ClaroRead Features
Features and Benefits
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ClaroRead V5 features and benefits
Text to Speech Features, Word Integration, Colour, Font & Spacing, Homophones, Dictionary, Word Prediction, Scan Paper & PDF, ScreenRuler, Claroview, USB option, Works with Vista.  Back to Contents
What's New in ClaroRead V5?
New - 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. Click here to see the Focus Sentence feature in action. Click here to see the Word Trail feature in action. New - Readable font The Tiresias family of fonts have been designed for optimum accessibility and usability. Tiresias PC font is now installed by ClaroRead for use in all your Windows applications. Tiresias was developed by Dr John Gill currently at RNIB Scientific Research Unit. New - Research and capture information The new ClaroCapture program included with ClaroRead V5 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. New - Scanning paper and converting PDF files ClaroRead Plus V5 now uses the updated Omnipage 16 engine, which gives you faster and more accurate scanning, including a rich new Preview function. The Preview function lets you add, delete and re-order scanned areas, alter page orientation and other settings. The highest quality Optical Character Recognition is now included in ClaroRead Plus and Premium, making it ideal for scanning or converting books, articles and other content to become accessible, readable and editable. New - Word checking Word Check now gives extra definitions, context for the current spelling, and a Google search link within the improved Word Check window. Any corrections you make in the ClaroRead spellcheck window are remembered, and you can review your own spelling corrections later. You can use this information to build your personal correction list and add your corrections directly to Word’s Autocorrect in bulk from the ClaroRead Advanced Settings Editor. New - New voices Claro has always aimed to offer the highest quality voices for inclusion with ClaroRead. Two new excellent voices have been introduced for ClaroRead Plus V5, a Scottish female and English male. Click here to see how easy it is to change voices in ClaroRead. For the ClaroRead V5 Change List please, click here. Back to Contents
Voices
ClaroRead Standard V5 UK Versions includes RealSpeak Solo voices Daniel, Serena and also one Cereproc voice Heather. The Plus V5 edition for the UK also contains the RealSpeak voice, Sangeeta (Indian English) and the Cereproc voice, William (English UK). The US Version includes RealSpeak Samantha, Jill and the RealSpeak Solo Tom (all American English). The Irish Version includes Moira, Daniel, Sangeeta, Tom and Heather. Click on the following links to hear audio samples of the voice. It is possible to add on any of the other RealSpeak Voices for an additional license fee - please contact us for a quote for the voice and language combination you would prefer. To listen to all the various RealSpeak voices try the interactive demonstrator at the Nuance Web Site So which Realspeak Solo Voices can you add-on?
Click Here To see Full Voice List ClaroRead can be supplied with most RealSpeak voices, so please contact us to check. Back to Contents
 Make your PC 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 and Internet Explorer means you can click and play at any point in a document or web page. Speak This Word allows the user to hear a single word spoken back in their desired voice, simply by holding the CTRL button ClaroRead V5 will speak the word under the mouse pointer. Spoken words can be tracked using a custom colour selection. Any accessible text under the mouse can be spoken if needed. A strong feature of ClaroRead V5 allows it to echo back words and phrases dictated into any text processor or email application using Dragon NaturallySpeaking. Make audio and video files from text documents for listening to on your PC or a portable audio player. Simply Select and Save - great for revision or listening on the move. Audio quality has been further improved for V5. A Text to Speech Pronunciation Dictionary is available to modify the way words are pronounced if needed. Back to Contents
 Integration with Microsoft Word 2003 & 2007
ClaroRead V5 provides a single tool bar for use in Microsoft Word that combines a homophone and dictionary, font and spacing commands, a thesaurus, spell checker button and a save to audio function. All have clear graphic icons for ease of recognition. Back to Contents
 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. ClaroRead V5 also now includes the Tiresias family of fonts which have been designed for optimum accessibility and usability. Tiresias PC font is now installed by ClaroRead for use in all your Windows applications. Tiresias was developed by Dr John Gill currently at RNIB Scientific Research Unit. With the Font button you can: - Increase or decrease the font size.
- Change the font to one of 3 popular fonts with one click. The fonts can be chosen in the new ClaroRead Advanced Settings Editor.
- Change the colour of the text of a whole document and change the background colour of your PC easily.
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 Spacing
Text character, line and paragraph spacing using Microsoft Word menus requires some detailed knowledge. ClaroRead makes it simple to space out text, both in Word and on web pages using Internet Explorer 6 or 7. Pressing the Spacing Button when working in Word or Internet Explorer will help you: - Expand spacing
- Change line spacing
- Changes the number of points (spaces) after the end of each paragraph.
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 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 new Advanced Settings Editor, 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.
- Mark homophones in colour as you type.
- Word with Pictures: Over a thousand pictures included in ClaroRead, helping users to select the correct homophone or choice of wording. Pictures can be turned on or off.
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 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 Box will appear, along with meanings. If the word has alternative words with the same or similar meaning, the Meaning Check Box will appear. You can then view more to see the dictionary definition. You can SpellCheck individual words or the whole of your document at any point. The Check Boxes are fully speech enabled, so hovering the mouse over the words will make them speak. We also have over 2000 picture icons to help with word meanings. Back to Contents
 Scan paper & convert PDF files into Word
With ClaroRead Plus V5 the powerful Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology means that any paper document or PDF file becomes accessible. Through the integration of Omnipage 16 OCR engine, 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. This feature works using all scanners with TWAIN or WIA compatible scanners. 
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 Word Prediction
ClaroRead V5 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 by your cursor during typing. Alternatively, you can dock the Prediction windows anywhere on the screen to use it as a reference.
The ClaroRead Advanced Settings Editor now allows the creation of multiple 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. Back to Contents
For ClaroRead V5 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. Existing and future ClaroRead users can visit the ClaroRead Extras website from ClaroRead to obtain product updates, free downloads, add on products and support information. ClaroRead Extras neatly groups together a range of accessibility utilities such as; ClaroView screen colour filter, ScreenRuler reading ruler, Speaking Calculator and Accessible PDF. Back to Contents
 Save to video
Building on the popularity of our Save to Audio feature in all versions of ClaroRead, we have now enhanced this to produce Save to Video. It is now possible to convert any text into a video with a high quality "voice over" synchronised with the text. You can change the text colour settings to your preferences and the video can be produced to suit a wide range of popular mobile devices with video screens - iPhone, iPod Touch and Nano, Nokia and Walkman phones and of course Media Player software. It is quick and easy to do, allowing you to take your documents and webpages with you on the move. Click to view some sample "Save to Video" videos in:
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 Accessible PDF
ClaroRead has always allowed PDF files to be spoken aloud, and also converted into Microsoft Word format with the Plus edition. We wanted to give the user more options for PDF files to be spoken aloud, so we produced a standalone Accessible PDF reader, which is available as a free download for anyone. The Claro Accessible PDF Reader will convert accessible PDF Files into a web page style retaining the original format and layout or a simple text only view. You can then change any of the colour, font and spacing using the built in controls, and ClaroRead will speak back the text aloud. Back to Contents
 ClaroCapture
The new ClaroCapture program included with ClaroRead V5 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. This tool is also available to purchase as a download only. Please click here to be taken to the online download store to purchase ClaroCapture. 
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 Exporter
Exporter is designed to allow you to synchronise settings for Claro products between your computer and USB stick. This is a great feature for people who move about between shared computers and dont want to have to set up their settings everytime. 
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 ScreenRuler Suite (included with all ClaroRead editions)
ClaroRead Plus includes the separate program ScreenRuler. ScreenRuler is a separate application that works as a reading bar and strip magnifier. This allows part of the PC screen to be highlighted and magnified in a horizontal band. This will assist anyone with viewing and concentrating on text or objects. It provides a 'strip' or 'ruler' across the screen which can magnify, change contrast, and 'grey' or 'dim' a background. It is available separately for £49.00. Back to Contents
ClaroView (included with all ClaroRead editions)
Our new tinting product ClaroView is now included on the ClaroRead Plus CD. ClaroView act as as a coloured overlay for the PC. Read the full details of ClaroView and see the demo from here.
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Product Downloads
Visit the ClaroRead Downloads store to purchase your ClaroRead V5 Plus, Standard or Premium download. A large variety of other Claro Software Ltd products can also be found at the Claro Downloads store. Free UK Trial Version 
Free Irish Trial Version
Free USA Trial Version
There is a free 15 day time limited ClaroRead Plus V5 Download available (300 MB size). This trial includes one RealSpeak voice, Daniel. If you require a free demo on a CD instead, please contact us. A 15 day trial version of ClaroRead Standard V5 (200 MB size), including Realspeak Daniel, is also available to download. Back to Contents
Documentation
You can download the ClaroRead V5 User Guide in PDF Format (1.8MB) from here. We make the ClaroRead On-Line Help available for browsing from here. Click Here to download the ClaroRead V5 PDF DataSheet (768kB) Back to Contents
What is the difference between ClaroRead Plus, Standard and Premium?
ClaroRead V5 is available in three versions - ClaroRead Standard, ClaroRead Plus and ClaroRead Premium. The Plus version has all the Standard features but also converts scanned documents and PDF/image files into text using the integrated OmniPage 16 Scan and OCR engine, echoes text dictated using Dragon NaturallySpeaking speech recognition software (not supplied within the package), and includes 2 additional voices – Sangeeta and William (UK Edition).  ClaroRead Premium is a bundle of ClaroRead PLUS CD and the portable ClaroRead Standard USB memory stick version. Runs directly from the memory stick on any PC - no files installed. Includes 2 RealSpeak Voices on the USB Version. It also includes the NEW Exporter feature - click here for more information on this feature.
You can download a ClaroRead Comparison Chart showing the main features differences in Standard, Plus and Premium. Back to Contents
Upgrades
Upgrades are available for existing users of ClaroRead. These can be provided by special download link on request. Upgrades may be chargeable, depending on your version of ClaroRead. Contact sales@clarosoftware.com for more information about upgrading. Back to Contents
Extensive Online Help Section with Videos
For information and help on using ClaroRead, please click here to be taken to the extensive online help.  We have a wide range of ClaroRead for PC tutorial videos, click to view these in:
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System Requirements
 
- Windows Vista, XP
- Sound Card
- 512 MB RAM or more is recommended
- 250MB Hard Disk Space
- Scanner Supporting TWAIN or WIA Drivers requried for Scan2Text scan from paper. Click here for a list of compatible scanners (select Omnipage 16)
- Microsoft Word 2003 or 2007 recommended
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ClaroRead Extras
