[DECtalk] DECtalk Found a workaround for getting DECTalkAccess32 working w/ JFW

Alex H. linuxx64.bashsh at gmail.com
Thu Jun 2 19:26:03 EDT 2011


Hi,

I tested with 4.6, it works on my XP machine. Honestly, the way JAWS
is so quirky with this support of DECTalk it might just not work
unless you do the good old rename trick.

Alex

On 6/2/11, Alex H. <linuxx64.bashsh at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I've got Dectalk access32 4.4, the standalone version GW micro used to
> sell. For me I just had to make sure that gwdec32.exe is running. It
> might be different for 4.6 though, as that version has DECTalk running
> as a service.
> I'll do some digging and write back when I find something out.
>
> Alex
>
>
> On 6/2/11, Michael Hansen <amtk62 at gmail.com> wrote:
>> Hi Alex,
>>
>> Great find there!  However, when I tried entering that into the run
>> dialog and starting JAWS with Eloquence as my default profile, then
>> switching over to the DECtalk profile...I still got Eloquence.  Any
>> thoughts on what I might be doing wrong?
>>
>> On 6/2/11, Raymond Grote <musicalman1 at comcast.net> wrote:
>>> You never know. They might decide to drop it. Wouldn't surprise me if
>>> they
>>> did drop it in a few years.
>>>
>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>> From: "Alex H." <linuxx64.bashsh at gmail.com>
>>> To: "DECtalk Discussions" <dectalk at bluegrasspals.com>
>>> Sent: Thursday, June 02, 2011 5:41 PM
>>> Subject: Re: [DECtalk] DECtalk Found a workaround for getting
>>> DECTalkAccess32 working w/ JFW
>>>
>>>
>>>> Hi,
>>>>
>>>> I did sometime last week, got the "not supported anymore but we will
>>>> just keep it around" response. So, looks like DT's not going away in
>>>> JAWS, but just not going to be updated.
>>>>
>>>> Alex
>>>>
>>>> On 6/2/11, Brandon Misch <bmisch2002 at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>> has anyone else emailed them about this? would be nice if it was
>>>>> fixed.
>>>>>
>>>>> On Jun 2, 2011, at 5:09 PM, Alex H. wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> Hi all,
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I've found some more cool stuff/bugs in JAWS support for DECTalk
>>>>>> access32.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> If you don't want to rename the eloq.jls file i talked about in the
>>>>>> original post, just use this from the run dialog to start JAWS.
>>>>>> "c:\program files\freedom scientific\jaws\12.0\jfw.exe" /synth=dtsoft
>>>>>> This forces JFW to load the DECTalk soft synth driver at startup.
>>>>>> It'll still use Eloquence until you switch the voice profile to
>>>>>> DECTalk Access32.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Instead of doing this from the run dialog, alternatively you could
>>>>>> modify the JAWS desktop shortcut to do this to save time going to the
>>>>>> run dialog etc.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> One nasty side effect of making JAWS load the dtsoft synth at startup
>>>>>> is if you've already got JAWS configured to use the DECTalk access32
>>>>>> profile as the default.  Instead of DECTalk, you'll get Eloquence at
>>>>>> a
>>>>>> nice fast speed, with the pitch all the way up. Very annoying! So the
>>>>>> rule is, start JAWS loading the dtsoft module, then switch to DECTalk
>>>>>> access32 after JAWS is running with Eloquence. A right pain, and I
>>>>>> wish FS would actually fix this instead of work around it.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Alex
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On 5/23/11, Alex H. <linuxx64.bashsh at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>>> Hi Jayson,
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Agreed. If it were a perfect world we'd have it on all platforms,
>>>>>>> but
>>>>>>> they have a budget and I use Linux and Windows, and do not own any
>>>>>>> Macs yet so for me Linux too would be more beneficial.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Alex
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> On 5/23/11, Jayson Smith <ratguy at insightbb.com> wrote:
>>>>>>>> Hi,
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> I, on the other hand, would much rather see the classic DECtalk
>>>>>>>> made
>>>>>>>> available on Linux if one other platform were to be supported. I
>>>>>>>> rarely
>>>>>>>> use
>>>>>>>> a Mac, but when I do, I'm perfectly satisfied with the default Alex
>>>>>>>> voice.
>>>>>>>> Jayson
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>>>>>> From: "Corine Bickley" <corine.bickley at gallaudet.edu>
>>>>>>>> To: "DECtalk Discussions" <dectalk at bluegrasspals.com>
>>>>>>>> Sent: Monday, May 23, 2011 7:14 PM
>>>>>>>> Subject: Re: [DECtalk] DECtalk Found a workaround for getting
>>>>>>>> DECTalkAccess32 working w/ JFW
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> I'll check into the cost. We're working on a charity-enabled
>>>>>>>> budget,
>>>>>>>> as I don't expect to ever recover the costs we've put out so far.
>>>>>>>> :)
>>>>>>>> I'm trying to do what Dennis Klatt would have wanted. That's all.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> On Mon, May 23, 2011 at 8:40 AM, Pitermach <pitermach at gmail.com>
>>>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>>>> Well, there aren't that many issues, so most of the sapi drivers
>>>>>>>>> around
>>>>>>>>> are
>>>>>>>>> very stable these days. This would include window-eyes, NVDA, and
>>>>>>>>> dolphin's
>>>>>>>>> SuperNova. Ditto for the tts to mp3 apps like text aloud and
>>>>>>>>> d-speech.
>>>>>>>>> In my experience JAWS's sapi driver is very unstable and crashes
>>>>>>>>> for
>>>>>>>>> me
>>>>>>>>> after ruffly a minute of usage with a lightweight synth. And it's
>>>>>>>>> not
>>>>>>>>> even
>>>>>>>>> getting as much responsiveness as it could, though that's
>>>>>>>>> something
>>>>>>>>> you
>>>>>>>>> don't need to be worried about - it's not your problem Smile.
>>>>>>>>> Also, after you release the windows build, do you thinkl it would
>>>>>>>>> be
>>>>>>>>> possible to develop dectalk for mac? Apple, like microsoft has a
>>>>>>>>> sapi
>>>>>>>>> equivllent on mac for developping voices, which amung other things
>>>>>>>>> can
>>>>>>>>> work
>>>>>>>>> with VoiceOver, the screen reader built into MacOSX.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>>>>>>> From: FRIDO ORDEMANN
>>>>>>>>> To: DECtalk Discussions
>>>>>>>>> Sent: Monday, May 23, 2011 1:55 PM
>>>>>>>>> Subject: Re: [DECtalk] DECtalk Found a workaround for getting
>>>>>>>>> DECTalkAccess32 working w/ JFW
>>>>>>>>> One issue I have become concerned about is possible difficulties
>>>>>>>>> that
>>>>>>>>> users
>>>>>>>>> of DECtalk will encounter when they have certain screen readers
>>>>>>>>> installed.
>>>>>>>>> If someone can summarize the group's experience with changing
>>>>>>>>> synthesizers
>>>>>>>>> or changing screen readers, I'd appreciate knowing what sorts of
>>>>>>>>> problems
>>>>>>>>> we're up against as we test out classic SAPI DECtalk. I don't want
>>>>>>>>> to
>>>>>>>>> release something that causes people problems when they try to
>>>>>>>>> install
>>>>>>>>> DECtalk but already have some other voices installed.
>>>>>>>>> corine
>>>>>>>>> ________________________________
>>>>>>>>> From: Alex H. <linuxx64.bashsh at gmail.com>
>>>>>>>>> To: DECtalk Discussions <dectalk at bluegrasspals.com>
>>>>>>>>> Sent: Sun, May 22, 2011 12:46:58 PM
>>>>>>>>> Subject: Re: [DECtalk] DECtalk Found a workaround for getting
>>>>>>>>> DECTalk
>>>>>>>>> Access32 working w/ JFW
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Hi Michael,
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Funny you mention that, because when JAWS 11 came out, people
>>>>>>>>> started
>>>>>>>>> complaining to FS and they didn't say anything about DECTalk being
>>>>>>>>> not
>>>>>>>>> supported back then, only that they couldn't reproduce the problem
>>>>>>>>> (yeah right). Sounds like they're becoming lazy over there, I mean
>>>>>>>>> it's probably a five line fix in some file or other and they just
>>>>>>>>> don't care.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> The real question is if they'll keep the existing DT Access32
>>>>>>>>> files
>>>>>>>>> for future versions and just not provide any tech support for the
>>>>>>>>> synth? That's sort of a band-aid way of doing it, but that's what
>>>>>>>>> they'll probably do knowing FS.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Fortunately if this doesn't work, we should have a classic SAPI
>>>>>>>>> version of DECTalk that will be functional with any screen reader
>>>>>>>>> that
>>>>>>>>> can use SAPI synths, so I'm not too worried.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Alex
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> On 5/22/11, Michael Hansen <amtk62 at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>>>>>> I agree 100%.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> I talked to FS support last week, and they told me that Access 32
>>>>>>>>>> was
>>>>>>>>>> not supported after JAWS 10. So they know about the problems and
>>>>>>>>>> apparently do not want to fix them. Either that or they can't fix
>>>>>>>>>> them.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> On 5/21/11, Brandon Misch <bmisch2002 at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>> would be better if fs fixed it so you wouldn't have to change
>>>>>>>>>>> the
>>>>>>>>>>> name
>>>>>>>>>>> of
>>>>>>>>>>> eloquence.
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> On May 21, 2011, at 7:36 PM, Michael Hansen wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>> Wow, Alex! This is awesome! Great find!
>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>> Michael
>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>> On 5/20/11, Alex H. <linuxx64.bashsh at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>>>> I've found a workaround to get DECTalk Access32 working with
>>>>>>>>>>>>> JFW.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>> WARNING WARNING WARNING: This isn't complicated, but it could
>>>>>>>>>>>>> leave
>>>>>>>>>>>>> you with no speech if you're not careful and set up another
>>>>>>>>>>>>> voice
>>>>>>>>>>>>> profile or don't have NVDA to fall back on.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>> 1. You should really do this with an older version of JAWS if
>>>>>>>>>>>>> you
>>>>>>>>>>>>> have
>>>>>>>>>>>>> any installed, or use NVDA or System Access, or even narrator
>>>>>>>>>>>>> to
>>>>>>>>>>>>> do
>>>>>>>>>>>>> these steps to avoid conflicts.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>> 2. Assuming you've already tried to have Access32 set up as a
>>>>>>>>>>>>> voice
>>>>>>>>>>>>> profile, just select that using insert-ctrl-s, and then the
>>>>>>>>>>>>> profile
>>>>>>>>>>>>> name for DECTalk access32.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>> 3. Open the start menu, Programs or All programs, Jaws
>>>>>>>>>>>>> 10/11/12,
>>>>>>>>>>>>> Explore Program Files.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>> 4. Navigate to the Drivers\speech\eloq subdirectory.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>> 5. Rename eloq.jls to something else like "evil_eloq.jls"
>>>>>>>>>>>>> Alternatively, you can simply move the file to another
>>>>>>>>>>>>> location.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>> 6. Reboot JAWS. You should now have DT access32 speech! Worked
>>>>>>>>>>>>> for
>>>>>>>>>>>>> me.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>> Note: I am not responsible for any outcome of this, use at
>>>>>>>>>>>>> your
>>>>>>>>>>>>> own
>>>>>>>>>>>>> risk. However, if something doesn't work you can always just
>>>>>>>>>>>>> rename
>>>>>>>>>>>>> the file back to eloq.jls and things are good again.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>> I haven't tested to see if the Eloquence voice profile is
>>>>>>>>>>>>> saved
>>>>>>>>>>>>> if
>>>>>>>>>>>>> you
>>>>>>>>>>>>> rename it back, but I don't use eloquence anyway, so...
>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>> Enjoy and good luck!
>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>> Alex
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>>>>>>>>>> DECtalk mailing list
>>>>>>>>>>>>> DECtalk at bluegrasspals.com
>>>>>>>>>>>>> http://bluegrasspals.com/mailman/listinfo/dectalk
>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>>>>>>>>> DECtalk mailing list
>>>>>>>>>>>> DECtalk at bluegrasspals.com
>>>>>>>>>>>> http://bluegrasspals.com/mailman/listinfo/dectalk
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>>>>>>>> DECtalk mailing list
>>>>>>>>>>> DECtalk at bluegrasspals.com
>>>>>>>>>>> http://bluegrasspals.com/mailman/listinfo/dectalk
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>>>>>>> DECtalk mailing list
>>>>>>>>>> DECtalk at bluegrasspals.com
>>>>>>>>>> http://bluegrasspals.com/mailman/listinfo/dectalk
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>>>>>> DECtalk mailing list
>>>>>>>>> DECtalk at bluegrasspals.com
>>>>>>>>> http://bluegrasspals.com/mailman/listinfo/dectalk
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
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>>>>>>>>> ________________________________
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>>>>>> DECtalk mailing list
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>>>>>>>>> http://bluegrasspals.com/mailman/listinfo/dectalk
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>>>>>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>>>>>> DECtalk mailing list
>>>>>>>>> DECtalk at bluegrasspals.com
>>>>>>>>> http://bluegrasspals.com/mailman/listinfo/dectalk
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>>>>> DECtalk mailing list
>>>>>>>> DECtalk at bluegrasspals.com
>>>>>>>> http://bluegrasspals.com/mailman/listinfo/dectalk
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>>>>> DECtalk mailing list
>>>>>>>> DECtalk at bluegrasspals.com
>>>>>>>> http://bluegrasspals.com/mailman/listinfo/dectalk
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>>>> DECtalk at bluegrasspals.com
>>>>>> http://bluegrasspals.com/mailman/listinfo/dectalk
>>>>>
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>>>>> http://bluegrasspals.com/mailman/listinfo/dectalk
>>>>>
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>>>> http://bluegrasspals.com/mailman/listinfo/dectalk
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>



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