Thank you for using the JAWS scripts for station Playlist Studio.
Station Playlist Studio is a simple to use on-air broadcast automation playout software package for the studio and/or DJ. It plays all your media files with manual or intelligent automatic crossfading. It can play jingles, commercials, news and songs. Live streams, live inputs from your soundcard, satellite feeds and so on. It includes an Internet stream encoder, voice track/song ramp overlapping, microphone button with music fade, many automation and Live Assist features such as cart slots for instant jingles, and much more.
Sttation Playlist Studio is an extremely accessible application. Almost all of the functions can be activated using the keyboard. However, as with many applications, it is useful to have keystrokes to read important parts of the screen succinctly. Particularly in a broadcasting situation where gaining an awareness of what is happening quickly is imperative, these powerful scripts provide productivity enhancements so you can concentrate more on what is happening in your programme rather than using the JAWS screen review mode to locate the information you need.
The Station Playlist Studio scripts contain:
The creation of the scripts is a voluntary project, with the scripts being written by Brian Hartgen and concepts devised in the most part by Jonathan Mosen who is extremely familiar with using Station Playlist Studio in broadcasting situations. Updates and support for the scripts will therefore be delivered as and when time permits, however we are committed to the ongoing maintenance of the project and want to provide visually impaired people with very high quality access to the program as and when we can.
Feature suggestions for script improvements are very welcome and should be sent by Email to:
This documentation does not teach you how to use Station Playlist. The documentation accompanying Station Playlist Studio is excellent and a mailing list is available, (details of which are given at the end of this document), through which people are willing to answer questions. This document briefly describes the special JAWS functions which have been created as part of the scripts.
The scripts have been designed to be as robust as possible. JAWS has been instructed to obtain the data it requires directly from Station Playlist Studio, rather than trying to obtain it from the screen. Using screen-based information is fraught with problems
. For example, if the screen is not maximised, or if vital data is obscured for some reason, you will receive unpredictable results. In a broadcasting situation, you are likely to have several windows open at the same time, and so any JAWS solution needs to be robust enough to deal with those demanding requirements.
Apart from delivering some powerful features, providing accurate information through JAWS was the methodology used for the creation of the scripts.
The JAWS scripts for the application have been tested with Station Playlist Studio version 4.3 only in conjunction with JAWS version 6.0 through to 11.0. Please note that a special build of Station Playlist Studio is required in order for a small number of specific functions to work correctly. Please install this build before proceeding. The build can be obtained from Station Playlist support.
Most of the functions can be successfully used with JAWS versions earlier than 9.0, and this document will make note of differences when they occur. We would always suggest that later versions of JAWS are likely to function more optimally.
You can download the installation program for the Station Playlist Studio scripts from the following web site:
Please read this next section carefully before installing the scripts.
In order that JAWS can notify you of the endings of tracks when focus is within an application other than Station Playlist Studio, it is necessary to make some modifications to the JAWS default scripts. This is achieved through the installation program, and indeed it is not even necessary to re-start the computer following the installation of the scripts.
For a quick and easy installation, please follow these steps:
For those who wish to be a little more thorough in their installation, please work through the below steps:
For anyone not wishing to use the automatic installer program, we have included a zipped archive of the scripts on the web site supporting them. These files should be placed in the JAWS settings folder relative to the Windows account you are logged onto. You should go to the Start Menu, All Programs, JAWS X (where "X" represents the JAWS version number into which the scripts are to be installed), Explore JAWS, Explore My Settings.
If you simply place the files into this folder, you will only be notified of track endings if focus is within Station Playlist studio at the time the notification is due. If you wish for JAWS to announce this when within other applications, you will need to modify the default scripts yourself, by adding the following statement to your JAWS default script file and then re-compiling it.
use "BHMerge.JsB"
Please note that if you use the installer program described above this procedure is unnecessary and it is not recommended by the authors of the scripts. It should only be used by people familiar with creating JAWS script files. In any event, you should make a backup copy of your default script files prior to making modifications of this nature in the event that they need to be restored at a later date.
Similarly, if you wish to take advantage of the keystrokes to set focus to Station Playlist Studio from within any application, or to check the time remaining for a track to be played, again using the Script Manager open up the file entitled "Default.JKM" and under the section "Common Keys" add these statements:
Control+Windows+4=SetFocusToSystemTray
control+windows+-=HowMuchTimeIsLeft
Again, the installer ordinarily will take care of this for you.
This version of the Station Playlist scripts contains the ability to check for updates to them.
Assuming the computer is connected to the Internet, press ALT+Control+G for Get Updates. If an update is available, a Dialog Box will appear, asking if you would like to download and install the update. Press Space Bar or Enter on the "Yes" Button and the necessary JAWS files will be brought down from the Internet and installed for you automatically. They are then immediately used within the application.
There are no special setup requirements in order to use JAWS with Station Playlist Studio other than those already documented.
When Station Playlist Studio is launched, press the JAWS Key (usually Insert) and Q. If JAWS reports that the "Station Playlist Studio scripts are loaded", then you are ready to proceed. If however JAWS reports that the "default settings are loaded", the installation has not been successful and you should try installing the scripts once again, paying particular attention to selecting the version of JAWS into which the scripts should be installed.
There are a number of ways to obtain immediate help.
All messages which are spoken by JAWS and which are described below are automatically output to a Braille display if you have one. Where "Flash Messages" have been used, the prefix denoting the type of message has been disabled so as to conserve space on the display.
Additional Braille-related special functions are described later in this document.
The following is a brief description of all the options available in the main window supporting tracks and playlists.
Press Control+Windows Key+I to bring into view the Insert Track Dialog Box.
Ordinarily, when tracks are displayed, pressing Up and Down Arrow keys will cause JAWS to read the text on screen, usually the file name. JAWS will in addition announce if the item is Checked or Unchecked. Press the Space Bar to change the status.
However, it is often important to hear additional information relating to the track, and so a function has been provided entitled Extended Screen-Reading mode. This mode can be activated by:
Changing the status of the mode is permanent and will remain in place even if the computer is re-started until it is changed again.
When Extended Scrreen-reading Mode is enabled, pressing Up and Down Arrow keys will cause the following information to be announced:
The same information is output if the Say Line command is used, (JAWS Key+Up Arrow). However, if this keystroke is pressed twice quickly, the same text is displayed within the Virtual Viewer for closer analysis or inspection. Indeed, even if this mode is disabled, and the Say Line keystroke is pressed twice quickly, this information is placed within the Virtual Viewer. Please press Escape to exit the Virtual Viewer and return to the track list.
The following keys can be used to obtain information quickly. Please note that, when JAWS is speaking information relating to timed events, (such as the elapsed time of the playing track), JAWS converts the information to a format which is easier to understand rather than relying upon a literal interpretation of the screen data. For example, if 3 seconds have elapsed, JAWS will say "3 seconds", and if 1 minute and 34 seconds had elapsed, JAWS will say "1 minute 34 seconds".
When pressing the JAWS Key+F12, (the command within JAWS associated with speaking the time), will cause JAWS to announce the time as it might be spoken by a broadcaster, such as "25 minutes to 1". Pressing the keystroke twice quickly will cause the system clock time to be reported including the number of seconds. In addition, if you have a Braille display, you will find that the display refreshes each second to show the new time including the updated second count.
Station Playlist Studio provides you with 48 (96 in Studio Pro) jingle cart machines with shortcut keys. These are:
Ordinarily, pressing any one of these keys will cause the appropriate cart to play the item associated with it.
As you can imagine, it could sometimes be difficult to remember which cart contains which jingle, music bed or insert. The scripts therefore provide you with Cart Learn mode.
Cart Learn Mode is activated or deactivated by:
When Cart Learn Mode is enabled, pressing any one of the cart activation keys once will cause JAWS to announce the name of the file associated with it and the jingle will not be played. Pressing the key twice quickly will cause the item to be played.
This is ideal for ensuring that you are about to broadcast the correct jingle or insert!
Please note that if the Station Playlist Studio Cart Edit mode is enabled (by pressing Control+T which is a toggle action), Cart Learn mode is temporarily disabled.
It is possible to set focus to Station Playlist Studio from within any other application. This is very useful if you wish to read Email or interact with a program other than Station Playlist and then quickly return to it.
In order to set focus to Station Playlist Studio, press Control+Windows Key+4.
Using the Station Playlist Track Tool, it is possible to insert a mark in the properties of each of your music tracks in order that you are aware when the introduction is complete and when vocals are to begin. The Station Playlist studio scripts take full advantage of this feature, and allow you to monitor for introductions and give you advanced warning of when the vocals are about to begin. As a user of the scripts, you can configure how much of a warning you will receive by specifying a value of between 1 and 9 seconds prior to the vocals commencing. For anyone who has a Braille display, the scripts include a separate and independent mechanism for providing tactile feedback of the progress of the introduction.
It is necessary to use the Station Playlist Track Tool to mark the end of the introduction as follows:
Before you monitor for the end of an introduction to a song, you need to instruct JAWS how many seconds between 1 and 9 you would like to hear the warning.
Press Control+Windows+O and, when prompted, into the resulting Edit Field type a value between 1 and 9 to represent the number of seconds for the warning. Press Enter and a confirmation message willl be spoken to confirm the number of seconds.
You can activate the monitoring of introductions through the JAWS scripts, by:
When enabled, and when the warning level is reached which you have set, JAWS will advise you of this by saying the word "complete".
This mode should be disabled if you only have one soundcard in your computer.
Another mode exists for your Braille display to monitor when introductions are being played.
You can enable or disable this mode by:
When this mode is enabled, JAWS constantly is monitoring for introductions. When an introduction is being played, its countdown time is being shown on the display. This gives you an excellent way of knowing for how much longer you need to speak.
Just imagine a situation where you have started the playing of a track, and then you need to examine your Email, Twitter or other applications so as to interact with your listeners. You need to be aware of when the track is about to end! This is the purpose of monitoring for track endings.
Before you monitor for the end of a track, you need to instruct JAWS how many seconds before the end of the song is reached you would like to hear the warning.
Press Control+Windows+U and, when prompted, into the resulting Edit Field type a value to represent the number of seconds for the warning. Press Enter and a confirmation message willl be spoken to confirm the number of seconds.
You can activate the monitoring of introductions through the JAWS scripts, by:
When enabled, and when the warning level is reached which you have set, JAWS will advise you of this by saying the word "Approaching end of song", even if you are not focused within the Station Playlist Studio application. If JAWS version 11 is being used, a small "beep" sound will be heard if you have enabled the relevant option within the Adjust JAWS Options Dialog Box (JAWS Key+V). If this option is disabled, the approach adopted by JAWS is as though version 10 or below of the product is installed; the words "Approaching end of song" will be spoken instead.
If you are focused within an application other than Station Playlist Studio, and you wish to be reminded of how much time the track has to play, press Control+Windows+K.
This mode should be disabled if you only have one soundcard in your computer.
It is possible to obtain the local time and temperature of any city in the world.
To obtain the temperature press ALT+Control+M.
If an Edit Field is brought into view, type a city anywhere in the world, and press Enter.
If the previous temperature is spoken, press the keystroke twice quickly to obtain the Edit Field.
While within the Edit Field, type full-stop (or period), then press Enter, to obtain a list of previously stored cities.
When focused within the list of cities, to delete a city press Delete.
While within the Edit Field, type the word Settings, then press Enter to be guided through settings relating to obtaining temperatures.
To obtain the time press ALT+Control+I.
If an Edit Field is brought into view, type a city anywhere in the world, and press Enter.
If the local time is spoken for a city, press the keystroke twice quickly to obtain the local date, or three times for the Edit Field.
While within the Edit Field, type full-stop (or period), then press Enter, to obtain a list of previously stored cities.
When focused within the list of cities, to delete a city press Delete.
Studio Notes are ideal for anyone who uses the same computer for referring to written text which is located on the same computer as is being used to host the broadcast technology. You can save notes, quickly set focus back to them and delete them.
To save a note please follow these steps:
1. Compose some text in your favourite text editor, such as Notepad.
2. Select the text with Control+A and then copy it to the Windows Clipboard with Control+C.
3. Set focus to Station Playlist Studio, probably by pressing Control+Windows+4, or by pressing ALT+Tab repeatedly until it is announced by JAWS.
4. From within Station Playlist Studio, press Control+Windows+Comma.
5. A Dialog Box will appear asking for the name you would like to assign to the Studio Note.
6. Type the name, such as "My First Note" (without the quotation marks), and press Enter.
7. JAWS will confirm that the Studio Note has been saved using the JAWS Message Voice.
To retrieve a Studio Note:
1. Press Control+Windows+Full-Stop (or Period).
2. Assuming Studio Notes have previously been created, a List Box containing all the Notes will appear. If Studio Notes do not exist, you will be advised of this.
3. Use the Up/Down Arrow keys to locate the desired Studio Note you wish to open and press Enter. Alternatively, first letter navigation can be used for speed.
4. When the Enter key has been pressed, a Notepad window will open containing your Studio Note. You will see that even line breaks have been respected as part of the Studio Note!
Deleting a Studio Note is equally easy to do:
1. Press Control+Windows+Forward Slash.
2. Assuming Studio Notes have been previously created, a list of them will appear. If no Studio Notes are available, you are advised of this.
3. Locate the Studio Note to be deleted, either by using the Up/Down Arrow keys or alternatively by using first letter navigation.
4. Press Enter on the Studio Note to be deleted and you are advised that this has been done.
The scripts provide a few other miscellaneous items:
When audio playback keys are pressed, such as Enter to play a track, U to pause it, S to stop and fade, T for instant stop and E to stop a cart playing, if typing echo is enabled the key labels are not spoken as this can be distracting.
Pressing the JAWS Key+Q will output the scripts version number.
We hope you enjoy using the Station Playlist Studio scripts. If you have any questions or comments, please Email them to:
The official web site for Station Playlist is:
The support Email list for Station Playlist can be
subscribed to by sending a message to:
StationPlaylist-Subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Listen to The Legend Internet radio station for great oldies!
Sincere thanks go to a number of people who have helped during the creation of some concepts of the scripts.
Thanks go to Jamal Mazrui for helping with the installation/merging of code into the JAWS default script files and for allowing us to use components of his Homer Script Library . Thanks also go to Shaun Randall and Bryan Garaventa for additional essential code.
A final credit must go to the Station Playlist company who implemented functions at our suggestion to assist screen-reader users.
The primary purpose of the Station Playlist Studio script update was to provide compatibility with Station Playlist Studio version 4.30. However the following additional changes were made:
To hear the automation status press Control+Windows+6.
To hear the microphone status press Control+Windows+7.
To hear the Line In status press Control+Windows+8.
To hear the Record to File status press Control+Windows+9.
To hear the Cart Edit status press Control+Windows+0.
To hear the playing status press Control+Windows+Y.
An announcement was placed on the new keystroke for Cart Edit mode, Control+T. This is a toggle action which activates and deactivates this mode as well as providing an announcement regarding the newly selected status .
The keystroke to read the temperature (as derived from Station Playlist Studio) was moved as a result of customer requests from Control+Windows+X to Control+Windows+5.
Cart Learn mode is now applicable to all 96 jingle carts if Station Playlist Studio Pro is active.
Introduced a keystroke, Control+Windows+K, to output using speech and Braille the time remaining for the playing track. This is available within any application, not just within Station Playlist Studio. This assumes that the mode for the monitoring of track endings is enabled.
Press Control+Windows+4 from within any application to set focus directly to Station Playlist Studio. This is very useful if you are using other applications and wish to return to SPL quickly.
Fixed a problem where JAWS would not correctly report the remaining time in the playlist if it exceeded 100 minutes in length. This was not a problem in most circumstances since a user would ordinarily mark a playlist in hour blocks.
Added Studio Notes in version 3.1. Please consult the relevant section of this documentation for a full description of Studio Notes.