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Slate™ User Guide
8th July
2026
Contents
10.1.3 Inserting and Formatting the SD Card
10.1.5 About Menus and File Names
10.1.6 Entering and Exiting Menus
10.1.7 Device Operational Modes
10.1.8 Languages and Translation
11.1.7 Device information page 1
11.1.8 Device information page 2
11.1.22 Date Format (dd-mm-yyyy)
11.1.35 Buzzer Intensity (Medium)
11.1.36 Active Display Line (5/3)
13.1.3 More about Copying and Pasting Files
14.1.2 Power Move Forward and Back
16.3 Editor Block Text Commands
18.1 Basic calculator functions
19.1.1 View, Edit and Create appointments
22.2 Using the Bluetooth Connection
22.2.1 Connect to Multiple Hosts
22.3.1 Human Interface Device (HID) – Orbit
22.3.2 Human Interface Device (HID) – Braille
22.4.1 Connecting iOS with Bluetooth
22.5.1 Connecting to a Mac over USB
22.5.2 Connecting to a Mac over Bluetooth
22.5.3 Controlling the Slate from a Mac
22.6.1 Connecting to Android devices over Bluetooth
22.6.2 Input and Output Text with Talkback
22.7.1 Connecting to Windows over USB
22.7.2 Connecting to Windows over Bluetooth
22.7.3 Non-Visual Desktop Access (NVDA)
22.7.4 Job Access with Speech (JAWS)
22.7.5 Dolphin SuperNova ScreenReader
24.1.1 Device Firmware Upgrade
24.1.2 Using the Windows PC Upgrade Utility
24.1.3 Using an SD card to Perform the Upgrade
26.1.1 Slate does not power on or seems to freeze
27 Battery Use and Replacement
30.1.1 Appendix A - Computer Braille Chart
30.1.2 Appendix B - Trademark Notices and Attribution
30.1.3 Hardware Limited Warranty
30.1.4 EXCLUSIONS AND LIMITATIONS
30.1.5 Appendix C - FCC Information
The Slate is a portable,
refreshable, multiline braille display and stand-alone reader with the
following features:
·
3
lines of 40 braille cells with 3x40 model and 5 lines of 20 braille cells with
5x20 model, with pins that arrange into the required pattern to accurately
represent any six- or eight-dot braille code, in any language, and for any
discipline.
·
Cursor
routing buttons
·
Reads
the contents of files on an SD™ (Secure Digital)
card or USB drive in the Stand-Alone Mode
·
Remote
connectivity to PCs and mobile devices for use with a screen reader
·
On-board
translation from text to braille and from braille to text
·
On-board
support for contracted braille
·
On-board
support for over 40 languages, including UEB
·
Simple
editing functions
·
Buzzer
and Haptic indications
·
Signage-quality
braille
Content stored on an SD card (or USB thumb
drive) is read in
one of three ways:
·
Sent
by library.
·
Prepared
on a computer and copied to the device.
·
Using
onboard translation
In Stand-Alone mode, the Slate displays the
contents of files stored on an SD card (or USB thumb drive). It supports text
to braille and braille to text translation on-board for English and over 40
other languages. For English, it supports translation to and from contracted
and uncontracted braille. In addition, it can be configured to translate
contracted braille in other languages. Please refer to the localization section in this
guide for more details.
Connect
the device to a computer or mobile device with a screen-reader and then do one
of the following:
·
Read
commercially available titles on Kindle™, Adobe® Digital Editions, or Apple
Books® application programs.
·
Employ
any accessible technology for browsing, utilities, and education.
· The screen reader translates text into Braille code of choice.
There are multiple sources for files that are
transcribed into high-quality braille. Below are some examples:
·
National Library Service (NLS) provides professionally transcribed,
formatted files through the Web Braille project.
·
RNIB Reading Services offers professionally transcribed braille titles.
·
National Braille Press (NBP) produces braille books, textbooks, tests,
and information for adults and children.
·
Louis Database lists titles produced by over 160 organizations
American
Printing House for the Blind (APH) transcribes textbooks for K-12 students.
In addition to professionally transcribed titles,
you may also use dynamic translation to obtain braille.
Automatically translated braille may be appropriate
for some forms of reading.
·
Bookshare®
dynamically generates braille formatted files from the titles in its library.
·
Sugamya Pustakalaya is India's first and
largest collection of accessible books. Users can access a collection of over 3,28,900
books, maintain their individual reading shelves online and download books in
chosen formats.
·
NFB-NEWSLINE® is a free audio information service, providing
downloadable Braille files of up-to-the-minute content from over 400 national,
international, and state newspapers.
·
The Slate features built-in forward and reverse
braille translation. This is controlled by the profile selected from the menu.
·
BrailleBlaster™ is a full-featured transcription software
package for creating quality formatted braille.
·
DAISY™ Pipeline provides a comprehensive solution for
converting text documents into accessible formats,
·
Send to Braille is a shortcut
that adds braille to the Windows® Send To menu, which can convert files on your
computer into unformatted BRF (Braille Ready Format) files.
For consistency and clarity, we
have used the following conventions in this document.
Braille keys are indicated by number. For example, if the documentation
indicates Dot 1, it shows: Dot 1.
If multiple braille keys are required, the documentation indicates those
keys by showing the numbers separated by a space like this: Dots 1 4.
When modifier keys are used, the documentation separates the modifiers
from the rest of the keys with a plus (+) sign like this: Space + Dot 1.
Modifiers like the Shift key on a regular QWERTY keyboard, are keys you hold
down while pressing another key. This modifies the effect of the pressed key.
On a braille keyboard, Space is often used as a modifier key to alter the
effect of the input keys.
Key mnemonics are written in capital letters for emphasis but are typed
in braille lowercase (unless otherwise stated). When one key follows another,
the two keys are shown with a comma between them. For example, the command
Select, M means to press and release the Select key, then press and release M
(Dots 1 3 4) simultaneously.
The Up, Down, Right, and Left directional buttons on the navigation pad
are interchangeably referred to as arrows, buttons, arrow buttons, and arrow
keys.
The words Keys and Buttons are used interchangeably.
In the descriptions of each Menu option, this documentation indicates
the default setting.
Any reference to navigation by “page” while in Stand-Alone mode only
means navigation by 1000 characters (page = 1000 characters).
The
Slate has the following features:
·
3
lines of 40 refreshable eight-dot braille cells each with 3x40 model and 5
lines of 20 refreshable eight-dot braille cells each with 5x20 model that can
display 6-dot as well as 8-dot braille symbols.
·
A
cursor routing button above each braille cell of the first braille display
line.
·
Onboard
forward and backward braille translation
·
Bluetooth®
wireless technology
·
Buzzer
and Haptic indications
·
Eight
Braille input keys and space bar
·
Navigation
keypad with four directional buttons (Up, Down, Left, Right) and the Select
button.
·
USB
Type-C charging and communication port
·
Full-size
SD card slot
·
USB
Host port to connect a USB drive.
·
Rocker
keys for panning
·
User-replaceable
rechargeable battery
The
orientation of buttons, keys, cells, and slots is important for understanding
how Slate operates and how you input and receive information on your braille display.
To begin
with, place the device on a flat surface in front of you with the space bar
closest to you. This is the proper operational orientation.
On the left side of the device, is the recessed on-off switch.
At the
frontside of the device, is the SD card slot. The SD card slot is standard
type. The SD card is inserted with the card connector fingers facing up and
towards the device. To remove the card, press in and remove your finger to pop
out
The
orientation of buttons, keys, cells, and slots is important for understanding
how Slate operates and how you input and receive information on your braille display.
To begin
with, place the device on a flat surface in front of you with the space bar
closest to you. This is the proper operational orientation.
battery
compartment is located on the bottom of the device.
On the left side of the device, is the recessed on-off switch.
At the
frontside of the device, is the SD card slot. The SD card slot is standard
type. The SD card is inserted with the card connector fingers facing up and
towards the device. To remove the card, press in and remove your finger to pop
out.
When
properly oriented, the space Bar (wider key) is closest to you. The Dot 7 input
key is to the left of the Space Bar, and the Dot 8 input key is to the right of
the Space Bar.
Moving
toward the top there is a navigation pad in the middle, between the Braille
Input keys and Space bar.
The
navigation pad contains the four directional arrow buttons (Up, Down, Left,
Right) and the Select button.
The six
traditional braille input keys are aligned horizontally above the navigation
keypad, Dots 3 2 1 on the left and Dots 4 5 6 on the right. In Stand-Alone
mode, the Braille Input keys are used for navigation.
As you
continue toward the top you will find 5 braille displays. The Panning keys are
at each end of the five braille displays.
For
orientation purposes, there are slightly raised tick marks located above each
braille cell. Every fifth tick mark is slightly raised than others. For
example, the fifth tick mark from the left is somewhat higher than the
following markers.
There
are cursor routing buttons above each braille cell of the first braille display
line.
The Panning keys are two-function rocker keys found at either end of the
braille display lines.
The
Slate is a six-dot braille device with two additional dots below Dot 3 and Dot
6. These two additional dots are Dot 7 and Dot 8, which are used to indicate
capitalization while reading and editing the file in 8 dot mode. These dots
also indicate a selected item in the menu, text with attributes or accent marks
or a cursor. Their exact use depends on the application you use with the
display.
The
Slate has two modes: Stand-Alone mode and Remote mode. In Stand-Alone mode, the
device is a book reader that uses an SD card or a USB thumb drive as storage
media. In Remote mode, the device works like a braille display and needs to be
connected to a computer or other host with a screen reader.
This
section explains how to charge, turn the device on and off, insert the SD
card/USB drive, and enter and exit the menus.
When you
receive the Slate, it may be already charged;
however, we recommend that it should be fully charged before or during first
use. You can use the device and charge it at the same time, so it saves reading
time. When the battery in Slate gets to 10% of its
capacity, Dot 8 of the last cell of the last display line starts blinking on
and off. This behavior is normal and indicates that the battery is low.
To
charge the device, use the standard USB-A to Type-C USB cable and the charger
power plug provided with the unit. Insert the small end of the cable into the
Slate's USB C port. It should slide in without resistance; do not force it. Now
insert the large end of the cable into a computer’s USB A port or the charger
plug provided. Plug the charger into an AC mains outlet.
If the
device is on when you connect the charger, the display shows "-- Charger
connected". When you unplug the
charger, it shows "-- Charger unplugged". The charger plugged and
unplugged indications are displayed briefly even when the unit is off. The
language of the message depends on the language you select for system messages
from the menu. By default, the language will be UEB Grade 1 (uncontracted). The
system messages appear on the first display line.
If you
have charged the device for 4 hours or longer, and it does not power on,
contact Customer Service at techsupport@orbitresearch.com
A square
Power (on/off) button is located on the left face of the device. See the Orientation section for more information.
To power
on the device, press and hold the power button for 2 seconds. Upon successful powering on, the device will give a long
vibration and buzzer sound, serving as a clear indicator that it has powered
on. The Slate operates all cells to Down during powering on if the device was
not properly powered off previously due to any unforeseen circumstances.
When you
turn the device on, the Slate resumes from the place you left. If you are using
the device or inserting the SD card/USB drive for the first time, the Slate
shows the first file or folder name on the SD card.
The
Slate displays, “SD card [no media]" when the SD card slot is empty.
To turn
off the device, press and hold the Power button for two seconds. The device will give two pulses of
vibration and buzzer together to indicate powering off. The Slate operates all cells to
Down during powering off and then performs multiple short vibrations until the
unit is fully powered off.
The unit
may require a total of 3-4 seconds to complete the shutdown. It is advisable to
refrain from attempting to turn on the unit immediately after powering it off.
Kindly wait for a complete shutdown before initiating the power-on sequence
once again.
The
Slate has a low-power standby/sleep mode. Quickly tapping the Power button puts
the unit in sleep mode. Tapping the Power button while the device is in sleep
mode wakes the device. While editing or when connected to Bluetooth, if no keys
are pressed for an hour, the unit automatically goes into sleep mode. Otherwise, the device goes to sleep after 10
minutes of inactivity. After five hours in sleep mode, the unit shuts off to
conserve power.
The
device comes with an inserted SD card with translated braille files already on
it, so that you can quickly learn to use the device by reading the material.
The Slate uses standard
full-size SD cards from 4GB to 32 GB in capacity. The card must be formatted as
FAT32. There is no way to format a card on the device. Most cards come already
formatted. However, you can format one as FAT32 on a desktop computer for use
with the Slate.
To
insert the SD card, find the large slot at the front.
On one
of the short sides of the SD card, there are some ridges called fingers or
teeth. Position the SD card with the teeth facing up. Now insert the short side
with teeth into the device. The SD card should go in smoothly until it gets
about a quarter of an inch from being fully in the device. At this point, you
feel a slight resistance. The card slot works like a toaster, gently push the
SD card in until you hear a click. The card is aligned with the rear edge when
properly inserted.
To
remove the card, press it in, a little until it pops out and then gently remove
it.
The
Slate comes with a standard USB A host port. You can insert a USB flash drive
and read its contents. It shows the message “-- USB drive inserted” when the
flash drive is plugged in. You can copy or move content from the flash drive to
the SD card and vice-versa.
The Slate can support
Flash drives up to 32 GB in capacity. The drive must be formatted in the FAT32
format. It is not possible to format a USB drive on the Slate. You use a
Windows or Mac computer to format the drive.
The
Slate shows internal menus and file names according to the language selected
from the menu.
·
To
Open the menu, press Select + Up Arrow
·
To
Exit the menu, press Dot 7
·
To
Move through the menu choices, press the Up or Down Arrows
·
To
See choices within a menu option, use the Right and Left Arrows
·
To
Select a menu item, press Select
The
Slate has two functional modes. Stand-Alone mode and Remote mode.
Stand-Alone
mode is the default operational mode and allows you to read, edit, and browse
files without being connected to another device. An SD card or USB drive must
be inserted in the Slate while operating in Stand-Alone mode. See the Stand-Alone Mode section of this document for more
information.
Remote
mode allows you to connect the Slate to iPhone®, iPad®,
and Android™ mobile devices, as well as desktop computers. In Remote mode,
Slate acts as an input and output device for the remotely connected host via
USB or Bluetooth. See the Remote Mode section of this document for
more information.
To move
back and forth between Stand-Alone and Remote modes, use the following
commands:
·
To
switch to Remote mode: press Select + Space + Right Arrow
·
To
switch to Stand-Alone mode: press Select + Space + Left Arrow
The Stand-Alone mode provides the following
features:
·
Menu
·
Reader
·
Editor
Remote
mode connects in the following ways:
·
Bluetooth
·
USB:
HID (Orbit), Braille-HID, Serial, or Mass Storage
The
Slate supports multiple languages. They following languages are pre-loaded on
the unit:
·
USA computer
braille (8 dot)
·
USA English
Grade 1 (EBAE)
·
USA English
Grade 2 (EBAE)
Other
languages can be loaded from the SD card.
These include:
·
UEB Grade 1 (uncontracted)
·
UEB Grade 2 (contracted)
You can
configure the Slate to use the same or different languages for the system
messages and to read/write files. For example, you can have the system menu and
messages to be in your local language while you work with UEB Grade 1
(uncontracted) files with the reader/editor or vice versa.
For
this, there are language profiles that can be selected and configured from the
menu. Alternatively, you can switch between different profiles using the
hotkeys. Please refer to the section ‘Setting up the languages’ for more details.
While
typing you need to enter the key inputs as per the language selected. For
example, if you have selected UEB Grade 1 (uncontracted), you must type in UEB
Grade 1 (uncontracted) only. This applies to any key input you provide such as
typing for the Find command, or for renaming the file.
The
Slate provides a menu for setting options, checking the battery, and changing
modes of operation.
To open
the menu, press the Select + Up Arrow keys.
While
opening the menu, it displays the first page of the device information , such
as the battery status, serial numbers and software version.
Pressing
the down arrow keys, it displays the second page of the device information
which shows the device bootloader version.
Pressing
the down arrow keys again, it shows the menu options let you select from among
several choices. For example, the Sort option allows you to choose one of the
various options for arranging files in the file manager. The selected option is
underlined with Dots 7 8.
To
scroll through the other possibilities, press the Right Arrow key. To select
the option, press Select. The Slate responds by underlining the word with Dots
7 and 8 to indicate the choice.
To move
to another menu item, press the Up or Down Arrow key. When you get to the end
of the list of options and press the Down Arrow key, the Slate moves back to
the top menu item. Similarly, when you press the Up Arrow from the first menu
item, The Slate moves to the last item in the list. This feature allows quick
access to the last few menu items and so some options that may be used
frequently are located at the bottom of the menu list.
To close
the menu and return to your work, press Dot 7.
The
Slate comes configured to support USA English Grade 1 (EBAE), USA English Grade
2 (EBAE) and USA Computer Braille (8 dot). Additional language files can be
loaded from the SD card. Please refer to the localization section in this guide for more details.
Note: BRF cannot be configured as the system
language.
You can
also configure the encoding type of the text file.
To allow
easy configuration of languages and switching between languages, four language
profiles (Profile 1, 2, 3, and 4) are provided. Each profile has options to
choose the System Language, Read/Edit Language and Editor Encoding.
The
System Language setting allows you to set the language of the system messages
and menu options.
The
Read/edit Language setting allows you to read or edit the content in the
desired language.
Following is
the list of languages that can be set as System language and/or Read/Edit
language
·
eng_uncontracted (USA English
Grade 1)
·
eng_contracted (USA English
Grade 2)
·
eng_8-dot-computer (USA
Computer Braille (8 dot))
·
brf (BRF format files)
·
Additionally loaded Languages
from SD card
The
Editor Encoding setting applies to new files only and allows you to save the
file in the desired encoding format. Encoding is how the data is stored
internally in the text file. There are pros and cons to each of the encoding
systems. If you are not sure which encoding to use, we recommend using UTF-8.
More details on encoding can be found at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Character_encoding
It has the
following options:
·
UTF-8
·
Unicode-16LE
·
Unicode-16BE
·
ANSI
The hotkeys for switching between profiles are Select + Dot 1, Select + Dot 2, Select + Dot 3, and Select + Dot 4 for profiles 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively.
If you accidentally select an unfamiliar language, pressing Select + Dots 1 2 3 restores the default profile.
The menu
is available for the Remote and Stand-Alone modes. Press Select + Up Arrow to
open the menu in either mode.
To exit
the menu and return to the previous mode, press Dot 7.
Some of
the Menu options have a default setting (indicated in the list below). For most
of these options, you can move among alternatives by pressing the Right or Left
Arrows and then pressing Select. Selected items are underlined with Dots 7 8.
Refer to the specific section for further information.
· Cursor Blink (1)
·
Sort (Name: Ascend)
·
Split Words (Off)
·
Filter Dot 7 (On)
·
Wrapping (On)
·
Compress Spaces (On)
·
Indents (On)
·
Profile 1
·
Profile 2
·
Profile 3
·
Alarm 1
·
Alarm 2
There
are two pages for device basic Information in display. Device information page
1 displays Battery Status, Serial Number and Software Version.
The
Battery status menu item displays the amount of energy remaining in the battery
as a percentage of the total capacity of the battery. When the battery in the
Slate gets to 10%, Dot 8 of the last cell of the last display line blinks on
and off. This behavior is normal, indicating that the battery is low.
When the
unit is plugged in for charging, the message "-- Charging XX%" is
displayed, where XX is the percentage of remaining energy.
The
Serial Number item in the menu shows the serial number of the device you are
using. This number is useful for service and warranty purposes.
The
Version item in the menu displays the version number of the software on your
device. You may need the version number when talking to Customer Service. For
the latest version of software, refer to the website.
Note:
The software version is shown in US computer braille (8 dot) only.
This menu item displays the Unit Bootloader
version, Maintenance status and Auto sleep status.
The Boot Version item in the menu displays
the bootloader version number of the software on your device. You may need the
boot version number when talking to Customer Service.
The Maintenance Status item in the menu
displays whether the current maintenance status is On or Off. If the
maintenance status is On, the device will operate all pins up and down every 24
hours while in power-off mode.
The Auto Sleep Status item in the menu
displays whether the current auto sleep status is On or Off. If the auto sleep
status is On, the device will go to sleep mode automatically when it remains
inactive for more than 10 minutes. If the auto sleep status is Off, the device
will not go to sleep mode automatically.
Note: The software version is shown in US
computer braille (8 dot) only
The
Cursor Blink option works only while editing in the Edit Box or Editor mode.
This option allows selecting the number of seconds between blinks. The default
setting for the Cursor Blink option is one second between blinks. The setting
choices are 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 45 and 60 seconds, and 0 where
the cursor does not blink. To make a selection, press Select.
The Sort
menu item lets you change the order in which files on the SD card or USB drive
are displayed using the Slate's built-in File Manager. The sorting categories
are: Name, Date, Size, and Last Read.
Additionally,
you may sort files within the selected category in ascending or descending
order. After selecting a category, press the Right Arrow until you reach either
Ascend or Descend in the list and press the Select button. The Slate displays
the files in the selected order. The default setting for this menu item is
Ascending (A to Z). To return to the File Manager, press Dot 7 from Stand-Alone
mode.
The
default setting for Split Words is Off. In the default setting, the Reader
tries to put as much content on the display as possible without splitting a
word. However, if you want full cells of braille, no matter the content, set
Split Words to On. When Split Words is on, the Reader shows partial words. When
you pan to the next cells of braille, the remainder of that word appears at the
beginning of the line. To make a selection, press Select.
The
default setting for Filter Dot 7 is On. The Filter Dot 7 menu item lets you
turn off the Dot 7 that frequently appears in some BRL and BRF files. The Dot 7
is filtered by default, but if you want to make a BRL or BRF file that uses
eight-dot braille, turn this setting off. To make a
selection, press Select.
The
default setting for Wrapping is On. The Wrapping option is the Slate's way of
reflowing files that are already formatted for embossing. Normally, formatted
files contain line-end indicators every 38-40 characters, which starts a new
line. This option eliminates extra spaces, making it easier to read on a the
display. To make a selection, press Select.
Carriage
returns, blank lines, and tabs represent extra spaces (or white space) in a
document. These spaces take up a lot of room and therefore slow down reading on
a braille display. The Compress Spaces option eliminates superfluous blank
lines and spaces. If multiple blank lines or spaces appear in the file, they
are compressed to a single space. This setting is especially useful when
reading formatted text files that contain many blank lines.
The
default setting for Compress Spaces is On. To make a selection, press Select.
Indent lets you choose if the Compress
Spaces setting should be applied to the leading spaces of paragraphs or not. If
Indents is set to on, the paragraph is displayed with leading spaces if
present, regardless of the Compress Spaces setting.
If Indents is set to off, the Compress
Spaces setting is applied to the leading spaces of the paragraph. The default
setting for Indents is On.
The Profile 1 settings are configured by
default for using the device with UEB Grade 1. However, it can be configured to
select any of the available languages and encoding schemes. The default
configurations are as follows:
· System Language: UEB Grade 1 (uncontracted)
·
Read/Edit
Language: UEB Grade 1 (uncontracted)
·
Editor
Encoding: ANSI
The profile 2 default settings are configured for using the device with the UEB Grade 2. However, it can be configured to select any of the available languages and encoding schemes. The default profile 2 configurations are as follows.
·
System Language: UEB Grade 2
(contracted)
·
Read/Edit Language: UEB Grade
2 (contracted)
·
Editor Encoding: ANSI
The profile 3 default settings are
configured mainly for using the device with the Computer Braille. However, it can be configured to
select any of the available languages and encoding schemes. The default profile
3 configurations are as follows.
·
System Language: US
Computer Braille (8 dot)
·
Read/Edit Language: BRF
·
Editor Encoding: ANSI
The
profile 4 default settings are configured mainly for using the device with the
language loaded from the SD card. However, it can be configured to select any of the available languages.
The default profile 4 settings are as follows.
·
System Language: <Languages
from SD card>
·
Read/Edit Language:
<Languages from SD card>
·
Editor Encoding: UTF-8
The
default settings of Profile 1,2,3, and 4 can be changed with Right/Left Arrow
keys, under the System
Language, Read/Edit Language and Editor Encoding options.
For
example, if you wish to have the system language as UEB Grade 1 (uncontracted)
and work with BRF files, you can select Profile 3 that has the
following default settings.
·
System Language: UEB Grade 1
(uncontracted)
·
Read/Edit Language: BRF
·
Editor Encoding: ANSI
Likewise,
all profiles can be configured as per the user’s requirements.
Please
refer to the localization section in this guide for
additional information.
The Add Language menu option lets you load language files from the SD card to the internal memory of your Slate. It lets you load as many languages as the available memory permits. If the memory is insufficient, the unit will display a “memory full” message. If you encounter this, you will need to remove some languages from the memory before you can load new languages.
You can scroll through the available language files on your SD card by pressing the Right or Left Arrow keys and press Select to add a language.
It may take some time for the file to be loaded.
The unit shows a busy indication by displaying “busy” on the display.
The Remove Language menu option lets you remove language files from the internal memory of your unit so that you can make space for loading other languages.
You can scroll through the loaded languages using the Right or Left Arrow keys and press Select to remove a file.
You can also use the “remove all” option that appears as the first item to remove all the loaded languages at once. It does not remove the US English Grade 1 (EBAE), English Grade 2 (EBAE) and the US computer braille (8-dot).
If you remove a language that is currently assigned in a profile, English 8-dot computer Braille is assigned to the profile by default.
It may take some time for the file to be removed.
The unit shows a busy indication by displaying “busy” on the display.
The Slate supports the
following date formats:
•
• dd-mm-yyyy
•
• mm-dd-yyyy
•
• yyyy-mm-dd
The default date format is
“dd-mm-yyyy”. You can change the date format using left and right arrow keys
and set the date format by pressing the Select key.
The Slate supports the 12/24
hours time formats. The default Time format is 12-hour format. You can change
the time format using left and right arrow keys and set by pressing the Select
key.
The Slate includes a clock. You
can check the date and time by pressing SPACE + Dot 2 3 4 5. The date and time
are also used when creating, editing, and saving a file or folder.
The default
format for time and date is HH:MM DD-MM-YYYY (where, HH is Hours, MM is
Minutes, DD is Date, MM is Month and YYYY is Year). You can scroll through
these fields with the Left and Right navigation keys. The active field (where
the cursor is currently) will be underlined. Press the Select key to modify the
current field.
Press the Up
Arrow key to increase and the Down Arrow key to decrease the value in the date
and time fields. For instance, if the current date is 01-08-2020 and you want
to change it to 01-08-2021, use the Left/Right navigation keys to move the
cursor to the year field (YYYY) of the date. Press the Up Arrow key to change
the year from 2020 to 2021 and the Select key to save the changes. Press Dot 7
to exit from the Menu. The value in a field wraps once you reach the last valid
value. For instance, minutes ranges from 00 to 59. So, if you press the Up
Arrow key when the time is 09:59, it increments the time to 10:00.
The Slate
provides two alarms. The first alarm can be configured from this menu item.
There are six
fields to configure the alarm. You can navigate through different fields by
pressing the Left and Right arrow keys and Press the Up and Down arrow keys to
navigate through different choices in the field. The current field (where the
cursor is placed) is underlined. Press Dot 7 once to save all the changes you
have made in the alarm settings.
Alarm Status
(OFF): Press the Right arrow key to go to Alarm status. Press Select to enable
the editing cursor. You can toggle the Alarm status between ON and OFF by
pressing the Up and Down arrow keys.
Time (HH:MM):
Next to the alarm status item is the time setting. Press the Right arrow key to
go the time field. The format for time is HH:MM in either 12 or 24-hours format
depending on the set configurations of the menu item Time format (12 hours).
Press the Up and Down arrow keys to set the values of the field and Press the
Right arrow key switch between the fields.
Repeat (Mon):
Press the Right arrow key to go the repeat field and set the desired days by
pressing the Up/Down arrow key. You can choose any day from Monday to Sunday
and there are two additional options: All and Once. When you set “All” the
alarm rings every day and when you set “Once”, it rings only once at the next
occurrence.
Ringtone
duration (1 to 59): Press the Right arrow key to set the alarm duration. The
range of the alarm duration is 1 to 59 seconds and the default is 20 seconds.
Snooze time (1
to 59): Press the Right arrow key to set the Snooze time. The range of the
snooze time is 1 to 59 minutes. The default is 5 minutes.
The alarm
rings at the time and day it has been set for even if the device is in sleep
mode or completely shut off. Press Dot 7 to cancel the alarm or press Space to
Snooze. The alarm automatically snoozes after the ringtone duration if not
acknowledged. It repeats this cycle 5 times and then turns off automatically.
The second alarm
can be configured from this menu item. It has similar settings to Alarm 1.
The USB
menu selects between the four possible USB protocols: Human
Interface
Device HID Orbit, HID Braille, Serial, or Mass Storage. The default
setting
for USB is HID Orbit. To select the option, press Select or Dot 8.
For more
information, see the USB Connectivity section under Remote Mode.
There
are three choices under this menu option.
·
Bluetooth
Auto
·
Bluetooth
manual
·
Bluetooth
OFF
The
default setting for Bluetooth is Auto. If there is any screen reader activity
running
on the paired device, the Slate automatically switches to Bluetooth Remote
mode. If you do not want an automatic Bluetooth connection, switch to manual
option. To disable Bluetooth completely, select OFF. To select another option,
press select or Dot 8.
For more
information, see the Using the Bluetooth Connection section under
Remote
Mode.
The Pair
menu item selects a Bluetooth pairing scheme. The Slate uses the selected
scheme when it responds to a Bluetooth pairing request from a host device. To
select the option, press Select or Dot 8.
The two
choices are:
Just
Works – This is the default Bluetooth pairing scheme. When using this
scheme,
the Slate automatically pairs to any device that sends a pairing request.
Confirm
code – This is the most secure pairing scheme. With this scheme, the
Slate
responds to pairing requests by showing a random number on both the Slate's
braille display and on the host device. To confirm the request, ensure that the
numbers match and press Dot 8 on the Slate. To reject the pairing request,
press Dot 7.
The Emulation option allows you to choose
how the device appears to the Host
screen reader applications while operating
in Remote mode.
For a 520 model, it offers two emulation
settings, “Orbit Reader 20 – 20 cells” and “Orbit Reader 20 – 100 cells”. If
“Orbit Reader 20 – 20 cells” Emulation is selected, the Slate appears as Orbit
Reader 20 and advertises itself as a 20 cells device. If “Orbit Reader 20 -100
cells” is selected, it appears as Orbit Reader 20 and advertises itself as a
100 cells device.
Similarly, for a 340 model, it offers two
emulation settings, “Orbit reader 40– 40 cells” and “Orbit reader 40– 120
cells”. If “Orbit reader 40– 40 cells” Emulation is selected, the Slate appears
as Orbit reader 40 and advertises itself as a 40 cells device. If “Orbit reader
40-120 cells” is selected, it appears as Orbit reader 40 and advertises itself
as a 120 cells device.
If Emulation mode is Off, it appears as
Slate. To select the option, press Select.
By default, the Slate operates in
Stand-Alone mode where you read and write files stored on the SD card. To
specifically set the unit to another mode, select among Remote, BT (for
Bluetooth,) or USB. the Slate tries to automatically switch to Bluetooth or USB
depending on screen reader activity, but if you want to, for instance,
specifically switch back to Stand-Alone mode from Remote mode, or switch the
interface from Bluetooth to USB, use this option. To select the option, press
Select.
The Reset Defaults item in the menu resets
all your menu settings to the factory default settings. To reset to the default
settings, press the Select button. This action resets defaults and takes you to
the top of the Menu options list (Battery Status).
The Window mode item lets you choose how file content should be displayed when you are reading or editing a file. Please refer to The Display Modes for more details.
This lets you configure
the intensity of the vibrator used to generate the haptic feedback. The default
is 60%.
This lets you configure
the intensity of buzzer used to generate the haptic feedback. It offers 3
settings Low, Medium and High. The default buzzer intensity is Medium.
This setting is to make
it easier to read the display while simultaneously operating the keyboard,
possibly with one hand. The user to configure which line is active in one-line
mode gives the user the flexibility to choose the line that's most comfortable
for them.
Screen reader messages and system messages will be
displayed on the display line configured in the menu " Active Display
Line".
When user sets the
Emulation ‘Orbit Reader 20-20cells’ in Slate-520 or ‘Orbit Reader 40-40cells’
in Slate-340, then the Remote mode messages are displayed on Active display
line.
The default active line
is the bottommost line of the display. For Slate-520, it offers 5 settings as
Line 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and the default line is 5th line of display. For
Slate-340, it offers 3 settings as Line 1, 2, 3 and the default line is 3rd
line of display.
The Orbit slate can automatically read UTF8 files with a BOM but cannot properly read UTF8 files without a BOM. This menu option allows you to read UTF8 files without a BOM correctly. Set the "Read UTF8 File" option to ON to read UTF8 files properly.
When opening any file, if the "Read UTF-8 File" option is ON and the opened file's auto-detected encoding format is ANSI, the file will be considered as UTF-8 instead of ANSI. The Orbit slate will then open the file using the UTF-8 encoding format.
When opening any file, if the "Read UTF-8 File" option is ON and the opened file's auto-detected encoding format is other than ANSI (e.g., UnicodeLE, UnicodeBE, UTF8-BOM), the file encoding format will follow the auto-detection rules.
When opening any file, if the "Read UTF-8 File" option is OFF, the file encoding format will follow the auto-detection rules. The Orbit slate will open the file in the auto-detected encoding format.
By default, the "Read UTF-8 File" option is set to ON.
You can enable or disable the 'Read UTF8 File' option by pressing
the hotkey [Space + Dot 1 3 6] from the file manager. This option allows for
the reading of UTF8 files without BOM. Note that this hotkey will not toggle
the option if the file is already open.
Stand-Alone
mode is the default operational mode and allows you to read, edit, and browse
files without being connected to another device. A formatted SD card or USB
drive must be inserted in the Slate while operating in Stand-Alone mode. This
card must contain the files you wish to read.
Stand-Alone mode operates in the following ways:
·
Menu
·
Reader
·
Editor
The File
Manager is where you select a file stored on the SD card or USB drive to read
on the Slate. You can also create new files and folders, view the properties
(such as the file size and current reading position) and copy, rename, and
delete files.
The file Manager displays the files
on a multiline display. It shows the number of files equal to the number of
display lines available with the display.
The current selected file is shown
by a static cursor (raised dots 7 and 8) on the first two letters of the file
name.
Pressing the Up or down arrow moves
the static cursor to the Previous/Next file in the list. If the file is not in
the display view, it scrolls into the display.
Pressing commands (to open, delete,
rename, etc..) act on the current selected file.
When navigation commands such as go
to the top/bottom of the file list are performed, the display shows the
first/last files equal to the number of display lines of the display from the
new position.
You can directly open files and
folders displayed on the Braille display line by using the left/right
forward/backward panning keys corresponding to that display line.
When
moving through the list of files, the Slate shows initial X characters of the
file name matching to the display line size of the display. You may scroll to
the rest of the information about the file, such as the rest of a long file
name, its size, and date, by using the left/right arrow keys to move the display window. You can
change the way files are sorted in the file list using related menu options.
Each item on the file list includes the following
items:
·
Filename
and extension
·
The
current reading position in the file as a count of characters
·
Size
in KB (kilobytes)
·
Last
modified time
·
Protected
or Unprotected
Only one
column is displayed per line (with panning as necessary). Pressing Left or
Right Arrow moves to the previous or next column heading (file information).
Upon exiting the Reader (Dot 7), you are returned to the same place and column
in the File Manager.
The
language of the file name is displayed according to the system language. For instance, if the file is in UEB
Grade 1 (uncontracted) and the default language is also UEB Grade 1
(uncontracted), it will be displayed in UEB Grade 1 (uncontracted). But If the
system language is set to a different language, and the file name is in UEB
Grade 1 (uncontracted), the file name may appear unrecognizable. However, you
can quickly change the profile using a hotkey to read the file name in the
appropriate language.
The
Slate supports two media storage devices – external SD card and external USB
drive. You can use one or both simultaneously for reading and creating new
files.
The file
manager shows two drives at the top level:
·
SD card
·
USB drive
Pressing
the Select key opens the root of the directory of the chosen drive. When you
press the Select key on the SD card drive, it opens the root directory of the
SD card and shows the list of files available on the SD card. Pressing Dot 7 will take you back to the top
level in the file manager. Press the Down arrow key to go to the USB drive and
press Select. This opens the root directory of the external flash drive
connected to the USB host port.
You can directly open the SD card or USB drive
displayed on the Braille display line by using the left/right forward/backward
panning keys corresponding to that display line.
When
there is no flash drive connected to the USB host port, the display shows “USB
drive [No media]”. Similarly, it shows “SD card [No media]” when there is no SD
card inserted.
Inserting
a flash drive into the USB Host port shows the message “USB drive inserted” and
it shows the message “USB drive removed” when you remove it.
If you
are browsing the contents of the flash drive and remove it from the USB Host
port, the File Manager takes you to the top directory of the file manager.
You can
copy files between SD card and USB drive using available commands.
The
following are the commands which you can use in the File Manager. Most of the
commands for files also work for folders.
To open
a file or folder, press select or Dot 8. Pressing Select or Dot 8 opens the
file or folder.
To go to
previous or next file or folder, press Up or Down Arrow. Pressing Up or Down
Arrow moves to the previous or next file in the list.
To go
back one folder level, press Dot 7. Dot 7 acts like a "back" key to
exit the current activity. If you are already in File Manager, pressing Dot 7
moves back one level where you have multiple subfolders open. If you are at the
root level, Dot 7 does nothing. If you are in one of the columns of
information, for example, size or date, then pressing Dot 7 returns to
filename.
To move
through file information, press Left or Right Arrow. This command moves you
through the file information by headings. See Error! Reference source not found. section for more information.
To open
the Menu, press Select + Up Arrow. Pressing Select + Up Arrow opens the Menu.
To
scroll text, press Left or Right Arrow
keys. If the file name is longer than the display, scrolling right using right
arrow key displays more of the file name. When you get to the end of the file
name, pressing the Right arrow key moves you to the next item of file information,
like position, size, date, and so on.
To make
a New Folder, press Space + O (Dots 1 3 5). The New Folder command opens the
Edit Box where you may type the name of the new folder. Pressing Dot 8 saves
the new folder name and returns you to the file list with that folder selected.
If you do not name the folder, pressing Dot 8 names the folder as New Folder.
Press Select to exit without making a new folder.
To
delete a file or folder, press Space + D (Dots 1 4 5). This action deletes the
currently selected file(s) or folder(s). Only empty folders and unprotected
files can be deleted. A confirmation is required before the file or folder is
deleted. When the message "-- Confirm action" is displayed, press Dot
8 to confirm or press Dot 7 to cancel.
To
rename a file or folder, press Space + R
(Dots 1 2 3 5). The Rename File command allows you to change the name of a file
or folder. To use it, press the Rename command. The Slate responds with an Edit
Box containing the original file or folder name. Edit the name or type a new one
and press Dot 8. Press Select to exit without renaming a file or folder. Note:
The key input for the file name should be entered as per the selected system
language.
To cut a
file, press Space + X (Dots 1 3 4 6). This action cuts the currently selected
file(s) or empty folders from their location and places it (them) on the
clipboard to be used with the paste command.
To copy
a file, press Space + C (Dots 1 4). The Copy File command makes a copy of the
currently selected file(s) or empty folders and places it (them) on the
clipboard to be used with the paste command.
To paste
a file, press Space + V (Dots 1 2 3 6). This
action pastes the file(s) or folder(s) that are currently on the clipboard into
the current location in the File Manager. If no file or folder is on the
clipboard, no action is taken.
To mark
a file, press Space + M (Dots 1 3 4). When moving multiple files, use the Mark
File command to mark each individual file before using Cut, Copy, or Delete. To
Mark a file, place arrow on the file and press Space + M.
To clear
a marked file, press Space + M again.
File
Manager indicates marked files by raising Dots 7 and 8 of the first letter of
the file name.
To
Protect or unprotect a file, press Space + P (Dots 1 2 3 4). To protect a file
from accidental changes, arrow to the file and press Space + P. To remove the
protected status, select the file and press Space + P again. To determine if a
file is Protected, arrow Right or Left to the Unprotected/Protected heading.
Pressing the “Where am I” command [Space + Dot 2 4 5 6 7] shows the file properties of the current file/folder on the display. It shows the file/folder properties as a list view, i.e., one property on one line of the display. Pressing the dot 7, exit the view, and go back to the file manager.
When file is opened and “Where am I” command [Space + Dot 2 4 5 6 7] pressed, it shows the current reading position of the file in %.
To toggle the "Read UTF8
File" option, press [Space + Dot 1 3 6] which facilitates the reading of
UTF8 files without BOM. Note that this hotkey will not toggle the option if the
file is already open.
When
copying or pasting a file that results in another file with the same name, File
Manager adds an extension to indicate that the new file is a copy. For example:
if you copy book.brf to a folder that already contains book.brf, the new file
becomes book_1.brf and the original book.brf remains unchanged.
If the
SD card runs out of space before a file operation is completed, File Manager
shows, "-- Error copying file xxx" where xxx is the file name.
When
copying a large number of files, or large files that can take some time, the
File Manager displays progress messages during the copy operation.
If
copying a file takes more than five seconds, File Manager displays, "--
Copying xxx (yy%)" where xxx is the name of the file and yy is the
percentage complete. This percentage is updated after every 10% of the
progress.
For the
command keys, go to the File Manager Commands table under the File Manager section.
To move
to the first file, press Space + Dots 1 2 3. Pressing Space + Dots 1 2 3 moves
File Manager selection to the first file in the current folder.
To move
to the last file, press Space + Dots 4 5 6. Pressing Space + Dots 4 5 6 moves
File Manager selection to the last file in the current folder.
To
Incrementally search file list, Type the file name quickly. To find a file
quickly, type the first few letters of the file's name. File Manager highlights
the first file matching the letters you typed.
·
BRF: It is translated, formatted braille. Device
displays exact representation
·
BRL:
It is Translated, unformatted braille. Device displays exact representation
·
TXT:
It is Text format. Device displays as per the language selected.
In
addition to the supported file types, the Slate shows the contents of any file.
This feature is useful, however, to examine files that do contain readable text
even if it is not a supported file type. However, some files may not contain
readable content.
There
are several excellent braille translation systems available in the U.S. If you
obtain textbooks from APH or get transcribed titles from NLS or NBP, the
braille should be correct and formatted. You may also get braille translation
software that produces automatically translated braille using programs like
‘Liblouis’. Alternatively, you can have Bookshare automatically generate
braille files of the titles available.
To prepare BRF files for placement on the Slate,
follow these guidelines:
·
Determine
the translation type.
·
Translate
the file.
·
Place
the file onto the SD card or use the Mass Storage protocol to copy from your
desktop computer.
To copy
files to the SD card, remove the card from the Slate and place it into a card
reader on your computer. Alternatively, you can connect the USB cable from the
Slate to your computer and activate the Mass Storage protocol on the Slate by
either pressing Space + Dots 5 7 or selecting Mass Storage from the USB option
in the menu. When using the Mass Storage protocol, the Slate shows up as a
drive on the computer, and here, you cannot use other functions of the slate.
In
Stand-Alone mode, the Slate displays the content of files stored on an SD card
and USB drive. It translates the text into the language that you select for the
Read/Edit option in the menu section.
The
Slate is designed to be a stand-alone reader. Placing BRF, BRL, or TXT content
(see File Types section) on an inserted SD card/USB drive
turns it into an on-the-go braille book reader. When first powered on, the
Slate displays the contents of the first file on the SD card/USB drive. To get
to the file list, press Dot 7. Go to the desired file using the Up or Down
Arrow key. Press Dot 8 or Select to open the file. Use Left and Right Panning
keys to read it. There are many other functions in reading mode such as Find,
Power Move, Bookmarks, and even a menu to set preferences. The following
sections describe the commands and settings that can be used while reading.
When you
turn the device on, the slate resumes from the last place of the last file in
use. For first-time use, it displays the first file or folder on the SD card.
Press Dot 7 to close the file and display File Manager, which shows a list of
files on the SD card. If there is no SD card inserted, the message "-- No
SD card" is displayed.
You can
switch the reading language with the help of hotkeys, even if you are in the
middle of the file. Please note that if you change the language, the system
will translate the file again as per the new language selected.
When you
reach the end of the file, "-- End of file" is displayed by the
Reader. Similarly, if you are at the beginning of the file, "-- Start of
file" is displayed.
While in
Stand-Alone mode, the following commands are available.
To Go to
Previous or Next display by fixed number of display lines, press the pan keys.
For example, pressing the row 1 back pan key, scrolls to previous display by
one display line and pressing the row 1 front pan key, scrolls to the next
display by one display line. Similarly, if you press row 2 pan keys, it scrolls
to the previous/next display by two display lines and so on.
To Go to
Previous or Next Character, press Left or Right Arrows. If you press Right
Arrow key, the next letter appears on the right side of the last display line
of the display. To conform to traditional braille display navigation commands,
the Reader also supports Space + Dot 3 and Space + Dot 6.
To Go to
Previous or Next Word, press Space + Left or Right Arrows. Pressing Space +
Right Arrow, the next word appears on the right side of the last display line
of the display. The Reader also supports Space + Dot 2 and Space + Dot 5.
To Go to
Previous or Next Line, press Up or Down Arrows. Pressing the Previous or Next
Line command moves to the previous or next carriage return in the file. Also
works with the bottom most Left/Right Backward Panning keys.
To Go to
Previous or Next Page, press Dot 3 or Dot 6. Pressing Dot 3 or Dot 6 moves the
cursor back or forward in the file to the next page marker (form
feed) or
1000 characters, whichever comes first.
To Go to
Top or Bottom of a file, press Dot 1 or Dot 4. Pressing Dot 1 moves to the top
of a file; pressing Dot 4 moves to the bottom of a file.
To go to
Previous or Next Display, press Dot 1 + Up Arrow or Dot 1+ Down Arrow. Pressing
Dot 1+ Up arrow moves to the previous display and pressing Dot 1+ Down arrow
moves to the next display.
To Exit
File, press Dot 7. If reading a file, pressing Dot 7 returns you to your
previous location.
To Open
the Menu, press Select + Up Arrow together.
To Set
or Clear a Bookmark, press Space + M. In addition to the automatic bookmark
placed when you close a file, the Slate lets you set additional bookmarks.
Reader displays the message "-- Bookmark added" or "-- Bookmark
cleared" if there was already a bookmark at that position.
To Go to
Previous or Next Bookmark, press Dot 2 or Dot 5. The Reader responds by moving the cursor to
the bookmarked position. The bookmarked location appears as the first character
on the display. If there are no marks in the indicated direction, "-- No
more bookmarks" is displayed.
To Power
Move in Forward direction or Backward direction, press Space + Dots 8 + Down
Arrow or Space + Dots 8 + Up Arrow. See Power Move Forward and Back section for more information.
To Find
Braille, press Space + F (Dots 1 2 4). Pressing Space + F opens an input field
(Edit Box) with a cursor. By default, it shows the last search string on the
display. This allows you to perform a search in a specific braille format by
typing the text in the same braille format. Press Dot 8 to begin the search. To
exit the Edit Box without performing a search, press Select. See Edit Box and Find Braille sections for more information.
To Find
Next Braille, press Dot 8 + Down Arrow. Pressing Dots 8 + Down Arrow repeats a
previous search forward from the point in the file where you are. If there is
no text in the Find Edit buffer, the Reader uses the text at the cursor. See
the Find Braille section for more information.
To Find
Previous Braille, press Dots 8 + Up Arrow. Pressing Dots 8 + Up Arrow repeats a
previous search backward from the point in the file where you are. If there is
no text in the Find Edit buffer, the Reader uses the text at the cursor. See
the Find Braille section for more information.
The
Slate's power move commands provide a quick means of moving/searching through
large sections of a file to find a known location in the document. A power move
operates by using boundaries and moving 50% between them with each press of the
key command. In essence, by using a power move to search within a file, you are
drilling down to the information using a binary command. When you press Space+
Dot 8 + Down Arrow or Space + Dot 8 + Up Arrow, the Reader moves in the
following ways:
On the
first press, the cursor moves halfway between the current position and the
start (Dot 1) or end (Dot 4) of the file, which acts as the boundaries for the
power search.
Subsequent
presses treat the moved-from position as the new boundary in that direction.
So, if you are at the beginning of the file (or 0%) when you press the Space +
Dot 8 + Down Arrow, the Reader moves the cursor to halfway between 0% and 100%.
You are now at 50%, and this becomes the new boundary. The initial boundary is
at the original position of 0%. Therefore, if you press Space + Dot 8 + Up
Arrow, you move halfway between 50% and 0% to end at 25%. Or, if you press the
Space + Dot 8 + Down Arrow, you move halfway between 50% and 100% to end at
75%.
Each
time you press Space + Dot 8 + Up Arrow or Space + Dot 8 + Down Arrow keys, the
Reader shows the percentage in the first few cells of the display line and
fills the rest of the cells with text at that position. This continues until
you press some other key.
To find
specific braille text, use the Find command (Space + F). The Slate responds by
opening an input field (see Edit Box section) with a cursor, which is
indicated by Dots 7 and 8. By default, it shows the text at the current cursor
location in the edit box. Unlike the Power Move, which searches by known
location of text, the Find command searches the entire file for instances of
the braille text you enter in the input field. If you have searched for
something previously, that text appears in the Edit Box with your cursor at the
end.
To find
a word, first press Space + F to enter the Edit Box. Type the word you wish to
find, in the language selected for the reader/editor and then press Dot 8 to
start the search moving forward in the file. To search moving backward in the
file, press Dot 8 + Up arrow. The word is shown as the first word on the
display. If the word is not found, the message "-- Not found" is
displayed. Press Dot 7 to clear the message. To exit the Edit Box without
finding the word, press Select.
After
the word is found, to continue searching, press Dot 8 + Down arrow to find the
next occurrence (forward in the file) or Dot 8 + Up arrow to find a previous
occurrence (towards the beginning of the file).
If you
are searching for text in a contracted braille file, you must type the text you
want to search in contracted braille.
If you
are searching in a plain text file, you must type the text you want to search
in Computer Braille. See Appendix A - Computer Braille Chart for details.
You can
search for terms up to 255 characters long. Searches are generally not case
sensitive. A search for the word "animal" results in finding both
lowercase and uppercase versions of that word (animal/Animal). However, if you
want to find words with upper case letters only, type the text you wish to find
with the braille indicator for capitalization included (in contracted braille,
one Dot 6 precedes a capital letter, while two Dot 6s precede an entirely
capitalized word. In Computer Braille, capital letters include Dot 7). For
example, a search for the capitalized word "Animal" gives the results
for "Animal" (capitalized), but not "animal" (lowercase).
Additionally,
searches match both whole and partial words. Searching for "an" finds
"an" (whole) and "man" (partial). To restrict searches to
whole words, add a space at the beginning or end of the word. The Reader
matches the space with any non-printing character such as spaces, tabs, and
line feeds.
Read the
section on Edit Box for editing commands and navigation
functionality.
In
”search files”, the Reader moves from reading files to searched text and
displays it at the beginning of the display line. If the text is not found,
then the Reader displays “Not found” and gets back to its previous position.
While searching through large documents, the Slate displays “Busy” while
conducting the search.
To
repeat a search moving forward towards the end of the file, press Dot 8 + Down
Arrow.
To
repeat a search moving back towards the beginning of the file, press Dot 8 + Up
Arrow.
The
Slate presents a text dialog or input field called an Edit Box when you want to
find text or rename a file. The Edit Box permits only one line of text. Press
Space + F to begin a search or press Space + R to rename a file.
Once in
the Edit Box, insert the text by typing the desired text as per the language
selected for the reader/editor and then use the Edit Box commands to navigate.
The Edit Box displays a blinking cursor (Dots 7 8) to indicate the beginning of
the text that you are searching or editing.
When the
Slate shows an edit box, it often provides default text, such as a file name or
a previously entered search term. To delete or replace the selected text, type
a letter, or press the backspace key (Dot 7). To edit the existing text in
insert mode, press one of the arrow keys to move the cursor letter by letter to
the position where you wish to edit.
To Move
Left or Right One Letter, press Left or
Right Arrow. Pressing the left or right arrow moves the cursor in the desired
direction. When the cursor reaches the end of the edit box, it stops--it can
move no further.
To Move
to Start or End of Text, press Space + Dot 7 + Left Arrow or Space + Dot 7 +
Right Arrow.
To
Backspace, press Dot 7. The Backspace key Dot 7 deletes the letter immediately
left of the cursor. Use Backspace key in case of a typing mistake or to remove
small amounts of text.
To
Accept typed text, press Dot 8. Here, pressing Dot 8 acts as an Enter/OK key.
To Close
the Edit Box, press Select. In single line controls, Close removes what you
have typed. In multiple line controls, all text is automatically saved in the
editor.
In addition to serving as a tool for reading braille, Slate offers the
ability to write and edit text. This feature allows you to create/edit new or
existing files on the SD card and pendrive.
While you are in the Editor mode, the cursor notes the current position
by blinking Dots 7 8. The default setting for the cursor is 1 second. The blink
of the cursor can be turned off from the Menu.
There are three ways to edit a file. Each of these three commands is
available both from the Reader and the File Manager.
·
Edit
new file: Space + N
·
Edit
current file: Space + E
·
Switch
to last edited file: Space + Dots 1 2 4 6
To insert text, type or paste the text at the cursor. You can insert any
text into an open file using the braille keys (Dot 1 to Dot 8). The Editor adds the typed or pasted text.
To exit Editor, press Select, E or Select twice. The cursor disappears,
returning you to the Reader in the file you were editing.
When you exit the editor or save the file from the context menu, the
back translation from braille to text is performed as per the selected
language. The translation process is indicated by showing a progress bar on
display where the Dot 6 (6th pin) of the first 6 cells of the first
display line rises in sequence repeatedly. This operation cannot be canceled.
If you are editing a new file, the editor automatically names the file
with the first 100/120 characters of the translated text in the file. If a file
already exists with that name, the Editor appends a number to it until it
produces a unique name. To rename a file or to add an extension to the file
name, highlight the file name in File Manager, and use the rename command. If
there are Computer Braille characters that cannot be used in a filename, such
as a forward slash (/) or an asterisk (*), the characters are replaced with an
underscore (_). Once you exit, the new file name in the File Manager is
selected. If you wish to rename the file, use the rename command (Space + R).
If you want to give the file a specific name, write that name as the first line
in the file.
When a new file is created, the system shall add a default extension to the file name if not already given by the user. The extension shall be decided based on the Read/Write settings of the current set profile.
If the read/write language is set to BRF or US Computer Braille (8 dot), the file extension should be. BRF. For any other settings, it shall be .txt.
If users wish to create a brl or bra file type, they can create brf file and then rename the file manually.
In Window Mode ON, when the currently selected Read
Write language is contracted, you may notice improper vertical alignment in the
text of the next/previous display line.
Additionally, in Window Mode ON, if the line size
exceeds 5K, the device will signal this with a prolonged vibration pulse,
preventing further file navigation. To address this, you should exit the file
edit mode by pressing the select key.
Note: It is recommended that you exit the Editor before you perform a
system update, reset the device, or remove the SD card. Exiting the Editor
saves your work. Not exiting the Editor first could result in lost work.
A cursor routing button is located above each braille cell for
positioning the cursor. The panning keys are also used as cursor routing keys
to position the cursor vertically.
While editing a file in Stand-Alone mode, press a cursor routing button
to move the cursor to that braille cell of the same row. Pressing the panning
keys against a row shall move the cursor to that row keeping the cell position
as it is. This makes the cursor navigation very convenient. Similarly, when
connected in remote mode, press a cursor routing button to move the cursor to
that point, or to select a link in a Web page or e-mail message. In remote
mode, press the cursor routing key and the panning key together to move cursor
to specific cell on the display.
To Edit New File, press Space + N. Creates a new file in the Editor,
ready for input.
To Edit Current File, press Space
+ E. Opens the selected file for editing.
To Switch to Last Edited File, press Space + Dots 1 2 4 6. Opens the
last edited file for further editing. The device displays the error message
"-- File not found" if the file has been deleted.
To Add a new line (Enter), press Dot 8. Pressing Dot 8 adds a new line
(enters a carriage return) at the end of a paragraph and places the editing
cursor in the first cell of the next paragraph.
To Delete a character, press Dot 7. Pressing Dot 7 deletes the character
to the left of the editing cursor.
To Exit Editor, press Select twice OR Select, E When you close a file, Editor saves and returns to the Reader or
File Manager, depending on your earlier location. It automatically saves your
work. If you have opened the file from File Manager, File Manager makes the new
file the current item in the list. If you edit an existing file, Reader moves
the reading position to the place where the cursor was.
To Save current work, press Select, S. The Slate automatically saves
files every 1 KB of data or about 1000 characters, as you edit. However, small
file increments could be lost during certain situations such as SD card
removal, system updates, or device resets. Pressing Select, S saves the file as
you deem necessary.
To Go to next or previous character, press Left or Right Arrow. Pressing
Left or Right Arrow moves the cursor to the previous or next character.
To go to next or previous display line, press Up or Down Arrow. Pressing
Up arrow key moves cursor to the previous display row and pressing down arrow
key moves cursor to the next display row.
To Go to next or previous word, press Space + Left or Right Arrow.
Pressing Space + Left or Right Arrow moves the cursor to the start of the
previous word or next word. This is also used to navigate between digits.
To Go to Previous or next display, press Dot 1+ Up Arrow or Dot 1+ Down
Arrow. Pressing Dot 1+ Up Arrow or Dot
1+ Down Arrow allows you to move to the previous or next display of braille.
To scroll the display by a display line, press Select + Dot 7 + Up Arrow
or Select + Dot 7 + Down Arrow. Pressing Select + Dot 7 + Up scrolls the
display up by one display line and pressing the Select + Dot 7 + Down Arrow
scrolls the display down by one display line.
To scroll the display by character, press Select + Dot 7 + Left Arrow or
Select + Dot 7 + Right Arrow. Pressing Select + Dot 7 + Left Arrow scrolls the
display left by one character and pressing the Select + Dot 7 + Right Arrow
scrolls the display right by one character.
To Go to Start or end of paragraph, press Space + Dot 7 + Left or Right
Arrow. Pressing Space + Dot 7 + Left or Right Arrow moves the cursor to the
start or end of the current paragraph. If the start or end is not on the
current display, then the display pans to the start or end of the first cell of
the display. The editing cursor is placed in the first cell.
To Go to next or previous paragraph, press Space + Dot 1 or Space + Dot
4. To navigate the editing cursor to
the beginning of the previous or next paragraph, simply press Space + Dot 1 or
Space + Dot 4.
To Go to Previous or next page press Space
+ Dot 7 + Up or Down Arrow. Pressing Space + Dot 7 + Up or Down Arrow moves the
cursor to the previous or next page (1000 characters or form feed character).
To Go to top or end of the document, press long press Up or Down Arrow.
Long pressing Up or Down Arrow moves the cursor to the top or bottom of the
document.
To Find Next Braille, press Dots 8 + Down Arrow. Pressing Dots 8 + Down
arrow repeats a previous search forward from the point in the file where you
are. If there is no text in the Find Edit buffer, the Editor uses the text at
the cursor.
To Find Previous Braille, press Dots 8 + Up Arrow. Pressing Dots 8 + Up
arrow repeats a previous search backwards from the point in the file where you
are. If there is no text in the Find Edit buffer, the Editor uses the text at
the cursor.
The Editor block operations depend on a selection. The selection is the
text between the cursor and the location mark.
Note: The size limit for a cut/copy/paste operation is 2 KB of data.
Adding a location mark does not change the content. Marks are used for
copying/cutting a selection of text. To copy or cut using marks, press Select,
M to place a mark. Only one mark can be placed/added at a time. Once the mark
is placed, the text between the cursor and the mark can be copied (Select, C)
or cut (Select, X). Once text is copied or cut, the mark is cleared.
To Set or clear Location Mark, press Select, M. The editor indicates a
mark by raising both Dots 7 and 8 on the character where the mark occurs. To
set or clear a mark in the file, press the Mark command. If there was already a
mark at the cursor, the editor shows "-- Mark cleared" on the display
and removes the mark. If there was no mark, it shows -" Mark set" and
adds a mark.
To Copy, press Select, C. The copy command places the selected text onto
the clipboard for later use in this file or another file.
To Cut, press Select, X. The cut command removes the selected text from
the document and places it onto the clipboard for later use. If you want to put
that text somewhere else, move to the desired position, then use the Paste
command.
To Paste, press Select, V. To paste the contents of the clipboard before
the cursor, use the Paste command.
The Context menu gives you quick access to the functions such as cut,
copy, and mark for use in Editor.
While in Editor, press Select to open the Context menu. There are two
ways to make a selection from the Context menu after it is open.
·
E
Exit
·
M
Mark
·
C
Copy
·
V
Paste
·
X
Cut
·
F
Find
·
S
Save
You can also press Select twice to quickly exit the Editor. The first
press opens the Context menu; the second press selects the first option in the
menu, which is Exit.
While
reading or editing a file, it is shown differently on the display depending on
weather window mode is set to on or off in the Menu.
When it is set to ON, the characters are shown for each line of text without wrapping the lines at the display boundaries.
For example, if the file content is
Hello World. This is slate test file.
It demonstrates how lines shall be displayed on slate.
This is test sentence 1.
Then the display shows following
Hello World. This is
It demonstrates how
This is test sentence
You can scroll the display left or right to view the remaining portions of the line by pressing Select + Left or Select + Right keys. The display also scrolls automatically when you navigate your cursor beyond the display boundaries.
But if the window mode is set to off, the lines are wrapped at the display boundaries. For the same example we used earlier, the display shows the following.
Hello World. This is
slate test file.
It demonstrates how
lines shall be
The Calculator can perform the four
fundamental arithmetic operations.
Press Space + C
(Dots 1 4 7) keys from the stand-alone mode to open and close the calculator
application. It shows the message “Calculator” for 2 seconds and starts
blinking the cursor on the first cell of the display when the calculator is
launched.
You can now start typing digits (0 to 9),
mathematical operators (+, -, *, /), decimal point,
and equals sign. The Calculator gives an error indication in the form of
vibration on inserting invalid input.
While entering the expression, you must
enter using the language that is set as “read/write
language”.
When you type any digit or operator, it
moves the cursor to the next cell. Press Dot 7 to remove the last
digit/operator. Once the entire display is full, you can review the previous
display by pressing Left/Right keys or pan keys. (Total number of input digits
and operators is limited to 255 entries for a single operation and maximum 15
digits are allowed per operand).
Press Dot 8 key to perform the calculation
and display the answer. It stops blinking when the answer is shown. On pressing Dot 8 key on the answer, it repeats the
previous operation on the answer.
To review the last 10 operations, press
Space + Bottom most Panning keys.
Exit the Calculator to go to previous or
other modes or preference menu. The calculator application exits automatically
when you turn off the device or it goes into sleep mode.
Type any digits, then press ‘+’ sign to add the addition operator and then type digits again. For example, 4+2
Type any digits, then press ‘-’ sign to add the subtraction operator and then type digits again. For example, 4-2
Type any digits, then press ‘*’ sign to add the Multiplication operator and then type digits again. For example, 4*2
Type any digits, then press ‘/’ sign to add the division operator and then type digits again. For example, 4/2
Press Dot 8 key to display the answer.
Press Space + Dot 7 to clear the last operand typed into the display (CE – Clear Entry) and press Space + Dot 7 8 to clear the display and any partial calculation (AC – All Clear)
The Calculator shows the following errors messages:
· Divide
by zero: “Cannot divide by zero”
· Zero
divided by Zero: “Result is undefined”
· Pressing
Select key without entering the second operand: “Syntax error”
The memory operations allow you to store and recall the results of calculations.
The calculator memory is set to 0 until you pressM+ (Space + Up)or M- (Space + Down). Each time you press M+, the number on the display is added to the number stored in the calculator memory. Each time you pressM-,the number on the display is subtracted from the number in the calculator memory. To recall the number in the calculator memory, pressMR (Space + Left). To clear the memory, pressMC (Space + Right).
·
To Open/Close Calculator,
press Space + C (Dots 1 4 7)
·
To do Addition, press Select +
Up arrow / (Dots 3 4 6)
·
To do Subtraction, press
Select + Down arrow / (Dots 3 6)
·
To do Multiplication, press
Select + Right arrow / (Dots 1 6)
·
To do Division, press Select +
Left arrow / (Dots 3 4)
·
To Backspace, press Dot 7
·
To Clear Entry, press Space +
Dot 7
·
To All clear, press Space +
Dots 7 8
·
To enter Decimal point, press
Dots 4 6
·
To enter Pi key( Displays the
value of pi) press Dots 1 2 3 4
·
To do M+ (Memory Plus), press
Space + Up arrow
·
To do M- (Memory minus), press
Space + Down arrow
·
To do MR (Memory recall),
press Space + Left arrow
·
To do MC (Memory clear), press
Space + Right arrow
·
To do History navigation,
press Space + Bottom most Panning key
The Slate includes a calendar.
Press Space + Dots 1 4 8 to open or close
the calendar.
When you open it, the first display line
shows the month and year. For example, Jul 2023.
The second display line shows seven days of the week as follows:
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
The third display
line (and onwards for 5x20 model) shows dates aligned with the days of week.
You can scroll through the dates in the view by pressing the arrow keys.
As you scroll,
the first two display line showing the Month, year information and the days
information remains as it is. The scrolling happens on the third row (and
onwards for 5x20 model).
As you scroll beyond the current month, the next month and/or year
information is shown, and the related information is updated in the first
display line. Today’s date is shown highlighted with
raised Dot 7 and 8.
Please
note that the Letter sign, capital sign and number sign are not displayed along
with month, year, and weekdays titles
if the System language selected is to be other than the English Computer
Braille.
You can add and view appointments for a specific day.
You can quickly jump to a specific date using the GoTo Date command (Space + Dots 1-2-4-5 (braille g)). It opens an edit box displaying the current date in one of the following formats DD/MM/YYYY, MM/DD/YYYY or YYYY/DD/MM. Type in the date on which you wish to set an appointment and press Dot 8. While entering the date, you must enter it using the language that is set as ““read/write language”. You can use the Left and Right arrow keys to jump between the date fields that you wish to type in.
Once the date is entered, Press the Dot 8 key to jump directly to the appointment for the date.
If you wish to do it manually then you first need to scroll to the line where your desired date is shown and then start using the right arrow key to focus on the date for which you want to set up or edit an appointment. Suppose you want to set up an appointment on July 24, 2023. You would arrow down through the month of July until you reach the row where July 18 through 24 is shown. You will see that the cells representing July 23 have dots 7-8 raised to indicate that July 23 is the current date.
Now, press the right arrow. On the cells representing July 18, the first date shown in the braille window, dots 7 and 8 are raised underneath the number 8. So, you would press the right arrow 6 times to focus on July 24, the date on which you wish to add an appointment.
Pressing the Select button Assuming you have no appoints on or later July 24, you receive the following message:
-- No Appointments
If you press dot 7 at this point, you will be returned to the display showing July 18 through 24.
To create the new appointment you want for July 24, press space with dots 1-3-4-5 (a braille n). You should see the date and time displayed with dots 7-8 raised below the first digit. Use the right arrow key to navigate to that part of the display you wish to change, such as the hour or minute. Press the right arrow repeatedly until you pass the time area and type the information about the appointment. You can correct any mistakes here using dot 7 to backspace. Press dot 8 to add the appointment. What you now see is the date, time, and text of the appointment.
Press select if you still want to make changes. If you are done, press dot 7 to get back to the display of July 18 through 24. None of the dates are highlighted.
If you want to see the appointments you might have created for the period July 18 through 24, you must first ensure that one of the dates in the window is highlighted—that is, has dots 7-8 raised beneath the last digit. If no date is highlighted, nothing happens when you press the Select button. With a date highlighted, you either see “No Appointments or you are presented with a list of the appointments you have already created. Use the up or down arrows to move between the appointments in the list. You can press Space with Dots 1-4-5 (a braille d) to delete the appointment or Select to edit the appointment.
You can also modify the existing appointment. Press Select key on any day. It shows the list of existing appointments and press Select key to get the cursor on the first field of that appointment and you can change any field by pressing Up/Down arrow key.
Dot 8 to confirm the modifications.
Appointment changes can be discarded by pressing the Select + Dot 7 Key
You can also delete the existing appointment. Press Select key on any day. It shows the list of existing appointments and Press Space + Dots 1 4 5 to delete that appointment.
This action deletes the appointment
currently showing. Confirmation is required before the appointment is deleted.
When the message "Confirm action" is displayed, press Dot 8 to
confirm or press Dot 7 to cancel.
An alarm rings at its programmed time and day of the appointment. Press Dot 7 to acknowledge the ringing alarm.
The following are the command for the
calendar application.
·
To
open/close calendar, press Space + Dots 1 4 8.
·
To
Go to Previous or Next Week, press Up or Down Arrows You can navigate in the calendar by weeks. Pressing Down arrow key
goes the next week and pressing Up arrow key to goes to the previous week.
·
To
Add a new appointment, press Space + Dots 1 3 4 5.
·
To
Delete appointment, press Space + Dots 1 4 5.
·
To
Go to Date, press Space + Dots 1 2 4 5.
The Key Lock command prevents accidental key
presses. The command is to hold Dots 7 8 for two seconds or more. Pressing and
holding these same keys again, unlocks the keys. You can also unlock the keys
by turning the device off and then on again.
System alerts, such as — “Battery low"
are indicated by periodic cycling of Dot 8
in the last cell of the device.
Alerts are seen by invoking the Menu or the
Editor Context Menu. Pressing
Select causes the next alert to appear if
there is any. The alert is removed from
the alert list once it has been displayed.
If no more alerts are in the list, the first
Menu or Editor Context Menu item
appears. Pressing Dot 7 clears all pending
alerts and puts you back on the first
Menu or Editor Context Menu item.
In addition to using the Slate as a portable
reading tool and editor, it connects with host devices (i.e., computers,
phones, tablets) to provide braille input/output
to that device. The host device must be
running software that supports braille.
·
Windows
PCs - JAWS®, NVDA, Supernova
·
Mac®
computers and iOS® devices - VoiceOver
·
Android
devices - BrailleBack, Braille TTY, Amazon VoiceView
When you use the Slate as a display for
other hosts, the screen reader on that host device provides translation and
other braille settings. Refer to documentation for the specific screen reader
you are using.
The only hotkeys used with Remote mode that
are not sent to the remote device are as follows:
·
Pressing
Select+Up Arrow opens the Slate Menu.
·
Pressing
Select + Space + Left Arrow returns the Slate to Stand-Alone mode.
·
Pressing
Select + Space+ Right Arrow returns the Slate to Remote mode.
Before you connect the Slate to a host, set
the device so that the screen reader you use recognizes it. For screen readers
that support the HID-Braille protocol, select HID-Braille under the USB option
in the Menu for a USB connection, or pair over Bluetooth. No emulation is
required.
Bluetooth is a technology that wirelessly
connects devices, such as the Slate, to host devices, such as phones, tablets
and computers or to peripherals such as Bluetooth keyboards. For example, when
using an iPhone with VoiceOver, you can control the iPhone with keys and
buttons on the Slate, and you can read the entire interface in braille as you
interact with it.
If the Slate is on, when you turn on the
host device, it connects automatically provided the Bluetooth option in the
menu is set to Automatic. When the host device enters sleep mode or is turned
off, the Slate reverts to showing stand-alone content. When connected to
another device through the USB port, the Slate reconnects to screen reader on
the other host device.
There are only two ways to wake up a host
device:
·
Pressing the Power
button
·
Receiving a
notification
If you wish to connect to a screenreader
application such as Voiceover or Brailleback, initiate pairing from the host.
See the Bluetooth section for the host
device you plan to use:
· Connecting iOS with Bluetooth
· Connecting Mac with Bluetooth
·
Connecting Android
with Bluetooth
·
Connecting Windows
with Bluetooth
It is possible to pair the Slate with more than one device. For example,
you can pair it with both your phone and tablet. The device you use must offer
a braille interface.
Make sure the screen reader on each host supports the Slate. Pair the
display with each device following the Bluetooth steps for that device type.
Universal Serial Bus (USB) is a technology
that makes connecting devices with hosts easy. It provides some advantages over
Bluetooth because it is both faster and charges the Slate simultaneously.
The Slate supports three kinds of USB
connections (all with the same cable available in the box.)
· Human
Interface Device - Orbit (recommended)
· Braille
- HID
· Serial
· Mass
Storage (for turning the Slate's SD card into a drive on your computer)
When using the
Slate with a screen reader that supports HID Orbit, follow these steps:
1.
Turn
on the Slate. Slate displays the last braille you were reading.
2.
Connect
the USB cable to the host and to the Slate. "-- Charger connected" is
displayed.
3.
On
the Slate, press Space + Dots 2 7. "-- HID Orbit"
is displayed.
4.
Start
the screen reader. Orbit responds by displaying what the screen reader is
showing. If your screen reader does not support HID, see Serial below.
To switch back to
Stand-Alone mode, press Select + Space + Left Arrow.
When using the
Slate with a screen reader that supports HID Braille, follow these steps:
1.
Turn
on the Slate. Slate displays the last braille you were reading.
2.
Connect
the USB cable to the host and to the Slate. "-- Charger connected" is
displayed.
3.
On
the Slate, press Space + Dots 6 7. "-- HID Braille" is displayed.
Start the screen
reader. Orbit responds by displaying what the screen reader is showing. If your
screen reader does not support HID Braille, see Serial
below. Switch back to Stand-Alone mode, press Select + Space + Left Arrow.
When using a
screen reader that only supports Serial protocol, follow these steps:
1.
Turn
on the Slate. It displays the last read material.
2.
Connect
the USB cable. "-- Charger connected" is displayed.
3.
On
the Slate, press Space + Dots 3 7. "-- Serial USB" is displayed.
4.
Configure
the screen reader. Refer screen reader section in this document or refer to
your screen reader documents.
To use an SD card
inserted in the Slate as a drive on your computer, follow these steps:
1.
Turn
on the Slate. It responds with braille from your last activity.
2.
Connect
the Slate with your computer using USB cable. "-- Charger connected"
is displayed.
3.
On
the Slate, press Space + Dots 5 7. "—Media-device " is displayed.
Depending on your settings, the computer also responds with a notification of a
new drive that is now available.
4.
Use
your PC to read and write files on the new drive.
To switch back to
Stand-Alone mode, press Select + Space + Left Arrow. Do not switch back to
Stand-Alone mode while file transfers are in progress.
Note: If you have
hidden files enabled on your device, you may encounter the following files:
·
.BKP-FILEHISTORY - This file contains information of the last read
position of the last 100 files that were opened on the device.
·
.BKP-RECENTHISTORY - This file contains information
required for software to generate the recent file list.
·
.Logfile - Log file containing software debug
information.
Do not
delete these files. You will only see them if you have hidden files enabled.
You can connect to iOS devices using
Bluetooth or USB. For a USB connection, set the Slate to HID-Braille under the
USB option in the Menu, then connect the USB cable; VoiceOver detects the
display automatically. For the best results, we recommend iOS 17 or later.
Connecting the Slate to an iOS device
provides both braille feedback and the ability to type and control the device
with the Slate keyboard and directional buttons.
For a USB connection, set the Slate to
HID-Braille under the USB option in the Menu; for Bluetooth, pair the display
directly. VoiceOver does not support multi-line braille, so the Slate works as
a single-line display with VoiceOver and messages appear on the first line.
In default configuration (Just Works), the
Slate is ready to pair with iOS via Bluetooth. Follow these steps to pair with
Bluetooth:
1.
Turn
on Bluetooth. Bluetooth can be turned on in the Menu or by pressing Space +
Dots 4 7 on the Slate.
2.
On
the iOS device, go to Settings > Accessibility > VoiceOver > Braille
unless using a version of iOS prior to 13, then go to Settings > General
> Accessibility > VoiceOver > Braille
3.
Look
for the name of the unit in the list of possible braille displays. It will show
“Orbit Reader” plus the last four digits of the device serial number.
4.
Activate
the “Orbit Reader” device in the list to pair.
Confirm code
configuration shows a random number on both the Slate's braille display and on the host device. To confirm the
request, ensure that the numbers match and then press Dot 8 on the Slate. Then
press the Pair button on your iOS device.
Once you pair the unit, iOS starts sending
braille to the Slate, and you can use the Slate input and navigation keys to
control your iOS device.
Note: VoiceOver must be on in order to send
braille to the Slate.
For more information about iOS and braille
displays, see Braille Displays for iOS on the Apple® Accessibility
website.
|
Action |
Command |
|
Move to previous item |
Space + Dot 1 or Left Arrow |
|
Move to next item |
Space + Dot 4 or Right Arrow |
|
Pan braille left |
Space + Dot 2 |
|
Pan braille right |
Space + Dot 5 |
|
Move to the first element |
Space + Dots 1 2 3 |
|
Move to the last element |
Space + Dots 4 5 6 |
|
Scroll right one page |
Space + Dots 1 3 5 |
|
Scroll left one page |
Space + Dots 2 4 6 |
|
Move to the status bar |
Space + S (Dots 2 3 4) |
|
Select previous rotor setting |
Space + Dots 2 3 |
|
Select next rotor setting |
Space + Dots 5 6 |
|
Move to previous item using rotor setting |
Space + Dot 3 |
|
Move to next item using rotor setting |
Space + Dot 6 |
|
Launch the Task Switcher |
Space + Dots 1 2 5 twice quickly |
|
Scroll up one page |
Space + Dots 3 4 5 6 |
|
Scroll down one page |
Space + Dots 1 4 5 6 |
|
Go to Notification Center |
Space + Dots 4 6 |
|
Go to Control Center |
Space + Dots 2 5 |
|
Action |
Command |
|
Read all, starting at the selected item |
Space + R |
|
Read all, starting from the top |
Space + Dots 2 4 5 6 |
|
Pause or continue speech |
Space + P |
|
Announce page number OR number of rows
displayed |
Space + Dots 3 4 |
|
Action |
Command |
|
Activate the Back button if present |
Space + B (Dots 1 2) |
|
Activate the Delete key |
Space + D OR Space + Dot 7 |
|
Activate the Return key |
Space + E OR Space + Dot 8 |
|
Switch between contracted and uncontracted
braille |
Space + Dots 1 2 4 5 |
|
Activate the Home button (twice quickly to
launch the task switcher) |
Space + H (Dots 1 2 5) |
|
Toggle speech on and off |
Space + M |
|
Activate the Tab key |
Space + T (Dots 2 3 4 5) |
|
Context menu |
Space + Dots 3 5 6 |
|
Switch braille input |
Space + Dots 2 3 6 |
|
Volume up |
Space + Dots 3 4 5 |
|
Volume down |
Space + Dots 1 2 6 |
|
Toggle screen curtain on/off |
Space + Dots 1 2 3 4 5 6 |
|
Select all |
Space + Dots 2 3 5 6 |
|
Cut |
Space + X |
|
Copy |
Space + C |
|
Paste |
Space + V |
|
Undo typing |
Space + Dots 1 3 5 6 |
|
Redo typing |
Space + Dots 2 3 4 6 |
|
Activate Eject key |
Space + Dots 1 4 6 |
|
Toggle announcement history |
Space + Dots 1 3 4 5 |
|
Keyboard Help |
Space + Dots 1 3 |
|
Action |
Command |
|
Move to previous container |
Space + Dots 1 7 |
|
Move to next container |
Space + Dots 4 7 |
The Slate can be connected to a Mac in two
ways. One is to connect using the USB cable available in the box. The second is
to use Bluetooth for a wireless connection.
The simplest way to connect the Slate to a
Mac is to connect using a standard USB-A to Type-C USB cable. To use the
HID-Braille protocol, select HID-Braille under the USB option in the Menu.
Next, run VoiceOver by pressing the Apple CMD key + F5. Then, attach the small
end of the USB cable to the Slate with the bumps facing down and the big end to
Mac. VoiceOver automatically recognizes and starts using the display. VoiceOver
does not support multi-line braille, so the Slate works as a single-line display
with VoiceOver. For the best results, we recommend macOS 15 or later.
The default configuration for pairing with a
Mac through Bluetooth is ‘Just Works’. If Bluetooth has been turned off, it can
be turned on in the menu or by pressing Space + Dots 4 7 on the Slate.
VoiceOver does not support multi-line braille, so the Slate works as a
single-line display with VoiceOver and messages appear on the first line.
If the Slate is in default connection,
follow these steps to pair the device with a Mac:
1.
Turn on
Bluetooth. Bluetooth can be turned on in the menu or by pressing Space + Dots 4
7 on the Slate.
2.
When
VoiceOver is on, open VoiceOver Utility by pressing VO-F8
3.
Click the
Braille category, click Displays, and then click the Add (+) button
4.
Select
“Orbit Reader” on the list. VoiceOver filters the devices it detects to list
only the Bluetooth braille displays that are within range of your computer and
that appear to match a VoiceOver braille display driver.
5.
Activate the
“Orbit Reader” device in the list to pair.
The Confirm code configuration shows a
random number on both the Slate's braille display and on the host device.
Follow steps 1 through 3. The Mac shows you a dialog with a security code. To
confirm the request, compare the numbers in the Bluetooth dialog on the Mac
with the code shown on your display. If they are the same, select ‘Yes’ in the
dialog on Mac. If the numbers do not match, select ‘No’, and try the next the
Orbit Reader on the list. Pairing requests can be accepted by pressing Dot 8 or
rejected by pressing Dot 7 from the Slate device. The purpose of this procedure
is to allow more than one Slate device to be paired in the same room at the
same time without pairing the wrong device.
If the Slate does not work with VoiceOver,
it is possible that you are not using the latest Mac OS. In that case, you have
two choices. Check
for updates. We suggest you update to the latest operating system.
If the Orbit Reader is not listed, make sure
you have turned on Bluetooth in the Menu.
To control how VoiceOver treats the display,
follow these steps:
1.
Open
the VoiceOver Utility by pressing Command + F8 while VoiceOver is running.
2.
Scroll
down to the Braille option.
3.
Select
the Braille Display tab.
To turn on contracted braille, check the
Contracted Braille box.
For the Mac documentation on connecting and
using braille displays, see Apple's VoiceOver Info Guide.
You can connect Android devices using
Bluetooth only.
In the default configuration, the Slate is
ready to pair with Bluetooth. If Bluetooth has been turned off, it can be
turned on in the menu or by pressing Space + Dots 4 7. TalkBack does not
support multi-line braille, so the Slate works as a single-line display with
TalkBack.
1. In the Bluetooth settings of the phone, search for Orbit reader you wish
to pair. Once device is visible in the list, click on it to get paired.
2. Open Settings app on your Android phone.
3. Locate accessibility settings. It can be found under additional settings
or advance settings, depends upon phone which you are using.
4. Then locate Talkback and click on it.
5. Click on settings option under Talkback.
6. Then search for Braille display and click on it.
7. Here locate “use Braille display off switch. Click on off button to turn
it on.
8. Search for your device, click on it. A dialog box opens with options
cancel and connect button.
9. Click on connect button to initiate connection between Orbit reader and
Android “Talkback” over Bluetooth
To input text with your braille keyboard,
first, enable the Talkback braille keyboard in your Android settings under
Language and Input. If you try to use the keyboard before completing this step,
you will receive a prompt to change your settings.
To edit a text field, focus and activate the
text field. You can then use the Up and Down Arrow keys to move in the text
field. You can switch between grade 1 and grade 2 input with shortcut space +
g.
By default, Android is set to display UEB
Grade 1.
To set language options, follow the steps
below:
1.
Press
H to open the Home screen
2.
Swipe
down and right (L shape). It opens Talkback menu
3.
Navigate
to talkback settings and open
4.
Scroll
to and open “Braille display.
5.
Scroll
to option “Languages” to add languages
6.
Scroll
to and open option “Preferred typing language” to set input language
7.
Scroll
to and open option “Preferred Reading language” to set output language.
8.
Scroll
to and open option “Preferred braille grade” set the language grade.
·
Basic
controls
o To pan down, press right back pan key
o To pan up, press left front pan key
o To touch and hold current item, press Space + dot 8
·
Navigation
o To go to previous item, press dots 1 2 7
o To go to next item, press dots 4 5 8
o To scroll backwards, press dots 2 4 6 7
o To scroll forward, press dots 1 3 5 8
o To move navigation focus forward or adjust reading
control down, press dots 6 8
o To move to previous window, press dots 2 4 5 6 7
o To move to next window, press dots 2 4 5 6 8
o To go to top of page or beginning of text, press
space + dots 1 2 3
o To go to bottom of page or end of text, press space
+ dots 4 5 6
o To go to previous heading in web content, press
dots 1 2 5 7
o To go to next heading in web content, press dots 1
2 5 8
o To go to previous control in web content, press
dots 1 4 7
o To go to next control in web content, press dots 1
4 8
o To go to previous link in web content, press dots 1
2 3 7
o To go to next link in web content, press dots 1 2 3
8
o To go to previous reading control, press dots 2 3 7
o To go to next reading control, press dots 5 6 8
·
System
actions
o To go back, press space + dots 1 2
o To go home, press space + dots 1 2 5
o To open notifications, press space + dots 1 3 4 5
o To open recent applications, press space + dots 1 2
3 5
o To open quick settings, press space + dots 1 2 3 4
5
o To open all applications, press space + dots 1 2 3
4
·
Talkback
features
o To open screen search, press space + dots 3 4
o To edit custom label, press space + dots 1 3 4 8
o To open talkback menu, press space + dots 1 3 4
o To turn talkback speech on or off, press dots 1 3 4
7 8
o To stop reading, press dots 7 8
o To open talkback settings, press dots 2 3 4 5 7 8
·
Braille
settings
o To switch to the next typing language, press dots 2
4 7 8
o To switch to next reading language, press dots 1 3
5 7 8
o To swich between contracted and uncontracted, press
space + dots 1 2 4 5
o To open braille display commands, press dots 1 3 7
8
o To open braille display settings, press dots 1 2 7
8
o To o turn off braille display, press dots 1 2 3 4 5
6 7 8
·
Text
editing
o To move to previous character, press space + dot 3
o To move to next character, press space + dot 6
o To move to previous word, press space + dot 2
o To move to next word, press space + dot 5
o To move to previous line, press space + dot 1
o To move to next line, press space + dot 4
o To select all text, press space + dots 1 2 3 4 5 6
8
o To select previous character, press space + dots 3
8
o To select next character, press space + dots 6 8
o To select previous word, press space + dots 2 8
o To select next word, press space + dots 5 8
o To copy text, press space + dots 1 4 8
o To cut text, press space + dots 1 2 3 6 8
o To delete, press dot 7
o To delete a word, press space + dots 2 7
o
To
activate enter key when editing text, press dot 8
Before connecting the Slate with a PC, you
must first decide how you wish to connect: via Bluetooth or USB. This is a
personal choice. USB charges the device as you use it, so it is a good choice
when your battery is low. Bluetooth does not use wires, so it is a good choice
when you are on the go.
For Windows versions 7 and newer, the serial
interface requires the installation of two drivers: one for the USB and one to
make the USB port appear like a COM port. The only exception is Windows XP.
Because it is Serial only, it can just be plugged in. The second driver is
required because many screen reading programs handle braille displays like a
serial device. The COM port assignment driver shows the assigned port number
used to communicate with the display. Take a note of the COM port number for later
use. If you need to look at it later, go to Device Manager while the display is
connected and look in the section for Ports: COM and LPT. One of the COM ports
is assigned to the Slate. You need to use that number when you set up your
screen reader.
Once the display is connected to the device
you wish to use, configure the software to use the Slate.
When connecting the Slate with Bluetooth,
you must first choose a pairing configuration.
The default configuration is ‘Just Works’.
If the Slate is in default connection, follow these steps to pair the device:
1.
On
the PC, perform a Bluetooth search.
2.
Select
the Slate from the list of Bluetooth devices.
Confirm code configuration shows a random
number on both the Slate's braille display and on the host device. Follow steps
1 and 2; then, to confirm the request, compare the numbers in the Bluetooth
dialog on the Windows PC with the code shown on your display. If they are the
same, select ‘Yes’. If the numbers do not match, select ‘No’, and try the next
Orbit Reader on the list. Pairing requests can be accepted by pressing Dot 8 or
rejected by pressing Dot 7 from the Slate device. The purpose of this procedure
is to allow more than one Slate device to be paired in the same room at the
same time without pairing the wrong device.
The device pairs with the Slate and an
incoming Bluetooth virtual serial port is set up on the PC.
Next, check the Ports list in the Windows
Device Manager to find the COM port number assigned to the outgoing Bluetooth
serial port. Make a note of this number.
In your screen reader on the PC, set the
active Braille display COM port to use as the relevant Bluetooth serial port
COM number.
We recommend using the latest version of
NVDA. With NVDA installed on your PC, it automatically recognizes the Slate
over USB and Bluetooth. If NVDA is not recognizing the display, go to the NVDA
Preferences menu and select Braille Settings from the list. From the braille
display drop-down menu, select the Slate and click OK.
Note: For a USB connection, set the Slate to HID-Braille by selecting
HID-Braille under the USB option in the Menu.
Multi-line braille: NVDA currently provides only very basic support for reading multi-line
braille text. Most NVDA functions treat the Slate as a single-line display.
NVDA turns ‘On’ braille output when it is
configured for the display. To turn ‘Off’ braille support, select "No
Braille" from Braille Display options in the Braille Settings menu.
·
To
Move up one line, press Up Arrow
·
To
Move down one line, press Down Arrow
·
To
Move left one character, press Left Arrow
·
To
Move right one character, press Right Arrow
·
To
Enter, press Select
The Slate is supported on JAWS 2020 and
later. No driver installation is required, as support is integrated into JAWS.
JAWS 2026 and later also provide full multi-line braille support for the Slate,
so you can read several lines of braille at once instead of panning line by
line. JAWS 2025 and earlier support the Slate as a single-line display.
JAWS 2026 and later support the
plug-and-play HID-Braille standard over USB. In this mode, JAWS automatically
detects the Slate, so no manual display selection is required.
1.
On the
Slate, open the Menu, arrow to the USB option, and select HID-Braille.
2. Connect the Slate to your computer with the USB
cable.
3.
Start or
restart JAWS. JAWS detects the display automatically and begins brailleing the
screen.
Note: HID-Braille is currently available over USB only. See Connecting with
Bluetooth below for Bluetooth connections.
JAWS 2025 and earlier use the HID (Orbit)
protocol and require the display to be selected manually. On the Slate, set the
USB protocol to HID (Orbit) by pressing Space + Dots 2 7, then follow these
steps:
1.
Start or
restart JAWS.
2.
Insert + J
to bring up the JAWS menu.
3.
Press Enter
on Options.
4.
Down Arrow
to Braille and press Enter.
5.
Tab to Add
and press Enter.
6.
Arrow Up or
Down to Orbit Reader and press Space to check the box and select it.
7.
Tab to the
Next button and press Enter.
8.
Select USB.
9.
Tab to the
Next button and press Enter.
10. Select Orbit Reader as a primary device.
11. Tab to the Finish button and press Enter.
12. Restart JAWS.
HID-Braille is currently available over USB
only. Bluetooth connections continue to use the legacy selection procedure on
all JAWS versions, including JAWS 2026 and later. Orbit Research is actively
working to bring Bluetooth in line with USB so that the same features are
available over both connection types on JAWS 2026 and later.
1.
Press
Space + Dots 4 7.
2.
Follow
steps 1-7 of the JAWS 2025 and earlier USB procedure above.
3.
Select
the COM port where the Orbit Reader is connected (check device manager for COM
port or use COM port you saved from previous steps).
4.
Follow
steps 9-12 of the JAWS 2025 and earlier USB procedure above.
To turn off braille support, follow these steps:
1.
Insert
+ J to bring up the JAWS menu.
2.
Press
Enter on Options.
3.
Down
Arrow to Braille and press Enter.
4.
Up
Arrow to No Braille Display.
5.
Tab
to Ok and press Enter.
6.
Restart
JAWS.
Note: For a longer description of any of the
following commands, turn JAWS keyboard Help ‘on’ by pressing Insert + 1 and
type the command. Quickly type the command twice to get an even longer
description. Press Insert + 1 again to exit the JAWS keyboard Help mode.
Multi-line braille support requires JAWS
2026 or later. On JAWS 2025 and earlier, the Slate works as a single-line
display. With JAWS 2026 and later, instead of reading one line at a time, you
can view several lines of braille at once, which makes reading paragraphs,
tables, and spatial content such as math far more efficient. The number of
lines shown depends on the model: five lines on the Slate 520 and three lines
on the Slate 340.
JAWS offers different ways of laying out
text across the multiple lines of the display. To choose how text is presented,
open the Select Braille View dialog by pressing ALT + INSERT + V, then choose
the view you want.
Wrapped view: Wrapped view fills the display line by line, continuing text from one
line to the next so you can read a paragraph across all the available lines
without panning.
Cropped view: Cropped view preserves the on-screen layout so that rows and columns
line up as they do visually. JAWS uses Cropped view automatically in Excel and
when focus moves into a table in Word, Google Docs, and on web pages, so that
column and row data are shown in position. A column separator, shown as Dots 4
5 6 8, marks the boundary between columns.
Split Braille lets you show content from two
different locations at the same time. When Split Braille is active, the display
is divided into two regions: one region shows the text at the cursor, and the
other shows content from a separate location that you select.
As with single-line displays, JAWS can
present braille in Structured, Line, Speech Output, or Attribute mode.
Structured mode shows descriptive information about the current control or
dialog; Line mode shows an exact representation of the current line on screen;
Speech Output mode shows the text that JAWS sends to the speech synthesizer.
Cycle between these modes by pressing M Chord (Dots 1 4 6 with Space).
|
Action |
Command |
|
Move display to the left |
Left |
|
Move display to the right |
Right |
|
Move display up one line |
Up |
|
Move display down one line |
Down |
|
Pan left one braille window |
Pan Left |
|
Pan right one braille window |
Pan Right |
|
Top of active window |
Select + Dots 1 2 3 |
|
Bottom of active window |
Select + Dots 4 5 6 |
|
Route braille to active cursor |
Dots 1 2 3 5 7 or Dots 1 2 3 5 7 Chord |
|
Start braille auto advance mode |
Select |
|
Decrease braille auto advance speed |
Select + Dot 3 |
|
Increase Braille auto advance speed |
Select + Dot 6 |
|
Say previous line |
Dots 2 3 or Dots 2 3 Chord |
|
Say next line |
Dots 5 6 or Dots 5 6 Chord |
|
Say current line |
Dots 1 4 or Dots 1 4 Chord |
|
Say current word |
Dots 2 5 or Dots 2 5 Chord |
|
Say current character |
Dots 3 6 or Dots 3 6 Chord |
|
Previous document window |
Dots 1 3 or Dots 1 3 Chord |
|
Next document window |
Dots 4 6 or Dots 4 6 Chord |
|
Beginning of file |
Dots 1 2 3 or Dots 1 2 3 Chord |
|
End of file |
Dots 4 5 6 or Dots 4 5 6 Chord |
|
Page Up |
Dots 1 2 3 4 5 or Dots 1 2 3 4 5 Chord |
|
Page Down |
Dots 1 2 4 5 6 or Dots 1 2 4 5 6 Chord |
|
Home |
Dots 1 2 3 4 Chord |
|
End |
Dots 1 4 5 6 Chord |
|
Up Arrow |
Dot 1 or Dot 1 Chord |
|
Down Arrow |
Dot 4 or Dot 4 Chord |
|
Previous word |
Dot 2 or Dot 2 Chord |
|
Next word |
Dot 5 or Dot 5 Chord |
|
Previous character |
Dot 3 or Dot 3 Chord |
|
Next character |
Dot 6 or Dot 6 Chord |
|
Action |
Command |
|
Backspace (acts as shift key when typing
braille characters) |
Dot 7 |
|
Enter |
Dot 8 |
|
Tab |
Dots 4 5 or Dots 4 5 Chord |
|
Shift + Tab |
Dots 1 2 or Dots 1 2 Chord |
|
Delete current character |
Dots 1 4 5 or Dots 1 4 5 Chord |
|
Select all |
Dots 1 8 or Dots 1 8 Chord |
|
Select from top of document |
Dots 1 2 3 7 8 or Dots 1 2 3 7 8 Chord |
|
Select to bottom of document |
Dots 4 5 6 7 8 |
|
Select previous page |
Dots 1 2 3 4 5 7 8 |
|
Select next page |
Dots 1 2 4 5 6 7 8 |
|
Select to beginning of line |
Dots 1 2 3 4 7 8 |
|
Select to end of line |
Dots 1 4 5 6 7 8 or Dots 1 4 5 6 7 8 Chord |
|
Select previous line |
Dots 1 7 8 |
|
Select next line |
Dots 4 7 8 |
|
Select previous word |
Dots 2 7 8 |
|
Select next word |
Dots 5 7 8 |
|
Select previous character |
Dots 3 7 8 |
|
Select next character |
Dots 6 7 8 |
|
Copy to clipboard |
Dots 1 4 8 or Dots 1 4 8 Chord |
|
Cut to clipboard |
Dots 1 3 4 6 8 or Dots 1 3 4 6 8 Chord |
|
Paste clipboard |
Dots 1 2 3 6 8 or Dots 1 2 3 6 8 Chord |
|
Undo |
Dots 1 3 5 6 8 or Dots 1 3 5 6 8 Chord |
|
Action |
Command |
|
Start menu |
Dots 1 3 4 7 8 |
|
Toggle menu bar |
Dots 1 3 4 or Dots 1 3 4 Chord |
|
Escape |
Dots 1 3 5 6 or Dots 1 3 5 6 Chord |
|
Alt Tab |
Dots 2 3 4 5 or Dots 2 3 4 5 Chord |
|
Minimize all applications |
Dots 1 4 5 7 8 |
|
Action |
Command |
|
Toggle keyboard help |
Dots 1 4 5 6 |
|
Toggle type keys mode |
Dots 1 2 3 4 5 6 Chord |
|
JAWS cursor |
Select + Dots 2 4 5 |
|
PC cursor |
Select + Dots 1 2 3 4 |
|
Route JAWS cursor to PC cursor |
Select + Dots 1 4 |
|
Say all to bottom |
Dots 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 |
|
Toggle grade 2 translation |
Dots 1 2 4 5 or Dots 1 2 4 5 Chord |
|
Toggle grade 2 translation of current word |
Select + Dots 2 4 5 6 |
|
Display last flash message |
Select + Dots 1 2 4 |
|
JAWS find |
Dots 1 2 4 Chord |
|
JAWS find next |
Dots 2 5 7 8 |
|
JAWS find previous |
Select + Dots 2 5 7 8 |
|
Toggle active cursor follows braille |
Select + Dot 1 |
|
Toggle braille follows active cursor |
Select + Dot 4 |
|
Cycle through braille modes |
Select + Dots 1 3 4 |
|
Display 6 dot braille |
Select + Dots 2 3 5 |
|
Display 8 dot braille |
Select + Dots 2 3 6 |
|
Toggle cursor shape |
Select + Dots 1 4 6 |
|
Restrict braille cursor |
Select + Dots 1 2 3 5 |
|
Toggle characters and attributes |
Select + Dots 1 6 |
|
Braille color marking |
Select + Dots 3 4 |
|
Select attributes to be displayed |
Select + Dots 1 3 |
|
Set 8 characters per space |
Dots 2 3 6 Chord |
|
Set unlimited characters per space |
Dots 1 3 6 Chord |
|
Toggle 8/unlimited characters per space |
Select + Dots 1 3 4 6 |
|
Cycle table reading options |
Select + Dots 2 3 4 5 |
|
Cycle table header options |
Select + Dots 1 2 5 |
|
Graphics labeler |
Select + Dots 1 2 4 5 |
|
Quick Settings |
Select + Dots 1 2 |
|
Adjust JAWS options |
Select + Dots 1 2 3 6 |
|
JAWS window |
Dots 2 4 5 or Dots 2 4 5 Chord |
|
Run JAWS manager |
Dots 2 3 7 8 |
|
List of links on page |
Dots 2 3 5 6 7 8 |
|
Show current time |
Dots 2 3 4 5 7 8 |
|
Show script file name |
Select + Dots 1 2 3 4 5 |
|
Quit JAWS |
Dots 2 5 6 7 8 |
|
Action |
Command |
|
Move PC cursor to any cell |
Any cursor router |
|
Select block |
Dot 3 with any routing key |
Use the modifier keys to simulate key combinations (keystrokes) that includeCTRL, ALT, WINDOWS Key, SHIFT, or the INSERT.
To use these modifiers when typing a keystroke, do the following:
4. Hold
down DOT 8 CHORD and then press the corresponding modifier keys in
the keystroke. Modifier keystrokes are listed in the following table.
5.
After you create the modifier
portion of the keystroke, release the keys and press the remaining part of the
keystroke. For example, to perform the keystroke CTRL+SHIFT+V, you
press DOTS 3-7-8 CHORD, release the keys, and then press V (DOTS
1-2-3-6).
· To
simulate INSERT, press DOT 2
· To
simulate CTRL, press DOT 3
· To
simulate WINDOWS Key, press DOT 4
· To
simulate Function Keys (F1 through F12), press DOT 5
· To
simulate ALT key, press DOT 6
· To
simulate SHIFT, press DOT 7
To simulate the function keys (F1throughF12), pressDOTS 5-8 CHORDfollowed byAthroughL (which correspond to 1 through 12).
For example, to simulate theF6key, pressDOTS 5-8 CHORD, thenF (DOTS 1-2-4). If the function key is part of a key combination, add the appropriate modifiers while holding downDOTS 5-8 CHORD. For example, to simulate the keystrokeINSERT+F2, pressDOTS 2-5-8 CHORD, thenB (DOTS 1-2).
Note: Please note that Modifier keys activation shall be canceled automatically after 5 seconds if the remaining keystroke is not pressed.
To connect Slate to Dolphin SuperNova ScreenReader, the device must be connected by a Standard USB-A to Type-C USB cable and set in HID Orbit protocol mode. You need to set emulation mode to “Orbit Reader 20 – 20 cells” for 520 model and “Orbit reader 40– 40 cells” for 340 model.
To connect the Slate via USB, follow these
steps:
1.
Press
space + dot 2 7 to activate HID Orbit mode on Slate
2.
Click
on Supernova’s Control Panel
3.
Press
ALT key to open Menu bar.
4.
Now
press left/right arrow keys to navigate to Braille menu
5.
Now
press down arrow to go to General preferences menu and click on it
6.
Here
dialog box will get opened. It will contain 3 Tabs.
7.
Here
click on Braille display tab. Now here you will see “No Braille display” and
Orbit Reader display. Select Orbit Reader and click on OK button.
Note: While connecting the Slate with Dolphin SuperNova Screen Reader first time, above steps 1 to 7 is required to follow. After that Dolphin SuperNova Screen Reader automatically connect with Slate once the HID Orbit mode activated by Space 2 7 on Slate.
·
To
Braille Back, press Left/Right backward/ Panning key
·
To
Braille Forward, press Left/Right forward Panning Key
·
To
Simulate Key Press Up, press Dot 1 Chord
·
To
Simulate Key Press Up, press Up Arrow
·
To
Simulate Key Press Down, press Dot 4 Chord
·
To
Simulate Key Press Down, press Down Arrow
·
To
Simulate Key Press Left, press Left Arrow
·
To
Simulate Key Press Right, press Right Arrow
·
To
Simulate Key Press Home, press Dots 2 3 Chord
·
To
Simulate Key Press End, press Dots 5 6 Chord
·
To
Simulate Key Press Ctrl Home, press Dots 1 2 3 Chord
·
To
Simulate Key Press Ctrl End, press Dots 4 5 6 Chord
·
To
Simulate Key Press Enter, press Dot 8
·
To
Simulate Key Press Enter, press Select
·
To
Simulate Key Press Page Down, press Dots 4 5 Chord
·
To
Simulate Key Press Tab, press Dots 4 6 Chord
·
To
Simulate Key Press Shift Tab, press Dots 1 3 Chord
·
To
Simulate Key Press Escape, press Dots 1 5 Chord
·
To
Simulate Key Press Backspace, press Dot 7
·
To
Simulate Key Press Delete, press Dots 1 4 5 Chord
·
To
Simulate Key Press Windows, press Dots 3 4 Chord
To Simulate Key Press Alt, press Dots 1 3 4 Chord
Narrator is the screen reader built into
Windows. Narrator braille support works with the Slate on Windows 11 over USB.
On the Slate, set the USB mode to HID
(Orbit) by pressing Space + Dots 2 7, or by opening the Menu, selecting the USB
option, and choosing HID (Orbit). Then connect the Slate to your computer with
the USB cable.
Multi-line braille: Narrator does not support multi-line braille, so the Slate works as a
single-line display with Narrator.
Install Narrator braille support:
Narrator braille is installed as an optional
Windows feature. To install it, follow these steps:
1.
Press the
Windows logo key + Ctrl + N to open Narrator settings.
2. Select the Use a braille display with Narrator
button to open the braille page.
3. Select the Download and install braille button.
This may take some time.
4. When the download is complete, restart your
computer when prompted, then log back in and return to Narrator settings.
5. In the Braille section of Narrator settings, turn
on the Turn on braille switch.
6.
Select Add a
braille display, then choose the Orbit Reader manufacturer and the USB
connection type.
Note: If you use the same braille display with a third-party screen reader
such as JAWS or NVDA, you may need to change the braille display driver. In
Narrator settings, select the Use a braille display with Narrator button, then
under Braille display driver select the driver used by your third-party screen
reader so you can switch between Narrator and that screen reader.
Uninstall Narrator braille
support: To remove Narrator braille, open
Settings (Windows logo key + I), select Apps, go to Optional features, then
Installed features, search for Accessibility - Braille support, expand it, and
uninstall the feature. Restart the device after braille support is removed.
If the
Slate suddenly does not respond to button presses, and you know that the
battery is not fully discharged, then you may try rebooting the device by
pressing the Right bottom most lower Panning key + Dot 8. There is no
indication of the reset event. The unit is in power-off condition after reset
and needs to be powered on before it can be used.
New
versions of the firmware for the Slate are released from time to time,
containing improvements, bug fixes, and new features. This section describes
the procedure for updating the Slate firmware.
There
are two ways to upgrade the firmware of the Slate: either using a Windows PC
and a USB cable or using an SD card containing the update
file.
The USB
upgrade method requires a Windows PC, but the upgrade process is simple and
quicker, but the SD card upgrade method only requires a computer to download
the update file and put it on the SD card; then no computer is required to
perform the actual upgrade.
The following is required to perform the upgrade
to the Slate with a
PC:
1. The
Slate unit
2. Standard
USB-A to Type-C USB cable
3. A PC
running Windows XP or later.
4. The
Slate Upgrade Utility file found in the Slate folder
(see Error!
Reference source not found.).
5. Slate Release Bin files found in the Slate folder (see Error! Reference source not found.).
To upgrade the firmware, follow these steps:
1. Make sure the Slate is turned off.
2. Connect the Slate to the PC using the USB cable.
3.
In
the Release folder on your PC, run the Slate Firmware Upgrade Utility. If you receive an error message, see the Troubleshooting section. Assuming no errors, the
program displays the message,
“Note: Connect the device to the PC and put it into upgrade mode. To enter,
Firmware Upgrade Mode, press and hold the Right bottom most panning key forward button + 'Dot 5' key. Then press and
release the 'Dot 8' key. The other keys can be released after this” in the
message field.
4.
Press
and hold down the right bottom most Panning key forward button + Dot 5, then
press Dot 8. The utility shows the message “Slate is connected” in the Device
status field. It shows the message “Do you want to upgrade the device?” in the message
field at the bottom of the dialog.
5.
Release
Dot 8 first, then release the Panning key and Dot 5. This switches the Slate to
Upgrade mode. You should hear a tone on your PC.
6. The utility shows the device serial number and the
software version of the device at the top right corner of the window. If the
serial number is blank, repeat steps 4 and 5.
7. Activate the Browse button found in the dialog.
8. Browse and select the firmware bin file from your
PC. The file is in the folder you unzipped previously.
9. Once the file is selected, the dialog shows the
software version of the selected file. A dialog box will also display the
information that the current file selected is firmware binary.
10. Activate the Upgrade button. The utility starts
upgrading the device. The
device will emit a single vibration pulse at 2 second intervals.
11. Do not unplug the cable. Wait for the message
“Device upgrade has been completed” on the upgrade utility or until the Slate
reboots and shuts down.
12. The Slate is upgraded. Turn on the Slate to start
using the device.
To check for a successful upgrade of the Slate,
press Select + Up Arrow to open the Slate Menu and arrow to "Ver" in the
list. The version number of the firmware release should match the number shown in the upgrade utility.
The following is required to perform the upgrade to the
Slate from an SD card:
1. Slate
unit
2. Slate
Release Bin files found in the Slate folder of the download package (see Error!
Reference source not found.).
3. Your
SD card should have a FAT32 file system.
To
upgrade the firmware, follow these steps:
1. Copy
the binary file “Slate - Target Software vB0.00.00.XXrYY.bin” from the download
package to the root folder of the SD card. Use either the Slate Mass Storage
Mode or remove the SD card and put it in a card reader. When completed, insert
the SD card into the Slate. Make sure that your SD card contains only one
binary file. Remove the other binary files from the SD card.
2. Turn
off the Slate. The unit should be turned off before the upgrade is started.
3.
Press and hold
down the “Bottommost Right Panning forward key” and “Dot 4” key
simultaneously, while pressing these two keys, turn on the device using the
power key. it
will show the message “Preparing…”. Now
you can release all the keys. Typically, it will take about 40 to 50 seconds to
prepare.
4.
The
device will emit a single vibration pulse at 2 seconds interval.
5. Once
preparation is complete, it should show the message “Upgrading firmware..”.
Progress is shown by blinking 2 cells of dot 6 at the end of the message.
6. Typically,
it will take 2.5 to 3 minutes to upgrade the firmware. Do not remove the SD
card during the upgrade.
7. When
the upgrade has been completed, it will show the message “Upgrade complete” for
a few seconds and then the device will automatically reset itself and turn off.
8. Turn
it on to start using the device.
To check
for the successful upgrade of the device, press Select + Up Arrow to open the
Slate Menu and arrow to "Ver" in the list. The version number of the
firmware release should match the number in the name of the bin file.
1. In
case the unit freezes up or does not accept any commands at all, you can
perform a recovery operation by following the steps suggested below.
a. Try
a different key combination to upgrade (see below).
b. Make
sure that you have the binary file “Slate - Target Software
vB0.00.00.XXrYY.bin” into the root directory of the SD card.
c. Press
and hold the Bottom most right pan lower + Dot 4 keys + the Power button and
wait for the message “Preparing…”. If you do not get any message within 4 or 5
seconds, press and release the Dot 8 key and then release the other keys.
d. Wait
for about a minute. The Slate should start upgrading and show the message
“Upgrading firmware”.
e. Typically,
it will take 2.5 to 3 minutes to upgrade the firmware.
f. The
slate shows the “Upgrade complete” message after completion of a successful
firmware upgrade for 5 to 8 seconds and then the device will automatically
reset/shut down itself.
2. If
the Slate does not show the message “Preparing”, make sure you had pressed the
keys in the correct sequence. Press and hold the Bottom most Right pan lower +
Dot 4 keys and without releasing them, press the power key to turn on the
device.
3. If
you are not sure at what stage of the upgrade process you are, you can always
start from the first step. Just reset the Slate by pressing Dot 8 and the Right
pan down key.
The
following are the steps to be followed for configuring a language other than
English.
1.
Copy the file on the SD card that you are using
with the device. The file can be copied externally through a card reader or
putting the device into Mass Storage mode.
2.
Go
to the Preference menu item “Add language” to check the file you copied. If you
have multiple language files in the SD card, you can scroll through them using
Left/Right Arrow key.
3.
Go to the file of your choice and press Select to
load file to internal memory.
4.
It may take some time for the file to be loaded.
The unit shows busy indication by displaying “busy” on the display.
5.
You can load multiple languages following the same
process (If you encounter “Memory full” error while adding languages, you need
to remove some languages before you can load new languages. Please refer to the
“Remove language” section
for more details on how to remove languages.)
6.
Go
to the Profile settings for the profile of your choice among profile 1, 2, 3 or
4 in preference menu.
7.
Go
to the sub-menu called “system language” and press Select. If you have multiple
language files in the internal memory you can scroll through them using
Left/Right Arrow key.
8.
Go to the file of your choice and press Select.
Press dot 7 to exit the system language setting.
9.
Now
Go to the Read-write menu item which is next to the system language.
10.
Go to the file of your choice and press Select.
Press dot 7 to exit the read-write language setting.
11.
Press dot 7 to exit the menu.
12.
Press Select + Dot 1, Select + Dot 2, Select + Dot
3 or Select + Dot 4 to activate the profile 1, profile 2, profile 3 or profile
4, respectively.
If the
Slate does not power on or seems to freeze, try these options in the following
order:
Option 1: Plug in the device
1.
Plugin
the unit with the supplied AC wall connector and cable to ensure that the
battery is charged. This is the most reliable power source.
2.
Let
the unit ‘charge’ for at least an hour or more.
3.
Hold
the Power button for at least two seconds. If the unit is on, it should turn
off. If it is off, it should come on.
Option 2: Check SD card
1.
Remove
the SD card.
2.
Hold
the Power button for two seconds.
Option 3: Unplug the device
1.
If
the unit is plugged in, unplug the power cord.
2.
Hold
the Power button for at least two seconds.
Option 4: Reset device
1.
Press
the Reset command (Dot 8 + right-bottom Panning key). Note: On reset, the unit
is unresponsive, and there is no change to the display.
2.
Hold
the Power button for at least two seconds.
Option 5: Remove the battery
Note: Use this option as the last resort.
1.
Call
customer service for guidance on safely removing the battery.
2.
Leave
it out for a few minutes.
3.
Reconnect
it, then try the options again.
If
none of the options works and the device does not come on, contact Customer
Service at techsupport@orbitresearch.com.
The
Slate includes a rechargeable Lithium-Ion capacity battery. It charges fully in
about three hours under optimal conditions. A full battery charge lasts about
three days of typical use. You can check the battery status in the Menu.
When the
battery in Slate gets to 10% capacity, Dot 8 of the last cell of the last line
on the display starts blinking and vibration indications are also provided.
The
battery in Slate should last several years. Gradually, the battery begins
discharging faster than usual as its capacity declines. When the duration of
time that the battery holds charge becomes inconveniently short, it is time for
a replacement.
To
replace the battery, follow these steps:
1.
Obtain
a replacement battery. Use only the battery designed for the Slate. Batteries
are available from our website or by calling us.
2.
Remove
the battery door screws.
3.
Remove
the battery door.
4.
Carefully
unplug the connector. Do not pull the wire. Use the connector instead.
5.
Insert
a new battery.
6. Replace the cover and screws.
To
dispose of batteries properly, call the recycling center at 1-800-822-8837.
Due to exposure to natural elements such as
dust and oils, the Slate should be cleaned periodically.
The following are some tips to keep your
Slate clean:
·
Cleaning should be performed with the unit switched
off and with all pins in the down position.
·
Use a vacuum cleaner with a soft tip attachment to
remove dust from the pin area.
·
Use a lint-free cloth to wipe the cells.
·
The cloth may be moistened with water.
·
Avoid using the following:
·
Paper towels, cotton swabs or materials that can
release fibers.
· Alcohol
or ammonia-based cleaners
·
Canned or compressed air
·
Dimensions
(WxHxD): 11.5 x 6.5 x 1.3 inch; 29.2 x 16.5 x 3.3 cm
·
Weight:
1400 grams
·
Braille
Cells: 3 rows of 40 eight-dot braille
cells for 3x40 model and 5 rows of 20 eight-dot braille cells for 5x20 model;
Refresh rate < .75 sec
·
Braille
Input Keys: 8-key Perkins style keypad, with space bar
·
Additional
Keys: Power on/off button, 4-way cursor keys and select key, 2 panning keys per
display line, rocker type
·
Supported
File Formats: .txt, .brl, .brf, .bra
·
OS
Support:
·
Interfaces
and Ports: 1x USB Type C port, for host interface, firmware upgrade, and
battery charging, 1x USB Standard-A port for connecting USB flash drives.
·
Bluetooth
5.0, Class 2, Flash Media Slot, 1x SD card (4GB to 32GB capacity)
·
Battery:
User-replaceable, rechargeable Lithium-Ion battery
·
Battery
Life on a full charge: 3 days of typical use
·
Charging
Method: PC charger - Charge over USB Port – 5V, 500 mA Max, Wall charger -
Charge over USB Port – 5V, 1000 mA Max; USB BC1.2 compliant charger required
·
Environmental
Conditions: Operating Temperature: 5 °C
to 45 °C
·
Operating
Humidity: 10% - 70% relative humidity,
·
Storage
Temperature: -15 °C to 70 °C
·
Storage
Humidity: 5% - 90% relative humidity
·
ASCII
Code 33: Exclamation mark, Dots 2-3-4-6
·
ASCII
Code 34: Quotation marks, Dots 5
·
ASCII
Code 35: Number sign (Hash), Dots 3-4-5-6
·
ASCII
Code 36: Dollar sign, Dots 1-2-4-6
·
ASCII
Code 37: Percentage sign, Dots 1-4-6
·
ASCII
Code 38: Ampersand, Dots 1-2-3-4-6
·
ASCII
Code 39: Apostrophe, Dots 3
·
ASCII
Code 40: Opening round bracket, Dots 1-2-3-5-6
·
ASCII
Code 41: Closing round bracket, Dots 2-3-4-5-6
·
ASCII
Code 42: asterisk, Dots 1-6
·
ASCII
Code 43: Plus sign, Dots 3-4-6
·
ASCII
Code 44: Comma, Dots 6
·
ASCII
Code 45: Minus sign, Dots 3-6
·
ASCII
Code 46: Full stop, Dots 4-6
·
ASCII
Code 47: Forward Slash, Dots 3-4
·
ASCII
Code 48: 0, Dots 3-5-6
·
ASCII
Code 49: 1, Dots 2
·
ASCII
Code 50: 2, Dots 2-3
·
ASCII
Code 51: 3, Dots 2-5
·
ASCII
Code 52: 4, Dots 2-5-6
·
ASCII
Code 53: 5, Dots 2-6
·
ASCII
Code 54: 6, Dots 2-3-5
·
ASCII
Code 55: 7, Dots 2-3-5-6
·
ASCII
Code 56: 8, Dots 2-3-6
·
ASCII
Code 57: 9, Dots 3-5
·
ASCII
Code 58: Colon, Dots 1-5-6
·
ASCII
Code 59: Semicolon, Dots 5-6
·
ASCII
Code 60: Opening triangular bracket, Dots 1-2-6
·
ASCII
Code 61: Equal to sign, Dots 1-2-3-4-5-6
·
ASCII
Code 62: Closing triangle bracket, Dots 3-4-5
·
ASCII
Code 63: Question mark, Dots 1-4-5-6
·
ASCII
Code 64: At sign, Dots 4-7
·
ASCII
Code 65: A, Dots 1-7
·
ASCII
Code 66: B, Dots 1-2-7
·
ASCII
Code 67: C, Dots 1-4-7
·
ASCII
Code 68: D, Dots 1-4-5-7
·
ASCII
Code 69: E, Dots 1-5-7
·
ASCII
Code 70: F, Dots 1-2-4-7
·
ASCII
Code 71: G, Dots 1-2-4-5-7
·
ASCII
Code 72: H, Dots 1-2-5-7
·
ASCII
Code 73: I, Dots 2-4-7
·
ASCII
Code 74: J, Dots 2-4-5-7
·
ASCII
Code 75: K, Dots 1-3-7
·
ASCII
Code 76: L, Dots 1-2-3-7
·
ASCII
Code 77: M, Dots 1-3-4-7
·
ASCII
Code 78: N, Dots 1-3-4-5-7
·
ASCII
Code 79: O, Dots 1-3-5-7
·
ASCII
Code 80: P, Dots 1-2-3-4-7
·
ASCII
Code 81: Q, Dots 1-2-3-4-5-7
·
ASCII
Code 82: R, Dots 1-2-3-5-7
·
ASCII
Code 83: S, Dots 2-3-4-7
·
ASCII
Code 84: T, Dots 2-3-4-5-7
·
ASCII
Code 85: U, Dots 1-3-6-7
·
ASCII
Code 86: V, Dots 1-2-3-6-7
·
ASCII
Code 87: W, Dots 2-4-5-6-7
·
ASCII
Code 88: X, Dots 1-3-4-6-7
·
ASCII
Code 89: Y, Dots 1-3-4-5-6-7
·
ASCII
Code 90: Z, Dots 1-3-5-6-7
·
ASCII
Code 91: Opening square bracket, Dots 2-4-6-7
·
ASCII
Code 92: Backward slash, Dots 1-2-5-6-7
·
ASCII
Code 93: Closing square bracket, Dots 1-2-4-5-6-7
·
ASCII
Code 94: Caret, Dots 4-5-7
·
ASCII
Code 95: dash, Dots 4-5-6
·
ASCII
Code 96: backtick sign, Dots 4
·
ASCII
Code 97: a, Dots 1
·
ASCII
Code 98: b, Dots 1-2
·
ASCII
Code 99: c, Dots 1-4
·
ASCII
Code 100: d, Dots 1-4-5
·
ASCII
Code 101: e, Dots 1-5
·
ASCII
Code 102: f, Dots 1-2-4
·
ASCII
Code 103: g, Dots 1-2-4-5
·
ASCII
Code 104: h, Dots 1-2-5
·
ASCII
Code 105: I, Dots 2-4
·
ASCII
Code 106: j, Dots 2-4-5
·
ASCII
Code 107: k, Dots 1-3
·
ASCII
Code 108: l, Dots 1-2-3
·
ASCII
Code 109: m, Dots 1-3-4
·
ASCII
Code 110: n, Dots 1-3-4-5
·
ASCII
Code 111: o, Dots 1-3-5
·
ASCII
Code 112: p, Dots 1-2-3-4
·
ASCII
Code 113: q, Dots 1-2-3-4-5
·
ASCII
Code 114: r, Dots 1-2-3-5
·
ASCII
Code 115: s, Dots 2-3-4
·
ASCII
Code 116: t, Dots 2-3-4-5
·
ASCII
Code 117: u, Dots 1-3-6
·
ASCII
Code 118: v, Dots 1-2-3-6
·
ASCII
Code 119: w, Dots 2-4-5-6
·
ASCII
Code 120: x, Dots 1-3-4-6
·
ASCII
Code 121: y, Dots 1-3-4-5-6
·
ASCII
Code 122: z, Dots 1-3-5-6
·
ASCII
Code 123: Opening curly bracket, Dots 2-4-6
·
ASCII
Code 124: Vertical bar, Dots 1-2-5-6
·
ASCII
Code 125: Closing curly bracket, Dots 1-2-4-5-6
·
ASCII
Code 126: Tilde, Dots 4-5
·
ASCII
Code 127: NULL, Dots 4-5-6
Adobe®
is either a registered trademark or trademark of Adobe Systems Incorporated in
the United States and/or other countries.
Android™,
Chromebook™, and Google™ are trademarks of Google Inc.
Apple®,
iPad®, iPhone®, iPod®, and Mac® are registered
trademarks or service marks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other
countries.
Bluetooth®
is a registered trademark of Bluetooth SIG, Inc.
Bookshare®
is a registered trademark of Beneficent Technology, Inc.
BrailleBlaster™
and Refreshabraille 18™ are trademarks of the American Printing House for the
Blind, Inc.
DAISY, A
Better Way to Read is a trademark of the DAISY Consortium.
ScreenReader
is a trademark of Dolphin.
iOS® is
a registered trademark of Cisco in the U.S. and other countries and is used
under license by Apple Inc.
JAWS® is
a registered trademark of Freedom Scientific, Inc.
Kindle™
and all related logos are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.
Microsoft®
and Windows® are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S.
and/or other countries.
NFB-NEWSLINE®
is a registered trademark of the National Federation of the Blind.
Slate™
is a trademark of Orbit Research.
SD is a
trademark or registered trademark of SD-3C, LLC in the United States, other
countries, or both.
Warranty
obligations for the Slate are limited to the terms set forth below:
Orbit
Research warrants this hardware product against defects in materials and
workmanship under normal use for a period of ONE (1) YEAR from the purchase by
the original purchaser ("Warranty Period"). If a hardware defect
arises and a valid claim is received by Orbit Research LLC within the Warranty
Period, at its option and to the extent permitted by law, Orbit Research will
either:
Repair
the product free of charge (or) replace it with a product that is manufactured
from new or serviceable used parts and is at least functionally equivalent to
the original product.
A
replacement product or part assumes the remaining warranty of the original
product or thirty (30) days from the date of replacement or repair, whichever
provides longer coverage. Parts provided in fulfillment of its warranty
obligation must be used in products for which warranty service is claimed.
This
Limited Warranty applies only to the hardware product manufactured by Orbit
Research LLC that can be identified by the “Orbit Research" trademark,
trade name, or logo affixed to it. Orbit Research is not responsible for damage
arising from failure to follow instructions relating to the product's use.
This
warranty does not apply in the following cases:
TO THE
EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, THIS WARRANTY AND THE REMEDIES SET FORTH ABOVE ARE
EXCLUSIVE AND IN LIEU OF ALL OTHER WARRANTIES, REMEDIES AND CONDITIONS, WHETHER
ORAL OR WRITTEN, STATUTORY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED.
EXCEPT
AS PROVIDED IN THIS WARRANTY AND TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, ORBIT
RESEARCH IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR DIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL
DAMAGES RESULTING FROM ANY BREACH OF WARRANTY OR CONDITION, OR UNDER ANY OTHER
LEGAL THEORY, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO LOSS OF USE; LOSS OF REVENUE; LOSS
OF ACTUAL OR ANTICIPATED PROFITS (INCLUDING LOSS OF PROFITS ON CONTRACTS); LOSS
OF THE USE OF MONEY; LOSS OF ANTICIPATED SAVINGS; LOSS OF BUSINESS; LOSS OF
OPPORTUNITY; LOSS OF GOODWILL; LOSS OF REPUTATION; LOSS OF, DAMAGE TO, OR
CORRUPTION OF DATA; OR ANY INDIRECT OR CONSEQUENTIAL LOSS OR DAMAGE HOWSOEVER
CAUSED INCLUDING THE REPLACEMENT OF EQUIPMENT AND PROPERTY, ANY COSTS OF
RECOVERING, PROGRAMMING OR REPRODUCING ANY PROGRAM OR DATA STORED IN OR USED
WITH THE ORBIT RESEARCH PRODUCT, AND ANY FAILURE TO MAINTAIN THE
CONFIDENTIALITY OF DATA STORED ON THE PRODUCT. THE FOREGOING LIMITATION SHALL
NOT APPLY TO DEATH OR PERSONAL INJURY CLAIMS, OR ANY STATUTORY LIABILITY FOR
INTENTIONAL AND GROSS NEGLIGENT ACTS AND/OR OMISSIONS. ORBIT RESEARCH DISCLAIMS
ANY REPRESENTATION THAT IT WILL BE ABLE TO REPAIR ANY PRODUCT UNDER THIS
WARRANTY OR MAKE A PRODUCT EXCHANGE WITHOUT RISK TO OR LOSS OF PROGRAMS OR
DATA.
CONSUMER
PROTECTION LAWS
FOR
CONSUMERS WHO ARE COVERED BY CONSUMER PROTECTION LAWS OR REGULATIONS IN THEIR
COUNTRY OF PURCHASE OR, IF DIFFERENT, THEIR COUNTRY OF RESIDENCE, THE BENEFITS
CONFERRED BY THIS WARRANTY ARE IN ADDITION TO ALL RIGHTS AND REMEDIES CONVEYED
BY SUCH CONSUMER PROTECTION LAWS AND REGULATIONS. Some countries, states, and
provinces do not allow the exclusion or limitation of incidental or
consequential damages or allow limitations on how long an implied warranty or
condition may last, so the above limitations or exclusions may not apply to
you. This warranty gives you specific legal rights, and you may also have other
rights that vary by country, state, or province. This Limited Warranty is
governed by and construed under the laws of the country in which the product
purchase took place. ORBIT RESEARCH LLC., the warrantor under this Limited
Warranty, is identified at the end of this document according to the country or
region in which the product purchase took place.
OBTAINING
WARRANTY SERVICE
Please
access and review the online help resources referred to in the documentation
accompanying this hardware product before seeking warranty service. If the
product is still not functioning properly after making use of these resources,
please send an e-mail to: techsupport@orbitresearch.com, for
instructions on how to obtain warranty service. You must follow ORBIT RESEARCH
warranty procedures.
ORBIT
RESEARCH will maintain and use customer information in accordance with its
Customer Privacy Policy.
If
your product is capable of storing software programs, data, and other
information, you should make periodic backup copies of the information
contained on the product's hard drive or other storage media to protect the
contents and as a precaution against possible operational failures. Before you
deliver your product for warranty service, it is your responsibility to keep a
separate backup copy of the contents and disable any security passwords. IT IS
POSSIBLE THAT THE CONTENTS ON THE DEVICE BEING SERVICED WILL BE LOST OR
REFORMATTED IN THE COURSE OF WARRANTY SERVICE, AND ORBIT RESEARCH IS NOT
RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE TO OR LOSS OF PROGRAMS, DATA, OR OTHER INFORMATION
CONTAINED ON THE MEDIA OR ANY PART OF THE PRODUCT SERVICED.
Your
product will be returned to you configured as originally purchased, subject to
applicable updates. You will be responsible for reinstalling all other software
programs, data, and passwords. Recovery and reinstallation of software programs
and user data are not covered under this Limited Warranty.
FCC Notice
This equipment has been tested and found to comply with
the limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to part 15 of the FCC rules.
These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful
interference in a residential installation. This equipment generates uses and
can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance
with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio communications.
However, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular
installation. If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or
television reception, which can be determined by turning the equipment off and
on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of
the following measures:
· Reorient or relocate
the receiving antenna.
· Increase the
separation between the equipment and the receiver.
· Connect the
equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the receiver
is connected.
· Consult the dealer
or an experienced radio/TV technician for help.
This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules.
Operation is subject to the following two conditions:
(1) This device may not cause harmful interference, and
(2) This device must accept any interference received, including interference
that may cause undesired operation.
FCC Caution
To ensure continued compliance follow the installation instructions and
this device must be installed with a computer or peripheral device certified to
comply with Part 15 of the FCC rules for the Class B limits. Use shielded
interface cables only. Use the power adapter that is supplied with the device
to charge its internal battery pack.
Any changes or modifications not expressly approved by the party responsible
for compliance could void the user’s authority to operate this equipment.