Thanks.
Jenny and my goofy guide Brooks
On Mar 19, 2012, at 5:05 PM, Esther <mori...@mac.com> wrote:
> Hi Jenny,
>
> In practice the Prizmo program is not complicated to use. The actual sequence
> of gestures are:
> 1) Open the app and flick right to "Text", which is the first listed source
> type, and double tap
> 2) On the next page, flick right to the "Camera" button and double tap
> 3) If you want to use the new iOS 5 feature of taking a picture by pressing
> the volume up button, you don't need to do any set up, and when you're on the
> "Camera" screen you only need to center the iPhone's camera on the page --
> which means putting the top right corner in the center -- and lift the iPhone
> about seven inches from the page, listening for when you hear "autofocused".
> If you don't turn on the speech control, you'll hear everything at normal
> volume.
> 4) When you've lifted the iPhone to a height around 7 inches above a standard
> letter sheet, press the volume up button on the side, taking care to hold the
> iPhone as steady as possible while you hear the shutter click. This is the
> stage at which using the speech control can improve results, because in most
> instances tapping buttons on the screen introduces a slight motion and
> blurring when the picture is taken. It's a bit easier to do this without
> motion shake using the volume control to take a picture under iOS 5. The
> other way to do this and minimize motion shake without using speech control
> by saying "Take Picture" is to put one finger on the "Take Picture" button
> just above the "Home" button on the "Camera" screen just before you lift the
> iPhone. Try to hold things steady when you've lifted the phone to seven
> inches, and gently tap another finger on the screen to activate this button
> with a split tap gesture.
> 5) Flick to the "Use" button or just touch it in the bottom right corner of
> the screen and double tap. This is also the last element on the screen, so
> you can alternatively use a four finger tap on the bottom of the screen to
> navigate to this button.
> 6) Flick to the "Next" button (top right corner) and double tap
> 7) Wait for the "Processing" message to finish, and for "Edit" screen to be
> announced. You can read the OCR results from this screen. If you want to
> edit to make corrections, double tap in the text area and make changes.
> Double tap the "Done" button at the top right corner, which will turn in to a
> "Next" button. Then double tap the "Next" button (top right corner).
> 8) At the bottom of the "Text" screen are option buttons to "Copy" or "Mail"
> among other things. Flick to the one you want and double tap. I usually
> don't bother to save the results within the Prizmo app, but you can do so by
> double tapping the "Save" button at the top right corner.
>
> Notice that most of the length in these instructions involve explanations of
> different options (in step 4) and what other buttons do. Prizmo actually
> gives full instructions at their web site, but they're visually oriented. My
> original description that Anne quoted is long, because it also explains
> control options like how to set up OCR for different languages. For English,
> all you have to do after taking the picture and double tapping "Use" is to
> keep double tapping the "Next" button in the top right corner until you want
> to mail or copy the results.
>
> Also, you don't have to use the Light Detector app. I just take it out and
> pan across the page to check the volume level before I use Prizmo. That's it.
>
> HTH. Cheers,
>
> Esther
>
> On Mar 19, 2012, at 10:55 AM, Jenny Keller wrote:
>
>> That sounds way too complicated for me. Is there an easier program?
>>
>> Also is there a bar code reader ap and what info does it tell you?
>>
>>
>>
>> Jenny and my goofy guide Brooks
>>
>> On Mar 19, 2012, at 2:07 PM, Anne Robertson <a...@anarchie.org.uk> wrote:
>>
>>> Hello Paul,
>>>
>>> The Light Detector app is just called Light Detector and you just launch it
>>> and it plays a tone which rises with the light level.
>>>
>>>
>>> Here are the instructions for Prizmo that Esther posted a little while ago.
>>>
>>> Cheers,
>>>
>>> Anne
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> One of the features that contributes to Prizmo's increased effectiveness
>>> for visually impaired users is the ability to take pictures with speech
>>> control, by saying, "Take Picture", which reduces the likelihood of a
>>> blurred image due to moving the phone when you double or split tap a button
>>> to take a picture. You turn this feature on in the Settings menu by double
>>> tapping the "Settings" button in the top right corner of the main Prizmo
>>> screen. Flick right to the "General Settings" button under the "Settings"
>>> heading and double tap. On the "General Settings" screen, flick right past
>>> the "Capture" heading and set the "Alignment Grid" to "Switch button, off",
>>> then set the "Speech Control" to "Switch button, on". I believe both
>>> switches are turned on by default, but it is several months since I
>>> configured Prizmo. I'm not sure whether turning off the "Alignment Grid" is
>>> necessary, but you certainly don't need it to be displayed, since you can't
>>> see it while using the camera. Once you have checked that these settings
>>> are in place, double tap the "Settings, back button" in the top left corner
>>> to return to the "Settings" screen, then double tap the "Done" button in
>>> the top right corner to return to the main Prizmo screen.
>>>
>>> The main Prizmo screen has a list of types of documents to scan and OCR,
>>> followed by a "Documents" button at the bottom of the screen that are
>>> results you want to store in the app. In general, you will choose to
>>> double tap "Text" (the first listed entry).
>>>
>>> The app works in 3 stages, which are indicated by the 3 buttons at the
>>> bottom of the the next ("Photo") screen: (1) Source (obtaining the image
>>> using the Camera -- can also use previous images from your photo album
>>> taken outside the app), (2) Image (options to apply corrections to image
>>> before OCR -- generally requires vision to perform actions, such as
>>> cropping to only include the part of the image that contains text or
>>> correct for distorted pictures because you didn't hold the iPhone flat),
>>> and (3) OCR (perform the OCR with an option to choose the language to
>>> improve the OCR), then display the results for editing, copying, etc. or
>>> saving in the app's stored "Documents". You can navigate through the app
>>> without ever using these buttons, just by double tapping the "Next" button
>>> in the top right corner of the screen to move through each stage, and
>>> that's probably the easiest way to use the app when you get started,
>>> especially if you only work with documents in English. However, if you want
>>> to OCR a document in a different language, you can improve your results by
>>> double tapping the "OCR" button (third or three at the bottom right corner
>>> of the screen) and then flicking left to the language button (e.g.,
>>> "English") in the row of option buttons for that screen, and double
>>> tapping. You'll be able to double tap another language from the list of 10
>>> available languages. (Note that you will not hear "selected" announced
>>> beside the currently selected language in the list, but you can only exit
>>> the "Language" menu by either double tapping a new language selection or by
>>> double tapping the "Cancel" button in the top right corner. Once you have
>>> changed the language (e.g., to French) and returned to the "Photo" screen
>>> with the OCR button set, you should hear the new language, "French",
>>> announced if you flick left to that button.) Setting the OCR language
>>> before applying the "next" button improves the recognition of words with
>>> accented characters -- otherwise I may get a "6" for an "e" with acute
>>> accent, and other such examples.
>>>
>>> Here's the sequence for the iPhone 4, assuming that you have configured the
>>> "Settings" menu as outlined earlier. It is very helpful to use the $0.99
>>> "Light Detector" app to check lighting conditions and also get a sense of
>>> the optimal centering and height of the iPhone above the page before you
>>> use Prizmo. (You can hear when the "Light Detector" signal is loudest if
>>> you move the phone up and down or left/right and forwards/back with respect
>>> to the page. This only gives a rough sense of where to position the phone
>>> when you use Prizmo, but if you can't hear any difference in signal with
>>> Light Detector when you move the phone around over the page, chances are
>>> that either the background light level is too low to take a good image, or
>>> you're blocking the light source with part of your body. You should also
>>> use a headset connected to the headphone jack, since as soon as the iPhone
>>> camera is accessed in a mode that is capable of responding to your spoken
>>> "Take Picture" command the volume of VoiceOver through the speaker will
>>> drop, and not get restored until you exit the camera screen either by
>>> double tapping the "Use" button in the bottom right corner of the screen or
>>> the "Retake" button in the bottom left corner of the screen.
>>>
>>> 1) From the main Prizmo screen, double tap "Text"
>>> 2) On the Photo screen, flick right to the "Camera" button that is the
>>> first of the 3 "Get text from picture" source options, near the bottom of
>>> the screen, and double tap
>>> 3) On the iPhone 4 Camera screen (no heading), there are three buttons at
>>> the top: one for the "Flash" at the top left and one for "Camera Chooser"
>>> at the top right. In between is an unlabeled "Button" that toggles on and
>>> off the speech control function when the switch for that option is turned
>>> on under the "General Settings" submenu of the "Settings" menu. If the
>>> switch for the speech control option is not turned on in "Settings", this
>>> unlabeled button will not appear on the screen. If, when you enter the
>>> Camera screen, your phone does not vibrate, and VoiceOver's volume through
>>> the speaker does not immediately drop, then the ability to use speech
>>> control to take a picture by saying "Take Picture" on this screen has not
>>> been toggled on, and you will have to double tap that unlabeled button to
>>> the left of the "Camera Chooser" button to activate this function. Once you
>>> toggle on the speech control function, your iPhone should vibrate, and the
>>> volume of VoiceOver through the speaker should immediately drop. I believe
>>> that the first time you access the Camera screen, speech control is toggled
>>> off (i.e., you can do a two finger flick down to "Read All" the controls on
>>> the screen and hear everything announced through the speaker). If you
>>> double tap the unlabeled button at the top of the screen to turn on voice
>>> control of the camera shutter, then whenever you enter the Camera screen
>>> your speaker volume will automatically be lowered, requiring use of
>>> headphones. Presumably this is to get a good trigger when you say, "Take
>>> Picture". Your speaker volume will remain lowered until you leave the
>>> Camera screen (either by double tapping the "Use" button in the bottom
>>> right corner after taking a photo, or by double tapping the "Cancel" button
>>> in the bottom left corner to leave the screen without taking a picture), or
>>> until you
>>> toggle the speech control feature off by double tapping the unlabeled
>>> button at the top of the screen again. (Note, if you become very confident
>>> and proficient in the layout of the camera screen, so you can double tap
>>> the "Use" button in the bottom left corner without a VoiceOver prompt, you
>>> can run this without headphones. Alternatively, if you're at home in a
>>> quiet setting you may still be able to hear VoiceOver through the lowered
>>> speaker volume and also work without headphones. Also, if you're fast at
>>> getting the iPhone to the correct height and level before you hear the
>>> buzz, and then say "Take Picture", you can work without headphones. But in
>>> general, be prepared to use headphones when you use voice control for the
>>> camera shutter.)
>>> 4) Revisiting step 3. Assuming you set your speech control on, and exited
>>> the Camera screen (e.g. by double tapping the "Cancel" button in the bottom
>>> left corner), you can start the process again, with your headphones
>>> connected. After double tapping the "Text" button (Step 1) and before
>>> double tapping the "Camera" button (Step 2), place your iPhone on the page
>>> you want to OCR using the edges of the paper to align the sides of the
>>> device. Center the iPhone so that the camera lens (top right corner as you
>>> normally hold the device) is approximately in the center of the page. (If
>>> you use a case, make sure that the back of the case does not block the
>>> camera lens). Sandy has mentioned suggestions like lightly folding the
>>> page in half length-wise and width-wise to guide positioning and aligning
>>> the iPhone, in the case of practicing with a sheet of letter paper. Make
>>> sure that you flatten the paper because failing to keep either the page or
>>> the iPhone flat when you take the picture will cause some of the letters to
>>> show up as tildes; this is typical if you scan a book page and haven't
>>> flattened the section near the spine enough.
>>> 5) Double tap or split tap the "Camera" button, then, using two hands to
>>> make sure you keep the iPhone level, raise it steadily up from the page to
>>> a height of about 7 to 9 inches. (Nine inches is roughly twice the length
>>> of the iPhone.) You'll feel the iPhone vibrate, and then VoiceOver will
>>> announce "auto-focused". At this point you can say "Take Picture" and hear
>>> the shutter close. (You'll probably start by lifting the iPhone too slowly
>>> to reach 7-9 inches before you feel the vibration and hear "auto focused".
>>> Say "Take Picture" anyway -- your image is more likely to be in focus. The
>>> actual distance you lift depends on the size of the page. Small billings
>>> only require about 6 or 7 inches. I practice lifting and then check the
>>> distance I've lifted an iPhone against the handspan of one hand, which for
>>> me is 7 inches, but I have small hands.
>>> 6) Double tap the "Use" button in the bottom right corner of the screen.
>>> This is the last element on the screen, so you can also just use a four
>>> finger tap on the bottom of the screen and then double tap. (I preferred
>>> the four finger swipe down, but this is the current gesture for moving tot
>>> he end of the screen.)
>>> 7) On the next screen flick right the "Next" button in the top right corner
>>> and double tap. You'll move to a screen labeled "Processing"
>>> 8) The results of the OCR will show up in an "Edit" screen which will let
>>> you review and edit your results.
>>> 9) Double tap the "Next" button in the top right corner when done. You can
>>> Save your results, or copy them, mail or upload them. Options such as copy
>>> or email are listed as buttons along the bottom of the screen. Do a three
>>> finger flick left to hear the second page of options, which include
>>> MobileMe, DropBox, etc.
>>>
>
> --
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
> "MacVisionaries" group.
> To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com.
> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
> macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com.
> For more options, visit this group at
> http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en.
>
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
"MacVisionaries" group.
To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com.
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit this group at
http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en.
