EdSharp 3.2 and FileDir 3.8 released
- From: Jamal Mazrui <empower@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: guispeak@xxxxxxxxxxxxx, programmingblind@xxxxxxxxxxxxx, program-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx, uaccess-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sat, 10 Apr 2010 15:53:43 -0400 (EDT)
EdSharp 3.2
http://EmpowermentZone.com/edsetup.exe
FileDir 3.8
http://EmpowermentZone.com/dirsetup.exe
EdSharp and FileDir are free, open source applications with rich feature
sets that rival counterparts on Windows for file editing and directory
management. In addition, they incorporate designs to maximize
productivity by keyboard and screen reader users. A course of steady
improvements, reflecting user feedback, has resulted in these time-tested,
accessible solutions.
In the latest updates to EdSharp and FileDir, the free, open source screen
reader for Windows called Nonvisual Desktop Access, NVDA, is now supported
with direct speech messages, just like JAWS, System Access, and
Window-Eyes. NVDA is available either as an installer or portable version
from
http://nvda-project.org
When navigating the menu system of EdSharp or FileDir, a tooltip about the
current menu item is now displayed on the status line. This is the same
summary information that appears in each list item of the Alternate Menu
command, Alt+F10.
Both EdSharp and FileDir add the Web Client Utilities command,
Alt+Shift+Space, for tasks that conveniently retrieve information from web
sources. The collection of 35 utilities is described in a new section of
documentation -- an excerpt of which is pasted at the end of this message.
Web 2.0 services can significantly increase efficient access to
information by blind people.
The installer of optional JAWS scripts for EdSharp or FileDir is now
compatible with 64-bit versions of Windows.
The Export command of EdSharp, Alt+Shift+E, now includes PDF as a target
format. The Web Download command, Alt+Shift+W, now prompts whether to get
URLs from a web page or the current document.
A new EdSharp configuration option, HardPageAddress, determines whether
the Address command, Alt+A, gives a page number instead of document
percentage (default is No). A form feed character specifies a hard page
break. It is part of the sequence inserted by the Section Break command,
Control+Enter, which is configurable via the SectionBreak option of the
configuration dialog. Use the Control+PageDown and Control+PageUp
commands to navigate by page. Pressing Alt+A a second time in a row gives
the alternate type of address information, so you can still get a page
number without changing the HardPageAddress setting.
The new Burn to CD command of EdSharp, Alt+Shift+B, operates on a path
list in the current document. Each file or folder path should be placed
on a separate line. If a parent folder is not specified, the last one in
the list is used. The default parent folder is the current directory.
For example, the following list specifies the EdSharp program folder and
two test files from the temp folder:
C:\Program Files\EdSharp
C:\temp\test.txt
test.doc
You can create a path list manually, or use the Path List command,
Control+Shift+P, to generate one for you. The paths found are burned to
the default CD drive. The CD may be blank or include content already.
The new content is added to it. The CD must be writable. At this time,
DVDs do not work, only CDs.
The Recent command of FileDir, Alt+R, now prompts whether to show recent
folders opened in FileDir, or recent shortcuts that Windows automatically
creates in the special folder called Recent. These are shortcuts to files
or folders that you opened in almost any application.
Jamal
Web Client Utilities
The Web Client Utilities command, Alt+Shift+Space, is similar to the
Research It command of JAWS, Insert+Space. The utilities are handy ways
of getting useful information from free web 2.0 services. The following
35 utilities are installed (for efficient navigation in the listbox, each
has a unique initial character, which may be a letter, digit, or symbol):
!Odd News - Get recent news items that are strange but true via
reuters.com.
@DomainLookup - Get authoritative information about the registrant of an
Internet domain name, e.g., AccessibleWorld.org. Note that some firewalls
block this utility because it uses a different port than standard HTTP
requests. This uses the free WhoisThisDomain utility from
http://nirsoft.net/utils/
#SportScores - Pick a sport from a list and go to the corresponding page
on ESPN.com with recent news and scores.
$Product Search - Enter keywords that describe a product and go to its
matching web page on amazon.com.
-TimeInternational - Enter a location (e.g., specified as city, country)
and get the current time there via google.com.
=UnitConversion - enter a source value, e.g., 10 miles, and a target unit,
e.g., kilometer, and get the converted result via google.com. This works
for currency units as well as physical measurements.
1 Mile Stories - Get recent blog or news stories about a location and
surrounding area within a one mile radius via the outside.in web service.
Enter a location such as your home address on one line by using a comma
and space between segments that you might otherwise type on separate
lines.
508 Check - Check a web page for compliance with accessibility standards
of the United States Government (Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act),
as well as standards of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). This checks
a web page against 508 standards via CynthiaSays.com (the site limits
checks to one per minute from the same client). It also includes the
report of Wave, a web evaluation checker from WebAim.org.
0Captcha - Submit a captcha to solona.net ( a free account is required),
and have the text solution copied to the clipboard so you can paste it
into a web form. The utility waits up to 90 seconds for a human operator
to respond. This utility is typically executed from within a browser that
is displaying a captcha, though any .png file on disk may be submitted.
Address Lookup - Search for addresses of organizations meeting geographic
and other criteria via jigsaw.com. This prompts for an organization name,
area code, zip code, web site type, and fortune rank. Fill in one or more
fields for the search. For example, input gov for the web site type in
order to get government organizations, or 500 in the fortune field to get
companies in the top fortune 500.
Business Reviews - Search for reviews of a business specified by a phone
number via yelp.com.
Common URLs - Show a list of the 100 most commonly referenced URLs on
Twitter at present via TweetMeme.com. These typically point to news
stories that people have been retweeting.
Driving Directions - Input a starting and ending location, and get a list
of steps to get there by car (a blind person might share this with a
friend or cab driver). The location may be specified as a street address
in any country. The utility prompts for a starting and ending address,
uses the Google Maps API, and puts the estimated distance, duration, and
steps in the viewing area. Specify an address as if you were addressing
an envelope except for a comma rather than return between each line, e.g.,
1400 East-West Highway, Silver Spring MD 20910, USA
USA is assumed as the country if not specified.
EnglishDictionary Lookup - Get definitions and other information about a
word via wiktionary.com.
Feed Find - Get a list of RSS and ATOM feeds made available by a web site.
This prompts for a web source and returns a list of RSS or ATOM feeds
found. An http:// prefix is assumed if not specified. For example,
entering
cnn.com
finds two RSS feeds related to top stories and latest stories. You can
open a feed url to read recent content, or subscribe with a feed reader
for regular updates.
Google Search and Set Suggestions - Propose a Google search and get a list
of popular searches that are similar. Also Get a list of terms that may
be part of the same set. For example, enter a comma-separated list of
U.S. presidents and let Google suggest a more complete list.
Horoscope Reading - Input a zodiac sign (e.g., Sagittarius) and get a
horoscope for today via my.horoscope.com.
Interesting Places - Get a list of nearby places to eat, shop, or visit
via NextStop.com. This prompts for a location, which can be in the city,
state format, or a complete address with commas seperating postal address
lines. Also input the distance in kilometers to search from that
location, and any words that you want to narrow the search, e.g., Chinese
for that type of food. An excerpt from a review of each place is also
included, if available.
Journalist World Reports - Get world headlines from multiple web sources:
the BBC, CNN, Christian Science Monitor, New York Times, Reuters, and
Yahoo. A structured text file is generated containing a section of news
items from each source. Each item has a title, summary, and URL for the
full article.
KnowledgeWikipedia - Input a topic and get a Wikipedia article as both a
web page and a text file.
Language Translation - Translate text you specify, between about 100
different languages. You can quickly understand what a foreign phrase
means or how to write it. This uses the Google Translate API to translate
text among about 100 natural languages. By default, the choice for the
source language is unknown and automatically inferred by Google. You pick
the target language, and either enter or paste text in the multi-line edit
box.
Members of Congress - Based on a U.S. zip code, get a list of House and
Senate members with various data including committee assignments and
contact information via SunlightLabs.com.
Neighborhood Search - Search for places near a location, e.g., restaurants
with a particular cuisine near an address you are visiting (anywhere in
the world). This prompts for an address in the same format as Driving
Directions and also for one or more keywords specified as if searching on
Google, e.g.,
seafood steak
to find restaurants in the area that serve both seafood and steak.
Original URL - Get the original version of a URL, e.g., one that was
shortened for sharing in a tweet. This does the reverse of the Short URL
utility, prompting for a URL, converting it, and copying the result to the
clipboard.
Physician Online - Enter a medical topic and go to a matching web page on
WebMD.com.
Quotes of the Day - Get daily food for thought from famous quotes and
their authors. This Shows a humorous quote from IHeartQuotes.com, as well
as several motivational quotes from QuotationsPage.com.
Recommended URLs - Based on a topic word, get a list of currently popular
URLs that people are saving as bookmarks via delicious.com.
Short URL - Get a shortened version of a URL via j.mp.com, e.g., so you
can share it in a tweet and have more text to type within the 140
character limit.
Trend Topics - Get a list of currently popular topics on Twitter via
LetsBeTrends.com.
Url Downloads - Batch download multiple urls based on an initial page
address and the extensions of files linked to it. This puts a
space-separated list of extensions found in an input box. Edit it so that
only the extensions you want remain. The utility then puts a list of
those links in a multiple-selection listbox, showing the link text and URL
for each. The items are all selected by default, but you can use arrow
keys and Spacebar to unselect ones as desired. The next dialog prompts
for a folder for saving the files, which will be remembered as the default
choice the next time. The utility says the name of each file as it is
being downloaded.
Virtual White Pages - Search the white pages of U.S. phone books for
listings of residential phone numbers and postal addresses via
WhitePages.com.
Weather Check - Get a summary of current and forecasted conditions for any
location via wunderground.com. This works with city, country locations as
well as U.S. zip codes.
Xtra Word Info - Get definitions, usage examples, and origins of a word.
This shows definition and examples via Wordnik.com; synonyms and antonyms
via words.BigHugeLabs.com; and etymology via etymonline.com.
Yahoo! Term Extractions - Get noteworthy noun phrases contained in a web
page via yahoo.com.
Zoom Info - Search for employment contacts by name or email address via
ZoomInfo.com.
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