How do I program my TV remote into my WinSlate? – Forbes AAC Online Help Center

Our WinSlate devices can be programmed to remotely control televisions with infrared remotes. Some newer TVs no longer use infrared remotes. To test to see if your TV remote uses infrared, do the following:

Put your hand in from the sensor on the front of the remote and point it at the TV. Press a button (such as Power, changing the channel, changing the volume, etc.).
- If the remote controls the TV while your hand is over the front sensor, it's not an infrared remote and can't be programmed into Mind Express via the infrared controls. As a potential alternative option, you can:
  - Download a Windows-compatible app onto Mind Express that controls TVs (these often work on phones, as well) *WinSlate must be unlocked to download apps
- If the remote does not control the TV while your hand is over the front sensory, it's likely an infrared remote! You can proceed with programming! The instructions below will walk you through how to program an infrared toy into a WinSlate device.

First, add a new remote:

Select the "Menu" button in the upper left corner of the screen
Select "Settings" from the dropdown.
Select "Environmental Control" from the Settings Menu.
Ensure that the Com port selected is "USB Serial Port (COM 5)." Your Com port may have a slightly different label, but it's just important to ensure that the port selected does NOT have "Bluetooth" anywhere in the name.
Select "Other Device" and then the "+" button to add a new remote.
Enter the name of the remote/TV and click "OK." Especially if you are programming multiple remotes that would control TVs in different rooms, ensure that this label is clear (i.e. Living Room TV).

Next, teach the commands associated with the remote control for the TV to the infrared module on the WinSlate!

This menu should have appeared automatically after adding the new remote. You will be taking each action that's available on the TV remote, and mapping it onto the commands on this list. Some actions may correspond to a listed command (i.e. you can program the "Power" button on to the "power" command), but some buttons may not directly correspond to a command on the list. In these cases, it may be helpful to have a pencil and paper so you can keep track of which actions are associated with each command!
In this example, we'll program the "volume up" action onto the "0" command on this list. Make a note on your written list that the "0" command corresponds to a "volume up" action. To start programming, press the "0" command on the list. Two small grey boxes will appear on the same line as the "0."
Press the left grey box
You will see green text appear on the screen that walks you through the next steps. The instructions will tell you to aim the remote (this refers to the TV remote) at the infrared sensor on the WinSlate (make sure they're close together - usually within about 1"). It will then request that you press and release the button on the remote that corresponds to the action that you would like to program (in this example, we're programming the "volume up" command). Continue to press and release the "volume up" button on the remote as many times as the instructions direct you to do so.

This is the location on the WinSlate where you will be pointing the toy remote during programming.
You will see a confirmation message on the screen if the code was learned successfully, and "active" will be written under the "0" (or whichever number/letter you use to program the action). If it isn't learned successfully, just follow the above steps to try again! Sometimes it takes a few tries to get the hang of it!
Repeat this process for as many codes as you would like to program. Be sure to keep your reference list (i.e. 0=Volume up, 1=Volume down, 2=Channel up, etc.) to use in the next step!

Finally, program the actions onto buttons in the vocabulary file!

Select the "Menu" button in the upper left corner of the screen and click "Portal."
Scroll until you find the screen with the "Environmental Control" folder. Click that folder to open it.
Select the "Menu" button in the upper left corner of the screen and select "Organize." Click on the "Vizio M-Series" button.
Make a copy of the "Vizio M-Series" page by pressing the center button.
Name this pageset, referencing the TV remote that you're programming (i.e. Living Room TV) and press "OK."
Click "OK" in the upper right corner of the page, and then click your new TV pageset to open it up!
There are a few buttons already programmed onto this page. These buttons may or may not correspond to the actions associated with your TV. That's okay - everything can be customized! In this example we will address how to add the "Volume up" command that we added to the "0" in the previous section.
Select the "Menu" button in the upper left corner of the screen and select "Edit."
Several buttons will appear with "X's" over them. This simply indicates that the buttons are hidden. You can "unhide" those buttons and add commands to them as needed!
1. Do this by clicking on a "hidden button," select "Properties" in the edit menu on the right, and then select the grey visible icon so that it turns teal. The "X" will disappear from the button, and the button will now "visible." Ensure that the "Selectable" button is also teal (this allows the user to click on the button)!
Click on the button you would like to edit. In this case, we will be selecting the existing "Turn right" button since we are programming a "turn right" action onto it. An edit menu will populate on the right side of the screen. Select the pencil icon in the upper right corner of the "Environmental Control" command.
In the menu that appears, in the "Select device" dropdown, choose the toy you added. In the "Select action" dropdown, select the action you would like to program. In this case, we want the "Turn right" action, which we programmed onto "0." Press "OK" when this is complete.
Your code is now programmed onto the button!
You can change the image (picture on the button), label (written text on the button), style (color/shape/background of button), and many other features as you wish! More about that can be found here: Editing Pagesets & Buttons in CoreWord & Steps to Language
If you would like to link this TV pageset to a specific vocabulary file that the AAC user is utilizing (so they do not have to go to the Portal to access these buttons, and can simply select a button from their vocabulary file to get to their TV remote page), see this article: How do I link a button to another pageset?

If you have any questions about the above process, you are more than welcome to reach out to our Forbes AAC Tech Support Team for additional assistance. Options for contacting them can be found here: Contact | Forbes AAC | Augmentative Communication

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