Sibelius Speaking 3 Technical Support and Tips

JAWS Versions 5.0 and 5.1

Sibelius Speaking 3.1 will work with JAWS 5.1 through 6.2, many JAWS users have run Sibelius Speaking with later versions of JAWS however they are not supported. Here are some other advantages.

It is also important to understand that one can install multiple versions of JAWS on the same machine and use the older versions when working with Sibelius and switch back to the newer version of JAWS for other work. Please see Freedom Scientific.

System Requirements

Sibelius Speaking requires that you run Sibelius 3.1.1 which is a free, downloadable update for Sibelius 3.x customers. Click here for the free Sibelius 3.1.1 Update.
You must also be running JAWS version 5.0.851 through 6.2. It will not work with JAWS 4.5 or earlier. Click here to download a free update to JAWS 5.0.851 (for registered JAWS 5.0 users). Click here to download a free update to JAWS 5.1 (for registered JAWS 5.0 users). You can also order an update CD from Dancing Dots for $20 which includes shipping and handling within the continental U.S.. By the way, if you want to purchase or upgrade JAWS for Windows, Dancing Dots is authorized to sell it to you. In fact, Dancing Dots now represents not only Freedom Scientific, but most of the major manufacturers of assistive technology and music supplies.
Click here for information about running CakeTalking and Sibelius Speaking the same computer.
You must use an English keyboard layout and an English version of Sibelius.
Even if you use Sibelius Speaking on a laptop PC you must set the JAWS Keyboard Layout to "Desktop" (JAWS / Options / Basics / Use Keyboard Layout).
For best results when using Sibelius Speaking on a laptop, Dancing Dots strongly recommends that you use a full-size PC keyboard as many important Sibelius Speaking USB or wireless PC keyboards are relatively inexpensive. Some customers have had success with auxiliary num-pad attachments but others have not.

Support

The latest version of Sibelius Speaking is 3.0 is 3.0.9 and it was released 10/9/04. The latest version of Sibelius Speaking 3.1 is 3.1.10 and it was released 10/15/04. To check on the Internet for the latest version, go to the Start menu and click on Programs | Sibelius Speaking 3 | Sibelius Speaking Internet Update.
To install Sibelius Speaking 3.1 into JAWS 6.2 you must click on the Options button in the Welcome dialog, enter '6.20' in the Search for additional JAWS version field, click on the OK button and then finish the installation as usual. This method will work for all versions of JAWS up to and including JAWS 7.1.
Click here for information about running CakeTalking and Sibelius Speaking on the same computer.
Help with Authorization Problems.
Using Sibelius Speaking without administrator rights.
If your Display's color scheme is not in English, you MUST set Control Panel | Regional and Language Options | Regional Options | Standards and formats to your language.
Click here to send an e-mail to technical support.
Sorry but the document Getting More Started with Sibelius was never written by Sibelius Speaking's developer.
Miscellaneous Audio Solutions
How to manually enable the Sibelius Speaking Plug-Ins
Question: Why can't I get sound out of my keyboard?
Answer: In the ideal situation you would want to have an external midi device such as a midi module or additional midi keyboard connected to your midi controller's midi output jack. If you set sibelius to play back through the keyboard's midi output jack, you won't hear any sound unless a device is connected there. To hear sound through your pc's speakers that are connected to your sound card, you will need to select the Microsoft GS wave table. While you certainly can hear playback through the wave table synth, recording parts in Sibelius while using this will not be very practical because there will be a delay between the time you play a note and the time you actually hear it. This is known as latency, and is a limitation of the drivers of your onboard sound card. If you intend to input material into Sibelius using the midi keyboard, you may want to consider getting an external midi module such as the edirol sound canvas. You can find out about it by going to MidiEquipment.

Upgrades

Version 3.1.10

Improvements over 3.0

JAWS 5.1 is supported
Using the Filter System Items dialog, you can now successfully filter for chords.
Using the Find System Item Dialog, you can now find repeat text marks, like D.C. al Coda, D. S., etc.
Enabling the Sibelius Plug-ins has been improved.

Version 3.0.9

Improvements over 3.0.7

Enabling the Sibelius Plug-ins has been improved.
Rename staff has been fixed.
Other minor bugs were fixed.

Improvements over 1.3

Graphics recognition is supported in all Windows operating systems including XP.
Works with the latest versions of Sibelius (3.1) and JAWS (5).
More comprehensive documentation.
Full access to Sibelius' mixer.
Ability during playback to stop and move to the current bar.
Create markers to any part of the score and immediately jump to that position.
You can get a list of all current key or time signatures and immediately move to any of them.
When navigating, JAWS will tell you whether you are on a grace note or not.
When creating a new score from the new score dialog, you can define the initial parameters such as title, metro mark, tempo, etc..
Using repitch mode you can re-input the notes of an existing passage and all note durations, articulations and rests say the same.
Many new cool features.
Enhanced ability and all Sibelius Speaking 1.3 bugs have been resolved.

Improvements over 1.2

Numerous bug fixes.
More reliable graphics labelling.
Improved lyric entry.
More comprehensive documentation.
Support for drum notation and pop and jazz arrangements.
Automatic display settings verification.

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