Symbol for Windows Gold. Paper Chart Maker. Modemo 2011, UK Handicom 2011, The Netherlands

Transcription

1 Symbol for Windows Gold Paper Chart Maker Modemo 2011, UK Handicom 2011, The Netherlands

2 INTRODUCTION Symbol for Windows Gold Paper Chart Maker is the tool to have when you need to create and maintain professional looking, printable communication charts. Symbol charts are used as a means of communication, or as an overlay for a communication device so naturally Paper Chart Maker has ready-to use layouts for popular communication devices. While creating new layouts, you can choose between a traditional row/column layout and a free layout. The free layout function enables you to place graphics, photos and symbols anywhere on the screen, in any size. You can even use background image and embed everything else to it. Just imagine what possibilities you have available now and how motivating your new charts will be for both children and adults you are working with! Installation Paper Chart Maker is part of a Symbol for Windows Gold family of programs and libraries which can be installed from our website (download the Update Wizard fi rst) or by using the Symbol for Windows Gold DVD. Languages The Symbol for Windows Gold is available in Danish, Dutch, English, Swedish, Finnish, German, Italian, Spanish and Polish and partly in Norwegian. Other languages will follow. This also applies to the symbol names and the category structure in all applications. Purchasing licenses You can run these programs without a license. However, printing and saving are not available and only a few symbols from commercial libraries like PCS are visible. COMPIC, Sclera and a basic Bliss database are free and therefore fully accessible. Applications as well as libraries can be ordered from Modemo. You can apply for a software registration, USB stick (dongle) or network license. For training, setup and customised solutions please contact Modemo.

3 GRID LAYOUT Start creating a new grid chart by choosing from the menu File-New-Grid. The program shows an empty chart with default settings. If you are in a hurry, just load a previously saved chart from a hard drive, make the changes needed, save the chart as new and print it off. A traditional row/column grid used in the example above shows each symbol in the same size. The symbols were chosen using vocabularies like the one for PCS symbols under the chart. Alternatively you could click on an empty fi eld and type the fi rst letters of the name of the symbol you need. Once the search window opens, just carry on typing the name until you see the symbol you want. You can also browse category folders. Once you fi nd what you need, press the Enter key, move the curson to a next fi eld, start typing a new name etc. Once you have found symbols, photos and other graphics you need, preview the chart, adjust its size, labels and other attributes before printing the chart.

4 FREE LAYOUT Start a new free layout chart by choosing File- New-Blank. Next the program shows a chart with one empty fi eld where you can import any graphics from libraries, from your computer hard drive, USB memory stick or internet like with the grid layout function. Similarly, if you are busy just load a previously saved chart from a hard drive, make the changes needed, save it as new and print it off. However, when you have time to make new charts, as shown in the picture above both the chart layout and the tools used for editing differ from what you see while using a traditional grid layout. At the same time all the familiar tools like the Toolbar menu, the Colours menu and Vocalubaries are still available if you need them. Free Layout Toolbar Firstly,under the main menu there is a new Free Layout Toolbar (the standar Toolbar is hidden in this example). It includes seven function buttons and four (three of which are shown in the picture above) panels which are used just for adjusting fi eld sizes and locations. Click on the leftmost button to make a new fi eld on the chart. You can move the fi eld anywhere on the chart. You can also change its size, either by using mouse or height and width adjusters on the right end of the toolbar.the second button deletes any chosen fi eld. Next two buttons are used for setting transparency On or OFF. With transparency setting ON you can make background colour of the symbol or graphics used transparent, thus making it possible to embed it to the

5 FREE LAYOUT (CONT.) background image. This was used in the example chart with all the symbols included in the background image (the mountains). Fith and sixth buttons are used to move the chosen fi eld (and its content) front or back in relation to other fi elds next to it. For example, in the example chart the mother moose was sent to back so that the baby moose is at the front in the image. With the last button you choose a background image as it was made for this chart. The image can be a symbol from SfW libraries or any other graphics fi le from your computer. You ll see an example of a chart with another background image and graphics in the picture above. Graphics Toolbar Graphics Toolbar on the left hand side of the chart shows thumbnail versions of symbols and other graphics used in the chart and around it. Please note that the background image in this example covers only part of the area reserved for the chart, the rest is used for the caption below and for the topic symbols above the chart. When you click on a thumbnail image in the toolbar, a red frame around the fi eld shows its location in the chart. You can edit the fi eld nowt, change its size and location, remove it, change its picture or symbol etc. You can also change the order of the thumbnail images in the Toolbar by dragging and dropping them.

6 SETTINGS Charts and fields Charts and fi elds are basic elements for Paper Chart Maker. A chart consists of fi elds which have inside them symbols, photos or other graphics, texts etc. Before making any charts, think what is the purpose of each chart and who is going to use it. What are user s wishes, needs and capabilities? Put the structure of each chart on paper before actually doing anything else. Keep in mind how many fi elds the user could handle and if row/column grid or a free layout would work better. You can create multiple charts in one Paper Chart Maker document, just click on Options- Add Page. You will be asked if you want to copy the layout (the colors, border styles, and merged fi elds). A number of settings will always be the same for all charts in the same document like the size of the chart, the margins between rows and columns and the number of rows and columns. The charts will be shown as tab menus. You can switch to another chart by clicking on the top of the tab menu, where you see the number of the chart. This way it is easy to for example multiply slightly different charts for different users. Chart settings Choose Options-Chart settings from the main menu to change the general chart settings. These settings are applied to all charts (including multiple charts) in this chart fi le as default. They can be overruled manually where needed. You can set for example: the number of rows and columns. When creating a chart, it will use the number of rows and columns defi ned here. the default chart color. the default link color; fi elds that refer to another page will by default get this color. the edge border width. the shape of the fi eld corners. the fi eld spacing (margins around the charts and between the fi elds). Field and graphics settings In Options-Field settings you can set for example: the location and thickness of edge lines; the default fi eld color; the default edge color; if the settings are copied to multiple charts. In Edit-Field graphics you can choose to include two symbols or other graphic images into one fi eld. You can also add a label text and defi ne if the images are to be streched or not, if they are to be shown in colour or B&W etc.

7 VOCABULARIES Vocabularies You can use Vocabularies to fi nd and place symbols from symbol libraries and images on your computer. The Vocabulary, sometimes also called a graphic menu or a selection set, can give access to: -a standard vocabulary with all symbols in one symbol library, presuming the user has a license for it. The symbols are arranged according to the standard Symbol for Windows category structure; -a user-specifi c vocabulary; -image and sound fi les on your computer. Tip: With Image Manager you can make new Symbol for Windows Gold libraries, create a vocabulary based on new libraries and use that as reference vocabulary. Symbols (Concept Browser) Concept Browser is a browser for a Symbol for Windows Gold libraries, showing contents of the categories in graphics instead of names. All the symbols are arranged according to the Symbol for Windows Gold category structure. You choose the vocabulary by using a Vocabulary-Load vocabulary command. Choosing a library for Concept browser By default, the free COMPIC library is used. If you want Concept browser to use another library for representation, choose Vocabulary-Settings- Concept browser, or right-click on a fi eld in the vocabulary and choose Viewer Properties. Then just select a library from the list shown. If you have any further questions regarding Paper Chart Maker, please contact us on: +44 (0) or info@modemo.co.uk

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