Re: Why isn't Open Office on Windows Accessible?

  • From: "Jay Macarty" <jay.macarty2009@xxxxxxxxx>
  • To: <programmingblind@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Mon, 16 Aug 2010 00:16:31 -0500

I didn't know Ken had a screen reader for java apps. I'd like to find out more.

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Kerneels Roos 
  To: programmingblind@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
  Sent: Saturday, August 14, 2010 10:15 AM
  Subject: Re: Why isn't Open Office on Windows Accessible?


  NVDA makes Open Office fairly accessible, but things could be better. JAWS 
without any special JAWS scripts at least, doesn't help much to make Open 
Office accessible -- it's pretty much useless.

  What I would like to know is if it is possible to make OO totally accessible 
through a set of JAWS scripts, or is there a bigger underlying problem with the 
JAB that first needs to be addressed before JAWS scripts would make a 
difference, and before one could hope to have NVDA also work better with OO and 
any other Java app for that matter where the Java app developers tried their 
best to make the app accessible.

  Ken, your custom screen reader for OO and other Java apps is pretty 
impressive. Does anyone have that code somewhere? I would really like to have a 
look at it. So you say it actually replaced the functionality of the JAB?

  Where would one start if your end goal would be to have Java apps be more 
accessible than they are today? It must be possible to make OO under Windows be 
more accessible since under Linux it's much better. At this point you might 
say, well just use the Linux one then, but that is not always possible and some 
OO extensions, like odt2braille is only available for Windows for example.

  What about other screen readers? Has anyone experienced much better results 
with any of these:
  Hal
  System Access
  Thunder
  Windows Eyes
  (any others)

  And lastly, why does Orca work so well with some Java apps, like Open Office 
and possibly others too?

  Any help or ideas would be much appreciated. I'm really not pointing fingers, 
I just think the solution is not far off and we can make it happen, so why not?

  Keep well,
  Kerneels


  On Sat, Aug 14, 2010 at 4:13 PM, Trouble <trouble1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

    And in speaking about the accessibility of open office a java software.
    Anyone have a link or download of the accessible bridge v2? I tried v1.8 
but it won't recognize there latest upgrade. Now all java stuff is partially 
broke whether it be software or web pages. That would be a bug that FS will 
never fix and has left it up to sun micro systems.


    At 03:30 AM 8/13/2010, you wrote:

      Hi List,

      Sorry if this question has been raised before and dealt with. Does anyone 
know exactly why the Windows version of Open Office is only partly accessible 
with a screen reader, while the Linux version is streets ahead? Because Open 
Office is written in Java I assume the code base is 98% identical across 
platforms. Is the problem mainly with the JAB (Java Access Bridge) or with the 
screen readers themselves? Could the JAB not be open sourced so it can be 
updated to bridge Java, MSAA, UIA and any other access middle ware standard?

      NVDA works the best with Open Office, so I would assume it makes the best 
use of the JAB. Is there other Java to access technology middle ware in common 
use today?

      I can remember a really long thread that in part had some info on Java 
accessibility, but I just can't justify going through all that to possibly find 
out more.

      Keep well


      --
      Kerneels Roos
      Cell/SMS: +27 (0)82 309 1998
      Skype: cornelis.roos

      The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese!




    Tim
    trouble
    Verizon FIOS support tech
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  -- 
  Kerneels Roos
  Cell/SMS: +27 (0)82 309 1998
  Skype: cornelis.roos

  The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese!

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