Dolphin ScreenReader

Dolphin ScreenReader Features

Intelligent screen reading with natural voices, Dolphin Cursor and robust Braille support. Suitable for people who are blind requiring complete access to a computer.

Dolphin Screen Reader enables people who are blind to access a computer through natural sounding speech or a refreshable Braille display. Launch Dolphin Screen Reader and people who are blind can create beautifully formatted documents, connect with colleagues and friends via social networks, or plan that next trip. Focus on the things you do best, whatever your vision, today or in the future.

Human Sounding Speech

ScreenReader features the high-quality, human-sounding Vocalizer Expressive text-to-speech synthesizer to read documents and apps aloud.

Adjust voice preferences to suit your ear. You can finely tune the volume, speed, and spelling speed for all voices. Where supported by your synthesizer, ScreenReader allows you to create custom voices by adjusting settings like Pitch, Intonation, Roughness, Breathiness, Head Size, and Gender.

You can choose one voice to speak everything or assign different voices to distinguish between edit areas, prompt dialogs, menus, Dolphin Cursor, or reading entire documents.

Speak as You Type

Characters, words, or both can be spoken aloud to enhance confidence while typing in any text field, such as in a document or the Subject field of an email.

Read from Here

Use the “Read from Here” feature when you want to have an entire document or web page spoken aloud. Start and stop the reading with a single keystroke or mouse click. As the text is read aloud, the current word and line are highlighted visually, making it ideal for sighted trainers or users with partial sight.

Quick Navigation Keys

Quick navigation keys allow you to skip forward and back through Microsoft Word documents, web pages in Internet Explorer, and PDFs in Adobe Reader. At the touch of a key, you can quickly locate:

• Landmarks
• Form controls
• Graphics
• Headings
• Links
• Lists
• Frames
• Tables

Place Markers

Place Markers make it easier to navigate favorite web pages. Add a Place Marker to any text, heading, link, field, or button. Once added, you can jump directly to the Place Marker the next time you visit the same web page.

Item Finder

The Item Finder accelerates navigation through complex documents and web pages by listing:

• Links
• Headings
• Objects
• Tables
• Revisions
• Comments
• Spelling Errors
• Controls
• ARIA Landmarks

Each list of items can be sorted alphabetically, and you can jump directly to any of the listed items.

Intelligent Screen Reader – Text Style Information

Text style information is announced to ensure your documents look great. ScreenReader reports changes in fonts, sizes, colors, bold, italic, underline, subscript, and superscript. It even highlights spelling and grammar errors in Microsoft Word, helping to maximize your productivity. Customize ScreenReader to announce text style information only when needed, and set independent text style announcements for editing, prompts, menus, document reading, or when using the Dolphin Cursor.

4 Built-in Verbosity Schemes

Verbosity lets you know the types and states of over 60 kinds of controls as you navigate through web pages, Windows, and app dialogs. Hear if checkboxes are checked, sliders’ positions, and if links have been visited.

For beginners, the High Verbosity setting reminds you of which keys to press. Choose from 4 built-in verbosity schemes or take full control by creating your own. Braille users can set speech and Braille verbosity independently.

Monitor Markers

Monitor Markers announce changes happening elsewhere on the screen, away from your cursor. Whether it’s a security notification in your browser, file download progress, or someone typing a message in an instant conversation, ScreenReader will speak these updates automatically. If you prefer not to hear these notifications, you can toggle Monitor Markers on or off using a keystroke or from the ScreenReader Control Panel.

The Dolphin Cursor – Automatic Dolphin Cursor

The Automatic Dolphin Cursor activates in situations where it’s most needed—like in Internet Explorer, Adobe Reader, and Windows Help. Mouse users can easily switch off the Dolphin Cursor if preferred.

Standard Windows keys such as arrows and TAB are used to logically navigate the Dolphin Cursor, reducing any learning curve. On the web or in PDFs, use Quick Navigation keys to jump instantly to the next control, heading, list, table, etc. Physical movement keys are also available when you need to understand the visual layout.

Restricted Dolphin Cursor

The Restricted Dolphin Cursor keeps focus within the current area, helping you stay on task. Simple hotkeys are available to quickly move to the next or previous window or dialog when needed.

Forms Mode

Forms Mode automatically switches off the Dolphin Cursor when typing is required. Simply TAB through a form on a website, and Forms Mode ensures that the Dolphin Cursor activates and deactivates at the right time, eliminating any guesswork.

F3 Find

The F3 Find function helps locate specific text on-screen when you know what you’re looking for but not where it is. Use F2 and F4 to instantly jump the Dolphin Cursor to the previous and next matches.

Text Selection

Select text using the Dolphin Cursor and copy it to the Windows Clipboard for later use. Just hold the Shift key and move the cursor over the text you wish to select, then press CONTROL+C to copy it directly to the Clipboard. This feature is perfect for quoting web pages, copying help content, or copying messages from applications.

Simulate Mouse Actions from Your Keyboard

Press a key to move the mouse to the Dolphin Cursor, and then use keystrokes to perform mouse actions such as left and right click, drag and drop, controlling the mouse wheel, and even middle click.

Scan & Read

Scan and read paper documents and letters with ease. ScreenReader includes built-in OCR (Optical Character Recognition), enabling you to independently read printed documents. All you need to do is add a scanner! Since OCR is integrated within ScreenReader, you can conveniently select the “Scan & Read” button located in ScreenReader’s Bookshelf tab.

ScreenReader’s OCR can also be utilized to scan and read inaccessible PDF documents. Just press the DocReader hotkey, CAPS+NUMPAD PLUS, when you’re using Adobe Reader.

Braille Display Support

ScreenReader includes over 50 literary and computer Braille translation tables, designed for Braille beginners, language students, and computer programmers. It also features the new Unified English Braille Code alongside traditional Grade I Uncontracted and Grade II Contracted codes.

Over 60 Braille Displays Supported

Connect your Braille display via USB, serial, or wirelessly through Bluetooth. ScreenReader supports over 60 Braille displays from leading manufacturers, including:

• Alva Comfort and BC6 series
• Eurobraille E-sys
• Freedom Scientific Focus Blue
• HandyTech Active Braille
• HIMS Braille Sense
• Humanware Brailliant
• Optelec EasyLink
• Papenmeier Braillex

Routing Buttons

Routing buttons above or below the cells on your Braille display are recognized by ScreenReader for precise cursor positioning, clicking on links or controls, and describing font styles. Use routing buttons with the SHIFT key to select text for clipboard use.

Input Keys

Braille display input keys can be used to compose emails or write documents in Braille. ScreenReader accurately back-translates Braille into standard text, which appears in your application. This reduces the need to switch between your Braille display and computer keyboard, speeding up productivity for proficient Braille writers.

Enhanced Braille

Enhanced Braille allows you to spot style changes in documents using dots 7 and 8 to indicate underlining, bold, italics, spelling and grammar errors, subscript and superscript, headings, and links.

Physical Braille

Switch to Physical Layout to get a Braille representation of how text is tabulated on your screen. This is especially useful for understanding the context of cells in tables or spreadsheets.

Braille Verbosity

Braille verbosity informs you about the types and states of over 60 control elements as you navigate web pages, windows, and dialogs. This includes whether checkboxes are checked, slider positions, and whether links have been visited. Choose from 4 built-in verbosity schemes, or create your own for ultimate control. You can also set separate verbosity schemes for speech and Braille.

Display Braille on Screen

Sighted trainers and teachers can monitor what’s happening on the Braille display with a fully synchronized on-screen equivalent. You can customize the position and size of On-Screen Braille so it stays visible without getting in the way. On-Screen Braille can also be used for visual Braille learning when no physical Braille display is available.

Control ScreenReader Directly from the Braille Display

Control ScreenReader settings, read different parts of the screen, or simulate keystrokes directly from your Braille display. ScreenReader’s Hotkeys settings allow you to customize the function of Braille display buttons.

Braille Tracking and Hooked Areas

Braille Tracking and Hooked Areas allow you to stay informed about activity happening away from the active cursor. These tools ensure your Braille display shows the information you need when you need it.

Getting Started and Help – Setup Wizard

The Setup Wizard guides you through the most commonly adjusted ScreenReader settings. You can select your preferences for magnification, visuals, speech, Braille, start-up options, the control panel, and keyboard configuration. Skip steps or go back at any time during the setup process. The wizard automatically runs the first time you launch ScreenReader, but you can also access it from the ScreenReader Help menu anytime.

Video Tutorials

Learn how to navigate ScreenReader with our series of short, step-by-step video tutorials.

CAPS + F1 Help

The CAPS+F1 Help menu provides quick access to detailed instructions for performing tasks in popular applications like Microsoft Office and while browsing the web. It also offers hotkeys, links to web resources, Windows Basics, the ScreenReader Manual, and Notes.

Key Describe Mode

Key Describe Mode is an ideal tool for beginners learning keyboard commands. While in this mode, press any key and SuperNova will announce and display in Braille what each key does, without executing the action.

Bookshelf & Launchpad

Browse and Search Millions of Accessible Books

Conveniently browse and search millions of best-sellers, classics, and periodicals directly from ScreenReader’s Bookshelf tab.

Content from Bookshare® and other trusted library partners is instantly accessible with speech and Braille in ScreenReader. Enjoy direct and immediate access to millions of accessible books and newspapers from:

• RNIB Newsagent
• NLS BARD
• NFB-NEWSLINE®
• Bookshare®
• CELA (Canada)
• Passend Lezen (Netherlands)
• Anderslezen (Belgium)
• Legimus (Sweden)
• Inläsningstjänst AB (Sweden)
• NLB (Norway)
• SBS (Switzerland)
• DZDN (Poland)
• ePubBooks
• Project Gutenberg

Read directly on your Windows device using ScreenReader’s speech. Alternatively, take books with you by using ScreenReader to transfer titles to portable MP3 and DAISY players for reading on the go.

Launch Pad

Launch Pad provides instant access to audio, weather, and book search. With just a couple of key presses, you can listen to popular radio stations, catch up on the latest podcasts, or read RSS News feeds. You can also use Launch Pad to look up dictionary definitions, get local weather forecasts, search for books, and find walking directions.

System Requirements (minimum)