Hi Rod, I think it would be easier for you to make the current inaccessible Windows mixer program accessible, than it would be for you to write this yourself. You certainly can add hotkeys for the various controls it has; cause them to speak the proper names as you tab to them, etc. That's the kind of thing scripting was designed to do (in my opinion).
Learning all you would need to replace the Windows mixer (assuming Windows makes available everything you need to get to) would be a long complex task. Hth, Chip \ -----Original Message----- From: Rod Hutton [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Sunday, March 31, 2013 11:30 AM To: [email protected]; [email protected] Subject: Where to start, and what I need, for an accessible Windows mixer Hi everyone, I want to write a Window-Eyes replacement app for the traditional Windows sound mixer. My reason is that there are no hotkeys for performing such tasks as toggling the mute status or adjusting the volume of particular devices such as "Line In" or whatever a user's system might designate. Then, there's the need to change the default playback or recording device on the fly, as some Window-Eyes users have asked for from time to time. Recently, I was asked for the ability to adjust the volume of a particular Windows app, say, the one currently in focus. I have sought, and even purchased, different apps of this type over the years, and they have served my needs reasonably well. My apps withe names starting with RodMaster dot dot dot which I have posted to App Central over the last few months are based on NirCmd, a free ware command line utility, and it works pretty well for the volume settings I have wished to adjust. However, using this utility is limiting, but, more important, it doesn't always do what the documentation promises. I suspect that this is due to the idiosyncrasies of device ids and drivers or something else which I don't know. The long and short of the matter is that it is high time that an accessible sound mixer app be written, and I'm prepared to take it on. However, what I need is some feedback from experienced app developers to teach me what resources I will need to get the job done. First, although vbScript works well enough for fairly simple and even more complex apps, is it necessary to learn another programming language first. A related issue is what do I need to work with in the Windows OS to retrieve and set the values of the various sound devices; I'm wondering whether C++ is the best language, or is vbScript good enough? Before I go any further, perhaps someone knows of an accessible sound mixer which does everything I have mentioned; I mean, there's no point re-inventing the wheel, is there? Grin. Admittedly, I'm a fairly newbie scripter, but I'm ready to learn more, if for no other reason than that I'm tired of feeling victimized by what I can't get done in Windows, especially when it comes to sound. I really appreciate any feedback you app wizards can offer. :) All the best, Rod :)
