. The micro USB end of the
cable that inserts into VarioUltra has a connector that is longer on one
side than the other. The longer edge needs to be on top to fit in
VarioUltra; a helpful way to know when the longer edge is facing up is to
feel for 2 small bumps on toward the outer edges. If the bumpy side is
facing up, you have the cable facing the right way. Connect the other
end of the cable into a USB plug, into the USB port of a computer, or to
a USB power adaptor (800 - 2000 mA, 5 V).
Note:
Charging VarioUltra takes approximately 2.5 hours when plugged
directly to an electrical outlet. Connecting via USB to devices such as a
computer takes more time – as much as two times longer.
The battery should last between 8 and 12 hours depending on whether
you are connected to Bluetooth devices, etc. Running in Braille
Notetaker mode with Bluetooth switched off will last the longest.
Conversely, running in Braille Display mode while actively connected via
Bluetooth to other devices will last the least amount of time.
If the battery drains completely, connect VarioUltra to an external power
source using the USB plug and USB cable that came with your device.
Whenever the battery drains completely, connecting VarioUltra to a
power source will not immediately bring it back to life. Please wait a few
15
minutes for VarioUltra to attain a minimum amount of power. If you
notice the cells fill up with all dots showing in each cell, you will need at
least 5 cells to be filled before switching on VarioUltra.
1.5 Checking Battery Level.
You can check the battery level of VarioUltra in both Braille Notetaker
and Braille Display modes. In Braille Notetaker mode, give two short
taps of system key S3. If you’re in Braille Display mode, press and hold
S2 and then tap the left thumb key, B9.
1.6 Braille Notetaker Commands.
Trying to remember all the shortcut commands on day 1 is probably not
a practical idea. The good news is that while you’re learning what the
Braille Notetaker can do, you can achieve virtually all things by using the
menus.
Remember:
1) A long press of the S3 button will always take you back to the last
position in the main menu.
2) When inside an application, a short press of the S3 button will open
the Command Menu in much the same way that the ALT key opens
menus on Windows, or CTRL Function F2 opens them on a Mac.
3) When inside the Command Menu of a VarioUltra application, a short
press of the S3 button exits back to the application.
4) In the case of many other braille notetakers, commands are typically
achieved by pressing the space bar with a braille character. This is
commonly referred to as a chord command. Chord C means you
press the space with dots 1 and 3 on the braille keyboard.
5) VarioUltra provides commands to do virtually anything from any
location inside the device. To achieve this, you will typically use
braille keys B7 and/or B8 along with the chord command. To copy
something in VarioUltra, you press the left thumb key B9 with dots 1,
3, and 8. If you haven’t typed with your pinky fingers in a while this
may feel strange at first, but once mastered, it will feel like second
nature.
1.7 Braille Notetaker Main Menu.
When you’re in the main menu of the Braille Notetaker mode, you’re in a
vertical list of applications.
These include:
16
1. Word Processor: the hotkey is ‘w’; the global command is w+B789.
2. PDF Viewer: the hotkey is ‘p’; the global command is y+B789.
3. Excel Viewer: the hotkey is ‘x’; the global command is x+B789.
4. Calculator: the hotkey is ‘c’; the global command c+B789.
5. Timers: the hotkey is ‘t’; the global command is t+B789.
6. File Manager: the hotkey is ‘f’; the global command f+B789.
7. Settings: the hotkey is ‘s’; the global command is s+B789.
8. Help: the hotkey is ‘h’; the global command is h+B789.
Hotkey: if you’re within the main menu, typing the hotkey letter on its
own will open the application.
Global Command: enter these commands from anywhere in Braille
Notetaker, to open the application.
From the factory, main menu items will have the letters ‘MI’ displayed at
the beginning of the line. The element ‘MI’ stands for Menu Item.
Elements like this can be hidden, saving you some space. You can scroll
up and down in the menus using either the display buttons D1 and D3,
or by tapping the top or bottom edge of the Navistick. When the menu
displays the name of the application you want to use, you can open it in
one of three ways. Press the left thumb key B9 one time, press any
cursor routing button, or press in on the middle of the Navistick.
Within the pages of this manual, shortcut commands are written in one
of two ways. By way of example, if the command requires you to press
the left thumb key B9 with braille keys B2 and B3, the command will be
written as B9+B2B3. In cases where a letter or punctuation symbol is
used, the command will be written as c+B8B9 as in the case of the
global command for copy.
Global shortcut commands are also displayed after the name of an
application or menu item. Like all other elements, these commands can
also be hidden. Refer to
Display Settings > Templates
1.8 Braille Notetaker Main Menu Elements.
Braille elements are those things that appear on the display when in
Braille Notetaker mode. Examples include: MI, LI, CB, CHK, and EB.
You can find more details in section 10.3 Display Settings.
17
1) MI: this element means you are on a menu item. Menu items are
displayed vertically, which means you navigate up and down to move
from one item to another. In most cases, you can select by entering
the corresponding hotkey or shortcut command, by pressing the left
thumb key B9, or by pressing in on the Navistick. Using the assigned
shortcut command selects the item without the need to open the
menu.
2) LI: this element means you are on a list item. List items are displayed
horizontally, which means you navigate left and right to move from
one item to another, and the selected item is presented. Entering the
first letter of an item takes you directly to that item in the list.
3) CB: The Control Button item refers to words such as OK, Cancel,
Yes, and No. These words typically appear in message dialogs. You
confirm your choice by pressing a cursor routing button above the
word in question or by pressing the left thumb key B9.
4) CHK: This element refers to a checkbox. You can check and uncheck
checkboxes by navigating to the right with the Navistick, by pressing
a cursor routing button above the checkbox, or by tapping the right
thumb key B0.
5) EB: This element refers to an edit box, into which text can be entered.
You will encounter edit boxes in those instances where a value needs
to be entered.
1.9 Confirmation Prompts.
Throughout the Braille Notetaker menu structure of VarioUltra you will
find references to things you should or could confirm. Common
examples include confirming with OK to exit a dialog, or confirming with
YES or NO. In these cases, the word or words in question will be
present on the braille display, or accessible by scrolling down or up with
the Navistick to find them. When you find them, you can confirm with B9,
pressing in on the Navistick, or selecting a cursor routing button above
any part of a word. You will find an example below in the next section,
Help & Context Sensitive Help, where you are instructed to “scroll down
and confirm with OK to exit” to leave the help dialog.
1.10 Help & Context Sensitive Help.
VarioUltra has two Help features.
To get general information about VarioUltra or to access this User
Guide, enter command h+B7B8B9. This opens the Help menu, which
18
contains a menu item to open the user guide and a menu item to open
the dialog “About VarioUltra”. You can use display keys D2 and D5
within the About VarioUltra dialog to navigate through the information
that is presented there. Scroll down and confirm with OK to exit.
In virtually every other area of the product, entering command B9+B2B6
will display context sensitive help for the menu item, application, or
dialog box that you are interested in learning more about. Use display
keys D2 and D5 to navigate through the context sensitive help
messages. Scroll down and confirm with OK to exit.
1.11 Updating VarioUltra.
From time to time, new VarioUltra software updates will become
available for download from the BAUM USA web site,
http://www.baumusa.com/support/varioultra-update/
. Update files are
provided in the form of a zip archive file.
Note:
1) Do not unzip the update or upgrade file. Doing so could cause the
update or upgrade process to fail.
2) If you use the Safari web browser on a Mac computer and plan to use
it to download the update file, be sure and first uncheck the box for
‘Open “safe” files after downloading’. If the box is left checked, the
update file will be automatically unzipped after downloading and will
not work with VarioUltra.
3) From within Safari, go to Preferences > General, and uncheck the
box for this feature until after the VarioUltra update zip file has been
downloaded.
4) In the unlikely event that you own a VarioUltra that is running
software version 1.0, please do not attempt to update VarioUltra
without first contacting BAUM USA technical support. The update
process is different for v1.0 than it is for newer software versions.
5) If your VarioUltra is running software version 1.1 or newer, there are
two approaches to copying the file to VarioUltra. The first is by
connecting via USB to a Windows computer; the second is with a
USB stick. Instructions for both options follow in sections 1.11.1 and
1.11.2.
** New ** with v1.4:
Some aspects of the update process have changed.
19
The traditional approach is to copy the update zip archive file to the
Flashdisk storage of VarioUltra, and then with the unit connected to
power, press D3D6B7B8 simultaneously to start the update.
When you choose to update the traditional way, all individual settings
such as Bluetooth pairing and channel assignments are erased. Profiles
for the default US English Contracted Braille and the newly supported
UEB are installed.
As a new alternative, if update via menu Settings > System > Software
Update, your user settings and Bluetooth pairing information remain.
To benefit from the new UEB and US English Contracted Braille profiles,
you must do the following after installation:
Go to menu Settings > System > Reset Device, and check the checkbox
(CHK) "Reset User Settings to Default", then select CONFIRM to reset
and restart the device.
1.12 Update via Windows PC.
This section provides instructions for copying the update or upgrade file
to VarioUltra via a USB connection with a Windows PC.
1) Download the update zip file to your Windows PC. Locate the
downloaded file and copy it to the clipboard with the copy command
you are most comfortable with.
2) Use the BAUM-supplied USB cable to connect VarioUltra to your PC.
VarioUltra will be recognized as a Portable Device; in most cases, it
will appear under your computer in Windows Explorer as a portable
device called “VarioUltra”.
3) Navigate to VarioUltra in Windows Explorer and enter it to find
VarioUltra Storage; this is the location where you can paste or
otherwise copy the zip update or upgrade file to.
4) Once the zip file has been copied to VarioUltra, you are ready to start
the update process.
5) VarioUltra must be connected to a power source during the update
process, so either leave it connected via USB to your PC, or connect
it to another power source.
6) Start the upgrade process by simultaneously pressing braille keys B7
and B8, and display buttons D3 and D6. The update process will
commence. First a row of dots 7 and 8, then a group of 5 braille
characters that move from left to right, and then finally VarioUltra will
restart and be ready to use.
20
1.13 Update via USB Stick.
This section provides instructions for copying a VarioUltra update or
upgrade file to VarioUltra via USB Stick, and then performing the update
process.
1. If you use a Windows computer, download the update zip file to
your Windows PC. Locate the downloaded file and copy it to a
USB stick. While it’s not mandatory, copying the update or
upgrade file to a blank USB stick may make it easier later in this
process.
2. If you use a Mac computer and use the Safari web browser, be
sure and first uncheck the box for ‘Open “safe” files after
downloading’. If the box is left checked, the update file will be
automatically unzipped after downloading and will not work with
VarioUltra.
3. From within Safari, go to Preferences > General, and uncheck the
box for this feature until after the VarioUltra update zip file has
been downloaded.
4. Locate the downloaded file and copy it to a USB stick.
5. With your VarioUltra switched on and in Braille Notetaker mode,
connect the USB stick that contains the update or upgrade file.
6. Open the File Manager application from within the Main Menu.
7. Use the Navistick to navigate down to the entry called “Stick”. This
is the USB stick that you inserted a moment ago.
8. Navistick right to open the stick and search for the VarioUltra
update file. Once you find the file, highlight it by pressing the right
thumb key, B0. You will know the file is highlighted because dot 8
will be added to each character of the file name.
9. With the file name highlighted, copy it using global command B9 +
C + B8 (B9 + B1B4B8), or use the copy command inside the Edit
menu. The braille display will announce that one item is prepared.
10. Now Navistick left to exit the stick, and then navigate back
up to Flashdisk.
11. With Flashdisk displayed, navigate right to enter the
Flashdisk. This is the root folder where the file needs to be copied
to.
12. Paste the update or upgrade file to this location using global
command B9 + V + B8 (B9 + B12368), or use the paste command
inside the Edit menu. The first cell on the braille display will flash
during this time.
13. Once the file is pasted to the Flashdisk, VarioUltra is ready
to be updated. Since VarioUltra must be connected to a power
21
source during the update process, either connect it via USB to a
computer or to an electrical outlet.
14. Start the upgrade by simultaneously pressing braille keys B7
B8, and display buttons D3 D6. If you correctly press these keys
together, the update process will commence. First a row of dots 7
and 8, then a group of 5 braille characters that move from left to
right, and then finally VarioUltra will restart and be ready to use.
The VarioUltra update process allows the installation of different
components, which are part of the update package. The routine checks
which components are already present on the device, and installs only
those items that are new. Different progress bars will appear on the
braille display during installation steps. Installation typically takes less
than 2 minutes.
1.14 Update via Settings > System > Update.
New with VarioUltra version 1.33, the Update feature under menu item
Settings > System > Update allows you to start the update process from
within the menu, instead of using the command B7B8D3D6.
Here is how it works:
1. Copy a VarioUltra update file or upgrade file to VarioUltra using
the instructions covered in previous sections, 1.11 through 1.13.
2. Navigate to VarioUltra menu Settings > System. The first option in
the list is Update.
3. In the Update dialog, you get a list “Update Files”, where the
names of the update zip files are shown, followed by a series of
numbers. If there is one update file, the numbers will say “1/1”,
which stands for file one of one. If you had two update files, you
might see “1/2” or “2/2” for one of two and two of two respectively.
4. If more than one file name is shown, move Navistick right or left
and select the desired update file. Move down and confirm the
“details” button with thumb key B9, or press in on the Navistick.
5. A dialog opens and you are in a multi-line text box “description”.
Here you get information about the changes or new features. Use
D4D6 to leave this multi-line text box and reach the other controls.
With the other controls, you can define if your individual user
settings shall remain.
6. Confirm the button “Prepare Selected” to start the update process.
First, the zip file is unzipped, and then checked. Both are
accompanied by progress information. In case the zip file is
22
damaged, the process stops. If all went well, you get a status
message “ready to install”.
7. Confirm the “update now” button with thumb key B9, or press in on
the Navistick.
During the installation, you get different progress information. When
everything is complete, VarioUltra reboots with the new software
version.
Remember to connect VarioUltra to power during the update process; it
will not work otherwise.
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Chapter 2: Braille Display Mode
2.1 Introduction to Braille Display Mode.
VarioUltra is a very smart braille display. Unlike other braille devices that
limit you to one single connection via Bluetooth or USB, VarioUltra lets
you connect simultaneously with up to 5 different devices. VarioUltra
was the first braille device in the world to offer multiple device
connectivity.
Connecting VarioUltra and up to 5 different devices is possible using 1 x
USB and 4 x channels of Bluetooth. Once paired and/or connected, you
can switch instantly between devices by pressing and holding down S2,
and then tapping a corresponding braille key that is assigned to the
device in question. This command instructs the braille display to show
information from the chosen device.
** New ** with v1.4: this command can now wake up a paired iOS or
Android device, so long as it is in standby mode, and in range of
your VarioUltra.
For example:
1) S2 plus B1 selects the USB device
2) S2 plus B4 selects Bluetooth channel 1 (bt1)
3) S2 plus B5 selects Bluetooth channel 2 (bt2)
4) S2 plus B6 selects Bluetooth channel 3 (bt3)
5) S2 plus B8 selects Bluetooth channel 4 (bt4)
When toggling between channels, remember to release all buttons after
entering a command. If you don’t let go of S2 between selections, it’s
likely that nothing will happen.
Additional Commands in Braille Display Mode:
1. S2+B9 (left thumb key): presents a hint message with battery
status, time and date. Press the routing button above the first cell
to freeze the message. Press any other routing key to clear the
message.
2. S2+B2 switches off Bluetooth.
3. S2+B3 opens a list and presents which device is paired and
connected to the available Bluetooth channels. Move left and right
to get the information.
a. VarioUltra presents the channel and the name of the device.
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b. If the name is in parenthesis, it means that the device is
paired and assigned to this channel, but not in range and
therefore not connected.
2.2 Using VarioUltra as a USB Braille Display.
With Device Mode set to braille display, insert the micro USB cable into
the micro USB port on VarioUltra, and the other end into the USB port of
your computer.
Here are some screen reader specific instructions.
2.2.1 VarioUltra with JAWS (USB).
An updated JAWS driver version 15.52 is available for VarioUltra. This
and other JAWS drivers are available for download from the BAUM USA
web site at http://www.baumusa.com/support/jaws-drivers/
If you do not install the JAWS VarioUltra driver, you will not find
VarioUltra listed among supported braille displays, and it will not work
with JAWS.
To use VarioUltra with JAWS using a USB connection:
1) Install the VarioUltra driver for JAWS.
2) Connect the USB cable to the micro USB port of VarioUltra, and to
the standard USB port of your Windows computer.
3) Switch on VarioUltra if you have not already done so. Your computer
may acknowledge that a new device has been connected.
4) Open the JAWS menu and go to menu Options > Braille. A dialog
window appears labeled Braille Basic Settings.
5) Enter ALT+B to select Add Braille Display. You can also tab through
the buttons to find and select it.
6) A new Select Components dialog window appears. Scroll down the
long list of supported braille displays to find VarioUltra 20 or
VarioUltra 40, or BAUM Universal USB. Press space to check the box
for whichever display option you choose, and then press enter to
move to the next window.
7) Make sure the output port is set to USB. If you specified more than
one braille display you may be prompted with the same question for
each display.
8) Next, select your primary device. For our example, we will pick
VarioUltra 40. Then select the Finish button.
25
9) Restart JAWS if prompted to do so. VarioUltra should start working
immediately.
2.2.2 VarioUltra with Mac OS & VoiceOver (USB).
VarioUltra works great with Mac computers via Bluetooth. If you have a
Mac computer running macOS Sierra, you can also connect to your Mac
via USB.
If your Mac computer has macOS Sierra installed, and there are no
other braille displays installed, the simple act of switching on VoiceOver,
and then connecting VarioUltra is all that is required. It just works.
If you have multiple braille displays connected to your Mac, go to the
VoiceOver Utility that is available under System Preferences >
Accessibility > VoiceOver, and select the Braille option from the list.
From there select Displays and make sure VarioUltra is set
as the primary braille display. It should now work.
Note: If your Mac is running an older operating system such as OSX El
Capitan, it is only possible to use VarioUltra over a Bluetooth
connection.
2.2.3 VarioUltra with Window-Eyes.
According to an announcement from GW Micro (AI Squared/VFO
Group), the Window-Eyes screen reader is no longer available. Existing
users of Window-Eyes are being offered JAWS 18 as a replacement.
For complete details, refer to
http://www.gwmicro.com/window-
eyes/migrate.
Using Window-Eyes with VarioUltra over a USB connection is
supported. If you wish to connect via Bluetooth, it is necessary to set
VarioUltra’s Bluetooth Emulation mode to VarioConnect.
For VarioUltra to work optimally with Window-Eyes, first download and
install the VarioUltra driver for Window-Eyes prior to use. A link to the
download can be found on the BAUM USA web site at
http://www.baumusa.com/support/windoweyes-screen-reader/
.
Save the file to your computer and run the executable to install.
Connecting via USB:
26
1) Connect VarioUltra to your Windows computer using the supplied
USB cable.
2) Open the Device > Braille Display menu within Window-Eyes and
select VarioUltra from the list.
3) Select USB as the connection type.
Connecting via Bluetooth:
1) You will have already changed the Bluetooth Emulation mode to
VarioConnect, and successfully paired your VarioUltra with your
Windows computer.
2) Open the Bluetooth device manager on your Windows computer. You
should see VarioConnect in the list of paired devices.
3) Tab or arrow over to VarioConnect and open the Properties dialog to
confirm that one of the four serial channels is active. Save and
confirm these settings.
4) Open the Properties again and confirm which channel number is
being used for the output port of VarioConnect.
5) In Window-Eyes, open Device > Braille Display and select BAUM
VarioConnect 24/32/40 from the list.
6) Select the serial output Bluetooth port using the output port number
confirmed in step 4.
7) Press the Activate button and confirm the message.
2.2.4 VarioUltra with NVDA.
NVDA introduced Bluetooth support for VarioUltra with NVDA 2015.4,
and USB support with 2016.1.
Unlike previous versions of NVDA, the newer 2015.4 and 2016.1
releases do not require any changes to the serial port. Configuration is
now automatic.
From the NVDA menu, choose Preferences > Braille. In the Braille
Display combo box, choose “BAUM/Humanware/APH Braille Displays”
and press Enter.
2.2.5 VarioUltra with Dolphin SuperNova.
Dolphin released support for VarioUltra in March 2016. At a minimum,
you need to be running version 15.03 of Dolphin Screen Reader or
Dolphin SuperNova Magnifier and Screen Reader.
1) With your Dolphin software running, connect VarioUltra to your
computer using the supplied USB cable.
27
2) VarioUltra is detected automatically.
2.3 Bluetooth: Pairing and Connecting, Defined
We often encounter customers who use the terms pairing and
connecting, believing them to mean the same thing. They are different,
and it’s important to understand why.
1) When you first get a VarioUltra, it is neither paired or connected with
your devices.
2) Pairing is the process of introducing VarioUltra to your device
(smartphone, computer, etc.), and vice versa. This process is
required so that Bluetooth devices grant permission to each other to
connect.
3) Connecting is the process of taking two paired devices – e.g.
VarioUltra and your smartphone – and connecting over Bluetooth. It is
not possible to connect via Bluetooth with a device that has not been
paired.
Once pairing and connected have been done, you can think of it this
way:
1) When VarioUltra and your device are in range, they are paired and
connected.
2) If you take your device and walk away from VarioUltra, the connection
will eventually brake. In this situation, you are paired but not
connected.
3) When your device is once again in range of VarioUltra, it should
connect again automatically, so long as VarioUltra is switched on.
2.4 Is Bluetooth Off or On?
Bluetooth is off by default when switching on VarioUltra for the first time.
Additionally, if you switch off VarioUltra or put it in to suspend mode,
Bluetooth will be turned off.
With VarioUltra v1.33 and older versions of VarioUltra software,
switching off the device results in Bluetooth being switched off. Bluetooth
remains off until you switch it on again, which can be achieved in Braille
Display mode by simply selecting a Bluetooth channel (S2+B4, for
example), and in Braille Notetaker mode by checking the box in Settings
> Bluetooth.
28
** New ** with v1.4: When Enable Bluetooth Automatically is checked,
Bluetooth will always be switched on when you start VarioUltra. This is
especially helpful on those occasions when your VarioUltra may have
entered suspend mode because of inactivity.
This new feature can be enabled in menu item Settings > Braille Display
Mode. Refer to section 10.9.2 for additional information.
2.5 Using VarioUltra as a Bluetooth Braille Display.
VarioUltra can be used via Bluetooth with a variety of different devices.
Out of the box, VarioUltra works with:
1) Most Bluetooth equipped Windows computers.
2) Any Mac computer that runs on Max OSX Yosemite or newer.
MacOS Sierra is the current version.
3) An iPhone or iPad running iOS 8.3 or newer.
If you’re using older technology, or an Android device, you may need to
use the Bluetooth Emulation option in VarioUltra, which disguises
VarioUltra as an older BAUM braille display or notetaker.
There are three emulation modes for Bluetooth:
1) VarioUltra: this is the default mode, and works when connecting via
Bluetooth to a Windows computer when using COBRA, JAWS, or
NVDA, with a Mac computer running OSX Yosemite or El Capitan,
and with iOS devices running iOS 8.3 or newer.
2) VarioConnect: use when connecting to an Android device.
3) Pronto: use when connecting to an iOS device with iOS 7 or iOS 8, or
when connecting via Bluetooth with a Windows computer for use with
the Window-Eyes screen reading software.
It is only possible to select one emulation mode for all connections. This
means that if you use emulation mode “VarioUltra” to connect via
Bluetooth to a computer, you would not then be able to connect via
Bluetooth to another device that requires Pronto or VarioConnect
emulation.
Here are the steps needed to change the VarioUltra emulation setting:
1) From the VarioUltra main menu, go to Settings > Braille Display
Mode.
2) From the horizontal list of three options that now appears, use the
Navistick to move left or right to select the desired emulation mode.
29
When the display shows the desired emulation, tap the left thumb key
B9 to confirm and exit back to the Settings menu.
If you use older technology, or an Android device, pairing must always
be initiated from VarioUltra.
2.5.1 Connecting with a Paired Bluetooth Device / Wake up an
iOS/Android device from Standby
There is a required order of things when connecting a paired Bluetooth
device. If your iPhone is on and your VarioUltra is off, switching on
VarioUltra will not result in a connection. If VarioUltra is on, your iPhone
is on, but Bluetooth on your iPhone is off, you will not connect
successfully either.
If you want a stress-free experience, follow these quick tips:
1) Switch on VarioUltra and make sure Bluetooth is on. You can confirm
it’s on by selecting any Bluetooth channel with S2 + B4, B5, B6, or
B8.
2) Switch on your other device. Connection should happen almost
instantly.
Special note for iPhone or iPad VoiceOver users:
1) Make sure VarioUltra is switched on; make sure Bluetooth is switched
on.
2) Make sure VoiceOver is switched on and your iPhone or iPad is at
the locked screen.
3) Unlock your iOS device. At this point, VoiceOver will scan for paired
Bluetooth devices in range and connect with this. This should happen
in 5-8 seconds.
When a device connects via Bluetooth, VarioUltra vibrates to indicate
which Bluetooth channel is connected. For example, one vibration for
channel 1, two vibrations for channel 2, etc.
** New ** with v1.4: you can now wake up an iOS or Android device
from VarioUltra. If the iOS or Android device is in standby mode and
within range, from within Braille Display mode on VarioUltra, press the
keys to select the assigned Bluetooth channel (S2) and wait 5-8 seconds
for your device to be wake up.
Requirements:
1) The Bluetooth pairing was initiated by the iOS or Android device.
30
2) The pairing was performed with VarioUltra emulation in the default
mode, which is VarioUltra. If you have never changed the emulation
mode, you should not need to worry about this step.
3) The iOS or Android device is assigned to a Bluetooth channel on
VarioUltra.
4) The iOS or Android device is in standby mode, and in range.
2.5.2 VarioUltra with Windows PC (Bluetooth).
Pairing and connecting VarioUltra via Bluetooth with a Windows
computer may vary by PC manufacturer and/or the version of Windows
you are using. These instructions are based on our experience using
Windows 10 Home Edition with VarioUltra version 1.33.
A new feature with VarioUltra version 1.33 is the ability to initiate pairing
from the PC, which is exactly what we describe below.
In VarioUltra Braille Notetaker, enter command B9+D1 to switch to
Computer Braille.
Make sure that Bluetooth on both the computer and VarioUltra is set to
the on position. On VarioUltra, go to Settings > Bluetooth and confirm
that the checkbox is on. On the PC, go to Settings > Devices >
Bluetooth, and make sure that Bluetooth is on. Leave VarioUltra in the
Bluetooth settings.
After a brief period, your PC should discover VarioUltra and display its
name and Bluetooth identifier. For example, our VarioUltra appears as
“VarioUltra 40 E25560A9000”. The words “Ready to Pair” appear directly
beneath.
Select the VarioUltra from this list and a button with the word “Pair”
appears. Select this button and your PC will prompt you to enter the
pairing code, which is 1111. Enter this code and then press enter.
VarioUltra will prompt you to accept the pairing from the windows
computer. Using Navistick, move down a line, and type 1111 using the
B2 key for #1, and then press B9 to confirm.
A confirmation message on your PC will confirm that VarioUltra is now
connected. You are now ready to use VarioUltra as a braille display with
your screen reading software.
2.5.3 Bluetooth COM Ports for use with JAWS.
If you plan to use VarioUltra with a screen reader such as JAWS, you
will need to know the outgoing COM port range during braille display
selection and setup.
31
From the Settings > Devices > Bluetooth location on your computer, find
and select the More Bluetooth Options. This will open a Bluetooth
Settings dialog with three tabs: Options, COM Ports, and Hardware.
Switch to the COM Ports tab, and you should find a list of eight COM
ports: four incoming and four outgoing. Make a note of the outgoing
COM ports as you will need to specify one of them during the initial
braille display setup in JAWS.
Instructions for setting up VarioUltra as a Bluetooth braille display with
JAWS follow immediately below.
2.5.4 VarioUltra with JAWS (Bluetooth).
You should first download and install the JAWS VarioUltra driver, which
is available on the BAUM (USA) web site:
http://www.baumusa.com/support/jaws-drivers/
. If you don’t install the
driver, you will not find VarioUltra listed among supported braille
displays, and it will not work with JAWS.
To use VarioUltra with JAWS using a Bluetooth connection:
1) Install the VarioUltra driver for JAWS on your computer, and restart
JAWS.
2) Open the JAWS menu and go to menu Options > Braille. A dialog
window appears labeled Braille Basic Settings.
3) Enter ALT+B to select Add Braille Display. You can also tab through
the buttons to find and select it.
4) A new Select Components dialog window appears. Scroll down the
long list of supported braille displays to find VarioUltra 20 or
VarioUltra 40. Press space to check the box at whichever display
option you choose, and then press enter to move to the next window.
5) Remember the steps covered in the previous section 2.3.2 to confirm
outgoing COM port numbers? This is where you need to remember
which ports are outgoing, and select any one of them from the list
displayed in JAWS. Press enter to confirm your choice.
6) Next, select your primary device. For our example, we will pick
VarioUltra 40. Then select the Finish button.
7) Restart JAWS if prompted to do so. VarioUltra should start working
immediately when you restart JAWS.
From our experience, we find that setting Braille Mode to Structured, and
checking the box to Auto Detect Braille Display Using Bluetooth are
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worth doing. You can find both settings under JAWS Settings Center >
Braille > General.
2.5.5 VarioUltra v1.33 with an iOS Device (Bluetooth).
For this section, we are using an iPhone 6 with iOS 9.3.2 along with a
VarioUltra 40 with version 1.33 software.
Although VarioUltra can be paired with iOS devices running iOS 7 or
later through iOS 8.2, doing so requires you to change the Bluetooth
emulation to VarioConnect or Pronto. The iOS 8.3 and newer versions
include support for VarioUltra, which means the Bluetooth emulation
mode can be left in the default setting. If applicable, refer to section 2.3
for instructions on changing the emulation mode to use with iOS devices
running version 7 through 8.2.
New for VarioUltra version 1.33 is the ability to initiate pairing from your
iOS device. Here are the steps you need to follow:
1) In VarioUltra Braille Notetaker, enter command B9+D1 to switch to
Computer Braille.
2) Next, go to Settings > Bluetooth. If Bluetooth is off, switch it on now.
Do not exit from Bluetooth settings.
3) On your iOS device, go to VoiceOver > Braille settings. Swipe down
to the “Choose a Braille Display and find VarioUltra. Once found,
double tap on VarioUltra to initiate pairing. Enter the pin code 1111
when prompted to do so by your iOS device.
4) VarioUltra will prompt you to accept the pairing from the iOS device.
2.5.5.1 VarioUltra v1.4 with an iOS Device (Bluetooth)
Initiating pairing from an iOS device is easier than ever with VarioUltra
v1.4 software. We even made a short video that takes you through the
different steps: https://youtu.be/ajiunK0WdxE
.
Here are the written instructions:
1) Make sure that Bluetooth is on for both VarioUltra and your iOS
device.
2) In VarioUltra Braille Notetaker, go to Settings > Bluetooth.
3) On iOS device, go to VoiceOver > Braille Settings. Swipe right/down
to ‘Choose a Braille Display’, and located VarioUltra. Double-tap to
initiate pairing.
4) The iOS device will prompt you for a pin. Enter 1111, and swipe
left/up to double tap on ‘Pair’.
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5) On VarioUltra, immediately tap the left thumb key, B9 to accept the
pairing.
You’re all done! You may now switch to Braille Display mode on
VarioUltra and start using it with your iOS device. Please refer to the
Appendix section of this user manual for a list of iOS commands that can
be entered from VarioUltra.
2.5.6 VarioUltra with an iOS Device (Bluetooth, old method).
If your VarioUltra is not yet updated to version 1.33, or if you simply
prefer to initiate Bluetooth pairing from the VarioUltra, here are the old
instructions. They work for any iOS device using iOS 8.3 or newer.
1) In VarioUltra Braille Notetaker, enter command B9+D1 to switch to
Computer Braille.
2) On your iOS device, go to Settings > Bluetooth, and make sure that
Bluetooth is on. Do not exit from Settings > Bluetooth or attempt to do
anything else on your iOS device.
3) With VarioUltra switched on and in Braille Notetaker mode, go to
Settings > Bluetooth and make sure the Bluetooth checkbox is
checked. If dots 1 and 4 are present in cell 6, the box is checked. If
the parentheses in cells 5 and 7 are separated by a blank cell, the
box is unchecked. If it’s not, tap the Navistick to the right or press the
cursor routing button about the empty checkbox to switch Bluetooth
on.
4) With Bluetooth on, navigate down a line to the ‘Scan’ option, and
select it by tapping the left thumb key, B9, or by pressing any cursor
routing button above the word ‘Scan’. This will command VarioUltra to
search for Bluetooth devices that are in range.
5) After scanning is complete, you will be presented with a horizontal list
of Bluetooth devices. The devices listed will include all Bluetooth
devices that are in range, plus Bluetooth devices that may have been
previously paired with your VarioUltra.
6) Use the Navistick to move right and left through this list until you find
your iOS device. When you do, navigate down a line with the
Navistick and choose the ‘Pair’ option to initiate the Bluetooth pairing.
7) Turn your attention back to your iOS device. If the pairing process
started, your iOS device should be prompting you to enter the 4-digit
pairing code, which is 1111.
8) Enter the code 1111, and if you’re using VoiceOver, swipe left to the
Pair button on your iOS device, and select it.
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9) VarioUltra will tell you that Bluetooth pairing with your iOS device was
successful. Navigate down a line to select ‘OK’, and then switch to
Braille Display mode.
10) On your iOS device, go to VoiceOver > Braille settings. If you’re
new to VoiceOver on an iOS device, this can be found under Settings
> General > Accessibility > VoiceOver.
11) Swipe right until you get to the section, “Choose a Braille Display”.
Keep swiping right until you come to VarioUltra. When you get to
VarioUltra in this list, you will hear VarioUltra with your serial number
and the words “not connected”. double-tap to establish the
connection. Your iOS device should confirm that it is connected.
12) When a device connects to VarioUltra, you should feel VarioUltra
vibrate to indicate which Bluetooth channel it has connected to. For
example, if it connects on channel one, VarioUltra will vibrate one
time. It will vibrate twice for channel 2, three times for channel 3, and
4 times for channel 4.
13) Still on VarioUltra, press and hold system key 2 (S2) and then tap
braille key 4, 5, 6, or 8 to select the appropriate Bluetooth channel 1,
2, 3, or 4. If your iOS device is connected to channel 2, you would
press and hold S2, and then tap B5. The braille display will show BT2
My iPhone, or whatever name your device has.
14) If you would like to revert to contracted braille in VarioUltra Braille
Notetaker mode, enter command B9+D2 to switch to contracted
braille.
VarioUltra should be working fine with your iOS device at this point. If
speech is activated on your iOS device, whatever VoiceOver says will be
displayed on the braille display. Please refer to the Appendix section of
this user manual for a list of iOS commands that can be entered from
VarioUltra.
2.5.7 Paste Contents of Clipboard to Mobile Device
When you highlight and copy a block of text – up to 10,000 characters –
to the clipboard of the VarioUltra Braille Notetaker, you can now switch
to Braille Display mode and paste this text into a mobile device running
iOS or Android. This feature was first introduced with VarioUltra 1.33
software, and improved with the new version 1.4.
** New ** with v1.4: How this feature works.
This feature simulates the key strokes which would be used to perform
the character input of text that is stored on the clipboard in VarioUltra.
You can choose between two different methods of key simulation to
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transfer your text: Braille Key Simulation (introduced with VarioUltra
software 1.33) or the new HID Key Simulation (introduced with
VarioUltra 1.4 software).
Both methods can be used in parallel. It requires the correct language
and device specific HID table for HID key simulation selected in menu
Settings > Braille Display mode > Key simulation properties. Compared
to the older Braille Key Simulation approach, the text transfer with HID
key simulation is faster.
2.5.7.1 Braille Key Simulation
The quick instructions are as follows:
1) From inside a Braille Notetaker application such as the Word
Processor, highlight and copy/cut a selection of text up to 10,000
characters.
2) By way of example, highlight the current sentence with command
B9+B3B6. Your highlighted sentence will display dot 8 below each
braille character.
3) If you make a mistake and wish to cancel the highlighting, enter the
cancel command B9+B7B8, or just press the D4 button.
4) Enter command c+B8B9 to copy or x+B8B9 to cut this highlighted text
to the clipboard.
5) Switch to Braille Display mode to use your mobile device such as an
iPhone.
6) If not already done, activate the Bluetooth channel for the connected
device by holding system key S2 and then pressing B4, B5, B6, or B8
for the channel in question.
7) Within a text window of any application on your mobile device, press
S2+D1 on VarioUltra to initiate pasting of your copied text.
8) To stop the transfer, press S2+D2.
Note:
1) Braille tables need to match on VarioUltra and your mobile device. If
you copy contracted text from your VarioUltra, your iPhone needs to
be set to contracted braille as well. If not, the braille translation will be
affected.
2) The braille language needs to be the same also. If you copy Spanish
text from VarioUltra and paste to an iPhone that is programmed for
English, errors will occur such as accented characters not translating
correctly.
3) The transfer can take some time. In BAUM (USA) tests, sending
5,000 characters took about 7 minutes.
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4) While the S2+D2 command will stop the transfer, there is a point
when all text has already been sent. All you can do then is to wait
until the end.
5) If you copy and paste more than 10,000 characters, only the first
10,000 characters will be sent to your mobile device.
2.5.7.2 HID Key Simulation
** New ** with v1.4:
1) From inside a Braille Notetaker application such as the Word
Processor, highlight and copy/cut a selection of text up to 10,000
characters.
2) By way of example, highlight the current sentence with command
B9+B3B6. Your highlighted sentence will display dot 8 below each
braille character.
3) If you make a mistake and wish to cancel the highlighting, enter the
cancel command B9+B7B8, or just press the D4 button.
4) Enter command c+B8B9 to copy or x+B8B9 to cut this highlighted text
to the clipboard.
5) Switch to Braille Display mode to use your mobile device such as an
iPhone
6) If not already done, activate the Bluetooth channel for the connected
device by holding system key S2 and then pressing B4, B5, B6, or B8
for the channel in question.
7) Within a text window of any application on your mobile device, press
S2+D4 on VarioUltra to initiate pasting of your copied text.
8) To stop the transfer, press S2+D5.
Note:
1) Bluetooth pairing must be initialized from the other device (iOS /
Android). If you initiated pairing in the past from VarioUltra, you will
need to remove the pairing information on VarioUltra and pair again,
only this time initiate the pairing from your other device.
2) During Bluetooth pairing and when in use, VarioUltra must be in
VarioUltra native mode (emulation VarioUltra). This is a default
setting so unless you have changed it in the past, you shouldn’t need
to worry about this step.
3) With Android: in addition to BrailleBack you must install BRLTTY for
Android 5.2 or higher.
4) In menu Settings > Braille Display Mode, option key simulation
properties you must select a HID table which matches with your
device and language, i.e. Apple_US_.U2H for iPhone.
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5) Braille tables need to match on VarioUltra and your mobile device. If
you copy contracted text from your VarioUltra, your iPhone needs to
be set to contracted braille as well. If not, the braille translation will be
affected.
6) The braille language needs to be the same also. If you copy Spanish
text from VarioUltra and paste to an iPhone that is programmed for
English, errors will occur such as accented characters not translating
correctly.
7) The transfer can take some time. Sending 5,000 characters can take
about a few minutes, also depending on the type of mobile device.
8) While the S2+D2 command will stop the transfer, there is a point
when all text has already been sent. All you can do then is to wait
until the end.
9) If you copy and paste more than 10,000 characters, only the first
10,000 characters will be sent to your mobile device.
2.5.8 VarioUltra with Mac OS & VoiceOver (Bluetooth).
For this section, we are using a MacBook Pro with macOS Sierra and a
VarioUltra 40 with version 1.33 software.
New for VarioUltra version 1.33 is the ability to initiate pairing from your
macOS device. Here are the steps you need to follow:
1) In VarioUltra Braille Notetaker, enter command B9+D1 to switch to
Computer Braille.
2) Next go to Settings > Bluetooth. If Bluetooth is off, switch it on now.
Do not exit from Bluetooth settings.
3) On your Mac, go to VoiceOver > Open VoiceOver Utility > Braille >
Displays, and select the + symbol to add a new braille display. Your
Mac will open a new window and begin searching for braille displays
in range.
4) Once found, select VarioUltra. An Option button will appear beside
the name of VarioUltra. Select this button to enter the pairing code
1111.
5) VarioUltra will then prompt you for the same code. Type 1111 using
the B2 key for #1. Press B2 four times to enter the code, and tap the
left thumb key B9 to accept.
6) To revert to contracted braille, enter command B9+D2.
You’re all done! You may now switch to Braille Display mode on
VarioUltra and start using it with your Mac.
2.5.9 VarioUltra with Mac OS & VoiceOver (Bluetooth, old method).
38
If your VarioUltra is not yet updated to version 1.33, or if you simply
prefer to initiate Bluetooth pairing from the VarioUltra, here are the old
instructions. They work for any Mac running OSX Yosemite or newer.
1) On your Mac computer, go to System Preferences > Bluetooth.
Enable Bluetooth if it is turned off. Do not exit from Bluetooth
Preferences.
2) With VarioUltra switched on and in Braille Notetaker mode, go to
Settings > Bluetooth and make sure the Bluetooth checkbox is
checked. If it’s not, tap the Navistick to the right or press the cursor
routing button about the empty checkbox to switch Bluetooth on.
3) With Bluetooth on, navigate down a line to the ‘Scan’ option, and
select it by tapping the left thumb key, B9, or by pressing any cursor
routing button above the word ‘Scan’. This will command VarioUltra to
search for Bluetooth devices that are in range.
4) After scanning is complete, you will be presented with a horizontal list
of Bluetooth devices. The devices listed will include all Bluetooth
devices that are in range, plus Bluetooth devices that may have been
previously paired with your VarioUltra.
5) Use the Navistick to move right and left through this list until you find
your Mac computer. When you do, navigate down a line with the
Navistick and choose the ‘Pair’ option to initiate the Bluetooth pairing.
6) Turn your attention back to your Mac computer. If the pairing process
started, your Mac computer should be prompting you to enter the 4digit pairing code, which is 1111. Enter the code, and then navigate to
the Pair button and select it.
7) VarioUltra will tell you that Bluetooth pairing with your Mac was
successful. Navigate down a line to select ‘OK’, and then switch to
Braille Display mode.
8) On the Mac, go to System Preferences > Accessibility and select the
“Open VoiceOver Utility…” button.
9) Select “Braille” inside the VoiceOver Utility dialog by moving your
cursor down until you hear VoiceOver announce “Braille” or by hitting
hotkey “B”.
10) Under the braille section, switch from the “Layout” tab to the
“Displays” tab. To do this, tap the tab key until you hear VoiceOver
say “Layout”, at which point cursor to the right to hear “Displays”, and
press the space bar to select.
11) Tap the tab key again to enter the braille display table. Tap the tab
key again to hear “Add”, and select by hitting the space bar.
12) At this point, your Mac will search for paired devices. When
VoiceOver announces that a new line has been added, scroll down
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with CTRL-OPTION-SHIFT and down arrow on the Mac. When you
hear “BAUM VarioUltra”, select the “Select” button to connect.
13) On VarioUltra, Braille Display Mode, press and hold system key 2
(S2) and then tap braille key 4, 5, 6, or 8 to select the appropriate
Bluetooth channel 1, 2, 3, or 4. If your Mac device is connected to
channel 2, you would press and hold S2, and then tap B5. The braille
display will show BT2 My MacBook, or whatever name your computer
has.
Your VarioUltra and Mac computer should now be working.
2.5.10 VarioUltra with an Android Device (Bluetooth).
The following instructions assume you have already enabled the
Talkback screen reader, and that you have downloaded, installed, and
enabled BrailleBack. If not, please refer to the Android Accessibility Help
Center at https://support.google.com/accessibility/android/
for
instructions. It is very important that BrailleBack be switched on before
starting the pairing process.
Make sure that the VarioUltra emulation is set to VarioConnect.
1) On Android, switch on BrailleBack.
2) On Android, go to Settings > Connections > Bluetooth, and make
sure that the check box under “My Device” is checked so that the
device is visible to VarioUltra and other devices. This will remain
active for 2 minutes.
3) On VarioUltra, go to Settings > Bluetooth. Making sure that the
Bluetooth checkbox is checked, select the option to scan for devices
in range.
4) When VarioUltra displays the results of devices found, locate your
phone name and Navistick down one line to select the Pair option.
5) On Android, enter the pair code 1111. When the pairing is successful,
BrailleBack should chirp, indicating success.
6) Switch VarioUltra to Braille Display mode to connect with your
Android device.
If you prefer to connect VarioUltra natively to an Android device, you can
achieve this by following these additional instructions:
1) On Android, go to the BrailleBack screen and turn off BrailleBack.
2) On VarioUltra, change the emulation from VarioConnect back to
VarioUltra.
3) On Android, go the BrailleBack screen and turn on BrailleBack.
40
4) BrailleBack should reconnect to VarioUltra. Best of all, if you’re using
a VarioUltra 20, your display will now be formatted for 20 cells instead
of 24. Thanks to customer Scott McCormack for his assistance
testing this functionality.
** New ** with v1.4: A further option is to install additionally BRLTTY for
Android 5.2 or higher. Then you can pair VarioUltra also with VarioUltra
emulation. And you can initialize the Bluetooth pairing from the Android
device to use HID key simulation, providing you with the option to wake
up your Android device from standby mode.
Finally, if you wish to use the braille keyboard of VarioUltra for braille
input on the Android device, please enter a character via braille keys
and follow the instructions on the Android.
2.6 Switching Between Connected Bluetooth Devices
Switching between connected devices on VarioUltra is achieved in
Braille Display Mode. Press and hold S2, tap and release the
appropriate braille key, and then release S2.
To switch between USB and the four channels of Bluetooth (BT), do the
following:
_ USB: S2 + B1
_ BT1: S2 + B4
_ BT2: S2 + B5
_ BT3: S2 + B6
_ BT4: S2 + B8
When switching to the USB channel, the braille display will show USB.
When switching to one of the Bluetooth channels, the braille display will
show something like, “BT1 My iPhone”, or whatever name your device is
recognized as. If you see brackets either side of the device name, it
means the device is paired, but not in range.
If Bluetooth was off before attempting to connect with a previously paired
device, selecting the device will force Bluetooth to switch on
automatically. When this happens a message on the braille display will
ask you to wait while Bluetooth is switched on, and then it will display the
Bluetooth channel and device name information. It only takes a second
or two.
2.7 Mapping Bluetooth Channels.
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Let’s say that your iPhone is connected on Bluetooth channel 3, but you
want it to be on Bluetooth channel 1. It’s easy to change it. For example:
a new device is connected to Bluetooth channel 3 (BT3) and you want to
assign it to Bluetooth channel 1 (BT1). To change it, follow these short
instructions:
Press S2 + B6. VarioUltra shows the channel and the device name.
While the hint message is shown, press B4 for about a second and
release. VarioUltra assigns the device to Bluetooth channel 1 (BT1).
Note: If BT1 was holding another device, that device is automatically
assigned to BT3. In other words, the channels are swapped.
2.8 Using VarioUltra with Linux
Our thanks to VarioUltra user Scott McCormack for his contributions to
this section.
The assumption is you are somewhat familiar with using Linux, and that
you’re comfortable working from the command line.
REQUIREMENTS:
Braille support under Linux is provided by an application called BRLTTY.
Most Linux distributions come with a version of BRLTTY. However, since
VarioUltra support was only added in version 5.3 and most distributions
come with older versions, it will be necessary to install an updated
version of BRLTTY to get VarioUltra to work. For the purposes of this
instruction, we are using Ubuntu 14.04, which comes with BRLTTY 5.0.
Even the newest Ubuntu 15.10 only comes with 5.2. Most people are
probably running older versions of BRLTTY.
Confirming your BRLTTY version. From the command line type:
brltty -V
Note the capital V. This will print out the version number of BRLTTY
along with some other information, and then return you to the command
line. If you get 'brltty: command not found' you don't have BRLTTY
installed at all. This means you can proceed to the download and install
steps.
Remove Old Versions. If your distribution came with BRLTTY installed
and it isn't version 5.3 or later, you should remove it before installing a
new copy. To do this, you will need to use the package management
tools included with your distribution to remove the existing copy of
42
BRLTTY. If you are not using a debian based distribution such as
Ubuntu, your instructions will vary. Debian/Ubuntu users type:
sudo apt-get remove brltty
You will be prompted for your password and prompted to confirm the
removal of BRLTTY and any associated packages. Press enter or type y
to proceed and once everything is removed you should be returned to
the command prompt. If you try and run BRLTTY now you should get a
no such file or directory error, or command not found
Downloading and unpacking BRLTTY source. Now we need to
download BRLTTY to our Linux machine. You can access the download
page at http://mielke.cc/brltty/download.html
(correct as of this writing
on April 27, 2016) and you want to download the source file in .tar.gz
format. You can download directly from the command line if you have
the wget command installed (most distributions have it installed) by
entering:
wget http://mielke.cc/brltty/archive/brltty-5.3.1.tar.gz
This will download the 5.3.1 source files in .tar.gz format which is the
current version as of this writing. Once you have the file downloaded you
should have a file called brltty-5.3.1.tar.gz sitting in your directory
To unpack the file, enter:
tar -zxf brltty-5.3.1.tar.gz
Once the file is unpacked you'll be returned to the command line and will
now have a new directory called brltty-5.3.1 change into this directory.
Compile and Install. This section comes directly from the BRLTTY
manual:
http://mielke.cc/brltty/doc/Manual-
BRLTTY/English/BRLTTY-3.html#ss3.2
Change into the brltty-5.3.1 directory created earlier. Enter the following
commands and wait for each to complete successfully before
proceeding to the next.
sudo ./configure
sudo make
sudo make install
Each of the preceding commands will generate a lot of output. Examine
the last 10 or so lines of output for errors which are usually denoted with
multiple * asterisk characters.
Test run. Connect your VarioUltra via the USB cable to your Linux box; a
bunch as messages may appear on your console as the VarioUltra is set
up. Once the messages stop appearing you may hit enter to redisplay
the command prompt.
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Now that we have BRLTTY installed, let’s test it. Enter the following to
start BRLTTY:
sudo brltty
BRLTTY should show a version number, make a ‘bloop’ sound, and your
VarioUltra should spring to life. If it does congratulations you now have
braille inside a Linux environment.
Killing BRLTTY: You can stop brltty at any time by typing:
sudo killall brltty
Run BRLTTY as a service. Running BRLTTY as a service is useful as it
will start automatically on system boot and will start up when a
compatible display is connected allowing us to set it and forget it.
The procedure for installing BRLTTY as a service varies depending on
the distribution in use. In the build directory there is a directory called
'Autostart' this directory contains startup scripts for various service
managers BRLTTY supports.
For Ubuntu 14.04 we use the Upstart system so we want to copy the
brltty.conf file from Autostart/Upstart to /etc/init by changing to the
Autostart/Upstart directory and typing:
sudo cp brltty.conf /etc/init
now we should be able to start brltty by typing
sudo service brltty start
and stop brltty by typing
sudo service brltty stop
GUI. Want to use your VarioUltra while in the GUI? You can! Just run
the orca screen reader while BRLTTY is running. Without orca running
your VarioUltra will display 'screen not in text mode' while you are in the
GUI.
Uninstalling BLRTTY:
If for any reason you need to remove your freshly installed BRLTTY,
change to the BRLTTY source directory and issue the following
command:
sudo make uninstall
Using the VarioUltra braille keyboard in the GUI. It is necessary to have
the xbrlapi application installed. As of this writing, we haven’t quite
figured out how to compile this from the source. If you have installed the
Ubuntu package, it works fine even with the BRLTTY 5.3.1 we have use
to make the VarioUltra work. To install it, just issue the following
command at the command line:
44
sudo apt-get install xbrlapi
Note:
_ The key maps are not the same as in the text mode, e.g. the left
thumb key (B9) is mapped to backspace along with B8. Additionally, all
chord commands must be entered with the right thumb key (B0)
_ The braille keyboard will not work on the GUI login screen so a
standard keyboard must be used to login.
2.9 Suppressing Connection Messages.
When connecting to or switching between devices with S2 plus the
appropriate braille key, VarioUltra displays a message that contains
channel information. The message will say things such as “USB”, “BT1
BAUM iPhone”, etc.
It is possible to suppress these messages if preferred. From the Braille
Notetaker mode main menu, go to Settings > Braille Display Mode >
Show a message if a device was connected, and uncheck the box.
Press B9 to confirm.
45
Chapter 3: Braille Notetaker Mode.
By now, you already know that VarioUltra is a very smart braille display.
Another benefit of VarioUltra ownership is the Braille Notetaker
functionality, which includes a suite of applications including:
1) Word Processor: use this application to create new files and save
them as Rich Text Format (RTF) Text (TXT), or one of two braille
formats (BRL and BRF). Also, use this application to open Word
DOC/DOCX files and PowerPoint PPT/PPTX files.
a) ** New ** with v1.4: you can now open PPS documents
(PowerPoint slide show format) inside the word processor
app.
2) PDF Viewer: use this application to open and read accessible PDF
documents, even ones that are password protected.
3) Excel Viewer: use this application to open and read Excel XLS/XLSX
documents. Read by row or column, and open and read any cell
comments. You can also switch between worksheets of a workbook.
4) Calculator: whether you need help with a basic calculation or
conversion, or need to enter complex scientific equations, this
application is for you.
5) Timers: this application includes a variety of timers, a stop watch, and
alarms.
6) File Manager: use this application to access the files and folders
stored on VarioUltra’s 32GB of internal storage. Also use this
application to access files on a connected USB stick.
7) Settings: if there’s a changeable setting for VarioUltra, you’ll find it
here. Whether you’re changing braille tables or pairing via Bluetooth
with a new device, it’s here.
8) Help: this is where you will find electronic copies of this user guide
and the quick reference guide. You will also find the product serial
number in the About section. Remember also that context sensitive
help is available throughout VarioUltra.
These applications are presented in a vertical list in the Main Menu.
1) If you enter an application and want to return to the Main Menu, make
a long press of S3.
2) From within an application, tap and release S3 to enter the Command
Menu. This is where you’ll find menus such as File and Edit. A short
tap of S3 exits the Command Menu and returns to the application.
3) To move around the menus, tap the outer edges of Navistick to move
in the desired direction.
4) As you scroll through the Main Menu, you will find other information in
addition to the application name. This includes “MI” (Menu Item) at
46
the beginning of the line, a single letter hotkey, the app name, and
the shortcut command for accessing this application from anywhere.
You can select the app or menu item by:
1) Tapping the left thumb key, B9.
2) Pressing a cursor routing button above the application name.
3) Typing the single letter hotkey.
4) Pressing in on the Navistick.
If you’re new to braille notetakers and new to VarioUltra, the stress-free
way to start is to work with these menus. There are commands for most
things in VarioUltra, but memorizing them should be a gradual thing, not
an overnight goal.
3.1 Command Menus.
Some of the Braille Notetaker applications include Command Menus,
which is what we use to refer to menus such as File, or Edit. To access
these menus inside an application, tap system key S3. To exit back to
the application, tap S3 again.
Some applications do not have command menus. In the case of the PDF
Viewer and the Excel Viewer, a file must be open to access command
menus.
Command Menus Summary:
1) Word Processor
a) File menu
b) Edit menu
c) Insert menu
d) Navigate menu
e) Tools menu
2) PDF Viewer – must open a file to access command menus
a) File
b) Edit
c) Go To
d) Find
e) Tools
3) Excel Viewer – must open a file to access command menus
a) File
b) Navigation
c) Find
d) Tools
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4) Calculator
a) Math Functions
b) User Constants
c) Conversion
d) Edit
e) View
f) Tools
5) Timers
a) No command menus
6) File Manager
a) File
b) Edit
c) View
d) Tools
7) Settings
a) No command menus
8) Help
a) No command menus
Refer to application chapters for more detail about command menus.
3.2 Braille Tables / Supported Braille.
This section provides information about supported braille tables in
VarioUltra Braille Notetaker, and instructions for changing or selecting
them.
3.3 Unified English Braille (UEB).
** New ** with v1.4:
With the introduction of version 1.4, VarioUltra now includes support for
Unified English Braille (UEB). Note that this first implementation of UEB
contains some converting errors when typing UEB inside an RTF
document. We continue to work on fixing these known errors.
The system default remains US English Contracted Braille, though you
can set UEB as your preferred default if you wish. The user profile
settings feature in VarioUltra is used to facilitate this:
1) Pressing system key 1 (S1) and dot 1 (B1) loads the default Profile
#1, which provides US English Contracted Braille and Computer
Braille tables.
2) Pressing system key 1 (S1) and dot 2 (B2) loads the Profile #2, which
provides Unified English Braille (UEB) and Computer Braille tables.
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Note:
These profiles dictate which braille is used in Braille Notetaker mode.
The Master Switch feature – explained in section 3.4 – allows you to
toggle between US English Contracted (Grade 2) and Computer Braille
(Default, Profile #1), or
UEB and Computer Braille (Profile #2).
1) To select Computer Braille, hold down B9 and then press display
button 1 (D1).
2) If the default Profile #1 is loaded, hold down B9 and press display
button 2 (D2) to select US English Contracted Braille.
3) If Profile #2 is loaded, hold down B9 and press display button 2 (D2)
to select UEB.
Remember: braille tables do not apply when working with BRF and BRL
braille formats.
3.4 Master Switch: Changing Settings.
** New ** with v1.4:
The Master Switch lets you switch quickly between Computer Braille,
and either US English Contracted Braille (Grade 2), or UEB. This
depends on which profile you have selected. If you have never
knowingly changed the profile, then the default US English Contracted
Braille is what you have.
1) To select Computer Braille, hold down B9 and then press display
button 1 (D1). When selecting this mode, a message will tell you
Master Switch is on.
2) If the default Profile #1 is loaded, hold down B9 and press display
button 2 (D2) to select US English Contracted Braille. When selecting
this mode, a message will tell you Master Switch is off.
3) If Profile #2 is loaded, hold down B9 and press display button 2 (D2)
to select UEB. When selecting this mode, a message will tell you
Master Switch is off.
You can change either or both the input (typing) and output (reading)
braille code. Here are the Instructions:
1) In VarioUltra, go to Settings > Braille > Default Braille Codes.
2) In the dialog, uncheck the “Master Switch” checkbox. This will make
the controls for selecting and changing braille codes, visible. To
49
clarify, if the checkbox remains checked, all you will see below
“Master Switch” are the options OK and Cancel.
3) With the checkbox unchecked for “Master Switch”, move down the list
to “Language” and confirm that English is selected.
4) Move down the list to “Reading Default” and select USA English
Contracted Braille, or the newly added Unified English Braille (UEB).
5) Move down the list to “Writing Default” and select USA English
Contracted Braille, or the newly added Unified English Braille (UEB).
6) Confirm by pressing B9. Note that all menu items should now be
presented in USA English Contracted Braille or UEB, depending on
your choices selected in sections 4 and 5.
7) Open Word processor application (hold down system key S1, or
access from the main menu). Once inside the word processor, open
command menu by tapping system key S3, and go to command
menu item Tools > Grade 2 > Settings.
8) In the dialog, uncheck the “Master Switch” checkbox to make the
controls for selecting braille codes visible. To clarify, if the checkbox
remains checked, all you will see below “Master Switch” is OK and
Cancel.
9) Move down the list to “Converter” and select USA English Contracted
Braille, or the newly added Unified English Braille (UEB). If you prefer
an alternative setting, select it instead.
10) Move down and check the check box “Type in Contracted Braille”.
11) Move down and check the check box “Read in Contracted Braille”.
12) Confirm by pressing B9.
Now the braille output for the presentation of menu items, system
messages, texts in PDF Viewer, Excel Viewer and doc, docx, rtf, txt, ppt,
pptx and pps files in word processor are set to either USA English
Contracted Braille (Grade 2) or the newly added UEB; this depends on
your choices made above.
Note that text input in RTF or TXT files must now be made in USA
English Contracted Braille or UEB, depending on your selections.
3.5 Default Braille Codes
The Default Braille Codes section can be found under Settings > Braille.
This is where you will find various options for changing the way you read
and type braille with VarioUltra. Menu list items include:
- Master Switch Computer Braille – this is new with version 1.3
software and needs to be unchecked to see other menu options.
- Language
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- Reading braille code
- Writing braille code
- Text Box / Menus / Messages braille code
- Technical braille message on/off
- Confirm button OK
- Confirm button Cancel
Here are additional details for each of these menu list items:
1) Master Switch Computer Braille. By default, the checkbox is checked.
When checked, the only options displayed are OK and Cancel. To
view other menu items, uncheck the box by pressing the cursor
routing button at cell 6, or tap the right edge of Navistick. The purpose
of the Master Switch is to allow quick changing between Computer
Braille and another of the available Braille codes, such as English
Contracted (grade 2). Refer to the next section 3.1.2 for details on
changing the Master Switch settings.
2) The next item to be displayed is the language of the device. By
default, all VarioUltra units in the USA are set to English. Unless you
speak other languages, this setting should never be changed.
3) The next option governs the braille code used for Reading. The
choice of braille code here will be used inside menus, dialog boxes,
messages, and in PDF and Excel documents. When the language is
set to English, the codes displayed here include:
a) USA English Uncontracted Braille, 1 of 5
b) USA English Contracted Braille, 2 of 5
c) UEB Grade 2, 3 of 5
d) UEB Grade 1, 4 of 5
e) Computer Braille, 5 of 5
4) When you see the preferred braille code, tap the left thumb key B9 to
confirm and exit back to the Braille sub-menu, or move the Navistick
down to the next option.
5) The next option is for the braille code to use for Writing. This code will
be expected whenever you type inside dialog boxes and editable
documents such as RTF, TXT, and BRF. When the language is set to
English, the default code is USA Computer Braille, 1 of 3. Use the
Navistick to move right for USA English Contracted Braille, 2 of 3, or
USA English Uncontracted, 3 of 3.
6) When you see the preferred braille code, tap the left thumb key B9 to
confirm and exit back to the Braille sub-menu, or move the Navistick
down to the next option.
7) Text Box / Menus / Messages braille code is a checkbox option.
When checked, this option ensures that text boxes, menu items, and
messages are displayed using the same braille code as the Reading
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braille code specified above. It is checked on by default. If you
uncheck this option, VarioUltra will display all text boxes, menu items,
and messages in Computer braille.
8) Computer braille message on/off is a checkbox. When checked,
VarioUltra will display a hint message whenever technical braille is
displayed. Uncheck the box if you do not want to see such hint
messages.
9) Confirm button OK. Tapping the left thumb key B9 or pressing a
cursor routing button above the word OK will accept all changes and
return to the Braille sub-menu.
10) Confirm button CANCEL. Tapping the left thumb key B9 or
pressing a cursor routing button above the word CANCEL will cancel
all changes and return to the Braille sub-menu.
3.6 Braille in BRF and RTF Documents
When you select the Braille Ready Format (BRF) for your document,
VarioUltra enters a “What You Braille is What You Get” mode.
Essentially, no conversion is made in this mode so you can type
however you prefer, whether that be grade 1, grade 2, computer braille,
some combination of them all, or in a shorthand braille code you
invented for yourself.
3.7 Braille Inside Menus, Messages, and Dialogs
By default, the text that appears inside text boxes, messages, dialog
boxes and menus is displayed using the same braille code that you use
for reading. If you would prefer that this information be displayed in
computer braille instead, you will need to uncheck the box for “Display
text of text boxes”. Alternatively, just use the Master Switch Computer
Braille to activate computer braille input with B9+D1.
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Chapter 4: Word Processor Application.
In addition to previously described methods for opening the Word
Processor from the Main Menu, you can also enter the shortcut
command w+B9B7B8. Since it’s the most used application, the Word
Processor can also be opened from anywhere in the Braille Notetaker by
a long press of S1.
The Word Processor application can be used with:
_ Word DOC and DOCX files. These can be read and edited. If
edited, files need to be saved as RTF.
_ PowerPoint PPT and PPTX files. These files are read only and
cannot be edited.
_ ** New ** with v1.4: PowerPoint Show PPC and PPSX files.
_ Rich Text Format (RTF) files. This type of document can be read,
edited, and created.
_ Text (TXT) files. This type of document can be read, edited, and
created.
_ Read or create BRF braille documents.
_ Read BRL documents.
4.1 Typing a Document.
The factory default file format is BRF, which is a braille file. With BRF
files, you can freely type whatever you want, regardless of accuracy and
regardless of braille code. It can even be Unified English Braille (UEB). If
there are no other opened documents and/or this is your first time using
the Word Processor application, the application opens a new blank
document, with the cursor at the first braille cell.
Things to remember:
_ Align the palms of your hands in the direction of the front corners of
VarioUltra. When you do this, your fingers should align perfectly with
VarioUltra’s ergonomic keyboard.
_ For space, use the right thumb key, B0.
_ For backspace, press B7.
_ For return, press B8.
_ To move the cursor, use the Navistick, or press a cursor routing
button above the character where you wish to place the cursor.
_ To move backwards or forwards through your document, press D2
to advance backwards, and press D5 to advance forwards.
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_ New text is always inserted at the current cursor position. To
ensure that your cursor is at the end of text, enter command
B9+B4B5B6.
_ So long as the document is not read-only, it’s possible to set the
input mode to “Append”. This means text is always inserted at the end of
the document, regardless of the cursor location. Find this setting under
Tools > Input Mode > Set Append Mode.
4.2 Navigating within a Document.
As previously mentioned, pressing D2 and D5 within a document will
move the display backwards and forwards through a document. There
are other options for moving around a document. Note that in most
cases, the command to move backwards is the mirror image of moving
forwards. Example: moving to the beginning of your file is achieved with
command B9 + B1B2B3. The mirror image of this command is
B9+B4B5B6, which is the command to move to the end of your file.
Here then are some other commonly used navigation commands. As a
reminder, B9 is the left thumb key; B0 is the right thumb key.
_ Move to beginning of file: B9+B1B2B3
_ Move to end of file: B9+B4B5B6
_ Move the display left: D2
_ Move the display right: D5
_ Next Character: command B9+B4 or Navistick right
_ Previous Character: command B9+B1 or Navistick left
_ Next Word: command B9+B5
_ Previous Word: command B9+B2
_ Next Sentence: command B9+B6
_ Previous Sentence: command B9+B3
_ Next Line: command B9+B4B5 or display key D3 or Navistick down
_ Previous Line: command B9+B1B2 or display key D1 or Navistick
up
_ Beginning of Line: command B9+B1B2B3B7
_ End of Line: command B9+B4B5B6B8
_ Next Paragraph: command B9+B4B6
_ Previous Paragraph: command B9+B1B3
_ Next Page: command B9B0+B5B6
_ Previous Page: command B9B0+B2B3
_ Jump to Highlighted Text: k+B9B8
When the cursor is positioned within a word, sentence, or paragraph, a
previous command will always move the cursor to the first character of
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the current unit of text. A subsequent previous command will move back
by the chosen unit of text.
4.3 Remembering Last Reading Position.
New with VarioUltra version 1.33 is the remembering of your last reading
position inside documents in the Word Processor. It’s an automatic
setting that applies when you close the document prior to shutting down
VarioUltra. Otherwise the document will reopen with the cursor at the
beginning of the document.
4.4 Display All File Types.
By default, the Word Processor app only displays text-based documents
such as RTF and DOC/DOCX files when you choose to open an existing
document. To change what type of files you see, follow these additional
instructions.
1) From File > Open, press D4+D6.
2) Once inside the list of files, press display buttons D4+D6; the current
path will be displayed.
3) Move down one line with Navistick. The display will show “Text Files
(*.rtf, *.txt, *.doc, *.docx, &.ppt, *.pptx) 1 of 3”.
4) Scroll right with the Navistick to select either “Braille Files (*.brf, *.brl,
*.bru) 2 of 3” or “All Files (*.*) 3 of 3”. You must open a file after
making these changes for the setting to remain.
5) Any change you make to the type of files to be displayed will now be
remembered by VarioUltra. You will need to repeat these instructions
if you change your mind in future.
4.5 Editing PowerPoint Documents.
PowerPoint (PPT and PPTX) are read-only files that cannot be edited. If
you wish to edit a PowerPoint document with VarioUltra, open and save
as an RTF document. This is a powerful tool for students and anyone
else who attend PowerPoint presentations.
4.6 Command Menus.
Tap S3 to enter or exit from the command menus. The Word Processor
application has 5 menus: File, Edit, Insert, Navigate, and Tools. Read on
to learn about the content of each of these menus.
4.6.1 File Menu
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The File Menu for Word Processor includes the following options:
_ New
_ Open
_ Close
_ Save
_ Save As
_ Protect Text
_ Previous File
_ List Open Files
Additional information and instruction now follows for the File Menu
options.
New. To avoid the menu in future, enter shortcut command is n+B9B8.
1) New. Once selected, VarioUltra will prompt you for a file name. The
name “document” will be shown. Position the cursor after this name
and press B7 to delete it, or just write over it. Remember that you
must use uncontracted braille when creating file names.
a) Navistick down one line to change the path, or folder, where the
document is to be saved. The default is Flashdisk.
b) The next line down contains a horizontal list of file types. Use
Navistick to move left or right through the choices, which include:
RTF, TXT, and BRF.
c) Navistick down to find OK or CANCEL. Select OK to accept the
document name and settings and return to the new document.
Press cancel to abort.
2) Open. To avoid the menu in future, enter shortcut command is
o+B9B8.
a) Select this option, and you will find yourself in the Flashdisk
internal storage. Use Navistick to move in and out of folders, or to
move up and down through lists of files.
b) Find the file you want, and press in on Navistick to open it. You
can also tap B9.
c) To cancel, enter command B9B0+B7B8. This will return you to the
Word Processor.
3) Close. To avoid the menu in future, enter shortcut command is
u+B9B8.
a) To close the current document, choose File > Close from the
menu.
b) If your document was modified, you will be asked if you want to
save it first. Scroll down with Navistick to answer YES or NO.
c) Your current file will be closed; the current cursor position is
automatically saved as reading position when you reopen the
document. You are taken back to the word processor. Note that if
56
or when you choose to close the only open file, you will be taken
back to a blank document in the word processor after closing the
file.
4) Save. To avoid the menu in future, enter shortcut command is
s+B9B8.
a) To save the current document, choose File > Save from the menu.
b) When Save is selected, VarioUltra saves the document in the
currently selected folder. A message says “File Saved”. It is a
good idea to save your documents regularly to avoid rare,
unexpected data loss.
c) To change the file name or path, choose the Save As option
instead.
5) Save As. To avoid the menu in future, enter shortcut command is
a+B9B8.
a) To save as, choose File > Save As from the menu.
b) An edit will appear with the current file name. Delete the old name
and type the new name here. Remember: you must use
uncontracted braille here to avoid use of any forbidden characters.
c) To change the path or save location, scroll down with the
Navistick. You will be taken to a field which presents the path. If
the path is ok, scroll down with Navistick.
d) To change the path, select the Browse button. This will open a
new dialog where you can select the desired folder.
e) The next line down lets you change the file type. Select from the
list of file types, moving left or right with the Navistick.
f) Confirm with OK, or press B9B0+B7B8 to cancel.
6) Protect/Unprotect Text. To avoid the menu in future, enter shortcut
command z+B9B8.
a) This menu option is a toggle.
b) If the menu option says Protect, it means your document is
editable.
c) If the menu option says Unprotect, it means your document is
Read Only.
7) Previous File. To avoid the menu in future, enter shortcut command -
+B9B8.
a) To move to the previous opened document, go to File >Previous
File.
b) When selected, VarioUltra switches to the last opened document
you were working with.
8) List Open Files. To avoid the menu in future, enter shortcut command
l+B9B8.
a) To list all currently open documents, go to Fil > List Open Files.
b) When selected, a horizontal list of all documents is shown.
57
c) Use the Navistick to move left or right among the list of open
documents.
d) When you get to the file you wish to use, tap B9. You will then be
returned to this open document in the Word Processor.
4.6.2 Edit Menu.
The Edit Menu for Word Processor includes the following options:
_ Cut
_ Copy
_ Paste
_ Delete
_ Mark Block Start/End
_ Highlight All
_ Find
_ Find Next
_ Replace
_ Set Bookmark
_ Jump to Bookmark
Additional information and instruction now follows for the Edit Menu
options.
1) Cut. To avoid the menu in future, enter shortcut command x+B9B8.
a) Highlight the text you wish to cut.
b) Go to Edit > Cut to remove the highlighted text and place it on the
clipboard.
2) Copy. To avoid the menu in future, enter shortcut command c+B9B8.
a) Highlight the text you wish to copy.
b) Go to Edit > Copy to copy the highlighted text to the clipboard.
3) Paste. To avoid the menu in future, enter shortcut command v+B9B8.
a) Position the cursor at the desired location within a document, or
within a text box in VarioUltra.
b) Go to Edit > Paste to copy contents of the clipboard at the cursor
position.
4) Delete. To avoid the menu in future, enter shortcut command B9+B7.
a) Highlight the text you wish to delete.
b) Go to Edit > Delete to delete the highlighted text.
5) Mark Block Start/End. To avoid the menu in future, enter shortcut
command B9+B1B4.
a) Before you can copy or cut or delete text, you need to highlight it.
Use this feature to mark the beginning and end positions for
highlighting.
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b) Position the cursor at the beginning of text that is to be highlighted.
Go to Edit > Mark Block Start/End to mark the beginning position.
c) Position the cursor at the end of text that is to be highlighted. Go to
Edit > Mark Block Start/End to mark the end position.
d) You’re now ready to cut, copy, or delete the highlighted text.
6) Highlight All. To avoid the menu in future, enter shortcut command
%+B9B8.
a) Go to Edit > Highlight All to highlight all text in the current open
document.
b) To cancel the selection, enter command B9B0+B7B8.
c) Otherwise, you’re now ready to cut, copy, or delete the highlighted
text.
7) Find. To avoid the menu in future, enter shortcut command ?+B9B8.
a) Go to Edit > Find to open search text window.
b) Enter the word or string of characters that you wish to find, and tap
B9.
c) You will be returned to the document at the first instance of the
word or text string. The cursor will be position on the first letter of
the found text.
d) If you repeat the exercise, VarioUltra will take you to the next
occurrence of the search string, if one exists.
8) Find Next. To avoid the menu in future, enter shortcut command
3+B9B8.
a) Go to Edit > Find Next to search the previous search entry.
9) Replace. To avoid the menu in future, enter shortcut command
h+B9B8.
a) Go to Edit > Replace to search for a chosen word or string of
characters.
b) Scroll down a line with Navistick to check the box, or not, to Match
Case.
c) Scroll down a line with Navistick to check the box, or not, to search
for Whole Words Only.
d) Scroll down a line with Navistick to check the box, or not, to search
backwards.
e) Scroll down a line with Navistick to check the box, or not, to
Replace.
f) Scroll down a line with Navistick to type the word or character
string to replace with.
g) Scroll down a line with Navistick to choose OK, or CANCEL.
10) Set Bookmark. To avoid the menu in future, enter shortcut
command =+B9B8.
a) Position the cursor where you would like to set a bookmark.
b) Go to Edit > Set Bookmark.
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11) Jump to Bookmark. To avoid the menu in future, enter shortcut
command m+B9B8.
a) From anywhere within an open document that contains a
bookmark, go to Edit > Jump to Bookmark.
b) VarioUltra takes you to the saved bookmark position.
4.6.2.1 More About Highlighting Text.
Highlighting is used to select or mark specific blocks of text for further
editing. It’s a prerequisite for many of the editing functions explained in
this manual, such as copying or cutting text to the clipboard.
You can choose to highlight by character, word, sentence, line,
paragraph, page, all text in the document, or just specific chunks of text.
The commands to highlight each of these units of text follow below.
1) Highlight current character: B9+B1B4
2) Highlight current word: B9+B2B5
3) Highlight current sentence: B9+B3B6
4) Highlight current line: B9+B1B2B4B5
5) Highlight current paragraph: B9+B1B3B4B6
6) Highlight current page (assuming there are page breaks in the
document): B9+B2B3B5B6
7) Highlight the entire document:
a) The first option is to go the command menu and then select menu
item “Edit/Highlight all”.
b) The second option is to use the command B9 with B3B4B6B8
8) Highlight a specific block of text:
a) Place the cursor on the first character of the block, and select
command menu item “Edit/Highlight beginning/end of block”.
b) Place the cursor on the last character of the block, and select
command menu item “Edit/Highlight beginning/end of block”.
c) The shortcut B9+B1B4 will also highlight the beginning or end of a
block.
d) Inside the file manager, you can highlight a file or folder by moving
to it in the file and folder list, and pressing B0, the right thumb key.
Note: Highlighted blocks remain highlighted until another highlighting
command is executed or the Cancel command B9+B7B8, or display
button D4 is pressed. Moving the cursor through the text will not remove
the highlighting. Highlighted text blocks will be indicated on the braille
display by dot 8 below each character.
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4.6.4 Insert Menu.
The insert menu includes a variety of things you can add to a document,
including the following:
o New Line
o New Paragraph
o New Page
o Date
o Time
Additional information and instruction now follows for the Insert Menu
options.
1) New Line. To avoid the menu in future, enter shortcut command
B9+B4B5B8. Inserts a new blank line at the cursor position in your
document. Accessible in the menus at Insert > New Line.
2) New Paragraph. To avoid the menu in future, enter shortcut
command B9+B4B6B8. Inserts a new paragraph at the cursor
position in your document. Accessible in the menus at Insert > New
Paragraph.
3) New Page. To avoid the menu in future, enter shortcut command
B9+B5B6B8. Inserts a new page at the cursor position in your
document. Accessible in the menus at Insert > New Page.
4) Date. To avoid the menu in future, enter shortcut command 5+B9B8.
Inserts the system date at the cursor position in your document.
Accessible in the menus at Insert > Date.
4.6.5 Navigate Menu.
The Navigate menu provides some additional options for moving around
a document. The Navigate menu includes the following items:
- Sentence Left
- Sentence Right
- Jump to Highlighted Text
These options are also listed in Section 4.2 Navigating Within a
Document.
Sentence Left and Sentence Right have the same result as Previous
and Next Sentence. Jump to Highlighted Text meanwhile, does just that.
If you highlight some text within a document, choose the Edit > Navigate
> Jump to Highlighted Text option, or enter command k+B9B8.
4.6.6 Tools Menu.
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The Tools menu includes the following items:
o Braille and Display Options
o Word Wrap On/Off
o Show Formatting Characters
o Follow Cursor During Continuous Reading
o Use Soft Line Breaks
o Grade 2
o Settings
o Contract File
o Decontract File
o Braille Document Settings
o Strip Formatting When Opening a BRF File
o Add Formatting When Saving a BRF File
o Braille Converter
o Allow 8-Dots for Input (Support for BRU files only)
o Position in Text
o Input Mode
o Overwrite Mode
o Append Mode
Additional information about the Tools menu items now follows:
1) Braille and Display Options
a) Word Wrap On/Off. When checked, Word Wrap is on and words
will not be split at the end of the braille display. When unchecked,
words will be split.
b) Show Formatting Characters. When checked, VarioUltra will
display formatting characters such as line break, paragraph, etc. If
unchecked, formatting characters will be replaced by spaces.
c) Follow Cursor During Continuous Reading. When checked, the
braille display will follow the cursor during continuous reading.
Uncheck the box and the braille display will not move to the cursor
position until continuous reading is interrupted.
d) Use Soft Line Breaks. This option lets you set artificial line breaks
in the text, avoiding the need to move left or right on long lines. If
you set soft line breaks to the length of your braille display, you
need only use the next and previous line commands to move
through the document.
e) When done making your selections, scroll down to the OK option
and select it. Otherwise, select CANCEL to abort your changes.
2) Grade 2
a) Settings. Contains Master Switch settings for Typing and Reading
of braille in the word processor. When checked, all braille in the
word processor for text-based formats such as DOC, RTF, or
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PowerPoint, will be displayed using Computer Braille. Uncheck the
box and you can specify other braille tables to use.
b) Contract File. You receive an uncontracted braille document
that you wish to convert into US English Contracted braille. Use
this option to do just that, and the save the document as
something else. Long files may take some time to complete.
c) Decontract File. The reverse of Contract, is to Decontract. Simply
put, if you have a document presented in US English Contracted
Braille or UEB, and you’d like to convert to uncontracted braille,
use this feature. Long files may take some time to complete.
3) Braille Document Settings
a) Strip Formatting When Opening a BRF File. Decide whether
VarioUltra maintains VRF file information such as characters per
line, lines per page, etc., or if the text should be presented without
this formatting.
b) Add Formatting When Saving a BRF File. Decide when saving a
BRF file whether line breaks and form feeds are entered
automatically, based on your values for characters per line, and
lines per page.
c) Braille Converter. Choose the desired braille table to be used for
braille conversion. Use the Navistick to move left or right through
the list of available braille tables.
d) Allow 8-Dots for Input (Support for BRU files only). This option
requires that your braille document type is set to BRU instead of
BRF. BRF formatted files do not support the entry of 8-dot braille.
4) Position in Text. When selected, provides information about the
cursor position in the document in both absolute and percentage
terms. Scroll down a line with Navistick to enter a new cursor position
and move to that location. You can specify a column, line and page
within a document.
5) Input Mode. In Overwrite Mode, text entry occurs at the cursor
position. In Append Mode, text entry occurs at the end of the
document, no matter where the cursor happens to be in the
document.
4.7 Exit Word Processor.
To exit the Word Processor and return to the main menu, press and hold
system key S3.
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Chapter 5: PDF Viewer.
In addition to previously described methods for opening the PDF viewer
from the Main Menu, you can also enter the shortcut command
y+B9B7B8 to open this application from anywhere in the Braille
Notetaker.
The PDF Viewer application can be used to:
1) Open accessible PDF documents
2) Open password-protected PDF documents, so long as you know the
password
3) Copy text from an open PDF document, to the clipboard.
4) Save file content as a Text file (TXT)
Note:
Copy-protected PDF files do not allow copying or saving content as a
text file.
5.1 Command Menus.
Many of the command menu items for the PDF Viewer are the same as
the Word Processor. Any options unique to the PDF Viewer are covered
in this section. Otherwise, please refer to section 4.6 Command Menus,
under the Word Processor application chapter.
5.2 Starting PDF Viewer and Opening a Document
The first time you use the PDF Viewer application, it presents the
content of the internal storage (Flashdisk) for you to select a file to open.
Browse through any available files or folders to find the PDF document
you wish to access, and tap B9 or press the Navistick to open it.
Notes:
1) When a PDF file is open, starting the PDF Viewer takes you to this
document.
2) Opening a PDF document from within the File Manager will start the
PDF Viewer application automatically.
If you are in an open PDF document and wish to open another, you
need to access File > Open within the command menu, which you
access by tapping S3. In the file and folder dialog that appears, search
for and select the desired PDF document. When opening a new PDF
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document, any previously opened PDF document will be closed
automatically.
** New ** with v1.4:
Within the document line breaks, tabulators and other information about
the document structure are shown by special braille characters. With the
option in menu Tools > Settings > Checkbox Show Formatting, you can
hide these characters.
5.3 Opening a Password Protected PDF File
When you attempt to open a password-protected PDF file, VarioUltra will
prompt you to enter a password. Enter the password and tap B9 to open
the file. If you do not know the password, or enter an incorrect password,
VarioUltra will not open the PDF file for you.
5.4 Navigating Within a PDF Document
The commands for reading in a PDF file are like those used in the Word
Processor application. You can move the cursor forwards or backwards
through the text by character, word, sentence, line, paragraph, or page.
While it is possible to achieve these movements through menu item “Go
To”, the quickest and most efficient approach is to enter a shortcut
command. In some cases, there is more than one option, such as using
the display keys or Navistick button.
Cursor Movement Shortcut List:
1) Next Character: command B9+B4, or Navistick right
2) Previous Character: command B9+B1, or Navistick left
3) Next Word: command B9+B5
4) Previous Word: command B9+B2
5) Next Sentence: command B9+B6
6) Previous Sentence: command B9+B3
7) Next Line: B9+B4B5, or display key D3, or Navistick down
8) Previous Line: B9+B1B2, or display key D1 or Navistick up
9) Next Paragraph: command B9+B4B6
10) Previous Paragraph: command B9+B1B3
11) Next Page: command B9+B5B6
12) Previous Page: command B9+B2B3
When the cursor is positioned within a word, sentence, or paragraph, the
command “previous” will always move the cursor to the first character of
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the current word, sentence, or paragraph. A subsequent “previous”
command will move back by the chosen unit of text.
5.5 Page Navigation
The navigation commands outlined in the previous section are generally
all you need for moving within a document. Entering commands
B9+B5B6 to move forward one page or B9+B2B3 to move back one
page is easy enough. However, for long documents you may find that
moving to a specific page is quicker. Here are the short steps to achieve
this:
1) Tap S3 to enter the menus and select Go To > Page > Go To Page
Number.
2) When the dialog appears, enter the page number you wish to move
to, and confirm with OK.
3) When you move to a new page, the reading position cursor will move
to the beginning of that page.
If you enter an invalid page number such as a page number that is
greater than the maximum page number, an error message will be
shown. To obtain information about how many pages there are in a
document, enter the menus again and select File > Information.
5.6 Reading a Document with Columns
If the document you are attempting to read contains columns, it’s
possible that the reading order will be presented incorrectly. If this
happens, the solution is as follows:
Tap S3 to enter the menus and go to Tools > Settings.
Select the Reading Order option and set it to “newspaper”.
With this setting, the PDF Viewer will analyze the text structure and
attempt to present it in the correct order. While it works in most cases,
there are always exceptions to the rule because of how the PDF
document may have been originally created. The default option is to
always open new files with the default setting, since this works for most
documents.
** New ** with v1.4:
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If the text order is not satisfactory, please select another reading order
and then reopen the PDF document. Three reading order options are
available: Default, Newspaper, and Top-Down.
5.7 Link Navigation.
If the creator of the opened PDF document has defined links or
bookmarks, you can navigate to the text position they are pointing to.
Note that VarioUltra only supports links that point to somewhere in the
current opened document; links to external sources such as a web site
or another document are not supported.
Navigate to a link by pressing the left thumb key B9, or by pressing in on
the Navistick, the linked function is executed and you leave the reading
position.
Here are the instructions necessary to navigate to a link:
1) Tap S3 for the menus, and select Go To > Link > Next Link Previous
Link.
2) The linked text is shown and the reading position moves to the link.
3) To execute the link and jump to the assigned text (i.e. margin note),
tap the left thumb key B9 or press in on the Navistick.
4) Shortcut D4D6 takes you to the next link, and shortcut D1D3 takes
you to the previous link.
Important: The cursor (Reading position) must be positioned exactly on
the link. Otherwise you will remain at the current reading position when
attempting to activate the link.
5.8 Bookmarks.
If the creator of the opened PDF document has defined links or
bookmarks, you can navigate to the text position they are pointing at.
Bookmarks flag text positions within the document. Please note that it is
not possible to add additional bookmarks from within VarioUltra.
Here are the instructions necessary to navigate to a bookmark.
1) Tap S3 for the menus and select Go To > Bookmarks.
2) Select the desired bookmark from the list, and VarioUltra will take you
to that position in the document.
5.9 Reading Position and Other Document Information.
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The reading position in VarioUltra is highlighted by a virtual cursor. Tap
S3 for the menus and select Tools > Position in Document. This will
present document information such as page number, line, and column.
** New ** with v1.4:
Please note that is not possible to save the reading position inside a
PDF document. When you close, and reopen a PDF document, you will
be placed back at the beginning of the file.
Additional document information can be obtained by accessing
command menu item Files > Information. For example, you can learn
about bookmarks, and find out whether the document is copy protected.
5.10 Save PDF Document as a Text File.
For PDF documents that are not copy protected, it is quick and easy to
save the document as a text file (TXT). To do so, tap S3 for the menus
and select File > Save as text file. Like the save function in the word
processor app, a dialog opens where you can enter the file name and
specify the save location.
Note: copy protected PDF files cannot be edited or saved as a text file.
5.11 Highlight and Copy Text in a PDF File.
As an alternative to saving an entire PDF file as a text file, VarioUltra lets
you highlight and select a section of text to copy to the clipboard. The
copied text can then be pasted into another document.
While you can go through command menu options for highlighting and
copying, the quicker approach is to use shortcut commands.
1) To mark the beginning and end points of a block of text, first position
your cursor at the desired start position and enter shortcut command
B9+B2B3B5 to confirm.
2) Next, position your cursor at the desired end-position, and again
enter shortcut command B9+B2B3B5 to confirm.
3) Copy the text block to the clipboard with shortcut command c+B8B9.
4) Insert your copied text into another document with shortcut command
v+B8B9.
Note: it is not possible to edit or copy text from copy protected PDF files.
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5.12 Find.
With the find feature it is possible to search for characters, words, or
parts of text within an opened document. Once found, it is possible to set
the reading position to the location.
Here are the instructions for the Find feature:
1) Open the command menu with S3 and select menu item Find > Find
new.
2) A text box appears where you can enter your search string. If case
sensitivity is necessary, check the option Match Capitals.
3) Select the Search Now option to start. VarioUltra will search from the
current reading position to the end of the document.
4) If the search string is not found, a corresponding message will be
displayed. Confirm with OK.
5) If the search string is found, a corresponding message will be
displayed. Confirm with OK to change the reading position to this
search position.
6) To find the next occurrence, use shortcut: 3+B8B9.
5.13 Exit PDF Viewer.
To exit the PDF Viewer, select command menu item File > Exit PDF
Viewer. Another way to exit to the Main Menu is to simply press and hold
system key S3.
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Chapter 6: Excel Viewer.
In addition to previously described methods for opening the Excel
Viewer (formerly the Excel Viewer) from the Main Menu, you can also
enter the shortcut command x+B9B7B8 to open this application from
anywhere in the Braille Notetaker.
The Excel Viewer can be used to:
1) Open and read Excel XLS and XLSX documents
2) Copy text from an open document, to the clipboard.
3) Save file content as a Text file (TXT)
6.1 Command Menus.
Many of the command menu items for the Excel Viewer are the same as
the Word Processor. Any options unique to the Excel Viewer are
covered in this section. Otherwise, please refer to section 4.4 Command
Menus, under the Word Processor application chapter.
6.2 Starting Excel Viewer and Opening a Document.
The first time you use the Excel Viewer application, it presents the
content of the internal storage (Flashdisk) for you to select a file to open.
Browse through any available files or folders to find the XLS or XLSX
document you wish to access, and tap B9 or press the Navistick to open
it.
1) When an XLS or XLSX file is open, starting the Excel Viewer takes
you to this document.
2) Opening an XLS or XLSX document from within the File Manager will
start the Excel Viewer application automatically.
3) When you open a password protected XLS or XLSX file, you will be
prompted to enter the password. An incorrectly entered password will
result in an error message.
4) There may be times when cell content is not displayed properly. This
can be especially true if the cells have complex formulas or are linked
to other cells.
If you are in an open XLS or XLSX document and wish to open another,
you need to tap S3 for the menus, and select File > Open. In the file and
folder dialog that appears, search for and select the desired XLS or
XLSX document. When opening a new document, any previously
opened document will be closed automatically.
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6.3 Save Excel Files as a Text File.
Saving an Excel document as a text file (TXT) is simple. Tap S3 for the
menus and select File > Save as Text File. Like the save function in the
word processor app, a dialog prompts you to enter the file name and
specify the save location. Confirm with the Save option and the content
of your Excel file will be saved in TXT format.
Note:
1) A semicolon is used to separate the content of each cell on a given
row.
2) Each row is placed on a separate line.
3) If the Excel document has multiple sheets, the content of all sheets
will be saved in the new text file.
4) Each sheet is represented as a new paragraph in the new text file.
6.4 Copying Cell Content to the Clipboard.
To copy the content of an individual cell on to the clipboard, make sure
you are in the cell you wish to copy and use the global copy command,
c+B8B9. You can then paste the contents of the clipboard into a
document in the word processor using the paste command, v+B8B9.
6.5 Excel Document Information.
To obtain information about the currently opened Excel document, open
the command menu (S3) and select menu item File > Information.
VarioUltra can tell you the following information about your file:
1) File name and path.
2) The number of worksheets.
3) Name of the worksheet.
4) Cell coordinates that have content on the current worksheet.
6.6 Reading by Cells, Row, or Column.
Reading content in the Excel Viewer is possible by cell, by row, or by
column. By default, when you open an Excel file the Excel Viewer
displays the content of the first cell (A1) of the active worksheet. A
variety of navigation commands are used to read the content of
individual cells, or the content of all cells on a given row or column.
There are additional options that will result in row and column
information being included as a heading when reading cell by cell.
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6.7 Reading by Cell.
Reading content cell by cell is achieved by moving the Navistick left and
right along a row, or up and down within a column.
When opening an Excel file for the first time, the VarioUltra reading
cursor will default to cell A1. Using the Navistick, move one cell to the
right and the braille display will present the content and the cell
coordinate, which should now read B1. Moving one cell to the left will
return you to cell A1. In a similar way, using the Navistick to move down
one cell within the column will take you to cell A2. The braille display will
display content for this cell, along with the cell coordinate.
If you wish to move to a specific cell coordinate within the current
worksheet, enter command g+B8B9, and a dialog will prompt you to
enter the cell coordinate. Tap B9 and VarioUltra will go to this cell
coordinate. This option can also be found in the command menu under
menu item Navigation > Cell.
Note: In the command menu item Tools, you can adjust additional
settings for the Excel Viewer, and obtain additional information about the
current cell such as the row and column number, and any cell comment
if one exists.
6.8 Reading by Row.
When reading by row, VarioUltra will display the content of all cells on
that row. You can use the Navistick or D2 and D5 buttons to move left
and right along the row. There are shortcut commands for moving the
display up and down by row, and moving to the first or last row.
If you wish to move the display to a specific row in the worksheet, use
the command g+B8B9. In addition to the shortcut commands that follow
below, you can find navigation commands in the command menu under
menu item Navigation > Row.
Next row (down): B4B5 or D3
Previous row (up): B1B2 or D1
First row: B1B2B3 or D1D4
Last row: B4B5B6 or D3D6
The braille display shows the coordinates of the cells in the row, i.e. A1 –
D1. The contents of the single cells stand side by side in one line and
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are separated by vertical line. Use the Navistick or D2 and D5 buttons to
scroll along the row.
With the general copy command c+B8B9, you can copy the current row
to the clipboard.
6.9 Reading by Column.
When reading by column, VarioUltra will display the content of all cells in
that column. Cells are displayed horizontally and are separated with the
underline symbol. You can use the Navistick or D2 and D5 buttons to
move left and right within the column. There are shortcut commands for
moving the display left and right by column, and moving to the first or
last column.
If you wish to move the display to a specific column in the worksheet,
use the command g+B8B9 as outlined in the Reading by Cell section to
move to a cell in that column. In addition to the shortcut commands that
follow below, you can find navigation commands in the command menu
under menu item Navigation > Column.
Next column (right): B5
Previous column (left): B2
First column: B1B2B3B7
Last column: B4B5B6B8
The braille display shows the coordinates of the cells of the column, i.e.
A1 – A6. The contents of the single cells stand side by side in one line
and are separated by underline. Use the scroll functions as explained in
section 6.8 to read cell by cell.
With the general copy command c+B8B9, you can copy the current
column to the clipboard.
6.10 Reading Files with Multiple Worksheets.
Some Excel files have more than one worksheet. To read cells, rows, or
columns of cells within a given worksheet, you must first move to it. You
can move to the next or previous sheet, or you can open the dialog “Go
to Sheet” with b+B8B9, where you can select the name of the desired
sheet. The navigation commands can also be found under menu item
Navigation > Sheet in the command menu.
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Next sheet: B5B6
Previous sheet: B2B3
When you first move within the opened Excel file between worksheets
the Excel Viewer presents the first cell (A1) of each sheet. If you have
switched to a worksheet and moved to another cell position (e.g. A10),
returning to this worksheet in future will return to the last presented cell
of the sheet.
6.11 Find and Find next.
With the find option, you can search for text or parts of text in the cell
content.
You can determine whether the text is searched for only within the cells
of the current worksheet, or within all worksheets in the currently opened
Excel file. With another option, you can determine whether the search
mode should search by row or column. With the by-row option, the
search string is searched within the sheet from top to bottom. With the
by-column option, the search string is searched from left to right.
To get started, open the command menu with a brief press of the system
key S3, and then select menu item Find > Find New, which opens a
dialog. Enter the search string, and then specify the search mode to
begin the search. Assuming the search string is found, the cursor will
move to the appropriate cell position and display the cell coordinates
and content on the braille display.
It is also possible to “Find next”. This can be found in the command
menu, under menu option Find > Find next. You can also use the
shortcut command, 3+B8B9 (number 3 with B8B9), or use display
buttons D1D4D6. This will repeat the search within the sheet per the
search mode specified earlier.
6.12 Define Column Heading.
You can assign the cell contents of a row to become headings of the
columns.
In the sheet move to the row or to one cell of the row, in which the cells
contain the entries you want to define as column headings. Open
command menu and select the menu item “Tools > Set current row as
column heading”.
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The result is, that in future you get this column heading in addition to the
cell content and the cell coordinates. This additional information is set in
brackets.
6.13 Define Row Heading.
You can assign the cell contents of a column to become headings of the
rows.
Move to the column or to one cell of the column in which the cells
contain the entries you want to define as row headings. Open the
command menu and select the menu item Tools > Set current column
as row heading. In future, these assigned row titles will appear in
addition to the cell content and the cell coordinates. This additional
information is set in brackets.
6.14 Edit or Delete Heading Definition.
If you define another row as column headings, this replaces the former
column heading definition. If you define another column as row heading
this replaces the former row heading definition.
If you want to delete all headings in the current sheet, open the
command menu and select menu item Tools > Clear current sheet
headings. Headings that you have defined in other worksheets of the
Excel file are not affected by this command and remain unchanged.
The Excel Viewer application saves the heading information for up to
1,000 sheets in a database called ssviewer.sdf, which can be found in
the USER folder. This ensures that the assigned headings are not lost
when you open the Excel file again in future.
6.15 Reading Cell Comments.
The cells of Excel files can on occasion have a cell comment. While this
comment is not presented along with regular cell content, you do have
access to it. To get it, open the command menu and select the menu
item Tools > Show current cell comment. Alternatively, use the shortcut
command m+B8B9 to read the cell comment.
Since reading cell comments requires an extra command, it is important
to know whether a cell has a comment to begin with. To get this
additional information while browsing through the sheet cell by cell, do
the following:
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1) Open the command menu and select the menu item Tools > Settings.
2) Activate the check box “Display notification for cell comments”
3) On the braille display, an asterisk (*) will appear in front of the cell
coordinate to indicate when a cell has comment.
6.16 Exit Excel Viewer
To exit the Excel Viewer, select command menu item File > Exit Excel
Viewer. Another way to exit to the Main Menu is to just press and hold
system key S3.
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Chapter 7: Calculator.
In addition to previously described methods for opening the Calculator
from the Main Menu, you can also enter the shortcut command
c+B9B7B8 to open this application from anywhere in the Braille
Notetaker.
General information about the Calculator application:
1) Simple and scientific calculations can be performed.
2) Always use Computer Braille.
a) ** New ** with v1.4: The calculation line only supports computer
braille input, even when you have switched to a contracted braille.
3) Input figures and symbols and then press B8, or type the equals sign.
The calculation and result will be shown on the braille display.
4) To delete the previous calculation and carry out a new one, open the
menus by tapping S3 and select Edit > Clear Calculator Line.
Alternatively, use shortcut command e+B9.
5) When you open the calculator, the display will show either the lastperformed calculation, or a blank field containing “0”.
6) Numbers and operators are input directly.
7) Decimals can be input either with a decimal point (default) or a
comma. The comma can be set as a user specific setting within menu
item, Tools > Options > Comma Instead of Decimal Point.
As with other VarioUltra applications, options can be found in the
Command Menu or via shortcut commands. Advanced mathematical
(scientific) functions can also be accessed in this manner, and are
addressed later in this chapter.
7.1 Command Menus.
Tap S3 to access the command menus for the Calculator. There are six
menus in total, containing the following options:
Math Functions
1. Basic Functions menu
a. Addition
b. Subtraction
c. Multiplication
d. Division
2. Advanced menu
a. Percent
b. Square Root
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c. Power
d. Exponential
e. Natural Logarithm
f. Logarithm to Base 10 Log
g. Modulo
h. Sine
i. Cosine
j. Tangent
3. Expressions menu
a. Pi
b. Euler
c. Bracket Open
d. Bracket Close
4. Execute Calculation menu
7.2 Entering Numbers and Operators
Note that all numbers and operators must be entered using Computer
Braille. A list of common symbols and numbers 1-9 are shown below
with their respective braille codes.
Symbols:
+ (plus) symbol: B3B4B6
- (minus) symbol: B3B6
* (multiply) symbol: B1B6
/ (divide) symbol: B4B3
. (Decimal point) symbol: B4B6
= (equals) symbol: B1B2B3B4B5B6
( (open parenthesis) symbol: B1B2B3B5B6
) (close parenthesis) symbol: B2B3B4B5B6
Numbers:
1 B2
2 B2B3
3 B2B5
4 B2B5B6
5 B2B6
6 B2B3B5
7 B2B3B5B6
8 B2B3B6
9 B3B5
0 B3B5B6
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7.3 Inputting Calculations.
Input your calculation in the line displayed and press B8 or the “equals
sign”. The equals sign will be inserted and the calculation and its result
will be displayed after it.
Notes:
1. The result can be used as the basis for another calculation with
the appropriate operator.
2. If a new value is to be entered, the previous result will be
overwritten.
3. If an error occurs, a corresponding message will appear on the
display.
4. The previous 10 calculations are automatically saved in the
Results list (Calculations list) – use the Navistick up / down or D1 /
D3 to go through this list.
5. Remember that shortcut command e+B9 will clear the calculator
line.
7.4 Editing Calculations.
Correcting errors in a calculation is done in much the same way that text
is corrected in the word processor. If you just entered something wrong,
just tap B7 to backspace and type again. If you realize the error after
entering other information, use cursor routing to move the cursor to that
position and amend as required.
Notes:
1. B7 deletes the character to the left of the cursor.
2. B9B7 deletes the current character.
3. If a character to the left of the = sign is edited, entering B8 or the =
sign again will perform the new calculation.
4. If a number is input on the right of the = sign it will appear on a
new line.
5. If something other than a number is input to the right of the = sign
the result will also appear in the new line.
6. Spaces can be input freely.
7. A negative will be indicated with the - sign; a + sign cannot be
used.
8. When a correction has been made, the new result will be
calculated and displayed by pressing B8 or the = sign.
7.5 Navigating within Current and Previous Calculations.
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It is possible to move within a calculation by moving the cursor with
B9+B1 or B9+B4. You can also move left and right with the Navistick.
The previous 10 calculations are kept in the calculations list. Use
Navistick up and down or D1 and D3. Previous calculations can be
edited to perform further calculations.
New entries are added to the end of the list. Once the list reaches 10
results, the first result will be deleted to make way for the new incoming
result.
The following commands are available:
1. Previous calculation: Navistick up, D1, or command menu item
View > Calculations list > Previous entry.
2. Next calculation: Navistick down, D3, or command menu item
View > Calculations list > Next entry.
3. Last calculation: Command menu item View > Last entry of
calculations list
4. Clear calculations list: Shortcut command u+B9, or command
menu item Edit > Clear calculations list.
7.6 Using the Clipboard.
Calculations and equations can be copied to the clipboard using the
global command for copy, c+B8B9. You can paste using the global
command for paste, v+B8B9. If you use command z+B8B9 instead, just
the answer will be copied to the clipboard for subsequent pasting into
the word processor.
7.7 Settings.
There are two settings under command menu item Tools > Options.
They are as follows:
1. The number of positions after decimal point (or comma) to show
on the display.
2. Choose between the use of a decimal point or comma.
7.8 Memory List and Memory Functions.
A memory list is available that can contain up to 10 calculations. These
calculations can be called up and edited for use in other calculations.
New entries are added to the end of the list, and when more than 10 are
added, the first result is deleted to make space for the newest entry. In
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addition, the usual pocket calculator memory functions (M+, M-) are also
available. These values are also added to the memory list.
The following commands are available:
1. Add calculation to memory list: I+B9, or command menu item
Tools > Memory functions > Add to memory list.
2. Previous entry in memory list: y+B8B9, or command menu item
View > Memory list > Previous entry.
3. Next entry in memory list: y+B9, or command menu item View >
Memory list > Next entry.
4. Last memory value: m+B9, or command menu item View > Last
memory value.
5. Clear memory list: r+B9, or command menu item Edit > Clear
memory list.
6. Add value to the memory: M+ plus B8B9, or command menu item
Tools > Memory functions > M+ add to last memory value.
7. Subtract value from memory: M- + B8B9, or command menu item
Tools > Memory functions > M- subtract from last memory value.
8. Insert last memory entry: i+B8B9, or command menu item Tools >
Memory functions > Insert last memory entry.
9. Insert last memory entry into calculator line and then clear it:
r+B8B9, or command menu item Edit > Insert and clear last
memory entry.
Example 1:
To add to memory, the result of a sum that calculates the total price of
an item with sales tax, follow these instructions:
1. The net price of the item is 100 and the sales tax is 6 percent.
2. Input everything between the quotes: “100 + 6%100”
3. Enter command a+B9 to add the result to the memory list.
To carry out other similar price calculations, all we need to do is enter
command y+B9 or y+B8B9 to recall the saved formula, edit the “100”
value and perform the calculation by tapping B8.
Example 2:
When checking cash register entries, we add up the individual
calculations by entering + plus B8B9 (plus symbol and B8B9 together)
after each calculation.
The final value will be displayed by entering command r+B9.
Subsequent use command r+B9 will display the previous subtotal.
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7.9 Scientific Mathematical Functions.
Mathematical functions and operators can be input directly, or via
command menu item Math functions > Basic functions, or command
menu item Math functions > Advanced.
Calculations involving division and/or multiplication take precedence
over those containing addition and subtraction (BODMAS precedence).
The inclusion of parenthesis allows calculations to be ordered. The
minus sign must be used to denote a negative number, e.g. 3 x -2.
A list of functions, their operators and examples now follow.
7.10 Basic Calculations.
1. Addition (plus): 2+3
2. Subtraction (minus): 3-2
3. Multiplication (times): 3*2
4. Division (divided by): 7/8
5. Percent (x per cent of y): 7%50
6. Parenthesis: 3*(7+5)
7. Square root: sqrt 36
7.11 Powers, Logarithms, Etc.
1. Powers (to the power of x): 2pow3
2. Exponent (10 to the power x): 2exp-5
3. Common logarithms (to base 10): 5*log 70
4. Natural logarithms: 2/ln10
5. Euler: epow-3
6. Pi: pi*36
7. Modulo: 5mod4
a. The mod function displays the modulus or remainder of x/y.
b. Example: 5 divided by 4 gives a remainder of 1 (i.e.
5mod4=1).
7.12 Trigonometric Functions.
1. Sine (in degrees): sin90
2. Sine in radians: sinr(4+7)
3. Hyperbolic sine: sinh0,75
4. Arcus sine degrees (Inverse): asin0,5
5. Cosine (degrees): cos 90
6. Cosine in radians: cosr(4+7)
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7. Hyperbolic cosine: cosh0,75
8. Arcus cosine degrees (Inverse); acos0,75
9. Tangent (degrees): tan 45
10. Tangent in radians: tanr(4+7)
11. Hyperbolic tangent: tanh0,75
12. Arcus tangent degrees (Inverse): atan0,5
7.13 User Constants.
The variables x, y, and z can have any constant values assigned to
them.
For example, they can be used to denote specific factors frequently used
in your calculations. The variable will then be used instead of a number,
e.g. sqrtx will calculate the square root of this assigned value x. To enter
x, y or z you can either type this character directly into the calculation, or
select the corresponding item from the command menu.
To define a value for the variable x, open command menu item User
constants > x > insert value of calculator line in x, or use shortcut
command 1+B8B9. Such assignments can be helpful if you work
frequently with large numbers.
The following commands are available within command menu item User
constants > x:
1. Insert x into calculation (hotkey: x)
2. Insert value of x into calculator line
3. Insert value of calculator line in x – shortcut command 1+B8B9
4. Show x entry – shortcut 1+B9
This is the same for the variables y respectively z. The corresponding
shortcuts are combined with number 2 respectively number 3.
7.14 Conversions.
The Conversions option and its functions allows various conversions to
be made. For example, how many centimeters are there in 17 inches?
To calculate this, type the number 17 and then open command menu
item Conversion > Inches to centimeters. The correct answer (43.18) will
be displayed in this case.
Note: Answers report back the value only. Symbols relating to the
dimension (inches, centimeters, etc.) are not displayed. The dimension
is defined by the selected conversion command.
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7.15 Exit Calculator.
To exit the Calculator and return to the main menu, press and hold
system key S3.
Chapter 8: Timers.
In addition to previously described methods for opening the Timers
application from the Main Menu, you can also enter the shortcut
command t+B9B7B8 to open this application from anywhere in the
Braille Notetaker.
General information about Timers:
1. Can be used for time measurement and alarms
2. Includes a countdown timer, a stopwatch, and four alarm clocks.
Setting Time and Date: if you’re looking for instructions on changing time
and date, please refer to section 10.6. Otherwise, read on for details on
the timer and alarm functions in VarioUltra.
8.1 Timer.
The timer allows a specific time to be counted down. A tone is emitted
when the end time is reached. The timer application contains various
edit boxes and buttons to set the time, watch the time pass while the
timer is running, and to stop and start the timer.
To start the timer, proceed as follows:
1. From the main menu, select menu item Timers > Timers
(countdown).
2. The timer will open at an “elapsed” field giving the running time in
minutes and seconds. When opened for the first time or when the
timer is stopped, this will read 00:00:00.
3. The timer duration is set to 10 minutes (00:10:00). This can be
changed in the “Set duration” edit box to a maximum of 23:59:59.
4. Select “Start” to switch the timer on and begin the countdown. The
“Start” option is no longer available and “Stop” appears instead,
which allows the running timer to be stopped.
5. During countdown, the “elapsed” field shows how much time has
elapsed starting from 0 and ascending, and the “remaining” field
shows the time remaining.
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6. When the end time is reached, a tone will be emitted once. The
elapsed time field will have been reset to 00:00 and the “Start”
button is once again available.
7. Selecting “OK” or “Cancel” will only close the timer dialog; if the
timer is running it will continue to do so in the background, emit a
tone when the end time is reached.
The following shortcuts are available in the open timer (main view):
1. Start timer = s+B9
2. Stop timer = o+B9
Hints for inputting the time in the “Set duration” edit box:
1. Input the time using format HH:MM:SS.
2. If no hours are to be input, input MM:SS.
3. If a figure greater than 60 is input for minutes, the corresponding
time in hours and minutes will appear.
4. The timer can run for a maximum of 23:59:59 hours; longer
periods are not possible.
5. If an invalid time is input, the time will be reset to 00:20 (i.e. 20
seconds). A hint message will display telling that values less than
20 seconds are not supported.
8.2 Stopwatch.
The stopwatch allows time to be recorded and is accurate to the second.
It counts from 0 upwards and can be consulted, paused and restarted at
any time. The count can also be accompanied with acoustic signals.
The main view of the stopwatch contains a dialog, various edit boxes,
and buttons to follow the passage of time, consult the end or interim
time, and to start, pause and stop the stopwatch. All commands can also
be executed by selecting the appropriate entry entries from the
command menu.
To start the stopwatch, proceed as follows:
1. From the main menu, go to menu item Timers / Stop watch.
2. The main view of the stopwatch will open at a “Time” field giving
the elapsed time in hours, minutes and seconds. When opened for
the first time or when a new measurement is begun, this will read
00:00:00. When a measurement is stopped or paused, the end or
interim time will be displayed.
3. Press the “Start” button to start the stop watch and begin the
measurement; the “Start” button will no longer be available, and
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the main view will now display “Pause” and “Stop” buttons which
can be used to pause or stop the measurement. When paused, a
“resume” button will appear in the place of the “Pause” button,
which will resume the measurement.
4. The time measurement can be accompanied with acoustic signals.
Open the command menu by pressing S3 and then select menu
item Tone Signals, and then the corresponding entry.
5. The “Display End time/Interim” button opens a message which,
during a measurement, gives the interim time at that moment. The
command is executed when the measurement is paused, which
gives the interim final time, and when the stopwatch is stopped,
which gives the final time.
6. Close the dialog with “OK” to return to the main view.
7. “OK” or “Cancel” will close the stopwatch dialog. If the stopwatch
has been started it will continue to measure time, and any set
tones will continue to be emitted; to stop it, the stopwatch main
view must be opened again (from Main Menu, select menu item
Timers > Stop watch).
8. When VarioUltra is switched to standby while the stop watch is
running, the stop watch will continue silently.
9. To stop the measurement, press “Stop” in the main view.
Within the open stop watch (main view) the following shortcuts are
available:
1. Start stopwatch = B4
2. Stop stopwatch = B6
3. Pause measurement / resume = B5
4. Consult end or interim time = B8
5. While stopwatch is running, follow time on the Braille display with
command t+B9.
6. Seconds beep on = B1
7. 10 second beep on = B2
8. No beeps = B7
These shortcuts can be pressed during time measurement.
Once started the stop watch will continue even if VarioUltra is switched
to standby mode, or running another application.
8.3 Alarm Clock.
Four independent alarm clocks can be configured here. Each can be set
individually with its own wake-up time and with the weekday it should
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ring. Alarms are given as tone signals and/or vibration. The names of the
four alarm clocks, which are also displayed at wake-up time, can be
determined by the user. The alarms are switched off by default.
To set an alarm, proceed as follows:
1. From the main menu, select menu item Timers > Alarm clocks. A
dialog will open displaying the names and status of the four
alarms.
2. To amend the settings of, for example, Alarm 1, select its button.
3. Another dialog will open. Use the Check box “Active” to switch the
alarm on or off.
4. In the “Name” edit box the alarm (Alarm 1) can have another name
assigned, e.g. “normal alarm”.
5. Enter the wake time in the next edit box; 08:00 is the default time
and can be overwritten.
6. Use the appropriate check box to determine the weekday the
alarm should go off.
7. The “Sound on” check box is activated by default.
8. The sound for the alarm can be selected from a list of short wav-
files. The path will be given in the “Sound file” field.
9. Select “Choose signal” if a different sound is to be set as the alarm
signal. A file list will open – move up and down the list to select the
desired file (cf. File manager). The TIMALARM.WAV, BELL.WAV
or ROOSTER.WAV files are recommended. Press B9 or Return to
confirm the default button “Apply”, which will close the dialog. The
new alarm is now selected and its path given in the “Sound file”
field.
10. The “Vibration on” check box is unchecked by default. When
checking you get a list with pre-defined vibration patterns. Move
left or right to select the desired pattern and confirm OK.
11. Confirm with “OK” to finish the settings and exit the alarm
dialog with “OK”.
When the wake-up time arrives VarioUltra will sound the selected alarm
and/or vibrate according to the selected pattern. A message will also be
displayed with the alarm name. If the alarm is ignored VarioUltra will
sound the alarm every 10 seconds for up to 3 minutes. You can
“snooze” the alarm by pressing any key except B9. In this case, the
dialog closes and the alarm activates again 10 seconds later.
To quit the alarm press B9 or confirm the OK button in the dialog.
8.4 Exit Timers.
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To exit Timers and return to the main menu, press and hold system key
S3.
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Chapter 9: File Manager.
In addition to previously described methods for opening the File
Manager application from the Main Menu, you can also enter the
shortcut command f+B9B7B8 to open this application from anywhere in
the Braille Notetaker.
The File Manager can be used to:
1. Browse the content of the internal storage (Flashdisk)
2. Browse the content of a connected USB Stick (Stick)
3. Create or Delete folders
4. Rename files or folders
5. Delete Files
6. Open supported file types in their respective application
7. Get file or folder information (Properties)
9.1 Command Menus.
There are four menus in the File Manager application, each containing a
variety of options.
They are as follows:
1. File
a. Open
b. Properties
2. Edit
a. Copy
b. Highlight
c. Highlight All
d. Invert Highlight
e. Find
f. Set Anchor Position
g. Jump to Anchor Position
h. Toggle Anchor Position
i. Zip Archive
j. View
3. Filter
4. Sorting
a. Tools
5. Zip Progress
9.2 Navigating Around File Manager.
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When you enter the File Manager application, you will have access to
the 32GB of internal storage, which is called Flashdisk.
** New ** with v1.4:
Note that file and folder names are always shown in Computer Braille.
At the root position, you will find Flashdisk and the Temp folder. Beside
each name you will find a number range (eg 1 of 2), followed by the date
and time of creation. Note that the date and time stamps rely upon
VarioUltra’s time and date being correct.
1. Tap the top or bottom edge of Navistick to move up or down in the
list.
2. Once you reach the bottom or top of list, VarioUltra stops moving
in that direction.
3. To enter the Flashdisk or a folder, tap the right-side edge of
Navistick.
4. To exit out of a folder, tap the left edge of Navistick to return to the
previous location.
5. If you locate a file you would like to open, and it’s a supported file
type, just tap B9, or press in on Navistick. VarioUltra will open the
appropriate application and display the file for you.
9.3 Create a New Folder.
Creating a sub-folder in VarioUltra is a simple process. For this step-bystep set of instructions, we will walk through the steps required to create
a sub-folder within the Edit folder.
1. From within File Manager, make sure you are at the uppermost
level of the file list on the folder called Flashdisk. Enter this folder
by moving the Navistick to the right; a single tap to the right should
do it.
2. Within the Flashdisk folder you will find the Edit folder. Scroll up or
down with the Navistick until you find the Edit folder. Enter this
folder by moving the Navistick to the right; a single tap to the right
should do it.
3. Since the Edit folder is very likely empty, VarioUltra will display a
message telling you as much.
4. At this point, open the command menu (S3) and select menu item
File > New folder.
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5. A dialog will open and you will find yourself in an edit box where
the new folder name can be entered. Note that a suggested name
“Newfolder” will be present.
6. You can either accept this suggested name, or overwrite with your
preferred name.
** New ** with v1.4: please use Computer Braille (B9 + D1) here to
avoid using any forbidden characters.
Confirm with “OK” to accept and exit back to the file list. Your new folder
has been created and should be visible to you in the file list.
You can reach the New Folder dialog in future with the shortcut n+B8B9.
The dialog also contains the last used save location; you can also
change the path if you wish.
9.4 Open a File or Folder.
The Open command is used to open files and folders. When a folder is
opened, the files and sub-folders will be displayed in a list. When a file is
opened the user is transferred to the appropriate application:
1. DOC, DOCX, TXT, BRF, BRL, RTF, PPT, PPTX, PPS, PPSX files
open the Word Processor
2. XLS and XLSX files open the Excel Viewer
3. PDF files open the PDF Viewer
Here are the step-by-step instructions to open a file or folder:
1. From within the file list, scroll up or down to the file or folder you
wish to open.
2. Once you are on the file or folder you wish to open, enter the
command menu with S3, and then select File > Open.
3. If you are opening a folder, the folder opens to show the content in
a file list.
4. If you are opening a file, the file will open inside the appropriate
application.
You can use the shortcut o+B8B9 in future to open the selected file or
folder.
9.5 Opening Files from Within the Word Processor Application
By default, the Word Processor app only displays text-based documents
such as RTF and DOC/DOCX files.
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** New ** with v1.4: PowerPoint PPT, PPTX, PPS, and PPSX files are
also supported.
To change what type of files you see, follow these additional
instructions.
1. From within the Word Processor, follow the instructions 1 through
3 above to get to the file tree.
2. Once inside the list of files, press display buttons D4+D6 to access
the other options in the dialog; the current path will be displayed.
3. Scroll down once using the Navistick, and the entry below the path
will be the File Type list; the factory default is “Text Files (RTF,
TXT, DOC, DOCX) 1 of 3”.
4. Now scroll right with the Navistick to select either “Braille Files
(BRF) 2 of 3” or “All Files (*.*) 3 of 3”. You must open a file after
making these changes for the setting to stick.
5. Any change you make to the type of files to be displayed will now
be remembered by VarioUltra. You will need to repeat these
instructions if you change your mind in future.
You can now use the Navistick to scroll back up to the file list. If, for
example, you chose to display All Files, you will now see BRF files in
addition to any text-based file formats.
9.6 Delete a File or Folder
With the delete command, you can delete files and/or folders from the
storage media. Deleting a folder also deletes files saved within that
folder. When deleting large files or folders that contain several files, note
that deletion process may take some time. A flashing pattern will appear
on the first braille cell to indicate when VarioUltra is busy. Do not attempt
to switch off or otherwise interrupt VarioUltra until this flashing pattern
stops.
Note: Deleting a file or folder from VarioUltra is final—there is no recycle
bin. However, if the file you have deleted is still open in the Word
Processor it will still be on the RAM memory and can therefore be saved
from there. To delete the document completely from RAM memory, you
must also ensure it is closed within the Word Processor.
Here are the step-by-step instructions to delete a file or folder:
1. In the file list, use the Navistick to move to the file or folder you
wish to delete
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2. Open the command menu (S3) and select menu item File >
Delete.
3. A dialog will open with a security question and a message about
the number of files in the folder and/or the file size. Select the
“Yes” option to confirm the deletion.
4. Deletion of multiple files or folders at one time is also possible.
Please refer to the Edit Menu section elsewhere in this manual for
instructions on highlighting multiple files/folders.
The shortcut command B9+B7 can also be used to open the Delete
dialog.
Note: If you receive a message that a file or folder cannot be deleted, it
may be because it contains files with activated attributes that make the
file(s) hidden or read-only. Please refer to the “Properties” section below
for instructions on changing these attributes.
9.7 Rename a File or Folder
Changing the name of a file or folder is simple.
Here are the step-by-step instructions to rename a file or folder:
1. In the file list, use the Navistick to move to the file or folder you
wish to rename.
2. Open the command menu (S3) and select menu item File >
Rename.
3. A dialog will open with an edit box, which contains the name of the
file or folder you wish to rename.
4. Enter the new name, being careful not to change the extension in
the case of files. Select OK to confirm the change.
9.8 Create a New Blank Document
A blank document can be created as either a regular text-based file
(RTF, TXT), or as a Braille Ready Format (BRF) file. The default setting
is BRF.
** New ** with v1.4: new documents can only be created within the
word processor application.
Before creating a blank document, you should decide which option you
prefer: the default BRF, or RTF. Note that VarioUltra remembers your
choice so creating a new blank document in future will skip these steps
unless you wish to change the file format.
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Here are the instructions to create a new blank document:
1. Open the command menu by tapping S3.
2. Select File > New.
A dialog will open, with a text field where you can give your file a name.
** New ** with v1.4: please ensure that your file name is entered in
computer braille (B9 + D1). Some contracted characters lead to invalid
file names, and are therefore not allowed. If you try to use contracted
braille, a warning message may be displayed, saying “Could not create
file”. The only way to quit this message is to press a routing button
above any braille cell EXCEPT the first braille cell.
Move down to the file type list and then scroll horizontally and select
either BRF to create a braille document, or RTF to create a Rich Text
Format document.
Confirm with OK.
The file will now be saved in the selected file format with the current
save location. You will then be placed in the newly created file. To save
the file at any time, use the shortcut command s+B8B9.
You can create new documents in future with the shortcut n+B8B9.
9.9 Opening Documents
The word processor of VarioUltra can open the following file formats:
doc, docx, rtf, txt, and brf.
** New ** with v1.4:
Power Point PPT and PPTX, as well as PowerPoint Slides PPS and
PPSX documents are also supported.
With txt format, all ANSI, UNICODE, and UTF8 files will be opened
correctly. For doc and docx formats, as well as PowerPoint, files are
always opened in reading mode. When editing such a document it
changes the format type to .rtf and saves in that format to protect the
formatting of the original file.
Note: to open a document correctly the word processor needs 2 to 3
times more free memory space than the file size of the document. As
such, attempts to open a file of 10MB in size may not open. If you want
to open several documents, we recommend you open the largest one
first. Also, please bear in mind that large documents can take time to
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open. A braille pattern on the first braille cell will flash to indicate
VarioUltra is busy. Do not attempt to switch off VarioUltra or otherwise
interrupt the process when this cell is flashing.
Using shortcut command o+B8B9 in future will open the Open File
dialog and position you in the file list.
9.10 Introduction.
Like Windows Explorer and Macintosh Finder, the File Manager
application allows you to:
1. Highlight, delete, copy, or rename files
2. Create new folders
3. Move files from one folder to another
4. Adjust the sort order of files
5. Zip files or folders, and unpack a zip file
You can access the File Manager from anywhere in Braille Notetaker
mode by entering global command f+B7B8B9, or from the main menu by
entering hotkey “f”.
Additional details on the File Manager can be found in section 12,
“Command Menu”.
9.11 Entering and Navigating the File Manager.
When you enter the File Manager, you will find yourself in a vertical list
of files and folders that are stored in the internal storage of VarioUltra.
The list view is identical to the way files and folders are presented when
using the Open and Save As options in the Word Processor Command
Menu. As a reminder, we get to the Command Menu at any time by
tapping the system key S3.
There are multiple options for moving up and down this list:
1. To move down: Tap down on the Navistick, press the display
button D3, or press the command B9B6.
2. To move up: Tap up on the Navistick, press the display button D1,
or press the command B9B3.
By default, this will access all files and folders in the root directory of the
internal storage. Inputting a character or string of characters in quick
succession will move the display to the first file or folder that begins with
the character or string of characters that you have entered.
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When you are on a folder in the list, tapping right on the Navistick or
entering command B9B4 will move to the right, one level down from the
root directory. Tapping left on the Navistick or entering command B9B1
goes left, and up a level. The uppermost level of VarioUltra’s internal
storage will display the internal storage folder (Flashdisk) as well as any
USB memory stick (Stick) that may be plugged in. The next level down
contains either the “Edit” folder or other folders and files.
Note: The internal storage media folder "Flashdisk" is presented as
"VarioUltra / Storage" when you connect VarioUltra to a computer via
USB.
9.12 Additional Information about Files and Folders.
When you are on a folder or file in the list, you can obtain additional
information such as the last modified date, size, and file type. You can
configure what is displayed and how much is displayed by going to main
menu > Settings > Presentation > Templates > File resp. Folder. The
letter “z” will appear in front of any file or folder that is part of a zip
archive.
Note: VarioUltra will always open the application for a corresponding file.
As such, the PDF Viewer opens PDF files, the Excel Viewer opens XLS
files, and the Word Processor opens DOC, DOCX, RTF, TXT, and BRF
files.
** New ** with v1.4: PowerPoint PPT, PPTX, PPS, and PPSX formats
are also supported.
Note: while it is technically possible to open a PDF document from inside
the word processor application, we advise against it as you will
invariably encounter extraneous control characters.
9.13 Using File Manager with External USB Stick.
Accessing a USB stick is as simple as inserting the USB stick into the
standard USB port on the left side of VarioUltra, and then entering File
Manager to locate “Stick” in the list of storage media.
Note: most standard USB sticks will only insert when facing the right way
up. This is to say that if you turned the stick upside down the stick would
not fit properly. There are so-called mini USB sticks that are totally flat
on both sides of the part that gets inserted into VarioUltra. There is
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potential therefore that the stick is inserted upside down. If this happens
the stick will not be seen in File Manager. Should this happen to you,
reinserting the stick the right way up should solve the problem.
9.14 Using VarioUltra as an External Drive on a PC.
Like all BAUM braille displays, VarioUltra is Human Interface Device
(HID) compliant, which means that connecting to a PC as an external
drive requires only that a USB cable be connected to the micro USB
connection on VarioUltra, and to a standard USB connection on the PC.
A double beep will emit from the PC as connection takes place, at which
point you can open Windows Explorer to view the contents of VarioUltra.
This means that after connecting the device, Windows Explorer will
display an entry called VarioUltra, with a sub-folder VarioUltra Storage.
This folder is essentially the Flashdisk folder referenced elsewhere in
this section. Use of standard computer functions can be performed on
this storage, including copy, paste, remove, rename, move, etc.
Note:
1. It does not matter whether VarioUltra is in Braille Notetaker or
Braille Display mode when using it as an external drive. You can
even switch between modes without difficulty.
2. As of this writing, using VarioUltra as an external drive is only
possible on a PC with the Windows operating system. We hope to
see similar support added to the Mac operating system in the
future.
9.15 Exit File Manager.
To exit the File Manager and return to the main menu, press and hold
system key S3.
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Chapter 10: Settings Menu.
VarioUltra Settings and related submenus contain a variety of options
that you can customize to your personal preferences. In addition to the
various methods outlined earlier in this manual on how to access
Settings, you can also enter shortcut command s+B9B7B8 to access it
from anywhere inside the Braille Notetaker.
Among other things, use Settings to:
1. Set the time and date
2. Manage Bluetooth pairings
3. Adjust power management
4. Change braille tables
5. Reset factory default settings
10.1 Settings Sub Menu Items.
Within Settings, you will find the following sub menu items:
1. Alerts
2. Braille
3. Display Settings
4. Keyboard
5. Date and Time
6. Power Management
7. IO Profiles
8. Braille Display Mode
9. Bluetooth
10. System
Note:
1. The System sub menu is new with VarioUltra version 1.33. If
you’re using an older version of the software, you will not find this
item in your Settings.
2. If you’re ever unsure about any menu item, use command
B9+B2B6 for Context Sensitive Help.
10.2 Settings > Alerts Menu.
The Alerts menu lets you select your preference for audible tones versus
vibration for times when VarioUltra needs to communicate that
something has happened, or is happening. For example, when a
Bluetooth device connects to VarioUltra. An option to adjust the volume
of audible tones is also available. Note that these are global in nature.
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The Alerts Menu includes:
1. Volume
2. Vibration On/Off (Checkbox)
3. Ok
4. Cancel
10.2.1 Alerts > Volume.
The volume of beeps can be adjusted from 0 to 100. Tap the left or right
edge of Navistick to decrease or increase the volume in increments of
10. Values lower than 0 or higher than 100 will result in an error
message. To save your setting, scroll down 2 lines to the OK option, and
select it to confirm and exit back to the Settings menu. To exit without
making changes, scroll down 3 lines to CANCEL, and select it to cancel
changes and return to the Settings menu.
10.2.2 Alerts > Vibration On/Off.
This is a checkbox item. Tap the left or right edge of Navistick to toggle
the Vibration feature on and off. Note that if set to off, this feature
disables the vibration functions including the silent alarm option. To save
your setting, scroll down 2 lines to the OK option, and select it to confirm
and exit back to the Settings menu. To exit without making changes,
scroll down 3 lines to CANCEL, and select it to cancel changes and
return to the Settings menu.
10.3 Settings > Braille Menu.
The Braille menu lets you change the way braille is managed and
displayed.
The Braille menu includes:
1. Braille Presentation
2. Cursor
3. Default Braille Codes
4. Standard Braille Tables
5. Hide Braille Dots 7 and 8
6. Activate/Deactivate Master Switch Computer Braille
As with all menus in VarioUltra, you can scroll up and down with the
Navistick or with display keys D1 and D3. To scroll left and right, again
use the Navistick, or display buttons D2 and D5.
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10.3.1 Braille > Braille Presentation.
The Braille Presentation menu contains options to set the left and right
margins, choose whether the braille display should jump or drag when
the left and right margins are reached, and choose whether system
messages are shown with Word Wrap.
These settings are valid both when editing texts in the word processor
and in edit boxes. When reading (scrolling) with display buttons D2 or
D5, these settings are ignored.
Note: The settings made in the Presentation dialog are ignored in the
word processor when the “Show Whole Word” function has been
activated.
10.3.1.1 Braille > Left/Right Margin.
Margin settings can be useful when creating or proofreading documents.
VarioUltra allows you to set a left and/or a right margin via the Settings >
Braille > Presentation menu. When you enter Presentation, the first
option presented on the display is for the left margin; the right margin
setting is one line down.
Whichever margin you wish to set, the process is the same. The braille
display will show an edit box into which you type how many characters
from the edge you wish the margin to be. The number you enter here
represents the number of characters from the edge of the left or right
side of the braille display that the margin will start from or end at.
10.3.1.2 Braille > Line Jump/Drag.
When the cursor moves next to a margin, VarioUltra will move the
display left or right accordingly. If movement is set to jump, VarioUltra
will scroll one line to the left or right. If you have a 20-cell model, your
display will move left or right by 20-characters; naturally, the 40-cell
model will move the display left or right by 40-characters. If movement is
set to drag, VarioUltra scrolls the braille display one character to the left
or right in place, with the cursor remaining at the respective margin.
To toggle between the two modes, go to Settings > Braille >
Presentation > Jump. If the checkbox is checked, the default Jump
mode is set. Uncheck the box by scrolling to the right with the Navistick,
or by pressing any cursor routing button. The process is the same to
check the box again.
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10.3.1.3 Braille > Show Messages With/Without Word Wrap.
This option is self-explanatory. When selected from the menus, it
presents a single line with a checkbox. If the box is checked, messages
will be displayed with word wrap on. Uncheck the box and words may be
split at the end of a line.
Note: this mostly affects the VarioUltra 20 because most messages fit on
a single line of the VarioUltra 40 display.
10.3.1.4 Braille > Dot Strength.
With the introduction of VarioUltra software version 1.4, a new feature is
unlocked for some newer VarioUltra units built since late 2016.
With this horizontal list, you can choose between three dot strength
options. The default is Medium.
Dot strength means that the dots of the braille cells appear software or
more pointed, depending on the option you choose. The choices affect
the strength used to push up the braille dots.
10.3.2 Braille > Cursor menu.
The Cursor option contains settings relating to the appearance of the
cursor in Edit Mode and Reading Mode. The types of cursor styles
include dot 7, dots 7 and 8, or any other shape you choose. Finally, the
cursor you choose can be static, inverted, or flashing at a user
adjustable blink rate.
Reading Mode
Reading Mode applies whenever a write-protected file is opened.
Options you can change include:
1. Cursor shape. Enter the dot pattern you prefer to read when a
cursor is displayed. Default is dot 8.
2. ** New ** with v1.4: to hide the cursor, delete the content of this
edit box with B9B7 and immediately confirm OK.
3. Inverted On/Off (Checkbox). When checked, the dot pattern
selected for the cursor will be inverted. If you selected dots 78 for
the cursor and then inverted it, dots 123456 would be shown
instead.
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