ZoomText® Fusion 11 combines two of the best vision accessibility tools available – ZoomText Magnifier/Reader and JAWS® for Windows screen reader – into a single installation with one authorization.
If you have previously used ZoomText Magnifier/Reader, you will be very familiar with magnification operation when running Fusion. Because all screen reading is controlled by JAWS, you may notice differences with speech operation when running Fusion. The following briefly describes these differences and how to use speech with Fusion.
After Installing Fusion
When you first install and run Fusion, magnification is set at 2x, and speech is on by default with Eloquence as the default synthesizer.
Allowing Fusion to speak can help to reduce eye fatigue. When using magnification tools, such as the mouse pointer, text cursor, and focus enhancements, speech can also help you locate your position on the screen.
Shortcut Icons
When Fusion is installed, three icons are placed on the desktop.
Shortcut | Description |
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Click the Fusion icon to run Fusion. The Fusion user interface controls screen magnification. The JAWS menu, located in the notification area of the Windows taskbar, lets you change speech and braille settings, and use extra speech features. Press INSERT+J to open the JAWS menu. |
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Click the ZoomText icon to run only ZoomText. The ZoomText user interface is used along with ZoomText speech features. To learn more about ZoomText operation, refer to the ZoomText help (press F1 from the ZoomText toolbar). |
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Click the JAWS icon to run only JAWS. The JAWS user interface is used, and there is no magnification. To learn more about JAWS operation, refer to the JAWS help (press INSERT+J, and click Help > JAWS Help Topics) |
If Fusion is authorized and licensed to run on your computer, these installed versions of ZoomText and JAWS are also authorized. If Fusion is not authorized, Fusion and JAWS run in 40-minute Demo mode. When Demo mode expires, you must reboot your computer to continue using Fusion. If ZoomText is not authorized, it runs in 60-day Demo mode.
Turning Speech On or Off
To turn speech on or off, do one of the following:
- Click the Voice button in the Fusion Reader tab
- Press CAPS LOCK+ALT+ENTER
Note: To momentarily stop speech while Fusion is speaking, press CTRL.
Changing the Voice Rate
To control how fast or slow Fusion speaks, do one of the following:
- Use the Rate box in the Fusion Reader tab
- Press CAPS LOCK+ALT+UP ARROW for faster speech
- Press CAPS LOCK+ALT+DOWN ARROW for slower speech
Several hotkeys are available to make temporary and permanent changes to the voice rate. For more information, see Voice Rate Hotkeys.
Accessing Speech Settings with the JAWS Menu
The JAWS menu provides access to numerous JAWS settings and functions. For example, you can fine-tune speech settings, enable or disable mouse echo, download additional voices, configure braille settings, view help, and more.
JAWS runs in the notification area, also known as the system tray, and does not appear in the Fusion ribbon tabs.
Note: The JAWS icon may display or be hidden in the notification area of the taskbar depending on your Windows taskbar settings.
Opening the JAWS Menu
The hotkey INSERT+J is the fastest way to open the JAWS menu. Pressing INSERT+J smoothly moves the magnified screen view to the JAWS menu as shown below.
Note: You can also right-click the JAWS icon to open the menu.
Using Mouse Echo
ZoomText users may be familiar with using mouse echo to have text read as the mouse pointer moves over words or lines of text. In Fusion, the Echo group (Keyboard, Mouse, and Verbosity) is unavailable in the Fusion Reader tab. Instead, you can use the JAWS menu or layered keystrokes to switch mouse echo on or off.
Controlling Mouse Echo with the JAWS Menu
To turn mouse echo on or off using the JAWS menu, do the following:
1. Press INSERT+J to open the JAWS menu.
2. Choose Options.
A check mark indicates that mouse echo is on. No check mark indicates that it is off.
3. Select Mouse Echo to turn mouse echo on or off.
Controlling Mouse Echo with Layered Keystrokes
Layered keystrokes offer a fast and convenient way to perform an action. These keystrokes reduce the number of keys that you need to hold down at once to perform an action. There are several keystrokes available to control mouse echo.
Press and release INSERT+SPACEBAR, followed by the keystrokes listed below to perform the action.
Command | Hotkey |
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Mouse Echo On/Off | E, O |
Echo Character | E, C |
Echo Word | E, W |
Echo Line | E, L |
Echo Paragraph | E, P |
Help Message | E, QUESTION MARK |
Exit Layered Keystroke mode | ESC or SPACEBAR or TAB or ENTER
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Vocalizer Expressive Voices (Version 2)
Fusion 11 supports Vocalizer Expressive voices from Nuance® to add variety beyond the default Eloquence synthesizer. These voices offer very responsive, high quality, human-sounding speech in a wide variety of languages and dialects. They are offered in two forms: compact voices and individual high premium voices.
The compact voices are smaller files and take up less disk space on your computer. As a result, you can download a single file that contains all voices and dialects for a selected language. These voices offer very good speech quality at fast speech rates. The high premium voices are larger files, but offer the highest quality speech.
Downloading Vocalizer Expressive Voices
To download the voices, do the following:
1. Click Synthesizer Downloads.
Note: To download voices using the JAWS menu, press INSERT+J, and choose Help > More Voices.
2. In your web browser, select Vocalizer Expressive 2 in the Synthesizer list.
3. Select a language in the Language list.
4. Do one of the following:
- Click Download Compact Voices to download all voices for that language
- Click Download Premium High for an individual voice. Once the file is downloaded, you can continue to download other Premium High voices.
5. Locate and install the downloaded voice file.
6. Restart Fusion so that the new voices are detected and available for use. To select and use a new voice, see Changing Voices.
Changing Voices
To change the current voice, do the following:
1. Press INSERT+J to open the JAWS menu.
2. Choose Options > Voices > Voice Adjustment.
3. In the Voice Adjustment dialog box, select a synthesizer from the Profile Name list. For example, select Vocalizer Expressive – Factory to switch from Eloquence to Vocalizer Expressive version 2.
4. In the Person list, select a voice. Click OK to save the change and close the dialog box.
Note: If you want to use multiple languages and voices, you can create a voice profile. It consists of settings for the synthesizer, language, voice, and other speech items that define how JAWS speaks. You can create voice profiles that are specific for different applications and task. To learn more, see “Selecting a Voice Profile” in the JAWS help.
Advanced Screen Reader Settings
JAWS Startup Wizard
Use the JAWS Startup Wizard to fine tune some of the more commonly changed speech and braille options.
To open Startup Wizard, press INSERT+J, and select Help > Startup Wizard.
Settings Center
Settings Center provides access to all JAWS settings. Use it to quickly configure and globally apply JAWS settings, or configure and apply settings for specific applications.
To open Settings Center, press INSERT+F2 and select Settings Center.
To learn more about Settings Center, see “Settings Center Overview” in the JAWS help.
JAWS Keyboard Help
With keyboard help, you can press any combination of keys and hear a description of what they do. The command is not performed while in this mode.
To use this feature, press INSERT+1 (number row key) to turn on keyboard help, and press any key combination. When finished, press INSERT+1 again to exit keyboard help.
JAWS Command Search
The JAWS Command Search is an excellent tool to help you quickly find hotkeys for various speech functions.
To use this tool, press INSERT+SPACEBAR, J, enter a brief description, for example, read current line, and then press ENTER.
Common Keyboard Commands
The following is a brief list of magnification and voice commands to get you started with Fusion.
Magnification
Command | Hotkey |
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Zoom In / Out | CAPS LOCK+UP ARROW / DOWN ARROW |
Zoom to 1x (toggle) | CAPS LOCK+ENTER |
Enhance Colors On/Off | CAPS LOCK+C |
Show User Interface | CAPS LOCK+CTRL+U |
All Magnification and Speech On/Off without exiting Fusion | CAPS LOCK+CTRL+ENTER
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On/Off
Command | Hotkey |
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Voice On/Off | CAPS LOCK+ALT+ENTER |
Quiet | CTRL |
Rate
Command | Hotkey |
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Increase voice rate – permanent | ALT+CTRL+WINDOWS Key+PAGE UP |
Decrease voice rate – permanent | ALT+CTRL+WINDOWS Key+PAGE DOWN |
Increase voice rate – temporary | CTRL+ALT+PAGE UP |
Decrease voice rate – temporary | CTRL+ALT+PAGE DOWN |
Increase voice rate while reading | PAGE UP |
Decrease voice rate while reading | PAGE DOWN
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Say Commands
Command | Hotkey |
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Say All for continuous reading of web pages or documents | INSERT+DOWN ARROW |
Quiet | CTRL |
Say Character | NUM PAD 5 |
Say Word | INSERT+NUM PAD 5 |
Spell Word | INSERT+NUM PAD 5 twice |
Say Prior Word | INSERT+LEFT ARROW |
Say Next Word | INSERT+RIGHT ARROW |
Say Line | INSERT+UP ARROW |
Say To Cursor | INSERT+HOME (7) |
Say From Cursor | INSERT+PAGE UP (9) |
Say Bottom Line Of Window | INSERT+PAGE DOWN (3) |
Say Top Line Of Window | INSERT+END (1) |
Getting Help
There are several ways to quickly get help while using magnification or speech.
- When you hover the mouse pointer over an item in the Fusion user interface, a tooltip appears displaying the name, a brief description, and the hotkeys for that control. Tooltips are on by default, but can be turned off.
- Pressing INSERT+F1 is similar to using tooltips except the name and description appear in a Virtual Viewer message window. INSERT+F1 messages are always available and are ideal for getting information when changing speech settings in JAWS.
- You can browse the topics in the ZoomText help for complete details about magnification features and operation. To access help, press F1 while in the Fusion user interface.
- You can browse the topics in the JAWS help for complete details about speech features and operation. To access help, press INSERT+J, and choose Help > JAWS Help Topics.
ZoomText Features Not Available in Fusion
Echo Group
The Echo group (Keyboard, Mouse, and Verbosity) in the Fusion Reader tab is unavailable.
Mouse echo can be switched on or off using the Mouse Echo command in the JAWS menu, or the Mouse Echo layered keystrokes.
Keyboard echo, also known as typing echo, can be turned off or set to echo by characters, words, or characters and words. To do this, press INSERT+2 to cycle through each option.
Listening Group
The Listening group (Background Reader and Recorder) in the Fusion Tools tab is unavailable.