Getting Started with the Speak Easy CD-ROM

Speak Easy Thai is part of the Multi-Language Dictionary project, which aims to make available comprehensive dictionaries for many languages, and provide educational tools to make learning a language fun and easy.

The CD-ROM is a snapshot of the project's files at a point in time. It contains the Setup programs for all the dictionaries and all the software, as well as all the images and sound files. It has a powerful, but easy to use, automatic web update facility, which is used to install the software from CD-ROM initially, and thereafter to download and install updates from the Internet.

The CD-ROM should automatically start, but if auto-run is disabled on your system, navigate to the CD-ROM drive, and look for the file SetupBootstrapThai.exe; double-click that file to launch it.

When the setup program starts, it will ask you where to install the software. By default, the software will be installed to
C:\Program Files\Multi-Language Dictionary\

This program installs Visual Basic run-time files, if they are not already installed, then launches MLDstart.exe, which installs some control files, and then launches MLD Web Update.

The Web Update knows that you are using a CD-ROM, and will "download" and install the required files, depending on your "profile", which is displayed when the program starts. By default, Thai and English are selected, but you can select other languages as well. The Thai and English dictionaries have many words, over 38,000; the other language dictionaries, however, have only a few words, or none at all; they reply on volunteers to populate them. If you would like to do that, select your language on the "Update Euro" screen.

You can also specify an update schedule; we frequently make changes (both bug fixes and enhancements) to the software, and are continually updating and revising the dictionaries, adding pictures and sound files, etc. These updates are free, so if you have a broadband connection, you should set the schedule for daily or weekly updates, or when Windows starts. You can specify a delay time of a few minutes to prevent clashes with all the other stuff happening at Windows startup.

If you have a dial-up connection to the Internet, it is probably best to do a monthly update when you have the time; some of the updates are as much as 20MB, which will take a while to download on a dial-up connection.

After the software is installed, there will be icons on your desktop and in the Quick Launch area (the icon tray at lower left), if you have that displayed. Choose the icon of the tuk-tuk to run Speak Easy Thai.

Note that if you are using Windows XP, Windows 2000, or Windows Vista, you MUST have the Thai option checked in the Regional and Language Options of the Control Panel, or the Thai fonts will not work.

The main menu of Speak Easy Thai has a language button; by default the working language is English. If you speak another language, click this button and select your language. The only languages enabled will be those that you selected in your profile.

When Speak Easy Thai selects a word for review, it will first check your language dictionary, to see if the word exists. If so, it will display the word in your language; if not, it will display the word in English.

Since the European dictionaries are a work in progress at this time, most of the time an English word will be shown. However, we update the dictionaries frequently, so as long as you run Web Update frequently, more and more words will be displayed in your language.

After you have reviewed a few words in the Subject section, you can test yourself on the words you reviewed. You have a limited time (typically 15 seconds) to enter the Thai or English equivalent of the word presented. To enter Thai, just click in the Thai box and start typing. You do not need to switch languages by clicking on the EN / TH icon in the Windows language bar. The Thai box shows a small icon in the upper right corner, either an X or a triangle.

You can move back and forth within the Thai box two ways: by using the arrow keys, or by clicking within the Thai text. The current character will flash.

The X indicates that you are in "overtype mode", meaning that characters you type overlay and replace any character already at that position. When in overtype mode, the current character will flash black.

The triangle indicates that you are in "insert mode", meaning that characters you type insert themselves before the flashing character, causing remaining characters to shift right. When in insert mode, the current character will flash magenta.

You switch modes by pressing the Insert key (often labelled INS) on the keyboard.

If you do not have a Thai keyboard, you should run the Thai Keyboard Map program because it can print a diagram of a standard keyboard, which you can place near your own keyboard. This program will be found under Start | Programs | Multi-Language Dictionary. When it runs, select File, then click on the Ketmanee.map file at the bottom of the menu. Then click on File and Print to print a copy.

Speak Easy Thai is part of the Multi-Language Dictionary project, which aims to make available comprehensive dictionaries for many languages, and provide educational tools to make learning a language fun and easy. The CD-ROM is a snapshot of the project's files at a point in time. It contains the Setup programs for all the dictionaries and all the software, as well as all the images and sound files. It has a powerful, but easy to use, automatic web update facility, which is used to install the software from CD-ROM initially, and thereafter to download and install updates from the Internet. The CD-ROM should automatically start, but if auto-run is disabled on your system, navigate to the CD-ROM drive, and look for the file SetupBootstrapThai.exe; double-click that file to launch it. When the setup program starts, it will ask you where to install the software. By default, the software will be installed to C:\Program Files\Multi-Language Dictionary\ This program installs Visual Basic run-time files, if they are not already installed, then launches MLDstart.exe, which installs some control files, and then launches MLD Web Update.
The Web Update knows that you are using a CD-ROM, and will "download" and install the required files, depending on your "profile", which is displayed when the program starts. By default, Thai and English are selected, but you can select other languages as well. The Thai and English dictionaries have many words, over 38,000; the other language dictionaries, however, have only a few words, or none at all; they reply on volunteers to populate them. If you would like to do that, select your language on the "Update Euro" screen. You can also specify an update schedule; we frequently make changes (both bug fixes and enhancements) to the software, and are continually updating and revising the dictionaries, adding pictures and sound files, etc. These updates are free, so if you have a broadband connection, you should set the schedule for daily or weekly updates, or when Windows starts. You can specify a delay time of a few minutes to prevent clashes with all the other stuff happening at Windows startup. If you have a dial-up connection to the Internet, it is probably best to do a monthly update when you have the time; some of the updates are as much as 20MB, which will take a while to download on a dial-up connection. After the software is installed, there will be icons on your desktop and in the Quick Launch area (the icon tray at lower left), if you have that displayed. Choose the icon of the tuk-tuk to run Speak Easy Thai.
Note that if you are using Windows XP, Windows 2000, or Windows Vista, you MUST have the Thai option checked in the Regional and Language Options of the Control Panel, or the Thai fonts will not work.
The main menu of Speak Easy Thai has a language button; by default the working language is English. If you speak another language, click this button and select your language. The only languages enabled will be those that you selected in your profile. When Speak Easy Thai selects a word for review, it will first check your language dictionary, to see if the word exists. If so, it will display the word in your language; if not, it will display the word in English. Since the European dictionaries are a work in progress at this time, most of the time an English word will be shown. However, we update the dictionaries frequently, so as long as you run Web Update frequently, more and more words will be displayed in your language.
After you have reviewed a few words in the Subject section, you can test yourself on the words you reviewed. You have a limited time (typically 15 seconds) to enter the Thai or English equivalent of the word presented. To enter Thai, just click in the Thai box and start typing. You do not need to switch languages by clicking on the EN / TH icon in the Windows language bar. The Thai box shows a small icon in the upper right corner, either an X or a triangle. You can move back and forth within the Thai box two ways: by using the arrow keys, or by clicking within the Thai text. The current character will flash.
The X indicates that you are in "overtype mode", meaning that characters you type overlay and replace any character already at that position. When in overtype mode, the current character will flash black.
The triangle indicates that you are in "insert mode", meaning that characters you type insert themselves before the flashing character, causing remaining characters to shift right. When in insert mode, the current character will flash magenta. You switch modes by pressing the Insert key (often labelled INS) on the keyboard.
If you do not have a Thai keyboard, you should run the Thai Keyboard Map program because it can print a diagram of a standard keyboard, which you can place near your own keyboard. This program will be found under Start \| Programs \| Multi-Language Dictionary. When it runs, select File, then click on the Ketmanee.map file at the bottom of the menu. Then click on File and Print to print a copy.