To install the PEPPER program, first log in as an administrator. If you have not already done so, install the PEPPER fonts. Then click on Pepper.zip in Box. A new tab with the following should appear.
Click the Download button near the bottom of the page to download PEPPER.zip. Save it to your desktop.
Open the Pepper.zip file.
Open your computer to get access to the C: drive.
Klaatu is the name of our computer. Copy the pepper folder from Pepper.zip to the C: drive. Delete Pepper.zip. Open the pepper directory on the C: drive.
In the help directory, open Pepper.chm.
Uncheck “Always ask before opening this file” and click Open. Then exit the help. If the help directory contains a Pepper.chw file, delete it.
Right click on PEPPER.exe and select “Create shortcut.”
Move the resulting shortcut to your desktop. Rename it to be just PEPPER,
Start the PEPPER program and make sure it has permission to run. If not, to fix:
Right click on pepper.exe
Pick “Properties”
Under “Attributes”, click on “Unblock”
Exit PEPPER.
The contents of the C:\pepper are:
| Name | Contents |
|---|---|
| DescrRpt | Contains REF_COMPLETE.bin, the database of values for variables and transcript types of interest for normal speech acquisition. You can create your own database by placing in this directory a pepper file list of transcripts of your reference group. REF_COMPLETE.pfl and the corresponding *.pep and *.wav files are not included here because any transcription might allow the speaker to be identified. |
| help | Contains the online help file Pepper.chm and the search aid file Pepper.chw. While running Pepper, press the F1 key to get help. |
| PEPFILES | Contains sub-directories for each study that in turn contain transcripts (*.pep files). The corresponding uncompressed *.wav files may also be stored here. You can modify where these files are stored by changing the config.txt file. |
| PVLs | Contains Pepper Variable Lists (*.pvl) used by Pepper to generate tables for some of the analyses. |
| Config.txt | The default content is:
\PEPPER\PEPFILES\* The first and third lines tell Pepper where the *.pep transcript files are stored. If you want to access the transcript files from more than just this computer, you can enter locations on your network. The second line is F to fix the vertical printing direction for Windows 98. In other words, it is always T. |
| Dict.bin | The dictionary used to make suggestions while entering a transcript. |
| DYS Scores.txt | This file is best viewed with Excel. Using values from 442 transcripts, this file lists values for each of the 5 dysarthria subtypes in numerical order. PEPPER uses this file to convert dysarthria subtype values to percentiles. |
| formants.txt | Default fundamental and formant frequency values for given age, gender and vowel. For the vowel coding, look up “phoneme coding” in the index of the online help. |
| mfc140.dll | A Visual C++ library. |
| PEPPER.exe | The PEPPER program. Since it was loaded from the internet, you’ll need to give it permission to run. |
| SDCSHist.txt | Stores previous SDCS results for given subject numbers. |
| SylARAve.txt | Stores syllables per second (excluding pauses) for given subject numbers. |
| tf32install.txt | To do an acoustic analysis, you must purchase tf32ax.ocx and tf32voice.dll from:
http://userpages.chorus.net/cspeech/ E-mail cspeech@chorus.net for more information. This file shows how to activate the tf32 files once you have them. |
| Varinfo.bin | Layout information for the various profiles, directions for calculating database variables, etc. |
| VARLABEL.txt | Labels for the various database variables. Each label must be exactly 62 characters follow by a carriage return (Ctrl-M) and line feed (Ctrl-J) to allow for random access. |
| vcruntime140.dll | Another Visual C++ library. |
The “database” is not stored. Needed values are calculated from the information in the transcript files.
Downloading PEPPER Source Files
There is no need to download the PEPPER source files unless you want to modify the program or want to see how some operation is implemented. To download the source, click on Pepper-source.zip in Box. Click the Download button near the bottom of the page to download PEPPER-source.zip. Save it to your desktop. Copy the Pepper folder in Pepper-source.zip to where you want it. Your desktop is OK; C: is not because C:\Pepper is used by the regular Pepper program. Delete Pepper-source.zip.
If you are using the acoustic analysis, tf32ax.ocx and tf32voice.dll should be stored in the Pepper folder you just created. If not, in the PEPPER project:
- In StdAfx.h, remove: #import “TF32Voice.dll”.
- Remove DialogTF32.h and DialogTF32.cpp.
Pepper is written in Microsoft Visual C++ using the MFC libraries. Visual Studio Community is free for individuals, open source or small teams. Start by double clicking the Pepper.sln file.