Jim Luther's

Scanning Shapes for PowerPoint

PowerPoint slide shows are inherently accessible, if you have an adapted mouse (see more below.) Each time you click the left mouse button something happens. This makes PowerPoint perfect for creating cause and effect projects, talking stories and other switch accessible applications.

After being turned on to just how easy and great these slide shows can be while attending Kristy Voelkerding's excellent presentation at Closing the Gap in 2001, I decided to see if I could develop a means to "scan" items that are placed on a slide. I also wanted to keep it as easy as possible for other PowerPoint authors. So, to make a Scanning Shapes slideshow you start with a prepared template. Add your content as you would to any slideshow. Draw the scan indicator shapes wherever you want them. Shapes useable as scan indicators include ovals, left arrows, right arrows, up arrows, down arrows and five pointed stars. Assign actions to the scan shapes. View your slideshow. In the Windows version the first slide must be the Setup Slide. The Setup Slide allows the user to alter the auditory scan type, to set the scan speed, to choose which shape of scan indicator to use, and defines these parameters for the rest of the slide show.

New Features:

  1. The template supports a 2 switch scan. The left mouse click advances the scan sequence, and the right click makes the selection. RJ Cooper's Switch Hopper or the Don Johnston Switch Interface would work fine.
  2. Full support for building multiple choice, and fill-in-the-blank tests. (See the Multiple Choice Test Page)
  3. UserForm based scanning shapes slideshows that are Mac friendly version and with PowerPoint X for Mac (and perhaps earlier versions) as well as with PowerPoint 97 for Windows. All Visual Basic Controls are contained in a separate form that hovers over the slideshow. While this form is visible it takes control over the slideshow until it is closed. An AutoShape must be located on the first slide that has its Action Setting set to have a macro called "loadSetupForm" to run on a mouse click. When the "loadSetupForm" macro runs the form that contains scan controls and the scan button appears in the upper left-hand corner of the slideshow. The usual controls can be changed to suit your user, but the changes will be lost when the slideshow is ended, or the form is closed. Once the setup is satisfactory, click the "Hide Scan Controls" button. Position your mouse cursor over the scan button and leave it there. Left mouse clicks will start and stop the scan. If you are using this template under Windows, if the mouse cursor disappear after a change of slides, you can regain control by using the arrow or tab keys to move the focus to the "Close Me" button and then by pressing the "Enter" or "Return" key. Once the scan form is closed PowerPoint regains control.
  4. The UserForm also supports keyboard input. If the user checks the Use Keyboard Input option in the UserForm, two text boxes appear. The Yellow one accepts character input where digits 1 through 9 will directly activate the Mouse Click Action Setting of the scan shape whose creation order corresponds with the digit. The yellow box can also facilitate a 2 switch scan by entering the letter 'l' to highlight the next scan shape, and the letter 'p' to activate the highlighted scan shape.

The pink text box accepts phrases that will be put into fill-in boxes (fill-in support is already installed), and commands as follows:

Phrases that end in the ‘_’ character are sent to the next fill-in box. Phrases that end in the ’~’ character are commands. Currently, the following commands are supported:

look~ Highlights the next scan shape

pick~ Activates the highlighted scan shape

next~ Navigates to the next slide

prev~ Navigates to the previous slide

 

Below are links to the files that you can use to make your own Scanning Shapes slideshows.

 If you don't know much about PowerPoint read this:

A PowerPoint Tutorial (Word Document)

A PowerPoint Tutorial (HTML)

Here is a sample PowerPoint slide show with Scanning Shapes. When you open this you will get a warning that the document has "macros" in it. I encourage you to use your virus checker to assure yourself that this document is not malicious. The macros (Visual Basic routines) are what make it work. So, choose "Enable Macros" to permit scanning. This document may not run properly if it opens inside Internet Explorer. Choose "End" if an error dialog box opens. Right Click on the following link and select "Save Target" for later and more reliable viewing in PowerPoint.

A (Windows Only) Sample Scanning Shapes PowerPoint Document

The following is a UserForm based sample scanning shapes slideshow that should work with a Macintosh with PowerPoint version X:

A Mac friendlier sample scanning shapes slideshow

When you open this slide show and view it, you want to position the mouse cursor over the scan button and leave it there. Subsequent mouse clicks will start and stop the scan.

How to put together a Scanning Shapes slideshow:

How To Build a Scanning Shapes Slideshow Document

The following slideshow can be duplicated as needed to create new Scanning Shapes slideshows. This document may not run properly if it opens inside Internet Explorer. Choose "End" if an error dialog box opens. Right Click on the following link and select "Save Target to Disk."

A (Windows Only) Blank Scanning Shapes Template (Improved)

The following is a UserForm based blank scanning shapes template that should work with a Macintosh with PowerPoint version X:

A Mac friendlier, UserForm based version Scanning Shapes Template

 

Return to Jim's Computer Access Page