Kurzweil 1000 scanning software
Kurzweil 1000 is part of a long tradition in accessibility technology that goes back to the first reading machine invented by Ray Kurzweil in 1976. Kurzweil 1000 software is designed to assist blind and visually impaired students to read text. It works on a computer in conjunction with a flatbed scanner and synthetic speech to convert the printed word into speech. Kurzweil 1000 allows the editing and exporting of text to other applications. The scanning time and quality depends on the length of the document, the quality of the text and also if the document is in colour or black-and-white format (black-and white being quicker to scan than colour). Kurzweil 1000 can read many text file formats including Word, RTF and PDF.
To begin using Kurzweil 1000
Always make sure that the scanner is switched on, indicated by the small green light on the button at the front of the scanner. If the scanner does not seem to be communicating with the PC, first check the scanner is switched on and then reboot the PC. (Please note: the scanner must be switched on before the PC.)
To launch the Kurzweil 1000 application:- Go to the Start menu
- Select Programs
- Select Kurzweil Educational Systems and select Kurzweil 1000
- Double click on the Kurweil 1000 icon on the desktop
Once Kurzweil 1000 has been activated you should hear a welcome message. If the welcome message cannot be heard, check the speakers are switched on and the volume control has not been switched off in the system tray.
To begin scanning:- Place the page face down on the scanner
- Press the F9 key
You will hear details of the progress of your scanning and will be informed once the scanning of your document is complete. After scanning, Kurzweil 1000 will begin to read the scanned text.
Kurzweil 1000 commands
Kurzweil 1000 commands can be accessed via the pull-down menus or by using the specified keystrokes. There is a built in Help facility that can be easily accessed by pressing F1. Kurzweil 1000 has a built in spell-check and dictionary facility.Basic commands when using Kurzweil 1000
Scan and read
- To scan a new document press F9
- To scan multiple pages press CRTL+F9
- To begin or stop reading the scanned text press F5
- To close the current document press F4
- To increase the volume of the voice press F11
- To decrease the volume of the voice press F12
Menu access
- To access the File menu press ALT+F
- To access the Scan menu press ALT+S
- To access the Settings menu press ALT+T
- To activate the Help facility press F1
Once the document has been scanned and read you can then edit the document. The Edit corrections option from the Tools drop-down menu can be used for common scanning errors. After editing, the scanned document the file can be saved to your user space on the K drive and accessed again at a later date.