LibreAAC Communication, kept private

Parents, carers and professionals

Editing safely

Reveal management tools, unlock editing deliberately, and adapt buttons, layouts and board sets.

Why editing is guarded

Communication buttons should communicate. LibreAAC therefore keeps editing controls out of the normal interface and asks for confirmation before changing what board buttons do.

To reach editing:

  1. Press the large red X ten times to reveal the management row.
  2. Select Edit.
  3. Read the confirmation and select Unlock editing.
LibreAAC confirmation explaining that communication pauses while editing is unlocked
Communication buttons do not speak while the editing lock is open.

When editing is unlocked, selecting a board button opens its editor instead of speaking. A yellow notice remains visible until editing is locked.

Edit a communication button

Select a button while editing is unlocked. The button editor can change:

  • the visible label;
  • its spoken text;
  • what the button does;
  • a link to another board in the set;
  • the assigned image or a newly selected image file;
  • the assigned sound or a newly selected sound file; and
  • background and border colours.
LibreAAC communication button editor showing label, spoken text, actions, board link and image controls
The editor works on the local copy. Select Save changes to apply the button edit.

Ordinary communication buttons normally have no explicit action: their word is added to the phrase according to the selection setting. Standard actions that can be added include Speak phrase, Clear phrase, Backspace, Root board and Finish spelling.

LibreAAC keeps additional Open Board Format properties that it does not edit. If a button contains such data, the editor says it will remain unchanged.

Edit the grid layout

Select Layout while editing is unlocked. The layout editor preserves empty cells and provides controls to:

  • move buttons through the grid;
  • leave cells empty;
  • place currently unplaced buttons; and
  • retain button records when they are not placed.

Select Save layout to apply the change to the local copy stored in LibreAAC.

Manage every board in an OBZ package

Select Boards to view the complete board set. Each entry shows its path, button count, incoming and outgoing links, and whether it is the home board or cannot be reached from the home board.

For an OBZ package, board management can:

  • create a new board;
  • change a board’s name, locale, description, rows and columns;
  • set another board as the home board;
  • duplicate a board; and
  • delete a board that is not the home board after confirmation.

If rows or columns are reduced, buttons from removed cells become unplaced; their button records are not deleted.

Deleting a board can leave incoming links unresolved. LibreAAC reports the number of affected links before confirmation, but the person managing the board set should review navigation afterward.

Finish editing

Select Lock editing as soon as changes are complete. Communication buttons then speak and build phrases again.

Selecting User mode also locks editing and hides the management row.

Save a portable backup

Edits are protected in the local working library as they are made. That is not the same as creating a portable file. Use Save to export a complete OBZ or an OBF board to a user-selected location.

Continue with Opening and saving files.