Using Voice Commands

Caster is a large project, and it can be overwhelming as it requires a shift in how you think about your computer. This shift involves using your voice - not just a mouse or a keyboard. Regardless of whether you are using Caster to augment your workflow or completely control your computer by voice, we recommend starting small. Pick one application and become familiar with its voice commands. Once you become familiar with the application, start learning other commands incrementally.

For those that simply want to leverage voice control with their computer, we recommend starting with Application Commands Quick Reference. An example for the Firefox application: Open up Firefox then say enable Firefox. This makes Firefox commands available. This only needs to be said once unless explicitly disabled via disable Firefox. Caster will remember what you have enabled or disabled. Use the reference guides like Application Commands Quick Reference above to discover the appropriate phrases for enabling/disabling.

  • go forward [<n>] / go back [<n>] navigates history forward and back with n being the number you specify for example. Saying go back 2 causes the browser to navigate two pages back from where you were.

  • new tab opens up a new tab

  • google that Googles the highlighted text

For those that are looking for complete keyboard and mouse replacement as an Accessibility tool, we recommend Caster's Quick Reference. The document contains universal commands for navigation and editing. Unless explicitly disabled these commands are available by default.

These commands are active all the time and provide input commands for letters, numbers, and punctuation, as well as the ability to easily manipulate windows and text. A few examples from the document are:

  • window right moves the active window to the right-hand side of the screen.
  • prekris inserts a pair of brackets () and moves the cursor inside them.
  • shackle selects the current line.

As you progress through the documentation, you will learn how to customize existing commands and create your own.