Guide
forScore app for low vision: Donner foot pedal
Hands-free method to turn sheet music pages with the Donner foot pedal!
In the first post, forScore app for low vision: Video tutorial, we learned how to magnify the music. In the post, Nancy mentioned using the Donner foot pedal to move through the music pages. In this second post, Nancy demonstrates how to connect the Donner wireless pedal to your Apple device and how to use the foot pedal with forScore’s enlarged music.
Donner foot pedal
The Donner foot pedal is a wireless page turner for tablets, smart phones and computers. According to their website, the Donner pedal has 50+ hours on a single charge using the built-in battery. The Donner pedal has two foot switches connected by a control panel with various mode options.
The control panel layout has the Repeat on/off switch in the top left and the Power on/off switch in the top right. The middle row buttons are Mode 4, empty space and mode 5. The bottom row buttons are Mode 1, Mode 2, and Mode 3.
The foot pedal modes are listed with the left pedal first and the right pedal second:
- Mode 1: Page up and page down
- Mode 2: Left arrow and right arrow
- Mode 3: Up arrow and down arrow
- Mode 4: Left mouse click and right mouse click
- Mode 5: Space and enter
In the video, Nancy has chosen Mode 2 so that using the right pedal will advance through the music and the left arrow will go back through the music.
Pairing to a Device
To pair the pedal:
- Confirm that the foot pedal is charged.
- Turn on Bluetooth on the host device. The video demonstrates an iPad.)
- Turn on the Donner music pedal using the switch in the upper right corner of the control panel. (Slide the switch to the left to turn on.)
- The light will turn green, then flash red and blue when it is in pairing mode.
- In the host device’s Bluetooth settings, select the “Detect” option and in the popup menu, select the “Bluetooth Music Pedal”.
- As soon as the foot pedal’s LED stops flashing rapidly and the host device says “paired”, the foot pedal is fully paired and ready to use.
Turning on Reflow
Reflow is forScore’s method for customizing the size of the sheet music. (See forScore app for low vision: Video tutorial post for details.) In the video below, Nancy demonstrates how to turn on Reflow. When in the desired sheet music in forScore app, she selected the Settings icon at the top, center of the page. In the popup menu, she selected Reflow (last option: a small button with a right arrow).
Editor’s Note: In the video, Nancy had to try a couple times before she selected the Reflow button correctly.
Setting the Donner Wireless Pedal to work with forScore video by Nancy Irwin:
Resources
by Diane Brauner, 1/25/23
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