User Guide — BoardSpeak

1. The board at a glance

The board is divided into six zones, top to bottom:

Zone	What it does
Output card	Shows the message being built. Buttons in the top-right open recent messages, repeat last, save, and show-to-listener.
Quick phrases	One-tap common responses (Yes, No, Thank you…).
Word prediction	Suggests the next word as you spell.
Number row	Digits 0–9.
Letter groups	Five group buttons (A–E · F–J · K–O · P–T · U–Z). Tap a group to open its individual letters.
Action strip	Punctuation, Space, Erase, and Enter — always visible.

The Speak button and the Save / Clear controls sit to the right of the output card.

2. Typing letters

Level 1 — choose a group

Tap one of the five letter-group buttons (A–E, F–J, K–O, P–T, U–Z). In Grow mode (the default), keys expand to fill the available screen space. In Circle mode, the classic round wells are shown in a fixed-size frame. Small faint letters arc around each group so you can see what's inside without tapping.

Level 2 — choose a letter

The group expands to show its individual letters. Tap the one you want. The board returns to Level 1 ready for the next group.

Tip — stay in a letter group: If you're spelling a word that uses several letters from the same group (like "BED" in A–E), turn on Stay in a letter group in Settings. The group stays open for consecutive letters so you don't have to re-tap it each time.

3. Quick phrases

The chip row holds up to six short phrases for common responses. Tapping a chip speaks it immediately — no need to build it in the output card.

To customise chips: press and hold any chip for about half a second. An edit panel opens where you can rename, remove, reorder, or add phrases (up to 40 characters each). Tap Done when finished.

4. Word prediction

As you spell, up to four word suggestions appear above the number row. Tap a suggestion to insert it and add a space — faster than spelling the whole word.

Words you use often rise to the top over time. If you want to reset that learned ranking, open Settings → Prediction → Reset learned words.

5. Numbers and punctuation

Number row — tap any digit to insert it.
Period / Question / Exclaim — tap to insert the punctuation mark. If the sentence ends with a space, it is removed before the mark is added.
Symbols (···) — opens a panel of additional punctuation and special characters.
Space — inserts a space.
Erase (⌫) — removes the last character. Hold to delete the entire last word at once.
Enter (↵) — adds a line break and a period if the sentence has no terminal punctuation.

6. Speaking the message

Speak

Tap the large Speak button to read the whole message aloud. A running highlight shows which word is being spoken. After speaking, the message stays in the output card so the conversation can continue.

Speak as you type

Turn on Speak as you type in Settings to hear each word spoken the moment you complete it — useful for confirming letters without pressing Speak.

Repeat last

The → repeat button (top-right of the output card, filled orange) replays the most recently spoken sentence in one tap — handy when a communication partner didn't hear.

Show to listener

Tap the ↗ expand button (top-right) to open a full-screen view of the message in large text. The communicator can turn the device toward their partner. Tap anywhere to close.

7. Saving and revisiting messages

Saving the current message

While text is in the output card, tap the ☆ star button (top-right of the card) to save it to your Saved list. The star fills in to confirm it's saved. Tap the filled star again to remove it.

The Messages panel

Tap the clock/history button (top-right of the output card) to open the Messages panel. It has two sections:

Saved

Messages you have pinned. They stay here permanently — they never scroll off or expire. Tap any row to speak it again in your selected voice.

Tap the filled ★ star on a saved row to remove it.

Recent

The last 20 spoken messages, newest first. They are kept when you close and reopen the app.

Tap any row to speak it again.
Tap the ☆ outline star on a recent row to move it into Saved.

Tip: Saved messages are the private, on-device alternative to audio export. Any message you want to replay later — a favourite phrase, a request you use daily — pin it here and it's there in your chosen voice whenever you need it.

Exporting as a text file

Tap the Save (disk) button below the Speak button to download the current message as a plain text file.

8. Clearing and undoing

Clear removes the current message. A short toast appears with an Undo button — tap it within a few seconds to restore the text.
Undo (physical keyboard) — press Z to step back through recent changes.

Physical keyboard navigation

When a keyboard is connected (Bluetooth or desktop), you can navigate and type without touching the screen:

Tab / Shift+Tab — move focus between keys and controls.
Enter or Space — activate the focused key or button.
A–Z — type a letter directly, bypassing the group step.
0–9 — insert a digit.
Backspace — erase the last character.
Escape — close any open panel.
Z — undo the last change.

Note: Physical keyboard shortcuts are disabled when Switch scanning is on, as the scan engine owns keyboard events.

9. Settings

Open Settings by tapping the gear ⚙ icon in the status bar (top-right of the board).

Quick setup

Two one-tap starting points:

Classic — the original board, no extras.
Enhanced — stay in a letter group, reduce motion, and comfortable chips on. Good for users who benefit from extra motor support.

Voice

Setting	What it does
Voice	Choose from all voices installed on the device.
Speed	How fast the voice speaks (0.5× – 1.5×).
Pitch	Pitch of the voice (0.5 – 2.0).

Prediction

Setting	What it does
Adapt to my words	Learn the words you use and rank them higher in suggestions.
Reset learned words	Clear the learned vocabulary and return to the default word list.

Input

Setting	What it does
Dwell to activate	Hover over a key for a set time to select it — no tap needed. Good for eye-gaze or limited motor control.
Hold time	How long to hover before activation (300 – 1500 ms).
Speak as you type	Speak each word as it is completed.
Stay in a letter group	Keep a letter group open for consecutive letters in the same group.
Hold Erase to delete a word	Hold the Erase key to delete the last whole word at once.
Switch scanning	Board scans on its own; tap anywhere or press Space to select. Mutually exclusive with Dwell to activate.
Scan speed	How quickly the scan moves (0.7 s – 2.5 s per step).
Speak while scanning	The board says each region aloud as the scan highlights it.
Confirmation feedback	A short audio blip — and a vibration where supported — when dwell or scan activates a key.

Display

Setting	What it does
Chip size	Compact (default) or Comfortable (larger quick-phrase buttons).
Group buttons	Grow (default) — keys expand to use the available screen space for the biggest targets, on any device. Circle — the classic fixed round letter-group wells.
Theme	Warm · Cool · Neutral · Dark · High Contrast · HC Dark. Automatically defaults to High Contrast if your device has high contrast enabled.
Font	Manrope (default) · Lexend · OpenDyslexic · Atkinson Hyperlegible.
Letter previews on groups	Show or hide the faint preview letters that arc over each group button.
Text size	Scale the output card text from 85% to 140%.
Reduce motion	Keys appear instantly with no animation — helpful when timing an animation against a tap is difficult.

10. Add to Home Screen

On a phone or tablet, add BoardSpeak to your Home Screen for full-screen access — no browser bars, instant launch:

iPhone / iPad (Safari)

Open app.boardspeak.org in Safari.
Tap the Share button (box with an arrow).
Tap Add to Home Screen.
Tap Add.

Android (Chrome)

Open app.boardspeak.org in Chrome.
Tap the ⋮ menu → Add to Home screen.
Tap Add.

Once added, the app launches full screen in your chosen orientation. The board fills the display — no address bar, no browser tabs.

Offline use

BoardSpeak is a Progressive Web App (PWA). After your first visit while online, the app and all its resources are saved to your device. From that point it launches and works fully offline — no internet connection required.

Updates: When a new version is available, a small "New version available" prompt appears at the bottom of the screen. Tap Reload to update, or dismiss it to continue with the current version. Updates happen in the background.

11. Privacy

BoardSpeak collects no data whatsoever.

Nothing you type is stored on any server.
No analytics, no tracking, no cookies.
No account is ever required.
All learned words and saved messages are stored only on your device, in your browser's local storage. They never leave the device.
The app works offline — after the first load, no network connection is needed at all.