2. BASIC FUNCTIONS OF THE BRAILLE SENSE U2 QWERTY
2.1 How to Enter Commands
2.1.1 Basic Alerts and Messages
2.2 Menu Concepts
2.2.1 Control Symbols
2.3 Using Modifier Keys
2.4 The AC Power Supply and the Battery Pack
2.5 Basic Explanation of Disks, folders, and files
2.6 Controlling the Volume, Speed, and Pitch of the TTS
2.7 Using Speech and Braille
2.8 Entering Text
2.8.1 Inputting/searching for Control characters
2.9 Multi Tasking
2.10 Switching Media Modes
2.11 Switching Key lock
2.12 Print Spool
2.13 One-Handed Mode

2. Basic Functions of the Braille Sense U2 QWERTY

2.1 How to Enter Commands
The commands used to operate the U2 are comprised of various key combinations. In this user manual, the "-" (dash)  is used to indicate that keys should be pressed simultaneously. For example, "Alt-F4" indicates that the user should press "Alt" and "F4" at the same time. 
In a menu or dialog, when your cursor is placed on your desired command, you can execute most commands by pressing "Enter". If you want to cancel the function, and return to your previous location, press "Alt-F4". "Alt-F4" is an important command to remember, as it allows you to abort programs and menus executed accidentally.

2.1.1 Basic Alerts and Messages
There are instances where the U2 alerts you to events for which you have asked it to notify you. For example, by default, the U2 checks the Schedule Manager when you power on, and notifies you of any appointments scheduled for that day.  When you are notified of an appointment, you can interact with the Schedule Manager as you normally would. To exit the Schedule Manager, press "Alt-F4" or "Escape" and you are returned to your previous location.  
If you do not want to be alerted of "today's schedule" at power on, you can turn off the "Check today's schedule" option in the "Global Options" dialog. (See chapter 3)
When you turn on the U2, you are returned to the same location at which you turned the unit off. The U2 announces the name of the running program and your current position or status.  If you turn off the U2 while using the Word Processor, when you power on, it announces the program name, file name, input mode and file protection status. 
When you connect the AC adapter to the U2, the U2 speaks the message "AC adapter connected." When you disconnect it, the U2 says, "AC adaptor disconnected."

2.2 Menu Concepts
Menus on the U2 provide you with a list of programs, actions, or options from which you can select. If a menu item has a submenu, selecting it brings up another list of choices.
Moving among the menu items is very simple.
When using a program on the U2, press "Alt" to bring up its menu. Press the "Up" scroll key or The Up arrow to move to the previous item, and press the "Down" scroll key or the Down arrow to move to the next item. 
To move to the first item in the menu, press "Home". To move to the last item in the menu, press "End". When placed on the first item of a subm menu, pressing "Backspace" returns you to the Main Menu. The corresponding menu name is displayed on the Braille display, and the menu name is spoken through the TTS (text to speech) engine. To repeat the name of the menu item, press "FNR" 
You can also quickly jump to and execute a menu item by pressing the menu item's shortcut key, usually the first letter of the item name. Often menu items can also be executed instantly, directly from your current position in the program, with a hotkey, enabling you to perform the desired action without accessing the menus. 
Shortcut keys are displayed in parentheses following the menu names. Hotkeys generally consist of a modifier such as "Control", "Alt", or "Function", pressed simultaneously with a letter. These are displayed following the shortcut keys.
For example, if you are in the Word Processor, and press "Alt", then press "Enter" on "File," you hear "New (n) pull down Control-n". The word "New" is the menu option. YOU would press the letter "N" to jump to "New" from within the "File" menu. Press "Control-n" to access the "New" document command from anywhere in the Word Processor. The n is the shortcut key and "Control-n" is the hotkey. It is important to note that some hotkey commands are global, thus will work from anywhere on the unit, and some are program specific. For example, if you want to activate the "new document" option in the Word Processor. You cannot press "Control-n" from the "Program" menu to activate this option. You must be in the Word Processor for "Control-n" to activate the "new document" command. However, if you wish to activate the "display time and Date" option in the "Utilities" menu, this can be done from anywhere on the unit using "FN-T" as this is a global hot key. 
When you are placed on an item you want to execute, press "Enter". If the item you chose has a submenu or dialog, pressing "Enter" opens the submenu or dialog. If the item you chose is a command, pressing "Enter activates the command. This is referred to as "selection." 
When a menu item activates a submenu, the right direction arrow sign is displayed after the name of the corresponding menu on the Braille display and the U2 announces "pull down" after the menu item name.  If the menu item is a dialog box, the ellipsis sign (...) is displayed after the menu item name on the Braille display. The U2 also speaks the message, "common dialog."
Let's begin going through the various menus. First, turn the unit on by pushing the power switch to the right. Now, bring up the "Program" menu by pressing "Win". The "Program" menu is the main menu of the U2. You can access all of the programming, option settings, utilities, and help from this menu. 
The "Program" menu consists of 3 programs: File Manager, Word Processor, and E-mail; and 9 sub menus: Media, Organizer, Web Tools, Social networking, Extras, Games, Utilities, Settings, and Help. If you choose to install add-ons such as our free Bible program or programs developed by third party developers for the Sense notetakers, the "Programs" menu appears between "Games" and "Utilities".
The first item in the "Program" menu is "File Manager". If the Down arrow is pressed, the next menu item is displayed and spoken. Pressing the Down arrow repeatedly, continues your navigational progress down the list of items in the "Program" menu. When you reach the bottom of the list, the "Help" menu item is displayed as it is the last item in the "Program" menu. 
You could also jump quickly to the "Help" menu item by pressing "Control-End" when "File Manager" is displayed. Press "Home", and the U2 jumps back to the top item in the "Program" menu and again speaks and displays "File Manager".  As explained above, to execute a submenu or program from the "Program" menu, press "Enter". If you are in a submenu, and wish to return to the main "Program" menu, press "Escape". 
The "Media" menu contains the "Media Player", "FM Radio", "DAISY Player", and "YouTube". 
The "Organizer" menu contains the "Address Manager", "Schedule Manager", and "Database Manager". 
The "Web Tools" menu contains the "Web Browser", "Quick Browser", "Google Search", and "RSS Reader". 
The "Social Networking" menu contains "Twitter", "Google Talk", "Sense Chat" and "Facebook". 
The "Extras" menu contains the optional "Sense Dictionary", "BookShare Download", "Google Maps", "Sense Navigation" (optional), "Excel Viewer", "Dropbox" and "Online DAISY". 
The "Games" menu contains the "Sense Dice Game" and the "Sense Brain Game". 
The "Utilities" menu contains the "Calculator", "Display time and Date", "Display Compass Heading", "Wake Up Alarm", "Calendar", "Stopwatch", "Terminal For Screen reader", "Display Network Status", "Display Power status", "Format", "Sleep Timer", "Macro Manager" and "Upgrade Braille Sense Firmware".
The "Settings" menu contains "Set Time and Date", "Setup Internet", "Bluetooth Manager", "Pronunciation Dictionary", "Menu Manager", "Backup/Restore Personalized Settings", "Change device Name", "Password Protection" and "Global Options".
Finally, the "Help" menu contains the various sections of the User Manual as well as an "Information" section containing general information about your Braille Sense, such as firmware version, Mac address, and the key number used for authorizing playback of content from digital talking book libraries.
For more information on a specific program, please see the section of this user manual related to that program.
The "Win" command for accessing the "Program" menu is an example of a global hotkey. This means that pressing the "Win" key takes you to the "Program" menu immediately from anywhere on the U2, whether you are in a submenu, a file, a dialog or an application. When you press "Win", you are always placed at the top of the "Program" menu; and File Manager, is displayed and spoken.
There are also global quick launch commands for every program on the unit, mostly comprised of either "Win" or "Caps Lock" and a letter or dot combination. These quick launch commands will immediately launch their associated application from anywhere on the U2. See section 16.2 for a complete list of the quick launch commands. 

2.2.1 Control Symbols 
The Braille Sense U2 QWERTY uses several control symbols to note the type of information being displayed: examples are list items, menus, and edit boxes. These symbols can appear "Before" or "After" the text, or the appearance of this information may be set to "off". The way this information is displayed is determined by the "Control information" setting in the "Global Options" dialog. The default value is set to "Before." Note: In the Web Browser, the control symbols are displayed even if the "Control information" is set to "off".
AS explained above, the control symbol appears before or after the text of the control. For example, if "Control information" is set to "before", and you bring up the Word Processor's program menu, The Braille Sense displays, "MN File (f) pull down".
The following table shows the types of controls and the symbols that are used to indicate them.

Name
Symbol
Comments
Menu
MN
amenu that has submenus.
Menu item
MI
amenu that does not have a submenu.
List item
LI
An item that is part of a list.
Edit box
EB
After this symbol, the edit box name is displayed. You can find the edit box after the edit box name. In the web browser, the symbol "EB" may be followed by an edit box without an edit box name. Edit boxes that begin with the symbol "EB" are one line.
(Ex: "EB Last name: (cursor)" in the address manager program or "EB (cursor)"
Multi edit box
MEB
This indicates a multi line edit box. 
(Ex: "MEB Subject: (cursor)" in the e-mail program)

Computer edit box

CE
An edit box requiring ASCII Braille input.
(Ex: "CE To:" in the Email program)
Combo box
CB
Indicates a combo box in which you can choose an item by pressing the up scroll button or the down scroll button.
(Ex: "CB Type:" in the "Open dialog box" of the Word Processor)
Edit combo box
ECB
choose the desired item by pressing the up or down scroll button, or by directly typing in the item name.
(Ex: "ECB File name: (cursor) " in the "Open dialog box" of the word processor program)
Prompt button
PB
PB follows any question in which you have to choose "Yes" or "No." You can toggle between "Yes" and "No" by pressing "Space" or "Backspace" button. 
(Ex: When you exit from the word processor, "PB Save: Yes") 
Static box
ST
ST indicates the current status.
(Ex: "ST noname.hbl/insert mode/write" in the word processor program)
Link
LN
Indicates a link on a web page.
Anchor
ANC
Indicates an anchor on a web page.
Radio button

RB

Indicates a radio button, cycle among items using up scroll button, down scroll button, space, or Backspace. 
(Ex: "RB Attribute: Write" in the "Information dialog box" of the file manager)
Radio button select
SRB
Indicates the currently selected radio button in the web browser
Radio button unselect
URB
It indicates the radio button is not selected.
Check box check
SCHB
Indicates the check box is selected.
Check box uncheck
UCHB
Indicates the check box is not selected. 

* Note: Links, anchors, and radio buttons are controls that are only used in the Web Browser. 
The symbols enable you to understand what type of input control or menu you are working with. For example, if "MN," "MI," or "LI" are displayed, you know you can move from one item to the previous and next items by pressing the "Up" and "Down" scroll keys. If "ECB," "EB," "CB," or "MEB" are displayed, you know you are in an input area where you must type text. If "BT" is displayed, you can press "Enter" to activate the "button".

2.3 Using Modifier Keys
You can use modifier keys to open the menus, cancel tasks, and move to other items. 
The "Win" key opens the U2 "Program" menu from anywhere on the unit. You can also use "Win" and a program's shortcut key to open that program from anywhere on the U2. For example, if you are in the Word Processor, and want to open the Web Browser, you could press "win-B" to open the Web Browser. 
From within each program, the "Alt" key opens the program specific menu. Use the Up and Down arrows to navigate menu lists. Use "Tab" and "Shift-Tab" to navigate items in a dialog.
Use "Alt-F4" to exit an item. Often, you can also use "Escape". Please note that "Escape" does not exit a program, as does "Alt-F4" but rather, exits menus, dialogs, or prompt boxes.

2.4 The AC Power Supply and the Battery Pack 
It is useful to know the remaining battery power on the U2 so you can determine how much time you have before you must change the battery or connect to AC power.  
To check the battery power status, press "FN-B." The unit displays the following 2 items:
1. Battery power level: expressed as a percentage of the remaining battery power compared to a full charge. 
2. Power source (battery or AC power)
If the battery power level drops under 15 percent, the U2 displays the battery status on the Braille display, and it announces that the battery has less than 15 percent of its power remaining. If the battery power level falls below five percent, the U2 gives you a warning indicating that your battery power level is under five percent, and the U2 will be automatically turned off in one minute, unless you connect it to an AC power supply.
When the U2 is shipped, the battery pack is not installed. This is done to prevent damage during shipping. When you insert the battery in to the U2 for the first time, the unit may display an inaccurate battery power level. Before using the U2 for the first time, please charge the battery for at least six hours. You may use the unit during the initial charge, however, it is recommended if you do, that the unit remain connected to AC power for at least seven hours to fully charge the battery. 
When you remove the battery from the U2, make sure your unit is turned off; especially when the AC power adapter is not connected. If you remove the battery while the unit is on and AC power is not connected, you will lose all data stored in RAM, including open documents, emails, and contacts or appointments that have not been backed up. If you remove the battery, and do not have the U2 connected to AC power, the data stored in RAM remains for about 1 hour. To save your RAM data the U2 must be connected to an AC power adapter or battery pack within an hour; or this data is lost.
* Note, when using CD-ROM/EXTERNAL hard drives
* When you connect an external CD-ROM drive to the U2, please use the AC power adapter for the CD-ROM. It takes about one minute for the CD-ROM to be recognized by the Braille Sense. 
* Please avoid using both an external hard disk and a CD-ROM drive with the U2 at the same time. Or, U2 may be short of power and the unit may shut down. 
* U2 can be charged via a USB cable. However, charging with a USB cable supplies less power to the U2 than does the AC adapter.  While charging U2 via USB, if you use the unit continuously, the battery may not charge, or, depending on how much power you are using, the battery may even continue to drain. If you want to charge the U2 via a USB cable, it is recommended that you leave the unit powered off while charging. 
* If you use a USB cable other than the one shipped with the unit, the U2 may not recognize external USB devices or may not be charged. Please always use the USB cable which is provided with the U2. 
* When the battery is completely depleted, though you connect the AC adapter to U2, the unit may not immediately wake up. After charging a few hours, U2 will power up normally. If you want to use the U2 as soon as you begin charging it, remove the battery from the U2 and connect the AC adapter. After the Braille Sense wakes up, connect the battery. And you may use Braille Sense while charging. 

2.5 Basic Explanation of Disks, folders, and files
Think of the flash memory on the U2 as a bookshelf in a library. You can create partitions on a bookshelf to organize books into categories. Think of the "folders" on the U2 as being similar to these partitions. The books in each section can be compared to the "files" on the U2. You can save files into any folder at your discretion. If you create meaningful folder names and properly organize your files into them, it will make for easier retrieval of files when you need to access them later.
When the U2 is shipped from the factory, the name given to the flash memory in the U2 is "flashdisk". You can create folders on this "flashdisk" in any way that you prefer.
You can also expand your available storage by adding additional storage devices, such as a Secure Digital card or USB flash drive. The Secure Digital card is named, "sd". A USB flash drive appears as "USB." You can create folders, and save files on them just as you can the flashdisk.

2.6 Controlling the Volume, Speed, and Pitch of the TTS 
You can change the volume, speed, and pitch of the voice used on the U2. Press "F6" to increase the volume. Press "Shift-F6" to decrease the volume. Press "F7" to increase the speech rate. Press "Shift-F7" to decrease the speech rate. Press "F8" to raise the pitch and "Shift-F8" to lower it. 
When you press any of the above key combinations, the U2 announces the status of its volume, rate, or pitch. The changes in the characteristics of the voice remain in effect until you change them again, or a hard reset is performed either manually or due to lack of power to the unit for an extended period of time.

* Note: the volume of the voice is controlled independent of the Main Volume on the unit, thus, you can adjust it above or below the volume of the system sounds, media playback, etc using the Voice volume control described above. You can control the "Main Volume" of the unit using "Shift-Windows-F6" to lower it and "Windows-F6" to raise it. 
You can also control the rate of the foreign language TTS voice independent of the main speech rate. You can adjust the TTS for other languages, the "Sub Voice rate", in the "Global Options" dialog.

2.7 Using Speech and Braille 
When using the U2, you can choose to read using Braille only or speech only. You can also use both Braille and speech simultaneously. However, you cannot turn off both Braille and speech as you would have no method of receiving information from the U2. Use "F5" to toggle the speech on and off. Press "F4" to toggle the Braille on and off. 

2.8 Entering Text
When you use the word processor on the Braille Sense U2 QWERTY,
In addition to entering normal US English letters, you can also use your QWERTY keyboard to enter foreign language text and Braille. 
While European alphabets contain many of the same letters as does US English, there are a few exceptions, most notably, the use of accented vowels. When entering foreign language text, you can create the accented vowels by pressing "Control-Alt" in conjunction with the vowel you want to accent. For example to create an e, type "Control-Alt-e". 
When you choose Braille as your document type when creating a document, the Braille Sense U2 QWERTY automatically changes to a keyboard layout that allows you to use QWERTY letters to input Braille dots. "F" corresponds to dot 1 and "D" corresponds to dot 2, "S" corresponds to dot 3, "J" corresponds to dot 4, "K" corresponds to dot 5, "L" corresponds to dot 6. To type a capital letter, type dot 6-L in front of the character.
For example, when you input "sea" in the Braille Document, press "D-S-J" to create "s" (dot 2-3-4). Then, press "F-K" to create "e" (dot 1-5) and press "F" to create "a" (dot 1).

2.8.1 Inputting/searching for Control characters
Control characters are codes in a character set, which do not in themselves represent written symbols in computing. For example, all entries in the ASCII table below code 32 such as Form Feed (FF), TAB, and Carriage Return (CR). You can input and search for control characters in Braille documents.
Control characters can only be entered in Braille documents. To enter control characters, follow these steps. 
1. From within a Braille document, press "Control-Space". "Control character" is announced to alert you to the fact that the next character you enter should be a control character. 
2. Enter the control character. For example: "l" for Form Feed (FF) or "I" for TAB. 
3. The control character is entered into the Braille document.

You can also search for control characters in Braille documents. To search for a control character, follow these steps.
1. From within a Braille document, press "Control-f". 
2.  "Text to find" is displayed.
3. Press "Control-Space".  "control character" is announced. 
4. Enter the control character for which you want to search. 
5. Press "Enter" to search for the control character.

2.9 Multi Tasking
Unique to the Sense notetakers is their ability to run up to seven tasks at once. The ability to run multiple applications simultaneously is referred to as multi-tasking. For example, you can work with the Word Processor while listening to music, and place calculations into a document at the same time. To do this,  open the Media Player and play a music file. While the audio is playing, press the "Win" key to bring up the "Program" menu and launch the Word Processor.
If you try to run a program that is currently running, The U2 does not open a new instance of the program, but rather, returns you to the instance of the program that is already running. For example, while working with a document called "Notes" you decide to execute the "File Manager." Next, you navigate to a document called "journal" in the file list and press "Enter." The Word Processor does not load a second time, but rather, "journal" is opened in the same instance of the Word Processor in which "notes" is already loaded. You can switch among multiple open documents in a single instance of the Word Processor. Use "Tab" or "Shift-Tab"to cycle forward or backward through the currently open documents. Switching documents is explained in more detail in section 5. 
If you have pressed "Win" to bring up the "Program" menu, or "Fn-F10" to open the Task List and you decide not to access a different application, you can press "escape" to return to your previous location on the unit. To switch between currently running programs press "Fn-F10" to open the Task List. The Task List shows all the currently running programs in list form. To return to any application, simply navigate to it and press "Enter". 
You can use "Alt-Tab" to immediately cycle among all running programs without opening the Task List. If you are running three programs and are in the second program, pressing "Alt" and "Tab" moves you to the third program. If you press "Alt-Tab" again, you are placed in the first program.
In the above case, if you were to press "Alt-F4" to close the currently open program, you are then placed in the previous program. However, if there is only one program running, pressing "Alt-F4" closes the program and places you in the "Program" menu. 

2.10  Switching Media Modes
The media buttons on the front panel perform different functions according to the location of the "Media Mode" switch.
If you slide the "Media Mode" switch to the left-most position, the U2 announces, "radio mode" and the media buttons control operation of the FM Radio. If you place the "Media Mode" switch in the center position, the U2 says, "DAISY mode" and the media buttons control playback of Daisy content. If you slide the "Media Mode" switch to the right-most position, the U2 announces, "media mode" and the media buttons control media playback.
It is very important to pay attention to the position of the "Media Mode" switch to achieve desired operation of the media buttons. For example, if you are using the Media Player, if the "Media Mode" switch is placed in the left-most position, the media buttons on the front panel control operation of the FM Radio even though your focus is in the Media Player. More detailed explanations of the functions of the Media buttons is given in the FM Radio, Daisy Player, and Media Player sections in this manual.

2.11 Switching Key lock
You can disable the keys on the U2 to prevent the accidental pressing of keys using the key "Lock" switch on the front panel.
When the key "Lock" switch is placed in the position nearest the left of the unit, U2 announces, "all keys locked". This means all keys on the unit are disabled including the on/off switch. If the key "Lock" switch is placed in the center position, U2 says, "top panel locked". This means you can continue to use the buttons and switches on the front panel (media mode switch, media buttons and on/off switch), however, you cannot use any of the keys on the top face of the unit. If the key "Lock" switch is placed in the position nearest the right of the unit, U2 announces, "unlocked". This indicates all keys are operational .
* Note: the "RESET" button is always operational, regardless of location of the key "Lock" switch.
To lock and unlock only the keys on the front media panel, press the "Back" and "Forward" media buttons simultaneously. The unit announces "Media keys locked". If you press the keys again, the unit announces "Media keys unlocked", and the media buttons are again operational. 

2.12 Print Spool
The print spool function enables the U2 to do other tasks while printing to an ink-printer or Braille embosser. If you send data to your printer or embosser, you are immediately returned to where you were before the print command was executed. If you want to check the Print Spool dialog box, press "Fn-Control-P".A dialog box appears with three controls: a list containing information about files that are being printed, a "Cancel" button, and a "Close" button. You can cycle through the three controls by pressing "Tab" or "Shift-Tab"In the information list, you can move among the items by pressing the Down arrow. If you open the dialog box when nothing is printing, "no items" appears in the list and only the "Close" button is available.
While printing, the information list contains the following: "running program name," "printing file name," "printer type," "the number of copies," and either "printing" or "ready." For example, let's assume that we are printing one copy of "sample.txt" from the Word Processor. The info list displays, "program: Word Processor, file: sample.txt, printer, copy: 1, printing." If you are using a Braille embosser, "embosser" appears instead of "printer." If nothing is printing but the printer is waiting, "ready" is displayed instead of "printing." If you print something from the E-mail program, "emailtemp.txt," is displayed instead of the file name. If you are printing from the Address Manager, or the Schedule Manager, the message, "prn_ggtimegg.txt" is shown.
If you focus on a file in the info list, pressing "Enter" on "Cancel" cancels the printing of that file. To close the "Print Spool" dialog box, Tab to "Close," and press "Enter" or press "Alt-F4".

2.13 One-Handed Mode
U2 provides a One-handed mode for users restricted to the use of one hand for entering commands. To turn on One-handed mode, press "Fn-h". You can also turn One-handed mode on or off in the "Global Options" dialog. 
When One-handed mode is on, use the following methods to enter commands: 
To select all the contents of a file:
1) Press "Ctrl". The unit acts as though "Control" is being held down.
2) And press "a". Then, all text is selected.
3) "When you press "a", it deactivates the holding of "Control". 

Display power status
1) Press "FN". The unit acts as though "Fn" is held down.
2) And press "b". Then, power status is checked.
3) "Fn" is no longer modifying future key presses.

In other words, in "One-handed Mode", modifier keys, when pressed by the user, are added to the next key press as though they are being held down. When the hot key is entered, all modifiers are canceled.
The operation of the scroll keys, function keys, and media buttons remains the same as in normal mode. 
If One-handed mode is on, the Braille Sense U2 QWERTY announces this each time it is powered on, as well as how to return to normal operation. 
