ScreenReader 23

Hotkey Improvements

Desktop and laptop Dual Support Hotkey Set

The new Desktop and laptop dual support Hotkey Set is built upon the Desktop NumPad Hotkey Set. The popular commands from the Desktop NumPad Hotkey Set now have main keyboard alternatives, that enable you to switch between using a desktop and a laptop computer seamlessly. 

Please note that this Hotkey Set replaces the Function Key Hotkey Set, which is now retired due to conflicts with app shortcut keys.  
 

Competitor Hotkey Improvements 

Updated Competitor Hotkey Sets help make your transition to Dolphin ScreenReader easier when you are used to using hotkey shortcuts in: 

• Fusion (Two Dolphin keys for Fusion – Caps Lock and Insert) 
• ZoomText 
• JAWS (you can now use both Insert keys as your JAWS key) 

Introducing Layered Hotkeys  

This is a new hotkey mode that provides shortcuts to allow you to access features and change settings by pressing a sequence of keys. ‘Layers’ refer to the different levels of functionality you move through as you press the keys in sequence, rather than all at the same time.

This means there are more Hotkey shortcuts available, without the need to hold all the keys at once. The Layered Hotkeys can also make it quicker to access settings compared to menus navigation. Please note that Layered Hotkeys are are currently in English only, translations to follow.

To use the new Layered Hotkeys:  CAPS LOCK + SPACEBAR takes you to the top layer, which contains:  

• Privacy Screen:       F11 
• Magnification:        M 
• Speech:                  S 
• Scan and Read:       O 
• Audio:                   A 

Then you choose and press the appropriate second layer key for the feature group you want to access. So, to select the Audio Layer, you would press the sequence:   

CAPS LOCK + SPACEBAR, then A 

From here, you can then select a feature in the Audio Layer to access the feature you need. Pressing all keys in a sequence will complete an action. 

In this example, the Audio Layer has been selected, which contains: 

• Left Audio Split:     CURSOR LEFT
• Right Audio Split:    CURSOR RIGHT
• No Audio Split:       CURSOR UP
• Toggle Ducking:      CURSOR DOWN

So, in this example, to balance the audio, you would:

1. Press CAPS LOCK + SPACEBAR to enter Layered Hotkey Mode
2. Then press A to enter Audio Layer
3. Then press UP ARROW to balance the audio output

Completing a layer sequence or pressing ESCAPE returns your keyboard back to normal.  

You can also press F1 to have the current layer contents spoken to you.  

TAB and SHIFT TAB navigate through the items in the current layer, where ENTER / SPACEBAR either does the action or takes you into the next layer. BACKSPACE takes you back up a layer. 

New and Improved Media Access

Dolphin ScreenReader 23 offers new and improved Media access. This helps you access radio stations, news feeds, books and podcasts. 
You will notice an improvement in performance and navigation, to ensure you have easy access to entertainment. 

Find these features in the Media tab in Dolphin ScreenReader.

Speech Improvements

There have been lots of improvements to speech in Dolphin ScreenReader 23. These include:  

• Specify a higher or lower-pitched voice for spelling. 
• Have the current characters announced phonetically when navigating through a line of text. 
• Punctuation is now announced in Word docs, when working through word-by-word with the CTRL key and cursor left or right.  
• A new ‘Spreadsheet Voice’ is added, which lets you apply speech styles when working inside a spreadsheet, eg to have colour announced for cells.
  Activate this with Speech > voice preferences > voice and language configuration 
• Revisions and comments in review are now spoken by default in Word documents. 
• Automatic column and row announcements in web and Word doc tables. 
• Announce ‘Ctrl T’ tables and their headings inside Excel worksheets 
• Improvements to Text Boxes in Word. 
• Speech Transcript works to show the last 50 items spoken by Dolphin ScreenReader.  
  These items can be copied to the device clipboard, which is useful for reviewing or generating instructions from the speech output.  
  
  This option can also be disabled by System Administrators for corporate security and compliance reasons. 

Phonetic Character Echo

When using the cursor to read through text character-by-character (LEFT and RIGHT ARROWS), the speech will read the phonetic version of that character if you pause before pressing the arrow key again.

Changes to Dolphin ScreenReader Licencing

From the version 23 release, Dolphin is introducing three new licence types for purchases of Dolphin ScreenReader:

Personal

Single user licences, purchased by and for individuals to use at home or in education.
The user can choose Dolphin ScreenReader or a SuperNova edition.

Professional

Single or multi-user licences for organisations. 
This licence is for businesses and educational institutions. It is licenced to the organisation, with MSI distribution to local networks.

It includes licences for as many people as needed and is installed to local devices.
Dolphin ScreenReader and all editions of SuperNova are included.

Enterprise 

Multi-user licences for organisations.

An Enterprise licence is for businesses and organisations, and is licenced to the organisation.

It includes licences for as many people as needed, and is deployed across organisations and estates. This is a flexible licence for unattended installation, to local, virtual or remote devices.

With MSIs for Dolphin ScreenReader and all SuperNova editions.