What is Vox Proxy?
Vox Proxy is a powerful script-writing program which allows you to use 3-D talking animated characters in PowerPoint slide shows. VP interfaces to PowerPoint through an add-in, so it runs directly from PowerPoint's menu.

What are the minimum system requirements?
Windows 9x, Me, NT, 2000, or XP
PowerPoint 2000 or newer
128MB RAM
Screen display: 800 by 600 or better
160 MB free disk space
500 MHz or faster processor
Microphone if you are using Vox Proxy Speech Recognition

What versions of PowerPoint does Vox Proxy support?
Vox Proxy runs in PowerPoint 2000 or newer, including PowerPoint 2003. It does NOT run with PowerPoint 97. Vox Proxy runs as an add-in to PowerPoint 2002 (in Office XP) running under Windows 2000, NT, or XP. With PowerPoint 2002 running on Windows 9x or ME, Vox Proxy runs from the windows start/programs menu.
The Vox Proxy PLAYER (version 3) can run presentations under any version of PowerPoint from 97 on, as well as the Microsoft PowerPoint 2003 Viewer.

Can I view screen shots and other details?
Yes, you can view the entire online documentation here, including more than 100 screen shots and details about using Vox Proxy.

How do I get started with Vox Proxy?
After installing the software, simply start PowerPoint® and click on the Vox Proxy menu. Run one or more of the introductory tutorials. You can also open one of the sample presentations, open the Vox Proxy Script Writer, and examine the scripts. The Script Wizard will let you point and click to modify existing scripts or create your own.

How long will it take to learn to use Vox Proxy?
After playing the introductory tutorials, you will be able to comfortably write your own scripts in a few minutes’ time. Even without the tutorials, you can write simple scripts immediately using the Script Wizard.

Can other people play my presentations without buying Vox Proxy?
Yes. There are two ways to allow people who do not own Vox Proxy to play your presentations:

1. The free Vox Proxy Player. You can distribute presentation files in any manner to anyone who has the VP Player installed.
2. The extra-cost CD Prep option to Vox Proxy, which allows distribution on self-starting CDs. The self-starting disks have the VP Player embedded on them, so the user who plays the disk does not need to have the Player pre-installed. CDs prepared in this way will also run on PowerPoint 97 or the PowerPoint Viewer, which is included on the CD.

See more information about running Vox Proxy on multiple computers.

Can I run Vox Proxy on the Mac?
No, Vox Proxy requires Microsoft’s Active-X® technology, which is currently available only under Windows.

Can I run my presentation on the Web?
If the end user has the (free) Vox Proxy Player installed, you can deliver a VP-enhanced PowerPoint presentation from the web. The presentation file must download before playing, and there are some restrictions. Contact support for detailed instructions.
As an alternative, you can use video screen capture software to capture your presentation as a movie, which can be played from the web. We have tested and approved Camtasia Studio for this purpose.

Is Vox Proxy available with educational or site-license pricing?
Yes. Call or E-mail sales@voxproxy.com for details.

What is the Vox Proxy Player?
The Vox Proxy Player is much like the Adobe Acrobat Reader. In order for someone without Vox Proxy to play presentations with VP scripts, they must install, one-time, the VP Player. When they install the Player, it installs the speech engines and character graphics as well as the software to run them. The VP Player is a free utility. Buyers of Vox Proxy receive a copy of the VP Player on a separate disk, which may be duplicated and distributed as desired. The Player is also available on our web site as a download, but the download version is limited to six characters: Paul, Chuck, Merlin, Genie, Peedy, and Robby.

The Vox Proxy Script Writer allows you to save your presentation in a special format for the VP Player. These files end in a PPV file extension rather than the normal PPT. When a user opens such a file, Windows will automatically launch the slide show with the VP Player. This allows you to distribute presentations by email or other means to anyone who has the VP Player installed and they can easily launch the slide shows by simply opening the file.

See more details about the VP Player and get the download by clicking here.

What is CD Prep?
CD Prep is a utility program for Vox Proxy that allows you to prepare self-starting CDs containing your VP-enhanced presentations. CDs prepared with CD Prep have the VP Player embedded on them, so the end user need not have the Player installed. Even though Vox Proxy itself requires PowerPoint 2000 or newer, CDs prepared with CD Prep will play on PowerPoint 97 or even the PowerPoint viewer-97. See a more detailed description of CD Prep by clicking here.

Explain the difference between the VP Player and CD Prep
CD Prep is a utility for distribution of presentations on CDs. It embeds the VP Player on the auto-starting CD, but the user need not install it because it runs from the CD. The VP Player is a free utility that must be installed on an end-user's computer. It then will play presentations distributed to that user in any way - email, web download, floppy disk, CD, etc.

The advantage of CD Prep is that the end user does not have to explicitly install anything (though the software may need to "silently" install various speech components). He/she can simply insert the CD and it will play. The advantage of the VP Player is that, once installed, you can distribute presentations to that user by email or other means and they can play them quickly and easily without even opening PowerPoint.

What versions of PowerPoint will the VP Player work on?
The Vox Proxy Player will run presentations on PowerPoint 97 or newer, as well as the PowerPoint 2003 Viewer.

Will the Player run on the PowerPoint 2003 Viewer?
Yes. Version 3 of Vox Proxy supports the PowerPoint 2003 Viewer.

What is Microsoft Agent Technology?
Microsoft Agent is a set of software services that supports the presentation of software agents (characters) as interactive personalities within the Microsoft Windows® interface. It is actually a part of the Windows operating system, and is pre-installed on all versions since 98SE. The interface is available through an Active-X control.

Where can I get more information on Microsoft Agent Technology?
Visit our Links page (in Support). Three good sites are the Microsoft Agent Home Page, the MS Agent Ring, and Agentry.

What Agent Characters come with Vox Proxy?
The Vox Proxy CD comes with twenty seven characters from several different designers. Four of the characters are from Microsoft®: Genie, Merlin, Peedy, and Robby. Several were specially customized for Vox Proxy and are not found anywhere else on the web..

Where can I get other characters?
Many Microsoft Agent-compatible characters are available on the WEB. Vox Proxy includes links to popular download sites, including the MS Agent Web Ring and the Agentry. Good places to start are the MS Agent Ring, and Agentry. You can also use the Office Assistant characters from Microsoft Office (see Tips and Tricks).

Can I get custom-designed characters?
Yes. Custom characters can be designed specifically for you. We use several designers, depending upon your needs. We can start with graphics designed by you or completely design characters to your specifications. We can also adapt existing characters using caricatures of a head. See our “Chuck” character as an example. Contact sales@voxproxy.com or call us for more information.

What can Agent characters do?
Each character comes with a list of animations that it can perform. Paul, for example, can perform more than 100 different animations. Characters can speak text which you script for them and they can move to any location on the screen. If your computer is equipped with a microphone, they can also listen for voice commands.

How do Agent characters speak?
Characters speak using a Text-To-Speech (TTS) engine. This is a program which translates written text into speech. Vox Proxy comes with a TTS engine called “TruVoice” by Lernout & Hauspie, supplied by Microsoft with the Agent Control. It contains several different voices, all in U.S. English. Each “voice” is technically a different TTS engine. We also ship several additional L&H TTS engines with other languages. You can download and purchase many TTS engines on the WEB. Before purchasing one, be sure it says that it is compatible with Microsoft Agent. We also offer at extra cost the highest-quality TTS engines available: Natural Voices from AT&T Labs.

Does Vox Proxy support AT&T Natural Voices?
Yes, in fact, you can order AT&T Natural Voices to go with Vox Proxy. VP contains several features especially designed to enhace your use of Natural Voices. More information, including audio samples, is available here.

Can characters speak different languages?
Yes, if you have installed on your computer a Text-To-Speech engine that supports the language. Vox Proxy supports multiple TTS engines within the same script so that characters can have a conversation in different languages or a single character can speak in multiple languages. TTS engines in several languages are included with Vox Proxy.

What other speech features are available?
Within any given text to be spoken, you may insert “speech tags” to modify the intonation of the speech. Speech tags include emphasis, whisper, and monotone, as well as pitch and speed. You may also insert pauses within the text. Special “context” is available that allows characters to correctly read addresses (including many abbreviations), web URL’s, phone numbers, etc.

Do I have any control over pronunciation?
Yes. Vox Proxy includes a “Pronunciation Dictionary” which allows you to maintain a list of “written” versus “spoken” words. The spoken word can contain a pseudo-phonetic equivalent which will correct for unusual or foreign pronunciations.

What are “Speech Balloons”?
Speech balloons are a way to display the speech on the screen at the same time it is spoken. They look much like the speech balloons used in print cartoons. You can turn the balloons on or off (for each character) and modify the font and size of the text in the balloons.

How can I have Agent characters say dates or times?
Vox Proxy includes many “variables”, including day, month, date, time, and time of day. In addition, you can create your own “user-defined variables” for things like names, places, and so on.

What is a Vox Proxy script?
A script is simply a text document containing a list of instructions, or “script commands”. These instructions are executed whenever the associated PowerPoint slide is displayed in a full-screen slide show or whenever a “script macro” is run. The script contains all the instructions necessary to control the Agent characters, change slides, and perform other actions as desired.

I’ve seen scripts that are complicated. What does a typical Vox Proxy script look like?
Vox Proxy has greatly simplified its script commands by automating many features. As an example, the following script will display Peedy (a Microsoft parrot character) in the middle of the screen by flying in from a distance, bow to greet the viewer, say “I am very fond of crackers”, and then signal PowerPoint to go to the next slide in the show:

Show Peedy at Center
Greet
Say I am very fond of crackers.
NextSlide

Do I have to learn the script language in order to write the scripts?
No. Vox Proxy has a Script Wizard which allows you to select and enter all script commands from drop-down lists. The Wizard gives you all necessary options and help for each command. The only thing you have to type in is the text you want spoken. The Wizard will even allow you to test or preview many things such as character animations and speech before they are inserted into your script.

Can I edit my slides and scripts at the same time?
Yes, this is one of Vox Proxy’s key features. The Script Writer is displayed over the left-side frame in PowerPoint’s “normal” view. You can add or edit scripts from this window at the same time you are editing your slides, which greatly simplifies the development process.

Can I print slide images and scripts together?
Yes. Vox Proxy has its own print option for scripts, but you can also export the scripts as PowerPoint Slide Notes, so you can print the slides and scripts together either in PowerPoint or in Microsoft Word.

What else can I script other than Agent characters?
Vox Proxy script commands fall into three categories: Agent character commands; PowerPoint control commands; and other commands. Other commands include playing audio (“wav”) files, video (“avi”) files (including full-screen video), displaying bitmaps, and displaying colored or bitmap backgrounds (for scripts played outside of PowerPoint). In addition, you can play script macros and run Windows programs, including the default WEB browser. Macro menus can be presented to the user to run a selected macro, and random lines can be played from a script macro (“quote of the day” for example.)

Can I test different animations or speech before inserting it into my script?
Yes. The Script Wizard and the speech toolbar have test buttons for Agent character speech and animations. The Character Gallery lets you preview all of a character’s animations by simply scrolling through a list. In addition, media files can be previewed before inserting into the script.

What are “Script Macros”?
Vox Proxy has two kinds of scripts: Scripts that are associated with a specific PowerPoint slide and those that are not. Those that are not are called “Script Macros”. They are simply Vox Proxy scripts which are saved in a separate file by name in a macro folder. There is no difference in the two kinds of scripts except in how they are saved and how they are run. Macros can be called within another macro or from within a PowerPoint slide script and, unlike slide scripts, can be run from the Windows desktop, without PowerPoint.

What versions of PowerPoint does Vox Proxy support?
Vox Proxy runs in PowerPoint 2000 or newer, including PowerPoint 2003. It does NOT run with PowerPoint 97. Vox Proxy runs as an add-in to PowerPoint 2002 and 2003 running under Windows 2000, NT, or XP. With PowerPoint 2002 or 2003 running on Windows 9x or ME, Vox Proxy runs from the windows start/programs menu.
The Vox Proxy PLAYER can run presentations under any version of PowerPoint from 97 on, as well as the 2003 viewer.

What PowerPoint commands are available?
Script commands are available to change slides (first, last, next, previous, last slide viewed, and go to a specific slide), bring up PowerPoint’s next “animation” (such as a fly-in bullet), and wait for the next animation. In addition, you can run a slide show, with specified beginning and ending slide numbers, from a Script Macro.

Can I see my slide while I work on its script?
Yes. The Script Writer is displayed over the left-side frame in PowerPoint’s “normal” view. You can add or edit scripts from this window.

How do I specify where a character is to appear on the slide?
You can either drag and drop the character on the slide or you can specify its location on the screen. Locations can be specified as top, center, bottom, and left, center, or right, or as X and Y coordinates in relative values from 0 through 100.

Are PowerPoint scripts saved within my presentation file?
Yes. All of your slide scripts are saved in the presentation itself.

Can I E-mail presentations to another user?
Yes. All slide scripts are included when you E-mail a presentation file to another person. All they need is PowerPoint and the free Vox Proxy Player. In fact, Vox Proxy allows you to save a special version of your presentation file so that when it is e-mailed to anyone with the VP Player, all they have to do is open the file and it will start and run the slide show automatically.

How can I control the timing of events in a presentation? For example, I may want to key a PowerPoint animation off of a character’s speech (or vice-versa.)
PowerPoint commands will automatically wait until the speech or actions immediately preceding it in the script are completed. Other actions (play an audio or video file, for example) can be scripted to wait or not wait. A special wait command is available to cause the script to pause until the next animation (such as displaying a bulleted item) has been played in PowerPoint.
Timing is also an important issue in controlling Agent characters. Those familiar with other Microsoft Agent applications may be aware that controlling multiple characters can be difficult. But Vox Proxy contains automatic synchronization features so that for most applications it simply works the way you would expect it to work. For specific circumstances, you can override the default behavior.

Can I print slide images and scripts together?
Yes. Vox Proxy has its own print option for scripts alone, but you can also export the scripts as PowerPoint slide notes. This allows you to print the slides and scripts together in PowerPoint or Microsoft Word.

Will my presentations run under PowerPoint’s free viewer?
Yes. Vox Proxy’s free Player program will run presentations on the PowerPoint Viewer.

Can I run a Vox Proxy script without PowerPoint?
Yes. VP Script Macros can be run from the desktop by simply double-clicking on the macro from Windows Explorer. Macros can include backgrounds or run directly on the desktop. If the macro runs a PowerPoint slide show, it will start PowerPoint automatically.

The installation ran, but I got an error message about registration and the Vox Proxy menu does not appear in PowerPoint.
You have PowerPoint 97. Vox Proxy will run only on PowerPoint 2000 or newer. Uninstall Vox Proxy from Windows Control Panel, Add/Remove Programs. It must be re-installed after you upgrade PowerPoint.

The Install ran and the characters appear but they don't speak.
If you have Windows XP, the problem is related to the system's speech API. With Vox Proxy installed, run the following program:
c:\program files\Vox Proxy\speech\spchapi.exe

Windows XP comes with a new speech API which is not backward-compatible. The above program will install the correct API for Microsoft Agents without interfering with XP's newer speech API.

If you do NOT have Windows XP, look at the following suggestions from Microsoft:
Troubleshooting Audio Output with Microsoft Agent

The CD does not autostart.
Insert the CD, go to the Windows control Panel, Add/Remove programs, and click on the Install button. The installation should begin.