Enhancements in MAGic 11.0.2109 and 11.0.2110 (March 2009)

The following items were addressed in this update. All enhancements since the initial public beta release are included in the update.

MAGic 11 for 64-bit Windows Vista

Sixty-four-bit versions of Windows Vista are now supported. Whether you are using MAGic 11 Professional, MAGic 11 Pro Scripting Edition, or MAGic 11 Standard, you can now install and run MAGic to provide magnification and speech support in 64-bit Windows Vista.

RealSpeak Solo Direct Synthesizer

MAGic 11 supports the RealSpeak™ Solo Direct synthesizer from Nuance® Communications. This new synthesizer works exclusively with Freedom Scientific products. It consists of over 40 voices in more than 20 languages. Go to the RealSpeak Solo Direct Voices for Freedom Scientific Products Web page to listen to samples, or download any of these voices.

Another way to open this Web page is to use the new RealSpeak Solo Direct link available in the MAGic application window. The link is in Web Resources under the Help menu.

If you have already downloaded and installed RealSpeak Solo Direct voices for use with JAWS, these will be automatically detected and made available for use with MAGic without the need to reinstall them.

Dictionary Manager Tree View

The Dictionary Manager lets you change the way MAGic speaks words, phrases, abbreviations, or symbols to avoid any mispronunciation. In MAGic 11, the Dictionary Manager has been expanded so that you can create rules applying to specific languages, synthesizers, or voices. Once the rule is created, it is added to the top of the Dictionary Entries list. It is identified by language, for example, English, and can be expanded into a tree view to show other restrictions that apply to the rule. To open the Dictionary Manager in any application, press MAGic Key+D.

Citrix Support

Published Applications are Now Supported

MAGic now supports remote access to published applications via Citrix. While MAGic continues to support full remote desktop sessions through Citrix, support for published applications allows MAGic users to interact with remote applications that have been configured to run in windows that blend seamlessly with other applications on their client computers.

Easier Control Over Remote Access Support

The Enable Remote Access Client and Enable Remote Access Server check boxes have been added to the Preference dialog box in the File menu. This lets you control client and server remote access support from within the MAGic user interface.

Enhanced Support for Microsoft Outlook

Our support for Microsoft Outlook has been greatly enhanced, providing improved performance and easier access to Calendar appointments, link announcements, address fields, and much more. You can quickly adjust your MAGic preferences in Outlook using the newly added Adjust MAGic Options menu tree (MAGic Key+O).

ARIA Live Region Support

MAGic 11 can announce updates to live regions of Web pages when using Firefox 3 and later. Live region support will be available in Internet Explorer 8 when it is officially released. The dynamic section of a Web page that receives constant updates, such as news headlines, business information, and weather updates, is known as a live region. By default, MAGic announces updates for Web pages containing ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) Live Region markup. Web content creators add specific ARIA tags to their pages to mark regions as "live." To stop MAGic from announcing updates, use the Announce Live Region Updates option to temporarily turn off this functionality. Just press MAGic Key+O while running your Web browser, navigate to this option, and then press SPACEBAR.

Downloading Freedom Scientific DAISY Books with FSReader Demo

Starting with this update of MAGic 11, you can use FSReader Demo to download DAISY books directly from the Freedom Scientific Web site. The advantage of this feature over earlier MAGic releases is that you no longer need the product CD to install any of the DAISY books. You can also use the Check for Updates command to quickly select and download DAISY books. From the Help menu in the MAGic application window, choose Check for Updates, select any DAISY book from the list, and then choose the Install button.

MAGic Startup Wizard Update

Customizing the look and feel of MAGic on newly installed systems has never been easier. The Startup Wizard, which automatically runs when MAGic starts the first time, has now been expanded to include speech verbosity options and visual enhancements. The Startup wizard can also be run on demand to adjust settings that have previously been set.

MAGic Demonstration Version

Starting with MAGic 11, if you want to try a free demonstration of MAGic, select the 32-bit or 64-bit link from the Download MAGic 11 section and run MAGic in 40-minute demo mode.

MAGic 11 and JAWS 9 or Later Compatibility

The latest product improvements in both JAWS and MAGic incorporate more JAWS screen reading functionality into the MAGic screen magnification application. These enhancements also improve how JAWS reads when MAGic is running at the same time. The following list highlights new functionality available when running the two programs together:

The MAGic highlighting option is in sync as JAWS reads Web pages. By providing this visual queue, you always know where you are on the computer screen as JAWS is reading.
The addition of Navigation Quick Keys is another improvement. When running the two programs simultaneously, you can use these keystrokes so that MAGic highlights each item you jump to as you read by heading, list item, paragraph, and so on.
When viewing a Web page with either or both programs running, you can use Windows keyboard commands to select text and items. As you do this, MAGic, JAWS, or the combination of MAGic and JAWS, visually show you the items that are selected. The text that is copied can be pasted into an HTML e-mail or any rich text word processor and maintains the links and original formatting.

To take advantage of these enhancements, be sure to download the latest JAWS release and MAGic 11 build.

iTunes 8 Support

MAGic now provides access to iTunes® 8, including support for the iTunes Store. You can browse and search the store for all content, including music, movies, TV shows, and educational content, and MAGic will track and highlight the correct information as you navigate the iTunes store. Purchasing individual tracks or full albums is now accessible.

Windows Media Player 11

MAGic 11 supports Windows Media Player 11. For example, to hear the name of the track that is playing, press INSERT+CTRL+T = current JAWS command. Also, while navigating a playlist, MAGic announces the track that is playing. Use auto playlist, a Windows Media Player feature that is fully functional with MAGic 11, to create, edit, and save playlists. Finally, with MAGic, the Windows Media Player user interface is much more intuitive when using sliders and toggle buttons to control items such as volume, crossfading, shuffle, and repeat.

Firefox 3 Support

MAGic 11 supports Mozilla® Firefox® 3. MAGic now tracks correctly while navigating Web pages in Firefox. MAGic can also track and highlight word by word when reading with Say All.

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