You had mentioned that you might be interested in this -- didn't see any replies on the list, so am not sure if it was ever posted.
This is a forwarded message From: Steve M. Sawczyn <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Monday, July 21, 2003, 11:13:55 AM Subject: Making the bat more accessible to screen readers ===8<==============Original message text=============== Hello all, As all of you know, I'm on a quest to make the Bat as accessible to blind folks like myself who depend on screen reading technology. I'm not a programmer, or developer, so if this post seems a bit vague, it's probably due to my lack of understanding about programming. Screen readers rely heavily on the way controls within an application are classed. For example, when i encounter a list box, edit field, radio button, etc..., the screen reader allows me to interact with that control and, because it knows how these standard controls operate, I get relevant feedback i.e. what is checked, what is selected, etc... In those instances where an application does not use standard classes, I have the option to reclass, that is I can tell the screen reader to treat a control as a standard control essentially overriding what the programmer intended. THe problem arises when the control doesn't behave like a standard control and this is the main access issue when it comes to the Bat. According to the screen reader, the main message list, i.e. when opening a folder, is classified as a MessageListview. Since this is not a standard class, the screen reader isn't really sure how to interact with this control. Fortunately, as standard highlighting is used, the screen reader is able to read which message is highlighted. UNfortunately, this precludes the graphics displayed to the left of the message columns. Also, when a message is deleted, the screen reader doesn't look for the next highlight as it doesn't think I need that information. I tried reclassing this as a listview, but then nothing is spoken. I'm not sure why this is -- the only feedback I've gotten from the screen reader developers is that the control doesn't emulate a standard listview. Accessible applications seem to do one of three things: #1 incorporate standard controls as defined by Microsoft. #2 Support MSAA, Microsoft's Active Accessibility. #3 Use their own controls, but emulate standard controls. For more information on this in general, I would suggest the following URL http://www.microsoft.com/enable In addition, the developers of the specific screen reading product i'm using, Window Eyes, can be contacted in the US at (260) 489-3671. They can be Emailed at: [EMAIL PROTECTED] or http://www.gwmicro.com Jaws is another popular screen reader. I've found that the same access issues exist with Jaws -- presumably due to the issues mentioned above. I hope this information clarifies some of the access issues faced by blind users using the Bat. If anyone can help me get this information to the Bat development folks, I know I'd certainly appreciate it. In addition, if anyone islooking for someone to test applications for accessibility, I'd be willing to do that as it'll pave the way for other blind folks in the future. -- Best regards, Steve mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] ===8<===========End of original message text=========== -- Best regards, Steve mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] ________________________________________________ Current version is 1.62r | "Using TBUDL" information: http://www.silverstones.com/thebat/TBUDLInfo.html
