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MAGic
MAGic offers excellent magnification features and comes in 4 versions -- Standard and Professional, each available With Speech and Without Speech. MAGic Standard works on all computer operating systems except for those designed for more network functions (Windows NT, 2000, XP Professional and 2003). MAGic Professional can be used on all PC operating systems as far back as Windows 95. With the optional speech feature, you can pick parts of a page to be read out loud while you continue to use magnification. If you select the Say All option, all of the words are highlighted as they are spoken. MAGic is easy to use, with a talking, large-print installation, a comprehensive, large-print manual, color-coded controls and hot keys that won't conflict with Windows or other programs. You won't have any problems with the mouse or cursor. Magnification automatically follows your cursor and mouse so that you can easily read any part of the page. With the speech feature, you can use Mouse Speech to read words or lines that you select. MAGic will magnify text as much as 16 times, invert colors for contrast and ease of reading, smooth out text, speak characters or words as you type, and more. MAGic includes several keystrokes for reading text. Many of these keystrokes are identical to those used for the equivalent JAWS for Windows commands. Users that want to combine the magnification features of MAGic with JAWS speech do not need to learn a different set of keystrokes for each program. Even users that do not have JAWS can benefit from these keystrokes because the most frequently used reading commands are within easy reach of each other on the Number pad. MAGic also includes a demo version of FSReader, DAISY reader software. DAISY books provide enhanced navigation features and can contain both text and audio versions of material. The FSReader Demo, which automatically installs with MAGic, allows access to DAISY books produced by Freedom Scientific, like the newer MAGic Basic Training and JAWS Basic Training. Here are the newer features of MAGic: The latest product improvements in both JAWS and MAGic incorporate more JAWS screen reading functionality into the MAGic screen magnification application. These enhancements also improve how JAWS reads when MAGic is running at the same time. The following list highlights new functionality available when running the two programs together: To take advantage of these enhancements, be sure to download a recent JAWS 9.0 release and MAGic 11.0 build. Windows Vista Support - In addition to working with Windows XP and Windows 2000, MAGic supports Windows Vista and Windows Vista Service Pack 1. MAGic Professional and MAGic Scripting Edition support the following 32-bit versions of Microsoft Windows:
MAGic Standard supports the following 32-bit versions of Microsoft Windows:
Automatically Start MAGic in Windows Vista - For Windows Vista users, the Automatically Start MAGic function appears as a button in the Preferences dialog under the File menu. Use this button and its options to configure MAGic to start before or after you start Windows Vista. These options can also be used to determine if MAGic runs when several individuals use the same computer. For example, imagine that a couple owns one computer: he uses MAGic and she does not. In Windows Vista, they can set up separate user accounts so that his account always runs MAGic before and after he logs on, and her account never starts MAGic after she logs on. Another example is when MAGic is used in a classroom or network environment. If several students use MAGic, the network administrator can set up their user accounts so that MAGic is running before and after log on. However, the administrator can configure his or her account so that MAGic never starts. For more information about using this function, use the SHIFT + F1 context-sensitive help, or refer to Starting and Quitting MAGic in the MAGic help file. (Note: Windows Vista support is only available with MAGic 11.0 or higher.) New DAISY Book for Windows Vista - A new DAISY book that describes how to install, activate, and use MAGic on a Windows Vista computer is available for download from Freedom Scientific. This free book, which is full of valuable information to help guide you through the operating system's user interface, is also offered in MP3 format. To download this book, navigate to the heading titled "JAWS and MAGic: An Introduction to Windows Vista" that appears on the Freedom Scientific Training Headquarters page. Once there, select the "XTraMAGicIntroToVista" link. After DAISY books are downloaded and installed, they appear in a folder that is easily accessed by the FSReader Demo DAISY reader. To open and play the books using FSReader Demo, do the following:
1. From the MAGic Help menu, choose Training. FSReader Demo opens, and the File Open dialog box
appears. (Note: New DAISY books are included on all program and demo MAGic CDs beginning with MAGic 11.0.) Completely New Basic Training for MAGic - The Basic Training for MAGic has been completely rewritten and recorded using a Windows Vista computer with Microsoft Office 2007. This new Basic Training in text and narrated audio DAISY format is included on all program and demo MAGic CDs beginning with MAGic 11.0. The newer Basic Training is also available as a free download in either MP3 or DAISY format from the Freedom Scientific MAGic Training Headquarters page. New topics include:
The Basic Training includes more than 5 hours of instruction, including step-by-step instructions and sample practice documents to help you make the most of your experience using MAGic. Microsoft Office 2007 Support - MAGic 11.0 has full support for Microsoft Word 2007, Microsoft Excel 2007, and Microsoft Outlook 2007. Newly-Designed Adjust MAGic Options Dialog Box - The Adjust MAGic Verbosity list has been updated with the newly-designed Adjust MAGic Options tree view (MAGic Key + O). Instead of showing items in a list format, the reorganized dialog box uses a logical tree menu format. This grouping is sure to help new and experienced MAGic users understand the relationship between various MAGic settings. The MAGic Options dialog box (MAGic Key + O) only applies while using Word or Excel (any supported version) and Outlook 2007. The keystroke does nothing while using any other program. The tree view is expanded by default when you open it to allow for first letter navigation, thus continuing the ease of use found in the original Verbosity list design. If you would rather have it collapsed, press TAB to navigate to the Expand Tree View check box and uncheck it; the change takes effect immediately. You may also navigate through the tree view using the RIGHT ARROW and LEFT ARROW keys to expand and collapse groups. Use the UP ARROW and DOWN ARROW keys to move up and down in the tree. Once an option is selected, use the SPACEBAR to cycle through the available setting values. To save changes, press ENTER or the CLOSE button. MAGic also includes built-in help messages for each item found in the tree view. As you navigate items in the list, simply press TAB to move to the Read-Only edit window at any time for a help description of the current item. JAWS Navigation Quick Keys and MAGic Tracking are Synchronized! - When running MAGic screen magnification software with JAWS (minimum JAWS 9.0), there is a visual indication on web pages as you read or navigate using JAWS. Navigation Quick Keys let you move easily and quickly around web pages, Outlook and Outlook Express e-mails, Adobe Acrobat PDF files, the JAWS or MAGic help files, and anywhere else the Virtual Cursor is active. The following examples highlight this newer functionality: When reading a Web page in Internet Explorer with JAWS and MAGic, pressing the letter H not only jumps to the next header and reads it aloud, but it also provides a visual indication of where you are on the Web page; The Navigation Quick Key P moves you to the next paragraph and begins reading using a synchronized reading box to make it easier to know where JAWS is reading. As you navigate around web pages, a visual box appears around each line that is read. Sighted trainers and low vision users will love this new combination of JAWS and MAGic. If there is no need to magnify, just set the MAGic magnification to 1x, so that a sighted user can easily find your location in a document. Document Presentation Mode Updated for Use with MAGic - The JAWS Document Presentation option has been updated so that it defaults to Enhanced Visual Layout mode when running MAGic with JAWS (minimum JAWS 9.0). This means that the layout of web pages, tables, links, and graphic elements is the same in the virtual buffer as these items appear on the screen. If a paragraph on a web page has only four or five words per line, then this is exactly what the JAWS user hears when moving up and down the page while JAWS and MAGic are running. If MAGic is not running, the JAWS user hears longer lines of text that do not always synchronize with the text layout on the screen, which is exactly what the JAWS user has typically experienced. The Select and Copy option's default setting for HTML documents has changed. It is Full Content Using Onscreen Highlight instead of Full Content. The default setting lets you highlight and copy HTML text and elements and retain the formatting just as it appears in the HTML document. This means that you can use the SHIFT + UP ARROW or SHIFT + DOWN ARROW, the CTRL + SHIFT + RIGHT ARROW or CTRL + SHIFT + LEFT ARROW, and the SHIFT + LEFT ARROW or SHIFT + RIGHT ARROW keystrokes to select HTML e-mail and Internet Explorer items that appear on the screen. To open the Select and Copy option and choose a setting, press INSERT + V while in an HTML document. Next, press S to navigate to the Select and Copy option, and then press SPACEBAR to scroll through the settings. Press ENTER to save the change. HTML Formatting Retained when Copying and Pasting - MAGic properly copies the contents of a Web page to the virtual buffer, and retains all the HTML formatting and markup when pasting the information into an HTML formatted e-mail or Word document. This breakthrough in screen reading means that you can now copy and paste content and retain its formatting, colors, and active hyperlinks, but does not include any of the other MAGic messages, such as the number of items in a list, and so on. What you paste is essentially the same rendering that a sighted user would see. Plus, you have the added advantage of being able to use MAGic HTML commands to read and navigate the Web content when pasted into an e-mail message. In addition, MAGic still provides a way to select, copy, and paste in the traditional manner of stripping out the formatting if you choose. This option is in the Virtual Cursor Options group in the new Adjust MAGic Option dialog box (MAGic Key + O). Focus Enhancement - When using Windows Vista, the colors of the user interface can appear muted and difficult to distinguish. The Focus Enhancement function lets you define a visible rectangular border that identifies and tracks the item that is currently selected on the screen. As you select different items, using either the mouse or keyboard, the rectangular border moves its focus to that place on the screen. The Focus Enhancement command is located under the Magnification menu. The Focus Enhancement button is located to the far right in the second row of the MAGic user interface. Right-click the button to open the Focus Enhancement dialog box. If you make changes, remember to save by pressing CTRL+S. RealSpeak Solo Speech Synthesizer - Included with your package is the RealSpeak Solo, SAPI 5 synthesizer CD. It contains a variety of voices in several languages. To install these voices, insert the CD into your computer's CD-ROM drive. Then, follow the instructions to select which voices you want to install, and complete the installation. Say All Command and SAPI 5 Voices - MAGic can immediately switch from its current Eloquence synthesized voice to a SAPI 5, RealSpeak Solo synthesized voice when using the Say All command (INSERT + DOWN ARROW or MAGic Key + SPACEBAR). While the default Eloquence voice may be useful for reading and navigating short text such as prior or next line, sentence, or paragraph, it may not be the preferred voice for longer passages of text. The SAPI 5 voice offers a higher-quality sound, which makes reading using the Say All command a more pleasing experience. When using the newer feature, the SAPI 5 voice remains active while you fast forward, rewind, speed up, or slow down during the Say All. However, when you use navigation functions such as Say Word and Say Paragraph, or when you use the UP ARROW or DOWN ARROW keys to read the previous or next sentence, or when you press the CTRL key to stop the Say All command, MAGic immediately switches back to the Eloquence voice. Alternate Say All Command - MAGic basically has two types of Say All options. The first is the regular Say All command, which uses the keystroke INSERT + DOWN ARROW or MAGic Key + SPACEBAR. The second is the Alternate Say All command, which uses the keystroke ALT + INSERT + DOWN ARROW. This lets you perform a Say All using either an Eloquence synthesized voice or a SAPI 5, RealSpeak Solo synthesized voice. By default, the Alternate Say All command is configured for SAPI 5. Magnify up to 36x - MAGic can magnify up to 36x magnification. Previously, the highest magnification level was 16x. Users with higher resolution monitors may benefit from using magnification levels above 16x. MAGic Scripts - MAGic scripts have been reorganized into logical categories to make it easier for users to find functions and learn the assigned key combination or assign key combinations that fit their preferences. The newer categories are:
Virtual Find - MAGic introduces a newer search capability known as Virtual Find. It is available when you press CTRL + F when running MAGic with Internet Explorer or Adobe Reader files. Instead of showing the application's normal Find dialog, the Virtual Find dialog lets you maintain a history of the last 20 entries in the edit combo box, clear the history, search forwards or backwards through a web page or document, and ignore letter case. You can also press F3 to continue your search to the next item or SHIFT + F3 to search for the previous item. MAGic EyeMerge Installation - The MAGic EyeMerge software lets you view, capture, and save magnified images when using the new Freedom Scientific ONYX magnification camera with your computer. This companion application automatically installs and creates a desktop icon when you install MAGic. Refer to the MAGic EyeMerge help file for operational procedures and information. (Note: MAGic EyeMerge is currently only available for Windows XP.) Frequently Asked Questions about MAGic: Question: If I download MAGic from the Web, should I install MAGic from the CD when I receive it? Answer: No. You only need to install the training materials that are on the MAGic program CD. This information is available in a digital document format known as DAISY (Digital Accessible Information System). To install these files, do the following: 1. Insert your MAGic program CD into your CD drive. (Note: If you download MAGic from the Web, the training materials are not included. This is to reduce the size of the download. If you like, you can download and install the training files from the MAGic Training Headquarters on the Freedom Scientific website.) Question: If I wait until my CD arrives to install MAGic, should I also download the version that is available on the Web? Answer: No, but once you have installed MAGic from the CD, you should check for updates by pressing ALT + H from the MAGic program window, and then pressing P to select Check for Updates. Question: If I've been installing and using the MAGic public beta releases, should I remove the public beta before installing the official MAGic release? Answer: No. Simply download the MAGic release build from the Freedom Scientific website and install it over the public beta build. Question: If I remove my existing version of MAGic before installing the latest MAGic, should I remove shared components? Answer: Yes, however, remember that you will not have speech between removing your current MAGic version and installing the latest MAGic. If you download MAGic from the web, copy the executable file to a location that is easy to find without speech and magnification. MAGic 11.0 Promotional Release The MAGic 11.0 Promotional Release is a trial offer that lets you try the newest MAGic screen magnification release, which can run with or without the latest release of JAWS 9.0. This promotional version operates without interruption until August 2008 so that you can try out the most recent product enhancements or take the opportunity to try MAGic in combination with JAWS. For example: - The MAGic highlighting option is in sync with JAWS as it reads web pages. By providing this visual cue, you always know where you are on the computer screen as JAWS is reading. - When using the same Navigation Quick Keys that are available in JAWS, you will be happy to see that MAGic's focus will jump to items such as headings (H), list items (L), paragraphs (P), and so on, and will also provide visual cues. - When viewing a web page with both programs running, you can use Windows keyboard commands to select and copy text and items. As you do this, MAGic and JAWS visually show you the items that are selected. The text that is copied can be pasted into an HTML e-mail or any rich text word processor and maintains the links and original formatting. Frequently Asked Questions about MAGic 11.0 Promotional Release Question: What is the difference between the MAGic promotional release and the full MAGic release? Answer: For the promotional version:
Question: What is the difference between the MAGic promotional release and the MAGic demo release? Answer: For the promotional version:
Please Contact Us should you have any further questions about the MAGic Promotional Release or how to download it from Freedom Scientific. Upgrades are available for MAGic, especially if you need to go from MAGic Standard to Professional, or from Without Speech to With Speech. Also, a Software Maintenance Agreement (SMA) can be purchased at any time, as well as Site and District Licenses, which are useful for schools and businesses. |
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Florida Reading accepts the following credit cards when ordering our products or arranging for our services:
Florida Reading and Vision Technology is an Authorized Dealer for the following manufacturers:
Florida Reading and Vision Technology, Inc.
P.O. Box 519 Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33302 Phone: 1-800-981-5119 Fax: (954) 462-4647 sales@floridareading.com |
Note: As of June
26th, 2008, the latest update version of MAGic (MAGic 11.0.1126) is available.
