| What
types of files can I read with RapidReader?
PDF's.* Outlook e-mail*,
MS Word docs, Web Pages, txt files.
RapidReader automatically places a RapidReader
button on the toolbar of MS Word and Internet
Explorer and other browsers, To RapidRead other
file types simply "drag and drop" the
file on the RapidReader desktop icon or copy the
text and RapidRead from the clipboard.
*Requires RapidReader PRO
For RapidReader for Palm, select the RapidReader
application and tap on your choice of docs, RRd
or e-mail to RapidRead Palm docs, RapidReader
docs or e-mail with attachments respectively.
MS Word, RTF and most text format documents can
be transferred to your Palm from your PC using
the RR to Palm software that comes with RapidReader
for Palm.
For Symbian Mobile devices, access to RapidReader
is through the "extras" menu and the
transfer of documents is accomplished through
the synch software that came with your Symbian
device.
(NOTE: For help or specific product questions
please click on the HELP tab above)
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What
are the differences between RapidReader Standard
and RapidReader PRO?
RapidReader PRO has all of the features found
in RapidReader Standard Edition such as integration
into MS Word and Internet Explorer and the markup
capability. But RapidReader PRO also supports
accelerated reading for PDF and direct integration
into Outlook e-mail.
In order to accelerate the reading of PDF files,
RapidReader PRO includes a powerful analysis engine.
This component uses artificial intelligence to
examine the PDF file and extract the text for
you to RapidRead. Further, the pages numbers of
the RapidReader file and the original PDF are
synchronized to make it easier to move between
the two documents for reference. Because of the
complexities inherent in the PDF format, RapidReader
PRO is the only product to offer accelerated reading
of PDF files.
In Outlook, when you select a batch of e-mails
and click on the integrated RapidReader button,
RapidReader PRO analyses the e-mail files you've
chosen and in effect, extracts and "copies"
the key information and the message body to RapidReader.
For instance, if you selected 50 e-mails from
your inbox, with just one click, the RapidReader
engine would extract the "from","date"
and "subject" field's as well as the
name and type of any attachment. It would not
display redundant cc's and other unnecessary clutter.
The the entire batch is delivered to you in sequence
in the RapidReader flow. You select the speed
of course. If you wish to skip from one e-mail
to the next, you simply press "N" and
RapidReader will find the next e-mail. If there
is an attachment you can open it by pressing "A".
Because PRO includes PDF analysis you can open
PDF and MS Word attachments right in the sequence.
Now opening and closing e-mails one at a time
is a thing of the past.
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When
I purchase, how many licenses am I entitled to?
When you purchase RapidReader you are entitled
to 3 licenses per order ID. This was designed
to offer back up copies in the event of a system
crash. However you can use the extra licenses
if you wish to install RapidReader on additional
machines. For instance on your laptop and desktop.
For information on how to install on additional
machines, please click here.
Please Note:
It is recommended that you retain at least one
license for backup.
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What
is the average reading speed?
The answer is, that it varies of course on what
kind of material you're reading. In general however,
the average for reading on paper is about 180-280
words per minute (about a page of a paperback
book) for a very good reader. On a computer screen
that speed drops considerably based on the length
of the document. The longer the document the slower
the average speed. This is because of scrolling
and eyestrain which slows us down dramatically
to about 100-130 wpm. On small screens where you
must "squint and scroll" the average
speed drops to about 45 words per minute. Please
note, these speeds aren't based on reading a few
lines or only one screen but on reading for a
reasonable length of time.
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How
about comprehension with RapidReader's higher
speed?
The original research conducted at John's Hopkins
into RSVP (Rapid Serial Visual Presentation) showed
that even at 1600 wpm comprehension was similar
to reading on paper. In our own study conducted
at the University of Southern California, using
a standardized comprehension test nearly 90% of
the subject group improved comprehension while
reading at 300 WPM vs reading on paper.
Comprehension is of course a matter of recognition
of the words. Words are symbols which we readily
can identify much faster than we can move our
eyes and sound out. So the method of display really
has no impact on comprehension so long as the
words can be recognized. as long as we're One
reason is that moving your eyes slowly across
a page introduces all sorts of "confounding" elements.
Comprehension seems to improve in fact, the faster
you can see the words. This is probably a matter
of focus and the reduction in distraction.
For more information about the science behind
RapidReader please click
here.
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Will
I retain what I read at higher speeds
Studies have shown that retention is largely
a matter of attention. Actually, once
the words are understood, retention is a matter
of individual learning style and memory, not the
display of text. In other words if you see and
recognize the word, it doesn't really matter how
it was displayed. However retention will be better
if there are fewer distractions while reading.
The slower you read, the more likely you are to
be diverted during the time between words. How
many of us have had to re-read a paragraph because
our minds were wandering. This is at least in
part because our brains move much faster than
our eyes can travel across a page. This means
our brains are "waiting" for the next
word and that is often the cause of wandering
attention. The result is a seeming lack of retention.
RapidReader helps retention because the display
is dynamic and the words are moving at a speed
which holds our attention and focus.
For more information about the science behind
RapidReader please click
here.
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What
if I want to pause for a moment to think something
over
Simply click the mouse once and PAUSE on the
last word you read. (You can also DOUBLE CLICK
or press the SPACEBAR and the text will stop and
be visible in paragraph form.) When we read anything
of any length, we all actually stop occasionally
to "rehearse" what we've been reading (e.g. we
might repeat something we just read, or might
want to think it over). When in Pause mode you
will see the TurboView Control Console with convent
access to most of the core functions.
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What
if I miss a line and want to go back?
RapidReader uses a "video player" like
interface to move around a document. There are
several ways to "rewind" or "fast
forward"a word at a time, a line at a time,
a paragraph or page at a time. When RapidReading
you can use the left right arrow keys. In both
ParagraphView or TurboView Pause these navigation
buttons are located on the toolbar or console.
For more information on features please see Help
files
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Will
I lose words if I blink?
Very probably not. The blink of an eye takes
about the same time as it takes for a hummingbird
to flap it's wings. At it's fastest, the human
mind can comprehend text at 1600 words per minute
or one word every 1/26 of a second. That's much
slower than an eye blink. The most you would lose
to a blink, even at RapidReader's fastest display
speed, would be about 1/10 of the time a word
is on the screen.
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Can
I scan the text like I would a normal page?
Yes. When you first click on the RapidReader
button on your browser or word processor, you
will see the text displayed in ParagraphView which
looks almost identical to a word processor page.
In this text window, you can scroll and scan as
you would normally. You can also navigate with
the "find" and "go to page"
functions and the navigation arrows. When in TurboView
you can double-click or press
the spacebar to return to the ParagraphView
at any time.
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What
if I want to skip ahead to read from another place?
There are several ways you can do this.
In ParagraphView you can:
- Scroll ahead and double click on a word to
begin reading from there
- Use the "Fast Forward" navigation
button for line, paragraph or page
- Use the "go to page" from the menu
bar,
- You can skip through a document using the
markup viewers, for instance from one note to
the next.
In TurboView you can:
- Use the right arrow key
- You can hold down the CTL key to "double-time"
through a section.
- Single Click to Pause the TurboView display
and use the arrow buttons on the Console
For more information about functions please go
to the help files.
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Will
RapidReader help me learn to read "ink on
paper" any faster?
Yes. Speed reading courses spend a great deal
of time having you practice how to keep you eyes
focused on the center of the page and stop habitually
"sounding out". RapidReader presents
text to you in such a way that you automatically
do these things to form new habits and better
reading strategies that will increase your reading
speed in any medium almost without trying. You
will learn to pick out what's important in the
text you're reading. This is an essential skill
for test taking and information gathering.
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What
about eyestrain?
RapidReader is ergonomically designed to reduce
eyestrain. The "starfield" background
is there specifically to break up areas of visual
contrast and reduce "after image" or what's
called "retinal burn" ( seeing a high
contrast image when you close your eyes). If you
are like most people, you should experience a substantial
reduction in eyestrain when reading in RapidReader
versus regular text display. SoftOlogy has spent
years thoroughly researching the display of fonts
and colors, the nature of illuminated text and the
rate of display of words to optimize not only comprehension
but visual and ergonomic comfort. However, the effectiveness
of the RapidReader display is also related to the
resolution quality of the screen of the device and
what's called the "refresh rate" which
is how fast the screen can change images. Readability
will be affected by lower resolution displays such
as those of certain lower priced or older hand held
devices. On these devices, the practical limit is
about 400 words per minute. ( Still several times
faster than the "squint and scroll" method)
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What
do I have to do to documents to read them with
RapidReader?
Essentially simply open the supported formats
in RapidReader. There are a number of ways to
do this. You can "Drag and Drop" PDF*,
MS Word or text files on the RapidReader Desktop
Icon. RapidReader is also integrated directly
into the tool bar of many applications such as
MS Word, Internet Explorer and Outlook*.
*Requires RapidReader PRO
For opening documents for Palm and Symbian devices
please look at the HELP
FILES
for specific instructions
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Can
I save web pages with RapidReader?
Yes. It's a great way to save Web Pages for later
offline reading either when you don't have time
or as a way of doing research.
Open the web page in RapidReader and select SAVE
from the menu bar. With one click, you'll save
the entire text of the web page as a RapidReader
Document (.r2d). You can organize your r2ds in
a folder as you would any document type. You can
reopen it offline whenever it's convenient, add
notes and highlite text and even e-mail it as
a RapidReader file. It's great for projects, research
or collaboration.
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How
do I add my own notes to documents and Web Pages
in RapidReader?
In RR for Windows or Mac, you can add
Notes and Dog-Ear markers to a file from either
the ParagraphView or "on the fly" while
in TurboView. In ParagraphView select the Notes
Icon and the notepad will appear. Click "done"
to attach the note to the word you selected. While
in TurboView you can simply press ALT+N (Mac Command+N)
for a note or ALT+D (Mac Command+D) for a Dog-Ear
and the markup will be placed with the word appearing
in the TurboView Window. This markup will appear
as icons in the upper left hand corner of the
TurboView to alert you that you've placed a Note.
Notes will remain with the document until you
close it or SAVE IT as a RapidReader document
For information regarding notes and highliting
for PALM please go to the Palm
help files
For more information on markup features please
see Help files
"Using Notes, Dog-Ears and Highlites".
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What
is a Dog-Ear Marker?
A Dog-Ear Marker is similar to what you might
do to mark a spot in a magazine or book. You would
turn down the corner of the page. Dog-Ears are
used to signal a place of interest in a RapidReader
document. For instance if the original PDF or
MS Word doc makes reference to a graphic, you
can place a Dog-Ear to remind you to look at the
original document. You can place Dog-Ears "on
the fly" in TurboView without interrupting
your reading.
For more information on markup features please
see Help files
"Using Notes, Dog-Ears and Highlites".
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How
do highlite text in documents and Web Pages in
RapidReader?
You can access the Highlite function in RapidReader
in either the ParagraphView or the TurboView.
Click on the Highliter icon and you will see the
cursor change shape. You will also notice in the
lower right hand corner that the mode has changed
from "Normal" to Highlite. Simply click
and drag the cursor across the text, and you will
sea change in color. Release the mouse and click
on the Highlite Icon again to return to Normal
Mode. The text you highlited will now appear a
bright lime green in the TurboView.
For more information on markup features please
see Help files
"Using Notes, Dog-Ears and Highlites".
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How
do I save my notes and highlites for later?
One of the great things about RapidReader is
that you can save documents and web pages complete
with your notes for later review as a RapidReader
file type (r2d). All you have to do is select
SAVE from the menu bar in ParagraphView or click
on the SAVE icon when you pause in TurboView.
This will save the document with your notes, highlites
and dog-ear markers. An added advantage is that
a RapidReader file is usually significantly smaller
than the original. This is particularly true for
PDF or MS Word docs. You can attach your r2d to
e-mail a friend or colleague with your notes and
highlites intact. It's a great way to collaborate,
study or prepare for a meeting or presentation
with all the information right at your finger
tips.
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How
do I get help or more information?
There are extensive help files and a "how-to
guide" on the menu bar of all RapidReader
products as well as on the web site. If you cannot
find the answer there please e-mail us at info@RapidReader.com
or call us at (970) 672 4750
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