Throughout FreedomBox's development, we have always said that our goal is to "humanize computers. not computerize humans." With that in mind, we have developed an accessibility tool, FreedomBox System Access, that not only gives you access to your computer system, but also enables you to use hundreds of applications that you want and need. However, before we get into what System Access can do for you, we are going to explain a few features of System Access that you'll need to understand to get started.
Before You Begin
Please do not run System Access with any other screen readers. It is very important that you unload your screen reader before activating System Access. Please consult your screen reader's documentation regarding this step.
System Access Modifier
Most of System Access's keyboard commands involve a special key called the System Access Modifier. The System Access Modifier can be one of the following keys: Caps Lock, Insert, Scroll Lock, or NumPad 0. Feel free to use whichever key is most convenient for you at any time; you don't need to use the same modifier for every command. So if it's too much of a stretch to press Insert in some cases, then press Caps Lock instead, and vice versa.
System Access Menu
The System Access Menu allows you to temporarily change System Access's settings and gives you a quick, straightforward way to get System Access just the way you want it to act and sound. (For more detail, see System Access’s Settings.) Note that these preferences operate only while System Access is running. If you log back into FreedomBox while System Access is not running, the System Access changes you made will no longer be active, and your preferences will revert back to your FreedomBox preferences.
To open the System Access Menu, press Modifier+F. Your first option is to start the FreedomBox browser. Note that pausing on a menu item in any menu will always give you the hot key for that menu item. A hot key is a quick way to jump to a choice within a menu. By using the appropriate hot key, you do not have to move down through menus to find what you are looking for. In this case the hot key is the letter F. This means that you could have pressed Modifier+F followed by the letter F to jump quickly to the FreedomBox browser. Hot keys are more important when you are selecting from longer menus.
In the System Access Menu you can set the following:
Key Echo: Key Echo determines if System Access speaks each key on the keyboard as you type it. If you do not want this to happen, you may uncheck this option by tapping enter. When you do, the System Access Menu closes. In order to recheck this option, you must go back into the System Access Menu, and using either the arrow keys to go to Key Echo, or pressing the hot key K, go to Key Echo and recheck the option closing the menu.
Word Echo: Tap enter on Word Echo if you want the system to echo words that you type after you type a space bar key, or an enter key.
Text-to-Speech Engine: Select the speech synthesizer that you want System Access to use. The default engine is DECtalk, but you can change it to Microsoft Speech, or another Engine depending on what speech engines you have on your computer. We recommend NeoSpeech, if you have purchased that option. It is easy to understand, quick, and takes up little memory.
Voice: The Voice menu option allows you to change the voice that your synthesizer uses. For example, the NeoSpeech engine has a female and a male voice that you can select.
Speaking Rate: The Speaking Rate option determines how slow, or fast the speech is. You can use your up and down arrow keys to change it to a comfortable level, then tap the enter key when you are happy with it.
Average Pitch: Average Pitch lets you set the pitch of the voice. Again use your arrow keys to adjust the voice to your liking, then tap enter.
Punctuation: The punctuation option specifies how much punctuation you hear. You may need to play with this setting a bit until you find what's right for you.
Shut Down System Access: This does exactly what it says. However, you may have noticed the hot key was a bit different from the single letters. The hot key for shutting down System Access is Modifier+F4. Because this hot key combination is unique, it can be used anywhere, at any time. This way you could shut down System Access while browsing the web, reading email, etc. The System Access menu can be invoked from anywhere, at any time as well.
Keyboard Help Mode
If you need to explore the keyboard without your keystrokes having any effect, turn on System Access's keyboard help mode by pressing Shift+Modifier+H. While this mode is on, key presses will be announced; and if you type a System Access hot key, System Access will describe what the hot key does. There are only two exceptions to this: Control+Alt+Delete is handled in the normal way by Windows, and pressing Shift+Modifier+H again leaves keyboard help mode.