Hello, Just want to let it be known, that I am continuing to have problems with the browse mode using 7.1 Beta. Previously, I had reported that browse mode is not consistently reporting the status information when loading a new page, i.e., number of links, headings, etc. I just hear "top", or sometimes absolutely silence. The only response I got was from Michael D. Lawler telling me he and GW Micro cannot duplicate the issue. Yet, I have several people email me privately telling me they are experiencing the same issue. So why is GW Micro telling me, privately, that they can't reproduce the issue? Certainly they are not accusing me and others of making this up. And yet they cannot reproduce the issue, something is not adding up. I suppose, if I say that using Firefox, with browse mode turned off, Window-Eyes is not telling me the state of a checkbox when I press the spacebar, that they might come back and tell me they can't reproduce it either. This is true for me. If I go to the GMail.com login site, the "keep me signed in" checkbox is not relayed to me when I press space bar with browse mode off. On another note, it is continuing to baffle me, including the latest beta, why Window-Eyes is not announcing access key shortcuts on websites. Actually, I should rephrase my statement. In browse mode, Window-Eyes is continuing to ignore access keys. Even though access keys are designed for people who use keyboards more. Maybe blind people? And with browse mode turned off, Window-Eyes is giving incomplete information about access keys. Here is an example. Let's use Firefox and GMail as our test environment. After logging in, you will be presented with the inbox page. At this point, a couple of access keys are available. And let me define access keys. These are keyboard shortcuts that can be activated from anywhere on the page. To access the inbox, press alt-shift-I. To compose a new message, Alt-Shift-C. If you use browse mode and scroll to the Inbox link, guess what, Window-Eyes will not give you that info. If you tab to it with browse mode turned off, Window-Eyes will say "i", completely disregarding the fact that it's actually Alt-Shift-I, not just the letter I. When you are reading a message in GMail, Alt-Shift-R is to reply to the sender, Alt-Shift-F is to forward the message, and Alt-Shift-A is to reply to all. These are access keys Google has built into GMail to make using GMail more keyboard friendly for visually impaired people. Why is Window-Eyes not announcing these keys is a mystery to me. The only reason I found out about them, is when I occasionally check my email using Jaws. Anyways, these are a few issues I am currently having with the latest beta. I also hope that Window-Eyes will someday be able to provide access key information. I felt compelled to send this email because I know that GW Micro has announced that this is a short beta cycle. Maybe they're hoping to work out the bugs and have 7.1 final released during the national conventions. Yet I am still having issues. I certainly hope GW Micro will not rush out the release just because of the conventions. This seems like a highly anticipated release, and GW Micro should take the time to really work out the bugs.
If you reply to this message it will be delivered to the original sender only. If your reply would benefit others on the list and your message is related to GW Micro, then please consider sending your message to [email protected] so the entire list will receive it. All GW-Info messages are archived at http://www.gwmicro.com/gwinfo, and can be searched through and sorted using the search form at the bottom of the page. If you wish to unsubscribe from this list, send a message to [email protected] and include leave gw-info in the body of the message.
