Scanning is a button selection method that can be used to support communicators who may have trouble hitting buttons consistently. Button scanning is accomplished with one or more switches that can be hit or activated to select buttons. The communicator sees or hears buttons or groups of buttons "scanned" through and then selects the desired option by using their switch.
CoughDrop Switch and Scanning Video Tutorial
Set Up Scanning
To configure scanning, access the Preferences page by hitting the profile icon in the top right corner and then selecting "Preferences". Scroll down to the "device prefeernces" section and look for the "scanning" heading there. Device preferences will apply to the specific device you are using not all devices logged into your CoughDrop account.
When "Enable switch-activated scanning" is selected, a new set of preferences will appear. Scanning can operate row-by-row, column-by-column, or in user-defined regions of rows and columns. The scanning interval is how long of a delay will occur between each scanning option.
If you have one or more switches you can map these to keyboard buttons and then specify which keyboard buttons should be used to trigger "Next" and "Select" events. If you don't have switches, you can optionally use the entire screen as one or two invisible switches.
To set up a switch, pair the switch with your device and then open your preferences page within CoughDrop. In the "device preferences" section of the preferences page you can "enable switch-activated scanning."
Under that option, you will need to assign a function to your switch. To do this, place the cursor in the field for the function you would like your switch to perform (select, next, etc). Once the cursor is in that field, engage the switch to assign that button to perform the function. If you have more than one switch you can place the cursor in the next desired field and hit the next switch to assign that button to perform a function.
Be sure to save your changes at the bottom of your preferences page before you leave the page.
When "Enable switch-activated scanning" is selected, a new set of preferences will appear. Scanning can operate row-by-row, column-by-column, or in user-defined regions of rows and columns. The scanning interval is how long of a delay will occur between each scanning option. If you have one or more switches you can map these to keyboard buttons and then specify which keyboard buttons should be used to trigger "Next" and "Select events. If you don't have switches, you can optionally use the entire screen as one or two invisible switches.
The currently-available option will be highlighted in a red box for visual identification, and can optionally be spoken aloud as well. The red box will move or "scan" through all of the available options. If the "Select" switch is activated then the currently-highlighted button will be selected and all actions will occur as if the button were clicked or touched by the communicator.
To help save time, row, column and region-based scanning first highlight blocks of buttons, then when the user selects a block of buttons the individual buttons in that group will be scanned through. When scanning within a block, the last option (after all the buttons are scanned) will be to "back out" of the block in case the user made a mistake or wants to go back to scanning through the blocks without making a selection.
iOS Scanning
Another option for scanning on iPad and iPhones is the use the operating system's scanning tool. We work to keep CoughDrop compatible with iOS scanning as well as our built-in scanning functionality.
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