Hello List,
I am writing to enquire if anyone would be willing to write a script
that, I think, should be pretty simple. Full details are written below.
It involves writing a script that will somehow route the names of edit,
combo, and combo edit boxes to the screen voice in goldwave's standard
custom control interface. I know what you're thinking, standard custom
control interface? How can it be standard if it's custom? Well, that's
just the generic name I'm using for it. What follows is an explanation
of the script's purpose and necessary functions. It might be that the
original goldwave script could be modified to incorporate this feature.
Despite the fact that I said it would be simple, I have provided a
rather involved explanation so that everything is laid out.
The current custom control set is made by a company called Embarcadero.
The tab index is set by this company and a property sheets of Goldwave.
However, I have done extensive testing and noticed that there is a
pattern which I think can be utilized by a Window-Eyes script.
When the screen cursor is in an edit box such as the tone meter box of
the current Goldwave version 5.66, it reads the number contained in the
edit box but not the edit box's label. In order to read the label, it is
necessary to route the pointer of the mouse to the edit box and press
the number pad eight key to find out what this box controls. For
example, if the box reads "0.00" it could control the decibel level at
which the tone meter needs to be activated to make a sound alerting the
user that the level is too high. Window-Eyes currently reads the level
properly in its numeric format but the mouse cursor reads it as "level I
DB, 0.0."
This behavior of landing in an edit box with the tab, routing the
pointer, and then pressing the up arrow on the numbpad needs to be
modified so that the screen voice can read the line above the edit box
where the mouse pointer currently resides. This would allow for
on-the-fly modification of values.
These custom control set edit boxes are the standard for the VST
plug-ins which Goldwave now supports in beta format. The same behavior
as described in the tone meter edit boxes is present in the plug-in
boxes as well. The issue with these is that, if it's an equalizer with
35 boxes, trying to route the pointer and see what the box controls
while trying to edit the equalization of a previously recorded sound
takes far too much time to allow for real-time modification. So it would
be necessary for the screen voice to dictate what the mouse voice
originally dictated with that line above the number in the edit box. Are
you with me so far?
I am in contact with the developer of Goldwave but not of the
Embarcadero custom control sets. I would be happy to send e-mails to
whoever writes these to see if we could work out some idea of how to
modify the tab index if that is what needs to be done to allow the
screen voice to read the label of the edit box. As I mentioned before it
appears that the tab index is written internally into the Embarcadero
custom control set. Therefore, it would probably be easier to somehow
allow the screen voice to read the mouse voice information in that line
above the box as mentioned in the previous paragraph. I personally do
not know any VBS code and do not know how difficult this would be. What
I do know is that the ability for one to modify the edit boxes in real
time is essential to editing no matter if there's three or 63 boxes
present. Earlier I had also alluded to combo boxes, which have the same
property as these edit boxes seeing as they're in the same interface.
Not all of the combo/edit boxes which contain the presets for various
Goldwave controls are unreadable. In fact, the presets,/edit box is
always read with the word "presets," before the data is spoken. This of
course changes with the user's preference for when field data and field
name are spoken. However, in some of the level controls such as the tone
meter, the combo box to change the waveform which would be the alert
tone from sign to square to saw is not readable unless the pointer is
routed and the up arrow is pressed as described in the previous paragraph.
I realize that I have probably been far too verbose in my explanation of
the current idea for a script. But I would rather have everything
spelled out as plainly as possible so the potential writer knows what
they're getting into. Feel free to please contact me either off or on
list to discuss this possibility and I will do whatever I can to make it
a reality.
I thank you for your time,
Dave C Bahr
