Sending Text To A Macintosh - Alphasmart AS Pro Owner's Manual

Warning: DO NOT attach the AlphaSmart to both a PC and
the Mac at the same time. It won't work and possible damage
may occur to the Mac or the PC.
Concerns about ADB Live Connect/Disconnect
The AlphaSmart keyboard is designed to be connected to and
disconnected from Macintosh ADB ports while the Mac is
running.
Some people may be concerned with this, since Apple rec-
ommends not unplugging or attaching an ADB device while
the computer is running. This is recommended by Apple
because certain ADB devices change modes when they are
unplugged, causing confusion to the system when the
devices are reattached. 5
However, the AlphaSmart has been designed so that it does
not change modes when unplugged. More importantly, it
does not confuse the Mac when unplugged and reconnected.
Figure 2. Installing the Mac "Y" Cable
with Mac Keyboard model #M2980
5 As stated on page 290 of The Guide to Macintosh Family Hardware by Apple
Computer (published by Addison-Wesley): "Do not unplug and reattach an
ADB device while the computer is running—if you do, the device reverts to
its default address while the computer continues trying to reach the device
at the address assigned at startup time."
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S E N D I N G T E X T T O A M A C I N T O S H
One of the connectors on the right side of the AlphaSmart is
the PC port and the other is the Mac ADB port. (If you need
two ADB ports, use the Y cable to provide the other ADB
port.) The IBM compatible port is labeled "PC" and the
Macintosh ADB port is labeled "Mac/IIGS."
When you attach your AlphaSmart to a Macintosh, the
AlphaSmart changes modes and the screen displays the fol-
lowing message: Attached to Macintosh, emulating keyboard.
Press Send Key to transfer file.
If you do not see this message, check your cable and make
sure it is attached properly to the Macintosh.
When the AlphaSmart is attached to a Macintosh, all of the
keys except the Send key behave as standard Macintosh key-
board keys. Any characters that are typed will appear on the
Macintosh screen, and the Clear File key acts as a Macintosh
clear key. Although the Pause/PrtScn, NumLk/ScrLk, ins/del,
Control, and Option keys have no function when the
AlphaSmart is used in standalone mode, they function as nor-
mal Macintosh keys when the AlphaSmart is plugged into a
Macintosh (The Pause/PrtScn acts as F9, NumLk/ScrLk as F10,
and ins/del as F11 when attached to a Mac).
To change files when attached to the Macintosh, press
Option-
and so on.
Pressing the Send key (at the extreme upper right of the key-
board) initiates the transfer of the current file from the
AlphaSmart to the Macintosh. If you want to abort a file trans-
fer, just press any other key. You must have a word processing
application open and have the cursor at the beginning of the file
before pressing the Send key. Be sure to be within the application
and not the Finder or Desktop when you press the Send key, or you
may rename your files to the text in your AlphaSmart.
When the transfer is complete, disconnect the AlphaSmart.
(You may also leave the AlphaSmart connected to the
Macintosh for use as a normal keyboard.) Reconnect your
normal Macintosh keyboard after the AlphaSmart has been
disconnected.
AlphaSmart Pro AlphaSmart Pro
-F1 to go to File 1, Option- -F2 to go to File 2,
x x
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