Category Archives: Utter Command

Tip: Folder Direct

By Kimberly Patch

Every so often someone asks about calling up a folder directly without having to open Windows Explorer or a program like Word.

Until now my answer has been you can combine opening the program and the folder by saying, for instance “Word Open Budget Folder”, or “Windows New Budget Folder”.

But there’s a better way. Here’s a neat trick discovered by a clever UC user:

If you want to you call up a folder in any context and not just in a Windows Explorer window create a shortcut to that folder, and then add that shortcut to UC List as a file (not a folder) by issuing the command “Add File”.

You can also use the shortcut trick to create UC File links to files on network drives.

Don’t hesitate to let me know if you’ve come up with a clever trick that takes you beyond the Utter Command documentation.

Let me know at Kim at this website address or on Google+ +KimPatch (feel free to + me if you want to be in my Accessibility, or Speech Recognition circles).

Getting Gmail working well with speech commands

By Kimberly Patch

If you haven’t used speech commands to control a computer, it might not be obvious that single character commands, for instance “y” to archive a message in Gmail, can present a challenge.

Single-character commands seem like a great idea, especially for Web programs, because your Web browser already takes up some common keyboard shortcuts. Gmail has a lot of single-character commands, and once you get to know them you can fly along using the keyboard. In general I’m all for more keyboard shortcuts because it’s easy to enable them using speech.

Command conundrum

Single-character commands that can’t be changed, however, can get speech users in a lot of trouble. Say a command or make a noise that’s misheard as text in a program that doesn’t use single-character shortcuts and either nothing happens or you get some stray text you can easily undo. Do the same thing in a single-character-command program and you can cause many actions to happen at once.

A stray “Kelly” in your Gmail inbox, for instance, will move the cursor up one message (single-character command “k”) and archive it (single-character command “y”). “Bruno” causes even more damage.

Turn off the keyboard shortcuts, though, and the program becomes fairly inaccessible for speech users. We need the shortcuts, and we can combine multiple keystrokes into single utterances to make things even better. It’s having little control over them that presents a problem.

Speech-safe single character shortcuts

Google Labs has a nifty extension that presents a simple fix. It lets you change the characters you use for keyboard shortcuts, including using two characters rather than one. Add a plus sign (+) to the beginning of every shortcut and they all become speech-safe.

Here are step-by-step instructions.
– go to your Gmail account, click the settings gear icon at the top right of the screen
– click “Labs”
– search for the “Custom Keyboard Shortcuts” extension and click to download. This will add a ”Keyboard Shortcuts” tab to your Gmail settings
– now, click the settings gear icon at the top right of the screen
– click Keyboard Shortcuts
– add “+“ to the beginning of every command

If you’re using Utter Command 2.0 you’re now all set. Say “Plus” and any one- or two-character command. Say, for instance “Plus j” or “Plus Juliet” to move down one item. You can also say a command multiple times in a single utterance. Say “Plus j Repeat 5” to move down five items, for instance. And you can combine two commands: “Plus j Plus y” moves down one item, then archives that item (say “Question Mark” to call up the keyboard shortcuts list.)

Raising the bar

The Google Labs add-on enables Gmail for speech users, but there are many other programs out there that use single-character shortcuts, including other Google programs, and other Web-based programs like Twitter. Message for Google: How about one facility that would let us control keyboard shortcuts across Google programs?

It would also improve things if we could have a larger number of characters available for a given character shortcut, the ability to also control control-key shortcuts, the ability to save and share different sets, and the ability to apply at least some shortcuts across applications

Important Note: If you were a beta tester or received the Utter Command 2.0 pre-release, you might not have the “Plus” set of commands. If this is the case, send e-mail to “Info” at this web address, and we’ll make sure you have the release version. The release version shows 15 new sets of commands on the “New commands for 2.0” list you can open from the Taskbar icon menu.

Tips, tricks, productivity, accessibility, usability and all things speech recognition.

Change People’s Lives

By Kimberly Patch

If you’re anywhere near Boston this week, make sure to check out the Change People’s Lives Conference and Expo this Friday, September 23 at the Hynes Convention Center. The event is hosted by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and Governor Deval Patrick will be giving the keynote address. Event collaborators include The Institute for Human Centered Design, Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission, Work without Limits, and Easter Seals.

Dragon NaturallySpeaking maker Nuance is exhibiting, and Peter Mahoney, Senior Vice President & General Manager of the Dragon Business Unit, is scheduled to give a talk. Information about Utter Command will also be available at the Nuance booth.

The expo is free. It costs $75 to attend the conference sessions. Registration details are here: www.ChangePeoplesLives.org

Making filling out forms fast and easy

By Kimberly Patch

Here’s a simple way to make filling out forms in Firefox easier.

If you find yourself frequently putting the same old information — name, address etc. in a Web form, this will save you a lot of time, and it’s probably worth the time to set up even if you fill out forms just a few times a year (speech instructions are for Dragon plus Utter Command):

– Click on this link to download the Autofill Forms extension:
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/autofill-forms/
– In Firefox say “Under Tango Alpha” to Click Tools/Add-ons
– “Shift Tab”, and if necessary “1-10 Down” to Navigate to Autofill Forms
– “2 Tab · Enter” to Click “Options”
– “2 Tab” to Navigate to the first field
– Fill in all applicable fields
– “Enter” to save your information

Now anytime you find yourself in a form field say “Under Juliet” and applicable fields will automatically fill in.

That was the quick easy setup. If you want to change the keyboard shortcut or set several different profiles, take a look at the options. There’s a lot you can do with this add-on.

Feel free to +Kim Patch if you want me to add you to my Utter Command Circle on Google+

617-218-7018 laura.catanzaro@gmail.com

Using speech recognition for passwords

By Kimberly Patch

I get a lot of questions about how to use speech recognition software for passwords.

Speech is inherently different from the keyboard because people can tell what your password is when you say it out loud. And when the password is unpronounceable you end up spelling it, which is both nonsecure and tedious.

I see a lot of people using the not-so-great solution of mapping a cryptic password to something pronounceable using the Dragon vocabulary manager or the Utter Command Enter List facility (UC Enter List lets you combine words with the Enter key). Neither method is very secure, because the mapping is in a utility that someone can simply look at.

The easiest good solution is to use what’s already there — check “Remember Password” on your browser and when you type your username the password will fill in automatically. Set a master password in your browser to protect the list of passwords (in Firefox click tools/options/security and check “Use a Master Password”).

Once you have Remember Password set up, put your username(s) in the Utter Command Enter List (say “Add Enter” to open the Enter List) and you’ll be able to say your username plus “Enter” in a single phrase. With “Remember Password” checked the password will fill in automatically and you’ll be able to log on using a single speech command.

Another good solution is a password manager like Roboform, which manages all your passwords (there’s a free version). All you need to do is enter a master password when you turn on your computer. Roboform also automatically fills in forms for you. It takes some set up, but in the end it makes things easier.

Heat and computers

Those of us who use speech recognition are giving our computers a pretty good workout — the speech engine takes a lot of compute power. As long as you have a fairly powerful computer and do a couple minutes of maintenance every few weeks you’ll be all set.

Unless, like last week, it’s very hot, and you try to use your computer in a room that’s not air-conditioned.

Computers naturally get warmer when you use them. On a cool day the heat dissipates pretty well by itself. Last week was a different story, however. When a computer gets too hot, the computer fan kicks on to cool it down. If it’s still too hot the chip will automatically slow down. This all presents problems for the speech user. First, the excess noise of the fan can make it harder for the microphone to process your speech, and can make the signal that ultimately passes to the computer chip less clean so the computer has to work harder to decipher it. These can both increase the lag between you saying a command and the computer recognizing it. And if the chip slows down, processing slows down further.

The moral of the story is if you find yourself trying to use speech on a hot day and you think the computer is slowing down, it probably is. Turn it off for little while and it will do better when you turn a back on. Find air-conditioning or wait till the air temperature is cooler and it will do even better. And make it a habit to turn off your computer when you’re not using it so it can cool down completely.

FYI Here’s advice on the ideal setup for speech-recognition and a two-step maintenance program for speech-recognition.

Google+: will keyboard access improve beyond jk Enter Tab?

It’s obvious that Google+ is a powerful tool for personal and business use, and that we’ll see much more of it as time goes on. Circles are a brilliant way to organize contacts and share information, and hangouts makes video conferencing easy. What’s not to like?

Well, have you ever been in a situation where you’re looking at food that looks great and smells great and you’re hungry and would very much like to have some, but there’s some reason you can’t?

I have to give Google+ very mixed reviews on accessibility.

The more important a tool like Google+ turns out to be, the more important that everyone have access to it — including a couple of large communities who find it difficult or impossible to use a mouse: folks who have repetitive strain injuries and folks who are blind.

The good news is it’s relatively simple to make a program accessible to everyone: include keyboard controls. Better yet, provide a way to reconfigure keyboard shortcuts and share configurations. Enable the keyboard, and alternative controls like speech recognition can translate keyboard shortcuts to give users whatever type of access they need.

So how accessible is Google+ on this basic — keyboard shortcuts?

I couldn’t easily find shortcuts documentation.

So I tried some things out.

It failed on one basic requirement — you can’t use the arrow keys to move up and down conversations and drop-down menu items.

There’s a little good news, however.
– You can use the the “j” and “k” keys to move between conversations, just like in Gmail.
– The Enter key sets you up to write a comment.
– And a combination of the right number of Tabs and Enter lets you post, delete or cancel from the comment field.

So if you use Dragon plus Utter Command speech software to control the computer you can say “Letter j” or “Letter k” to move back or forward through entries. You can also skip forward or back in a single utterance, e.g. “k Times 3”. And you can open a comment field by saying “Enter”, and, once the comment is in, say, “Tab Enter” to post it, or “2 Tab Enter” to cancel it.

But that’s about it for useful direct keyboard control.

If you use the Firefox Mouseless browsing extension, you can go directly to most elements for a small penalty — numbers taking up space on your screen.

And if you use Dragon’s speak links ability you can click links and buttons that contain words, but this breaks down with less pronounceable names like +1’s and unpronounceable things like the home, pictures, profile and circles icons. Dragon’s speak links ability is also a little fragile — it’s all too easy to accidentally say a word that clicks a link.

And both solutions require you to identify something by sight before you take action, which can make things slower or a showstopper depending on your abilities. This is where keyboard shortcuts should be filling in the blanks.

Given the mixed situation, the easiest way for Dragon plus Utter Command users to access commonly clicked items like the search field, unpronounceable icons like profile, and unpronounceable symbols like the little drop-down list on the top right corner of each entry might be to use the UC Touch List to set up named mouse clicks. It takes a little set up, but will get you to the meal in the end.

Google+ clearly needs more keyboard shortcuts.

Better yet, how about a tool to allow us to easily configure keyboard shortcuts in Google+? Or even better, how about a tool to allow us to easily configure keyboard shortcuts across Google products? This would allow more people into the circle. It also has a lot of potential to improve the experience for folks who are already in.

It’s obvious that Google+ is a powerful tool for personal and business use. We’ll see much more of it as time goes on. Circles are a brilliant way to organize contacts and share information, and hangouts makes video conferencing easy. What’s not to like?

I have to give Google+ very mixed reviews on accessibility.

So how accessible is Google+ on this basic — keyboard shortcuts?

I couldn’t easily find shortcuts documentation.

So I tried some things out.

It failed on one basic requirement — you can’t use the arrow keys to move up and down conversations and drop-down menu items.

But that’s about it for useful direct keyboard control.

If you use the Firefox Mouseless browsing extension, you can go directly to most elements for a small penalty — numbers taking up space on your screen. And if you use Dragon’s speak links ability you can click links and buttons that contain words, but this breaks down with less pronounceable names like +1’s and unpronounceable things like the home, pictures, profile and circles icons. Dragon’s speak links ability is also a little fragile — it’s all too easy to accidentally say a word that clicks a link. And both solutions require you to identify something by sight before you take action, which can make things slower or a showstopper depending on your abilities. This is where keyboard shortcuts should be filling in the blanks.

Given the mixed situation, the easiest way for Dragon plus Utter Command users to access commonly clicked items like the search field and profile buttons might be to use the UC Touch List to set up named mouse clicks. It takes a little set up, but will get you to the meal in the end.

Google+ clearly needs more keyboard shortcuts.

7/14/11
All too often software vendors act like they’re the only ones with a software vendor relationship with the user.
it’s no big deal if an update automatically downloads every once in awhile. It is a big deal if you use 20 pieces of software and an update from each downloads every once in awhile.
This is why standards or good user control is important for communicating with software.

Posting to Word Press by speech

I get a lot of inquiries about how I carry out particular computer tasks by speech.

Here are the gory details on what I do to write a blog item and post it to WordPress:

Getting ready to write

When I think of an idea for a Patch on Speech blog post I say
– “Blog Pending Site” to bring up the Google document I write the blog in. Then I say
– “Find Mark 1”, then “Another Graph” to position the cursor. I have “MARK 1” written at the top of my working section. The first command selects “MARK 1”, and the second one positions the cursor two lines below it at the top of the section. Then I say
– “Today Short Enter” to add the current date and move the cursor to the next line

Writing

I either jot down an idea, or write a whole post.

When I’m writing I make heavy use of “1-20 Befores” to select the last few words I said and change them. A key point about this technique is I don’t count how many words I want to select back. I just make sure to select more words than I need to change, then look to see what is selected and resay what I need to.

I also make use of the Dragon inline commands, which allow you to say punctuation like “Open Quote” and “New Paragraph” without pausing. I use “Another Graph” to start a new paragraph when I’m not at the very end of a line. I occasionally find myself speaking keyboard to fix something, for instance “Left Backspace Right” to correct “two” to “to”.

We’ve just been testing a series of commands that lets you use a mouse without clicking, and I’ve been experimenting with commands like “Touch Word” and “Touch 3 Words” to select text.

Posting

After I’ve written and edited a piece, I say
– “Find Mark 1”, then “2 Down Home” to put the cursor at the beginning of the headline
Then I use several “1-100 Up\Downs” commands combined with a copy command to select the story, e.g. “50 Downs”, “20 Downs”, “5 Ups Copy”

Then I open the page where I post by saying
– “WordPress Site”
If I’m not already logged on it prompts me for my username. I have my username in the UC Enter list so I can say it and hit the Enter key in one utterance. Since my password is stored I can login in a single utterance:
“<username> Enter”
Once I’m in I say
– “31 Go” to click the “New Post” link
– “Tab Paste” to tab to the body field and paste the text
– “Go Top” to move the cursor to the top of the file
– “Line Cut” to cut the headline
– “2 Delete” to remove the extra lines
– “49 Go” to move to the headline field
– “This Paste” to paste the headline

Categories and Publish

I add categories using the Go numbers, one or two at a time , e.g. “31 Go” to add one category and “38 Go 41 Go” to add two categories in a single utterance, and use a Go number to hit the “Preview” button.

Then I look over the post, say “Doc Close” to close the preview, and use a Go number to hit “Publish”.

Avoid having to remember commands

This way you don’t have to remember commands. Eventually, after using the guide a bunch of times, you’ll have the sequence memorized without having to consciously memorize it.

If you have a way of carrying out a task by speech that you’re particularly proud of — or if there’s something you’re struggling with — drop me a line at kim @ this web address.

I get a lot of inquiries into how I carry out particular computer tasks by speech.

Here are the gory details on what I do to write a blog item and post it to WordPress.

Getting ready to write

When I think of an idea for a Patch on Speech blog post I say

– “Blog Pending Site” to bring up the Google document I write the blog in. Then I say

– “Find Placeholder”, then “Another Graph” to position the cursor. I have “MARK 1” written at the top of my working section. The first command selects “MARK 1”, and the second command positions the cursor two lines below it, so the new ideas are always at the top of the section. Then I say

– “Today Short Enter” to add the current date and move the cursor to the next line

Writing

I either jot down an idea, or write a whole post.

When I’m writing I make heavy use of “1-20 Befores” to select the last few words I said and change them. A key point about this technique — I don’t count how many words I want to select back — I just make sure to go over the number I want to change, then I look to see what is selected and resay what I need to. I also make use of the Dragon Inline commands, which allow you to say punctuation like “Open Quote” and “New Paragraph” without pausing. I use “Another Graph” to start a new paragraph when I’m not at the very end of a line. I occasionally find myself speaking keyboard to fix something, for instance “Left Backspace Right” to correct “two” to “to”. We’ve just been testing out a series of commands that lets you use a mouse device without clicking, and I’ve found that commands like “Touch Word”and ”

Posting

After I’ve written and edited a piece, I select the blog text and say

– “Copy to 1 File” to copy story to the use the clipboard “1 File” so I can paste it later

– “2 Up” to unselect and put the cursor on the headline, and

– “Line Copy” to copy the headline

Once I have the blog and headline loaded up, I open the page where I post by saying

– “Word Press Site”

If I’m not already logged on it it prompts me for my username. I have my username in the UC Enter list so I can say it and hit the Enter key in one utterance. Since my password is stored This is all I need to say to login:

“<username> Enter”

Once I’m in I say

– “31 Go” to click the “post” link

– “Paste Tab” to paste the headline and tab to the next field

– “1 File Paste” to paste the blog text.

I think the key to enabling a program for efficient speech control is to take the time to look at what you want to do in detail and plot it out — take the time to write out the steps. Make a game of figuring out just how efficient you can be. Then take the steps and put them in one of the UC custom guides, so you can call up instantly and simply read the set of commands to carry out the task, e.g. “Custom 3 Guide”. This way you don’t have to remember commands. Eventually, from the repetition and saying and picturing the commands in the guide, you’ll have the memorized. But you won’t have to spend extra energy while you’re trying to do your work memorizing them.

If you have a way of carrying out a task by speech that you’re particularly proud of — or if there’s something you’re struggling with — drop me a line.

Thunderbird tabs and consistency

Thunderbird now has tabs for open messages, which is very convenient. You can have three messages open and see where they are from the tabs — this is similar to tabbed browsing in programs like Firefox and Internet Explorer. And you can move among tabs using the same commands you use to move among tabs in your browser: “Tab Back”, “Tab Forward” and “1-20 Tab Back/Forward”.

Unfortunately, however, the keyboard shortcut to close a message tab is different from the standard close document/tab command used in most programs including Firefox, even though Thunderbird is developed by the same organization as Firefox. The usual command “Control Function 4” logically mirrors the common “Alternate Function 4” that’s used to close a window.

If the standard keyboard shortcut were enabled like it is in programs like Microsoft Word and Firefox, you could say the shortcut or “Document Close” to close a document or tab. And if you wanted to close more than one you could say “Document Close Times 3”, for instance.

If you dig through the keyboard shortcuts for Thunderbird, you’ll find that there is a nonstandard keyboard shortcut to close a message tab: “Control w”. So you can train yourself to say “Control w” to close a message when you’re in Thunderbird. Also keep in mind you can also say “Control w Times 3” to close three open messages. But it would be far better to not have to think about which program you are in when closing a tab or document. Feel free to complain to Thunderbird about this oversight at the Thunderbird support forum.

Here’s another Thunderbird tip: If you want to move a message rather than just closing it try “Move Recent”, “1-10 Down Enter”.
There’s more Thunderbird strategy on the Redstart Wiki: http://redstartsystems.com/Wikka/wikka.php?wakka=UCandThunderbird

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