Using FaceToFace

Contents of This Page

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1. Message Etiquette
2. Starting a FaceToFace Conversation
3. General Conversation Rules
4. Changing Server and Client Modes on a PAC Mate
5. Changing a User Name
6. Saving a FaceToFace Conversation for the First Time
7. Returning to a FaceToFace Conversation
8. Restarting a Conversation
9. Clearing Text
10. Copying and Pasting Text within FaceToFace
11. Copying Conversation Text to another Application
12. Turning Off the Startup Message
13. Disabling Remote Device Access
14. Viewing Remote Battery Status
15. Quitting a FaceToFace Conversation
16. Shutting Down FaceToFace Remotely
17. Removing FaceToFace
18. Assigning Hardware Buttons on a PAC Mate

Message Etiquette

The FaceToFace application does not prevent one user from interrupting another user when transmitting messages. Therefore, it is recommended that the TTY message etiquette be used. The etiquette is to end each transmission with the letters “ga” for go ahead.

Starting a FaceToFace Conversation

When a FaceToFace conversation is started, at least one device must be configured as the server, while others are configured as clients. With a FaceToFace Desktop and PAC Mate session, the desktop or laptop computer running FaceToFace must always be configured as the server.
Important: PAC Mate BX users should avoid using contracted braille symbols and contractions when conversing with a FaceToFace Desktop user. Since contracted braille does not translate into plain text, the FaceToFace Desktop user will see braille contractions as symbols, such as /, &, >, }, and so on.
Do the following to start a FaceToFace conversation.

1. Make sure that the computer and PAC Mate are turned on and within 10 meters (30 feet) of each other.
2. Start FaceToFace on the server device first.
   Note: When creating a conversation between a desktop or laptop computer and a PAC Mate, always make the computer the server. If the conversation is between PAC Mates, one device must be the server, and the other must be a client. Never configure the computer as a client.
   • If the server is a computer, open the Start menu, choose Programs, and press ENTER on FaceToFace. FaceToFace Desktop starts and the message, Server mode: Waiting for connection… appears.
   • If the server is a PAC Mate, press the Windows Key (F4) to open the Start menu. Next, select Programs, choose FaceToFace, and press ENTER (DOT 8). The message, “Server mode: Waiting for connection…” appears.
3. Next, start FaceToFace on the client device. The message, “Client mode: Attempting connection…” appears.
4. When the message, “Connection successful” appears on both the server and client device, either user may begin the conversation. If there is a contention conflict as to which user will speak first, one user should send the letters “ga,” and let the other user begin speaking.

General Conversation Rules

The following are general conversation rules:

• Always start FaceToFace on the device that is designated as the server first.
• Always start FaceToFace on the device that is designated as a client second.
• When the message, “Connection successful” appears on both the server and client device, either user may begin the conversation. If there is a contention conflict as to which user will speak first, one user should send the letters G A, and let the other user begin speaking.
• Always end your transmissions with the letters G A for Go Ahead. This lets the other user know that it is ok to begin speaking.

Changing Server and Client Modes on a PAC Mate

A PAC Mate can be configured for Server or Client mode. If it is necessary to change modes, for example, two PAC Mates are configured as servers, then do the following:

1. Start the FaceToFace application.
2. Press ALT (F2) to open the menu bar, and press the DOWN ARROW twice to select the Tools menu.
3. Press ENTER (DOT 8) to select Options, and then press CTRL+TAB (DOTS 5-6 CHORD) to select the Port Settings page.
4. Press TAB (DOTS 4-5 CHORD) twice to select the Mode field.
5. Use the DOWN ARROW to select either Client or Server, and then press ENTER (DOT 8), or the CLOSE button (ESC) (F1) if using the PAC Mate Omni, to save the new settings and close the Port Settings page.

Changing a User Name

Your user name is used to identify you in a FaceToFace conversation. You create your user name during installation of the FaceToFace application.

To change your user name after the application is installed, do the following:

1. Start the FaceToFace application.
2. Press ALT (F2) to open the menu bar, and press the DOWN ARROW twice to select the Tools menu.
3. Press ENTER (DOT 8) twice to open the Options dialog box. The User Info page appears with the cursor in the Name field.
4. Type a new user name into the Name field, then press ENTER (DOT 8), or the CLOSE button (ESC) (F1) if using the PAC Mate Omni.
5. The next time you enter text, the new user name appears.

Saving a FaceToFace Conversation for the First Time

You may save your conversations as text files for later reference. There are two ways to save a file; using the Save command and the Save As command. If you have not saved a file, then both commands perform the same way by prompting you to enter a file name and file location for the conversation.

If a saved conversation exists, the Save command appends the current conversation text to the existing file. If the Save As command is used, the current conversation is saved as a new file.

Note: If you clear the conversation using the Clear History command, then the next time you save the current conversation text, you will be prompted to enter a file name and file location just as if you are saving the conversation for the first time.

To save a FaceToFace session for the first time, do the following:

1. Press ALT (F2) to open the menu bar, and press ENTER (DOT 8) to select the File menu.
2. Press the DOWN ARROW once to select the Save As command.
3. Press ENTER (DOT 8). The Save As dialog box appears with the cursor in the Name field.
4. Press TAB (DOTS 4-5 CHORD) to move to the Folder field, and if necessary, select a file folder in which to save the file.
5. Press TAB (DOTS 4-5 CHORD) twice to move to the Location field and use the DOWN ARROW to determine if you want to save the file to the PAC Mate’s main memory or storage card. Press ENTER after making a selection.
6. Press TAB (DOTS 4-5 CHORD) to move to the Save button, and then press ENTER (DOT 8) to save the file.

Returning to a FaceToFace Conversation

If the FaceToFace conversation is minimized, for example, you open another application over FaceToFace; you can restore your FaceToFace conversation by doing the following:

1. Press ALT+TAB (F5) to open the list of running applications.
2. Press the DOWN ARROW until FaceToFace is selected, and then press ENTER (DOT 8).

The current FaceToFace conversation appears on your screen.
Note: You can always use the FaceToFace hotkey to quickly return to the FaceToFace application.

Restarting a Conversation

You can delete the conversation text on a remote device by issuing the Restart Conversation command from your device. To do this, do the following:

1. Press ALT (F2) to open the menu bar, and press the DOWN ARROW twice to select the Tools menu.
2. Press ENTER (DOT 8), and then press the DOWN ARROW to select the Remote Devices command.
3. Press ENTER (DOT 8) again, press the DOWN ARROW, and press ENTER (DOT 8). The following occurs:

• On your device, the message, “Restarting conversation on remote device…Remote device: Conversation restarted successfully” appears.
• On the remote device, the conversation text is deleted, and the message, “Ready” appears.

Clearing Text

Note: You are not starting a new conversation by deleting text. You are just making space available on your device’s screen.

To delete all text that appears on your screen, do the following:

1. Press ALT (F2) to open the menu bar, and press the DOWN ARROW to select the Edit menu.
2. Press ENTER (DOT 8) and then press the DOWN ARROW three times to choose the Clear History command.
3. Press ENTER (DOT 8). All text that appears on your screen is deleted.

Copying and Pasting Text within FaceToFace

You may copy a selection of text within your conversation and paste it at the end of your conversation.
To copy and paste text:

1. Use the PAC Mate’s UP and DOWN ARROWS, along with the SHIFT key to highlight a passage of text in your conversation.
2. Press ALT (F2) to open the menu bar, and press the DOWN ARROW to select the Edit menu.
3. Press ENTER (DOT 8) to copy the highlighted text.
4. Use your UP and DOWN ARROW keys to select the location where you want to insert the copied text.
5. Press ALT (F2) to open the menu bar, and press the DOWN ARROW to select the Edit menu.
6. Press the DOWN ARROW to select Append Paste, and press ENTER (DOT 8) to paste the text at the end of the conversation.

Copying Conversation Text to another Application

You can copy any or all of your conversation text, and paste your conversation into a text file using a text editor such as FSEdit or Notepad.

To copy all of your conversation’s text, do the following:

1. Press ALT (F2) to open the menu bar, and press the DOWN ARROW to select the Edit menu.
2. Press ENTER (DOT 8) and then press the DOWN ARROW twice to choose the Select All command.
3. Press ENTER (DOT 8). All conversation text is highlighted on your FaceToFace screen.
4. Press ALT (F2) to open the menu bar, and press the DOWN ARROW to select the Edit menu.
5. Press ENTER (DOT 8) twice to select Copy from the Edit menu and copy the highlighted text.
6. Next, open your text editor, for example, FSEdit, and press CTRL+V (E CHORD, P) to paste the text into the file.

Turning Off the Startup Message

By default, an informational message appears when you start FaceToFace. It briefly states the purpose of the application, and also explains that message transmissions should be concluded with the letters “ga,” which stands for Go Ahead.

To turn off this message, do the following:

1. Start the FaceToFace application.
2. Press ALT (F2) to open the menu bar, and press the DOWN ARROW to select the Tools menu.
3. Press ENTER (DOT 8) to select Options. The User Info page appears.
4. Press CTRL+TAB (DOTS 5-6 CHORD) twice to select the Other Settings page.
5. Press TAB (DOTS 4-5 CHORD) to highlight the “Display startup message with instructions for using FaceToFace?” check box, and then press the SPACEBAR to uncheck it.
6. Press ENTER (DOT 8), or the CLOSE button (ESC) (F1) if using the PAC Mate Omni, to save the change and close the Other Settings page. The FaceToFace screen reappears.

The next time you close and restart FaceToFace, the startup message will not appear. Only the status message, “Server mode: Waiting for connection” or “Client mode: Attempting connection” appears.

Disabling Remote Device Access

By default, a FaceToFace user can query the status of another FaceToFace user’s device. This is handy if you own or control a nearby companion device. To prevent another FaceToFace user from querying the status of your device, do the following:

1. Press ALT (F2) to open the menu bar, and press the DOWN ARROW to select the Tools menu.
2. Press ENTER (DOT 8) to select Options. The User Info page appears.
3. Press CTRL+TAB (DOTS 5-6 CHORD) twice to select the Other Settings page.
4. Press TAB (DOTS 4-5 CHORD) twice to select the “Allow remote commands by another device using FaceToFace?” check box, and then press the SPACEBAR to uncheck it.
5. Press ENTER (DOT 8), or the CLOSE button (ESC) (F1) if using the PAC Mate Omni, to save the change and close the Other Settings page. The FaceToFace screen reappears.

When a remote user tries to query your device’s battery status, restart the FaceToFace conversation on your device, or shut down the FaceToFace application from your device, the message, “Your request was declined by the remote device” appears on the remote user’s screen.

Viewing Remote Battery Status

To review the battery status of a remote device, do the following:

1. Press ALT (F2) to open the menu bar, and press the DOWN ARROW twice to select the Tools menu.
2. Press ENTER (DOT 8), and then press the DOWN ARROW.
3. Press ENTER (DOT 8) twice to select Battery Status.
   The battery status of the remote device appears on your screen.

Note: While you can query the battery status of another PAC Mate running FaceToFace, you cannot use the PAC Mate to query the battery status of a computer running FaceToFace Desktop.

Quitting a FaceToFace Conversation

Pressing ESC on the PAC Mate only minimizes the application. It does not close FaceToFace. To quit a FaceToFace session, do the following:

1. With FaceToFace open, press ALT (F2) to open the menu bar, and press ENTER (DOT 8).
2. Press the DOWN ARROW twice to select the Exit command.
3. Press ENTER (DOT 8). The application closes.

Shutting Down FaceToFace Remotely

Performing a remote shutdown of FaceToFace is useful when controlling your companion device.

1. Press ALT (F2) to open the menu bar, and press the DOWN ARROW twice to select the Tools menu.
2. Press ENTER (DOT 8), and then press the DOWN ARROW to select the Remote Devices command.
3. Press ENTER (DOT 8) again, press the DOWN ARROW twice, and press ENTER (DOT 8). A confirmation message appears asking if you want to close FaceToFace on the remote device.
4. Press ENTER (DOT 8) to select Yes. The following occurs:

• On your device, the following messages appear:

“Attempting to shut down FaceToFace on the remote device…
Status: FaceToFace on the remote device was shut down successfully.
Status: Server disconnected. Please make sure the server is running, then exit and restart FaceToFace.”


• On the remote device, FaceToFace closes.

Removing FaceToFace

To remove FaceToFace from your device, do the following:

1. Press the WINDOWS Key (F4), and then select Settings.
2. Press ENTER (DOT 8), and then press CTRL+TAB (DOTS 5-6 CHORD) to select the System page.
3. Press the DOWN ARROW to select Remove Programs, and then press ENTER (DOT 8).
4. Press the DOWN ARROW to select Freedom Scientific FaceToFace.
5. Press TAB (DOTS 4-5 CHORD) and press ENTER (DOT 8) to select the Remove button.
   The Remove Program dialog box appears.


6. Press TAB (DOTS 4-5 CHORD) and press ENTER (DOT 8) to select the Yes button.
   The FaceToFace application is removed from the device.
7. Press ESC to close the Remove Programs dialog box.

Assigning Hardware Buttons on a PAC Mate

If you want to change the hotkey assigned to FaceToFace, do the following:

1. Press the WINDOWS Key (F4), and choose Settings.
2. Use the DOWN ARROW to select Buttons, and then press ENTER (DOT 8).
3. Use the DOWN ARROW to select a PAC Mate key sequence, for example, JAWS KEY and SPACE, then 1, from the Button list.
4. Press TAB (DOTS 4-5 CHORD) to move to the Button assignment field, and use the UP and DOWN ARROWS to locate FaceToFace.
5. Press ENTER (DOT 8), or the CLOSE button (ESC) (F1) if using the PAC Mate Omni, to save and close Buttons.