Ectaco Partner ER-X8 User manual

Partner®X8 User's Manual
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CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION -------------------------------------------------------------------------4
General View ----------------------------------------------------------------------------6
Power Supply----------------------------------------------------------------------------6
Initialization-------------------------------------------------------------------------------8
Keyboard ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------9
Display ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11
ENGLISH LANGUAGE TUTOR------------------------------------------------------ 19
How to Install or Remove the Card ---------------------------------------------- 20
Interactive Course-------------------------------------------------------------------- 20
DICTIONARY ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 26
MAIN DICTIONARY ------------------------------------------------------------------- 26
General Dictionary Function------------------------------------------------------- 27
DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE -------------------------------- 27
General Dictionary Function------------------------------------------------------- 27
HOW TO USE THE DICTIONARIES---------------------------------------------- 28
Advanced Word Recognition ------------------------------------------------------ 28
Voice Input ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 29
Parts of Speech, Gender Labels, Abbreviations ----------------------------- 29
Phonetic Transcription -------------------------------------------------------------- 31
Viewing Entries ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 32
Spell-checker Vector Ultima----------------------------------------------------- 34
Instant Reverse Translation and Instant Explanation----------------------- 35
Pronunciation of Words and Sentences---------------------------------------- 36
SUPPLEMENTAL DICTIONARIES ------------------------------------------------ 37
German-Russian Dictionary ------------------------------------------------------- 37
User’s Dictionary --------------------------------------------------------------------- 38
Learner’s Cards----------------------------------------------------------------------- 42
TEXT TRANSLATION----------------------------------------------------------------- 44
VOICE PHRASEBOOK --------------------------------------------------------------- 45
ACCENT CORRECTION------------------------------------------------------------- 47
REFERENCE---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 50
Irregular Verbs ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 50
Popular Idioms ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 51
ORGANIZER ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 52
PHONE DIRECTORY ----------------------------------------------------------------- 52
MEMO ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 56
SCHEDULER---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 58
CALENDAR ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 62
DRAWING BOARD -------------------------------------------------------------------- 63

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VOICE MEMO--------------------------------------------------------------------------- 65
PC COMMUNICATION --------------------------------------------------------------- 67
CALCULATIONS------------------------------------------------------------------------- 70
CALCULATOR -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 70
LOAN CALCULATOR ----------------------------------------------------------------- 70
ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT --------------------------------------------------------- 73
CURRENCY CONVERSION -------------------------------------------------------- 75
METRIC CONVERSION-------------------------------------------------------------- 77
SIZE EQUIVALENTS------------------------------------------------------------------ 78
REFERENCE ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 79
LOCAL AND WORLD TIME --------------------------------------------------------- 79
Local Time------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 79
World Time----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 83
TRAVEL GUIDE ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 84
TELEPHONE CODES----------------------------------------------------------------- 85
GAME CENTER ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 85
Mastermind----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 86
Tile5-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 86
Brick Game----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 87
Hangman ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 88
ENGLISH NAMES---------------------------------------------------------------------- 89
PHONE WIZARD ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 90
CROSSWORD SOLVER ------------------------------------------------------------- 90
USA INTERVIEW----------------------------------------------------------------------- 91
SETUP--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 92
INTERFACE LANGUAGE------------------------------------------------------------ 92
SYSTEM SETUP ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 93
Key Tone ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 93
First Screen ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 93
Auto Shutoff Period ------------------------------------------------------------------ 94
Touch Screen Calibration ---------------------------------------------------------- 94
Adult Lock ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 95
Speech Level -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 95
Audio Settings------------------------------------------------------------------------- 96
Scheduler Alarm ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 96
Date Format --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 97
Time Format --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 97
Russian Keyboard Mode ----------------------------------------------------------- 97
PC-Link Baud Rate ------------------------------------------------------------------ 98
Battery Check ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 98
SECURITY ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 98

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MEMORY CHECK ------------------------------------------------------------------- 101
DATA DELETION -------------------------------------------------------------------- 101
BRIEF OF FUNCTIONS ------------------------------------------------------------ 102
ABOUT ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 102

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INTRODUCTION
Congratulations on purchasing the English-Russian Translator &
Language Learning System Partner®X8! This product is the result
of combined efforts of Ectaco’s staff of linguists, engineers, and
programmers. You are now the owner of the most advanced
electronic device ever produced for foreign language studies.
The Partner®X8 features:
Interactive English Language Tutor
Main dictionary (English-Russian bidirectional dictionary) of
over 1,000,000 words, including idioms, medical, technical,
legal, and business terms, as well as slang and general
expressions
Dictionary of the English Language
German-Russian bidirectional dictionary of 250,000 words
Complete Guide to English Grammar, Vocabulary and
Phonetics
US citizenship exam preparation guide
Most popular American idioms
English irregular verbs
Advanced English speech synthesis
Fully automated text translation
New word recording function
Instant Reverse Translation
Advanced word recognition system
The MorphoFinder
 function
The Voice Input function
Personal word lists for easy learning
Interactive phonetic practice with accent correction
Award winning Vector Ultima
 bilingual spell-checking system
Over 1,100 useful phrases in the English-Russian Voice
Phrasebook with English and Russian speech recognition
2 MB English/Russian organizer with search function

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Comprehensive reference section featuring Travel Guide,
English Names List, Local and World time with map illustration
etc.
Game center with four games
Crossword solver with educational functions
Standard and Scientific Calculators
Account Management
Digital Voice Recorder
Currency and Metric converters
High-speed data exchange and synchronization with PC
Bilingual Interface
Alarm and Audio Scheduler Reminder
Talking Clock
Calendar
Adult Lock
Data protection system
External power jack for non-battery operation
Headphone jack
The latest speech technology employed by Partner®X8 allows you
to listen to a clear pronunciation of English words and phrases.
Unlike other portable electronic dictionaries, this model features a
break-through combination of two parallel input devices −a well-
designed 72-button keyboard and a high-resolution touch-sensitive
display, which makes it functionally analogous to a mouse-equipped
computer. Besides, English voice input is possible in the
Dictionaries section.
♦Note: As continuous efforts are made by the manufacturer to
ensure a better quality and performance of the Partner®products,
some characteristics or the design of the actual device you
purchased may slightly differ from their description in this
manual.
The Partner®X8 gives you freedom of speech and communication.
Enjoy your Partner®X8 and make it your companion!

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General View
The general view and external appliances of the Partner®X8 are
shown below.
Power Supply
The Partner®X8 is powered by four AAA (LR03) batteries or by a
special rechargeable battery pack. When the batteries or
accumulators become weak, a warning message will be displayed.
In order to prevent an excessive discharge of the batteries or
accumulators and a resulting loss of data in RAM, the voice
recording, talking function, and communication channel will be
disabled.

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♦Note: When the Batteries Low! message is displayed, the energy
consuming Text-to-Speech function is disabled. The other voice
functions, e.g. Voice Memo, may still remain working.
♦Note: The voice recording, talking, and electronic communication
functions consume a considerable amount of energy. It is
recommended to use an external power supply while using these
functions.
To restore full functionality of the device and to avoid the risk of
losing user data, replace the complete set of batteries or recharge
the accumulators as soon as possible.
How to recharge the accumulators
♦Make sure the accumulators are inserted in the battery
compartment.
♦Note: Only special accumulators – rechargeable battery pack 1
may be used with your Partner®X8.
♦Connect an AC/DC adapter to your device.
♦Note: The Partner®X8 is equipped with a jack for external power
supply.
♦Note: Use of an inappropriate external power supply may
cause failure of the device and void the warranty. The AC/DC
adapter should provide 9V and min 300mA DC.2
The red LED signal shows that the accumulators are recharging and
the green one shows that the accumulators are charged. The
recharge LED will glow when the adapter is connected to the
device.
♦Note: Accumulators (if inserted) are recharged every time you
connect the device adapter to electricity.
How to replace the batteries
•Press the key to turn the device off.
1Please communicate with an Ectaco office to get more information about
this rechargeable battery pack purchase.
2Contact your dealer to order the compatible AC/DC adapter or call +1(800)
710-7920 within the continental US or [phone] in Russia.

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♦Note: Never try to remove the batteries from the device when the
power is on. This can seriously damage the device. If you
experience difficulties turning the device off, press the RESET
button on the right-hand side of the keyboard (above the
button) and reinstall the system.
•Remove the battery compartment cover by sliding it away from
the device.
•Remove the used batteries and replace them with new ones.
♦Note: Do not mix old and new batteries.
•Make sure to place the batteries according to the polarity marks
(+ -) inside the compartment.
•Put back the battery compartment cover by sliding it toward the
device. Make sure the cover sits in place properly.
•Turn the device on to make sure it works correctly.
♦Note: You have two minutes to replace the batteries without risk
of losing the data stored in RAM. Do not exceed the two-
minute limit! Neither the manufacturer nor the dealer may be
held responsible for the loss of user data.
Initialization
The initialization routine is started:
•when the Partner®X8 is turned on for the first time;
•when you remove the batteries (e.g. when replacing them)
for longer than two minutes;
•after the system has been reset with the RESET button.
♦Note: The RESET button is located on the right-hand side of the
keyboard (over the button). It can be accessed with any thin
object like a paper clip. Never use a needle or a pin since it can
damage the device.
•If you see the Initialize system? message, press or touch
or to abort initialization and customization.
•If you confirm the prompt, the factory defined settings will be
restored, but you can still prevent the deletion of your data by

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canceling the ensuing prompt Delete all user’s data? Press
or touch or to preserve your data.
The System is initialized! message indicates that the system
initialization has been accomplished, freeing memory and restoring
the factory defined settings.
Also, the user may be prompted to conduct the touch-screen
calibration, which configures the proper spacing and alignment of
the touch-sensitive screen elements. Please refer to page 94 for the
procedure description.
After a completed system initialization, or when using the device for
the first time, the interface language will be reset to English. Users
who prefer to see menus and messages in Russian are referred to
page 92 for instructions.
Keyboard
The American standard QWERTY keyboard combined with the
Russian and German layouts allows you to enter any word just in
seconds.
Partner®X8 has standard and phonetic modes of entering Russian
letters:
Russian standard mode allows you to enter Russian letters
corresponding to the keyboard marks.
Russian phonetic mode allows you to enter Russian letters by their
phonetic consonance with English letters, e.g. you can press the F
button to enter the Russian letter “Ф”.
The table below shows the Russian and English layouts in the
Russian phonetic mode3.
3Press ALT to enter letters shown after the slash (/) in the table.

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q
я
w
ш
e
е
r
р
t
т
y
ы
u
у
i
и
o
о
p
п
х/ъ
щ/ъ
a
а
s
с
d
д
f
ф
g
г
h
ч
j
й
k
к
l
л
ж/э
ж/э
б/ю
ь/ю
z
з
x
х
c
ц
v
в
b
б
n
н
m
м
Each set of national characters is linked to its language input mode.
Language modes can be toggled by pressing the key. In the
English-Russian bidirectional dictionary and German-Russian
bidirectional dictionary, however, the input mode selection is made
automatically to comply with the current source language, and the
key is used for changing the translation direction.
The function and control keys are described below.
Function shortcut keys4
Turn the device On or Off
RESET Re-initialize system
Show Main Menu / Switch tab
Open Main Dictionary
Open Voice Phrasebook
Open Text Translation
Open English Language Tutor
Open System Setup
+u, tLaunch Spell-Checker
Use speech function
Control and editing keys
Í, ÎMove cursor or highlight
Ð, ÏMove cursor or highlight / Scroll lines
u, tPage by screen / Switch Main Menu tab
4Key1+Key2 here and further on signifies the combination of keys to use -
first press and release Key1, then press and release Key2.

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Execute
Enter space / Check or uncheck boxes
Close active window / Cancel
Enter symbols from the two-letter keys5
Type in uppercase / Enter additional
symbols6
+ Clear input
Caps Lock On or Off
+ÏCopy selection or the entire text to
clipboard
+ÐInsert clipboard contents
Delete character to the left of cursor
+ÍDelete character to the right of cursor
+ÎToggle Insert / Overwrite
… Activate toolbar buttons7
Switch language or translation direction
Computational symbols and operations are available in the
Calculator section.
Display
The Partner®X8 features a large-size touch screen with a
responsive and efficient windows-driven graphical interface.
5Use the ALT key to enter the lowercase Russian or German letters. To
obtain the uppercase images of the letters, press SHIFT or CAPS LOCK on
the keyboard first.
6Additional symbols are marked over the numeric keys.
7Commands and options associated with currently displayed Toolbar buttons
are also accessible from the keyboard by pressing the F1-F8 keys with the
corresponding number, counting buttons from top to bottom.

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Touch-screen elements
By touching a screen item of a certain type – a push button or pre-
highlighted text – you perform an action associated with this item.
The keyboard equivalent of touching the highlighted item is moving
the highlight bar to it with the arrow keys (Í,Î,Ð,Ï) and pressing
.
Both the touch screen and the keyboard procedures of activating an
option or a command are referred to as selecting in this manual.
Stylus
Touching is preferably done with the supplied pointing device called
the stylus, which, when not in use, can be conveniently kept in a
special slot at the base of the device’s case lid.
The stylus is especially useful for operations that cannot be
performed from the keyboard, for example, highlighting an arbitrary
text fragment in the Organizer sections or a multi-word translation in
a dictionary entry.
♦Note: If, for some reason, using the stylus does not provide the
desired effect, use , and the arrow keys
(Í,Î,Ð,Ï) to access the Touch Screen Calibration procedure
(see page 94).
MAIN MENU
The MAIN MENU appears as a row of tabs at the top of the screen
when the device is turned on (unless the Resume screen setup
option has been selected, see page 93) or an application is closed,
or the key is pressed.
The MAIN MENU is divided into six submenus, each of which
includes a number of related sections.

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Sections may also include subsections and various lower level
options.
The six parts of the MAIN MENU are:
English Language Tutor
Dictionary
Organizer
Calculations
Reference
Setup
Opening a Submenu
The easiest way to open a specific submenu when the MAIN MENU
is displayed is by touching a corresponding tab at the top of the
screen.
Alternatively, the submenus can be chosen by pressing the
key or one of the paging t,ukeys on the keyboard.
Opening a Section
To open a section in the Partner®X8, display the appropriate part of
the MAIN MENU and do one of the following:
•touch the section name
•move the highlight bar to the section name and press
•press the numeric key corresponding to the section number.

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Sidebar
Sidebar ▼
Nine sections of Partner®X8 have permanent touch-sensitive
shortcut buttons on the Sidebar to the right of the screen:
Main Dictionary Voice Memo
English
(Explanatory)
Dictionary Game Center
Phone Directory
Scheduler
Local Time (Pop-Up
Window and Talking
Clock)
Calendar Calculator
Touchpad
Touchpad is a set of virtual keys displayed on the screen. This set
of keys simulates the conventional physical keyboard or part of it.
The touchpad shown below is the most widely used throughout the
Partner® X8 applications.
The basic touchpad layout contains the letters of the respective
alphabet and a set of symbols. The control key images have the
following meaning:

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Touch key Meaning Keyboard equivalent
Backspace
Enter
Shift
Caps Lock
Input the German
letters ü, ö, ä, ß
Change language
Touching the keyboard button in the lower-right corner of the
screen or pressing F8 on the keyboard hides the touchpad, thus
enlarging the visible input area. To re-display the touchpad, touch
or press F8 again.
Windows
Every application, pop-up menu, or dialog box used in the Partner®
X8 appears in its own window.
A window is displayed as a framed screen area with two main
elements: the Title Bar and the Close Button.
The Title Bar may show the name of the currently active section or a
message title. Any window can be closed either by pressing
on the physical keyboard or by touching the Close Button in the
upper-right corner of the window.
The Vertical or Horizontal Scroll Bars might also be present in a
window. The Scroll Box shows the position of the displayed contents
relative to the rest of data.

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On a Scroll Bar:
•touch a Scroll Arrow or to advance or go back one line;
•touch and drag the Scroll Box to browse information;
•touch the Scroll Bar below or above the Scroll Box to jump to
the corresponding portion of text.
Pop-Up and Pull-Down Menus
A pop-up menu is an overlapping window that requests the user’s
selection of one of the displayed options.
•Touch a line with the stylus or move the highlight bar to a line
with the arrow keys and press .
Aside from pop-up menus, non-window pull-down menus may be
used. The button on the screen indicates a hidden pull-down
menu.
•Touch the arrow button to pull down a menu.

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•To select an option, touch its name or highlight it and press
.
•To hide a menu without making a selection, press or touch
the screen outside the menu area.
Dialog Box
A simple example of a dialog box is a prompt, which contains a
Yes/No question pending the user’s confirmation or cancellation.
Ways you can respond to a prompt:
Touch Meaning Keyboard
equivalent
Yes , Y
No N
Cancel
A Setup prompt expects the user to specify data items directly in the
dialog box. This can imply either checking boxes or setting values.
Checking boxes

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•To check an empty box touch it or move the dotted frame
to the desired item with the arrow keys and press on
the keyboard. A checked box appears solid: .
•Touch or press to apply the changes and close
the window.
Setting Values
•To change a value in the highlighted box, touch the , buttons
or press the Ï,Ðkeys.
•To change the active box, touch it or use the Í,Îkeys.
•Touch or press to save settings and close the
window.
Message Box
A message just requests the acknowledgement of information.
•To close the message box, touch or where available.
The Partner®X8 does not allow moving or switching active
windows. Thus, you will have to close an overlapping window in
order to proceed.

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Toolbar
A Toolbar is a set of vertically arranged buttons appearing to the
right of the pertaining window.
The most frequently used Toolbar buttons are:
Page Up Save
Page Down Edit
Scroll Up Delete
Scroll Down Search
OK (Apply) Settings
New Say
Explain Spell-Checker
Translate Font size
As an on-board help to the user, a short Toolbar button description
(Tool tip) appears when a button is being touched.
Commands and options associated with currently displayed Toolbar
buttons are also accessible from the keyboard by pressing the F1-
F8 keys with the corresponding number, counting the buttons from
top to bottom.
ENGLISH LANGUAGE TUTOR
English Language Tutor is the reigning feature of your Partner®X8.
With its help you can learn English fast and easy. The English
Language Tutor course is stored on the special card provided in the
standard package. Please visit Ectaco's Web site www.ectaco.com
for more information.

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How to Install or Remove the Card
•Make sure the device is turned off and there is no other card
installed in the CF slot of your Partner®X8.
•Pull the ejector switch down to set it to the Unlock position.
•Insert the English Language Tutor card into the CF slot
thoroughly.
•Set the ejector switch to the Lock position.
♦Note: Always use the ejector when installing or removing the
card.
♦Note: Never insert or remove the card when the device is on.
Use the ON/OFF button to turn the device off.
♦Note: Use of unspecified cards may cause device failure and
possible loss of user's data. Always use the original English
Language Tutor cards manufactured by Ectaco, Inc.
•To eject the card, set the ejector switch to the Unlock position
and move it towards the Eject B Card mark.
•Remove the English Language Tutor card from the slot.
Interactive Course
When the English Language Tutor card is installed into the
Partner®X8, the new advanced method of learning English
becomes available.
•Press the ON/OFF button to turn the device on.
•Select English Tutor from the MAIN MENU or press the
key.
You will be prompted to register.