ZYGO PolyTABLET User manual

ZYGO PolyTABLET with Persona
ZYGO Industries, Inc. PO Box 1008, Portland, OR 97207-1008
U.S.A. /Canada: [phone] TEL: [phone] FAX: [phone]
Web site: www.zygo-usa.com E-mail: [e-mail]
Quick Start Guide for PolyTABLET with Persona
Answers to Frequently Asked Questions
Turn on the power switch on the right hand side of the device face (the "O" circle). This is also the off
switch. PolyTABLET will return to where it was when it was turned off. If the Persona program is
running you are ready to start typing and talking or using phrases from the phrase bank. If you are in
another program, close it using the X in the upper right corner on the screen.
If Persona is not running, you can start Persona with the Start Programs menu or double click on the
desktop icon for Persona. (If the Start menu bar is not displayed, you can drag your finger nail or the
stylus pen to the bottom edge of the screen to bring up the Start menu. You may have to use the
keyboard, on-screen or external, to press <ctrl> + <esc> to see the Start menu.)
Talking with Persona
To begin speaking, type text into the application window. When you have the phrase on the screen,
you can speak by pressing the <Esc> key on a keyboard, or you can press the Speak button on the
top of the screen. Settings for speech output can be to speak every character, speak each word when
you press the space bar, speak each sentence when you press a punctuation mark, or speak all when
you are ready. If you are talking to someone over the phone, it is best to use the speak each word
setting to keep the listener involved in the conversation while you type. Replay the entire message for
them when you have finished the sentence.
Word prediction will appear on the left side of the screen if it is turned on in Preferences. Press the
number next to the desired word to select a predicted word, or touch the word on the screen. If you
need to type a number from one to six, check mark the Numbers box in the word prediction window.
As you type, Persona will learn the words you use, as well as word sequences. This may save you
lots of keystrokes for words and phrases you speak often.
Phrase Bank
To select a stored message or to add a new phrase to the library, press the Phrase button on the top
of the screen. Scroll down to the phrase you want, or type the first letter of the phrase to jump to that
area of the phrases. Press <Enter> or double click on the message to speak it (or use the <Esc> key
when phrase is highlighted).
Add messages to the Phrase Bank that you feel you might use often. This will save you time.

ZYGO PolyTABLET with Persona
ZYGO Industries, Inc. PO Box 1008, Portland, OR 97207-1008
U.S.A. /Canada: [phone] TEL: [phone] FAX: [phone]
Web site: www.zygo-usa.com E-mail: [e-mail]
Abbreviation Expansion (Ab/Ex )
In addition to the Phrase Bank, you can store short cuts to phrases you use often. Persona can learn
an acronym and expand it out to a phrase for you. For example, you might use "cc" to expand out to
"May I please have a cup of coffee?", or "mn" to expand out to "My name is Doug."
Type out the long message on the screen. Highlight the message by dragging your finger or stylus on
the screen. Select the menu item Edit, AbEx. The cursor should be in the Abbreviation: box waiting for
you to type in a two or three character acronym, and the phrase you typed out should be in the
Expansion: box. Type in the abbreviation and press the Accept button to save the new
abbreviation/expansion. Be careful not to use a word as the acronym, like "TO" for "time out".
After you Close the AbEx dialogue box, try out your new AbEx. Clear the screen by highlighting the
text, or selecting <ctrl> + Ato highlight all the text on the screen, or pressing the <clear> button, then
type the new acronym followed by the spacebar.
Speech Exception (Sp/Ex)
Not all the words we spell sound the way we would want to say them. You can teach Persona to
speak words phonetically so that they sound better to you.
Type out the word the way it should be spelled. Highlight the word. Select the menu item Edit, SpEx.
The cursor should be in the Correct Spelling: box. Type out the word as it should be spelled if it isn't
there already. Move the cursor to the Correct Pronunciation: box and type out a phonetic way of
speaking the desired word. You can hear it by pressing the Test button. Once it sounds the way you
want it, press the Accept button, then Close the box.
Try it. Change the word "latte" from sounding like "lat", to pronounce it as "lottay".
ISpk (Instant Speak)
Press the ISpk button to enter Instant Speak. This is a second conversation window. When in ISpk,
type in the message. Phrase will speak after punctuation. Phrase will erase after next key press (only
one phrase at a time is allowed here, versus long monologues in the main text window). Close this
window and you are back to the main text window where you left off.
Stored Conversations
You can prepare a dialogue for a conversation you are going to have and save it for later. Clear the
screen. Type out your side of a future conversation. Then go into the File menu and Save the script as
a file.
For example, if you know that you are going to see your best friend, type out greetings for when they
arrive, questions about them, stories about what is going on with you, or whatever you want to talk
about. Save the entire conversation as "Visit with Marie". Then when Marie arrives, go into the File
menu, Open the Marie file, and speak the sentences you have prepared. You can always type more
during the conversation, or use ISpk to talk about things you hadn't saved yet.

ZYGO PolyTABLET with Persona
ZYGO Industries, Inc. PO Box 1008, Portland, OR 97207-1008
U.S.A. /Canada: [phone] TEL: [phone] FAX: [phone]
Web site: www.zygo-usa.com E-mail: [e-mail]
Switch & Scanning
If you wish to use Persona with switch and scanning follow these instructions to connect the switch
and activate the scan array:
Connecting the switch to PolyTABLET is as follows:
1. plug the switch cable into the 3.5 mm Single Switch jack in the back of the device
Changing Set-ups
Next you have to activate the scanning part of the software as follows:
1. Click on the File menu, then select Preferences
2. On the Input tab, check mark the Scan box to activate the scanning screen instead of
Keyboard
3. Select other scanning set-ups as desired.
a. Choose the type of on-screen keyboard layout: ABCDE, QWERTY, or EARDU
b. Choose a Scan Method of Row/Column or Linear.
c. An increase in Scan Rate makes the scan slower (it's the delay time)
4. Click the Close button to exit the set-ups, and the scan array will be on the screen
5. To get back to the preferences from scan mode, press <ctrl> + Pfrom the keyboard
With all this in-place you should be able to hit your switch and the scanning will start and you can
make your selections using the switch. You can return to the set-ups to change the scanning speed at
any time, or choose KB3 (keyboard 3), and go to SRate on the bottom row and make the scan speed
Faster or Slower.
Changing Set-ups —Preferences
There are four sections to the Preferences menu where you can change device settings. Click on the
File menu, then select Preferences.
1. On the Input tab, choose Keyboard or Scan. Check mark the Scan box to activate the
scanning screen if you are going to use a switch to select letters. If you check mark Scan, the
scanning options appear on screen.
2. Press on the Speech tab to change speech settings.
a. Choose the personality from the list of voices. Adjust pitch, speech rate or loudness.
b. Select the voice output style in Auto-Speak. You can have the system speak each
character as you type, each word when you press <space>, each sentence when you
press a punctuation mark, after the <enter> key, or when you press the on-screen
<Speak> button or the <esc> key.
3. On the General tab, choose how the software should handle situations.
a. Auto space puts a space after a punctuation
b. Auto capitalize will capitalize the first letter after a punctuation.
c. Clear text box will clear the screen when you type the next letter after a punctuation.
d. Sticky Keys will hold the <Shift> and <Control> key for one keystroke (useful for single
finger typist).
e. Check mark Enable Prediction to display predicted words as you type.
f. Check mark Learn New Words to track word use as you type. If you are making many
spelling errors, you can uncheck this box so you don't save errors.
g. Check Auto Save Words to save learned words in the prediction list.
4. Select the Appearance tab to change text font, font size, font color, and background color.

ZYGO PolyTABLET with Persona
ZYGO Industries, Inc. PO Box 1008, Portland, OR 97207-1008
U.S.A. /Canada: [phone] TEL: [phone] FAX: [phone]
Web site: www.zygo-usa.com E-mail: [e-mail]
Hidden Feature: How to set up subject categories in the Phrase bank
The phrase bank allows the user to store messages that may be used often. But only some versions
of Persona have the ability to assign categories to those messages so they can be applied quickly to
a given situation. Instead, they are stored alphabetically. "May I please have some..." will be stored
under "M"; "What's for dinner?" will be stored under "W".
You can create your own categories if you are a bit creative.
1. Assign a two or more letter code to the Category. e.g.: for “Breakfast” use “Bk”.
2. On the main screen, click on “Edit” and select “SpEx” (speech exception).
3. In the “Correct Spelling” box, type “Bk”.
4. In the “Correct Pronunciation” box, type “[-]”. (Only type left bracket dash right bracket.) This
will prevent the “Bk” from being spoken. Click on “Test” box to make sure it doesn't say
anything.
5. Click on “Close” box to exit SpEx.
6. Click on “Phrase” box.
7. Click on “New” box.
8. In the “Phrase” box, type your message, starting with “Bk”. e.g.: "Bk I love pancakes."
9. Click on the “Test” box. If the phase speaks correctly, click on the “Accept” box. Make
corrections before accepting the new phrase.
10. You can now find all Breakfast items on the Phases page, under the letter “B”, and all grouped
together under “Bk”.
Other Applications
To use Microsoft programs in the PolyTABLET press the Start button in the bottom left of the screen.
It is not necessary to shut down Persona when accessing these programs, however it is best to use
only one program at a time. NOTE: A switch user cannot access the Microsoft programs since the
scan array is only available within the Persona program.
Only run one other program besides Persona at a time. When finished using other programs, close
them. System will slow down if too many programs are running at once.
To finish using the PolyTABLET simply turn it off by pressing <On/Off> button on the right side of the
device face. There is no formal shut down procedure with these units like there is with a Windows PC.
Do not re-load Persona once it is already running. If you lose voice output, check to see that only one
copy is running. Press the <Ctrl> + <Esc> keys to show the Start task bar and look for running
software applications. (You should not be able to load two versions of Persona at the same time.)
Keep the PolyTABLET well charged. The PolyTABLET will give 6 hours of operating time and will
then need a 4.5 hour charge. It is best to turn off the unit to save power whenever convenient.
Customer Support
Please do not hesitate to call ZYGO customer service if you have any questions. They can be
reached at [phone] from 8-4 Pacific Time. Or send us an e-mail at [email protected].