#Accessibility challenge: Using the #screenReader of your choice, navigate to today's TV schedule for BBC Two. From the top of the page, what is the minimum number of keystrokes you can find to switch it to the listings for tomorrow instead?
If you're a #blind user, you should really consider #Kagi for web search. Especially if you pay for chat GPT pro, you can subscribe to Kagi instead for cheaper and get more features. But even if you don't want AI, the search page is #accessible, fast, and light-weight. And unlike other big tech companies (Microsoft and Google) Kagi still offers a cheaper plan with no AI if you don't want it. Also, because they downrank websites with ads, the more accessible results tend to be at the top. Kagi also lets you block domains from your results. So I got rid of inaccessible stuff like instagram and pinterest, and downranked YouTube, because those results aren't usually #screenreader accessible. While I don't agree with many of the opinions of the @kagihq founder (especially his decision to do business with Yandex for image search), I still feel like using Kagi is more ethical than dealing with Google or Bing, and that these are reasonable differences of opinion that reasonable people can have, not just another clownishly evil tech company. I also find the idea that if you're a paying customer, that somehow guarantees the business will treat you better, really strange. I pay a lot to my ISP and they still treat me like dirt! Kagi will almost certainly sell out at some point. But for the moment, it's where it's at for search: www.kagi.com/
This is a patch release to fix bugs with braille devices and reading math in Chromium. Fixed bug with with reading math in Chromium Browsers (Chrome, Edge). Humanware Brailliant BI 40X devices running firmware version 2.4 now work as expected.
The Release Candidate (RC) of NVDA 2024.4.2 is now available for download and testing. We encourage all users to download this RC and provide feedback. Unless any critical bugs are found, this will…
Are you in Brisbane this week? NV Access are at the SPEVI conference at 293 Queen Street. We're talking all things NVDA & Mick is on a panel this afternoon on "The New Frontier of Braille" about multiline displays, chaired by Ben Clare.
Dear friends, #screenreader users, #blind users and #accessibility professionals in particular. Are you using chat over traditional email as provided by #DeltaChat / #DeltaLab / #ArcaneChat? I like it uses traditional email infrastructure, is federated, supports end to end encryption, rich content including audio / voice messages. I have even recognized @adb has implemented screen reader accessibility specific features into the android app. However I have quickly tried electron based app on linux with orca screen reader, exchanged a few messages back and fort between two of my personal accounts using the DeltaChat app and thunderbird and I haven't found the user experience verry appealing. I can't understand how to effectivelly navigate in the list of conversations and list of messages. Therefore I would be interested to hear a few comments from people knowing this platform better. How accessible is it on different platforms? On the desktop is the electron based app a prefered choice? Also some other questions. For the best experience, do I need a new email address or can I use my existing self-hosted one I have already configured in thunderbird? Ffeel free to point me to a FAQ, some up to date introductory documentation if you think my questions don't make much sense please.
While the digital world offers an abundance of online news sources, accessibility is still a work-in-progress far too often. It is commonplace to spend more time navigating to content than re…
We've been asked about it for years, and we are pleased to confirm that we have finally setup an official NV Access mailing list. You can subscribe to receive:
- Our fortnightly In-Process blog - NV Access organisational updates - NVDA Release announcements (Stable, and / or beta) - Good news stories - Job listings
Not directly NVDA related, but something many of us can relate to: "Why online shopping isn't so fun for those who are blind or have low vision" abc.net.au/news/2024-12-15/onl…
Next time you're scrolling for bargains online, consider the half a million Australians who don't find shopping on the web fun or simple, writes Nas Campanella.
"Given the fact that NVDA has an extremely light computer resource foot print the portable version is a blessing" - Squire, South Africa / NVDA negates the barriers many face when accessing a PC, as a free and light-weight screen reader translated into more than 50 languages.
This International Day of People with Disabilities, we want to highlight our amazing community and how you live the theme of this year's #IDPwD "Amplifying the leadership of persons with disabilities for an inclusive and sustainable future"
We have just put out a blog post; every piece talks about how you, our community are empowered to take on leadership in your lives, your work, and your #ScreenReader, #NVDA - check it out here:
Happy International Day of People with Disability 2024! The theme for this year is “Amplifying the leadership of persons with disabilities for an inclusive and sustainable future”. I …
Did you catch our last "In-Process" blog? Lots of handy info in there from info on NVDA 2024.4.1, to our Contributor Documentation Survey and more info on our add-on compatibility process! Find it all here: nvaccess.org/post/in-process-1…
Welcome to a jam packed In-Process. We have a release, a survey, several expos, an award finalist and more add-on info. Let’s dive in: NVDA 2024.4.1 Released NVDA Contributor Documentation Su…
Another random thing that made me happy tonight: I discovered that at some point #wordweb added a feature to disable linking of words in addon dictionaries. That makes reading definitions with a #screenreader much faster. It's a bit expensive, but if you frequently find yourself resorting to Google, or even worse #AI, to define words for you, it's worth the money and is largely #accessible as well: wordweb.info/#a11y
Calling all #Blind #Windows users! 🖥️👥 I briefly tried #Beeper after seeing another blind person recommend it, but it didn't seem the most accessible with the #JAWS #ScreenReader. Do you use any all-in-one social media apps like Shift, Franz, Ferdium, or Beeper on Windows? I'd love to hear about your experiences with #accessibility and usability. Please share your thoughts! #AssistiveTech #tech @mastoblind @main
I'm struggling to wrap my head around scene transitions and positioning things in #OBS on windows. If anyone is accomplished and feeling generous about answering questions as a #ScreenReader user (#NVDASR in particular) please hit me up. I'm very happy with my audio now, multi-track, filters, all that jazz, but the visual (without eyes of my own) is proving convoluted.
- NVDA 2024.4.1 which has recently been released - NVDA Contributor Documentation Survey - We head out and about with NV Access - NV Access board member Emma a Change Making Finalist! - And a deep dive into the Add-on Compatibility Process
Welcome to a jam packed In-Process. We have a release, a survey, several expos, an award finalist and more add-on info. Let’s dive in: NVDA 2024.4.1 Released NVDA Contributor Documentation Su…
Did you catch up on our last In-Process blog at the end of October? If you haven't yet read it (or even if you have) you'll be pleased to know I've now FIXED the table of contents links so you can easily get to: - the 2024.4 release info - Info about add-ons - Emphasising stability - Benefits for users and developers in our add-on approach - And all about reporting font attributes
It’s that spooky time of year for all those who celebrate Halloween. And it’s also Diwali for our Indian friends. Whether you participate in either of these or not, there is something we defi…
NVDA 2024.4.1 has been released! This is a patch release to fix a bug when saving speech symbol dictionaries. Pressing the Close button in the Symbol Pronunciation dialog will now save the symbols dictionary and close the dialog.
NV Access is pleased to announce that version 2024.4.1 of NVDA, the free screen reader for Microsoft Windows, is now available for download. We encourage all users to upgrade to this version. Highl…
If you've been looking for that next semi-cheap music-making fix but haven't decided what to get, consider Ableton Move. If you look at the official videos, literature and documentation, you'd be fooled into thinking that it's not actually accessible. This is incorrect. It runs a web-server for helping you manage samples,recordings and sets, but it also has an undocumented screen-reader which I demonstrate in this video. Next to Komplete Kontrol, I can say that this has been the most innovative, fun and game-changing piece of hardware I've owned and I thoroughly enjoy working with it.
#InspiredBySound - Let's Move! (Ableton Move Accessibility Overview) youtu.be/p8IbinbOhY4 Excerpt from Peter Kirn's blog about Move: ‘How do I access Move with a screen reader? Andre Louis has a walkthrough for you, as pointed out here in comments! And as always, it’s terrific. This is honestly worth a watch for sighted users, too, to understand how these interactions work – and it’s required viewing if you work in instrument design.’ cdm.link/ableton-move-guide/ #Ableton #AbletonMove #Accessibility #ScreenReader #A11y #Blind
If you're in Adelaide today, come over to U-City for See Differently Tech Fest! James and Quentin (both camera shy) are here showing off NVDA as well as exhibits from See Differently (formally Royal Society for the blind) and many other organizations.
Ever find it hard to keep track of links, buttons, and form fields on a cluttered webpage? NVDA’s Screen Layout feature helps! When enabled, items like links and buttons stay in their visual flow, appearing on the same line. When disabled, NVDA separates each link and control onto its own line, making navigation smoother for some users. Toggle Screen Layout on and off with NVDA+V to customize your browsing experience! #NVDA #Accessibility #ScreenReader #TechTips
Code Factory und Acapela, alternative Sprachausgaben für NVDA Wer sich den kostenlosen Screenreader NVDA (Non Visual Desktop Access) installiert, wird mit der freien Sprachausgabe eSpeak oder den Windows-stimmen leben müssen. Diese sind brauchbar, für längeres Arbeiten allerdings eher weniger geeignet. Sie sind zwar tief in Windows integriert... merkst.de/code-factory-acapela… #Android #Apple #Computer #Google #JAWS #Lautsprecher #Microsoft #NVDA #Screenreader #Test #VoiceOver #Windows
Our not so spooky Halloween In-Process blog post is out - No tricks, but plenty of treats - particularly from NVDA 2024.4, including all the highlights, and the new options for reporting font attributes. Plus a big walkthrough of NVDA's stability in the leadup to 2025.1. All that and more, here: nvaccess.org/post/in-process-3…
It’s that spooky time of year for all those who celebrate Halloween. And it’s also Diwali for our Indian friends. Whether you participate in either of these or not, there is something we defi…
NVDA 2024.4 is now available Featuring many improvements in Microsoft Office, braille & document formatting. We encourage all users to update. There's more than will fit here so please check out the full details & download from: nvaccess.org/post/nvda-2024-4/
Please note, after updating any software, it is a good idea to restart the computer. Restart by going to the Shutdown dialog, selecting “restart” and pressing ENTER.
NV Access is pleased to announce that version 2024.4 of NVDA, the free screen reader for Microsoft Windows, is now available for download. We encourage all users to upgrade to this version. Highlig…
Just in case people are wondering, here is a comprehensive list of keyboard shortcuts native to #Thunderbird. I will include the link at the end of this post. Be aware, the terminology is a little weird (meta for control in particular), but an explanation to the terminology and what it means is given on the page. Control+W, for example, is listed as Meta+W. Apart from that, it's a very comprehensive list and actually includes keyboard shortcuts for several different mail clients at once on the same table. Hope this helps! wiki.mozilla.org/Thunderbird:H… #Blind #Screenreader #A11y #JAWS #NVDA
For those of you who are switching to #Thunderbird from #Outlook, do the following to ensure as seamless an experience as possible while using a #screenreader. Note, these do not have to be done in this order. 1. If preferred, add your account by filling in the form that is presented on the screen which appears for the first time you open Thunderbird. This will get your first Email account connected properly to TB. 2. Once you are presented with the main TB window and the various folders (inbox, sent, etc.), you know your account has successfully been added. Press F8 to disable the preview pane. This will reduce clutter and allow you to simply press Enter on a message to open it rather than having to navigate it in the main TB window. 3. Open the Tools menu with Alt+T, then press Uparrow until you get to Settings and press Enter. Note, this is not the same as Account Settings. 4. Once in Settings, find the following items and make sure they are set as shown below. A. Under General heading. When Thunderbird launches, show the Start Page in the message area Alt+Shift+W check box not checked. This will prevent Thunderbird from showing its normal startup page and reduce the resulting clutter in the main TB window. B. Under General heading, optional. When Thunderbird is minimized, move it to the tray Alt+Shift+m check box not checked. When this checkbox is checked, every time you minimize the application, Thunderbird moves to the system tray and consequently requires activation every time you want to quickly get back to it. I personally find this bothersome, so I have disabled this particular behavior. C. Under General heading, optional. Hide system window titlebar Alt+Shift+H check box not checked. I personally like all the information I can get when reading my titlebar, so I prefer to have this disabled. D. Under Incoming Mails heading, Optional. Show an alert Alt+Shift+S check box not checked. Note, do not disable this setting if you desire to change the setting below it. If desired, change the setting below first, then move back and change this one afterward if preferred. When this item is checked, the screenreader will automatically announce when each message arrives. This is a bit too chatty for my personal preference, so I have it disabled. E. Under Incoming Mails heading, optional. Use the system notification check box not checked. Note, change this setting first if desired before changing the one above it, as this checkbox becomes unavailable when the setting above is disabled. This item allows Thunderbird to send a system notification to the Windows 10/11 Action Center. You get the system notification sound, as well as any accompanying speech and can view the notifications that way. I personally find this overkill, so I have disabled it. F. Under Incoming Mails heading. Play a sound Alt+Shift+d check box checked. This will allow Thunderbird to play a sound whenever a new message arrives. You can either use the sound that has been set up for the default Windows notification sound for mail or choose your own by specifying the file you would prefer using the Browse option. G. Under Reading and Display Heading. Set Open New Messages In to A New Message Window. This will exhibit the more familiar behavior of Outlook and open the message in its own window when you press Enter on it. H. Under Reading and Display heading, optional. Close message window/tab on move or delete Alt+Shift+C check box checked. This tells Thunderbird to close the message window if you happen to move or delete it from the main TB window. I personally have this enabled for convenience. I. Under Reading and Display heading, optional. Preferred Address Display Format set to Name Only. I prefer this because it cuts down on chatter. This way, as you arrow through messages, you will see only the name of the sender along with other header information, rather than both the name and Email address. 5. Once all the settings are to your liking, press Control+W to close Settings and return to the main TB window. 6. Open the View menu with Alt+V and press Rightarrow on the Toolbars menu. Uncheck all the items there except for Status Bar. This results in less clutter in the main TB window. 7. Return to the View menu with Alt+T and press Rightarrow on Layout. Press Enter on Classic View. This optimizes the view a little bit more for screenreader use. 8. From the main TB Window, Shift+Tab until you find the Message List Display Options button. Activating this will bring up a context menu. Once in this menu, make sure that Table View is checked. This will allow you access to message headers and the ability to order them how you would like. 9. Finally, from the message list in the main TB window, Shift+Tab once. You'll find a toolbar that consists of several buttons. These are your message headers. If you wish your screenreader to announce Read Status first, find the Sort By Read Status button, then press alt+leftarrow. This will move the header over. Note, this does not mean you will be sorting message by Read Status. Sort By is announced because if you click on these headers, you can sort the messages by the header that is selected. Use Alt+Leftarrow or Alt+Rightarrow to find the preferred position of the selected header. To check or confirm the order of your headers, press Tab and arrow through your message list. I have Read Status first, followed by attachments and so on. This makes the reader announce the read status of the message, then whether or not there are attachments, followed by whatever header (e.g. correspondents) comes next. Change the order of the message headers to match how you would like your reader to announce the associated items as you arrow through your message list. Press F6 and Shift+F6 to jump quickly between Email folders and message lists.
Hope this helps, and enjoy your shiny new Email client! #A11y #Blind #JAWS #NVDA
Just found this article stating that using the #language #attribute for individual words within a text is not a good idea when you want #ScreenReader users to have a good #UX. It's just overengineered #a11y.
I'm a bit surprised as you always read otherwise (as the article also mentions).
Are some screen reader users here that can share their experiences? I'm really curious now 🤔
As it has been a while and I could have done this better last time here’s my #introduction. I’m a #blind #parent, #braille user, and #musician. I have been blind for 5 years, learned braille over the last 3 years, and spend most of my time juggling being a stay at home dad, and staff for #OurBlind, mainly on our Discord and the r/blind subreddit. I also read a lot, mainly fantasy, mostly on my #kindle with the #voiceview #screenreader, though also read on a #Brailledisplay.
Welcome to OurBlind Join Us Reddit Discord Lemmy Who We Are OurBlind is a community of blind and visually impaired people, their family and friends, and allies, from around the world.
In-Process is out, featuring the results of our braille survey, Elston Changemakers event, the 2024.4 Release Candidate, an NV Access All-Hands, and using Data Validation in Excel.
Over the past fortnight we had a fantastic response to our braille survey, thank you! We already have some learnings to share with you! Plus, we’re nearly ready for NVDA 2024.4, are you? We’ve also…
Ever find that sitting in front of your unnecessarily complex music rig is hard sometimes? Creative block hits and there's nothing you can do about it? I certainly find that lately, more often than not. One device has come into my life and changed a lot of that however. Ableton Move.
In this world-first video, I take you through making a beat without sight, just using the undocumented screen-reader function within the web-based Move Manager.
It's incredibly freeing to be able to just load a fresh set, be presented with four random sounds and perhaps one of them will inspire you so you just begin doing a thing that you had absolutely no plan to do before you started. #InspiredBySound - Let's Move! (Ableton Move Accessibility Overview) youtu.be/p8IbinbOhY4 #Accessibility #Ableton #ScreenReader #Blind #Music #Composition
Check out the official Ableton Move website: https://www.ableton.com/en/move/Ableton Move is the first piece of hardware I've personally been excited by in y...
Woohoo! It's a pity I haven't tried the #tuba #fedi client built with #gnome technologies earlier. It's verry accessible with a #screenreader. I am running it on the desktop using the keyboard to navigate.
The last time I made a video about #Ableton, it was to do with Note, their iOS music-making app. This video is an Ableton-first, in which I bring you their newest piece of hardware, #AbletonMove. It ships with a web-based screen-reader and I've been enjoying it for many months. It uses sounds from Note, but in a hardware form. 32 poly-aftertouch pads, four tracks of midi (or samples,) 8 knobs, USB-C for power and controlling Ableton Live and a USB-A port for connecting class-compliant midi devices, should you wish to trigger it from a keyboard.
Please be advised that screen-reader support is currently an experimental feature and is not fully fleshed out. Not all aspects of the experience are as desired and there are a few kinks, but it is very much better than nothing whatsoever, and I am extremely thankful to the team that made this possible.
Ableton themselves are not talking about this screen-reader function in any of their literature, but I think it's important enough that it deserves recognition, and to bring an accessible groove-box to blind people in this way.
Even though I know #HTML inside out and use it virtually every day, I'm still reading #HTMLForPeople by @bw because it's a prime example of how a good guide should be written.
1. The book is simple and easy to follow, with relevant points explained well enough even for non-coders to understand. 2. Images are clearly described for #blind readers through the use of #AltText. 3. The website is easy to navigate with a #ScreenReader. 4. There are no annoying pop-ups or ads on the website. 5. The book is entirely free of charge.
In-Process is now out, featuring all things braille! What's new, what's coming up and importantly, a reminder of the braille users survey! Plus, get your hands on the NVDA 2024.4 Release Candidate and all of the new features coming to everyone else shortly!
The Release Candidate (RC) of NVDA 2024.4 is now available for download and testing. We encourage all users to download this RC and provide feedback. Unless any critical bugs are found, this will be identical to the final 2024.4 release.
Huge props to the #NVDAsr team for recognizing this and taking the steps to make #Braille a priority. Will be filling out their survey and hope other #Windows #ScreenReader users will do the same.
One of the themes which came through from the NVDA Satisfaction Survey earlier this year, was to improve Braille support. To help us target the most needed improvements, we have created a short survey. If you use NVDA with braille at least some of the time, please consider completing this survey.
beta5 of NVDA 2024.4 is now available for download and testing. For anyone who is interested in trying out what the next version of NVDA has to offer before it is officially released,
In Beta 5 we have fixed an issue where the custom multiple key press timeout was not honoured when repeatedly pressing the NVDA key. There are also updates to translations.
"I say that NVDA changed my life, because only we know how difficult it is to get a job, and companies rarely want to pay for software licenses." - Mykael, Brazil.
