This quick reference guide provides some basic information about setting up and using TalkByText Home Edition. It has the following sections:
Before installing TalkByText on your computer, make sure that your computer system meets the minimum software and hardware requirements as listed below.
You will need Administrator rights to install TalkByText. You do not need Administrator rights to run the program after it has been installed. TalkByText Home Edition uses a standard Microsoft Installer file (.msi). Before installing, make sure that your Windows version has been fully updated and is clean of any viruses or other malware.
If you downloaded the installer, double-click on the installer file to launch it.
Alternatively, if you bought TalkByText Home Edition on CD, insert the CD in your drive. If autorun is active, the installer will be launched automatically. If autorun is not active, right-click the CD drive icon in My Computer and select the autoplay option or open the TalkByText CD and run the installer by double clicking the msi file.
The installer will guide you through the process and display a progress bar. A startup wizard will guide you through the following three steps:
Once you have successfully completed all the steps, click on Finish to leave the wizard.
By default, the setup wizard will have set up TalkByText to run automatically for you. However you can change this behaviour via the Options dialogue: click the Options button on the button bar or use the menu to bring up the Options dialogue. On the General tab page of this dialogue, check or uncheck the Launch TalkByText on Windows startup box.
While TalkByText Home Edition is running, its icon will appear in the system tray. Clicking on this icon will switch between showing and hiding the TalkByText Home Edition main window. Alternatively, you can open TalkByText by right clicking on its tray icon and selecting Open TalkByText - this will also open the application.
The Main Window is the central feature of TalkByText and is the place where you will find the various functions of the application.
Main menu bar: clicking on an item in the main menu will open that item's submenu. The main menu and its submenu items enable you to control the TalkByText application and provide access to all functions. Some menu items give direct access to a certain function when you click on them. For example, clicking on the Options item under Tools in the main menu opens the Options dialogue. Other menu options work like on/off switches. When active, the associated icon on the left of the menu text will be shown highlighted or, for items that do not have icons, a highlighted checkmark is displayed. For example, the Button bar item in the View menu will have a checkmark in front of it when this function is active. Clicking the item switches between the on and off states. Yet other menu items give access to further submenus. These items have a right arrow symbol after them, indicating that clicking on them will open a submenu. The New item under the main menu's File item is an example of this. Some menu items and buttons open a further dialogue window when clicked. To indicate this, their caption is followed by an ellipsis symbol (...).
Button bar: when active, the button bar is shown under the main menu in the main window. The button bar offers direct access to a number of frequently used functions in TalkByText. You can switch the display of the Button bar on and off via the Button bar option under the View menu.
Folder list: The folder list appears at the left hand side of the main window in the form of a tree view. You can turn the display of the folders list on and off via the corresponding item under the View menu. When the folder list is turned off (not visible), you can still open the various TalkByText folders via the Go To option under the View menu.
Folder display area: The largest part of the main window displays the contents of the selected folder. You can navigate the folders via the folder list tree view, or via the Go to option under the View item on the main menu bar.
Status bar: the status bar shows information about TalkByText's state, as well as other useful information. The status bar can be turned on and off via the Status bar option under the View menu.
The available menu options and buttons can change depending on what functions of TalkByText you have activated and what plug-in (if any) you are using. For instance, if you have added a plug-in that sends SMS text messages, a Send SMS button will appear on the button bar and extra options will be added to the main menu and some context menus.
If you want to make calls to voice or text users on telephone networks (textphone, voice phone or mobiles), you will need to put money into your TalkByText account. You do not need to have money in your account to receive calls or to make or receive calls from other TalkByText users.
To see the balance of your account, choose Show Balance from the Account menu.
To top up your TalkByText account, choose Top up... from the Account menu. Enter your credit card details, the amount you want to top-up your account, then choose Make Payment.
To see a list of your calls and their costs, choose My Bill from the Account menu.
To make a call to someone else, you need to know either
Internet addresses for other TalkByText Home Edition users look like 123456@talkbytext.net. Business Edition TalkByText addresses usually will look like 1234@companyname.com or someone@companyname.com. Please note that these addresses are not email addresses. The six-digit number for TalkByText Home Edition addresses is the same as the person's account number. In fact, if you are calling another TalkByText Home Edition user, you can just use the six digit account number of the person you want to call, for example 123456.
If you are calling a telephone or textphone number instead, you should always type the phone number in the full national or international form, such as
020 7296 8001 or
+44 20 7296 8001
TalkByText Internet addresses are always six digits and never start with a zero, so the TalkByText program can distinguish them from telephone numbers.
To add a new contact to your contacts list, click on the Personal Contacts folder and select New... After entering the contact details, click on OK to save them.
To call someone who is not in your Contacts List
If you want to make a text call to someone who is not in your contact list, click on the Text Call button on the button bar. Alternatively from the main menu select File, then New, then Text Call. Enter the phone number or the destination Internet address. A conversation window will open. Once the other person has accepted the call, the window will show the Call Connected status message. Both parties can now go ahead and type. When you have finished, click the End Call button. You can then close the window, or use the Save or Print buttons to save this conversation or print it out.
To call someone who is in your Contacts List
TalkByText enables you to maintain a personal contacts list of the people that you regularly call. Their names and contact addresses or phone numbers are stored in your user profile and are private to you. Your contact list appears as a Personal Contacts folder in your folder list. Making a call to someone is as simple as selecting someone in your list and clicking the Call Contact button. After you select Call Contact, a new conversation window will appear. Once the other person has accepted the call, the window will show the Call Connected status message. Both parties can now go ahead and type. When you have finished, click the End Call button. You can then close the window, or use the Save or Print buttons to save this conversation or print it out.
If your call to a telephone number is answered by a hearing person
As with any other textphone, you can of course also call a voice phone number via RNID Typetalk. The method is no different from making a text call. Click on the Text Call button and type the phone number of your destination. In the UK, the TextDirect 18001 prefix will automatically be added before the phone number. If the call is answered in voice, an RNID Typetalk operator is automatically brought into the call to relay the conversation from text to voice and vice versa. You can also add voice phone numbers to the list of Textphone Numbers in your contact lists. Because the call is routed over TextDirect, a relay operator will be brought into the call as and when needed. From the perspective of TalkByText, relay calls to voice phones are just text calls.
Other TalkByText Home Edition users can call you if they know your account number. This is the six-digit number that appears in your program's status bar.
Textphone users on the telephone network can also call you by dialling
18001 020 7253 8175
and by typing your account number when prompted.
Telephone users can call you by dialling
18002 020 7253 8175
and by telling the Typetalk operator your account number when asked.
When someone calls you, a new conversation window will appear and (depending on your settings) different forms of alerting will occur, such as an audible alert, flashing button on the taskbar or message at the tray icon. At the top of the window, it will be shown who the call is from. You can choose either to accept or to reject the call by pressing the corresponding button. Once you accept, the message Call Connected will appear and you can start typing.
Using auto-respond
Sometimes you might not be able or willing to accept calls, for example when you are away from your computer. In those circumstances, you can use TalkByText's autorespond function. This is similar to using voicemail. When autorespond is on, incoming calls are automatically answered and a recorded text message is sent to the caller. If they wish, your caller can leave you a typed message before they hang up. Any such messages will be saved in your Received Messages folder. When you return to your computer, a message above the TalkByText tray icon will show the number of calls, if you have missed any.
On the button bar of the TalkByText window is a button that switches autorespond on and off. Clicking this button swaps between the two states. When TalkByText starts up, autorespond is always off. If you have a PC with Windows XP or above, then autorespond will by default automatically turned on when you lock your computer. When TalkByText was first run, the setup wizard asked you to enter your own recorded message. You can of course always change the message. To change your recorded message, click on the down arrow of the autorepond button and select Edit autoanswer text.