APH Talking PC Maps User's Guide

Version 2013

Terrie (Mary T.) Terlau, Ph.D.

American Printing House for the Blind, Inc.
1839 Frankfort Avenue
P.O. Box 6085
Louisville, Kentucky 40206-0085
U.S.A.

Phone: 502-895-2405
Toll-Free Customer Service: (800) 223-1839 (U.S. and Canada)
Fax: 502-899-2274
E-mail: [email protected]
World Wide Web: http://www.aph.org/

Copyright Notices

Trademarks

All products are trademarks of their respective owners.

Copyright Notice

Copyright © 2013 American Printing House for the Blind, Inc.

Portions of this work were provided by Sendero Group LLC and have been used with permission.

Limited Map data copyright (c) TomTom.

POI data copyright (c) Info USA.

For additional program copyright information, read the Copyright.txt file in the Documents Folder on the software flash drive.

IMPORTANT NOTICE FOR ALL USERS

APH Talking PC Maps is designed to convey information to persons with visual disabilities that is similar to information displayed on commercial maps and location databases for persons with vision. However, APH Talking PC Maps has limitations similar to those of visual maps/databases. These limitations include the following:

Orientation and mobility specialists should always explore an area on the map or create a route before doing so with students. This allows the O&M specialist to check the map for accuracy and the route for safety before presenting it to a student.

The individual user is wholly responsible for all issues related to personal safety and mobility. The American Printing House for the Blind assumes no liability for accidents or injuries that occur to users while using APH Talking PC Maps.

Introduction

Welcome to APH Talking PC Maps Version 2013, a software package that provides spoken information about street layout and Points of Interest throughout the United States and Canada. In this section we will discuss the following: first, check contents of the box to make sure everything has arrived safely; second, note system requirements for using this software; and third, give a general description of the software and describe what it can do for you.

In the Box

The box should contain the following items:

If any item is missing, please call APH Customer Service at (800) 223-1839.

System Requirements

In order to use this software effectively, you must have the following:

Software is self-voicing on computers without screen readers. Screen readers compatible with this software include:

What This Software Can Do For You

There are five general ways to use APH Talking PC Maps. The first is to simply virtually explore the map street layout. With APH Talking PC Maps, a user who is visually impaired can independently "look around" and hear what streets, addresses, and intersections are nearby. The second use of APH Talking PC Maps is to create a pedestrian or vehicular route to a specific destination. The third use is to create and save a walking route so that a student or adult with a visual impairment can memorize and practice the route on the computer and save it to a portable device for use when walking the route. The fourth general use of APH Talking PC Maps is its powerful Point of Interest searching capability. The fifth general use of APH Talking PC Maps is to explore by Point of Interest, moving on the map from one POI to the next as if you were actually walking past POIs and reading their names.

This software can be used by students and adults with visual impairments to learn about street layout and Points of Interest in any part of the United States or Canada. It can also serve as a teaching tool for orientation and mobility specialists, classroom and itinerant teachers, transition specialists, and many other professionals who teach persons with visual impairments.

This software offers persons with visual impairments a picture of their world including street names and layout and a large number of Points of Interest. This software does not give information about a user's actual physical location; it is not a GPS system. Instead, it allows the user to set a position on the electronic map and then learn about the layout of streets and the identity of nearby stores, businesses, restaurants, hospitals, schools, and thousands of other Points of Interest that are noted on the maps. It offers persons with visual impairments a view of physical space and what is in it that is available in no other way except through eyesight. It can be used to stimulate curiosity about and research into the meaning of Points of Interest such as offices, manufacturers, medical facilities-all of the types of facilities that populate the world. By providing persons with visual impairments the same information available to sighted persons when they look at maps, street signs, and signage on buildings, this tool provides persons with visual impairments information about the world that sighted persons acquire through incidental learning.

This software can be used by technology-savvy students without assistance. It can also be used with students by orientation and mobility specialists, teachers of the visually impaired, rehabilitation counselors, vision rehabilitation therapists, transition specialists, and classroom teachers.

Information provided in this software is only as accurate as the database of maps and Points of Interest that it uses. Such databases are developed by specialized manufacturers who acquire latitude and longitude information for each intersection and Point of Interest available at the time of database construction. Databases are updated yearly. Check for updates from within the software with the Check for Updates Item in the Help Menu or by pressing F3. You can also check with APH Customer Service at (800) 223-1839 for information about availability of map and software upgrades. In addition, if an update is available and you are connected to the Internet when you use the software, you will receive an automated message about the availability of the update with instructions to contact APH Customer Service at (800) 223-1839 for procedures to obtain the update.

Here are just a few of the things you can do when using this software:

Manual Organization and Features

Target Audience

This manual is written for teachers of the visually impaired, orientation and mobility specialists, and students and adults who are visually impaired. Adults and self-motivated students in middle school and above with good computer skills may be able to use this manual to learn the software without instructor assistance. However, for many students, this software will be best used with an instructor, teacher, or parent. We have presented information in the order in which a typical user will need it.

Describing Keystrokes

This manual is written for persons with visual impairments using screen readers and keyboard commands as well as for persons whose vision is sufficient to allow the use of the mouse with or without magnification software. It is awkward to describe mouse clicks and keyboard commands for the same action in the same sentence. We assume that persons using screen readers know enough about their screen reader and Windows keyboard commands to use them appropriately in typical situations (e.g., pressing Space on a button activates it; arrowing through a list of radio buttons selects each radio button in turn, etc.). We also assume that mouse users know that they should click buttons to activate them and that they should scroll through lists. Therefore, we will not repeat keyboard or mouse instructions for typical actions. We will mention keyboard commands that are specific to this software as they are needed, and we will mention mouse actions if they are unusual or atypical.

Keyboard commands described in this manual generally involve pressing a letter to view a specific piece of information on a screen, pressing the Control Key in combination with a letter to bring up a new Dialog Box, or pressing a letter followed by another letter for bringing up a specific menu item. When describing keyboard commands, we use the following system:

Additional Details

After presenting the basic information needed to use a feature of the software, we have sometimes included a section that we call Additional Details. These sections can be skipped unless a user is interested in learning more information. We suggest that persons who are not comfortable with technology skip these sections and concentrate on the basics.

Setting Up Current Software

What's On the Flash Drive

Let us take a look at what is on the flash drive. Insert the flash drive into a USB port on your computer. Some computers may show a Dialog explaining that a new device has been found; if you see this Dialog, activate the OK Button and the Dialog will disappear. Some computers may show a list of actions and ask which action should be performed for the flash drive; activate the option that tells you to view the contents of the flash drive. Some computers will do nothing when the flash drive is inserted; in this case, open My Computer from the Start Menu or Desktop, and look at the folders and files on the drive. You will find the following files and folders:

Upgrading From Previous Versions

Users of previous versions of this software receive a notice that a new version is available when they open the software while connected to the Internet. This message tells them how to obtain the most current software. They must uninstall the older version of the software from their computer before installing the current version. They will probably need to uninstall this software twice. To uninstall APH Talking PC Maps software, do the following:

Downloading Current Software

After users of earlier versions have completely uninstalled the software, all users are ready to download the most current software. To do this:

Software Components

APH Talking PC Maps software includes two very different kinds of material: digital maps and Points of Interest for the United States and Canada and the software to interpret and use the digital maps. Digital maps and Points of Interest are developed by TomTom and are also used in many GPS systems. The second type of material is software written by the Sendero Group for APH. This software interprets information from the digital maps and makes it possible for you to interact with the map data on your computer. This software is often updated at the same time the updated maps become available.

First, you must install and register the software that manages the maps on your computer. Then you must install maps for the states, territories, or provinces that you want to use. You can install all of the maps if you wish. We will first discuss installing and registering the software; then we will discuss installing the maps.

Installing Software That Manages Maps

Persons with visual impairments must use screen reading software, magnification software, or sighted assistance to install this software. After the software is installed, however, it will use built-in speech if a screen reader is not detected. Persons who do not need screen readers can turn this built-in speech off by activating the Tools Menu, Speech Options, Self-Voicing Off.

To install the software, complete these steps:

For New Users: Registering Software That Manages Maps

If you have never used previous versions of this software, you will need to register it the first time you open it. If you are already a user of this software, you have already registered your copy and will not need to do this again. You can register the software with the assistance of APH staff or by doing it yourself on your Sendero Account Page. We recommend that you register the software through APH because this is the quickest and easiest method.

The first time you open the program, the software will begin the registration process by looking for the flash drive that contains the Software Account ID. This ID is contained in a file called UserId.key on the route of the flash drive. If you insert the flash drive into a USB port before you open the software for the first time, the software will locate the Software Account ID. You will be presented with the Software Registration Screen with empty fields for your name, a password, and the License Key. The User ID Field will already be filled in because the software has obtained it from the flash drive. Screen reader users can tab between these fields. The Software Registration Screen also includes a brief explanation of the two methods for registering the software: calling APH Customer Service or setting up an account on the Sendero website.

If your flash drive is not in the computer when you open the software for the first time, you will see the following message on the screen: "Registration ID: Unable to find your Account Id. Please insert your thumb drive with the maps into your computer, or enter your Account Id below." Below this message, you will find a form field for the Software Account ID, an OK Button to activate after you have inserted the flash drive into your computer or have manually typed the Software Account ID into its field, and a Cancel Button to activate if you wish to cancel the registration process. When you insert your flash drive into a USB port and activate the OK Button, the software will obtain the Software Account ID from the flash drive and will display the registration screen as described above. If the software does not insert the Software Account ID into its field, call APH Customer Service at (800) 223-1839.

Registering Software With the Help of APH Customer Service Staff

To register the software with the help of APH staff, do the following:

Registering Software Without APH Assistance

If you wish to register the software without the help of APH staff, you must have access to the Internet. However, you do not need Internet access on the computer where the software is installed. To register the software, do the following:

Note that only your name, email address, password, and software License Key are stored on your Sendero Account Page. This information is stored securely and is not made available to anyone other than the Sendero Group and APH. Sendero Group and APH would only use such information in the unlikely event that they needed to contact you. The primary purpose of storing this information is to manage software licenses and to notify you of software updates.

Installing Software on Additional Computers

The software license allows you to install the software on three computers at the same time. Having the software installed on more than three computers at the same time violates the license agreement, is illegal, and is punishable by law. If you wish to install the software on a fourth computer, you must first uninstall it from one of the three computers on which it is already installed.

Use the same installation procedures when installing on your second or third computers as you did on your first computer. Before you open the software for the first time on a second or third computer, you will need to insert your software flash drive into a USB port on your computer so that the software has access to the Software Account ID on the flash drive. The Software Registration Screen will appear. The Software Account ID should already be filled in. Type the password used in your Sendero Account and the License Key that you obtained from the Sendero site when you installed the software on your first computer in the appropriate fields. If you don't know the License Key you obtained during your other registration(s), you can obtain it by calling APH Customer Service at (800) 223-1839. Give APH staff the Software Account ID found on the Software Registration Screen. This Software Account ID can also be obtained by opening the software on another computer and looking in the About Item on the Help Menu. APH staff can give you the License Key from the Sendero GPS Download Screen. If you are comfortable accessing your Sendero Account on your own, you can go to http://www.gosendero.com/, log into your account by filling in the Software Account ID and password, and obtain your License Key as described above.

Procedures for Retrieving or Resetting your Password

If you have lost or forgotten your password, APH Customer Service staff can access your Sendero Account and have your password emailed to the email address you used when creating your Sendero account. However, APH staff cannot directly access your password. If the email address in your Sendero account is no longer accurate, APH staff can change your password to a new one of your choice, and give the new password to you. Call APH Customer Service at (800) 223-1839 to receive this assistance.

You can have your password emailed to the email address in your Sendero Account without the assistance of APH staff if you have access to a computer with an Internet connection. Go to http://www.gosendero.com/, and activate the Forgot Password link. You are given the message, "Enter the Software Account ID or serial number below. We will send you a reminder with your password as long as you have an e-mail address on file." Obtain the Software Account ID from the About Item in the Help Menu. If you have forgotten your password and need to obtain a license on a second or third computer that cannot connect to the Internet, access your Sendero Account using a computer that is connected to the Internet. Follow the same steps to have your password emailed to you.

Downloading and Installing Maps and Points of Interest Files

Now that you have installed and activated the software, you must install the digital maps that you want to use. All flash drives include TomTom maps released in 2011. These older maps will not work with your new software. You must download and use newer maps and POIs released in 2013.

After your software is activated, you will receive a message asking if you want to check for map updates. If you have an Internet connection, press the Yes Button. We highly recommend that you download your maps in this way because it is easy and requires no monitoring on your part. If you don't have an Internet connection, press the No Button. You will then be asked if you want to install maps from your flash drive. Activate the No Button. If the computer on which you have installed the software does not have an Internet connection, you can download the latest digital maps from http://www.gosendero.com/ on a computer with an Internet connection. You can save the maps on your flash drive or other portable storage device, connect this storage device to the computer with the software, and install them using the Install Previously Downloaded Maps and POIs Item on the Help Menu. These two ways of downloading and installing maps are described in detail below.

Automated Download and Installation of Maps and POIs

If you indicated that you wanted to check for map updates after software was registered, the software will automatically go to the Sendero Group website and display all maps and POI files available for you to download. First, the software will announce "Checking for Updates." You will then hear a chime ring several times while the software accesses the website. On the Update Screen, you can tab between 11 items as follows:

After you have selected all of the maps and other items you wish to download, tab to and press the Update Button. The software will download all of the items you have selected and announce the name of the item it is downloading, even though you may be doing other things on the computer. The software will automatically install the items you have selected when the total download is complete.

You MUST NOT turn off your computer or close the program while items are being downloaded and installed.

Manual Download and Installation of Maps and POIs

As noted previously, your flash drive includes the 2011 version of maps and Points of Interest for the United States and Canada in zipped form. You cannot use the maps on your flash drive with the 2013 software. You must download updated maps from the Sendero website. If the computer on which APH Talking PC Maps is installed does not have an Internet connection, you can use another computer to download maps and POI files onto portable storage media such as a flash drive or SD card and then use this portable media to install these files onto the computer running the software.

If you would like to store 2013 maps on your flash drive, you must first delete the old map files so that there will be room to hold the new ones. Insert the flash drive into a USB port. Open the flash drive and open the folder called Maps. Delete all files in the Maps folder. This process may take a few minutes because you are deleting more than 60 large files.

Log into your Sendero Account at http://www.gosendero.com/. Under the Maps heading, you will find United States maps categorized by region and then listed separately for each state. Download the regions or states that you want into the Maps folder on the flash drive or onto another portable storage device.

After inserting the portable storage device into a USB port of the computer running APH Talking PC Maps, open the software and select the Install Previously Updated Maps and POIs Item on the Help Menu. The Maps Utility is displayed. Screen reader users can tab between fields in this utility. This utility includes the following lists and controls:

After you have selected the maps that you want to install and have activated the OK Button, the utility will unzip map files and install them on your computer.

More About Maps

When maps are installed by either the Update feature or from the flash drive, they are placed in the default Maps directory on your computer. This is a folder called Maps that can be found in the APHTalkingPCMaps folder. Note that map files are copied directly into the Maps folder; they are not kept in folders for each state when they are copied to your computer. Two other subfolders in APHTalkingPCMaps are Routes (which will include any routes that you create and save) and Settings (which will contain changes in software settings that you make).

When installed on your computer, there are at least three map files for each state, several dealing with map information and several dealing with POI material. Larger states such as California are divided into sections and include larger numbers of files. You can have up to 255 map sections in your map folder.

You might notice that, though you installed a given number of maps, the Primary Software Screen indicates that a larger number of maps have been installed. This is because the Map Installation process counts each state as one map; but the onscreen map tally is based on the number of section maps you have installed. If you installed California maps (with six sections) and Kentucky maps (with one section), you would have installed two maps but you would see "7 maps loaded" on the Primary Software Screen.

The Primary Software Screen: After Registration

Now that you have installed maps and registered your software, you will see the Primary Software Screen. The Title Bar indicates its title, APH Talking PC Maps, and then shows the number of section maps that are loaded. The software automatically loads all maps that you have installed.

The Primary Software Screen is split into two areas. The top portion of the screen contains a visual map with your current position at the center. The bottom portion of the screen contains text describing your position. The top half of the screen is useful to instructors with vision or to persons with low vision who want a visual map as well as a talking map. It is not useful to or visible to persons who cannot see the screen; screen readers cannot read the graphical map. However, all necessary information visible on the map is described in the information on the bottom half of the screen.

Visual users can adjust the area devoted to the graphical map and to the textual information by dragging the horizontal line that separates the top from the bottom area of the screen up or down with the mouse. This will enlarge one area while shrinking the other.

The Graphical Map

The following information about the onscreen graphical map will be useful to visual users. Nonvisual users may wish to skip to the heading, Textual Map Information.

Those who can see the map will note that it cannot be scrolled. However, you may zoom in by pressing the Page Down Key, or zoom out using the Page Up Key. Zooming out expands the view to a larger area, but makes all features smaller. Zooming in reduces the view to a smaller area, but makes all features larger.

Your current position is indicated in the center of the map by a solid red triangular arrow. You may change the size and color of your current position indicator on the Visual Options Dialog (found under Tools on the Tools Menu). In the default "North always Up" configuration, this arrow will rotate as you make turns to point in the direction you are facing. You can change this configuration to "Up showing what's ahead" on the Visual Options Dialog. If you make this change, the map will re-orient as you make turns, so that your current direction of travel is always at the top of the screen and the current-position arrow always points up. The compass in the lower-right corner of the map area always indicates the orientation of the map as well as the direction of your current heading. A distance scale and the latitude-longitude coordinates of your current position are located in the lower-left corner of the map area.

Map features are described here in the default color scheme. You may change the map color scheme using the Visual Options Dialog (described below). Some features may be removed from the map by changing their color to "Not Visible."

On the map, most of the background area is colored light golden. Roads and road names appear in the dark blue foreground color. The minimum road width may be changed on the Visual Options Dialog. Freeways are red, and bodies of water are blue. Parks are colored light green, and schools are colored light brown. One-way streets are shown with superimposed magenta arrows to indicate the direction of travel. Overpasses are shown with short cyan lines on either side of the top road. If you have set a map destination, it will appear as a green flag on the map.

When you open a route, the screen may be automatically zoomed out to display the entire route. When a route is open, the waypoints appear on the screen as red arrows within a green circle. The red arrows indicate the direction of turns and the direction of travel along the route. A red "A" within a green circle indicates the starting point for the route. A red "B" within a green circle indicates the ending point of the route.

The Visual Options Item in the Tools Menu

Because persons with low vision vary widely in terms of preferences for various print characteristics, almost all features of the visual map can be customized to meet each individual's needs. This section reviews changes that can be made in the Visual Options Item in the Tools Menu.

Textual Map Information

The bottom part of the Primary Software Screen consists of eight boxes containing eight types of information. Persons who access the software visually must scroll through the information using the scroll bar on the right side of the screen. As described below, this information is accessible verbally by tabbing through the boxes and fields.

Because you have not yet told the software a location on the map from which to start, most of the boxes contain no information. Let us look at each box individually.

You may find it helpful at this point to explore the Primary Software Screen. Tab between all fields and say aloud in one sentence what each field tells you.

The software includes some commands that speak information on the screen without moving your cursor. If, for example, you tabbed to the Address Box, you can press the letter C to hear the city spoken, but your cursor will remain in the Address Box. To view a list of announcement commands at any time, activate the Location Menu and select the Location Announcements Submenu, Alt-L, then N. Use your Arrow Keys to scroll through the menu, and press Enter for the command you wish to use. A list of these commands follows.

Printing Routes and Lists of Points of Interest

Throughout the manual, we mention various lists of Points of Interest and types of routes that can be printed. The font type, attributes, and size and the type of script can be adjusted for such printouts by using the Printer Font Options Item in the Tools Menu. This item presents the following four options:

Finding and Using Specific Locations on the Map

When you use the maps, you must first select a position on the map, telling the map where you want to start. There are five ways to search for locations on the map: You can locate specific addresses, Points of Interest, an item from the History List, an item from the Favorites List, or a location with a latitude and longitude that you specify. If you have already selected a location as your current position, you can use these five methods to search for other locations and take other actions on them. After locating a position in any of these ways, you will select an action from the Actions Dialog that comes up automatically when the position is found. The Actions Dialogs differ slightly depending on which of the five methods you used to find the position. However, you will quickly become familiar with most elements of these Actions Dialogs. Another Actions Dialog helps you take actions on the information on the Primary Software Screen. Each of the five methods to find a location on the map and the Actions Dialog associated with that method is discussed in detail in this section.

Finding and Using Addresses

Finding an Address: The Address Look-Up Dialog Box

From anywhere in the APH Talking PC Maps application, press Alt-S. This opens a Dialog Box with the following fields:

Notes about Looking Up Addresses

Because of the way that map data has been produced by TomTom, you must know either the city or the postal code of the address that you want to find. While this may seem like a simple matter, sometimes it becomes problematic. If your city has many small cities surrounding it or includes small cities within its borders, you will need to know the exact name of the small city in which the address lies in order to locate it. For example, there are many cities with their own governments that exist in Louisville, Kentucky, home of the American Printing House for the Blind. St. Matthews, for example, lies approximately 2 miles east of APH, and another part of Louisville lies farther east of St. Matthews. Mail sent to addresses in St. Matthews uses the Louisville city address. However, if an address is in St. Matthews and we write the city name as Louisville, the address will not be found. The software will indicate that the street does not exist or, in the case of a street that lies in both Louisville and St. Matthews, that the address number cannot be found. A zip code search is a more effective way of locating addresses in these cases. If you do not know the zip code, you may find it helpful to type in the state name, and press Enter or click on the City Field without typing a city. You will then see a list of all cities in the state. By arrowing or scrolling through these cities, you may be reminded of the name of the small city in which your address lies.

A few cities have been divided into areas such as East, West, and Central. In addition, a more inclusive category is often present. If you receive a message that the street or city cannot be found, arrow up and down in the City Field to determine whether you need to select a specific region of the city or whether a more inclusive area is provided.

Using the Address You Found: Address Actions Dialog

After you have pressed the Enter Key in the Address Look-Up Dialog, the Address Actions Dialog automatically appears; this Dialog helps you determine your next action once you have located an address. In other words, you have told the software to find an address; now you must tell it what you want to do with that address. With the Address Actions Dialog, you can set the address as one of the following: your current location, a Point of Interest, or a destination. You can also create routes to or from that address. Here is a list of buttons in this Dialog and the actions they produce when activated. You can press Tab to move through the buttons and then press Enter or Space on the desired item.

Finding and Using Points of Interest

There are more than 13 million commercial Points of Interest for the United States and Canada. You can also create your own Points of Interest, which then are handled like other commercial Points of Interest. The User Point of Interest file, which contains the POIs that you have created, is called User.PDB. It is automatically created in the folder in which your maps and commercial POIs are located.

After you have set your current position for the first time through the Address Lookup process described above, you can locate Points of Interest and set one of them as your current position or do other position-related actions with it. There are three ways to locate Points of Interest.

Find Nearest Point of Interest Command, P

To find any Point of Interest, you must have already set your current position. After all, the software cannot search for POIs nearby if it does not know where you are. The software always searches for POIs starting at your current position, unless you tell it not to.

The Primary Software Screen always shows the nearest Point of Interest to your current position. You can tab to the Nearest POI Field to hear this position, or you can type the letter P to hear the nearest Point of Interest spoken without moving your cursor. Of course, this POI changes as you move around the map.

Find List of Nearest POIs Command, F

After you have selected a current position, pressing the F Key from anywhere on the Primary Software Screen will bring up a list of Points of Interest near your current address. POIs on this list are from all POI categories and are ordered in the list from nearest to farthest from your position. By default, the software starts searching at your position and searches in all directions from you.

Scroll through the list of POIs by arrowing up or down. As you scroll through the POIs, you will receive additional information such as the name, the category and subcategory if it has one, the street the POI is on, the city the POI is in, heading and distance to the POI from your current location, the side of the street the POI is on if known, the compass direction, and if the POI has media attached. For example, if you arrowed down to Burger Palace, you would hear: "Burger Palace, Restaurant, Main ST, Phoenix, 330 feet ahead, right side, west." This is a good way to quickly determine if this is the POI you are looking for without opening its details. If you are looking for Burger Palace, you can type the first letter, B, to go to the POIs that start with the letter B.

Select a POI by scrolling to or arrowing to it. After selecting it and hearing the information about it, you can press the Enter Key or click the Next Button to take you to the POI Find Actions Screen, where you can tell the software how you want to use the POI you have selected. We Will discuss the POI Find Actions Screen later.

While on the POI List Screen, you can expand the search distance by pressing the Expand Search Button. Alternatively, you can expand the search by pressing Alt-E.

You can press the Print POIs Button on this screen to print the list of POIs on a printer; the standard Windows Print Dialog will appear. You must press the OK Button after selecting the printer, print range, and number of copies that you want in order to print the POI List and return to the POI List Screen. Screen reader users can locate the Print Button by shift-tabbing three times from the initial POI List or by tabbing 11 times from this point.

You can press the Copy to Clipboard Button to copy the list of POIs to the clipboard. You will receive the message that the material has been copied to the clipboard; you must press the OK Button to return to the POI List Screen. You can then open a file in word processing or braille translation software and use the standard Paste from Clipboard command to insert this list into a document. This feature allows you to create a text file of a POI list to be downloaded into a notetaker or portable reading device, and to create a braille file of a POI list to be embossed using braille translation software and a braille embosser. Screen reader users can locate the Copy to Clipboard Button by shift-tabbing twice from the initial POI List or by tabbing 12 times from this point.

Additional Details: The Find List of Nearest POIs Command, F

Most of the actions discussed in this section are performed more easily with the Find Specific POI command discussed later. Read this section only if you are interested in an in-depth understanding of how the Find List of Nearby POIs Command can be used.

This screen shows you the list of rules that were applied when selecting the Points of Interest. You can change any of these rules to get a different kind of selection. To do this, you must click or tab to and press Enter on the Search Button to find POIs nearby that fit the new criteria. We advise beginners to ignore these fields.

The search criteria used are visible on the screen and can be accessed audibly by tabbing through the following fields and buttons.

The Find Specific POI(s) Command, Control-F

From the Primary Software Screen, press Control-F to find a specific Point of Interest. You may recognize this screen because it looks almost exactly like the screen you used to find a list of nearby POIs, but with a few differences. Tab between fields on this screen; some fields provide lists of choices, others require you to type in information, and others are buttons that cause things to happen.

The Easiest Way to Find a Specific POI

The easiest way to search for a Point of Interest on this screen is to press the Tab Key three times and type in part or all of the POI name in the Matching Text Field. The software searches until it finds a POI with this text in its name. If no POI with this text in the Name Field is found within a distance determined by the software, the software displays the words "No POIs Found within X miles," (or X kilometers if units of measurement are set to metric) where X is the number of units searched. Pressing Enter, clicking the OK Button (selected by default), or pressing the Escape Key returns you to the Find Specific POI Screen with your search criteria still active. If you wish to expand the search, tab five times to the Expand Search Button and press Enter, or click this button with the mouse. You can also press Alt-E for Expand. The software then searches again for the POI using a broader area. You can continue expanding the area to be searched as long as you have maps installed that cover the region being searched.

The software finds POIs that are nearby very quickly. While looking for the POI, the software produces a chiming sound. This sound tells you that the software is still searching.

If you press Enter on this screen without typing in a POI name, you will obtain a list of POIs nearby, just as you did when you pressed the F Key.

You can also easily change the way this screen searches for Points of Interest. In the next sections, we will look at the fields on this screen one at a time and show you how to change them to make searching quicker. You do not need to use the following information, but you might want to try it out.

Search by POI Category and Subcategory

Companies that collect electronic map and POI information separate the POIs into categories. If you know that you are searching for a restaurant, you might want to select the Restaurant Category. Of course, you could search the complete set of POIs by searching for "All" and still find your restaurant. However, if your restaurant was named Smith's, you might find a large list of POIs from all categories with the word Smith in their name (for example, Smith's Furniture, Smith's Dollar Store, and Smith's Hardware). So, sometimes it makes sense to search within a specific category.

After you press Control-F, the cursor is in the POI Category List. All categories are searched by default. You can arrow down through the list of POI categories and stop on the one you wish to search. You can also click on the category you wish to select. The system remembers what the last search category and subcategory were. If you press F in the mean time, the search categories will revert back to the default searching of All Categories.

The software includes the following 19 POI categories:

Each of these categories has been further divided into subcategories. To see the subcategories for a selected category, tab once and arrow down through the list of subcategories. All Categories, the first item in the Category List, is selected by default. If "All" is announced or is visible in the Category Field, tab once to view the list of subcategories. You will notice that the only subcategory listed is All. This is true because, if you want to search through the complete set of POIs, it would defeat your purpose to divide them into subgroups.

Here is an example showing you the value of using categories and subcategories. Let us say that you want to go to a play, or that you just want to find out where to ask about current plays. From the Primary Software Screen, press Control-F. In the first field, arrow down to Travel/Entertainment. Tab once to the Subcategory Field. Arrow down to Stage. Press Enter. The screen shows and the software speaks a list of theaters and other locations where plays are sometimes performed in your area. Using this search process for Louisville, Kentucky, 35 Points of Interest appear in the Results List.

You may find it helpful to explore the categories and subcategories. Familiarize yourself with them so that you can refine your searches more effectively.

The Search Field: Search for a POI using its Address, Phone Number, and More

So far, we have searched for Points of Interest by their names. But what if you remember the name of a street that your favorite restaurant is on, and you cannot remember the restaurant's name? Or what if you want to find all of the pharmacies in the 40206 zip code? The Search Field gives you the ability to search the POI List by using information about the POI other than its name. This feature is even more powerful when you combine it with the use of categories and subcategories. The Search Field appears on the screen just below the Subcategory List Box. Tab once from the Subcategory Field, or click the Search Field and then arrow through the list of search options. These options include the following:

The Matching Text Field for Typing POI Information

As we said above, the software always expects you to search for a Point of Interest by its name, unless you have changed the feature to search for in the Search Field. Tab once from the Search Field and you will be in the Matching Text Field, in which you type the name of the POI that you want to find. Remember, if you have selected another Search Field, you will enter information related to that Search Field. For instance, if you have arrowed or scrolled to the Address Field, you will type in all or part of the address number. If you have arrowed or scrolled to the Phone Field, you will type in all or part of the phone number, etc.

The Checkbox labeled "Match Only if POI Starts with Above Text" is not checked in the software by default. This means that the information you just entered in the Matching Text Field can occur anywhere in the POI information stored in that field. If you do not check this Checkbox, you can enter the middle part of a phone number or the second word of the POI name. If you do check this Checkbox, the information you enter must show up as the first letters or numbers listed for that POI in the database. Most of the time, it is best to leave this Checkbox unchecked. On the other hand, if you knew that you wanted to find Johnson's Restaurant, and you know that there was also a Fred Johnson's Restaurant in the same area, you might want to check this Checkbox.

The Direction and Distance of the Search

If you know the direction of the POI in which to search (e.g., you want to find the Kroger supermarket that is north of your position but not the one that is south of you), tab once from the Matching Text Field and arrow through the direction choices: North, East, South, and West. Usually, you will want to search in all directions. Searching in all directions is selected by default. You will probably find that you do not need to change this setting very often.

Tab once from the Direction pull-down to find the Starting Distance Field. If you do not type in this field, the software will begin searching for a POI at your current location and continue to search gradually farther and farther from you. However, if you live in Lexington, Kentucky and want to find a Burger King in Louisville, you could do so by searching for Burger King in the Text Input Field and setting your starting search distance to 95 miles.

The Remaining Controls on the Find Specific POI Screen

There are four more fields and buttons on the Find Specific POI Screen.

When the Software Finds the POI

Note that fields on this screen change after you press the Enter Key or the Start Search Button. The software lists the POI or POIs that have been found as noted above. The Expand Search Button, Print POIs Button, and Copy to Clipboard Button are added. Pressing the Expand Search Button expands the distance to be searched for the POI; you can also expand the search by pressing Alt-E. As noted when discussing the List of Nearest POIs, the Print Button brings up the Windows Print Dialog in which you select font style and size and the printer you wish to use. Pressing the Copy to Clipboard Button copies the POI(s) you have found to the clipboard. You can then paste the POI(s) into word processing or braille translation software for printing, embossing, or downloading into a notetaker or portable reading device.

If no POI is found, the software informs you that no POI was found within the distance searched and asks if you want to expand the search distance. You can press Enter or click a Yes or No Button to answer this query.

What to Do With POIs That You Found: The POI Actions Dialog Box

After you have found the list of nearby POIs with the F command or have found a specific POI or list of POIs with the Control-F command, select the POI that you want to use by arrowing or scrolling to it in the POI List. If you have searched for and found only one POI, it is selected by default. Press the Enter Key or click the Next Button in order to go to the POI Actions Dialog.

The POI Actions Dialog helps you determine your next action once you have located a POI. You will recognize many aspects of this Dialog because you have already seen them in the Address Actions Dialog described previously. With the POI Actions Dialog, you can set the POI as one of the following: your current location, a Favorite, or a destination. You can also create routes to or from that POI. Here is a list of buttons in this Dialog and the actions they produce when pressed. You can press Tab to move through the buttons and then press Enter or Space on the desired item.

The POI Details Screen

Activating the Show/Edit Details Button in the POI Actions Dialog brings you to the POI Details Screen. This screen provides a list of all possible categories of information about the POI. The Edit POI Button allows you to edit any of the types of information about the POI stored in the database. This is a very powerful tool and should be used very carefully. Students should check with their teachers or orientation and mobility instructors before changing material in the database about a POI. You might need to change material if the phone number of the POI has changed, if the POI has gone out of business and a new POI is in its place, or if you want to add information about the POI (such as hours of operation) that is not listed in the database, even though there is a field in which to list it. You cannot add new fields to the database; you can only include information in fields that are already present.

To edit POI information, arrow to the category of information that you want to edit, then tab to and activate the Edit Button. Change existing information or add new information in the Edit Field. Tabbing to and activating the OK Button saves your changes and returns you to the POI Details Screen. Tabbing to and activating the Cancel Button does not save your changes and returns you to the POI Details Screen.

To delete the POI and all categories of information about it from the database, tab to and activate the Delete POI Button on the POI Details Screen. You will be asked if you are sure you want to delete this POI. Activating the Yes Button deletes the POI from the database and returns you to the Primary Software Screen. Activating the No Button or pressing the Escape Key does not delete the POI and returns you to the POI Details Screen. Again, this is a very powerful tool and should be used by students only after consulting a teacher or orientation and mobility instructor.

Note that any changes to these fields will be overwritten when map and POI data updates are installed.

Additional Details: Creating User POI Files

There are three ways that you can create your own POIs while using the Maps software.

When you activate the Create User POI Button in any of the three ways just noted, the User POI Details Screen is presented. Tab between the following fields on this screen.

Note that the Find My POIs Item in the Location Menu brings up a list of all of the user POIs that you have created. From the Primary Software Screen, type Alt-L, then M to bring up a list of user-created POIs. Pressing Enter on one of these POIs brings up the familiar User POI Details Screen. You can also bring up the list of User POIs by pressing Control-M from the Primary Software Screen.

Additional Details: Sharing User POI Files

Points of Interest created by individuals using the methods described above are stored in a file called User.pdb. User.pdb files can be shared between users. Simply copy or attach the POI file from the maps folder and send it to another user. Only one User POI file can be active at a time as APH Talking PC Maps is looking for a file called User.pdb. If you swap your User POI file with another user or vice-versa, you should rename and back up any shared POI file you wish to save so as to not accidentally overwrite your User.pdb file with another one.

If you would like to merge another users favorites or user POIs, just copy the favorites.fdb or user.pdb file into the Maps folder. When you start SenderoMaps those files will be merged into your respective files in your SharedPOIs folder and your friends favorites.fdb and user.pdb files are removed from the maps folder.

You can also share your public POIs with other users of APH Talking PC Maps and users of Sendero products by uploading your POIs to the Sendero Group servers. Press F5 or select “Submit public POI changes to Sendero” From the tools menu. A dialog appears with the following message: “This option will share the user points of interest you have created or modified with other users. No private POIs or personal data will be uploaded. By uploading your public POIs, you enrich the data content for other users.” You are also informed of the number of POIs waiting to be submitted or removed.

Pressing TAB moves through the following fields: The message area that was previously discussed, a POI list that shows the names of POIs that will be submitted, a Submit Changes Button and a Cancel Button. Activating the Submit Changes Button sends the changes to the Sendero servers. The software will then download the updated databases to your computer. When all downloads are complete, a different sound will be heard. The submissions are done in real-time, so feel free to check for updates whenever you wish.

Additional Details: Using Media with POI Files

This section discusses attaching additional media content to Points of Interest and playing the media after it is attached. There may be times when you would like to record a sound to be associated with a POI name. You may also want to associate a text file with a POI (for example, a text menu for your favorite restaurant). When you add media to a POI, the software launches an external application such as Windows Media Player for audio and Notepad for text files. You can only have one media file attached to a POI. If you attach a different media file, your existing one will be replaced.

Follow these steps to attach media to a POI:

In order to view the media content you have attached to a POI, do the following:

In addition to attaching and viewing media, the software allows several actions to be taken regarding the media attached to a POI. The following three actions can be performed on media content; these actions are performed through the POI Media Actions Dialog. Follow these steps to view this Dialog.

From the POI Media Actions Dialog, you can do the following:

Using Latitude/Longitude (Lat/Lon)

You can use this software well without ever dealing with latitude and longitude information. We provide the explanation in this section because working with latitude/longitude (abbreviated Lat/Lon) information can be very powerful for those who wish to use it.

Basic Information

Geographers have divided the earth into areas defined by latitude/longitude. In fact, every point on the earth can be identified by its Lat/Lon.

Latitudes are imaginary horizontal lines drawn on maps and globes that run from east to west. Latitude lines are all equidistant from one another. Latitude is measured by its distance in degrees from the equator, which is considered to be zero degrees. The North Pole is at 90 degrees north, and the South Pole is at 90 degrees south.

Longitudes are imaginary vertical lines drawn on maps and globes that run north-south on maps or globes. These lines are also called meridians. They all meet at the north and south poles, and are farthest apart at the equator. Longitudes are measured by their distance in degrees east or west of two agreed-upon points on the earth's surface. East longitudes are east of the Prime Meridian in Greenwich, England, and west of the International Date Line in the Pacific Ocean. West longitudes are west of Greenwich England and east of the International Date Line in the Pacific Ocean.

A complete explanation of latitudes and longitudes can be found in geography and social studies books or on the Internet. When using this software, you need to know only that every point on the earth can be identified by its unique Lat/Lon measurements.

Finding and Changing Lat/Lon

You can find the Lat/Lon for the current location (and you can change the Lat/Lon to a new location if needed) by pressing Control-Y from the Primary Software Screen. A Dialog Box is displayed with three Edit Boxes and two Buttons. Tab between all controls in this Dialog. Controls include the following:

If you want to locate and use a position that you cannot find as an address or as a POI, you can look up the latitude and longitude of that position and type it into the Latitude and Longitude Fields in this Dialog. Finding Lat/Lon positions on the Internet is fairly easy to do. Using a search engine like Google http://www.google.com/, type in the name of the location and either "latitude" or "longitude," and you should get the information in the first two or three hits. Latitude and longitude information might also be available at the following website: http://www.geocode.com/.

Additional Details: How to Enter a New Lat/Lon

Feel free to skip this section; it will be of interest and use only to those who wish to deal extensively with latitude/longitude as means to change the current map position.

There are three ways to enter Lat/Lon information into the software. Coordinates for the city of San Francisco are used in the following examples.

The Lat/Lon Actions Dialog

After you have named the Lat/Lon position, tab to and activate the Next Button. The Lat/Lon Dialog includes the same buttons found in the Address Actions Dialog. Tab between these buttons and press Enter or Space to activate them.

Finding and Using the History List

The History List

The History List is a list of your 25 most recently used locations. The software keeps track of these locations, and you can access them by using the History Item in the Location Menu or by pressing Control-H from the Primary Software Screen. Each time you use an address, POI, Lat/Lon, or Favorite as your current position or when you set them as a destination, these locations are automatically added to the History List. The list drops older locations as you set new ones.

When you are in the History List, you will be placed on the most recently added item. Press Up or Down Arrow to scroll up and down the list. You can also press the first letter of the location name in order to jump to it. Press Enter on the desired item to bring up the Actions Dialog. With the History Actions Dialog, you can set a location from your History List as your current position, POI, destination, or Favorite. You can also create routes from your current location to any location in the History List.

The History List is very convenient when you want to use a recent location. The list saves you the time and effort of looking up an address, finding a POI, or entering a Lat/Lon and then setting the current position. The location is already provided; all you have to do is arrow to the location that you want or jump to it by typing its first letter, press Enter, and tab to or click on the action that you want to take.

The History Actions Dialog

After you click or press Enter on an item in the History List, you are moved to the History Actions Dialog, which contains the following familiar items. Tab to and press Enter or Space on the action that you want to take.

Creating, Finding, and Using Favorites

What Are Favorites

The Favorites List is a list of locations that you may want to use at a later time. Unlike the History List discussed in the previous section, you are not limited to the number of locations you can add, and the software does not add locations automatically. People usually add places to their Favorites List to which they travel frequently. Examples might be school, home, work, church, mosque, synagogue, friends' houses, etc.

Creating Favorites

The types of locations that can be added to the Favorites List include your current position, Points of Interest, addresses that have been searched for and located, and Lat/Lon entries. You can also view and edit Favorite Details and remove the Favorite from the list. The first time you create a Favorite, the software will ask you for a name to use as the author of the Favorite. Type the name you want to use, and press Enter. You would probably want to use your name as the author of your Favorites.

You can create a Favorite in any of the following ways:

You can view your list of Favorites from the Favorites Item in the Location Menu, or by pressing Control-1 from the Primary Software Screen. Arrow through the list and press Enter or click on the Favorite that you want to use.

The Favorites Actions Dialog

When you click or press Enter on a Favorite, the Favorites Actions Dialog will appear. You will recognize the following Action Buttons in this Dialog. Tab to and press Enter or Space on the action that you want to take.

The Primary Software Screen Actions Dialog

Pressing Control-D from the Primary Software Screen brings up the Actions Dialog for the Primary Software Screen. Here, you can set your current position as a Favorite, POI, or destination and annotate it. You can also send the nearest intersection to Google Maps or create a walking route from this intersection. Tab between the buttons and press Enter or Space to activate them. This Dialog includes the following buttons:

Intersections and Intersection Annotation

You can learn about intersections from the following two fields on the Primary Software Screen.

The Primary Software Screen Actions Dialog just discussed offers the option to annotate the nearest intersection. You can annotate an intersection with a written annotation that will appear at the end of the Detailed Intersection Field on the Primary Software Screen. You can also attach a text, wav, or MP3 file to the annotation to provide additional information. You might, for example, want to annotate an intersection, indicating that it has an accessible pedestrian signal or a wide median. An orientation and mobility specialist can travel to a complex intersection, observe the sequences and types of phases throughout the traffic control cycle, and then record as much detail as he/she wishes about this intersection using a digital recorder. The instructor can then save the recording as an MP3 file on the computer and can attach it to the particular intersection as an annotation. Any student using APH Talking PC Maps on the computer to which the annotation has been saved can then review this recording by locating the recording on the annotations list. You can also attach a text file written on the computer to an intersection annotation and access it from the intersection annotations list.

To annotate an intersection, activate the Location Menu, (Alt-L), Annotate Current Intersection Item. You can also press Control-D from the Primary Software Screen and activate the Annotate Intersection Button. If you have not yet provided an author name, the software will ask you for an author name for the annotations; provide this and press the OK Button. The cursor will then be in the Name Field. Type the information for your annotation in the Name Field.

After entering annotation information and pressing OK, you will be in a list of Annotation Details. These annotation details are similar to details listed for POIs and include the following:

Scroll or Arrow to any detail that you want to use. Then tab through the following Action Buttons and activate the button for the action that you wish to take.

Exploring Streets and Points of Interest From Your Current Position

Exploring Streets

One major strength of this software is that it allows you to explore streets and learn their layout. Now let us learn how to get the most information when you explore.

Exploration Keystrokes

The software uses a set of four keys to make forward, left, right, and backward moves. The keys used to make exploration moves are as follows:

To position your hand on the keyboard to navigate the maps, let your first, second, and third fingers of your right hand rest naturally on the home row (third or ring finger on the L Key, second finger on the K Key, and index or pointer finger on the J Key). To turn left, press J, the left-most key when your fingers rest this way. To turn right, press L, the right-most key when your fingers rest this way. To move forward by one block, reach forward with your second finger and press the I Key, or keep it on the home row and press the K Key to go back one move.

How Directions Are Described

Directions provided as you explore can be given in several ways. You can select the way that works best for you by activating the Tools Menu, General Options, Heading Orientation Item. Arrow up or down through the options and press Enter on the one you choose. You can receive heading directions in any of the following ways:

The Meaning of Left and Right Turns

You can turn left or right with the J and L Keys only when you have just set an address as your current position or when you are at an intersection.

Any turn you make is just a turn and does not include forward or backward movement. You can actually turn in a full circle at an intersection without ever moving forward. When you turn left at an intersection, the software turns you to the left until you are positioned to walk down an intersecting street. Similarly, if you turn right at an intersection, the software turns you to the right until you are positioned to walk down an intersecting street.

This is what happens at a four-way, +-shaped intersection. If you are walking north on 5th Street and come to Main Street running perpendicular to you (going to your right and left), the J Key turns you left so that you are now facing west on Main Street. However, you have not taken a step forward in the westward direction. If you turned left again, with the J Key, you would be facing south heading back along 5th. If you turned left again, you would be heading east on Main Street, facing 5th. One more turn left with the J Key would take you to your original position facing north on 5th with Main perpendicular to you.

This is what happens at a three-way intersection. Using the 5th and Main example, let us change the layout. Now you are walking north on 5th, but Main runs only to the east of 5th; Main does not come through to the west side of 5th. If you turn right, east, you are positioned to cross 5th Street and walk east down Main. If you turn right again, you are positioned to walk south on 5th. But if you turn right again until you can walk along a street, you must turn 180 degrees to face north where you will walk north along 5th. This is so because Main does not come through to the west side of 5th. There is simply no Main Street to turn west onto.

Exploring in Map Mode

By default, the software presents maps as if you were moving down the middle of a street and does not keep track of the side of the street on which you might actually walk. Let us make sure an important option is set correctly before we begin. Press Alt-T to pull down the Tools Menu, arrow down to the Options Item, and activate it by pressing the Enter Key. Tab four times to the Enable Side-of-Street Tracking Checkbox. If this item is checked, uncheck it by pressing the Spacebar. If it is not checked, press the Enter or the Escape Key to return to the Primary Software Screen. By default, this Checkbox is not checked.

When this Checkbox is not checked, picture yourself looking down at a map made up of lines for streets or tracing a raised-line map with your fingers. It is as if you are flying above the middle of the streets, not thinking about the side of the street on which you would be walking. After you set a current position, the map will tell you what street and direction you face as if you were facing the street on which your current position was located. The map will also tell you the names of the intersecting streets on either side of your position. You will tell the map whether you want to turn right or left to begin your exploration. The map stops you when you come to a cross street, where you can turn or again go forward. When you go forward, you automatically cross the cross street and go one more block, stopping before the next cross street. We will first look up an address, then make it our current position, and then explore.

A Map Mode Exploration Example

If you have the Kentucky map installed, you can do the keystrokes in this example after you read about them. You can also just follow along as we describe the example. For this example, we have set Heading Orientation, the first option in the General Options Item on the Tools Menu, to Ahead, Behind, Left, or Right.

Let us imagine that we are going out to lunch and will then take a walk. We will ask the software to find the Manhattan Grill restaurant at 429 West Muhammad Ali Boulevard in Louisville, Kentucky. We will set this address as our current position, and then take a walk around the block. The following example shows how to look up an address and then explore.

From the Primary Software Screen, press Alt-S to search for an address. In the first field, arrow to Kentucky, the state you want to search. Tab to the next field and type the word Louisville in order to search the city of Louisville. Tab again and type 429 for the number of the address. Tab again and type Muhammad, the first word of the street name. Press Enter or tab once to the Lookup Button and press Enter. You are offered two choices of streets with Muhammad in their name: Muhammad Ali BLVD, E, and Muhammad Ali Blvd, W. BLVD stands for Boulevard, W for West, and E for East. Because we want West Muhammad Ali, arrow to Muhammad Ali, W and press Enter. Next press Enter on the Current Position Button.

The software announces: "At 429 W Muhammad Ali Blvd facing south. 93 feet left to South 4th Street, 111 feet right to Cathedral Aly." Aly is the software's abbreviation for Alley. This means that you are facing south, as if you have just left the restaurant and have moved toward the edge of the street in the restaurant address, West Muhammad Ali Boulevard. West Muhammad Ali is in front of you running to your left and right. You are between South 4th and Cathedral Alley and are slightly closer to 4th than to Cathedral Alley.

Now we will explore a one-block area around the Manhattan Grill. Turn right by pressing the L Key. The software announces, "West on West Muhammad Ali Boulevard, ahead and behind." This means that, after your right turn, you are facing west and that West Muhammad Ali runs ahead of you and behind you. Move forward by pressing the I Key. The software announces, "110 feet west, Cathedral Aly, right." This means that you traveled 110 feet to Cathedral Alley, which runs to your right. Notice that Cathedral Alley runs to your right, but not to your left; this means that Cathedral Alley dead ends and does not go through to the other side of Muhammad Ali. You could turn right and walk on Cathedral Alley or you could go forward on West Muhammad Ali.

Let us go forward by pressing the I Key. The software announces, "286 feet west, South 5th Street, left and right." This means you have crossed Cathedral Alley and walked 286 feet to West 5th Street, which runs perpendicular to you, in front of you to your left and right. Notice that 5th Street runs to your left as well as to your right. This means that 5th is a through street; it continues on the other side of Muhammad Ali. Here, you could go forward, crossing 5th and moving another block to the next intersection. Instead, let us turn right on South 5th Street by pressing the L Key. The software announces, "North on South 5th Street at West Muhammad Ali Boulevard." This means that you have turned onto 5th Street, that you are heading north, and that West Muhammad Ali runs perpendicular to you behind you.

Note that we have used a language convention to indicate when the perpendicular street is ahead of you to be crossed and when it is behind you. If the software tells you that the intersecting street runs left and right (or gives you a clock face direction in which the perpendicular street runs), the street is ahead of you to be crossed; if the software says that you are on a given street at the perpendicular street, you can know that the perpendicular street is behind you and that, unless you turn 180 degrees, you do not need to cross it in order to head straight.

Move forward one block on 5th Street by pressing the I Key. The software announces, "704 feet north, West Liberty Street, left and right." You have walked 704 feet and have arrived at West Liberty Street, which runs perpendicular to you, ahead of you and to your left and right. Let us turn right on West Liberty by pressing the L Key. The software announces, "East on West Liberty Street at South 5th Street." You have turned onto South Liberty and are facing east, ready to walk another block, with South 5th going perpendicular to your line of travel behind you.

Press the I Key to go forward one block, and the software announces, "494 feet east, South 4th Street, left and right." You will notice that Cathedral Alley did not come all the way through to Liberty. Now turn right on South 4th Street by pressing the L Key, and the software announces, "South on South 4th Street at West Liberty Street." This means that you are facing south on South 4th Street with West Liberty perpendicular to you, running behind you.

Press I to go forward one block; the software announces, "704 feet south, West Muhammad Ali Boulevard, left and right." You have returned to West Muhammad Ali. Just to be sure you have walked around the entire block, turn right on to West Muhammad Ali by pressing the L Key. The software confirms, "West on West Muhammad Ali Boulevard at South 4th Street." If you walk one more block, you will come to Cathedral Alley, as you did at the beginning. Press I for Forward and the software announces, "203 feet west, Cathedral Aly, right."

Exploring in Walk Mode: When Side-of-Street Tracking Is Enabled

You have learned that, when the Enable Side-of-Street Tracking option is unchecked, a Forward command takes you across the perpendicular street and one block to the next intersecting street. We noted earlier that, when the Enable Side-of-Street Tracking Checkbox was unchecked, exploring the map was like flying over the middle of the street or tracing raised lines standing for streets on a tactile map. You did not need to think about whether you were walking on the right or left side of the street. By default, the software is set to include crossing an intersection with a forward move; that is, the Forward command moved you across the perpendicular street and to the end of the next block. This is the easiest way to learn the layout of streets in a given area.

However, you may want to practice traveling in a more real-life manner. In order to give you the feeling of actually walking down the street and making decisions about which streets to cross and when to cross them, we made the software able to track the side of the street that you are walking on. We also made the software understand when you need to cross a street before turning or going forward. Let us turn this feature on now. Press Alt-T to pull down the Tools Menu, arrow down to General Options, and press Enter to activate this item. Tab four times to the Enable Side-of-Street Tracking option. Press the Spacebar to check this Checkbox. Then press Enter to close the Tools Menu. Mouse users should click on the Tools Menu, General Options, and Enable Side-of-Street Tracking Checkbox.

Now the software will note the side of the street on which you walk no matter how many turns or crossings you make. When Side-of-Street tracking is turned on, the software will tell you what side of the street you are on in the Nearest Address Box, just after the nearest address; and it will not cross a street automatically when you tell it to go forward. Instead, it requires you to give the Cross Street command with the U Key whenever you need to cross.

A Walk Mode Exploration Example

Let us see how Side-of-Street Tracking really works. First, you must set your current position. Let us search for the address of the American Printing House for the Blind, 1839 Frankfort Avenue, Louisville, Kentucky. If you have the Kentucky map installed, you can do the keystrokes in this example; otherwise, just follow along.

Press Alt-S to search for an address. Note that the Address Look-Up Dialog retains the state and city that you used in your previous address look-up. Because we have not changed the state and city since our last example, Kentucky and Louisville are still selected in the State and City Fields. Tab to the Number Field and type 1839. Tab again to the Street Field and type Frankfort. Press Enter or tab once to the Lookup Button and press Enter.

The Address Actions Dialog appears, with Current Position as the selected button. Press Enter.

After you set this address as your current position, the software shows the following information: "At 1839 Frankfort Ave facing south. 222 feet left to Stoll Avenue, 90 feet right to North State Street." The software positions you as if you have just walked out of the American Printing House onto the sidewalk of the street named in the building's address. You are facing the street named in the building's address because you have not turned left or right to walk up or down this street. You are also told the names of the intersecting streets to the left and to the right of you. You know that State Street is fairly close to you to your right and that Stoll Avenue is farther away from you to your left. If you turn right, you will be walking on Frankfort Avenue toward State Street; and if you turn left, you will be walking on Frankfort Avenue toward Stoll. At this point, the software is waiting for you to turn left or right, your only two choices.

Turn left with the J Key; the software tells you that you are now facing southeast with Frankfort Avenue running ahead of and behind you. Press the A Key to read the Address Field. The software says that you are at 1839 Frankfort Avenue (no surprise there) and that you are on the left side of the street. Go forward with the I Key. The software tells you that you have moved forward 221 feet to Stoll Avenue, which is on your right. Because the software tells you that Stoll Avenue is on your right (and does not tell you that it is also on your left), you know that Stoll Avenue does not come through on the left side of Frankfort. Remember that you are walking on the left side of Frankfort. If you forget which side of the street you are on, just press the A Key and the software will read the address nearest your position and tell you whether you are on the left or right side of the street. Because you are on the left side of Frankfort and Stoll is only on the right side of Frankfort (it does not come through), you do not have to cross it. The software stops you at Stoll so that you will notice the Frankfort-Stoll intersection. However, you do not have to cross Stoll to continue walking on the left side of Frankfort. If you were walking on the right side of Frankfort, you would have to cross Stoll before going forward.

Let us go forward with the I Key. The software says, "492 feet east, Haldeman Avenue, left and right." This means that you have walked 492 feet and have come to Haldeman Avenue, which lies in front of you to your left and right. If you press the I Key for Forward at this point, the software says, "You must cross the street first before moving forward." Cross Haldeman with the U Key, and the software says, "Crossed Haldeman Avenue."

Now, turn right with the L Key. The software says, "Southwest on the left side of Haldeman Avenue at Frankfort Avenue, left and right." Because you turned right, you are now in position to walk along Haldeman Avenue, which lies ahead and behind you. Frankfort Avenue is now in front of you, lying to your left and right. Press the U Key to cross the street, and the software says, "Crossed Frankfort Avenue."

Now turn left onto Frankfort Avenue by pressing the J Key. The software says, "East on the right side of Frankfort Avenue at Haldeman Avenue."

Remember that you already crossed Haldeman Avenue before you crossed Frankfort. Also, notice that the software tells you that you are on Frankfort Avenue at Haldeman Avenue, but it does not tell you that Haldeman Avenue is running to your left and right. Because you already crossed Haldeman Avenue before you crossed Frankfort and turned east to continue traveling on Frankfort, Haldeman, though still perpendicular to your line of travel and lying to your left and right, is behind you. As noted previously, in order to let you know that a perpendicular street mentioned is behind you, we have used the language convention of not saying "left and right" or mentioning clock face directions when noting the perpendicular street. This can help you maintain an accurate mental map. When you hear the words "left," "right," "left and right," or a set of clock face directions, you know that the perpendicular street is in front of you. When you hear the mention of the perpendicular street without these words, you know you have already crossed it and that it is perpendicular to you, but behind you; you know that you do not need to cross it again to continue traveling straight.

Continuing with our example, test this by pressing the I Key for forward, and the software says, "261 feet east, Weist Place, right."

Now press F to find the list of POIs nearby. The second POI on the list reads, "Bussmann Bakery, Shop (food), Frankfort Ave, 123 feet, behind, west, right side." The software has just told you the location of some great pastry!

Let us look at another example from the Kentucky map. Remember that you are still on the right side of Frankfort Avenue at Weist Place. If you forget your current position, you can always tab through the fields on the Primary Software Screen to read about it. Let us say that you do not need (or even want) pastry, but you need to get a prescription medication filled at a pharmacy. If you do not know the location of any pharmacies nearby, you can use the Control-F command to find a specific Point of Interest as follows:

The software automatically reads the list of pharmacies that were found. You can also read each item by arrowing through the list. Here are the closest four pharmacies and the information shown about them.

Because you are still located on Frankfort (our previous example took you to the right side of Frankfort Avenue heading east), and because Walgreens is also on the right side of Frankfort Avenue east of you, it makes sense to choose Walgreens. Now you can use the software to create a walking route to Walgreens or set Walgreens as your destination from the Actions Dialog previously discussed.

Exploring Areas with Multiple Adjacent Cities or Cities Divided into Regions

In many parts of the United States, cities and towns are adjacent to one another; on one side of a street, you may be in one city, and on the other, you may be another town. Sometimes small towns are surrounded by large cities. When exploring by street or Point of Interest, you can move across city boundaries seamlessly. However, if you check the City Field on the screen by either tabbing to it or by pressing C, you will note that the city name changes as you move into the new area.

When you are looking up an address, you need to use either the correct city name for the address or the correct zip code for the address. You can easily find this information by searching on the Internet. If you enter the wrong zip code, city name, or street name for a given address on the Address Lookup Screen, the software says, "No street found matching that name. Leave Street Field blank for a list of all streets for the city chosen." If you believe that the address is in the city you provided and that you provided an incorrect street name, you can press the Enter Key at this point and see a list of all streets in the city. Select the correct street by pressing Enter. If you entered the correct street name, the particular address you entered may lie in an adjacent town. In this case, don't press Enter to obtain a list of streets in the initial city. Instead, either write in the name of the correct city where the address is located or use the Zip Code Search if you know the correct zip code.

Another option is to search again for the address, but this time examine the City Field before you activate the Lookup Button. You may find that TomTom has divided the city into regions. Select the region of the city in which you think the address may be located or select the region that includes all parts of the city.

Exploring with a Destination Set

You have noticed the box on the Primary Software Screen labeled Destination. You can set a destination by using your current position, an address, a POI, or a latitude/longitude. You can also set a destination by using a Favorite or an item from your History List. To set a destination, do one of the following:

After you set a destination, you can do the following:

Moving by Points of Interest From Your Current Position

APH Talking PC Maps not only allows you to move by block, but it also allows you to explore and move by individual Points of Interest. From your current location, you can move to the next Point of Interest by pressing the Shift-I Key combination. Just as the I Key moves you forward to the next intersection, the Shift-I Key combination moves you to the next Point of Interest and announces the distance that you have virtually traveled to reach the next POI. This feature allows you to have the virtual experience of walking down a street and hearing the names of all of the places that you encounter. Now we will look at this feature in detail. If you have the Checkbox for Side-of-Street Tracking (in the Tools Menu, General Options) turned off or unchecked, the next POI will be announced for both sides of the street. Remember, when Side-of-Street Tracking is off, you are virtually flying above the middle of the street, looking down at the street. In this case, when you press the Shift-I Key combination, you will hear the distance you have traveled to reach the next POI, the side of the street of the next POI (right or left), and the name of the next POI.

The software determines the distance to the next POI by using a series of estimations or educated guesses. The software sometimes lists a distance of zero when it does not have enough information to make distance estimations. Distance estimates related to the next Point of Interest should not be considered accurate data. However, the software does not have to make estimations about the order in which the POIs appear because this information is provided in the TomTom map data. If the map data is accurate, the order in which POIs appear on a block will also be accurate.

When Side-of-Street Tracking Is Turned On

If you pull down the Tools Menu, press Enter on General Options, and turn on the Side-of-Street Tracking Item by tabbing to it and pressing the spacebar or by clicking it, then a new Checkbox appears in the General Options immediately after Side-of-Street Tracking. This Checkbox is labeled, Explore POIs Only on My Side of the Street. If you check this Checkbox, you will only be able to move by POI when the POI is on your side of the street. When Side-of-Street Tracking is turned on and Explore POIs Only on My Side of the Street is checked, pressing Shift-I will take you to the next POI on your side of the street. The distance to the next POI and the POI name will be announced, but the direction of the POI will not be announced because it can only be on one side of you, the side away from the street on which you are virtually walking.

If you turn Side-of-Street Tracking on but do not check the Box for Explore POIs Only on My Side of the Street, Shift-I will show POIs on both sides of the street; it will work the same way as it does when Side-of-Street Tracking is not checked.

Entering a POI

After you have located the next Point of Interest by pressing the Shift-I Key combination, you can virtually enter the POI by pressing the Enter Key or the Shift-E Key combination. When you enter the POI, you will notice that you hear the sound of a door opening. When you enter the POI in this way, the POI Details are automatically presented. You can arrow through the list of details and hear each detail spoken. Because details include the POI's address and telephone number, this is a particularly useful feature. You can tab to Print and Copy to Clipboard buttons on this screen; activating the Print Button provides the standard Windows Print Dialog, and activating the Copy to Clipboard Button allows you to paste the list of POI Details into a word processor, text editor, or braille translation software. You cannot explore any farther until you have exited the POI by pressing the Escape Key. When you press this key, you will hear the sound of a door closing, as if you had walked out of a real door. Pressing this key moves your position outside of the POI and places you facing the street named in the POI address. The software announces the name and distance of the side streets to your left and to your right and tells you the direction that you face. You must turn left or right to continue traveling on the street. This process should be familiar because it is the same process that occurs when you look up an address and set it as your current location.

Groups of POIs: When More Than One POI Has the Same Address

Now think of the situation where five Points of Interest might be in one building. An office building might contain two doctor's offices, one lawyer's office, one occupational therapist's office, and one psychologist's office. Although each of these offices might have their own room or suite number, the office building has only one street address. Generally, malls also have only one street address that is used for each store in the mall. In this situation, several hundred stores might have the same address. The map software uses the street address to determine which POI is next in your line of travel. When the street address for a group of POIs is the same, the software cannot determine which POI is next. To handle this situation, the software announces that a group of POIs occurs, and you must enter the group in order to learn about specific Points of Interest inside.

To enter the group of POIs, press the Enter Key or the Shift-E Key combination as you did to enter a single POI. You will hear one ding sound, bringing to mind a doorbell or an elevator, to notify you that you have entered a group of POIs. You can arrow up and down the list of POIs in the group. You can tab to the Print and Copy to Clipboard buttons, which allow you to print the list of POIs or copy them to the clipboard so that they can be pasted into a document for future use. Copying the list of 97 POIs in a shopping mall to the clipboard and pasting them into a word processor results in the creation of a file containing the names of many, if not all, of the stores in the mall.

You can press the Enter or Shift-E Key combination to enter a specific POI. When you enter the POI, you will hear the door open as you did when entering a single POI. The POI's list of details appears, and you can arrow to any detail of interest. You can also tab to the Print and Copy to Clipboard Buttons, which allow you to print or copy the POI Details to the clipboard and insert them into another document. To leave the POI, press the Escape Key. You will hear the door close.

Now you are back in the list of POIs in the group. You can arrow up and down this list to find another POI and enter it, or you can exit from the group of POIs by pressing the Escape Key. When you exit a group of POIs, you will hear two dinging sounds, similar to a doorbell or an elevator sound. When you leave the group of POIs, the software again places you facing the street named in the POI address. It tells you the name and distance of the side streets to your left and to your right, and it tells you the direction in which you face. You must turn right or left to resume your exploration.

Exploring by POI at the End of the Block

When you are moving by Point of Interest and arrive at the end of a block, the next press of the Shift-I Key combination announces the intersecting street that is between the current POI and the first POI on the next block. If Side-of-Street Tracking is turned off in General Options in the Tools Menu, you can press the Shift-I Key combination to go to the next POI in the new block. If Side-of-Street Tracking is turned on in General Options in the Tools Menu, you must press the U or Shift-U Key combination to cross the intersecting street before you press the Shift-I Key combination to go to the next POI (the first POI in the new block).

Exploration by POI and by Street in Combination

It is very easy to combine these two types of exploration methods. Simply press Shift-I when you want to move to the next POI and the I Key when you want to move to the next intersection. If you are located on the last POI in a block, pressing I or Shift-I will bring you to the street at the end of the block. If Side-of-Street Tracking is not turned on, pressing Shift-I at this point will take you across the street to the first POI in the next block; pressing the I Key will bring you to the end of the next block to the next intersecting street. If Side-of-Street Tracking is turned on, you will need to press the U Key or the shift-U Key combination to cross the intersecting street. After this key press, Shift-I takes you to the first POI on the block and the I Key takes you to the end of the block to the next intersecting street.

An Exploration Example

Now let us look at an example in which we explore both by Point of Interest and by street. You will notice that this example includes several groups of POIs as well as some individual ones. This example is presented as a list of key presses and the resulting software text and sounds. In this example, Side-of-Street Tracking (in the General Options Item in the Tools Menu) is turned off.

Creating and Following Routes

So far, you have explored the maps to learn the street layout of a particular area and to search for Points of Interest. But what if you want specific directions from one place to another? In this section, you will learn how to use APH Talking PC Maps to create, follow, and save routes and to print them and emboss them in braille. You will learn how to create an automatic (software-produced) pedestrian or vehicle route, and you will learn how to create a user-made walking route.

What Are Routes

Routes are a series of directions that take you from a beginning position to a destination, the place you want to go. If you walk from your apartment to your school bus, your route is the series of directions that you follow on the way. If you leave your apartment, turn right, walk to the outside door of the building, leave the building, walk straight to the sidewalk, turn left for half a block, and wait at the corner for the school bus, you have followed a route from home to the school bus stop. When you are familiar with your surroundings as in the school bus example, you probably do not need to think about the route you will follow. However, when you travel in unfamiliar areas or visit a location for the first time, you will probably need to spend some time finding out information about the route you will follow.

To create a route, you need to set a starting point and a destination. First, set your current position to the starting point of your route. You have already learned how to set your current position from an address lookup, a Point of Interest, a latitude/longitude, an item from the History List, or a Favorite. Second, set your destination. You have already learned how to do this using any of the same five types of information.

If you know your starting position and your destination, APH Talking PC Maps software can create a pedestrian or a vehicle route to get you there. If you want to create a route yourself, set only your starting point, and you can manually create a route, stopping when you arrive at your destination.

Automatic, Software-Produced Pedestrian and Vehicle Routes

If you walk to a destination, you can do some things that vehicle drivers cannot. For example, you can walk the wrong way down a one-way street. A driver must drive west on a one-way west street, but you can walk east or west, whichever way gets you closer to your destination. On the other hand, drivers can do some things that pedestrians cannot; for example, vehicles can travel on expressways and pedestrians are not allowed to do so. So the directions in a route will probably be different depending on whether the route is for a pedestrian or a driver. When creating an automatic, software-produced route, you must always define it as a pedestrian or vehicular route so that the software can make these adjustments.

Setting Options for Automatic, Software-Produced Pedestrian and Vehicle Routes

The software by default has set a series of options about how pedestrian and vehicle routes will be built. You will probably not need to change the default options. However, if you are curious or if you need to make changes, select the Route Options from the Tools Menu. To do this, press Alt-T, arrow to this item, and press Enter. You can also press the letter R after opening the Tools Menu. The keystrokes used to get to each of these items from the Primary Software Screen and an explanation of each item are provided below.

Creating Automatic, Software-Produced Pedestrian and Vehicle Routes

In order to create a route, you must have the street maps loaded for the area in which you want the route to be created. Next, you must give the software a beginning point and an ending point. Your beginning point is always your current position. So, if you want to begin your route at a location that is different from your current position, you must use one of the methods already discussed (explore to a new location, Address Look-Up, POI Search, Lat/Lon, History List, or Favorites) to move to a new location. You must then set this new location as your current position.

Once your current position is at the beginning of the route you want to create, you must tell the software where you want to go and also tell it that you want to create a vehicle or pedestrian route to your destination. Actions Dialogs make this easy to do. You can set the ending point of your route and create a route in the following ways.

Reviewing Automatic Routes from the Keyboard

When you create a route, the Primary Software Screen includes two new items in addition to its normal material: the Route Distance, the distance between your present location and the end of the route; and Next Turn, a detailed description of how far to travel, when to turn, and the name of the street onto which you will turn. The software will speak the Route Distance information when you press the R Key, and will read the Next Turn information when you press the T Key.

There are two ways that people view routes. In Waypoint Mode, the route names each intersection that is crossed, gives the distance to the next intersection, describes the direction of turns, and names the street onto which you are turning. If you are learning a new route that you will later walk, this mode may be very helpful because you can memorize all of the details that you will need. However, if you are creating a route for a longer trip and want to print or braille it and direct someone who is driving, you may not want nor need all of this detail. In Turning Point Mode, the route lists the distance to travel to each turn, describes the direction of turns, and names the street onto which you are turning.

After you have created a route, you can review it with keyboard commands. Just as you could use the keyboard to explore the maps, you can also use it to travel a route that the software has made. You use the same keys that you used to explore, but now they will be used differently.

If you want to view a route by turns, the less detailed mode, press the I Key to move forward to the next Turning Point and the K Key to move back to the previous Turning Point. You can travel through the entire route, viewing all of the Turning Point information, by repeatedly pressing the I Key. You can move backwards through the Turning Points on a route by repeatedly pressing the K Key. When you explored the map, you could only move backwards one time; when following a route, you can explore the entire route backwards if you wish.

If you want to view a route by Waypoints, the more detailed mode, use the L Key to move forward by one Waypoint and the J Key to move backward by one Waypoint. You can move through the entire route by Waypoints by repeatedly pressing the L Key. You can also move backwards through the entire route by Waypoints by pressing the J Key.

You can view a route by a combination of Turning Points and Waypoints. If you want to see the next Turning Point, press I; and if you want to see the next Waypoint, press L. Similarly, K will take you to the previous Turning Point, and J will take you to the previous Waypoint.

When calculating a long route (for example, a trip from Louisville, Kentucky, to Orlando, Florida), the software may require a few minutes. The longer the route, the more time it takes to calculate. You must install all maps needed for all sections of the route in order for the software to calculate it correctly.

Because on and off ramps to expressways curve a great deal, they may be listed several times as Waypoints or Turning Points in a route. Do not be surprised if you find you must press the I or J Keys several times to follow a route onto or off of an expressway ramp. The best way to identify the expressway exit is to move through the off ramp and to the nearest intersection, which usually shares the same name as the exit. POIs by the intersection at the end of an off ramp may also give clues to the exit name.

It is important to remember that routes cannot take into account information that is not part of the map data set. Such information includes highway construction along the route, the presence or absence of sidewalks on the route, and the presence or absence of traffic controls at route intersections. Always check a route with other sources of information before following it.

Other Important Automatic Route Actions

Here are some additional important actions that you can take when using routes.

User-Made Pedestrian Routes

So far, we have given the software a starting point and an ending point, and the software has created a route for us automatically; the software itself was in charge of creating the route. Now we will consider walking routes that we can create ourselves. An instructor may want to create a specific route for a student who can then braille or record it and follow it while traveling. There is no guarantee that the software will create the exact route that the instructor wants the student to use. Similarly, an adult may want to follow a specific route because of features on the route with which the adult is acquainted (e.g., the presence of sidewalks or traffic lights at intersections). Again, there is no guarantee that the software will create this exact route when a beginning point and an ending point are provided. To solve this problem, the software allows the user to create a route by exploring and then saving the exploration.

To begin creating a Manual Walking Route, move your current position to the beginning of the route using any of the same methods you did for Automatic, Software-Produced Routes. When you have set your current position to the beginning point of the route, pull down the Routes Menu, arrow to the Manual Routes Item, and press Enter. Press Enter on the first item in this menu, Start Creating a Walking Route. Alternatively, from the Primary Software Screen, press alt- R, then M, and then Enter. Beginning at this point, the path you explore will be saved as a route. When you have arrived at the desired ending point of your route, pull down the Routes Menu, activate the Manual Route Submenu, and activate the Finish Walking Route Button. The software will prompt you with the Save Route Dialog in which you will be asked to name the route. After naming the route, press Enter or click OK. This route will be saved in the folder with your other routes and can be opened from the Open Route Item in the Routes Menu. You can continue to create your walking route after you save it.

Every time you move to the next intersection with the I Key when making a walking route, you will hear footsteps; but you will not hear footsteps when you are exploring and not creating a route. The footstep sound helps you remember that you are making a walking route and not simply exploring.

You can use the Show Route Details feature to view your walking route on-screen and to print it or save it to the clipboard for pasting into other applications. This file can be edited and downloaded to a notetaker or portable text player and used while traveling. It can also be loaded into braille translation software and embossed for use when traveling.

Note that you cannot use the Reverse Route Item in the Routes Menu for these Manual Walking Routes. The software can reverse only those routes created by the software.

You can view the next POI while making a walking route by using the Shift-I Key combination. You can also obtain a list of nearby POIs by pressing the F key. However, POIs will not be recorded in the file that results when you select the Show Route Details Item on the Routes Menu.

Updating APH Talking PC Maps

As we noted near the beginning of this User Guide, the Check for Updates Item on the Help Menu or its hot key F3 will inform you about updates to the maps software, digital map files, User POI files, and Google Transit files. Some of these updates will be free, and others will have an upgrade fee because of the cost of licensing updated digital maps. If an upgrade is free, you can download it directly from the Update Screen. If you are required to purchase an update, the Update Screen will inform you that an update is available, but that your account is not eligible to download it. When you receive this message, contact APH Customer Service at (800) 223-1839 for information about how to obtain the upgrade. Whenever you obtain a new version of APH Talking PC Maps, uninstall your current version before installing the new one.

APH Talking PC Maps v2013 Command Summary

Description Command

 

Where Am I Commands

 

Nearest Street Address

 

A

 

Current City

 

C

 

Nearest Intersection

 

X

 

Detailed Description of Intersection

 

Alt-X

 

Where Am I

 

Space

 

Heading

 

H

 

 

Explore Commands

 

Look up an Address

 

Alt-S

 

Move Forward One Intersection

 

I

 

Move to next POI

 

Shift-I

 

Turn to Next Street on Left

 

J

 

Turn Into POI on Left

 

Shift-J

 

Turn to Next Street on Right

 

L

 

Turn Into POI on Right

 

Shift-L

 

Move Backward One Intersection

 

K

 

Cross the Street

 

U or Shift-U

 

Other Actions on Current Position

 

Control-D

 

 

Destination Commands

 

Heading and Distance to Destination

 

D

 

Clear Destination

 

Alt-R then D

 

 

Points of Interest Commands

Find Nearest POIs

 

F

 

Advanced POI Search

 

Control-F

 

Announce Nearest POI

 

P

 

Find My POIs

 

Control-M

 

 

Route Commands

 

Next Turn or Road Transition

 

T

 

Route Information

 

R

 

Route Options

 

Alt-T, then R

 

Create Pedestrian Route

 

Alt-R, A, P

 

Create Vehicle Route

 

Alt-R, A, V

 

Open Route

 

Control-O

 

Save Route

 

Control-S

 

Print Route

 

Control-P

 

Close Route

 

Control-F4

 

Move Forward One Turn

 

I

 

Move Backward One Turn

 

K

 

Move Forward One Waypoint

 

L

 

Move Backward One Waypoint

 

J

 

Explore Route Next Turn

 

T

 

Route Progress

 

%

 

 

Miscellaneous Commands

 

Zoom Out

 

Page Up

 

Zoom In

 

Page Down

 

Zoom to show full route

 

Home

 

Odometer

 

O

 

Copy

 

Control-C

 

 
Information Center

About APH Talking PC Maps

 

Alt-H, then A

 

APH Talking PC Maps Command Summary

 

F1

 

Exit Maps

 

Alt-F, then

Notice: Accessibility of APH Websites

X