Special Numbers User Guide - Managing Profiles

Overview

Special Numbers supports the use of multiple profiles. Using profiles you can:

• Replace the sounds and written words. You may wish, for example, to personalise the number sounds by recording your own voice or your child's, or to use a language that's not included in the app, or to change the default reward sound (applause).

• If using the app with more than one child on the same device, have different settings, sounds and text for each child.

• Transfer your customisations between different devices, e.g. from a phone to a tablet.

• Save backups of profiles to your PC or Mac.

To access profiles, tap the Manage Profiles button on iOS and Profiles option on Android in the opening view. Initially, you will have a single profile, named Profile 1, but you can rename this, add additional profiles, and remove profiles. In the screenshot we have 2 profiles, named William and Maya. The Sharing options are discussed later in this chapter.

At any one time, everything in Special Numbers works with the currently-selected profile. This includes all the app's settings, as described in Chapter 3 (except the Editing and Remember Activity settings, which apply to all profiles). You select a profile to use by tapping its name in the list of profiles: this is then shown in blue with a check (tick) to the left of it, and the app will use this profile until you make a different selection.

To add a new profile, tap the + button: you then have the choice of adding a new profile with default settings, or copying an existing profile. To rearrange the order of the profiles, or to delete any, tap the Edit or Padlock button: this is disabled if you only have 1 profile.

Modifying Profiles

To modify a profile, tap its ⓘ or > button. This presents you with a view similar to that shown below. To give the profile a different name, type a new name and tap Save. Profiles are named Profile 1, Profile 2 and so on when originally created.

By default, the sounds played and the text displayed for a profile are in the device's default language (as set in the Settings app). You can if you wish, select a different language from the set supported by Special Numbers, on a per-profile basis. This can be useful, e.g. if working with a bilingual child. To change language, select it in the list, and then tap Save: you may need to scroll down to see all the available languages.

Editing Sound and Text

To edit the audio and written words used by a profile, tap the ⓘ or > button under Sound and Text. You will then see 4 lists of items:

• Numbers

  From here you can change the sounds and text for the numbers 0 to 20.

• Activities

  If you wish to change the spoken and written name of each activity (e.g. to translate into a language not built into the app), you can do so from here.

• Instructions

  This allows you to change the instructions displayed and/or spoken when the “i” button is tapped in each activity. You could, for instance, record different words that your child will more easily understand.

• Miscellaneous

  Items here include the reward (clapping), and “try again” sounds, as well as the sounds and text for the Same and Different buttons in the Same Or Different? activity.

To edit an item in any of these 4 lists, just tap the item, to reveal an editing view like the one shown below. To replace the text, tap in the text box and replace by your chosen word(s). To record the sound, tap the Record Sound button, speak clearly, and then tap the button again (its text will have changed to Stop Recording). You can play back your sound, and re-record if necessary. When you are happy, tap the Save button.

For some items, the written text cannot be changed, because it is not actually used. For example, Reward only has an editable sound.

If you have previously edited an item's text or sound, the Default button will be enabled, and you can use this to undo your changes and restore the item to its default content. If you have several profiles, and have custom text and sound in one profile you wish to copy to other profiles, the Copy button will allow you to do this.

Exporting and Importing Profiles

The Sharing option allow you to transfer your customisations (activity settings and edited sound and text) between devices that have Special Numbers installed. So you could, for instance, export from an phone and import to a tablet.

Export and import always work one profile at a time. Exporting always uses the currently-selected profile: when importing, you can choose to replace any existing profile or to add a new one.

You can transfer a profile either as an email attachment, or directly between 2 devices using Bluetooth or Wi-Fi (or AirDrop on iOS). You can also transfer profiles directly to and from some cloud-based services.

Using Email

To export as an email attachment, tap Export Profile, select the option Use Email, add a recipient to the partially completed email, and tap Send. To import from an email attachment, tap the attachment in your email app, to open in Special Numbers.

Using Bluetooth or Wi-Fi

To transfer a profile directly between two devices, the devices must be physically close to each other, and either (a) have Wi-Fi enabled and be connected to the same Wi-Fi network, or (b) have Bluetooth enabled. Alternatively for iOS users, if both devices have a Lightning connector (as opposed to the older 30-pin connector), and are not connected to a Wi-Fi network, but have Wi-Fi turned on, this will still work. Use the Settings app to turn these on as necessary, before trying to export and import. In the case of Wi-Fi, profiles can also be transferred between Special Numbers on iOS and Special Numbers on Android.

Tap Export Profile on the sending device, Import Profile on the receiving device, and then tap Use Bluetooth or Wi-Fi on both. Each device will prompt you to allow a connection with the other. Once the data has all been transferred, you will be asked to confirm importing it into the app on the destination device.

Please Note

Devices running Special Numbers 2.6.0 and later cannot connect using Bluetooth or Wi-Fi with devices running earlier versions. Devices running iOS 6 can only use this feature over Wi-Fi, not Bluetooth.

Content and settings in Special Numbers are not automatically synchronised between devices or with any cloud service: it is left to you to manually export and/or import on each device, on a profile-by-profile basis.

When importing you will be offered the choice of replacing any existing profile or adding as a new profile. If you haven't created any additional profiles, i.e. if you only have one, and you want to completely replace its settings, sound and text by those in the profile you're importing, select the replace option, e.g. Replace “Profile 1”. If you want to keep your existing profiles, and import as a new separate profile, select Add New Profile.

You may wish to use the email export option as a backup facility, if you've carefully recorded new sounds, or made lots of settings changes, that you want to be sure you won't lose (e.g. if the device is damaged or lost). You could, for instance, open the email on a PC or Mac, and save the profile attachment there.

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