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dictator - RSVP on-screen text file reader.

*Description

Dictator is a program for on-screen reading of text files, developed with the intention of making it easier to read some of the fine electronic texts available on the net, such as those produced by The Gutenberg Project.

The problem with these texts is that reading them on-screen the conventional way is a drag and printing them out is time-consuming, costly, and wasteful. Dictator provides an alternative approach called Rapid Serial Visual Presentation (RSVP) in which words are displayed consecutively in the same place at a user-controllable rate. This method prevents unconscious re-reading of adjacent text and decreases the tendency of the reader to oralise the text, allowing for increased reading speeds. RSVP also permits the use of larger fonts for text display which improves text clarity. While it does take some getting used to, with a little practise you may find that reading with Dictator becomes faster and easier than reading from a book.

While there are a number of free RSVP readers available, most do not appear to be under active development and in all cases I have been dissatisfied with some combination of their interface and customisation features. Many of the commercial programs do not seem much better. In time I hope that Dictator will be.

*Features

• Rapid Serial Visual Presentation (RSVP) text file reading.
• Single word and multiword displays.
• Unicode support (with Unicode versions of wxPython only).
• Variable reading rate.
• Easy keyboard controls.
• Bookmark manager with automatic recall of last position in text.
• Dynamic text flow (rate related to word length, punctuation).
• Paragraph cues.
• Adjustable fonts and colours.
• Fullscreen mode.
• Text search.
• Customisable text filters allow scraping from PDF/html/Microsoft Word Documents.
• Customisable web queries on current word (e.g. look up definition).
• Open from clipboard.
• Open URL (via text filter only).

*Installation

See doc/INSTALL

*Instructions for use

See the Help menu in Dictator.

• Frequently Asked Questions
  1. Why are non-ascii characters not displayed properly?

     Do you have the Unicode version of wxPython installed? Go to the meny Help > About to find out if Unicode is supported by your version of wxPython. If not upgrade to a Unicode version of wxPython.

  2. Can I preserve character encoding with my "url-open" filter "lynx -dump %s"?

     Possibly - run lynx and set your preferred character encoding scheme in the options. From then on lynx should dump in that format.

  3. Why is there no sound coming out of my speakers?

     Oh dear, I had a feeling the name would haunt me, I just didn't know why.

*Feedback

Feedback and queries to dictator@kieranholland.com