Making it FUN and EASY to use

CoolSoft, LLC SPEECH with your COMPUTER!

Quick Start Guide for Speak-to-Mail™ 1.0

Version 1.00.23

INTRODUCTION

Speak-to-Mail™ is a simple, low-cost email program that is fun and easy to use. It lets you send email by speech using your favorite email program and state of the art speech recognition technology from Microsoft Corporation. Now, with Speak-to-Mail™, you can send emails simply by speaking to your computer. Speak-to-Mail™ works by providing an interface as a template for your email, and includes your contact list. You can address, compose and send your email entirely by speech. When you send your message, Speak-to-Mail™ populates the fields of a message in your default email program and sends the message according to the email program’s settings.

Note: CoolSoft, LLC acquired the rights to Speak-to-Mail 1.0 and other assets of Yellow Tiger, LLC in December 2003. CoolSoft is re-releasing Speak-to-Mail™ Version 1.00. 23. There are some important differences between Version 1.00.23 and the former version 1.00.22 previously released by Yellow Tiger

· The full version of Speak-to-Mail 1.00.23 no longer requires a registration key, and can be obtained only by purchasing a license from www.coolsoftllc.com.

· Speak-to-Mail™ now comes in a single install that includes the speech engine and lets you choose which edition you want to install. There are three editions for Outlook Express, Outlook and Netscape 7.x.

· Editions for Netscape 4.x, 6.x, Eudora and AOL have been discontinued.

· Bug fixes to some known issues identified in version 1.00.22 have been made.

· SpeakPad™ has been discontinued, and replaced by SpeakToText™ 2.0, a more robust and feature packed speech program, which can be purchased at www.coolsoftllc.com.

· Support for version 1.00.22 and all previous versions has been discontinued.

· The trial version of Speak-to-Mail™ remains at version 1.00.22. It does not include speech recognition, and to use the trial version you must already have Microsoft SAPI speech recognition installed on your computer.

· The trial version of Speak-to-Mail™ will run only for 60 days and registration keys to upgrade the trial version to the full version are no longer available. To run the full version of Speak-to-Mail™, the trial version must be uninstalled.

· The install of the full version gives you the option to uninstall of the trial version before continuing with the install.

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION.. 1

GETTING STARTED.. 3

System Requirements. 3

Checking for the SAPI Speech Recognition Engine. 3

Setting Up the Microsoft SAPI 5.1 Speech Recognition Engine. 4

Tips For Achieving the Best Possible Speech Recognition. 5

USING SPEAK-TO-MAIL™... 5

Setting the Correct Default Email Program.. 5

Starting Speak-to-Mail™... 6

Important Notes. 7

SpeakPad™ and the SpeakPad™ Button. 7

Speech Recognition Reference. 7

1. Command & Control 8

2. Dictation. 8

3. Natural Language Modeling Technology. 8

Buttons. 8

Tool Tips. 8

Using the Mouse and Keyboard. 8

Training Words. 9

Command Summary. 9

Dictation Commands. 10

GETTING STARTED

System Requirements

System requirements for Speak-to-Mail™ are:

Operating System:	Windows 98se, Me, 2000 or XP (Home or Professional)
Memory:	At least 128 Meg RAM, 256 or better preferred.
System Processor:	A PC with a 500mhz or greater Pentium III, Pentium IV or Pentium compatible processor.
Disk Space:	100 megs free disk space
Software:	Microsoft SAPI 5.1 Speech Recognition Engine* At least one of the following email programs: Outlook, Outlook Express or Netscape 7.x
Hardware:	A good quality, noise-cancellation microphone. A good quality, SoundBlaster compatible sound card
User:	About 15 to 30 minutes of your time to install Speak-to-Mail™, install the redistribution of the Microsoft SAPI 5.1 speech recognition engine, and train your recognition profile to recognize your voice.

*Available by redistribution with Speak-to-Mail™ or directly from Microsoft.

Note that the trial version does not include the SAPI Speech Engine.

Checking for the SAPI Speech Recognition Engine

You need to have the Microsoft SAPI compliant speech recognition engine installed on your computer. If you have not previously installed the SAPI speech recognition engine either directly from Microsoft or in conjunction with another SAPI 5.1 speech recognition program, the full version of Speak-to-Mail™ will install it for you. However, you will not be able to use speech with the trial version if you do not already have SAPI installed.

(Step 1) -- Check if you have the Microsoft speech recognition engine:

1. Open the control panel (StartàSettingsàControl Panel). Look for the Speech icon shown

2. If you see the speech icon, double click on it and you will see the Speech Properties dialog box.

Note: If the Speech icon is not present, then you do not have the speech recognition engine on your computer and you can skip the rest of this section

(Step 2) -- Check the version of the Microsoft speech recognition engine:

If the version of the Microsoft speech recognition engine is not English Recognizer v 5(comes with Office XP), v5.1 (comes with Speak-to-Mail™ or SpeakToText™ 2.0), or v6 (comes with Office 2003) then you will need to purchase the full version of Speak-to-Mail™ to get the SAPI Engine, or you will have to go to the Microsoft speech website to download it.

Setting Up the Microsoft SAPI 5.1 Speech Recognition Engine

Start “Speech Properties”

Go to the control panel (StartàSettingsàControl Panel). Find and double click the “Speech” icon

The “Speech Properties” dialog box will appear.

Setup your Recognition Profile

You can use the “Default Speech Profile,” but we recommend you create a speech profile.

When have completed creating your new profile click “Next” to configure your microphone and train your profile (do not click “finish”). The next two sections are extremely important in achieving good speech recognition and the highest possible level of accuracy.

Configure your Microphone

You should establish a habit of configuring your microphone in the same way each time you start a speech recognition session. Use the “Configure Microphone” button on in “Speech Properties” as often as you need.

Microphone quality: To achieve good speech recognition, you need to have a good quality noise canceling microphone. We recommend a headset type microphone.

Train the Microsoft SAPI 5.1 Speech Recognition Engine

Training Overview

The Microsoft Speech Recognition Engine needs a sample of each users speech to correctly convert sound into written words. Each speaker and each computer audio system have unique characteristics, which must be sampled and used to adjust the engine. This process is called “training” the engine. Each user must train their own profile.

Training

To start training click on the “Train Profile” button from the Speech Recognition tab and follow the instructions.

IMPORTANT: To keep improving your accuracy, you should come back to the Speech Properties and do additional training. The more you train and use the speech engine, the more your accuracy will improve. In testing, we found a substantial improvement in accuracy between the second and third training. After five sessions, the accuracy was much greater. We suggest you take advantage of the opportunity to read all of the available selections to your computer.

Text To Speech Tab

The “Text To Speech” tab in the Speech Properties dialog box is where you can select the computer’s output voice.

Voice Selection

Use the drop-down list under “Voice Selection” to choose a voice, and you will hear the selected voice read a sample sentence.

Tips For Achieving the Best Possible Speech Recognition

Here are some tips on getting the best possible speech recognition:

Microphone – Using a high quality, noise-canceling microphone is very important. Making sure your microphone is setup properly in the Speech Properties is essential. Make certain your microphone position is consistent both in training and in use.

Training - Training the engine to recognize your voice at least several times when you first start using it will greatly improve your recognition.

Training Words – If you consistently get incorrect recognition of certain words, using the “Train Word” function in Speak-to-Mail™ will greatly enhance recognition of those words.

Use - The more you use speech with your computer, the more your recognition will improve.

Environment - Being in a quiet room helps.

Hardware - Having a faster processor and ample memory and a high quality, SoundBlaster compatible, audio input is also important.

Commitment - We cannot over emphasize the importance of training your recognition profile several times.

Speak clearly - When using Speak-to-Mail™, speak clearly and into the microphone.

USING SPEAK-TO-MAIL™

Setting the Correct Default Email Program

In order for Speak-to-Mail™ to function properly, the email program and address book for the edition of Speak-to-Mail™ that you are using must be set as the default email program, or said differently, you need to use the edition of Speak-to-Mail that corresponds with your default email program.

Go to Internet Options in the Control Panel: (Start, à Settings, à Control Panel). Select the correct email program and address book for the edition of Speak-to-Mail™ you are using.

Starting Speak-to-Mail™

To start Speak-to-Mail™, either click the Speak-to-Mail™ icon on your desktop, or use the program menu (Startà Programsà Speak-to-Mailà “Speak-to-Mail™ for (Edition)”.

Note: The trial version of Speak-to-Mail™ is version 1.00.22, and will display the startup splash screen, which enables a 60-day trial period. The trial version cannot be registered or upgraded to the full version, and must be uninstalled before you can install the full version 1.00.23. When you purchase the full version of Speak-to-Mail™, the install will give you the option to uninstall the trial version before continuing. Aside from these differences and some bug fixes, the trial version 1.00.22 and the full version 1.00.23 are substantially the same.

Starting the Default Email Program

If you are using the Outlook or Outlook Express edition, as Speak-to-Mail™ is opening; it will also open the email program for that edition of Speak-to-Mail™.

In the Netscape 7.x edition, the Speak-to-Mail™ opens the messenger and a compose window when you send an email. The email can be sent now or later from Netscape.

If you are using Outlook and have the latest Windows security updates, the Microsoft security service dialog box will appear.

Check the box labeled “Allow access for,” use the default of “1 minute” and click on “Yes”. This will allow Speak-to-Mail™ to access the address book and read your contact list.

IMPORTANT: If you do not see the dialog box shown you either do not have the latest Microsoft security updates and the program will continue loading, or the security dialog box is minimized in the toolbar at the bottom of your desktop.

Sending Your Email

To send your email, say “Click Send Email” and Speak-to-Mail™ will send your email according to the following:

Outlook and Outlook Express

The email is sent directly to the program where it is sent according to the default settings.

Netscape 7.x Edition

Speak-to-Mail™ opens messenger and a compose window. You can choose to send your email from Netscape now or send it later.

Windows Security Updates

If you are using Microsoft Outlook 2000, XP or 2003, or Microsoft Outlook Express from an installation of Windows 2000 or XP, and if you have the latest Windows security updates, the Microsoft security service dialog box will appear.

Important Notes

THERE ARE A NUMBER OF IMPORTANT ITEMS TO NOTE BEFORE YOU START

All the names in your address book must be unique.

If Speak-to-Mail™ finds more than one entry for a name when it is reading your address book, it will load only the first occurrence of that name.

The names in your address book must contain letters only.

Speak-to-Mail™ cannot recognize contact names that contain characters other than letters. When Speak-to-Mail™ loads your contact list it removes all extra characters and displays only the letters.

Sending Email

To send an email, Speak-to-Mail™ must have at least one recipient in the “TO” field and the “Subject” line must contain some text. Otherwise, you will not be able to send your message. Please review the section on “Email Security” in the User Manual.

SpeakPad™ and the SpeakPad™ Button

SpeakPad™ was discontinued when CoolSoft, LLC acquired the assets of Yellow Tiger, LLC, the creator of Speak-to-Mail™ and SpeakPad™. SpeakPad™ has been replaced by SpeakToText™ 2.0.

SpeakToText™ 2.0 is a much more robust and feature packed speech recognition program. You can learn more about SpeakToText™ 2.0 and get your copy by going to:

www.coolsoftllc.com/main.asp?product=9

The SpeakPad™ button in Speak-to-Mail™ opens a dialog that will take you to our website where you can get your license and copy of SpeakToText™ 2.0.

Speech Recognition Reference

Speak-to-Mail™ uses three speech modes:

1. Command & Control

Command & Control is used to navigate the fields and perform functions. Some of the spoken commands also activate the functions of buttons on the screen and place email addresses in desired fields. Other commands within dictation do not have buttons. See the commands list at the end of this guide.

2. Dictation

Dictation is used to freely dictate your email subject and text message.

3. Natural Language Modeling Technology

The Nature Language Model is designed to allow you to interact more naturally with the program. For example – this dialog:

You: “Computer”

Computer: “Yes”

You: “Send an email to John Doe about next Tuesday’s meeting.”

Will result in:

John Doe’s email address will appear in the “TO” field, the “Subject” field will read “Next Tuesday’s meeting,” and the cursor will be placed in the “Body” ready to accept your dictation of the message.

To get the most out of using our Natural Language Model, we recommend that you read the Natural Language Model section in the Speak-to-Mail™ User Guide.

Buttons

Three different styles of buttons are used in the interface screens:

YELLOW - The buttons with yellow text are where you email addresses and text are entered and activated by speech commands (i.e. “select (NAME)” to place a contact’s name in the “To:” field.) They do not perform any task when you click on them.

GREEN - The buttons with green text are function buttons that can be activated both by speech commands and by mouse clicks.

GRAY - Gray buttons, like the buttons typically used in Windows applications, are used in Speak-to-Mail™ sub-screens where speech recognition is not active. A gray button indicates that speech recognition will not work with that button, and that you must use your mouse to click on it.

Tool Tips

To help you with commands, “Tool Tips” are included with each button that is speech enabled. When place the arrow over a button it will tell you what you can say to activate the command function for that button.

Using the Mouse and Keyboard

If you are having trouble with recognition, or do not have your microphone handy, you can use the mouse and keyboard to send an email with Speak-to-Mail™. Use the mouse to navigate to the fields and to click buttons on the Speak-to-Mail™ screen.

In the “Subject” or “Body” fields, you can use the mouse to highlight the desired text, and then you can use either voice commands or the right mouse button to cut, copy or paste text.

Remember, if you are cutting or copying text, your selection must be highlighted first. To paste text, you must use the mouse to place the cursor in the location where you want to paste the text.

IMPORTANT: If you type or say something (other than a voice command) while text is highlighted, the text will be replaced by what you typed or said, and you will not be able to recover the deleted text.

Training Words

To train a word, you must be in Speak-to-Mail™, say, “click train word” or click on the “train word” button with your mouse, and the Train Word dialog box will open.

Type in the correct spelling of the word you want to train in the “Word” box, then click on the “Record pronunciation” button and say the word to add it to the custom dictionary in your speech recognition profile. Trained words are saved only in your speech recognition profile, and are not available to other users.

Command Summary

Microphone Commands

To turn on the microphone, say “Wake Up” or “Microphone On”.

To turn off the microphone, say “Go to Sleep” or “Microphone Off”.

You can also click on the microphone icon to turn the microphone on and off.

Screen Navigation

To move the cursor to a field:

Desired Field Commands (what to say)

To “To”

CC “CC” “Copy”

BCC “BCC” “Blind” “Blind Copy”

Subject “Subject” “Email Subject”

Body “Body” “Text Message” “Text” “Email Text” “Email Body” “Email Message”

Placing a Contact’s Email Address in an Address Field

Desired Field What to Say

To “Select NAME” “Send to NAME”

CC “Copy to NAME” “Copy NAME”

BCC “Blind to NAME” “Blind Copy NAME”

When you see the dialog box, to select the name you want, say, “choose (number next to the contact’s name).” For example, say, “choose one” to select the first name in the list. You can also choose the desired contact with a left mouse click.

Clearing Fields

Desired Field Commands (what to say)

To “Clear To” “Clear Send To”

CC “Clear CC” “Clear Copy” “Clear Copy To”

BCC “Clear BCC” “Clear Blind” “Clear Blind Copy” “Clear Blind

Copy To”

Subject “Clear Subject”

Attachment “Clear Attachment”

Selected Text “Delete Selection”

Body “Clear Text” “Clear Message” “Clear Body”

Entire Message “Clear Email” “Clear All”

Sorting Contacts

You can alternate sorting between first and last name simply by saying, “click sort.” You can also use your mouse to click on the “Sort Contacts by First/Last Name” button.

If contacts are sorted by first name, you have to say “select John Doe.”

If contacts are sorted by last name, you have to say, “select Doe John.”

Scrolling Up and Down the Contact List

To scroll down the contact list, say “contacts page down.”

To scroll up the contact list, say “contacts page up.”

Finding a Contact’s Phone Number

To retrieve a contact’s phone number you say “Phone Number (the contact’s name).”

Attachments

To open the Attachment Window, say “Click Attachment.”

Sending Your Email

To send your email, say “Click Send Email” and Speak-to-Mail™ will send your email according to the following:

Closing Speak-to-Mail™

To close Speak-to-Mail™, say “Click Close,” or click on the “Close” button.

Open Signature dialog box

To open the signature dialog box say, “click Update Signature” or click on the “Update Signature” button. To disable/enable/change the Startup Greeting or disable/enable the banner from the signature settings dialog box.

Embedding a Signature File in Your Emails

Speak-to-Mail™ lets you embed a text signature at the end of each email. You can do this globally for all of your emails, or with individual emails. Before you can embed a signature in your email, you must first setup a signature file. To do this, say “click update signature” (or click on the “Update Signature” button) and the Settings screen will open.

Note: Speech recognition is not active in this dialog box. Use the keyboard to enter your signature file as you would like it to appear and click on “Save.”

Dictation Commands

The following sections contain a list of dictation commands.

The Cursor Has Disappeared

If it appears that you have lost the cursor even though Speak-to-Mail™ is still accepting dictation, you can say the command “free cheese” to bring back the cursor.