ClaroRead Plus for Mac

Visual highlighting

The new focus sentence feature greys or dims out sentences in MS Word not being spoken by the ClaroRead voice. This is helpful for focussing the eye on the text, and also tracking the position in a document. The word trail feature makes words colour progressively as they are spoken by ClaroRead. This mode allows effective word by word highlighting, with minimal visual disruption. Any colour can be chosen to highlight the text.

Research and Capture

The new ClaroCapture program included with ClaroRead for Mac V4 lets you collect text from any document and web page, grouping it as a project file. The research file can be sent to Word or PowerPoint. It can also extract highlighted text from Microsoft Word documents. A great study skills tool.

Scanning paper and converting PDF files

ClaroRead Plus for Mac V4 now comes with a Scan button to launch Readers Pro 11 OCR software. The highest quality Optical Character Recognition is now included in ClaroRead Plus, making it ideal for scanning or converting books, articles and other content to become accessible, readable and editable.

Word check window

The Check window now integrates homophones, spelling suggestions and meanings in one window while working in Microsoft Word. There is also a dictionary lookup button which gives you direct access to the Mac’s Dictionary. Any spelling corrections you make in the Check window are remembered, and you can review your own spelling corrections later under the Check tab in the Settings pane. You can use this information to build your personal correction list which inserts your personal corrections above all others in the Check window.

High quality voices

Claro has always aimed to offer the highest quality voices for inclusion with ClaroRead. ClaroRead for Mac V4 UK Edition now ships with two high quality Acapela female voices Lucy and Rachel and two CereProc voices: British English William and Scottish Heather.

ScreenRuler for Mac

ClaroRead for Mac V4 now comes with ScreenRuler. ScreenRuler provides an on-screen ruler which tracks the mouse pointer to help focus on a particular area of the screen.

Word Prediction

ClaroRead for Mac V4 now includes a word predictor which learns as you type and can be trained from Word documents or the clipboard. There are a range of different settings for you to customise to your needs under the Prediction tab in the Settings pane.

Extras Button

The Extras button on the toolbar gives you access to the other software bundled with ClaroRead: ClaroView, ScreenRuler and ClaroCapture. There is also a link to the Mac’s calculator giving you quick access to this Mac application.

Make your Mac speak with a human sounding voice

ClaroRead speaks back text as it is typed, allowing a student to check and proof-read their work quickly and easily. Text can be spoken at any point by highlighting individual sections of text and pressing Play - great for proofreading.

Close integration with Microsoft Word means you can click and play at any point in a document.

Spoken words can be tracked using a custom colour selection. Any accessible text under the mouse can be spoken if needed.

Make audio files from text documents for listening to on your Mac or a portable audio player. Simply select and Save - great for revision or listening on the move.

A Text to Speech Pronunciation Dictionary is available to modify the way words are pronounced if needed.

High Quality Voices

ClaroRead for Mac V4 UK Edition includes:

Integration with Microsoft Word 2004 & 2008

ClaroRead for Mac V4 provides a single toolbar for use in Microsoft Word that combines a homophone and dictionary, font and spacing commands, a thesaurus, spell checker and a save to audio function. All have clear graphic icons for ease of recognition.

Font and colour changing

When working in Microsoft Word, ClaroRead’s Font button allows you to modify the font size, type, and colour of the whole document very easily.

With the Font button you can:

Increase or decrease the font size. Change the font to one of 3 popular fonts with one click. Change the colour and highlight colour of the text of a whole document easily.

Spacing

Text character, line and paragraph spacing using Microsoft Word menus requires some detailed knowledge. ClaroRead makes it simple to space out text in Microsoft Word. Pressing the Spacing button when working in Word will help you:

Homophones and tricky words

Homophones are words that are pronounced alike even if they differ in spelling or meaning, such as "pair" and "pear".

ClaroRead Homophone features will:

Mark in colour all the homophones and confusable words in a document. Using the Check tab in the settings, you can also add additional tricky and confusable words. The Check Feature will list alternative words that sound the same, along with the meaning of each word. Word with Pictures: Over two thousand pictures included in ClaroRead, helping users to select the correct homophone or choice of wording. Pictures can be turned on or off.

 Check word - a single button press

ClaroRead provides a single Check button for use in Microsoft Word that combines a homophone dictionary, thesaurus, reference dictionary and spellchecker, making the checking of your text and documents easier and more comprehensive.

If a word is a homophone the "homophone" check window will appear, along with meanings. If the word has alternative words with the same or similar meaning, the "meanings" check window will appear. You can click on the Lookup button to see the dictionary definition from the Mac's Dictionary. You can spellcheck individual words or the whole of your document at any point.

The Check window is fully speech enabled, so clicking on a word/suggestion if you have mouse selects or hover switched on will make them speak. We also have over 2000 picture icons to help with word meanings.

Scan paper & convert PDF files into Word

With ClaroRead Plus V4 the powerful Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology means that any paper document or PDF file becomes accessible. Through providing a full copy of Readiris Pro 11, textbooks, photocopies and handouts are easily converted into Word documents. The text can then be spoken out by ClaroRead or edited. PDF files can also be unlocked and edited, opening a wealth of material for accessibility to every student, regardless of the format.

Word Prediction

ClaroRead for Mac V4 contains a word prediction feature, which can be useful for certain computer users. ClaroRead uses a base prediction dictionary consisting of the most frequently used words in the English language. The dictionary learns as you type, and rejects words that don't pass the automatic spellcheck.

The prediction list will automatically appear during typing. Under the "Predict" tab in Settings, you can create a number of prediction dictionaries, by importing words from existing documents. Ideal for creating subject and curriculum specific dictionaries, it puts the tool into the hands of the teacher.

ClaroRead Extras

For ClaroRead for Mac V4 we are adding more applications and utilities (ClaroRead Extras) to enrich the toolkit available to you. We have still concentrated on Ease of Use, so many of the Extras are neatly tucked away. However, you have the peace of mind knowing that the feature is there should you need to turn it on for a particular task or assignment.

ClaroRead Extras neatly groups together a range of accessibility utilities such as; ClaroView screen colour filter, ScreenRuler reading ruler, Mac Calculator and ClaroCapture.

ClaroCapture (included with all ClaroRead editions)

The new ClaroCapture program lets you collect text from any document and web page, grouping it as a project file. The research file can be sent to Word or PowerPoint. It can also extract highlighted text from Microsoft Word documents. A great study skills tool.