Overview
Voices
ClaroRead Standard V5 UK Versions includes RealSpeak Solo voices Daniel, Serena and also one Cereproc voice Heather. The Plus V5 edition for the UK also contains the RealSpeak voice, Sangeeta (Indian English) and the Cereproc voice, William (English UK). The US Version includes RealSpeak Samantha, Jill and the RealSpeak Solo Tom (all American English). The Irish Version includes Moira, Daniel, Sangeeta, Tom and Heather.
Make your PC Speak with a human sounding voice
ClaroRead speaks back text as it is typed, allowing a student to check and proof-read their work quickly and easily. Text can be spoken at any point by highlighting individual sections of text and pressing Play - great for proofreading. Close integration with Microsoft Word and Internet Explorer means you can click and play at any point in a document or web page. Speak This Word allows the user to hear a single word spoken back in their desired voice, simply by holding the CTRL button ClaroRead V5 will speak the word under the mouse pointer. Spoken words can be tracked using a custom colour selection. Any accessible text under the mouse can be spoken if needed. A strong feature of ClaroRead V5 allows it to echo back words and phrases dictated into any text processor or email application using Dragon NaturallySpeaking. Make audio and video files from text documents for listening to on your PC or a portable audio player. Simply Select and Save - great for revision or listening on the move. Audio quality has been further improved for V5. A Text to Speech Pronunciation Dictionary is available to modify the way words are pronounced if needed.
Integration with Microsoft Word 2003 & 2007
ClaroRead V5 provides a single tool bar for use in Microsoft Word that combines a homophone and dictionary, font and spacing commands, a thesaurus, spell checker button and a save to audio function. All have clear graphic icons for ease of recognition.
Font and colour changing
When working in Microsoft Word, ClaroRead’s Font Button allows you to modify the font size, type, and colour of the whole document very easily. ClaroRead V5 also now includes the Tiresias family of fonts which have been designed for optimum accessibility and usability. Tiresias PC font is now installed by ClaroRead for use in all your Windows applications. Tiresias was developed by Dr John Gill currently at RNIB Scientific Research Unit.
Spacing
Text character, line and paragraph spacing using Microsoft Word menus requires some detailed knowledge. ClaroRead makes it simple to space out text, both in Word and on web pages using Internet Explorer 6 or 7.
Homophones and tricky words
Homophones are words that are pronounced alike even if they differ in spelling or meaning, such as "pair" and "pear".
ClaroRead Homophone features will:
•Mark in colour all the homophones and confusable words in a document. Using the new Advanced Settings Editor, you can also add additional tricky and confusable words.
•The Check Feature will list alternative words that sound the same, along with the meaning of each word.
•Mark homophones in colour as you type.
•Word with Pictures: Over a thousand pictures included in ClaroRead, helping users to select the correct homophone or choice of wording. Pictures can be turned on or off.
Check word - a single button press
ClaroRead provides a single Check Button for use in Microsoft Word that combines a homophone dictionary, thesaurus, reference dictionary and spellchecker, making the checking of your text and documents easier and more comprehensive. If a word is a homophone the Homophone Check Box will appear, along with meanings. If the word has alternative words with the same or similar meaning, the Meaning Check Box will appear. You can then view more to see the dictionary definition. You can SpellCheck individual words or the whole of your document at any point. The Check Boxes are fully speech enabled, so hovering the mouse over the words will make them speak. We also have over 2000 picture icons to help with word meanings.
Scan paper & convert PDF files into Word
With ClaroRead Plus V5 the powerful Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology means that any paper document or PDF file becomes accessible. Through the integration of Omnipage 16 OCR engine, textbooks, photocopies and handouts are easily converted into Word documents. The text can then be spoken out by ClaroRead or edited. PDF files can also be unlocked and edited, opening a wealth of material for accessibility to every student, regardless of the format.
Word Prediction
ClaroRead V5 contains a word prediction feature, which can be useful for certain computer users. ClaroRead uses a base prediction dictionary consisting of the most frequently used words in the English language. The dictionary learns as you type, and rejects words that don't pass the automatic spellcheck. The Prediction List will automatically appear by your cursor during typing. Alternatively, you can dock the Prediction windows anywhere on the screen to use it as a reference. The ClaroRead Advanced Settings Editor now allows the creation of multiple Prediction Dictionaries, by importing words from existing documents. Ideal for creating subject and curriculum specific dictionaries, it puts the tool into the hands of the teacher.
ClaroRead Extras
For ClaroRead V5 we are adding more applications and utilities (ClaroRead Extras) to enrich the toolkit available to you. We have still concentrated on Ease of Use, so many of the Extras are neatly tucked away. However, you have the peace of mind knowing that the feature is there should you need to turn it on for a particular task or assignment. Existing and future ClaroRead users can visit the ClaroRead Extras website from ClaroRead to obtain product updates, free downloads, add on products and support information. ClaroRead Extras neatly groups together a range of accessibility utilities such as; ClaroView screen colour filter, ScreenRuler reading ruler, Speaking Calculator and Accessible PDF.
Save to video
Building on the popularity of our Save to Audio feature in all versions of ClaroRead, we have now enhanced this to produce Save to Video. It is now possible to convert any text into a video with a high quality "voice over" synchronised with the text. You can change the text colour settings to your preferences and the video can be produced to suit a wide range of popular mobile devices with video screens - iPhone, iPod Touch and Nano, Nokia and Walkman phones and of course Media Player software. It is quick and easy to do, allowing you to take your documents and webpages with you on the move.
Accessible PDF
ClaroRead has always allowed PDF files to be spoken aloud, and also converted into Microsoft Word format with the Plus edition. We wanted to give the user more options for PDF files to be spoken aloud, so we produced a standalone Accessible PDF reader, which is available as a free download for anyone. The Claro Accessible PDF Reader will convert accessible PDF Files into a web page style retaining the original format and layout or a simple text only view. You can then change any of the colour, font and spacing using the built in controls, and ClaroRead will speak back the text aloud.
ClaroCapture
The new ClaroCapture program included with ClaroRead V5 lets you collect text from any document and web page, grouping it as a project file. The research file can be sent to Word or PowerPoint. It can also extract highlighted text from Microsoft Word documents. A great study skills tool. This tool is also available to purchase as a download only. Please click here to be taken to the online download store to purchase ClaroCapture.
Exporter
Exporter is designed to allow you to synchronise settings for Claro products between your computer and USB stick. This is a great feature for people who move about between shared computers and dont want to have to set up their settings everytime.
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