Dolphin Guide

What is Guide?

Guide is an all-in-one computer package, for people who are blind or partially sighted. It has been specifically designed to be easy-to-use and easy-to-learn. So it doesn't matter if you've never used a computer before, Guide will help you to achieve the results you want. - No knowledge of computers required.

 Guide has its own in-built screen reader, so it will read out the text on every screen, even while you're typing. It also has its own in-built screen magnifier, so you can enlarge the text on every screen, whether you are writing a letter or surfing the Internet. 

And what's more, Guide requires very little training, so most people can easily teach themselves how to use it. This is because Guide uses easy-to-follow menu options for each task, which are controlled via the keyboard and displayed on uncluttered screens. If you are stuck, a Help Page can be accessed from any screen, to give you extra advice and support. 

Guide is available as a CD to be loaded onto an existing computer. 

So what kind of great features does Guide have to offer?

Guide offers many great features, which are all integrated within one package, so that there is no need to switch between different programmes to complete each task. These enable the user to:

Write letters and documents:

Write, edit, save, retrieve, spell-check and format all letters and documents. Guide takes you through the whole process of writing letters and documents, using clear audio instructions and reading out text as it is typed. Text can be formatted in the normal ways, such as aligning left, centre and right, making it bold and changing its colour and size. The on-screen text can be magnified and, in addition to Guide reading out text as it is typed, your document or letter can be read back as a whole or in smaller word, sentence or paragraph portions. Your letter or document can be saved and finished another day, or it can be printed out automatically in large print. Guide can print on may different paper sizes and also includes a function to automatically print envelopes. Letters and documents can be saved in a number of different formats, including Guide, Microsoft Word, Rich Text, Plain text and even spoken MP3.

Spell-Checker, Dictionary and Thesaurus:

Guide includes two spell-checkers and a 250,000 word dictionary and thesaurus! The first spell-checker checks the spelling of words as you type them. If Guide detects a spelling mistake it instantly makes a sound, so you know to go back and correct the last word. The second spell-checker is a full spell-checker that will check every word in your letter, document or email, etc. When a spelling mistake is detected a list of suggested corrections is displayed, for you to pick one from. You can also type a correction manually or choose to ignore the word altogether. Both the spell-checker, Dictionary and Thesaurus can all be used anywhere in Guide where you are typing text.

Send and receive emails:

Send, receive, reply to, edit, forward and save emails. Guide makes sending and receiving emails unbelievably easy! Guide automatically connects to the Internet and retrieves any new emails awaiting delivery. The new emails are put in a list where you can pick which ones to read. The Guide voice will speak out the selected email, as well as showing it in large print on the screen. If photographs or other images have been attached to the email, Guide can magnify them instantly at the touch of a button! After reading the email you can reply to it, delete it, print it in large print, forward it to someone else, save or view any attachments or just save the whole email to read again later. 

When writing a new email, you can select someone from your address book or simply type in the email address. Guide then asks you to type the subject of the email, then asks you to type the actual message. When complete, your message can be spell-checked then sent. Guide automatically connects to the Internet, then tells you if it's been sent successfully. All the emails you send are saved in a separate list, so you can read them again if you require. 

Keep contacts in an address book:

Store postal addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses and notes for all of your contacts. The address book can be searched to quickly find a particular contact. Once found, you can browse or print their details, print an envelope, send them an email, write them a letter or have Guide actually dial their telephone number. As with all other parts of Guide, the address book can be magnified and the Guide voice clearly speaks everything out.

Calendar and Reminders:

Enter appointments in a calendar and choose to be reminded of important events. View your calendar month by month, day by day or hour by hour. Filter your calendar to show just free or just busy times.

Surf the Internet:

Do your grocery shopping, find bus timetables, book train tickets or just go surfing with our amazing new web browser. With just three keys on your keyboard you can read any page! Simply use the left and right arrow keys to move about a page and the enter key to follow links. It's that easy! 

As you move about the page with the arrow keys, Guide highlights and reads out each piece of text. Each page can also be magnified if required. To further aid reading, pages can be optionally switched to a text only view that displays the page in your preferred Guide colours.

Scan and read books and documents:

This feature turns your computer into an easy-to-use Reading Machine. Printed text documents are placed on the scanner and are then both spoken out by Guide's voice and magnified on the screen. The reading speed can be adjusted, and with the press of a button, words, sentences or paragraphs can be repeated. For reading bank statements and other similar documents, Guide has a special column mode, that ensures the text is read out clearly and logically. After reading, documents can be edited, saved and printed out in large print.

Magnify Handwriting, Diagrams or Pictures:

Images, hand written letters, diagrams or just about anything placed on your scanner can be magnified on screen. Simple controls allow the images to be zoomed in and out, and moved left and right and up and down. Different colouring combinations can be applied, so you can turn black writing on a white page into yellow writing on a black page! Many other colour combinations are also available. Your zoomed image can be saved, altered and printed.

Print or edit photos from your digital camera:

Plug in your camera to your USB port and instantly view and magnify your photos. Zoom and crop your images on screen, then print them out on plain or photo quality paper. It really couldn't be easier!

Play CDs and MP3s:

Play a normal CD with your computer. Guide will get the CD title, artist and title of all the tracks automatically from the Internet and show them on screen where they can be spoken out or magnified. On-screen controls allow you to play, start, stop, pause, skip-forward or skip backwards through the tracks. You can leave the CD playing, while you go and use other parts of Guide. If you have downloaded an MP3 or you have a CD with MP3s on it, Guide can now play these as well!

Memo Recorder: 

Using your computer's microphone and speakers you can record and playback spoken memos. The memos are kept in a list, so each one can be easily played back. A recorded voice memo can also be emailed to someone and played back on their computer! (The recipient does not need a copy of Guide to play it back).

Calculator:

Use the calculator for basic or scientific calculations! The calculation and answer can be magnified and, as normal, Guide speaks everything out.

Free Telephone Calls:

New! With Version 4 of Guide you can receive and make free telephone calls to anyone in the world by using your computer and Internet connection. Guide uses the amazing Skype system, which can be installed on any computer for free.

DVD & Movie Player:

Use your computer to play either DVD discs or movie files. Guide includes a fully accessible DVD video player. Fully control the movie with the large print and spoken menu, or use shortcut keys. The controls include: Stop and start, forward and rewind, skip between chapters, turn subtitles on or off, pick audio tracks, change volume, and much more!

My Finances:

Manage your finances with Guide. Keep track of your income and outgoings on up to 10 different accounts. Print reports and show balances for particular date ranges.

Instant Messenger:

Instant Messenger is an ideal way to keep in touch with your family and friends, as it allows you to communicate over the Internet instantly! Sending and receiving messages is immediate, which makes it much faster than sending and receiving emails. Additionally, it also allows you to see which of your friends are currently available to chat. If they are online, your messages will popup instantly on their screen.

Keyboard Practice:

If you're new to a computer keyboard, Guide has a keyboard learning tool that allows you to explore the keyboard and learn where each key is and what it does. A description for each key is shown in large print on-screen and spoken by Guide's voice.

Customization:

The look and operation of Guide can be fully adjusted to suit individual needs. Amongst other things, you can change the screen back colour, text colour, font type and pick a male or female voice. Magnification and voices can also be independently controlled and even disabled if required.

You can even customize the Guide menus! Menu options can be added or removed and you can assign your own shortcut numbers and letters to each menu item.

Large Print and Spoken Help:

Each screen in Guide has its very own help page, explaining about that screen and what options are available on it. The help pages can be magnified, spoken out by Guide's voice or printed in large print.

Want to try Guide for yourself? Download a free demo or email us to request a demo CD.

To view a presentation on how to use Guide, click on the video below. Please note Guide is not available as a full PC package in New Zealand.