Preface: Who is this manual for? *

What is a virtual text? *

What is a VTR? *

What is a stylus? *

Introducing the Athenaeum VTR *

How do I access virtual text with my Athenaeum VTR? *

Can I make copies of virtual books for all my friends? *

Selecting a text from the removable library cartridge *

Viewing a Virtual Text *

Using the dictionary function *

Highlighting Text *

Making Notes in the Text *

Troubleshooting *

Glossary 15

Index 16

Preface: Who is this manual for?

This manual is designed to help new Virtual Text Reader (VTR) owners use the many features and functions of their Athenaeum VTR. It is assumed that the reader of this manual has never used a VTR before, although even experienced users will find this manual to be a useful reference guide during the operation of their VTR.

 

 

 

Section 1: Introducing the Virtual Text Reader

A virtual text contains the same written content and information found in paper-based documents such as books, magazines, newspapers, periodicals, and textbooks. A virtual text is stored in the electronic format of a computer file that can be read by the user on the screen of a computer. The advantage of virtual texts over paper-based are numerous and far-reaching.

Virtual texts do not use paper; thus eliminating paper waste and the need of large amounts of physical space to store books and documents.

Virtual texts are stored electronically, therefore they do not physically decay with time as paper-based books do.

 

Scholars and lay-people, worldwide, can have access to virtual texts of fragile historical documents and books without the fear of damaging the original paper text.

Since virtual texts can be transmitted over the Internet, virtual libraries, archives, and bookstores on the World Wide Web offer scholars and bibliophiles a potentially limitless range of reading choices from anywhere in the world.

 

A Virtual Text Reader (VTR) is a durable and easy to use hand-held viewer for virtual books, magazines, newspapers, periodicals, and textbooks. A VTR is roughly the size and weight of a typical paper-based book. On the front of the VTR is a computer screen that displays the virtual texts that are stored in the removable library cartridge of the unit. The front of the unit also has numerous buttons for moving through and manipulating the text being read. A pen-like stylus, included with the Athenaeum VTR, allows the user to highlight text as well as append notes to particular parts of the text being read.

 

A stylus is the pen-like device that came with your VTR. As you may have already noticed, this pen will not write on paper since it does not have ink like a standard pen. Instead, this pen has a soft tip that allows you to write on the surface of the touch-sensitive VTR screen without damaging the screen. The stylus is an easy way to make handwritten notes in the margins of the text being read. The stylus also allows the user to easily highlight the text being read. The stylus can also be using like a mouse on a personal computer for activating VTR functions and opening texts found in the library cartridge.

WARNING: Never use an ordinary pencil or pen to write on your VTR. Permanent damage can result.

 

The picture below shows the Athenaeum VTR with the various function buttons.

 

 

Figure 1: VTR Overview

How do I access virtual text with my Athenaeum VTR?

Virtual texts are immediately accessible from removable library cartridges that contain your own personal virtual library of reading materials. The Athenaeum VTR also gives you access to virtual libraries, archives, and bookstores around the world via an internal modem on the VTR. These texts are then stored on the removable cartridge of your VTR. Up to 100000 pages of text can be stored on a single cartridge. If the removable cartridge ever runs low on memory, you will have the choice of either inserting a new cartridge in your VTR or deleting an existing text currently on the cartridge.

 

Can I make copies of virtual books for all my friends?

In order to protect the copyright of virtual texts, it is not possible to copy virtual texts. In addition, without special software and hardware modifications provided by Athenaeum Corporation, a VTR will only read its own removable cartridge. In other words, you cannot use a memory cartridge from another VTR nor will the cartridge of your VTR work in different VTR.

 

To view a virtual text, first insert the library cartridge into the VTR. The VTR screen will turn on automatically when the library cartridge is fully inserted.

The 2-inch square cartridge that came with the VTR is similar in function to floppy disks you may have encountered when using a personal computer. You will find the VTR cartridge slot at the top of the VTR (refer to figure 1 for the general location of this slot)

When inserting the library cartridge into the VTR, make sure the label of the cartridge is facing the same direction as the VTR screen. Make note of the directional arrows on the label of the cartridge for proper orientation (the arrows on the label should point toward the VTR).

After the cartridge is correctly inserted, the VTR screen will show the contents of the library cartridge as in the example below.

Use the Page Turning Buttons on the VTR (refer to Figure 1) to scroll through the displayed texts until you find the text you are interested in viewing.

Note: In Figure 2, you can tell that more titles exist on the cartridge than the screen can display, because the word "More" is highlighted in red at the bottom of the VTR screen. The arrow next to the red "More" indicates the direction you may scroll for further titles.

Select the text you wish to read by highlighting the title and author of the text with the tip of the stylus.

For example, in the figure below we have selected the text called Getting Started with Your Virtual Text Reader.

Figure 3: Selecting a text to read

Press the Library Access Button (refer to Figure 1). The text you selected will open for you to read, as in the example below:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 4: First page of selected text as seen VTR screen

Note: If you wish to view a different text in the library cartridge, you can always return to the list of texts in the cartridge by pressing the Library Access Button. The text you are currently reading will be closed. If you open this text up again, you will return to the page you were at when you pressed the Library Access Button.

 

Once a text is opened, page turning is done with the Page Turning Buttons shown in Figure 1.

Keep the following things in mind:

In some virtual texts you may encounter, the table of contents page will have hyperlinks to the different sections or chapters of the text that are listed in the table of contents. When you are viewing the Table of Contents of such a book, you can touch the tip of the stylus to the section or chapter of interest as listed in the Table of Contents, and the VTR will immediately jump to that part of the text.

Holding one of the Page Turning Buttons continuously for more than 3 seconds will cause the VTR to start paging through the text in 10 page intervals. This feature allows the reader to move rapidly through a text.

Pressing the Library Access Button inserts a bookmark in the text being read before returning you to the lists of texts contained in the library cartridge. If you re-open the text later, the text will open to the page you were on before you pressed the Library Access Button.

Your VTR contains a Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary. You can look up words in your dictionary by following the steps below.

Press the Dictionary Button (refer to Figure 1).

Highlight the word you want to look up on your VTR by using the tip of your stylus. The dictionary definition will appear on the screen.

Use the Page Turning Buttons to view the entire dictionary definition if the definition is more than one page long.

After you are finished reading the definition, press the Dictionary Button again to close the dictionary display and return to the text you were reading.

 

If you are reading a text, and you wish to mark a particular section of the text, you can use the highlight function of your VTR.

Press the Highlight Button as shown in Figure 1 to activate the highlight function.

Use the tip of the stylus on the VTR screen to highlight the displayed passage of text that you are interested in marking.

Press the Highlight Button again to deactivate the highlight function.

Notes:

The highlighted passage will remain highlighted even if you turn off your VTR.

The only way to remove pre-existing highlights is to highlight them again by following steps 1 through 3 above. If you highlight an already highlighted passage of a text, doing so will remove the highlights from the passage.

You can make a note at anytime during the reading of a virtual text by following the steps below:

Press the Note Button on your VTR (refer to Figure 1).

Touch the tip of the stylus to the part of the text where you would like to attach the note.

Note: Make sure you touch the display of the text exactly where you wish the note to be placed. For example, in the VTR page shown below, we will place a note in the margin of the text immediately after "Who is this manual for?"

 

Using your stylus, write your note in the yellow note box that appears on the VTR screen. Keep your handwriting within the yellow note box. Your handwriting is immediately converted to typed text.

Figure 6: Writing the Note

Press the Note Button after you are finished writing your note. A yellow note icon will now appear in the text at the location your selected for the note in step 2.

Notes:

If you wish to read a note you made in the text, touch the yellow note icon in the text with your stylus, and the note will open. Close it again by pressing the Note Button on your VTR.

Words in a note can be deleted by drawing a line through the word. Keep in mind that if you delete all the words in a note, the note will no longer exist.

Notes are saved in the text even after the power is turned off.

 

 

Troubleshooting

Glossary

Highlight Button A button on the VTR that is used to activate the highlight function. Refer to Figure 1.

Note Button A button on the VTR that is used to attach notes to the virtual text being read. Refer to Figure 1.

Index