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WorkWORLD Speech - Operation

NOTE: For a list of all available WorkWORLD speech commands, jump to the topic by selecting the following link: WorkWORLD Speech - Keyboard Commands.

This topic consists of several sections. You may read them all sequentially, or jump immediately to one of them by following the bulleted links below to the sections listed:

·        General Information

·        Description of data grids or tables

·        Description of text results columns

·        Speech operation in the input grid

·        Speech operation in the numerical results grid

·        Speech operation in Text Results section

·        Speech operation in the File Open and File Delete dialogs

General Information

When speech is turned on in WorkWORLD, menu items, dialogs, inputs, outputs, and navigation prompts are spoken using your computer's sound system and WorkWORLD's built-in text-to-speech engine. When used together with a generic Windows screen reader program (such as JAWS for Windows or others, which is required to speak the Help and Information system), a comprehensive solution is available for users who need or want audible annunciation of program operation.

Use of the speech features does not alter the way WorkWORLD is used. When speech is enabled, the only noticeable difference in WorkWORLD is that it provides spoken cues, information, and confirmations about program operation. Use and navigation of the program using either the mouse, the keyboard commands, or a combination of both is the same whether or not speech is enabled. There are, of course, some additional commands that are used specifically to control the speech engine.

WorkWORLD provides audible cues about which section of the program is active (has focus) when you change the area or initiate an action that causes the active section to change (such as opening a new file). Information is displayed on screen in a variety of formats, and WorkWORLD provides a variety of commands that you may use to have the data read to you.

There are two major ways data is presented on the screen by WorkWORLD: in the form of a rectangular grid or table with rows and columns, and in the form of parallel columns. These are described below. Following the descriptions, operation of the speech components in WorkWORLD is explained for the various sections of WorkWORLD.

Description of data grids or tables

In the grid or table, each row has a number of associated columns that contain information in individual cells about a specific aspect of that row. For instance, in WorkWORLD's input grid the first column contains questions, while additional columns contain answers to the questions for up to five specific What-If situations. The very first row, at the top, contains labels for each of the columns.

A similar grid or table is used to present numeric output information, with a slightly different layout. Both the first row across the top, and the first column at the left contain labels. The first row contains labels corresponding to the names of the What-If situations created when data was input. These labels (or names) are the same as those that appear as column labels in the input grid. In the numeric results grid, each row of the first column contains labels corresponding to a specific benefit or expense amount type, such as "SSI Benefit" or "Net Income". Within the remainder of the table, each cell at the intersection of a What-If column and an amount type contains a dollar amount.

A final type of grid is used to display file information in File Open, File Delete, Import File, and Export File dialog boxes. In these grids (similar to the input grids), the first row at the top contains column labels, such as "File Name" or "Customer SSN". Each row after the first represents one file, and each column of that row has a cell containing data corresponding to its column label about that file.

Description of text results columns

Text results are different than numeric results tables because for each situation, there may be a different number of text results associated with it. Text results are presented in parallel columns, much the same way a newspaper is laid out. Each column of text results in WorkWORLD represents one What-If situation, and the column is labeled at the top with a header that contains the label or name of the situation.

Within each text results column are a variable number of text results that may be either Alerts, Recommendations, or Notes. All three types of text results consist of three parts. These are the title of the result, which also contains the type as the first word of the title; the body of the result, which contains a short explanation of the result; and a link to a Help and Information system topic which provides a detailed explanation of the result and/or procedures to follow when the result appears.

Speech operation in the input grid

When you first enter the input grid either by selecting "Start a new file" from the opening Splash Screen or File, New from the main menu, WorkWORLD says "WorkWORLD will now ask you a series of questions and suggested answers". Until the situation is complete, it then proceeds to ask questions, one at a time, and tells you the type of input required as well as the default answer.

For instance, after reading a question that requires a monetary amount answer, WorkWORLD might say "Currency box", followed by "Zero dollars". This means you need to respond with an actual amount in the currency box, and the default amount in the answer is zero. You may accept the default amount by pressing the Enter key, to activate the Okay button, or use your Tab key to move focus around the answer box. You will find radio buttons to indicate that your answer is either an actual or estimated amount, as well as the Okay button used to enter the answer and a More Info button. Moving focus to the More Info button, followed by pressing the Enter key to activate it, will pop up the Help and Information window providing context-sensitive help describing the meaning of the open question and how to determine the proper answer to it. At this point, your generic screen reader takes over to read the Help window, as the Help window display is controlled by the operating system rather than the WorkWORLD program. Closing the Help window by pressing the Escape key returns you to the open question box, where focus will still be on the More Info button. Use the Tab key to select the currency box for the open question, which you must answer before moving on.

In other questions, you must choose between several possible predefined answers to a question, such as Yes and No, or your State of residence. After reading such a question, WorkWORLD will say "Drop down" followed by the default response. You may either choose the default response by pressing the Enter key, or use your arrow keys to move through the list of possible answers in the drop down box until you hear the correct one, then press the Enter key to accept it. As always, when the question box is open, you may use the Tab key to move focus around the answer box in order to get context-sensitive Help about the question and its answer.

The last type of question is a simple text input box. For example, WorkWORLD may ask you to provide a label or name for a situation you are creating. After reading such a question, WorkWORLD will say "Text box" and then read the default answer. You may either choose the default response by pressing the Enter key, or type a new answer. Just like the other types of question boxes, you may use the Tab key to move focus around the answer box in order to get context-sensitive Help about the question and its answer.

Navigation around the input grid is discussed in detail in the help topic available at the following link: Navigating WorkWORLD & Entering Data. You may find it useful to review use of the keyboard in that topic, or the input grid keyboard command summary section of that topic found at the following link: Navigation Shortcuts From Keyboard.

While you are in the input grid (either because you are answering questions or because you typed Alt+I to move there from another program section), there are a number of useful speech commands available to you.

Since each row is identified by a question or banner in the first column, you can determine which row you are in by using the key combination Ctrl+Alt+1 to hear the contents of the first column in the current row (which will be either a question or banner). Similarly, you can determine which column you are in by using the key combination Ctrl+Shift+T to hear the heading for the current column.

To hear all of the column headings, press Ctrl+Shift+Alt+T. To hear the current question and responses to it for each situation, press Ctrl+Shift+Alt+R.

Using the key combinations Ctrl+Alt+2 through Ctrl+Alt+6 causes the contents of the cell in the second through the sixth column of the current row to be read. Finally, to hear the contents of the current cell, press Alt+U.

Speech operation in the numerical results grid

All of the speech commands described above for use in the input grid are available to you for use in the numerical results grid. There is no need to learn new commands, only to realize that the contents of the grids are somewhat different.

In the numerical results grid, cells of the first column contain banners and headings rather than the questions found in the input grid. The first row is similar to the input grid in that it contains headings with the names of the situations you created in the input grid. The remaining cells in the bulk of the grid are either blank or contain dollar amounts that correspond to specific types of income or expenses listed in the first column for each situation listed in the first row.

When the numerical results output grid is active (type Alt+N to move focus to it from another program section), there are a number of useful speech commands available to you.

Since each row is identified by a benefit, expense, or banner in the first column, you can determine which row you are in by using the key combination Ctrl+Alt+1 to hear the contents of the first column in the current row. Similarly, you can determine which column you are in by using the key combination Ctrl+Shift+T to hear the heading for the current column.

To hear all of the column headings, press Ctrl+Shift+Alt+T. To hear the current row benefit, expense, or banner type and responses to it for each situation, press Ctrl+Shift+Alt+R.

Using the key combinations Ctrl+Alt+2 through Ctrl+Alt+6 causes the contents of the cell in the second through the sixth column of the current row to be read. Finally, to hear the contents of the current cell, press Alt+U.

Speech operation in Text Results section

When the program displays Text Results after completing a situation, or you switch the outputs to Text Results by pressing Alt+T, WorkWORLD says "Text Outputs" followed by the program section (SSI/DI, Housing, or Food Stamps), and ending with the situation label name.

Remember from the description above that text results appear on-screen in columns much like the layout of a newspaper. Each column, representing one of the What-If situations, may contain a variable number of variable length results.

You can use the Tab key to cycle through the situation columns in the Text Results section. WorkWORLD annunciates each column as you switch focus to it. Once you select the column of interest, pressing the key combination Ctrl+H causes the first text result in that column to be spoken.

When the first text result is completed, you will hear "Press Enter for more information" on the text result that was just spoken. If you press the Enter key at that point, the context sensitive Help and Information system will pop up and provide detailed information and/or Help about that specific text result. Note that an external screen reader, such as JAWS, is required to read the Help screen. When you are finished with the help topic, close the Help window by pressing Escape to return to the text results.

Pressing Ctrl+H again will cause WorkWORLD to start reading the next text result for the situation column you are in. You will again hear the "Press Enter for more information" link you can use to get context-sensitive information about that text result.

When the last text result has been read for the column, you will hear "No more text results for this situation". At that point, you can reread the current column, or switch to another column (using the Tab key) and read the text results in it.

Speech operation in the File Open and File Delete dialogs

WorkWORLD says "Open File dialog" when you use Alt+F, O from the main menu or the open file icon on the toolbar to open a new file. It then says "file grid" to indicate which object in the box has focus.

Similarly, WorkWORLD says "Delete File dialog" when you use Alt+F, D from the main menu or the file open icon on the toolbar to delete an existing file. It then says "file grid" to indicate which object in the box has focus.

The File Open and File Delete dialog boxes each contain a grid and two buttons. You can cycle the focus among the three objects by using the Tab Key, and WorkWORLD will speak the name of the current object.

The grid is identical in both dialog boxes, and consists of a top row containing header cells with file information, and one additional row for each saved case file. You can use the arrow keys to move up or down the file list contained in the grid. As you do so, each file name will be spoken.

Other familiar WorkWORLD data grid commands may be used in these file grids. For instance, Ctrl+Shift+Alt+T causes WorkWORLD to speak all the column headings. Ctrl+Alt+1 through Ctrl+Alt+4 allows you to hear the cell contents of the current row. These commands correspond to the columns containing File Name, Consultant, Customer, and Social Security Number.

Once you have made your file selection, you can use the Tab key to bring focus to the Delete or Open buttons in the dialog boxes, which will be spoken. Pressing the Enter key at that point will complete the action, and the dialog box will disappear. Should you change your mind prior to pressing the Enter key, there is a Cancel button available in the dialog.

Additional Information

Additional information about WorkWORLD speech is available by following the bulleted links below to the topics listed:

·        WorkWORLD Speech - Overview

·        WorkWORLD Speech - Turning On or Off

·        WorkWORLD Speech - Keyboard Commands

·        WorkWORLD Speech - Controlling Speech Properties

·        WorkWORLD Speech - Using with JAWS

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