FSEdit is a word processing application that you can use to create and edit documents. Unlike Pocket Word or Notes, FSEdit was created specifically for the blind user. Among its friendly and convenient features, you will find FSEdit provides a robust editing environment, complete with a spell checker, and offers the facility to emboss all supported file formats.
The default location for FSEdit is the Programs submenu (Windows Key, P). In the Program submenu press F until you hear FSEdit and then press ENTER. When you first open FSEdit, it automatically creates a new document. If necessary you may also create a new document by pressing ALT and then ENTER on the File Menu. In the File Menu, press N and ENTER again. This will also create a new blank document.
To view all the commands available in FSEdit, please see Appendix A: PAC Mate Commands.
If the file you want to save has the correct name, is in the correct file format, and in the correct folder, you can simply press CTRL+S and your file will be saved.
If, however, you want to save the file with another name, with a different file format, or in another folder, you will have to open the File Menu and select Save As. In the Save As dialog you can change any parameter of the file. Use the TAB command to navigate this dialog. Below lists the options available in each combo box in the Save As dialog.
Folder combo box: The default is None, which means that your file will be saved in the default folder, My Documents. The other folder options, listed below, are subfolders of the My Documents folder.
File Type combo box: FSEdit offers a nice variety of file types that easily match your working needs. In addition, FSEdit’s own file type, .fsd, allows for synchronization to your PC, storage of additional information such as Grade of Braille (contracted or uncontracted), cursor location, mark location,and contracted back translation for easy conversion between the other file types supported by FSEdit.
Location combo box:
This menu item reloads the last saved version of the document and discards any succeeding editorial changes.
Using the PAC Mate QX400 QWERTY keyboard, you can write in uncontracted or contracted Braille in FSEdit.
If you open a new file, you can only type in uncontracted Braille, but if you open an existing contracted Braille file, or if you save a file using a .brf file extension, you can type in contracted Braille.
To turn on Braille input mode when in FSEdit, press INSERT+SHIFT+F9. The key assignments are:
| Keyboard Key | Braille Dot Equivalent |
|---|---|
| F | DOT 1 |
| D | DOT 2 |
| S | DOT 3 |
| A | DOT 7 |
| J | DOT 4 |
| K | DOT 5 |
| L | DOT 6 |
| Semicolon | DOT 8 |
Before you can emboss a document, you must first select your embosser type in the Properties dialog, which is accessed from the Emboss dialog.
When you select your embosser, many of the fields in the Properties dialog automatically populate with your embosser’s default settings. This means you can immediately begin embossing your document or you can change the embossing settings.
To launch the Properties dialog:
Embossing a document is initiated from the Emboss dialog. To launch the Emboss dialog you must open the File Menu and select Emboss (E). With the Emboss dialog open, you have several controls that allow you to change the way your document is embossed. If you do not want to change any of the parameters and are ready to emboss, press TAB until you reach the Ok button and then press SPACEBAR.
Unless you specify the number of copies embossed, FSEdit will only emboss one copy of a document.
To emboss more than one copy of a document:
Depending on your needs, you may want to emboss on different size paper. Changes made to the embossing settings are retained until you change them or reset them to their defaults.
For 8.5 x 11 inch paper, use the following settings:
Cell Per Line: 34
Lines Per Page: 25
Top Margin in lines: 0
Max Cells Per Line of Embosser: 34
Max Lines Per Page of Embosser: 27
For 11.5 x 11 inch paper, use the following settings:
Cell Per Line: 40
Lines Per Page: 25
Top Margin in lines: 0
Max Cells Per Line of Embosser: 42
Max Lines Per Page of Embosser: 27
In order to emboss to a Braille device from your PAC Mate using infrared data transfer, you will need to obtain a powered, IRDA-compliant printer adapter. In addition to the power connection, this adapter will have an infrared port on a cable that you can locate in a convenient place. You can connect the adapter to any of the Braille embossers supported by the PAC Mate.
After connecting the adapter and selecting your embosser, align the IR port of your PAC Mate with that of the adapter and select Emboss from the FSEdit File menu. Your document will be transfered using the IR ports and embossed on the Braille embosser.
Notes: You cannot use infrared to transfer files to a Braille embosser if you are embossing over a network. Go to Connecting to an Embosser for more information.
Most IRDA-compliant printer adapters are pass-through devices; that is, once connected to the parallel port of your Braille embosser, you can then connect the cable from a desktop or laptop computer to the adapter and emboss from both that device and the PAC Mate.
There are two ways to launch the print dialog. The easy way is to press CTRL+P from within any document. The other way is to open the File Menu (ALT, ENTER) and select Print (P). Unless you want to change print parameters or you have more than one printer installed on your computer, you can immediately press ENTER or select the Ok button to print a single copy of your document. The default margin set for the top, bottom, left, and right page edge is 1 inch.
Unless you specify the number of copies printed, PAC Mate prints only one copy of a document.
To print more than one copy of a document:
If multiple printers are installed on your computer, then PAC Mate uses the same default printer designated in Windows.
While PAC Mate's Print dialog allows you to change printers, it does not allow you to change the default printer.
To change printers:
Currently PAC Mate supports printing to printers on a network, that are infrared, BlueTooth and WiFi compatible, and that are attached via a USB connection. If you select network because you are printing to a network printer, you must enter the printer's UNC path in the Net Path edit field. You must also enter this information in File Explorer. When using a USB-attached printer, be sure to select LPT1 in the printer port list.
The default paper size setting for PAC Mate is Letter (8.5 x 11 inches).
To choose another paper size:
The Print Range area of the Print dialog is composed of two radio buttons: All and Selection. Use the cursor cross to select either radio button. Unless you specify a selection, PAC Mate will print all pages contained with in a document.
To specify a selection:
The Orientation area of the Print Setup dialog is composed of two radio buttons: Portrait and Landscape.
To change the page orientation:
On by default, the Draft Mode check box in the Print dialog uses less ink, but reduces the sharpness and quality of print on paper. To improve print sharpness and quality, press the SPACEBAR to uncheck this box.
Regardless of whether you created a Braille file or one of the other supported file formats, FSEdit's default setting sends text to your embosser in contracted Braille. If necessary, you can emboss a file in uncontracted Braille.
To emboss an uncontracted Braille file in uncontracted Braille:
Emphasis text is text that is bold, underlined and/or in italics. This item (enabled by default and only available when embossing in contracted Braille) indicates when text has emphasis.
While these two features, selecting text and marking text, use very different approaches, they do perform virtually the same function. The difference, however, is that with Marking Text you can accurately mark text and have the added advantage of being able to freely read your document until you find the word(s) you want to mark inclusively. Whereas when you select text, you must move linearly in a fixed increment until the block of text you want is selected. This may result in more editing, as some unwanted text might get selected.
On occasion you may find it helpful to review the information you have selected. Or you may find that you want to select text that is beyond the marked end. To do this easily, swap the position of the mark and cursor. You can find this feature in the Edit Menu or simply press ALT+E, W.
In addition to all the selecting commands available in PAC Mate, FSEdit has its own Quick Select commands. The Quick Select commands let you select text in five different increments. You can find these options in the Edit Menu under the Quick Select submenu or you can press the shortcut commands.
The Find feature is a very handy tool that lets you search for a word or phrase within an open document quickly. When you press ALT+E, F, FSEdit launches the Find dialog with the cursor in the Find What edit box. Type in the word or phrase you want to find. Use the TAB key to navigate the dialog. Other controls in this dialog that are available are Find Whole Words Only, Match Case, and Search Direction.
When you are ready, press ENTER on the Find Next button.
The Replace menu item (ALT+E, R) is similar to the Find feature in that it searches for words or phrases within a document, but it has the additional feature of replacing words or phrases with alternative text. Its dialog is similar to the Find dialog but has two additional buttons. The Replace button, which replaces one instance of the word or phrase and the Replace All button, which replaces all instances of the word or phrase in the document.
In FSEdit makes formatting a document very easy. Most formatting options available can be directly accessed from the two submenus in the Format Menu.
To format a document:
The first two items can be found in the Insert Menu, while the third item can be found in the Format Menu. To select a format for the Date/Time Stamp and for Bullets and Numbering go to the Tools Menu and select Options.
You can check the spelling of a specific word, or of all the words in a document. If a word is spelled correctly, but not recognized, you can add the word(s) to FSEdit’s online dictionary. To launch the Spell Checker dialog, press F8.
Once the Spell Checker dialog opens, your cursor is in the Change To box on a word from the Suggestions List. At this point, you have several options to choose from. Use the TAB key to navigate the dialog and press ENTER on the control that performs the particular action you want. When you encounter the Suggestions List box, use the UP or DOWN ARROW keys to make your selection.
When you want to know the number of words in a document, press ALT move to Tools and press ENTER. Then move and press ENTER on Word Count