New Features and Enhancements in Read&Write 10 GOLD and Read&Write Version 10 for Windows

• Picture Dictionary to improve comprehension
• Verb Checker to identify correct verb conjugations
• Vocabulary Tool to expand vocabulary
• Enhanced Text-to-Speech, Translator and Study Skills
• Enhanced Speech Maker to convert text to MP3
• Enhanced Screenshot Reader to read inaccessible text
• Enhanced Homophone and Confusable words

New Features and Enhancements in Read&Write 9 GOLD and Version 9 for Windows

• NEW – Custom Text to Speech Voices
  High quality, natural sounding male and female voices developed especially for Texthelp.
• NEW – Screen Masking
  Users can tint the screen using any number of colours, like an overlay and mask areas of the window apart from the reading or typing area. This feature is helpful to users who have trouble focusing on the screen by masking out with colour the non active parts of the screen.
• NEW – Onscreen Translator
  This one-click translator allows words to be translated into multiple languages and to be spoken aloud with highlighting.
• NEW – NIMAS Conversion Tool
  The NIMAS Conversion Tool from CAST is now being distributed free of charge with Read&Write GOLD. Using NIMAS source files created by K-12 curriculum publishers, accessible, student-ready alternate format versions of textbooks and core materials (e.g., Digital Talking Books) can subsequently be created with the NIMAS Conversion Tool. These student ready files can then be distributed to qualified students with disabilities.
• NEW – Fact Mapper
  The online graphic organiser has a new look and feel along with flexible customisation. Students can also write text directly on the mapped elements, add sticky notes to the map, and export the elements into an outline. Directional arrow heads now available, as is also the new space saving Tree view.
• NEW – Create Lexiflow eBooks (available with Read&Write GOLD Site Licences)
  Scan to Texthelp Lexiflow provides the ability to convert a scanned document to flash and create a talking e-book, known as a Texthelp Lexiflow document. This Lexiflow document can then be viewed on any PC or Mac with flash installed. In addition to text to speech with choice of reading voice, the Lexiflow document also includes support tools such as a Dictionary, Translator, Sticky Notes, and Highlighters. The Lexiflow document is ideal for distributing to students who have no accessibility software available.
• NEW – OpenOffice.org Access
  Have the free and open source office productivity suite read with dual highlighting
• NEW – Integrated closely with Firefox
  Firefox users can read aloud online content with dual highlighting using Texthelp voices.
• Screenshot Reader
  Users can now export the text selected with Screenshot Reader directly to Microsoft Word. The benefits here are that inaccessible text on the screen can be copied into a Word document and edited by the student as they require.
• PDFaloud
  PDFaloud can now be accessed directly through the main Read&Write GOLD toolbar.
• Daisy Reader
  Daisy Books can be read aloud with high-quality speech integration. Ability to open up encrypted AudioPlus books from the RFBD and read them using their own embedded audio files.
• Study Skills Tools
  Users can collect highlights from previously saved Microsoft Word Documents giving them the option of
  highlighting a document, saving it, and then later collecting those highlights to create a new document (e.g., for use as a study guide, outline, etc).
• Phonetic Spell Checker
  An improved phonetic map returns more suggestions for common spelling errors. The spelling engine has
  also been improved especially for correcting errors common to dyslexia.
• Homophone Checker
  Homophone meanings have been updated and improved definitions added.
• Talking Dictionary
  The Basic dictionary has grown to 10,000 words, including new definitions. Advanced dictionary now available using UK spelling.
• Word Prediction
  Teachers now have the ability to create prediction dictionary files directly from the toolbar, allowing teachers to provide tailored prediction for the student and lesson. The main prediction dictionary has been augmented to include an additional 8,000 frequently used words and to return suggestions based on new flexible writing routines, thereby returning more suggestions.
• Integration with Dragon NaturallySpeaking
  When using Dragon to dictate or navigate with voice commands, words and phrases can now be spoken back using Texthelp voices.
• Administrator Multi-User Option
  Administrators can set up a multi-user environment, by importing students into the toolkit using comma
  separated files.
• Storage of Settings
  Additional ability to load and save your chosen settings to and from a chosen location
• Activity Logging
  The activity logs in version 9 will include more detail than in previous versions.
  

Enhancements to Texthelp Read&Write 8.1 GOLD include the following:

• Screenshot Reader
  There will be a new button on the bar which, when clicked, allows a user to select the part of the screen they want to be read and it will appear in a window and be read with highlighting. The benefit of this is that it will work with all text, even if the text is in an image or is inaccessible like flash.
  
• Study Skills Toolbar
  The Study Skills Toolbar will now be a toolbar inside the main Read&Write application. In the previous version it was part of the MS Word template and therefore appeared as a toolbar only when MS Word was loaded. The main enhancement here is that the user, as well as being able to make and collect highlights from MS Word, will also be able to make and collect highlights from Internet Explorer.
  
• Summarise Tool
  The user can make a selection of text and Read&Write will create a word document summarised by a specific percentage. For example, a page of text can be summarised into a couple of paragraphs. This button will only appear if MS Word is installed on the machine.
  
• Ability to Scan from a Digital Camera
  The benefits of this are that if a student wants to scan a page but the scanner is unavailable they can take a picture of it. Also, new ability to work out scanner capability enabling/disabling options dependent on the type of scanner.
  
• Updated Fact Folder – New Preview Panel
  As each fact is selected a preview of the fact is shown at the bottom of the fact folder window.
  
• Improved Fact Mapper – Exports to Word
  Updated to include thumbnail of image if the fact is an image. Also new option to re-organise the tree in a number of tree styles (top down, left to right, right to left).
  
• Take Settings Home – Added to Toolbar Menu
  Added as a menu to the toolbar so that a user can copy their current settings to a USB drive and copy them onto another computer.
  
• Default Toolbar
  
• Cycle Through All Toolbars with One Click
  
• New Look Toolbar Icons

Enhancements in Texthelp Read&Write Version 8.1 include:

• Study Skills Toolbar
  The Study Skills Toolbar will now be a toolbar inside the main Read&Write application. In the previous version it was part of the MS Word template and therefore appeared as a toolbar only when MS Word was loaded. The main enhancement here is that the user, as well as being able to make and collect highlights from MS Word, will also be able to make and collect highlights from Internet Explorer.
  
• Summarise Tool
  The user can make a selection of text and Read&Write will create a word document summarised by a specific percentage. For example, a page of text can be summarised into a couple of paragraphs. This button will only appear if MS Word is installed on the machine.
  
• Take Settings Home – Added to Toolbar Menu
  Added as a menu to the toolbar so that a user can copy their current settings to a USB drive and copy them onto another computer.
  
• Default Toolbar
  
• Cycle Through All Toolbars with One Click
  
• New Look Toolbar Icons