GoKeys! is now enabled with Microsoft Agent 2.0 Technology.   

Microsoft Agents are animated characters (like the Office Assistants in Microsoft Office) that can talk to you. MS Agents use a text-to- speech engine to say phrases out loud with quite acceptable clarity.

In GoKeys! Stoppy the MS agent is used to interact with the user. In particular, he makes the program more accessible to those with limited reading ability. Another function of the Stoppy Agent in GoKeys! is to make the whole thing more fun.

The MS Agent Technology is supplied with the GoKeys! download file.

In the school site licence version of GoKeys!, the student’s access to the MS Agent is configurable, so the teacher may decide whether to use the Stoppy the Agent at all.

The software required to make MS Agent work is made of basically 3 parts:

1. The MS Agent 2.0 control:
   This is an ActiveX control that makes MS Agent work in Microsoft Windows. This program is installed by default on any computer that has Windows Vista, Windows XP (Pro or Home), Windows 2000, or Windows ME installed. It is also installed along with Microsoft Office 2000 or Office XP. If you do not have any of these installed, you can download the MS Agent control from the MS Agent downloads section of the Microsoft web site.
2. The Language component:
   This software is used to add support for the dialogs, windows, tooltips, and balloon text of the core components in an additional language to the default English support. you can download the Language component from the MS Agent downloads section of the Microsoft web site.
• SAPI4 - the Speech Application Programming Interface. - (spchapi.exe)
   XP and Vista come with SAPI5 only which may not allow Stoppy to speak. You will then need to install SAPI4. This causes no problems as SAPI4 and SAPI5 can co-exist with no issues.
• The Text-to-Speech Engine - (tv_enua.exe)
   This software is used to convert plain text to spoken language. There are a range of TTS engines for a range of languages,  but the Lernout and Hauspie ®  Tru-Voice American English one is all you need for a start.
   
• Both spchapi.exe and tv_enua.exe are included in the GoKeys! download file and can be installed from there, alternatively
• Download the SAPI4 engine
• Download the Lernout and Hauspie ®  Tru-Voice American English Text-To-Speech Engine
3. The MS Agent character file:
   GoKeys! comes with its own MS Agent character called Stoppy.
   From version 3 of GoKeys!, this is no longer a user-configurable option.
• Get your own copy of Stoppy here!

With the above software installed you will be ready to go. GoKeys! is configured to run with MS Agent when installed. If you have all your software installed it should work when you first run GoKeys! If you have trouble getting it going on your computer, try the McGoo Software Support Page for troubleshooting advice.

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