Overlay Maker for IntelliKeys
by Gerry Kennedy
For Apple Macintosh or PC-Compatibles
Overlay Maker™
Apart from the eight-packaged colour overlays that come packaged with IntelliKeys, you use Overlay Maker to create, design and print custom pre-made overlays. Teachers, parents and students can quickly create an overlay. It is easy to edit and modify an existing overlay. You can add, delete or duplicate pictures and text. The final stage is to print it in colour, or black and white.
Load a favourite piece of software, position the newly created artwork on the board, send the overlay using Overlay Maker or Overlay Sender and immediately use it! In the past, most educators and instructors chose not to design their own overlay, as it was too time consuming. Deciding upon appropriate content in the design stages was too overwhelming. The programming aspect put many people off as it was considered to be too involved and time consuming. Some tried; some succeeded … most unfortunately failed. Some kept hoping for something better.
OVERLAY MAKER – OVERLAYS IN MINUTES
What does it do?
Overlay Maker is a user-friendly application that combines a number of features from the most popular elements of desktop publishing, drawing, painting and drafting software. To create an overlay is simple, due to the innovative set of tools, fully featured menu items and pre-programmed grid reference guide template. All of the most commonly sought after features of good overlay design packages have been included, plus a many more for good measure. It is available for both PC-compatibles and Macintosh.
Just Picture It
Overlay Maker is packaged with a Picture Library with 300 colour pictures listed in alphabetical order. The pictures are selected by either typing the first letters of the required graphic or by scrolling and clicking. Using cut and paste a picture can quickly be added to the overlay. The picture library provides age and interest appropriate clip art material. You can also use other picture libraries (eg. Pic Syms). Any graphics can be imported or simply cut and paste from other sources (eg. Internet Browsers).
Features
The File handling aspect is typical, including New Overlay, Open, Close Overlay, Save, and Save As. Multiple overlay files can be opened and data, be it cell groupings, text, graphics or whole sections of an overlay, can be edited and cut and pasted between open or new files. This is a advantage when working on a number of similar communication board templates or when you are designing an ‘interface’ for an adventure game, piece of educational software or multimedia presentation. You can duplicate overlays by using the Save As function and therefore decrease your design and programming time.
Additional options such as Send Overlay (to IntelliKeys) and Group Overlays are specific to this package. If the board is not connected, the software informs you that it can’t locate it: friendly, simple and helpful. Group Overlays provides the user with the facility to group similarly designed overlays together, so as to share overlay artwork on one or more overlays. This makes sense and is a great feature. Thematic or communication overlays can be grouped to save time and to provide continuity.
Editing Made Easy
The Undo function reflects the current action (e.g. it keeps track of whether you have just changed the font, added a new key, moved or edited an item or changed text). Cut, Copy, Paste and Clear (from the Clipboard) are typical Edit functions, with Select Picture specific to this package. Select Picture highlights the selected graphic, ready for you to delete, cut, and copy or clear.
Overlay Maker provides command and control keystroke equivalents to generate a number of important functions. This enables people designing macros the facility to automate particular functions and set up events as macros. It also caters to competent keyboard users.
System fonts can be used as text in cells, especially cursive fonts if they have been installed on your computer. All of the usual styles – Plain, Bold, Italic, Underline, (all have keyboard short cut equivalents), Outline, Shadow, Condensed and Extended are available, and sizes range from 6 to 255 points. The screen appearance is clear and uncluttered, in half or full size screen display. The 255-point option caters to those users who require large print for reading or for students who have visual acuity problems. It assists people who are vision impaired or who may have learning or reading difficulties.
Using the Keys Menu
Unique to this application is the Keys menu. This is where you locate the Picture Library. When you select this item, two side-by-side windows appear. Instructions appear in the left-hand window and graphics alphabetically sorted by name appear in the right (you click once to highlight your choice or type the first few letters of the required graphic). A Copy button is available, as well as Cancel.
At any time users may paste other pictographs (e.g. COMPIC, Picture Symbols, Mayer Johnson Communication Board Builder™ symbols or clip art) from other libraries or from their Clipboard. The facility to immediately select pictures without having to locate and crop them or acquire other images or symbols is very convenient.
Auto Size automatically adjusts the picture to your required size (determined by the area dictated by the user). The Edit Content function immediately calls up the user’s preferences for the area assigned (i.e. the ‘grouped’ cells on the grid, which may be in the shape of a square, rounded square, triangle, circle, or diamond). The user can also double click on an assigned area as well at any time. In Edit Content, you insert the necessary text, macros or mouse/keyboard functions into your cell reference.
View Actual, toggles between full and half grid size, which is handy when you are designing and editing your overlay. Hide/Show grid lines provide a simple on/off grid pattern to be either revealed or hidden. It caters to individual tastes and to users wishing to assign precise measurement of cell groupings.
Catering Specifically to Special Needs
This is where Overlay Maker has a number of innovative and powerful user-configurable settings. This menu is easy to learn and follow.
Categories include Touch Settings, Repeat Settings, Shift Settings, Additional Settings, Troubleshooting and Advanced. Two Switch settings comprehensively provide features for single switch access or for users who use two switches. IntelliKeys has two 3.5mm jacks on the side for separate switch inputs. IntelliKeys and switch input settings are very comprehensive and easily accessed.
The first choice from this menu is Touch Settings, including Required Rate (e.g. 0.5 seconds), Required Lift Off and Key Sound. The user can Clear All, elect to use the Cancel option or agree to the settings and click OK. All categories operate in this consistent manner. The next, the Repeat Settings, cater predominantly to the PC-compatible software configuration settings with IBM Repeat Rate, IBM Repeat and Repeat Latching. The first choice from this menu is Touch Settings, including Required Rate (e.g. 0.5 seconds), Required Lift Off and Key Sound. The user can Clear All, elect to use the Cancel option or agree to the settings and click OK. All categories operate in this consistent manner. The next, the Repeat Settings, cater predominantly to the PC-compatible software configuration settings with IBM Repeat Rate, IBM Repeat and Repeat Latching.
Shift Settings has the Shift Action Key can be set either to Latch, Lock or No Latch (by clicking on radio buttons) and Indicator Lights can be set to 3 or 6. Additional Settings includes Mouse Arrows, Mouse Speed, Smart Typing, Custom Level and Data Send Rate (from the touch board to the computer). The Troubleshooting section has options such as choosing an IBM keyboard, with AT Arrows on/off with the keyboard emulating an AT or Auto identification (ID). The latter determines your IBM keyboard and sets it automatically for you. The last setting, Advanced, has an Overlay Lock option, either turned on or off. This is an important option as the educator/trainer can lock the logic of an overlay so as to prevent user error, tampering by inquisitive children or accidental erasure, editing or modification by the uninitiated. Great for tentative teachers, too!
In Switch settings, Switch 1 and Switch 2 can be turned on or off. They can be simply programmed as Command key presses or can be set to Mouse Actions, Keyboard Keys, Other Settings or Setup Characters. This represents REAL power for switch users. They can use IntelliKeys using their switch(es) with their peers. This feature is great for including all learners in mainstream classrooms.
How the Package Functions
The Toolbox appears in the application on the left -and side of the display. It is movable, as is the work area window. This window can be resized, viewed in half or full size and has vertical and horizontal scroll bars. In 8-bit and 24-bit colour modes, it is impressive and very appealing.
The toolbox provides the user with a Pointer (the bold arrow icon), a shaded geometric shape of a rounded square (the tool to place and size your cell referenced areas), an upper case ‘A’ character (denoting the Text tool), and a slanted line representing the line tool. Any font can be used. The Pointer is used to select and de-select items. Below these four tools is a square. You click onto this icon and drag to the right to choose from ten (10) shapes. Squares, rounded squares, circles, diamonds, octagons, and stars can be creatively used to assign cells to information represented textually and/or graphically. The next item determines the line thickness (from dots to very thick) with 13 gradings. Another icon sets the shape background colour (black and white, 8 colours or 24 colours) and/or pattern fills. Another square icon below provides text colour (up to 24 colours). The last icon determines the entire overlay background colour and/or fill patterns. The toolbox is very well designed and easily accessed.
Overlay Maker is sold as a separate package to IntelliKeys and is available for either PC-compatibles or Apple Macintosh computers. It also supports and creates overlays with another IntelliTools product, ClickIt!, which creates “Hot Spots” for any non-switched software package. It is ideal for multimedia.