Using Clicker 5 Mouse and Keyboard Functions in Clicker Grids A two-button mouse may be used to control access various features of the Clicker program. This table shows the basic uses of mouse clicks with and without modifier keys. Mouse Button Only Shift ( key on Macs) CTRL ALT (Option key on Macs) Left click Send content to the Clicker Writer Listen to individual words that appear in the Clicker Writer Edit the text content of a cell Drag to select multiple adjacent cells Once in text editing, use the Tab key to move to the next cell for editing Right click (may be disabled by network policies) Hear an auditory preview of cell contents in the Clicker Grid Displays the Cell Properties window (may be disabled in Run Mode) Use to select multiple cells regardless of their positions. Once multiple cells are selected, holding CTRL and ALT will display a red outline that allows for resizing of all selected cells. This is a useful way to prepare a grid for added rows and/or columns of cells. Hold the ALT key down to move or resize the cell. A four-pointed arrow moves the cell, a twopointed diagonal one (only available at the lower-right corner of the cell) lets one change the height and/or width. The Clicker Explorer Clicker is combination of two different tools, the Clicker Writer and the Clicker Grid. Users access them from the Clicker Explorer. The Clicker Explorer is the window that appears whenever Clicker is launched. This is the point at which a user can create grids, navigate through folders, launch grids to write a new document, or open an existing documents. Documents are saved in HTML format and will be identified by an icon from your browser. Go to the Home Grid Hide/View Explorer Create Grids Navigation Tools Folders, Grids, and Files Using Clicker 5.doc 1
The Clicker Writer and the Clicker Grid Clicker is divided into two primary tools; the Clicker Writer and the Clicker Grid. The Writer is a word processing program that occupies the top portion of the screen. This tool works like many standard word processors, allowing the user to perform tasks such as formatting text, adding pictures, and checking spelling. The Clicker Writer also includes speech so that the user can hear letter names, words, and/or sentences read aloud as they are typed. A Speak Text icon (the caption balloon) also lets a user listen to all of the text that has been typed in a document this is a useful tool for proofing a document. The Clicker Grid can serve as a word wall that models spelling, reinforces word order, or links multiple grids. Just like the Clicker Writer, the Clicker Grid takes advantage of speech tools. Right-clicking on a button will read its contents aloud. Left-clicking will send the contents of a button to the Clicker Writer or perform an action programmed into the button. Click this to hear the document s text read aloud by Clicker CLICKER WRITER Click this to hide/show the Clicker Grid The top of the File menu controls the Clicker Writer The bottom of the File menu controls the Clicker Grid CLICKER GRID Changing User Preferences To change user preferences like speech or text settings, Click on the menu for Options and then select User Preferences. Editing Use these options to control mouse functions and saving. Writing Use these options to configure capitalization and specify which pop-up grids to use for the wordlists and keyboard. Speech Use this panel to activate speech for letters, words, sentences and/or highlighting. Selecting Use File Settings will give the designer the most control over speech. Appearance Use this panel to set the icon sizes for toolbars and the font size for ToolTips. Using Clicker 5.doc 2
1. Launch Clicker 5 from the Desktop. 2. Click on Create new Grid Set to start designing a new grid for writing (also referred to as a Sending grid). If you have already created grids that you would like to use (or want to explore sample grids), choose a folder or grid icon in the right side of the window. Double-clicking an existing grid launches the grid and a new document window. 3. Choose the type of grid you would like to create from the list on the left. In this example, Word Banks was selected. Another window appears and shows you the available grid templates. 4. Double-click on ShowMe to look at a sample file. Click the Create button to view the tutorial. Follow any onscreen cues or press the arrow keys on each grid to move through the activity. Similar steps are used to demonstrate possible grid uses in the other Grid Sets. 5. To return to the main screen, click on the Explorer icon in the toolbar at the top of the screen. The toolbar is shown below. To navigate through pages on the screen, you may use the green arrow icons to go to the previous grid or advance to the next one. Using Clicker 5.doc 3
6. To create a new grid set based on word grids, follow the directions in step 3, highlight Word Banks and click Create. A window of pre-designed layouts will appear. Choose a grid that is suitable for the task you are performing. In the image to the right, a grid containing twelve long cells has been selected. Click Create to make the grid. 7. A blank grid will be created. Notice that the screen is also divided into two parts. The top of the window contains the Clicker Writer while the bottom half contains the Clicker Grid that was created. The writer file is not yet named and uses the temporary title Document Untitled (which appears at the top of the window). The grid has not been saved either, so the term File: Untitled appears at the bottom left corner of the grid. CLICKER WRITER CLICKER GRID 8. Click on the File menu. Notice that the menu is also split in half. Items at the top of the menu relate to the Clicker Writer (the top half of the window), while items at the bottom relate to the Clicker Grid (the bottom half of the window). 9. Select Save Grid Set As to give your grid (the bottom portion) a name. The file will be saved in the main Explorer window that the user will see when Clicker is launched. In most cases, it is probably best that files stay in this directory or folders contained within it. Click Save and you will be returned to Clicker 5. Using Clicker 5.doc 4
10. Now add text to the cells in the bottom portion of the screen. Hold down the Shift button on the keyboard and click on a cell. Type the letter, word, phrase, or sentence that should be associated with that cell. 11. If you plan on adding content to multiple cells, press the Tab key and your cursor will move to the next available cell. Clicking on another cell or pressing the Enter key will take you out of the editing mode. 12. Once you have entered the text into your cell, it is a good idea to save your work. Click on File and Save Grid Set. Since you have already given the grid a name, you will not need to do anything else. The grid will be saved and you will be returned to the Clicker environment. 13. Click in the upper portion of the screen (the Clicker Writer). You may use the keyboard to type directly into the document. You may also use the Clicker grid to type. Simply click on the cell with your left mouse button and the contents of the cell will be added to your page. 14. Use the right/red button to listen to a cell s contents without typing them. This feature is useful if you are unsure of what a word is and want to listen to it first. 15. As you type into Clicker Writer, the program may speak letters, words, or sentences. These settings can be easily changed by clicking on Options and selecting User Preferences from the menu. Click on the Speech tab and make your selections as appropriate. This window also allows you to determine whether highlighting will be available. This feature displays each word in a different color as the computer voice reads it. Using Clicker 5.doc 5
16. Once the document has been typed, users may want to save or print the work. Open the File menu and choose the desired option from the top half of the menu. NOTE: The Clicker Grid contains two special icons that will display pop-up grids. The abc icon will display a QWERTY keyboard that can be used in place of the physical keyboard. This could be useful if The user is having difficulty activating keys or shifting her gaze between the keyboard and the screen. Clicking the key at the bottom-left will display alternate characters and a number pad. Clicking the red X or the X icon in the upper-right corner will close the keyboard. Resizing the keyboard from one of the edges will increase the size of the board and keys (as a way to make them more visible). The second icon, which looks like two columns of lines, will display a pop-up word list. The user can click on a letter to display a word wall. Once a cell is clicked, the pop-up grid closes automatically. Changes can be made to this grid just as they were in step 10. Editing Cells Cells may be changed based upon the needs of the user or the purpose of the activity. Possible changes include things such as changing a cell s color, setting whether pictures or text appear on the cell, specifying what information is sent or played when a cell is clicked, or launching a grid when a cell is activated. If the option to Allow Shift-Right Click to view cell properties is enabled within the User Preferences, cell properties can be accessed in either the Run or Edit Mode. If this option is disabled, the user must enter editing mode to use the Shift-Right Click (or simply right-click) on a cell to view properties. Right-click on a button in Edit Mode and select Properties Shift-Right-click on a button to view the properties Click on tabs to change different functions of the cell Using Clicker 5.doc 6
Selecting Multiple Cells Holding the CTRL key while clicking allows multiple cells to be selected at once. As cells are selected, a gray hash pattern is shown to indicate that a given cell is selected. Release the CTRL key and Shift-Right-Click on the interior of one of the selected cells. The Cell Properties dialog box that is displayed will affect all selected cells. This is useful for such tasks as changing colors on multiple buttons at once or removing pictures from multiple cells. Unselected cell Selected cells are shown with a diagonal hatch pattern Cell Properties Five tabs are available to define the appearance and function of cells and, in the case of the General tab, the cursor. The Appearance tab controls the background color for the cell and determines whether a border is shown. A picture can be added by browsing folders on the computer or removed by using the Remove Picture button. If text is used on a cell, one of four radio buttons can be used to specify where text is located in relation to the picture. Text can be removed from a cell or aligned and formatted by using the tools at the top of the text window. The Send tab controls what information gets sent into the Clicker Writer when a cell is activated. By default, cells are configured to send the text shown in the cell. Pictures that are contained in a cell can also be sent to the Clicker Writer by checking the box to send the picture. A space, return, and/or tab can also be added after sent text by clicking the appropriate check boxes. Sound and video controls may be set for each mouse button. While most grids tend to make use of the synthesized speech available in Clicker, sound or video recordings that are saved on the computer can be configured to play instead. This is especially useful for creating multimedia presentations. If a microphone is available, sounds can also be recorded and played. This tool is useful for inserting directions, character voices for a book, or pronunciations not handled well by the speech synthesizer (e.g., words or phrases in foreign languages). Using Clicker 5.doc 7
The Open Grid tab allows users to add navigation properties to a cell. Default settings are set to Don t move to another grid. Certain pictures added from the Cell Palette are preprogrammed to move to other grids, however (e.g., the right arrow is configured to move to Next Grid ). Various presets can be selected from the pull-down menus or a specific grid or pop-up can be identified by selecting Choose Grid from the pull-down menu. The General Tab allows the designer to add a ToolTip to a cell. Text entered here will display onscreen whenever a user mouses over a cell in a grid. Pointer icons can also be identified when a user mouses over a cell. This feature can help clarify the function of a cell (e.g., an arrow can be used for navigation cells while a finger can be used to show cells that send text to Clicker Writer). The smiley and frown icons can be used to provide cues about correct or incorrect selections or to indicate opposites. Sequencing Grids Grid Sets may include writing grids, pop-ups and templates (referred to as Master Grids). Multiple grids can be linked together in a sequence in a specific order. 1. Create or open a Grid Set. 2. Enter Edit Mode by choosing from the menu or double-clicking on Run Mode at the bottom-left of the screen. Double-click on Run Mode changes to 3. In addition to the Status Bar message showing that the user is now in Edit Mode, a toolbar will appear onscreen. In order to view the grid sequences, click on the first icon in the toolbar (Explorer). 4. The Clicker Explorer opens in Edit Mode. The window on the right-hand side of the screen shows grids that currently exist in the set. Templates for grids and pop-ups (yellow items) appear in the bottom row of icons. Quickly add new grids by dragging-and-dropping a Master Grid icon into a Sequence or Pop-up row. Likewise, drag items onto the Master Grids row to create a copy of an existing grid to use as a template. Using Clicker 5.doc 8
This is the first grid that displays when this grid set is launched. Right-click a grid to rename it or choose from other options Double-click a grid icon to edit the grid Items stored in the Master Grids section can be dragged-and-dropped into other rows to add them to the sequence. Items can similarly be added to the Master Grids to be used as templates. Grids may also be added to a sequence from the text menu at the top of the window. Click Grid > Add Grid to display a dialog box. Adding a grid in this manner allows the user to use templates from other grid sets that may not be visible in the current grid set window. 5. Double-click a grid to view it in editing mode. If desired, add a navigation object to allow the user to move from one grid to another. Any cell can be configured to serve as a link to another grid. In this example, add a cell by using the Cell Palette. Click on the Cell Palette icon in the editing toolbar. Doing so will launch the palette in a new window. Selections can be added to a grid by performing a drag-anddrop movement. The same process applies to the Pictures palette and the Sounds palette. Click here Drag and drop an existing icon onto the grid 6. Edit cells as needed by adding text, pictures, and navigation elements. 7. Cells (or multiple, selected cells) may be copied and pasted into a grid by right-clicking and choosing Copy or Paste. If there is insufficient room on an existing grid, there are two options to consider: a. Add a new grid or pop-up that can be linked to the original. b. Create space for new cells by resizing existing cells. Using Clicker 5.doc 9
Resizing Existing Cells 1. Hold the CTRL key down while clicking on the cells to be resized. 2. Continue holding the CTRL key and press and hold the ALT key. A red bounding box will appear around the selected cells. 3. Continue holding the CTRL and ALT keys. Click and drag on the small white boxes that appear in the corners and midsections of the red box. The selected cells and spacing will be resized proportionally. Release the mouse button, CTRL key, and ALT key to finalize the size of the cells. 4. Add new cells by using the Cell Palette or by copying and pasting cells that are already on the grid. Drag from any of the eight white anchor point to resize the selected cells A red bounding box appears to resize selected cells These copied cells were pasted into the space created by the resize Select multiple cells, right-click inside one of them, and choose Align to quickly organize scattered cells Questions Scott A. Dougherty IDEA Training and Consultation Coordinator, Assistive Technology 475 East Waterfront Drive Homestead, PA 15120-1144 Work: (412) 394-1375 Fax: (412) 394-5992 E-mail: scott.dougherty@aiu3.net Kendra Bittner IDEA Training and Consultation Coordinator, Assistive Technology 475 East Waterfront Drive Homestead, PA 15120-1144 Work: (412) 394-5872 Fax: (412) 394-5992 E-mail: kendra.bittner@aiu3.net Using Clicker 5.doc 10