A feature which allows you to perform basic configuration of Orca even if the graphical desktop is not running. Joanmarie Diggs joanied@gnome.org

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 Using Text Setup

Orca has a text setup feature which allows you to perform basic configuration of Orca even if the graphical desktop is not running.

Launching <app>Orca</app>'s Text-Only Guided Setup

Open a Run dialog. For most distros, this can be accomplished by pressing AltF2. Alternatively, you can use a terminal window or the system text console.

Type orca --text-setup or orca -t and press Return.

You will be asked a few questions:

Select desired speech system

The choices that follow will depend on which speech systems you have installed on your system. Type the number associated with your desired speech system and press Return.

Select desired speech server

The choices that follow will depend on which speech synthesizers you have installed on your system. Type the number associated with your desired speech server and press Return.

Select desired voice

The "voices" correspond with the languages available. In the case of speech-dispatcher, there are approximately 60 languages and dialects supported with more being added regularly. Type in the number of your language choice (e.g., 7 for American English) and press Return. You do not need to wait for the entire list to be spoken. In addition, Orca attempts to make your default language the first choice, so in many cases you can simply type 1 and press Return without having to listen to the full list of voices.

Enable echo by word?

This option causes Orca to speak words as you finish typing them. Type y or n and press Return.

Enable key echo?

This option causes Orca to speak all keys as they are pressed. Type y or n and press Return.

If you indicate that you would like key echo enabled, setup will then ask you about the types of key echo you can enable or disable. For each one, type y to enable it or n to disable it and press Return. The types are:

alphanumeric and punctuation keys

This option controls whether or not keys like a, b, c, ;, ?, and so on should be spoken when pressed.

modifier keys

This option controls whether or not Shift, Ctrl, Alt and Meta should be spoken when pressed.

locking keys

This option controls whether or not Caps Lock, Scroll Lock, and Num Lock should be spoken when pressed.

function keys

This option controls whether or not F1 through F12 should be spoken when pressed.

action keys

This option controls whether or not BackSpace, Delete, Return, Escape, Tab, Page Up, Page Down, Home, and End should be spoken when pressed.

Select desired keyboard layout.

Orca has two keyboard layouts: Desktop and Laptop. The layout you choose impacts which key is used as the Orca Modifier.

If you are using the Laptop layout, the default Orca Modifier will be CapsLock

If you are using the Desktop layout, the Orca Modifier will be both Insert and KeyPad Insert, the latter being the same key as KeyPad 0.

The layout also determines the keystrokes associated with a number of Orca's commands, especially in the areas of Flat Review, Where Am I, and Say All.

Type 1 for Desktop layout or 2 for Laptop layout and press Return.

Enable Braille

This functionality assumes a BrlTTY-compatible device is available. Type y or n and press Return. Note that you can usually just enter y here; Orca will recover gracefully and function even if it cannot find BrlTTY.

Enable Braille Monitor

Orca's Braille Monitor is an on-screen braille representation. This is mostly for sighted developers who need to verify BrlTTY output, but may also be useful in other situations, such as visually diagnosing or verifying braille output. Type y or n and press Return.

Automatically start Orca when you log in

Type y if you want Orca automatically launched for you or n if you do not, and press Return.

That's it. Orca is now ready for use. If accessibility was not yet enabled, Orca does so now and asks you to logout and back in for the services to start. Type y and press Return to restart your login session. If, on the other hand, accessibility was already enabled, you will simply be prompted to press Return after which Orca will be launched for you.