This page answers the most Frequently Asked Questions we have received concerning WebText Reader. If you don't find an answer to a question you have, don't hesitate to contact us with your question.

The Questions and Answers included on this page are grouped by topic in six sections below. You can jump to a specific topic by clicking on one the following section hyper links

Topic Sections:

General      Installing      Operating      Ordering      Troubleshooting

General

Question: Is there a Apple/MAC version of WebText Reader?
Answer: No, WebText Reader is only available for Windows based PC's.

Question: Do I need a screen reader to use WebText Reader?
Answer: No, WebText Reader is self-voicing and does not require a screen reader. By default, WebText Reader uses the Microsoft SAPI voices that are installed during installation, but it will use other SAPI voices including ETI Eloquence voices if you have them.

Question: Can I use my screen reader with WebText Reader?
Answer: Yes, although we don't recommend it. WebText Reader is designed to give its user's an exceptional audio experience using its internal voice processing. If you decide to use your screen reader, you should turn on WebText Readers Quiet mode, so your screen reader's voice and WebText Reader's voice do not collide. When Quiet mode is active, WebText Reader's voice, audio prompts, audio cues, and the programs automatic cursoring features are disabled.

Question: Can I use a Braille display with WebText Reader?
Answer: Yes, if you have a screen reader that supports Braille displays. WebText Reader always displays its menus and the content it retrieves from the Web, on screen as text.

Question: What kind of Internet connection do I need?
Answer: WebText Reader can use virtually any Internet connection. Even with a slow Internet connection WebText Reader shines. If you want, you can have WebText Reader manage your Internet connection for you with it's Auto Connect feature. Auto Connect automatically connects to and disconnects from America Online or any dial-up ISP (Internet Service Provider) that uses standard DUN (Dial Up Networking). ISP's that require a special dialer program like NetZero or Juno must be connected manually before starting WebText Reader and cannot utilize the Auto Connect feature.

Installing

Question: What are the system requirements for WebText Reader?
Answer: WebText Reader will run on Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows 2000, Windows NT 4.0 (Service Pack 5 or later) and Windows XP. It requires an 233 megahertz Intel Pentium or compatible processor, 32 megabytes of RAM, Internet Explorer 5.05 or later, Sound Blaster or compatible sound card and speakers.

Question: Why does WebText Reader require the Internet Explorer browser?
Answer: Although WebText Reader does not directly use Internet Explorer, WebText Reader does use several libraries which are included with Internet Explorer. These libraries are part of the base operating system under Windows ME, Windows 2000, Windows NT 4.0 (Service Pack 5 or later) and Windows XP. Because these libraries are not part of the base operating system in Windows 95 or Windows 98, it is required that Internet Explorer 5.05 or later is installed on these systems.

Question: How do I install the program using the WebText Reader CD?
Answer: Insert the CD into your CD-ROM drive and the setup program will automatically start. Just follow the audio instructions to complete the installation of the program.

Question: Why doesn't the setup program start when I put the WebText Reader CD into my drive?
Answer: If the setup program doesn't automatically start after inserting the CD, Autorun has been disabled on your system. To temporarily activate Autorun on your system, hold down one of the SHIFT keys on your keyboard when you insert a CD. If that doesn't work, use the following instructions to start the setup program manually. Please Note: If your CD-ROM drive letter is not D, replace D with the letter of your drive in the Step 3 below.

Step 1: Insert the CD into your CD-ROM drive.
Step 2: On your Start Menu choose Run.
Step 3: Type D:\SETUP and press Enter.
Step 4: Follow the audio instructions to complete the installation of the program.

Operating


Question: How easy is WebText Reader to learn?
Answer: Exceedingly easy. Our usability tests show that even people with very little computer knowledge can begin using WebText Reader immediately after installation without any training.

Question: How do I type in a web site address I want to visit?
Answer: Unfortunately you can't, WebText Reader only visits predefined web sites. You can search the content of most of the web sites WebText Reader visits to find information.

Question: Can I request a specific web site to be included in WebText Reader?
Answer: Yes, we will be glad to take your suggestion. We are continually expanding the content that WebText Reader delivers and the most suggested web sites will be our top priority for inclusion.

Question: Why does the program say "Waiting for Internet Connection" after connecting to my ISP?
Answer: Sometimes you don't immediately get an Internet connection after connecting to your ISP. When you hear the "Waiting for Internet Connection" message, WebText Reader is actually waiting for a connection before it attempts to access a web site.

Question: How do I change the volume?
Answer: There is no volume setting in WebText Reader, simply adjust the volume knob on your speakers, or use Windows volume control located in the system tray of the task bar.

Question: Why does the program sometimes say "End of Paragraph" when I press the Page Down key, rather than advancing to the next paragraph?
Answer: You have Sticky Keys turned on. If Sticky Keys are on, each time you press an Alt, Control, or Shift key, it remains active for 10 seconds. You apparently pressed the Control key to stop the synthesizer, then you pressed the Page Down key to advance to the next paragraph. Since Sticky keys are on you actually pressed Control Page Down which is the keystroke to go to the End of Paragraph. If you want to keep Sticky Keys on and want to avoid this from happening press the Space Bar instead of the Control key to stop the synthesizer. Please Note: Sticky Keys are on, by default. To turn Sticky Keys off, or on, select Keyboard Settings on the Settings Menu, then choose Sticky Keys Mode.

Ordering

Question: Can I order the Trial Version on CD?
Answer: Yes, the cost of a WebText Reader CD-ROM is $5.00 USD. Click on the Purchase link above for more information.

Troubleshooting

Question: A message stating "WebText Reader could not initialize the Microsoft Text-to-Speech engine" played, what should I do?
Answer: This problem is caused by the Microsoft SAPI drivers being missing, corrupted, or obsolete. During the installation of WebText Reader if you did not accept the Microsoft License Agreement by pressing Y on your keyboard, the speech engine was not installed. You can try reinstalling WebText Reader or if you have a WebText Reader CD-ROM you can run the spchapi.exe (Microsoft SAPI) install program and then run mstts.exe (Microsoft Text-to-Speech engine) install program.

Question: Why is WebText Reader's voice choppy?
Answer: If you are using another speech enabled program at the same time you are using WebText Reader the speech quality can be affected. If possible close the other program or disable its speech while you are using WebText Reader. If you are not using another speech enabled program please contact us so we can determine the reason for your problem.