Re: Stumped: JAWS GetObject function for current browser window?
- From: Jamal Mazrui <empower@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: programmingblind@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 25 Sep 2007 16:22:26 -0400 (EDT)
Thanks for that info about the IE object model. I tried the Snapshot
object, converting the sample.vbs example to JAWS script. For some
reason, the script does not create the image file on disk, even though
the object is instantiated.
I think the following technique would work. Have the JAWS script run a
.vbs file with cscript.exe, passing it parameters for the URL to capture
and the file to create, and waiting for it to complete. The URL of the
current page in IE can be obtained from a property of the document
object.
The Homer script library
http://www.EmpowermentZone.com/kitsetup.exe
includes convenience functions that could help with some of these steps,
though they can also be coded from scratch. Let me know if you have
further questions.
Jamal
On Mon, 24 Sep 2007, Bryan Garaventa wrote:
> Date: Mon, 24 Sep 2007 10:03:16 -0700
> From: Bryan Garaventa <bryan@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Reply-To: programmingblind@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> To: programmingblind@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: Re: Stumped: JAWS GetObject function for current browser window?
>
> I thought so at first as well, but it doesn't appear to work.
>
> What I need to do is create a JAWS script that can take screenshots of a
> webpage at runtime. Unfortunately the standard Print screen method doesn't
> work, because it only captures the visible area of the screen, and the
> entire web page has to be captured without reloading the page from the
> current IE instance.
>
> I found an ActiveX component that claims to do this, called HTML Snapshot
> ( http://www.guangmingsoft.net/htmlsnapshot/help.htm ), which can apparently
> take the entire image of a web page at one time. Adding to the appeal of
> this method, is that the ActiveX is redistributable, which is necessary for
> this project.
>
> Specifically, the ActiveX method I would need to use within the script
> appears to be SnapWebBrowser(). However, this method requires a browser
> object of type IDispatch. I've tried passing the JAWS IEGetCurrentDocument
> return for this argument, but with no luck. It looks like the method
> requires the use of an IE instance that reveals it's ActiveX directly.
>
> I've been doing a lot of research in this area, and made some discoveries
> that may help solve the issue if possible.
>
> First has to do with the MSDN's reference regarding Internet Explorer
> Architecture ( http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa741312.aspx ),
> which says...
>
> Internet Explorer Architecture
>
> A description of each of these six components follows:
>
> list of 6 items
> . IExplore.exe is at the top level, and is the Internet Explorer executable.
> It is a small application that relies on the other main components of
> Internet Explorer to do the work of rendering, navigation, protocol
> implementation, and so on.
> . Browsui.dll provides the user interface to Internet Explorer. Often
> referred to as the "chrome," this DLL includes the Internet Explorer address
> bar, status bar, menus, and so on.
> . Shdocvw.dll provides functionality such as navigation and history, and is
> commonly referred to as the WebBrowser control . This DLL exposes ActiveX
> Control interfaces, enabling you to easily host the DLL in a Microsoft
> Windows application using frameworks such as Microsoft Visual Basic,
> Microsoft Foundation Classes (MFC), Active Template Library (ATL), or
> Microsoft .NET Windows Forms. When your application hosts the WebBrowser
> control, it obtains all the functionality of Internet Explorer except for
> the user interface provided by Browseui.dll. This means that you will need
> to provide your own implementations of toolbars and menus.
> . Mshtml.dll is at the heart of Internet Explorer and takes care of its HTML
> and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) parsing and rendering functionality.
> Mshtml.dll is sometimes referred to by its code name, "Trident". Mshtml.dll
> exposes interfaces that enable you to host it as an active document . Other
> applications such as Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Visio, and
> many non-Microsoft applications also expose active document interfaces so
> they can be hosted by shdocvw.dll. For example, when a user browses from an
> HTML page to a Word document, mshtml.dll is swapped out for the DLL provided
> by Word, which then renders that document type. Mshtml.dll may be called
> upon to host other components depending on the HTML document's content, such
> as scripting engines (for example, Microsoft JScript or Visual Basic
> Scripting Edition (VBScript)), ActiveX controls, XML data, and so on.
> . Urlmon.dll offers functionality for MIME handling and code download.
> . WinInet.dll is the Windows Internet Protocol handler. It implements the
> HTTP and File Transfer Protocol (FTP) protocols along with cache management.
> list end
>
> There's quite a bit more in depth info, but this shows the essentials.
>
> At first, I thought, by returning the top level object, "IExplore.exe", this
> would solve the problem, but not so from a JAWS script.
>
> What I actually need to return is the current WebBrowser object, which would
> require the use of Shdocvw. I believe this would do the trick.
>
> The directions for accomplishing this, has been a bit harder to track down.
> Finally though, I think I've found something that might help with this as
> well, though I haven't been able to apply it directly using a JAWS script.
>
> It is a forum entry named "FOUND! how to attach to running instances of
> Internet Explorer" from dBforums. (
> http://www.dbforums.com/showthread.php?threadid=867088 )
>
> Specifically it refers to Python, but I think it may be possible to convert
> the principles to a JAWS script... I hope anyway.
>
> Please let me know if you have any insights, I'd welcome them.
>
> Best wishes,
>
> Bryan
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Jamal Mazrui" <empower@xxxxxxxxx>
> To: <programmingblind@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Monday, September 24, 2007 9:05 AM
> Subject: Re: Stumped: JAWS GetObject function for current browser window?
>
>
> >I must be missing something here. Doesn't IEGetCurrentDocument return a
> > COM object for the current web page in IE? How does this not meet the
> > need?
> >
> >
> > Jamal
> >
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