For Avaz ver 8.0+
Getting Started
Basics
1. Set up your GRID
- Menu > Settings > Picture Grid Settings
2. Set up your THEME
- Menu > Settings > Theme
3. Change your app LANGUAGE
- Menu > Settings > Languages > Change Language
4. Set up your VOICE
- Menu > Settings > Voice > Voice > Select from one of the default/premium voices > configure Voice speed and/or pitch
5. Choose a VOICE FOR EXPRESSIVE TONES
- Menu > Settings > Voice > Voice > Expressive Voices
6. Stop my app from speaking functional keys
- Menu > Settings > Voice > What to Speak > Speak Words/Speak only message box
Back-ups
1. Create and manage BACK-UPS
- Menu > Settings > Back-up & Restore
2. Create STUDENT PROFILES using back-ups
- Menu > Settings > Back-up & Restore > Create New Backup
- Use the student name and date to create a backup. Under Your Backups, the student profile will be visible — tap on it:
- Replace will set the app to the respective student profile
- Share will show you options to share via email/drive/airdrop
3. Link your account to the cloud to AUTOMATICALLY SYNC BACK-UPS
- Menu > Settings > Backup & Restore > Securely save your backups to the cloud
4. Set up AUTO BACK-UP
- Menu > Settings > Manage Auto Backups > Turn on > Set Interval
Navigation & Access
1. Set up your SIDE NAVIGATION MENU
- Menu > Settings > Picture Grid Settings > Change Side Navigation Bar
- Turn Off/Shift to Left or Right
- Select/Deselect Buttons on the Bar
- Program the Favourites Button to Point to Any Folder
2. Set up your FAVORITE FOLDER in the side navigation menu
- Menu > Settings > Picture Grid Settings > Change Side Navigation Bar > Favorites > Change Folder
3. Set up the ZOOM FEATURE based on the user's preference
- Menu > Settings > Picture Grid > Enlarge Word on Selection (listed under Picture Settings (Behavior))
4. Set up a PASSWORD to lock editing and customizing the app
- Menu > Settings > General > Password Protection > Set Password
Customizing Icons and Words
1. Add a NEW WORD
- Menu > Edit > +Add New / Tap '+' (on the grid) > Word
2. Create a NEW FOLDER/CATEGORY for words
- Menu > Edit > +Add New > Folder
3. Change the GRID SIZE OF THE FOLDER
- Menu > Edit > Double Tap on the folder > Folder Options (top right corner) > Pictures per screen
4. Add MULTIPLE WORDS at once
- Menu > Edit > +Add Many words at once
5. EDIT/DELETE an existing word/icon
- Menu > Edit > Tap on the word > Change/Hide/Delete
6. Add CUSTOM AUDIO to an icon
- Menu > Edit > Tap on the word > Change > Use the icons below 'Speak As' for phonetic pronunciation, record, or upload audio
7. HIDE/UNHIDE THE IMAGE on an icon
- Menu > Edit > Tap on the word > Change > Show Picture / Hide Picture
8. Add CUSTOM IMAGES/GIF to an icon
- Menu > Edit > Tap on the word > Change > Change Picture > Select from Camera/images on device/SymbolStix symbols/web/GIF
9. Set a specific LOOP COUNT FOR GIF
- Menu > Edit > Tap on the word > Change > Change Picture > Select GIF > GIF Loop Count
10. Set a YOUTUBE VIDEO for an icon
- Menu > Edit > Tap on the word > Change > Advanced (top) > Actions (left) > Add Action > YouTube
Enhancing the Experience
Jump
1. Return to the PREVIOUS FOLDER automatically
- Menu > Edit > Double Tap on the Folder > Folder Options (top right corner) > Turn On Auto Back
2. Return to the HOME PAGE automatically
- Menu > Settings > Picture Grid Settings > Toggle ON Auto Home each time (listed under Picture Settings (Behavior))
3. Make a button JUMP TO ANOTHER FOLDER/PAGESET
- Menu > Edit > Tap on the word > Change > Advanced (top) > Actions (left) > Add Action > Jump to Page > Choose the target folder
Show Stoppers
1. LINK AN EXISTING FOLDER to any pageset
- Menu > Edit > +Add New > Link an existing folder
2. HIDE SELECTED WORDS in a linked folder
- Menu > Edit > Tap to select the words you want to hide > Hide (top panel) > Select 'Only Here'
3. Hide selected words in a FROZEN ROW FOLDER when in a particular pageset
- Tap on the frozen row folder from the pageset (e.g., tap on Actions from Food) > Menu > Edit > Tap to select the words you want to hide > Hide (top panel) > Select 'Only Here'
Message Box
1. SHARE A MESSAGE from the message box
- Construct a message > Tap the Share icon on the message box
2. AUTO-CLEAR the message box
- Menu > Settings > Message Box > Auto Clear Message Box
Keyboard
1. SAVE PRE-MADE PHRASES on the Keyboard
- Keyboard > Construct a message > Save (bottom left) > Choose existing category / Create New Folder
2. Change PREDICTION SETTINGS on the Keyboard
- Menu > Settings > Keyboard > Prediction
3. Change the KEYBOARD LAYOUT
- Menu > Settings > Keyboard > Layout
4. HIGHLIGHT VOWELS on the keyboard
- Menu > Settings > Keyboard > Layout > Toggle Highlight Vowels
Feature Spotlight: What Does It Do?
1. What does AUTO BACK do?
- Once Auto Back is enabled, the app will automatically return to the previous folder after selecting a word or item from the current folder.
2. What does a LINKED FOLDER do?
- A Linked Folder allows you to link an existing folder relevant to the topic of conversation within another pageset. This reduces the number of navigational taps needed to access it. A Linked Folder also enables you to hide words that are not relevant to that specific pageset or topic of conversation, improving efficiency and reducing cognitive load.
3. What does FROZEN ROW do?
- The Frozen Row is a tray of folders or word categories containing the most frequently used words in everyday communication. It's available on every page, helping to reduce the number of taps required to access high-frequency words. Folders in the Frozen Row allow you to hide or unhide words specific to the pageset they're in, further improving efficiency and minimizing the cognitive load of scanning for specific words.
4. What does JUMP TO PAGE do?
- Jump to Page allows an icon to directly navigate to a target folder dynamically, improving communication speed by reducing the number of navigational taps. For example, a "Happy Birthday" icon can directly jump to the People folder, or a "Go" icon can jump to the Places folder.
5. What do the TOUCH ACCOMMODATION SETTINGS do?
- Touch Accommodations is an accessibility setting intended to help users with fine motor challenges.
- Select on Release (First finger down / Last finger up) — helps you choose which type of action should be considered a selection.
- Hold Duration — decides how long the touch should be held down to register a selection, improving selection accuracy.
- Ignore Repeat — decides the time duration the app will ignore repeated taps on an icon.
- Border Settings (Color, Thickness, Radius) — helps with additional visual feedback while navigating the screen, as well as differentiated color for the final selection.
6. What are the "SPECIAL INTEREST" and "MY GESTALTS" folders intended for?
- Special Interest is a folder available in the Frozen Row used to add words and phrases related to the communicator's special interests — anything they like, enjoy, or are fascinated by. This helps establish interest and a positive outlook toward their AAC device.
- My Gestalts is a folder for adding and storing the communicator's gestalts, scripts, or most-used phrases. Gestalts/scripts are personal to the communicator and hold high significance in their communication.
General
1. How to see the version number of the app?
- Tap Menu — the version number is shown at the bottom right corner of the menu panel.
2. How to contact Avaz support?
- email: support@avazapp.com
Note: Sections above cover Avaz ver 8+. Instructions for legacy versions below ver 6.6 have been retained separately in the article archive/history for users on older builds.
For Avaz ver 6.6+
Setting up Avaz (Settings)
1. How to change number of pictures per screen?
- Menu > Settings > Pictures per screen (Grid Size) = 1/ 2/ 3/ 4 ...
2. How to turn off/on the icon enlargement on tap?
- Menu > Settings > Enlarge Word on Selection
- Options : Don't enlarge, enlarge slowly, enlarge at normal speed, enlarge qucikly
3. How to lock the page and prevent swipe (for fine motor difficulties)?
- Menu > Settings > Swipe action to navigate = OFF
2. How to turn on contrast mode (helps visually impaired)?
- Menu > Settings > Theme = Light (Classic)/ Dark
4. How to change Home screen vocabulary level in picture mode?
- Menu > Settings > Home Screen Vocabulary > Root Screen, Level 1 / Level 2 / Level 3
Advanced Settings
5. How to turn on grammar options (morphological word variations)?
- Menu > Settings > Grammar = ON
6. How to turn Prediction off?
- Menu > Settings > Show Word forms in Picture Grid = OFF
7. How to turn off audio for folder names?
- Menu > Settings > What to Speak > Speak Words
8. How to turn off audio for action keys (e.g. Back / home /keyboard etc.)
- Menu > Settings > Audio Settings > Speak Action keys = OFF
9. How to add password for Settings and Edit?
- Menu > Settings > Password Protection > Set password
Personalizing Content
The picture content has to be personalized with images as per the child's environment and preferences
- e.g. photos of his family, friends, teachers, his familiar places, his favourite foods, activities, etc.
Note: This is the most important step to motivate children to get started with Avaz.
1. How to add a folder?
- Tap Menu > Edit Words > Tap Add New > Tap Folder
2. How to add new icons?
- Go to the folder that you want to add icons to.
- Tap Menu > Edit Words > Tap Add New >
- If you want to add many words together at one shot, Tap Add many words at once and add the items, separated by comma.
3. How to change existing text for a word in the picture vocabulary?
- Tap Menu > Edit > Tap the icon that you want to change, to select it.
- Tap Change button on the top
- Change the text in the Word field.
4. How to add your own photo / picture to an icon?
- Tap the Edit icon on top right corner.
- Tap the icon you want to edit .Tap the Change button.
- Tap the Photo icon and click your photo.
- Or you can tap the Gallery icon to choose a photo from your gallery.
- You can also add photos from the web by tapping the Web button, next to Symbols button.
- This fetches photos (copyright free) from the web. Pick the picture you want.
- Tap Done to save.
- Tap Menu > Edit Words.
- Tap the icon you want to edit to select it.
- Tap the Change button.
- There are 4 ways to add an image :
- To add a symbol from the symbols library, enter the word in Find Picture. Scroll to select a symbol.
- To click a photo from camera - tap the Camera icon.
- To select a photo from the device Gallery - tap the Gallery icon.
- To add photos from the web - tap the Internet button, next to Symbols button. Scroll to select a picture.
- Tap Done to save.
Note: Web search is only available on paid app and NOT trial version
5. How to record your own audio for an icon?
- Tap Menu > Edit Words.
- Tap the icon for which you want to record audio.
- At the bottom of the window, tap the red record button below the Speak As field.
- Speak to record your audio and tap the black Stop button to stop recording.
- Play back the audio with the Play button to check.
- Tap Done to save.
6. How to change background color of an icon?
- Tap the Menu > Edit Words.
- Tap to select the icon, for which you want to change the color.
- Tap the Change button.
- Choose the color from the Word Type dropdown menu.
- Tap Done to save.
Backing up and restoring Content
Note: It's very important to backup content after personalizing the content in the device.
1. How to take a backup and restore it from the device?
- To take a backup : Tap Menu > Settings > Backup & Restore > Create New backup.
- Give a name to the backup when prompted.
- To restore a backup: Tap Menu > Settings > Backup & Restore > Your Backups <Backup name>.
- Select the backup to restore. You are given 3 options:
- Select Replace if you want the backup to replace the existing vocabulary.
- Select Append if you want the backup to be appended or added to the existing vocabulary.
- Select Share if you want to share the backup to others, through apps already installed on your device (e.g. mail / Whatsapp etc.)
2. How to transfer content from one device to another?
In the Source device:
- Take a backup of the content (Menu > Settings > Backup & Restore > Create a new backup).
- Go to Menu > Settings > Backup & Restore > Link to Dropbox = ON.
- This transfers the backups from the device to Dropbox in the Cloud in a few minutes.
In the destination device:
- Menu > Settings > Backup & Restore > Link to Dropbox=ON
- Login to the SAME Dropbox account as used while connecting earlier from the source device.
- This syncs the content and transfers the backups from Dropbox to the device in a few minutes.
- Go to Menu > Settings > Backup & Restore > Your Backups > Tap the name of backup to restore.
3. How to reset vocabulary to default vocabulary?
- Menu > Settings > Backup & Restore > Restore default vocabulary
General
1. How to see version number of the app?
- Tap Menu and you will see the version number at the bottom right corner of the menu panel.
2. How to contact Avaz support ?
- email: support@avazapp.com
For Avaz less than ver 6.6
Setting up Avaz (Settings)
1. How to change number of pictures per screen?
- Settings > Pictures per screen = 1 / 2 / 3/ 4 ...
2. How to turn off/on the icon enlargement on tap?
- Settings > Zoom on select = OFF/ON
3. How to lock the page and prevent swipe (for fine motor difficulties)?
- Settings > Page swipe = OFF
2. How to turn on contrast mode (for visually impaired)?
- Settings > High Contrast = ON
4. How to change Home screen vocabulary level in picture mode?
- Settings > Home Screen > Level 1 / Level 2 / Level 3 / etc.
Advanced Settings
5. How to turn on grammar options (morph variations)?
- Settings > Grammar = ON
6. How to turn Prediction off?
- Settings > Prediction = OFF
7. How to turn off audio for folder names?
- Settings > What to Speak > Speak Words
8. How to turn off audio for action keys (e.g. Back / home /keyboard etc.)
- Settings > Speak Action keys = OFF
9. How to add password for Settings and Edit?
- Settings > Add password
Personalizing Content
The picture content has to be personalized with images as per the child's environment and preferences
- e.g. photos of his family, friends, teachers, his familiar places, his favourite foods, activities, etc.
Note: This is the most important step to motivate children to get started with Avaz.
1. How to add a folder?
- Tap Edit icon on top right corner > Tap Add New > Tap Add a new category
2. How to add new icons?
- Go to the folder that you want to add icons to.
- Tap Edit icon > Tap Add New > Tap Add many items together.
- Add the items, separated by comma.
3. How to change existing text for a word in the picture vocabulary?
- Tap Edit > Tap the icon that you want to change to select it.
- Tap Change button on the top right corner.
- Change the text in the Caption field.
4. How to add your own photo to an icon?
- Tap the Edit icon on top right corner.
- Tap the icon you want to edit .Tap the Change button.
- Tap the Photo icon and click your photo.
- Or you can tap the Gallery icon to choose a photo from your gallery.
- You can also add photos from the web by tapping the Web button, next to Symbols button.
- This fetches photos (copyright free) from the web. Pick the picture you want.
- Tap Done to save.
5. How to record your own audio for an icon?
- Tap the Edit icon on the top right corner.
- Tap the icon for which you want to record audio.
- At the bottom of the window, tap the red record button next to the Speak As field.
- Speak to record your audio and tap the black Stop button to stop recording.
- Play back the audio with the Play button to check. Tap Done to save.
6. How to change background color of an icon?
- Tap the Edit icon on the top right corner.
- Tap to select the icon, for which you want to change the color.
- Tap the Change button on the top right corner.
- From the color palette displayed, tap the color that you want as background color. Tap Done to save.
Backing up and restoring Content
Note: It's very important to backup content after personalizing the content for the child.
1. How to take a backup and restore it from the device?
- Take backup - Settings > Backup & Restore > Create New backup
- Restore backup - Settings > Backup & Restore > Restore from backups <Backup name>.
- The backup can be named as per the child's name, and restored when he uses it.
2. How to transfer content from one device to another?
In the Source device:
- Take a backup of the content (Settings > Backup & Restore > Create a new backup).
- Go to Settings > Backup & Restore > Connect to Dropbox = ON.
- This transfers the backups from the device to Dropbox in the Cloud in a few minutes.
In the destination device:
- Settings > Backup & Restore > Connect to Dropbox=ON
- Login to the same Dropbox account as earlier.
- This transfers the backups from Dropbox to the device in a few minutes.
- Go to Settings > Backup & Restore > Restore from Backups > Tap the name of backup to restore.
3. How to reset vocabulary to default vocabulary?
- Settings > Backup & Restore > Restore default vocabulary
General
1. How to see version number of the app?
Settings > Scroll down to the bottom of the Settings panel to see the version number
2. How to contact Avaz Support?
email: support@avazapp.com
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