File

File Menu

The File menu assists in performing functions related to file management such as the page setup of a document, creating new, opening existing, closing, and saving documents. It also however, extends to the creation of new documents through the extraction of text and highlights or the conversion of text into an audio file.

Most of the file menu items are consistent with other mainstream programs such as Microsoft Office and require very little explanation. There are a few items however, that deserve additional mention and are very specific to the way Kurzweil operates.

Start Writing

The Start Writing item has four associated sub-menu items (as indicated by the right facing arrow) which can be activated by holding the cursor anywhere on the line. Three of those items have further clickable actions that can be selected by hovering over the selection. The four items are:

Brainstorm - this tool creates a graphical representation of ideas related to a writing topic using a variety of shapes which can be connected through lines. It can be created from a blank page or from a template. Brainstorms can then be converted into a writing Outline afterwards.
Outline - this is the more traditional form of idea representation using layered text to represent ideas and their relationships to one another. It can be created from a blank page or from a template.
Draft - this is the rough form of a writing document and can be created from a blank page or from a template.
Column Note File - yet another way of representing ideas, this draft creates a table under which the writer can then input main and supporting ideas which can then be converted to an Outline.

The use of writing tools will be covered further in the writing section.

Extraction Tools

One of the main supports behind Kurzweil is the ability to highlight important information and then convert those highlights into a format that can be converted into writing or studying. There are five different extraction methods, each of which will be covered in the section below:

Extract text

This tool takes all existing text within a document and inserts it into a writing document that can be easily edited. This is particularly useful as many document types such as Kurzweil (.kes) or PDF files are not readily editable.

Extract Notes and Highlighted Text

The extract notes and highlighted text tool essentially allows extraction of any and all text within a document whether it was pre-existing or whether it was annotated by the user either in the form of sticky, bubble, text notes or highlights. Upon activation of the tool, the user will be prompted to check which of the notes they wish to extract. There are additional controls at the bottom which allow the display of page numbers and/or note numbers as well as the option to arrange annotations by page or by type.

Extract Highlights to Column Notes

This tool is particularly useful for writers who are writing an argumentative paper based on a reading or who wish to extrapolate the main and supporting ideas from a reading. The first step in the process would be to highlight all of the pertinent big ideas in a specific colour. By default, yellow is usually the main highlighting colour. After highlighting the main ideas, it may be useful to highlight supporting ideas in a different colour. Once all of the important information has been selected, the ideas can then be extracted. Select the row that says "Extract Highlights to Column Notes." This will open a new dialogue box prompting the user to select which highlighted text should be extracted. Uncheck the colours that you do not want extracted. If a colour is not used, it does not need to be unchecked. Next, determine the position in which colours should be extracted. Typically, the main ideas are extracted to the first column and supporting ideas are extracted to the second column. Additional details may be put in the third column.

Select which highlighted colours will be extracted.

Add to a new file or to an existing file.

The resulting column notes file separates the two (or more) highlighted colours into separate columns.

Extract Column Notes to Outline

This tool is only applicable to column notes and converts column notes that have either been created from scratch or that have been converted from highlights into an outline form.

An outline that has been converted from column notes.

Extract Highlights to Vocabulary Study Guide

This last extraction tool assists students in the acquisition of new vocabulary. To utilize this tool, students highlight words that are unknown to them and which they wish to incorporate into their vocabulary. Once all of the desired words have been highlighted, activate the extraction tool. A new document will be created with the highlighted words and their definitions in the form of a column note.

Highlighted words in a reading.

The extracted words with their definitions in a column note.

Create Audio File

The Create Audio File tool converts text (user selectable) from a document into a digital audio file that can be played on an electronic device such as a computer, phone or tablet. There are three different audio file format options: AAC, Apple Lossless or an mp3 file. In addition to the conversion of text, users can specify the rate at which it is read, the voice with which the text is read, and whether the file is automatically copied to iTunes.

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