It has to be easy or I won't do it.
=> imbue (embue)

It's something others can benefit from if we come up with a good solution.
=> (programmatically) programatically

I have a spelling problem.
=> paraplegic (parapalegic)

Mostly because I spell as I "think" words sound to me.
=> (pliers) pliars

Whenever I get red squiggled I copy & paste the word into a spell.txt file.
=> semblance (semblence)

Which I bring up with a keyboard shortcut.
=> (symmetric) symetric

It has to be easy or it doesn't get done!
=> credularity & (credulity)

I used to put the wrong spelling in the spell.txt file next to the right
spelling, like this.
=> eminantly eminently

But that often reinforced the wrong spelling in my visually based brain.
("Is it an e or an i in discretion or is it descretion?")

At some point over the years I added parenthesis around one choice
=> egregious (eggregious)

As most of my spelling errors are actually pronunciation errors, in that I
tend to spell the word as I hear the word when it's spoken to me or by me.
=> (masquerating) masquerading

Lately I've decided to put just the correct spelling in the file.
=> exhilarating

But then now when I check it ever few months to practice, I only see the
correct spelling and my brain doesn't have to think.
=> eminantly eminently

I don't use text to speech but I know it exists.
It probably exists in hundreds of ways.

What's an EASY way to feed a spell.txt file to Windows speech to text where
the spoken words can be displayed so that I can see them and hear them?

I guess what I would like is a physical use model of running the batch
program which feeds spell.txt line by line to a speaking program and I have
to hit a key (or wait a period of time of a few seconds?) for the next word?

Small sample spell.txt file in the sig.
--
abscissa
methodically
annihilate
anomaly
appalled
bureaucracy
colloquial
commingled
concomitant
credulity
debuted
deficit
disastrous
discretion
disparage
duplicitous
duplicitous
echelon
egregious
eminently
euphemism
euphemistically
exhilarating
foresee
foreseeable
frivolity
gynecologist
hors d'oeuvres
imbue
immaculate
immiscible
lectern
lieu
masquerading
matriarchal
mayonnaise
medieval
paraplegic
phenomenal
phenomenally
pliers
preceded
programmatically
proletariat
semblance
shish kebab
symmetric
ubiquitous
vicious vs. viscous

On 06.02.2022 08:06, Andy Burnelli wrote:

> I guess what I would like is a physical use model of running the batch
> program which feeds spell.txt line by line to a speaking program and I have
> to hit a key (or wait a period of time of a few seconds?) for the next word?
>
> Small sample spell.txt file in the sig.

> abscissa
> methodically
> annihilate
> anomaly
> appalled
> bureaucracy

Press <WIN>>CTRL><RETURN> and then start this batch program:

@echo off
for /f %%i in (spell.txt) do (
echo %%i
timeout /t 4 >nul)

Instead of starting narrator.exe by the above hotkey it
should be possible to start it in the batch by:

%windir%\system32\narrator.exe

But this doesn't work here. I just get "file not found".
Windows Explorer shows the file at this location and
you can start it, but 'dir' in a cmd file doesn't
show it, so it also can't be started from the batch.
Seems to be an other fake from explorer.

On Sun, 6 Feb 2022 07:06:18 -0000 (UTC), Andy Burnelli wrote:
[snip]
>
> I don't use text to speech but I know it exists.
> It probably exists in hundreds of ways.
>
> What's an EASY way to feed a spell.txt file to Windows speech to text where
> the spoken words can be displayed so that I can see them and hear them?
>
> I guess what I would like is a physical use model of running the batch
> program which feeds spell.txt line by line to a speaking program and I have
> to hit a key (or wait a period of time of a few seconds?) for the next word?
>
> Small sample spell.txt file in the sig.

Windows doesn't provide any built in command line tool specifically for TTS.
The simplest way to access TTS is to use Windows Script Host's
VBScript/JScript. i.e. create your own script for it.

On 06.02.2022 15:21, Herbert Kleebauer wrote:

> %windir%\system32\narrator.exe
>
> But this doesn't work here. I just get "file not found".
> Windows Explorer shows the file at this location and
> you can start it, but 'dir' in a cmd file doesn't
> show it, so it also can't be started from the batch.
> Seems to be an other fake from explorer.

This should work if you start the batch with a double click
in explorer or by it's name in a pure cmd window. It doesn't
work if in the cmd window a file manager like Midnight Commander
is running (don't know why).

@echo off
if [%1]==[] goto :l1
for /f %%i in (spell.txt) do (
echo %%i
timeout /t 4 >nul)
exit

:l1
start /min %windir%\system32\narrator.exe
timeout /t 4 >nul
start "" "%~f0" xxx
exit

On 06.02.2022 21:21, Herbert Kleebauer wrote:

> It doesn't
> work if in the cmd window a file manager like Midnight Commander
> is running (don't know why).

The problem is using a 32 bit cmd.exe in 64 bit Windows. The
code below should work with either the 32 or 64 bit cmd.exe
in Win64:

@echo off
if [%1]==[] goto :l1
for /f %%i in (spell.txt) do (
echo %%i
timeout /t 4 >nul)
exit

:l1
set p=
if exist %windir%\SysNative\cmd.exe set p=%windir%\SysNative\cmd.exe /c start ""
start "" %p% /min %windir%\system32\narrator.exe
timeout /t 4 >nul
start "" "%~f0" xxx
exit

On Mon, 7 Feb 2022 06:20:35 -0000 (UTC), Yakker wrote:

> http://balabolka.site/balabolka.htm

Thank you for purposefully helpfully (a) confirming this simple & yet
universal task isn't easy to find freeware for, & (b) for suggesting the
Balabolka tool & for (c) outlining the expectations (as to be not so great).

Here is a screenshot I just made as a result of your kind-hearted help:
<https://i.postimg.cc/Pf6k82q2/spell01.jpg>

Balabolka v2.15.0.811 <http://balabolka.site/balabolka.htm>
"Balabolka is a Text-To-Speech (TTS) program.
All computer voices installed on your system are available to Balabolka.
The on-screen text can be saved as an audio file.
The program can read the clipboard content, extract text from documents,
customize font and background colour, control reading from the system tray
or by the global hotkeys.
Balabolka supports text file formats: AZW, AZW3, CHM, DjVu, DOC, DOCX,
EML, EPUB, FB2, FB3, HTML, LIT, MD, MOBI, ODP, ODS, ODT, PDB, PRC,
PDF, PPT, PPTX, RTF, TCR, WPD, XLS, XLSX."

Here is my running log file (your locations will be different):
Create a space for where it will belong (this is decided ahead of time)
mkdir c:\archives\databases\tts\balabolka\
Download the installer zip file and put it where it belongs
<http://www.cross-plus-a.com/balabolka.zip>
Name: balabolka.zip
Size: 22728202 bytes (21 MiB)
SHA256: 32BD365110F6C275CC1C06E625A6272FD88FA98B4849D8B7B24DAA5C52A6B803
Extract the zip file into the default c:\tmp\extract\ directory
Name: setup.exe
Size: 22960006 bytes (21 MiB)
SHA256: 010F2BF7C59B515FA1B9C6ADD68FF76F5B237F70D14B0C735B09985E788DDAFD
Run the setup.exe file (on Windows 10)
Select English => Next
Copyright stuff => Next
It wants to go in => C:\Program Files (x86)\Balabolka
I put it where it belongs in => C:\apps\databases\tts\balabolka
[x] Create a Desktop icon
[_] Pin to taskbar
Next
[_]Launch Balabolka now => Finish

Move the desktop icon to where it belongs in the taskbar pinned menu:
move Balabolka.lnk c:\menus\databases\tts\balbolka.lnk
Start Balabolka using the cascaded taskbar WinXP style accordion menu.

Up popped the Balabolka GUI with a choice of two speaking voices
[SAPI 5]
Microsoft David Desktop [(English United States)] <= default
Microsoft Zira Desktop [(English United States)]
Rate slider default is 0 (choices are -10 to +10)
Pitch slider default is 0 (choices are -10 to +10)
Volume slider default is 100 (choices are 0 to 100)

Leaving everything at the defaults, I open the spell.txt file.
Balabolka:File > Open > c:\data\databases\tts\balbolka\spell.txt
Balabolka:Speech > Read Aloud

This will say each line aloud using the default Microsoft voice
modified by Balabolka rate, pitch, and volume settings.

Note there are keyboard shortcuts for potentially useful options such as
F5 = read aloud
F6 = Pause
F7 = Stop
F8 = Read Selected Text
F9 = Read Clipboard Aloud
Ctrl+Up = Skip to Previous Sentence
Ctrl+Down = Skip to Next Sentence
Ctrl+F11 = Skip to Previous Paragraph
Ctrl+F12 = Skip to Next Paragraph
An interesting unexpected option is to save the entire file as a WAV file.
Balabolka:File > Save Audio File >
c:\data\databases\tts\balbolka\spell.wav
With options of {wav,mp3,ogg,wma,mp4,m4a,m4b,opus,awb} audio file format.

Bearing in mind that if it's not easy and instantaneous, it won't get done,
this is the "efficient" setup for the use model that I came up with.

Outside of Balabolka I type the following to bring up spell.txt in vim:
Win+R > spell <return> (this edits the spell.txt file in vim)
Unfortunately I have to _manually_ (aurgh!) populate the spell.txt file
whenever the Windows 10 spell checker red squiggles a misspelled word.
Outside of Balabolka, I type the following to bring up spell.wav in MPC-BE:
Win+R > sayit <return> (this _speaks_ the spell.wav file from Balabolka)
Luckily a spacebar stops and restarts the speaking of that audio file.

Note the "Run" trick works in all versions of Windows if you set this up:
[HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths\spell.exe
@Default = c:\data\databases\tts\balbolka\spell.txt
[HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths\sayit.exe
@Default = c:\data\databases\tts\balbolka\spell.wav
Note: Use any name you like for the "exe" which is just any old keyword
(but I'd first check that the "exe" keyword isn't already in use).

Given that efficiency is critical (otherwise it won't be done), this
processs still needs an automated way to automatically populate the
spell.txt file each time a redsquiggled word is found by the Windows spell
checking facility - so if you know how to do that, please let me know.

Otherwise, this is the current universal use model (where I'm always about
creating use models using freeware that _everyone_ can use instantly).

AD HOC:
A. Whenever a misspelled word is redsquiggled, I rightclick copy it
B. I click the "Win+R" icon on my taskbar & type spell{return}
C. I paste that word into the vim editing window that pops up
D. Back on the redsquiggled word, I rightclick correct it
E. And copy it back to the previously opened spell.txt file & save

PERIODICALLY:
a. When enough words are amassed (about 50), I type Win+R > sayit{return}
b. That speaks each word slowly (spacebar to continue) as I write it down
c. I can visually compare the spelling with Win+R > spell{return}
(or see the improvement I just made in a verbal re-spelling by letters!)

IMPROVEMENTS:
A. I think _all_ of us would benefit from automation of the redsquiggled
words we each misspell by logging all redsquiggled corrections
into a text file (which will contain just the words _we_ get wrong).

B. It would be nice to be able to insert a "pause" in the speech so that
we can then more easily add the individual letters separated by spaces.
Is there a way to insert a "pause" in the Microsoft speech engines?
(pliars) pliers P L I E R S

HELP: Is there a way to insert a "pause" between those letters?
(pliars) pliers <pause> P <pause> L <pause> I <pause> E <pause> R <pause> S
Since my goal is always a general purpose solution everyone can use, I hope
others can easily follow in my footsteps above to get to the same point I
am, where I hope others who know far more than I do about such things can
further improve upon the efficiency (where the biggest flaw is the lack of
automation at the moment the incorrectly spelled word is redsquiggled).

Most important missing requirements:
a. Ability to log all redsquiggled corrections into a log file
b. Ability to add a pause between letters when speaking the spelling

See also eSpeak from Microsoft.
<https://sourceforge.net/projects/espeak/>
Sample spell.txt file in sig below.
--
(Afgan) Afghani Afghan
(absissa) abscissa
(accomodations) accommodations
(anamoly) anomaly
(anialate) annihilate
(apalled) appalled
(assesments) assessments
(bureuoracy) bureaucracy
(clientel) clientele
(coloquial) colloquial
(comingled) commingled
(concomitant) concomittent
(credularity) credulity
(debaud) debuted
(descretion) discretion
(desparage) disparage
(disaterous) disastrous
(duplicitious) duplicitous
(eggregious) egregious
(eminantly) eminently
(eshelon) echelon
(extoll) extol
(forsee) foresee
(forseeable) foreseeable
(horsdovers) hors d'oeuvres
(embue) imbue
(imiscible) immiscible
(inhereted) inherited
(masquerating) masquerading
(mayonaise) mayonnaise
(medevil) medieval
(methodocally) methodically
(parapalegic) paraplegic
(phenominal) phenomenal
(pliars) pliers
(preseeded) preceded
(programatically) programmatically
(semblence) semblance
(shishkebab) shish kebab
(symetric) symmetric
(tradegy) tragedy
(ubiquitious) ubiquitous
(vicious) viscous

On 8 Feb 2022 23:07:30 GMT, Stefan Ram wrote:

> You might also like to check out "espeak"

Nice! Thanks! The good news is that it's apparently from Microsoft.
Here's the first pass test result!

Your file locations will differ from mine:
1. mkdir c:\archives\databases\tts\espeak
2. <https://sourceforge.net/projects/espeak/>
<http://espeak.sourceforge.net/download.html>
3. <https://sourceforge.net/projects/espeak/files/latest/download>
4. <https://iweb.dl.sourceforge.net/project/espeak/espeak/espeak-1.48/setup_espeak-1.48.04.exe>
5. Location: c:\archives\databases\tts\espeak\setup_espeak-1.48.04.exe
Name: setup_espeak-1.48.04.exe
Size: 2610503 bytes (2549 KiB)
SHA256: 875A2AE7634420B8653B70F7F555179FB4CE5746BBB5C2557BBE58F72439C58F
6. It wants to go into [C:\Program Files (x86)\eSpeak]
I put it where it belongs [c:\apps\databases\tts\espeak]
7. Enter voice names === en en+f2, en-us <== this is the default
Next
8. Select the Start Menu folder to put the espeak shortcut
I put it where it belongs [c:\menus\databases\tts\espeak.lnk]
Otherwise it will end up as:
Menu: C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\eSpeak\
Shortcut: TTSApp.lnk
Target: c:\apps\databases\tts\espeak\TTSApp.exe
9. [x]View Readme > Finish <== the readme is in the sig
10. Taskbar >> menus >> databases >> tts >> espeak.lnk
11. Espeak: Options > Open File > c:\data\databases\tts\spell.txt
12. Espeak: Options > Speak

The spacebar, much to my surprise, didn't pause, but repeated.
There is a "Pause/Resume" & "Stop" button in the GUI though.
As with Balabolka v2.15.0.811, there is a "Save to wav" button.
As before with MPC-CE, typing "Win+R > sayit" will play the file.
As long as you perform a one-time setup of that "sayit" keyword:
[HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths\sayit.exe
@Default = c:\data\databases\tts\spell.wav
As before, the keyboard space key will pause MPC-CE playing.

As before, one way to hear the correct spelling is to add characters:
(pliars) pliers P L I E R S
Or, better yet, if Microsoft has the concept of a <pause> operation:
(pliars) pliers P <pause> L <pause> I <pause> E <pause> R <pause> S

Thank you for finding this wonderful app, which rivals Balabolka.
<http://balabolka.site/balabolka.htm>

This is such a universal need that it would be nice to find:
a. A way to log all redsquiggled corrections into a separate file
b. A way to pause between speaking of characters for the corrections

Note: eSpeak.readme and sample spell.txt in the sig.
--
eSpeak is a compact, multi-language, open source
text-to-speech synthesizer.

This version is a SAPI5 compatible Windows speech engine
which should work with screen readers such as Jaws,
NVDA, and Window-Eyes.

There is also a version of eSpeak which can be run as a
command-line program. This is in eSpeak\command-line.
Read docs\commands.html for details.

License
=======

This software is licensed under the GNU General Public License
version3. See the file: License.txt.

Voices and Languages
====================

The available Voices can be seen as files in the directory
espeak-edit/voices.

To change which eSpeak Voices are available through
Windows, re-run the installer and specify the Voice files
which you want to use.

The tone of a Voice can be modified by adding a variant
name after the Voice name, eg:
pt+f3

The available variants are:
Male: +m1 +m2 +m3 +m4 +m5 +m6 +m7
Female: +f1 +f2 +f3 +f4 +f5
Other effects: +croak +whisper
A different synthesizer method: klatt klatt2 klatt3

These variants are defined by text files in
espeak-edit/voices/!v

TTSApp Application
==================

This is a test program provided by Microsoft which can be
used to speak text using SAPI5 voices. The eSpeak voices
which were specified during installation should appear in
its voice menu.

Select its "22050Hz 16-bit mono" option for speaking.

Updates
=======

The eSpeak project homepage is at:
http://espeak.sourceforge.net/

Comments, corrections, and other feedback and assistance
is sought from native speakers of the various languages
because I've no idea how they are supposed to sound :-)

To make changes to pronunciation rules and exceptions,
or to change the sounds of phonemes, or just to experiment
with speech synthesis, download the "espeakedit" program.

--- sample spell.txt ---
(Afgan) Afghani Afghan ... a f g h a i i
(absissa) abscissa ... a b s c i s s a
(accomodations) accommodations ... a c c o m m o d a t i o n s
(anamoly) anomaly ... a n o m a l y
(anialate) annihilate ... a n n i h i l a t e
(apalled) appalled ... a p p a l l e d
(assesments) assessments ... a s s e s s m e n t s
(bureuoracy) bureaucracy ... b u r e a u c r a c y
(clientel) clientele ... c l i e n t e l e
(coloquial) colloquial ... c o l l o q u i a l
(comingled) commingled ... c o m m i n g l e d
(concomitant) concomittent ... c o n c o m i t t e n t
(credularity) credulity ... c r e d u l i t y
(debaud) debuted ... d e b u t e d
(descretion) discretion ... d i s c r e t i o n
(desparage) disparage ... d i s p a r a g e
(disaterous) disastrous ... d i s a s t r o u s
(duplicitious) duplicitous ... d u p l i c i t o u s
(eggregious) egregious ... e g r e g i o u s
(eminantly) eminently ... e m i n e n t l y
(eshelon) echelon ... e c h e l o n
(extoll) extol ... e x t o l
(forsee) foresee ... f o r e s e e
(forseeable) foreseeable ... f o r e s e e a b l e
(horsdovers) hors d'oeuvres ... h o r s d ' o e u v r e s
(embue) imbue ... i m b u e
(imiscible) immiscible ... i m m i s c i b l e
(inhereted) inherited ... i n h e r i t e d
(masquerating) masquerading ... m a s q u e r a d i n g
(mayonaise) mayonnaise ... m a y o n n a i s e
(medevil) medieval ... m e d i e v a l
(methodocally) methodically ... m e t h o d i c a l l y
(parapalegic) paraplegic ... p a r a p l e g i c
(phenominal) phenomenal ... p h e n o m e n a l
(pliars) pliers ... p l i e r s
(preseeded) preceded ... p r e c e d e d
(programatically) programmatically ... p r o g r a m m a t i c a l l y
(semblence) semblance ... s e m b l a n c e
(shishkebab) shish kebab ... s h i s h k e b a b
(symetric) symmetric ... s y m m e t r i c
(tradegy) tragedy ... t r a g e d y
(ubiquitious) ubiquitous ... u b i q u i t o u s
(vicious) viscous ... v i s c o u s or v i c i o u s

On Wed, 9 Feb 2022 02:13:32 -0000 (UTC)
Andy Burnelli <spam@nospam.com> wrote:

> On 8 Feb 2022 23:07:30 GMT, Stefan Ram wrote:
>
> > You might also like to check out "espeak"
>
> Nice! Thanks! The good news is that it's apparently from Microsoft.

Not the way I read it:
<CnP>
History. Originally known as speak and originally written for Acorn/RISC_OS computers starting in 1995
</CnP>

[snip]
> (pliars) pliers ... p l i e r s
> (preseeded) preceded ... p r e c e d e d

better!

[snip]

--
Bah, and indeed Humbug.

On Wed, 9 Feb 2022 10:40:23 +0000, Kerr-Mudd, John wrote:

> History. Originally known as speak and originally written
> for Acorn/RISC_OS computers starting in 1995

Thank you for the clarification that _espeak_ is not originally from M$.
Plus, it works on Linux and Android and other non M$ operating systems.

Like you, I'm always purposefully helpful and detailed, as I'm a
kind-hearted person like you are who wants everyone to benefit from every
thread I author (and, like you, I want my post to be easily actionable).

Hence I appreciate your spelling corrections and order corrections also.
Thank you for your integrity (which is a rarity on Usenet, as you know).

I see from this reference the origination quote you kindly supplied above.
<http://espeak.sourceforge.net/>

My confusion is, I think, caused by a few things (explained below), not the
least of which is that the installation says [C:\Program Files (x86)\eSpeak]
but the actual application that we run is different [TTSApp.exe].

The difference being, I think, whatever the difference is between:
a. Espeak
b. TTSApp

Note that the downloaded archived installer was automatically named:
c:\archives\databases\tts\espeak\setup_espeak-1.48.04.exe

Yet, when installed, it created a shortcut to an executable GUI named:
c:\apps\databases\tts\espeak\TTSApp.exe

Where the README that pops up mentioned "provided by Microsoft" early on:
TTSApp Application
This is a test program provided by Microsoft
which can be used to speak text using SAPI5 voices.

And the "About" button on that TTSApp GUI clearly says Microsoft too:
"TTSApp (c) 2001 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

So I openly admit I was led astray, and therefore I was wrong.
Thank you for correcting my incorrect assumption espeak is from M$.
It's not.

Mea culpa.
I apologize.

Given the data above, combined with your clarification, is this correct yet?
a. I assume that the underlying speech engine is "espeak", while
b. I assume that the overlying graphical interface is "TTSApp" (I think).

Does that assessment make this a correct clarifying assumption on my part?
A. Microsoft made the overarching GUI
B. But the underlying engine is not from Microsoft

And, while we're at it, there was at least one typo in the spell.txt
(Afgan) Afghani Afghan ... a f g h a n i ... a f g h a n
(consice) concise ... c o n c i s e

And, for Balabaloka, I got the paths slightly wrong; they should have been:
ARCHIVE: c:\archives\databases\tts\balabolka\balabolka.zip
INSTALL: c:\apps\databases\tts\balabolka\balabolka.exe
TASKBAR: c:\menus\databases\tts\balabolka.lnk

Same with Espeak/TTSApp (which goes by two different names, unfortunately).
ARCHIVE: c:\archives\databases\tts\espeak\setup_espeak-1.48.04.exe
INSTALL: c:\apps\databases\tts\espeak\TTSApp.exe
TASKBAR: c:\menus\databases\tts\TTSApp.lnk

Note the actual names aren't important but the organizational concept is.
<https://i.postimg.cc/7LmRqXNn/organize01.jpg> Android organization
<https://i.postimg.cc/bN7bp2Bf/organize02.jpg> Windows organization
--
Note I never use plurals in filespecs but I put them here for readability.

On Wed, 9 Feb 2022 18:59:49 -0000 (UTC)
Andy Burnelli <spam@nospam.com> wrote:

> On Wed, 9 Feb 2022 10:40:23 +0000, Kerr-Mudd, John wrote:
>
> > History. Originally known as speak and originally written
> > for Acorn/RISC_OS computers starting in 1995
>
> Thank you for the clarification that _espeak_ is not originally from M$.
> Plus, it works on Linux and Android and other non M$ operating systems.
>
> Like you, I'm always purposefully helpful and detailed, as I'm a
> kind-hearted person like you are who wants everyone to benefit from every
> thread I author (and, like you, I want my post to be easily actionable).
>
> Hence I appreciate your spelling corrections and order corrections also.
> Thank you for your integrity (which is a rarity on Usenet, as you know).
>

And thankyou, kind sir!

> I see from this reference the origination quote you kindly supplied above.
> <http://espeak.sourceforge.net/>

Yes, sorry, I should have mentioned that.
> My confusion is, I think, caused by a few things (explained below), not the
> least of which is that the installation says [C:\Program Files (x86)\eSpeak]
> but the actual application that we run is different [TTSApp.exe].
>
> The difference being, I think, whatever the difference is between:
> a. Espeak
> b. TTSApp
>
> Note that the downloaded archived installer was automatically named:
> c:\archives\databases\tts\espeak\setup_espeak-1.48.04.exe
>
> Yet, when installed, it created a shortcut to an executable GUI named:
> c:\apps\databases\tts\espeak\TTSApp.exe
>
> Where the README that pops up mentioned "provided by Microsoft" early on:
> TTSApp Application
> This is a test program provided by Microsoft
> which can be used to speak text using SAPI5 voices.
>
> And the "About" button on that TTSApp GUI clearly says Microsoft too:
> "TTSApp (c) 2001 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
>
> So I openly admit I was led astray, and therefore I was wrong.
> Thank you for correcting my incorrect assumption espeak is from M$.
> It's not.
>
> Mea culpa.
> I apologize.

Not necessary; I hadn't installed it, so I hadn't seen this.

> Given the data above, combined with your clarification, is this correct yet?
> a. I assume that the underlying speech engine is "espeak", while
> b. I assume that the overlying graphical interface is "TTSApp" (I think).
>
> Does that assessment make this a correct clarifying assumption on my part?
> A. Microsoft made the overarching GUI
> B. But the underlying engine is not from Microsoft

I don't know! Sorry.
>
> And, while we're at it, there was at least one typo in the spell.txt
> (Afgan) Afghani Afghan ... a f g h a n i ... a f g h a n
> (consice) concise ... c o n c i s e

Ah, I hadn't spotted that/those.

>
> And, for Balabaloka, I got the paths slightly wrong; they should have been:
> ARCHIVE: c:\archives\databases\tts\balabolka\balabolka.zip
> INSTALL: c:\apps\databases\tts\balabolka\balabolka.exe
> TASKBAR: c:\menus\databases\tts\balabolka.lnk
>
> Same with Espeak/TTSApp (which goes by two different names, unfortunately).
> ARCHIVE: c:\archives\databases\tts\espeak\setup_espeak-1.48.04.exe
> INSTALL: c:\apps\databases\tts\espeak\TTSApp.exe
> TASKBAR: c:\menus\databases\tts\TTSApp.lnk
>
> Note the actual names aren't important but the organizational concept is.
> <https://i.postimg.cc/7LmRqXNn/organize01.jpg> Android organization
> <https://i.postimg.cc/bN7bp2Bf/organize02.jpg> Windows organization
> --
> Note I never use plurals in filespecs but I put them here for readability.

--
Bah, and indeed Humbug.

I'm following this thread, because I'm interested in the stated
subject, a good spell checker.

But I haven't seen any mention of spell checkers; the thread seems to
be all about text-to-speech. Am I missing something?

BTW, for plain text I use Vim's spell checker. It has a feature that
e.g. Word seems to lack: you can mark a valid word to be flagged as
possibly erroneous. I do this with words that i commonly mistype,
such as "ting" for "thing".

--
Stan Brown, Tehachapi, California, USA https://BrownMath.com/
Shikata ga nai...

On Wed, 9 Feb 2022 12:58:01 -0800, Stan Brown
<the_stan_brown@fastmail.fm> wrote:

>I'm following this thread, because I'm interested in the stated
>subject, a good spell checker.
>
>But I haven't seen any mention of spell checkers; the thread seems to
>be all about text-to-speech. Am I missing something?
>
>BTW, for plain text I use Vim's spell checker. It has a feature that
>e.g. Word seems to lack: you can mark a valid word to be flagged as
>possibly erroneous. I do this with words that i commonly mistype,
>such as "ting" for "thing".

It's not a spell checker, but you might want to use the free
AutoHotkey and have it correct words you commonly mistype. It can
automatically change "ting" to "thing" anywhere it finds it.

On Wed, 9 Feb 2022 12:58:01 -0800, Stan Brown wrote:

> But I haven't seen any mention of spell checkers; the thread seems to
> be all about text-to-speech. Am I missing something?

You bring up a good point; I apologize for my inadvertent tactical error.

Given Usenet is a team sport where each purposefully helpful person adds
value for their position, I apologize that I haven't compiled all the help
that was provided, where these are just some representative shots we created
while we were writing up the general purpose tutorial to help everyone.

Given I'm the initiator of the topic, the onus is upon me to respond to all
but the trolls, where I have created for you and for others representative
shots which show each of the four discussed GUIs in further detail.
<https://i.postimg.cc/Pf6k82q2/spell01.jpg> balabolka GUI in use
<https://i.postimg.cc/T1xdhDnP/spell02.jpg> espeak/ttsapp GUI in use
<https://i.postimg.cc/T2j2FtX5/spell03.jpg> gvim spellchecker in use
<https://i.postimg.cc/159RQD9C/spell04.jpg> tinyspell settings GUI

Having not prior published those screenshots created for the tutorial,
I also apologize for my hasty typing of the subject line, where it's purely
my fault that there is confusion around spell checking & spell "learning".

Note I don't have screenshots of my extensive tests of Herbert's kind and
very detailed and conscientious help, as I couldn't get it to work yet.
I spent _hours_ on his detailed suggestions, but alas, I'm not a good coder.

The good news is the trolls forsook this thread (so far anyway), so we were
able to learn from multiple purposefully helpful people who pitched in, and
indeed, a free spell-checking utility _was_ discussed; but not everyone was
on that tangent at the time it was discussed, as shown below with a C&P...

tinySpell Revision 1.9.64 August 2021
For Windows 7/8/10
https://www.tinyspell.com/
https://www.tinyspell.com/#download
{exe, zip, portable}
C:\Program Files (x86)\tinySpell

Note that it is a dumb program installer that doesn't ask where it belongs.

Occasionally you need to check spelling in an application that does not
include a spelling checker and you don't want to launch your word processor
just for that. This is when tinySpell becomes handy. It is a small utility
that allows you to easily and quickly check and correct the spelling in any
Windows application.

tinySpell can watch your typing on the fly and alert you whenever it detects
a misspelled word.

It can also check the spelling of text that you copy to the clipboard.
tinySpell installs itself in the taskbar notification area for easy access.

Note that tinyspell makes a mess of gvim editing though, which is becuase it
inserts an extra keystroke, so either get used to that addition or figure
out a way around it (I haven't tried to solve it yet though).

> BTW, for plain text I use Vim's spell checker. It has a feature that
> e.g. Word seems to lack: you can mark a valid word to be flagged as
> possibly erroneous. I do this with words that i commonly mistype,
> such as "ting" for "thing".

I also use gvim for all my editing tasks, even for my Usenet posts.

Here's where I keep gvim, but be advised it makes a messy hierarchy:
ARCHIVE: c:\archives\editors\text\vim\
INSTALL: c:\apps\editors\text\vim\{vim insists on two folder levels}
TASKBAR: c:\menus\editors\text\vim.lnk <== this is rarely exercised

I'm well aware of the built-in spell-checker capability inside of gvim.
:set spell
But others may not be aware that gvim has a ":set spell" option.
So it's _wonderful_ that you pitched in to volunteer that extra advice.

The gvim editor redsquiggles all misspelled words in the file being edited.
a. In Gvim you rightclick on a redsquiggled word
b. That gives you a pullout menu with three main options
Change "pliars" to >
Add "pliars" to Word List
Ignore "pliars"
c. Hitting the further pullout on the top gives you a choice
pliers

See this screenshot I just made for you and for everyone else to benefit.
<https://i.postimg.cc/T2j2FtX5/spell03.jpg> gvim spellchecker in use

Those turd files drive me nuts, so I've changed them in the _vimrc file.
(This is cut out from my gvim tutorial posted elsewhere in the past.)

a. Find out the $VIMRUNTIME variable value inside of any vim session
<esc><:>echo $VIMRUNTIME
Mine reported: C:\app\editor\txt\vim\vim82

b. Then add this line to the _vimrc file
NOTE: The vimrc is usually located at "C:\app\editor\txt\vim\_vimrc"
source $VIMRUNTIME/my_vimrc_changes.vim

c. Then edit your my_vimrc_changes.vim
vim C:\app\editor\txt\vim\vim82\my_vimrc_changes.vim

And put these lines in there:
set directory=C:\\tmp\vim\directory//,%TMP%,C:\WINDOWS\Temp//,$HOME,.
set backupdir=C:\\tmp\vim\backupdir//,%TMP%,C:\WINDOWS\Temp//,$HOME,.
set undodir=C:\\tmp\vim\undodir//,%TMP%,C:\WINDOWS\Temp//,$HOME,.
--
Every thread to Usenet should add value so that everyone always benefits
from kind-hearted helpful people (although the trolls hate that fact).

On 10.02.2022 00:06, Andy Burnelli wrote:

> Note I don't have screenshots of my extensive tests of Herbert's kind and
> very detailed and conscientious help, as I couldn't get it to work yet.
> I spent_hours_ on his detailed suggestions, but alas, I'm not a good coder.

Just save the code below in a file called "spell.bat" in the same
directory where you have stored your "spell.txt" file containing
the list of words. Then start spell.bat, either be a double click
in explorer or open a cmd window, "cd" to this directory and
type spell.bat. Then just wait a few seconds until the reading
starts. But it only works in 64 bit Windows because there
seems to be no 32 bit version of the Microsoft screen reader.

@echo off
if [%1]==[] goto :l1
for /f %%i in (spell.txt) do (
echo %%i
timeout /t 4 >nul)
exit

:l1
set p=
if exist %windir%\SysNative\cmd.exe set p=%windir%\SysNative\cmd.exe /c start ""
start "" %p% /min %windir%\system32\narrator.exe
timeout /t 4 >nul
start "" "%~f0" xxx
exit

As an alternative you can start the Microsoft screen reader manually
by using the hotkey <WIN>>CTRL><RETURN> and then only use
the first part of the above code to feed every 4 seconds
a word from spell.txt to the screen reader.

@echo off
for /f %%i in (spell.txt) do (
echo %%i
timeout /t 4 >nul)

On Thu, 10 Feb 2022 11:56:01 +0100
Herbert Kleebauer <klee@unibwm.de> wrote:

> On 10.02.2022 00:06, Andy Burnelli wrote:
>
> > Note I don't have screenshots of my extensive tests of Herbert's kind and
> > very detailed and conscientious help, as I couldn't get it to work yet.
> > I spent_hours_ on his detailed suggestions, but alas, I'm not a good coder.
>
> Just save the code below in a file called "spell.bat" in the same
> directory where you have stored your "spell.txt" file containing
> the list of words. Then start spell.bat, either be a double click
> in explorer or open a cmd window, "cd" to this directory and
> type spell.bat. Then just wait a few seconds until the reading
> starts. But it only works in 64 bit Windows because there
> seems to be no 32 bit version of the Microsoft reader.
>
Oh? there is on my (32bit) XP machine; but it only "says" each letter, not words, AFAICT

Ah, it does say "Foreground Window [the subject line] - Compose *
(which is the window title)

(but I can't see how to say selected text)
>
>

--
Bah, and indeed Humbug.

On Wed, 09 Feb 2022 14:14:56 -0700, Ken Blake wrote:
>
> On Wed, 9 Feb 2022 12:58:01 -0800, Stan Brown
> <the_stan_brown@fastmail.fm> wrote:

> >BTW, for plain text I use Vim's spell checker. It has a feature that
> >e.g. Word seems to lack: you can mark a valid word to be flagged as
> >possibly erroneous. I do this with words that i commonly mistype,
> >such as "ting" for "thing".
>
> It's not a spell checker, but you might want to use the free
> AutoHotkey and have it correct words you commonly mistype. It can
> automatically change "ting" to "thing" anywhere it finds it.

Great minds think alike. I've done that for years. It's effective
when I'm typing, but not when text comes in from OCR or other means.

--
Stan Brown, Tehachapi, California, USA https://BrownMath.com/
Shikata ga nai...

On Wed, 9 Feb 2022 23:06:19 -0000 (UTC), Andy Burnelli wrote:
> On Wed, 9 Feb 2022 12:58:01 -0800, Stan Brown wrote:
>
> > But I haven't seen any mention of spell checkers; the thread seems to
> > be all about text-to-speech. Am I missing something?
>
> You bring up a good point; I apologize for my inadvertent tactical error.
> [big snip by Stan]

Thanks, Andy, for that recap!

--
Stan Brown, Tehachapi, California, USA https://BrownMath.com/
Shikata ga nai...

On 10.02.2022 16:49, Kerr-Mudd, John wrote:

>> starts. But it only works in 64 bit Windows because there
>> seems to be no 32 bit version of the Microsoft reader.
>>
> Oh? there is on my (32bit) XP machine; but it only "says" each letter, not words, AFAICT
>
> Ah, it does say "Foreground Window [the subject line] - Compose *
> (which is the window title)
>
> (but I can't see how to say selected text)

It should read the text in the foreground window. Therefore
I added a 4 second delay between starting the reader and
starting the cmd window which echoes the words. This should
allow the reader to finish loading before the cmd window
is opened, which makes the cmd window topmost. On a very slow
computer maybe you should increase this delay time. Alternatively
you can just click on the cmd window to make it topmost after
the speech starts.

start "" %p% /min %windir%\system32\narrator.exe
timeout /t 4 >nul
start "" "%~f0" xxx
exit

On Thu, 10 Feb 2022 08:13:03 -0800, Stan Brown wrote:

> Thanks, Andy, for that recap!

What came in on another offshoot was this post, which followed up on my
first tests (three days ago) of Herbert's very kind & detailed advice.

(begin copy of post from JJ earlier today)
On Thu, 10 Feb 2022 15:06:52 +0700, JJ wrote:
> On Mon, 7 Feb 2022 03:44:24 -0000 (UTC), Andy Burnelli wrote:
>
> @echo off
> if [%1]==[] goto :l1
> for /f %%i in (spell.txt) do (
> echo %%i
> timeout /t 4 >nul)
> exit
>
> :l1
> start /min %windir%\system32\narrator.exe
> timeout /t 4 >nul
> start "" "%~f0" xxx
> exit
>
> The use model is to feed the tool a text file with one word per line.
> The tool would speak the word and give the user time to write it down.
> Somehow the user would check if he spelled it right (visually?)
> Then the tool would move on to the next spoken word in the file.

Windows built in TTS can be automated using at least VBScript.
It can be combined with a batch file if you're not familiar with VBScript.

@echo off
setlocal
set tf="%temp%\speak.vbs"
echo createobject("sapi.spvoice").speak wsh.arguments(0)>%tf%
for /f "delims=" %%i in (spell.txt) do (
echo %%i
cscript //nologo %tf% "%%i"
)
del %tf%
timeout 2 >nul
exit

(end copy of post from JJ today)

--
Every post to Usenet should strive to be a team sport value addition.

On Thu, 10 Feb 2022 18:06:38 +0100
Herbert Kleebauer <klee@unibwm.de> wrote:

> On 10.02.2022 16:49, Kerr-Mudd, John wrote:
>
> >> starts. But it only works in 64 bit Windows because there
> >> seems to be no 32 bit version of the Microsoft reader.
> >>
> > Oh? there is on my (32bit) XP machine; but it only "says" each letter, not words, AFAICT
> >
> > Ah, it does say "Foreground Window [the subject line] - Compose *
> > (which is the window title)
> >
> > (but I can't see how to say selected text)
>
> It should read the text in the foreground window. Therefore
[]

Well the version I have on XP seems to not read the text displayed in a cmd box, just it's title.
(I had to replace 'SysNative' with olde 'system32')

> I added a 4 second delay between starting the reader and
[]
I increased the delays, and got a cmd window showing the first word of each line in my spell.txt, but narrator doesn't pick them up. It *is* only version 1.5 !

Ah well. Not to worry.

>

WAUE, W10 groups dropped

--
Bah, and indeed Humbug.

On 10.02.2022 18:35, Andy Burnelli wrote:
> On Thu, 10 Feb 2022 08:13:03 -0800, Stan Brown wrote:

> Windows built in TTS can be automated using at least VBScript.
> It can be combined with a batch file if you're not familiar with VBScript.
>
> @echo off
> setlocal
> set tf="%temp%\speak.vbs"

Based on that, here a version which speaks a word and you
have to type the word (if it is wrong, you have one retry).
It's up to you, to add code for statistics and to prefer
words which have been spelled wrong in the past.

@echo off
MODE CON: COLS=50 LINES=10
color f0
cls
echo createobject("sapi.spvoice").speak wsh.arguments(0)>speak.vbs
for /f "delims=" %%i in (spell.txt) do call :sub %%i
del speak.vbs
echo.
goto :eof

:sub
echo.
set /a n=0
:sub1
set /a n=n+1
if %n%==3 echo ---------- %*&goto :eof
cscript //nologo speak.vbs "%*"
set a=
set /p a=
if /i not "%*"=="%a%" goto :sub1

On Thu, 10 Feb 2022 20:32:17 +0100, Herbert Kleebauer wrote:

> Based on that, here a version which speaks a word and you
> have to type the word (if it is wrong, you have one retry).
> It's up to you, to add code for statistics and to prefer
> words which have been spelled wrong in the past.

OMG! Thank you! On behalf of me, and for all people who wish to
_efficiently_ remember how to spell words they themselves misspelled!
<https://i.postimg.cc/hPcwgMnB/spell06.jpg> Fantastic spelltest GUI!
<https://i.postimg.cc/5NPBCrqm/spell05.jpg> Windows TTS visual basic script
<https://i.postimg.cc/159RQD9C/spell04.jpg> TinySpell free spellchecker
<https://i.postimg.cc/T2j2FtX5/spell03.jpg> Gvim spellchecker in use
<https://i.postimg.cc/T1xdhDnP/spell02.jpg> Espeak/TTSapp GUI in use
<https://i.postimg.cc/Pf6k82q2/spell01.jpg> Balabolka GUI in use

[EDIT] This post is written to be used as its own tutorial which anyone
should be able to follow step by step, to have this running in minutes.

This thread is a perfect example of all that is good with Usenet today!
a. Kind-hearted purposefully helpful knowledgeable people
b. Solving a problem that everyone has so it's of general use to all
c. Each person pitching in as a team mate when and where they add value

The strategic goal has been achieved!
a. Learn using audio cues while typing the answers to the quiz
b. Seeing both what is typed and, if typed wrong, what the correct answer is
c. Without _looking_ first (i.e., you hear it, type it, and then you see it)!

Perfect!
It's a perfect learning tool now.

Efficient.
(Very clearly please note if it's not efficient, it's not going to be done.)
It's just not.

At this point, it's two commands:
1. Run > spell
2. Run > spelltest

That's it.
Nothing else is needed to be done by the user!

It's that efficient!
Kewl!

I have to admit the previous "narrator" tests were troublesome because
the narrator would speak, at least on my system, whatever Windows wanted
it to speak, but that was filled with background notifications too. :(

So, if, for example, I was downloading a file in the background,
the narrator spoke that even as I was in the middle of it speaking
a list.

Especially since I'm not a coder (although I use what people create).

Herbert started with this audio challenge from JJ earlier today:
<https://i.postimg.cc/5NPBCrqm/spell05.jpg> Windows TTS visual basic script
Turning it into this audio/visual test/response script that is perfect!
<https://i.postimg.cc/hPcwgMnB/spell06.jpg> Fantastic spelltest GUI!

This helpful modification of yours, on the other hand, is _perfect_.
No longer do we need a pause between letters in the spell.txt file.
No longer do we need to have _both_ spellings in the spell.txt file.
No longer do we need to manually type separate letters into the file.
No longer do we need to fish around for the pause button.
No longer do we need to write it down on a separate piece of paper.

If desired, one can even find a list of commonly misspelled words.
They can use _that_ as their "spell.txt" (instead of what I use,
which is a list of only the words that I have personally misspelled
(which is already long enough, mind you).
The use model is _fantastic_ for _exactly_ what we're asking for here!
I believe it will be of general use to _everyone_ who cares about spelling!

Setup:
A. Modify the attached batch script to point to the full path to spell.txt.
B. Save the batch script anywhere under any name that makes sense to you.
INSTALL: c:\apps\databases\tts\spelltest.bat
USRMENU: Taskbar > menus > databases > tts > spelltest (rarely used)
COMMAND: Win+R > spelltest <== Note the "Run" icon is pinned to taskbar
DATFILE: c:\data\databases\tts\spell.txt
ARCHIVE: c:\archives\databases\tts\spelltest.bat.7z {includes a readme}
Note: Consider encrypting archives to keep them away from a-virus scans.
Note: Every archive _always_ gets a readme (often it's a Usenet thread).
B. Add any keyword to create a personal command in the Windows registry.
[HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths\spelltest.exe
@Default = c:\apps\databases\tts\spelltest.bat
D. Separately populate the spell.txt file with a log of your redsquiggles.
Win+R > spell <== Note this can be any keyword not already employed
Where that keyword has been previously defined in your Windows registry.
[HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths\spell.exe
@Default = c:\data\databases\tts\spell.txt

USEMODEL:
1. When you want to add a redsquiggled word to the spell.txt file, run:
{spell}
2. When you want to test yourself to improve your word memory, run:
{spelltest}
3. That will run the spelltest.bat script pointing to the spell.txt file.
a. A grey command window pops up
b. You will hear the first line spoken (which should be one word)
c. You _type_ the presumed spelling into that grey command box
d. You will have _two_ chances to get the correct spelling right
e. And you can _see_ what you are typing (which reinforces visual memory)
f. When you get both tries wrong - the results are pushed aside
g. So that the _correct_ answer stands out in your visual memory!
h. Later on you can copy the whole log using control+A control+C
i. And you can paste the results using Control+P to edit results
j. Leaving the results file of only the incorrect words for re-testing

This is great! Thank you Herbert Kleebauer for adding the testing stuff!

That matters because it's all about the strategy of _visual_ reinforcement!
a. You hear the word - but see nothing.
b. You type the word - and you see _only_ what you typed.
c. If you get it right - you move on to the next word.
d. If you get it wrong - you get a second chance to type it.
e. If you _still_ get it wrong - it will _show_ you where you were wrong!

Woo hoo!
This is fantastic.

The goal, always, is a tool that _everyone_ can use, that is general purpose
(so that it can be customized by the user, if desired) and which does the
job as efficiently as is humanly possible! <== efficiency is critical!
A. It has to be non visual (aka audio) for the test
B. But the test should be as visual as possible (which it is!).

Voila!
Great thanks to everyone, especially JJ & Herbert Kleebauer today alone,
but there were _many_ kind-hearted good natured people who pitched in!
--
Usenet is supposed to be a pleasant learning experience for all of us.

--- --- cut here for spelltest.bat --- ---
@echo off
MODE CON: COLS=50 LINES=10
color f0
cls
echo createobject("sapi.spvoice").speak wsh.arguments(0)>speak.vbs
REM Please modify the next line for your spell.txt filespec
for /f "delims=" %%i in (c:\data\databases\tts\spellcheck\spell.txt) do call :sub %%i
del speak.vbs
echo.
goto :eof
REM
:sub
echo.
set /a n=0
:sub1
set /a n=n+1
if %n%==3 echo ---------- %*&goto :eof
cscript //nologo speak.vbs "%*"
set a=
set /p a=
if /i not "%*"=="%a%" goto :sub1
--- --- cut here for spelltest.bat --- ---

--- --- cut here for a sample spell.txt --- ---
Afghani
abscissa
accommodations
anomaly
annihilate
appalled
assessments
bureaucracy
clientele
colloquial
commingled
concomittent
credulity
debuted
de rigueur
discretion
disparage
disastrous
duplicitous
egregious
imbue
eminently
echelon
extol
foresee
foreseeable
gaffe
hors d'oeuvres
immiscible
inherited
masquerading
mayonnaise
medieval
methodically
paraplegic
phenomenal
pliers
preceded
programmatically
semblance
shish kebab
symmetric
tragedy
ubiquitous
Vallejo
viscous
--- --- cut here for a sample spell.txt --- ---

On 11.02.2022 00:48, Andy Burnelli wrote:
> Setup:
> A. Modify the attached batch script to point to the full path to spell.txt.
> B. Save the batch script anywhere under any name that makes sense to you.
> INSTALL: c:\apps\databases\tts\spelltest.bat
> USRMENU: Taskbar > menus > databases > tts > spelltest (rarely used)
> COMMAND: Win+R > spelltest <== Note the "Run" icon is pinned to taskbar
> DATFILE: c:\data\databases\tts\spell.txt
> ARCHIVE: c:\archives\databases\tts\spelltest.bat.7z {includes a readme}
> Note: Consider encrypting archives to keep them away from a-virus scans.
> Note: Every archive_always_ gets a readme (often it's a Usenet thread).
> B. Add any keyword to create a personal command in the Windows registry.
> [HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths\spelltest.exe
> @Default = c:\apps\databases\tts\spelltest.bat
> D. Separately populate the spell.txt file with a log of your redsquiggles.
> Win+R > spell <== Note this can be any keyword not already employed
> Where that keyword has been previously defined in your Windows registry.
> [HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths\spell.exe
> @Default = c:\data\databases\tts\spell.txt

Isn't that a bit to complicated for such a simple script? Just copy
spell.bat together with spell.txt in any directory you like. Then put
a link to spell.bat on the desktop (drag it with the <ALT> key pressed
to the desktop). In the property of the link you can select the font and,
much more important, the font size you prefer.

On Fri, 11 Feb 2022 01:29:03 +0100, Herbert Kleebauer wrote:

> Isn't that a bit to complicated for such a simple script?

Yes.

Yours is a valid observation, where I see your simplification below.

As you would likely infer, I, like you I'm sure, would rather _not_ be
forced to need to specify the full path to the spell.txt file inside the
spelltest.bat script (because then it's not portable to everyone
automatically).

However...

The problem I had was my "finger-memory" use model employs about a hundred
(or so) keywords in the registry AppPaths key, where I use the "RUN" icon
attached to the top of my task bar all day, every day, hundreds of times.
RUN > keyword

The problem with using the Windows AppPaths registry key was that, by that
method, I couldn't get the spelltest.bat file to _find_ the spell.txt file
even if _both_ spell.txt & the spelltest.bat were found in the same
directory. Sigh. (Did I mention I'm not a coder type person yet?)

When the registry AppPaths key runs, the default seems to be the %comspec%
as far as I can tell, so the spelltest.bat was looking for spell.txt here:
c:\windows\system32\.
I think.

Thinking about it with the hat of a person writing a general purpose tool
though, I easily agree with you that your shortcut method is far more
intuitive to most people than my method (honed since WinXP days) of using
the AppPaths registry key to make every command I use often to be always
just one keyword away at all times:
Taskbar:Run > keyword

> Just copy
> spell.bat together with spell.txt in any directory you like. Then put
> a link to spell.bat on the desktop

While nothing ever goes on _my_ desktop other than "My PC" & a "Recycle"
bin, I get it that the general user can put the shortcut in their Start Menu
or pin it to their taskbar (so the desktop is just one of many locations).

I did what you suggested, only, of course, I put it where it belongs, in:
c:\menus\databases\tts\spelltest.lnk
Which is a folder hierarchy that is pinned to the taskbar as a pullout menu.
This way it is _also_ available to me via my accordion-style cascade menu:
Taskbar:menus > databases > tts > spelltest

Note: "Where it belongs" is a personal thing where it's the same as where
your knives, forks, and spoons belong. They have a place in every kitchen
where each and every one of us knows _exactly_ where they belong, don't we?]

Note: I never use filespec plurals but I added them for general readability.

> (drag it with the <ALT> key pressed to the desktop).
Niiiiiice! I didn't know about that "alt-drag" trick.
a. Rightclick-drag-bat-to-desktop > Create shortcuts here
b. Alt+Leftclick-drag-bat-to-desktop

> In the property of the link you can select the font and,
> much more important, the font size you prefer.

I am happy you realize the fontsize is critical, because the name of the
game is to visually reinforce that which you hear for a learning process.

While I always find and or create a custom icon for all my batch scripts,
I wasn't aware you could change the resultant font so thanks for that.

The need to be _visual_ after the audio is critical for the visual memory to
work so 'hugifying the fonts is a good idea... only in my quick test, it
forced the grey command window to be in a corner that was _under_ the
taskbar (so I had to _move_ the grey type-in window every time).

Can the grey type-in window be auto-positioned further from the taskbar when
the user changes the fonts to a larger font? (I had used Courier New, 36)?
--
Regarding custom icons for the spelltest.bat shortcut, I looked here:
<https://www.flaticon.com/search?word=spelling&type=icon>
Where any of these might be a decent icon, don't you think?
<https://www.flaticon.com/premium-icon/spelling-bee_3819659>
<https://www.flaticon.com/premium-icon/spell-check_3682488>
<https://www.flaticon.com/premium-icon/spell-check_2901269>
<https://www.flaticon.com/premium-icon/spell-check_4426506>
<https://www.flaticon.com/premium-icon/spell-check_4426288>

The astute reader may note, for example, the custom "killswitch" icon I have
just below the taskbar RUN icon, and the "killapps" icon just below that.
<https://i.postimg.cc/hPcwgMnB/spell06.jpg> Note the custom batch icons!
Maybe people noticed the customized clock display on the bottom?
And the lack of space-wasting Cortana and Notification icons.
The taskbar is on a side as up:down space is more precious than side:side.

On 11.02.2022 02:44, Andy Burnelli wrote:

> The problem with using the Windows AppPaths registry key was that, by that
> method, I couldn't get the spelltest.bat file to _find_ the spell.txt file
> even if _both_ spell.txt & the spelltest.bat were found in the same
> directory. Sigh. (Did I mention I'm not a coder type person yet?)

Then you also should use the %temp% directory to create
the vbs file as it was done in the original post (I prefer
a different order scheme for my files).

>> In the property of the link you can select the font and,
>> much more important, the font size you prefer.

> forced the grey command window to be in a corner that was _under_ the
> taskbar (so I had to _move_ the grey type-in window every time).

In the properties of the link you can also specify the window position.
If you also use it to specify the window size and color, you have to remove

MODE CON: COLS=50 LINES=10 -> sets the size of the window to 50x10
color f0 -> sets the color of the window to black on white

from the batch code.