Greetings all,
I tend to learn better from poking around and RTFMing rather than podcasts.
I'm into Chapter 3 of the VoiceOver getting started guide (URL:
http://www.apple.com/voiceover/info/guide/ ) and am sure I'm making things
much more complecated and am not interpreting the text correctly, but right
now it feels as though FireSign Theater best summed it up in their ancient
lp: "you can't get there from here".
Once I get past this the rest will hopefully start falling into place, but I
finally reached the point where I need to seek advice here, so for those who
want to follow me in the manual as I try and locate the Skype file I
recently downloaded, here goes:
I will qquote the manual and then delineate my comments with my initials
(GLW).
The text reads:
quote
Note:The instructions below assume that cursor tracking is on, and the
VoiceOver cursor and keyboard focus are tracking each other.
To open a Finder window:
Move to the Dock by pressing VO-D or, if you're using VoiceOver gestures,
double-tap near the bottom edge of the trackpad. Then navigate to the
Finder, which is the first item in the Dock.
Unquote
GLW I verified the suggested settings. VO+D and selecting the first item
works however the trackpad command does not. I closed all active Windows
and took VO focus to the desktop. VO+F1 outputs: "finder. 1 running
application". When I tap near the bottom of my trackpad, VO emits the sound
associated with either boundry reached or "command not supported".
Returning to text:
Quote:
Open the Application Chooser by pressing VO-F1-F1 or, if you're using
VoiceOver gestures, double-tap near the left edge of the trackpad. Choose
Finder in the Application Chooser.
Unquote.
GLW The Application chooser works but again from the desktop with no other
apps open tapping the left edge of my trackpad only emits the out of bounds
bonk.
Quote:
You can also use Mac OS X shortcuts by pressing Command-Tab and then using
the arrow keys to navigate to the Finder.
Unquote
GLW Command+tab causes VO to announce: "finder", but I can not navigate with
either the arrows or VO+arrow keys at this point. Command+w has no affect,
but then the manual states that the Finder is always active.
Quote
If a Finder window was open, you go to that window. Otherwise, you go to the
desktop. In that case, go to the menu bar by pressing VO-M or, if you're
using VoiceOver gestures, double-tapping near the top edge of the trackpad.
Then use the Right Arrow key to navigate to the Finder menu.
Unquote
GLW From that Window I cannot navigate with the arrows, VO+M places me in
the finder menu, but the initial screen is nothing like what is presented
when I press VO+d and select the first dock item. And again pressing near
the top of my trackpad emits the "command not supported" tone.
So far I have workarounds, but after I select list view from the toolbar's
view radio group, the real fun begins.
Quote
When you have selected a view, stop interacting with the view radio group
and the toolbar, and then press VO-Right Arrow to move through the window
until you hear "sidebar."
To move down the list of items in the sidebar, press VO-Down Arrow. When you
hear the item you want, jump to it in the view browser; you can interact
with it.
To jump, press VO-J. If you're using VoiceOver gestures, keep a finger on
the trackpad and press the Control key.
Unquote
GLW I quit interacting with the toolbar and press vo+right arrow. VO
announces sidebar as a table, and since the arrow keys have no affect I
interact with it. The first item (Macintosh hd) is clearly what I want. If
I press vo+down arrow I immediately receive the "finder critical alert"
dialog prompting me to set up a MobileMe account. If I try and explore with
my trackpad and land there that dialog again pops up. VO+j does get me to
the list view as does the control key while touching the trackpad (assuming
I don't accidently flick to MobileMe). I can then expand my account name,
interact with the resulting table, and interact with downloads to find my
Skype file.
But it seems that depending on what I do in my list view, I may have a
different selection active in the sidebar, which means I again have to try
and avoid the MobileMe setup while treversing the table.
I realize that there are many former Windows users here, so this can't be
nearly as cumbersome as I made it. Right now it seems that it takes about
fifty steps to accomplish what I've been doing by pressing Windows+e and
selecting a drive and folder. I am taking into account that anything new
will seem harder and maybe I've got the navigation steps right and they just
become second nature?
If you got this far thanks for your patients and any comments you're willing
to share.
Geoff
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