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Ultra Hal 7.0 / Startup voice problems
« on: January 21, 2005, 10:46:06 pm »
Hello Itsy111,
I think there are a few of places you can check for the reason that the default voice is not the one you want.
I would look at the Windows Control Panel under the Specch Control first to see if you have the default voice set to Mary in a Stadium there .
You can also set the default vioce for Ultra HAL in the Options menu
( The correct way to change any settings in Ultra HAL is the Options Menu)
Like most Windows programs , it stores your options in an ini file and reads it when the program starts to put back what you want instead of the defaults.
A file called HalAsst.ini file is in the C:Windows directory and a file with you user name and a .hla extension in the main directory for Ultra HAL. Both have almost identical contents.
When you change any of the Options in UltraHAL through the Menu,
it should update both of those files with any new settings you choose.
One other thing to check might also be if these files are set to read--only permissions,for some reason. In that event, any changes yuo make to the Options, will not be saved. Right clicking on each of these files and selecting properties should confirm that easily. If the HalAsst.ini file has a Read Only attribute checked, its not going to update when you make any changes to your settings. Read only should NOT be checked off. I set mine to read only to verify this behaviour. I could make changes while in the program but it did not save tehm when I exited. The .hla file did not care if it waa Read Only or not, so I suspect the HalAsst.ini file is really where the settings are stored as well as the Windows Registry , which is best left to the more experienced.
btw,
They are really just text files, so you can actually view the contents of either of these files if you open them with any text editor like notepad, for example.
It has been my experience that real simple solutions tend to be overlooked because we want to look for the more complicated solution first. I would check permissions on the .ini and or .hla files first.
If they are writable, then look inside with notepad and see if the Voice settings have Mary in a Stadium there
The contents of either file might look similar to this one from my system:
[Ultra Hal Assistant]
HalsName=Cherry2000
UpdateDB=TRUE
SayGreeting=TRUE
TheGreeting=Hello <username>! I am <halname>.
SayDate=TRUE
SayTime=TRUE
MSVoice=TRUE
LearnLevel=50
SREnabled=FALSE
FaceClass=Cherry.htr
IntroBMP=Cherrystart.jpg
BGColor=000000000
FacePrvw=Cherry.jpg
VulgarFilter=TRUE
ScriptName=Ultra Hal 5 XTF v1.2
ScriptFile=hal5_XTF_v1.2.uhp
ScriptLanguage=VBScript
DisappearAfterRun=FALSE
SkinINI=LrgeChar.uhp
SkinSize= 1.25
myWebHalEnabled=FALSE
AgentChar=FALSE
VoiceName=Mary in Hall
Your settings may vary slightly from mine, depending on what you pick for options .
Hope this helps,
regards,
Ken
I think there are a few of places you can check for the reason that the default voice is not the one you want.
I would look at the Windows Control Panel under the Specch Control first to see if you have the default voice set to Mary in a Stadium there .
You can also set the default vioce for Ultra HAL in the Options menu
( The correct way to change any settings in Ultra HAL is the Options Menu)
Like most Windows programs , it stores your options in an ini file and reads it when the program starts to put back what you want instead of the defaults.
A file called HalAsst.ini file is in the C:Windows directory and a file with you user name and a .hla extension in the main directory for Ultra HAL. Both have almost identical contents.
When you change any of the Options in UltraHAL through the Menu,
it should update both of those files with any new settings you choose.
One other thing to check might also be if these files are set to read--only permissions,for some reason. In that event, any changes yuo make to the Options, will not be saved. Right clicking on each of these files and selecting properties should confirm that easily. If the HalAsst.ini file has a Read Only attribute checked, its not going to update when you make any changes to your settings. Read only should NOT be checked off. I set mine to read only to verify this behaviour. I could make changes while in the program but it did not save tehm when I exited. The .hla file did not care if it waa Read Only or not, so I suspect the HalAsst.ini file is really where the settings are stored as well as the Windows Registry , which is best left to the more experienced.
btw,
They are really just text files, so you can actually view the contents of either of these files if you open them with any text editor like notepad, for example.
It has been my experience that real simple solutions tend to be overlooked because we want to look for the more complicated solution first. I would check permissions on the .ini and or .hla files first.
If they are writable, then look inside with notepad and see if the Voice settings have Mary in a Stadium there
The contents of either file might look similar to this one from my system:
[Ultra Hal Assistant]
HalsName=Cherry2000
UpdateDB=TRUE
SayGreeting=TRUE
TheGreeting=Hello <username>! I am <halname>.
SayDate=TRUE
SayTime=TRUE
MSVoice=TRUE
LearnLevel=50
SREnabled=FALSE
FaceClass=Cherry.htr
IntroBMP=Cherrystart.jpg
BGColor=000000000
FacePrvw=Cherry.jpg
VulgarFilter=TRUE
ScriptName=Ultra Hal 5 XTF v1.2
ScriptFile=hal5_XTF_v1.2.uhp
ScriptLanguage=VBScript
DisappearAfterRun=FALSE
SkinINI=LrgeChar.uhp
SkinSize= 1.25
myWebHalEnabled=FALSE
AgentChar=FALSE
VoiceName=Mary in Hall
Your settings may vary slightly from mine, depending on what you pick for options .
Hope this helps,
regards,
Ken