Pc Hot-Swapping; Changing The Transfer Speed - Alphasmart AS Pro Owner's Manual

To change files when attached to the PC, only press the
key and the Fx key (F1 for file 1, F2 for file 2, etc). Do not
press the Alt/Option key. Pressing the Alt key puts some
word processing programs into command mode and the file
won't transfer correctly.
Transferring Text to a PC
1. Pressing the Send key (at the extreme upper right of the
keyboard) initiates the transfer of the current file from the
AlphaSmart to the PC. If you want to abort a file transfer,
just press any other key. You must have a word processing
application open and your cursor at the beginning of your file
before sending text to a PC.
2. When the transfer is complete, disconnect the
AlphaSmart. (You may also leave the AlphaSmart connect-
ed to the PC for use as a normal keyboard.)
3. Reconnect your normal PC keyboard after the AlphaSmart
has been disconnected.
4. To finish the transfer process, save the word processing file
on the PC. Once the text is saved on your PC, you can
style, format, and spell check the file as you would any
other file in your word processing application.
5. To erase the transferred file from the AlphaSmart, press the
Clear File key on the AlphaSmart. The currently displayed
file will be deleted.
Note: If you only get the first one or two characters transferred
when sending from the AlphaSmart, be sure your normal PC key-
board is not connected. Disconnect your keyboard and retry send-
ing the text.
P C H O T - S W A P P I N G
Some PCs do not support unplugging the keyboard and then
plugging it back in while they are ON, called "hot swapping"
the keyboard. To use the AlphaSmart with these PCs:
• Turn the PC off.
• Turn on the AlphaSmart and attach it to the keyboard port.
• Turn the PC on.
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• Open your PC application and transfer the file as normal.
x
• When finished, turn off the PC, connect your normal key-
Important: The AlphaSmart must be turned on before the
PC in order for the PC to boot when it is attached as the PC
keyboard.
To determine if your keyboard supports "hot swapping," sim-
ply disconnect the keyboard while the PC is running and
then reconnect it. Open an application and try typing in it—
if the characters look correct then your keyboard supports
"hot swapping" and you should have no problem using your
AlphaSmart. If your PC does not support keyboard "hot
swapping," no characters or the wrong characters will show
up when you try typing after reconnecting the keyboard.
When having problems connecting to a PC that you haven't
tried using with an AlphaSmart before, try the keyboard "hot
swap" test described above using the PC's normal keyboard
to determine if the PC supports keyboard "hot swapping."
The following PCs do not support "hot swapping":
If you have additions or corrections to this list, please e-mail
(support@alphasmart.com) or call toll-free (888) 274-2720, or
fax (408-252-9409) the changes to us. We will try to main-
tain a current and complete list.
You can find online support at our Web site Home Page
(http://www.alphasmart.com), as well as the latest PC No "Hot
Swapping" list and up-to-date troubleshooting information.
C H A N G I N G T H E T R A N S F E R S P E E D
The AlphaSmart can send text faster than some older com-
puters can accept it. If you notice missing characters or jum-
bled text, then you need to slow down the transfer speed.
Even on newer, faster computers, some programs like
Microsoft Word and KidWorks are slow to accept text and
you must slow down the AlphaSmart to transfer text into
these programs.
AlphaSmart Pro AlphaSmart Pro
board and turn your PC back on.
• IBM PS/2 model 56 and model 57
• IBM PS/2 model 90, model 8590-DLA
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