The following are a few basic operating instructions for the Blio Digital Book Reader. These were derived from a KNFB message sent out describing the Blio digital reader.
to use Blio on your Windows-based computer, just visit Blio.com and download the software free. The installation options are presented with the standard Windows interface and use standard keyboard commands such as Tab, Shift-Tab, Space, or Enter to complete the process quickly.
After installation you can launch Blio from the icon on your desktop and wait a few seconds as the program opens. A customary software licensing agreement, including options to read, accept, or decline, appears the first time you start Blio. Other options, including read, buy books, account setup, or sign-in are offered on the next screen presented. Note that this second screen, called the welcome screen, also includes an accessibility checkbox so Blio will work optimally with the JAWS screen reader, along with another checkbox telling Blio to bypass the welcome screen and open directly in your library in the future.
Aside from getting started as described, the actual Blio experience begins with your library. This is where the names of books you have chosen will always appear, whether the book was purchased in the Blio bookstore or downloaded from the free books section. While your library is empty the first time you start Blio, a few sample books provided free immediately appear in your library books list as soon as you establish your Blio user account by entering an email address and selecting a password. Billing information needed to purchase books is filled in at the time of your first purchase only and is not required for your user account to be active.
A menu available by pressing the alt key anywhere within Blio provides options to go immediately to any of the major views-library, free books, reading view (provided a book is open), and store view, which shows books available for sale. An application submenu includes options to enter or change account information, change your password, or review and modify other settings like page layout, speaking rate, sources used for reference lookup, etc. All options and controls can be accessed with simple-to-learn keyboard commands, and a list of keystroke shortcuts is available.
The names of all books you can read are listed in your library and can be sorted alphabetically by author or title. The option "press enter to download" will be offered for any book just purchased or chosen from the free books section. Otherwise, the option will change to "press enter to read" once any book has been downloaded to your computer. While the length of time for downloading varies according to the size of the book, an average book of about four-hundred pages takes only a few seconds. Free books take somewhat longer since the text is converted to the Blio format during the download process.
Press Enter on the name of any downloaded book in your library and within a few seconds the name of the book will be spoken by your screen reader as the open book displays on your computer screen. Press Page Down and notice that the page advances forward through the book. Press Insert plus Page Down to hear the page number. Page Up moves page by page toward the front of the book. Press Control plus t to get the table of contents, Down Arrow and Up Arrow to locate the chapters or sections presented, and Enter to jump to the chapter or section you want. Arrow keys have their traditional functions and allow reading by character and word in either direction, adding the Control key to read by word, using the Alt key and the up- or down-arrow keys to read by sentence, and the Control with Up- or Down-Arrow to move and read by paragraph. Use Control plus c to jump forward to the next chapter or Control plus Shift plus c to jump to the previous chapter. Press Control plus j followed by a specific page number and press Enter to go to the beginning of the page chosen. If you use JAWS and press Insert plus Down Arrow, the text will be read continuously from the cursor; it is stopped by pressing the Control key.
Although many books can be read aloud with an internal read-aloud function available within Blio, use of this feature may be restricted by the publisher. However, the speech provided by your screen reader will always work on any book you choose without restriction. Done reading? Just press Alt with the F4 key to close Blio altogether or press Alt followed by Right or Left Arrow to cycle through the options on the menu, including close the book and go back to your library or just go directly back to the library, the free books, or the bookstore, while the book you have been reading still remains open in the background.
Regardless of what you do, you can be certain that Blio will remember your most recent reading position in any book you have opened, and your reading can begin from that point the next time you return. Need to use a different computer? No problem. The books remain in your personal book vault and are always yours to keep. Your books can be used on up to five separate devices at any time. Just run Blio on any other computer you need to use and sign in with your email address and password. Then any book in your personal book vault can be downloaded again because the book belongs to you.
For Additional Information About Blio Visit Their Website By Clicking On This Link Return To The Instructional Text Manuals PageCreated on ... September 10, 2011