From 7a9ccb2c86152bed6a8102aa1d8da8b7f43dd5a6 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: William Walker Date: Tue, 9 Dec 2008 21:31:48 +0000 Subject: reorganize and update the Orca section. * low-vision.xml: reorganize and update the Orca section. svn path=/trunk/; revision=1043 --- gnome2-accessibility-guide/C/ChangeLog | 4 + gnome2-accessibility-guide/C/low-vision.xml | 3714 +++++++++++++-------------- 2 files changed, 1851 insertions(+), 1867 deletions(-) diff --git a/gnome2-accessibility-guide/C/ChangeLog b/gnome2-accessibility-guide/C/ChangeLog index e9ade83..b1bb4f5 100644 --- a/gnome2-accessibility-guide/C/ChangeLog +++ b/gnome2-accessibility-guide/C/ChangeLog @@ -1,3 +1,7 @@ +2008-12-09 Willie Walker + + * low-vision.xml: reorganize and update the Orca section + 2008-06-20 Vincent Alexander * enable.xml, config.xnl: Ch2/3 sectioning diff --git a/gnome2-accessibility-guide/C/low-vision.xml b/gnome2-accessibility-guide/C/low-vision.xml index fc2b557..5d42363 100644 --- a/gnome2-accessibility-guide/C/low-vision.xml +++ b/gnome2-accessibility-guide/C/low-vision.xml @@ -10,6 +10,11 @@ The technologies that can assist those with low vision or blindness are: +Desktop Appearance Enhancement - users can configure the desktop to be easy to read; for example, by increasing text size and using high-contrast themes. + + + + Screen Magnifier - this is like a magnifying glass. People using them are able to control what area of the computer screen they want enlarged, and can move the magnifier to view different areas of the screen. They are also known as screen enlargers or large print programs. @@ -23,2806 +28,2781 @@ describing the item. They are also known as blind access utilities or screen reviewers. - + + + +
+Desktop Appearance Enhancement -Desktop Appearance Enhancement - users can configure the desktop to be easy to read; for example, by increasing text size and using high-contrast themes. +This chapter describes the methods you can use to change the appearance of the GNOME Desktop in order to enhance the accessibility of the desktop for users with visual +impairments. - - -
-Orca: Screen Reader and Magnifier - -Screen Reader and Magnifier - +
+Customization Options -Orca +customizing the desktop appearance -The Orca Screen Reader and Magnifier application enables users with limited or no vision to use the GNOME Desktop and associated applications. Orca provides the following functionality: +There are several ways to customize the appearance of the GNOME Desktop to suit your +specific needs: - + + +Themes -Screen Reader +Themes are the most effective way to change the appearance of the desktop in a consistent manner. See for more information about themes and how to use them to achieve the type of desktop environment that you require. + + + +Desktop and Application-Specific Configuration Settings + + -The screen reader enables non-visual access to standard applications in the GNOME Desktop by using speech and braille output. +You can customize different components of the desktop to achieve the display settings that you require. You can configure the desktop and applications in addition to using themes or as an alternative to themes. See for more information. - + + -Magnifier +The following table summarizes the changes that you can make to the GNOME Desktop and where you can make the changes. This guide does not provide detailed instructions about how to customize the desktop. For detailed instructions about how to use the customization tools that the desktop provides, refer to the Help for each tool or to the User Guide. + + +Quick Reference to Customizing the Appearance of the Desktop + + + + + + + +To change the... + + +Use... + + + + + + -The magnifier provides automated focus tracking and full-screen magnification to aid low-vision users. +Overall appearance of the desktop using high-contrast colors, low-contrast colors, or large print. - - + + +The Theme section of the Appearance preference tool. + + + + + -The following sections provide information about Orca and how to use it. +Appearance of the desktop background only. - -
-Introduction to Orca -
-What is Orca? + + -Orca is a flexible, extensible, and powerful assistive technology for people with visual impairments. Using various combinations of speech synthesis, braille and magnification, Orca helps provide access to applications -and toolkits that support the AT-SPI (e.g., the GNOME Desktop). Orca is also free open source software. +The Desktop Background section of the Appearance preference tool; also the file manager Backgrounds and Emblems menu item. -
+ + -
-Why the name Orca? + + -One of the first DOS screen readers was Flipper, made by Omnichron Corporation in Berkeley, CA. It was named Flipper in part because the blind wife of the programmer -envisioned computers as being programmed by flipping switches (an accurate image of a bygone era). Then came another DOS screen reader, this one from Henter-Joyce in -Florida - "Jobs Access With Speech" (or JAWS). And so on.... +Appearance of the mouse pointer. + + -Although no obvious connection exists between blindness and creatures from the sea, there is certainly a naming tradition for screen-reader software. Hence Orca, which is a lot tougher-sounding than Nemo, Ariel, Willy, or Mr. Limpet. +The Theme section of the Appearance preference tool; use the Pointers tab of the Customize option. -
+ + -
-What's the schedule? + + -Orca is part of the GNOME platform and Orca's releases are coupled with the releases of the GNOME platform. +Font displayed on the desktop background and +in all desktop applications. -
- -
-How do I request a new feature? + + -Bugs and feature/enhancement requests (RFEs) -should be reported to the GNOME Bug Tracking System -. Patches are always welcome, and instructions for creating patches can be found in the -GNOME Introduction to Subversion (SVN) -. +The Font section of the Appearance preference tool. -
- -
-Where is the discussion list? + + + + -You can get in touch with developers and other users by sending an e-mail to the Orca mailing list -( -Archives). +Default font settings of the Text Editor, Terminal or Help application. -
- -
-Is braille supported? + + -Yes! Braille is supported via BrlTTY and it is tightly integrated with Orca. BrlTTY offers support for nearly every refreshable braille display known to man. Refer to the -braille page - for more information. +Normally these applications use the default +application font that is specified in the Font section of the Appearance preference tool, but these font settings can also be overridden in the Preferences dialog for the application. + + +
 + +
-
-Are Grade 2 braille contractions supported? +
+Using Themes to Customize the Desktop -Yes, Orca fully supports contracted braille output. +This section describes how to use themes to customize the appearance of the GNOME Desktop. -
-
-What voices are available? +
+Introduction to Themes + +themes + -Orca provides interfaces to both gnome-speech and emacspeak speech services. As such, the available voices for Orca are only restricted by the speech engines supported by the available speech services. For free speech engines, you typically have a choice of the eSpeak, Festival, and FreeTTS speech engines. For commercial engines, you have a choice of -additional engines such as Fonix DECtalk, Loquendo, Eloquence, Cepstral and IBMTTS, with others on the way. Periodically check the gnome-speech package for more progress in this area. +A theme is a group of coordinated settings that specifies how a desktop component or a group of desktop components appears. You can use themes to modify and control the appearance of the desktop in a consistent manner. When you apply a theme, the system modifies many desktop components simultaneously to achieve the desired effect. For example, if you apply a theme that increases the font size across the desktop, the theme also modifies the size of panels and icons on the desktop for optimum compatibility with the font size. Some themes have suggested font settings that may optionally be auto-set; in addition, most colors within a theme can be customized. -
- -
-What languages are supported? -The -GNOME translation teams are composed of many passionate volunteers from around the world. These teams do a great job and keep an up-to-date status report. See the -Orca translation status page for the large number of languages into which Orca has been translated. +A theme contains settings that affect different parts of the desktop: - -Note: support for a language also depends on -the speech synthesis engine also supporting the same language. + + +Controls + + +The controls setting for a theme determines the visual appearance of all windows, applications, panels, and panel applications. The controls setting also determines the visual appearance of the GNOME-compliant interface items that appear on windows, applications, panels, and panel applications such as menus, icons, and buttons. Some of the control options that are available in the desktop are designed for special accessibility needs. -
- -
-How well does magnification work? + + + +Window Border + -Orca currently uses the gnome-mag -magnification service. gnome-mag has incorporated support for smoother full-screen magnification, which -relies upon newer extensions in the X Window System server. These extensions do not always function well on all platforms, so smooth full-screen magnification may not always work. +The window frame setting determines the appearance of the border around windows only. -
- -
-How is web access coming along? + + + +Icon + -Orca targets the Firefox web browser (version 3) for providing accessible web browsing. Both the Orca and Firefox teams are fully dedicated in this cooperative effort. +The icon setting determines the appearance of icons on panels and on the desktop background. -
+ + +
-
-Enabling Orca - -For a text-only guided setup, open a Run dialog with AltF2 or MetaR and use the command orca --text-setup Enter. +
+Choosing Themes + +themes +desktop + +To choose a theme, perform the following steps: + + -The first time Orca is launched you will be asked a few questions: +Choose SystemPreferencesAppearance +. The themes +are listed under the Theme tab. + + -First you will be presented with a list of languages to choose from; there are currently about 45 languages supported. Most of this list will scroll off the screen, so you may have to use the terminal's scrollbar to view earlier parts of the list. Type in the number of your language choice (e.g., 7 for American English) and press Enter. +Click on a theme in the list box to choose a new theme. The system automatically applies the theme to the desktop, and may also prompt whether to apply a suggested font for the theme. -You are next asked to set Echo By Word. This option instructs Orca to speak words as you finish typing them. Type y or n and press Enter. +There are several themes available that suit different accessibility needs, as described in the following table: + +Themes Designed for Accessibility Requirements + + + + + + + +Theme Name + + +Description + + + + + + -The next item is Key Echo. This option will speak all keys as they are pressed. Type y or n and press Enter. +High Contrast + + -Now select your desired keyboard layout; generally, you will want to choose the layout that matches your keyboard type - 1 for Desktop or 2 for Laptop. This choice will determine what key will act as the Orca modifier key. The Desktop layout uses Insert while the Laptop layout uses Caps Lock. A system, host, shift or modifier key is one which is used in conjunction with other keys, enabling keyboard access to most program functions. +Provides dark text on a light background using high-contrast colors. - -Next, specify if you require braille output. This functionality assumes a BrlTTY-compatible device is available. Type y or n and press Enter. + + + + + +High Contrast Inverse + + -Lastly, indicate whether you want an on-screen braille output monitor. This is mostly for developers who need to verify BrlTTY output, but may also be useful in other situations, such as visually diagnosing or verifying braille output. Type y or n and press Enter. +Provides light text on a dark background using high-contrast colors. + + + + -That's it! Orca is now ready for use. If accessibility was not yet enabled, Orca does so now and asks you to logout and back in for the services to start. Type y and press Enter to restart your login session. +Large Print + + -After completing the first-time Orca settings, use AltF2 or MetaR to bring up the Run dialog, type in orca and press Enter. Accessibility functions should now be active. +This theme suggests an increased font size of 18pt. The background and foreground colors are the same as those specified by the Default desktop theme. To apply the suggested font, click on the Apply Font button. + + + + -If you plan to use the Magnifier portion of Orca, verify the following: +High Contrast Large Print + + -Confirm the Xserver extension is enabled; for OpenSolaris, use AltF2 or MetaR to bring up the Run dialog, type in xdpyinfo and press Enter. +This theme suggests an increased font size of 18pt using dark text on a light background. To apply the suggested font, click on the Apply Font button. - - -
-Using Orca -
-Initial Setup + + + + -When you run Orca for the first time, it will automatically enter setup mode. If you want to run setup -at some later point, you can pass the ---setup option to Orca the next -time you run it. Furthermore, while Orca is running, -you can press InsertSpace to bring up the Orca setup window. Finally, Orca provides a text setup utility that you can start by passing the ---text-setup option to Orca. All of these options will create a ~/.orca/user-settings.py file that holds your preferences and will also enable the accessibility infrastructure. You need to log out and log back in for the new settings to take effect. +High Contrast Large Print Inverse -
- -
-How do I run Orca? + + -Run Orca by typing orca in a terminal session window. You can do so from a virtual -console window if you do not yet have access to the GUI. With the GUI installed you can also press Alt -F2 or Meta -R to bring up the Run dialog and then enter orca as the command (followed by any optional parameters). Orca will automatically enter text setup mode if you run it from a virtual console window or your GUI environment is not yet set up for accessibility. +This theme suggests an increased font size of 18pt using light text on a dark background. To apply the suggested font, click on the Apply Font button. + + + +
 + +
+ + + +In some GNOME distributions there are also prebuilt low-contrast/low-contrast-large-print themes to complement the high-contrast theme set. + + +To view the controls, window frame, and icon settings that are associated with a theme, select a theme in the Appearance preference tool, then click on the Theme tab. The Customize option contains a tabbed section for each setting category. Each tabbed section lists the options that are available and the current setting for the theme is highlighted.
-
-Quitting Orca +
+Modifying the Controls Setting for a Theme -To quit Orca, press Insert -Q. A confirmation dialog will appear. Select Yes to quit. If the system seems unresponsive, you can try a few things: +To modify the controls setting that is associated with a theme, perform the following steps: - + -Run orca --quit from a terminal window, such as a virtual console; press Ctrl -AltF1 - (on most Linux platforms) to get to a virtual console, enter your commands, and then use Alt -F7 to get back to the desktop. This will kill the Orca process and reclaim system resources. You can then -rerun Orca using the previously outlined methods. +Within the Theme tab, select the theme that you want to modify. + + -Press Ctrl -AltBackspace - to end your login session and get back to the graphical login prompt (not implemented in all Linux distributions). +Click on the Customize button. The Customize Theme dialog is displayed. - -
-
- -
-Orca Configuration GUI + -The Orca Configuration GUI allows you to customize the behavior and features of Orca, such as speech, braille, and magnification. For example, you can select which speech synthesis engine you want to use, whether braille is enabled or not, and which magnification preferences you want. You can select which general keyboard layout you want (desktop or laptop) and you can also examine and modify the existing keyboard layout with fine-grained control. To bring up the Orca Configuration GUI, press ORCA_MODIFIERSpace, where ORCA_MODIFIER is Insert when you use the desktop key bindings and Caps_Lock when you use the laptop key bindings. See also the [[Orca/AppSpecificSettings| Application Specific Settings]] page for how to set settings specific to a single application. +Click on the Controls tab to display the controls options that are available. + + -The Orca Configuration GUI is a dialog containing several tabbed pages, each of which is described in the following sections. +Select the controls option that you want to associate with the current theme from the list box, then click Close. The following table lists the controls options that are suitable for accessibility needs: - -
-General Page - - - - - - - -Orca GUI Configuration - General Page - - - - + + + +Controls Options Designed for Accessibility Requirements + + + + + + + +Control Option + + +Description + + + + + + -The General page allows you to customize general aspects of Orca. These include the following: +HighContrast - -
-Keyboard Layout + + -The keyboard layout section allows you to specify if you will be working on a laptop (small) or desktop (large, with a numeric keypad) keyboard. You select which layout you want by selecting one of the following options: +Provides dark text on a light background using high-contrast colors. + + + + -Desktop - if selected, the Desktop Keyboard Layout (link kb table) will be used. +HighContrastInverse + + -Laptop - if selected, the Laptop Keyboard Layout (link kb table) will be used. +Provides light text on a dark background using high-contrast colors. -
- -
-Show Orca main window - - - - - - - -Orca GUI Configuration - Main window - - - - + + + + -The Orca main window provides you with a graphical way to display the Orca Configuration GUI (also accessible with ORCA_MODIFIERSpace, where ORCA_MODIFIER is Insert when you use the desktop key bindings and Caps_Lock when you use the laptop key bindings). The main window also provides a Quit option, also available with ORCA_MODIFIERQ). Many users do not like the Orca main window because it shows up in the window manager's tab order when you press AltTab to switch windows. By deselecting the "Show Orca main window" button, you can tell Orca to not show the Orca main window. +LargePrint -
- -
-Quit Orca without Confirmation + + -Normally, when you press ORCA_MODIFIERQ to quit Orca or press the Quit button in the Orca main window, Orca will pop up a confirmation dialog asking you if you want to quit. Unchecking this option prevents the confirmation window from appearing. +Increases the size of controls to accommodate larger fonts. To increase the font size, you must use the Font preference tool. The background and foreground colors are the same as those +specified by the Default desktop theme. -
- -
-Disable gksu keyboard grab + + + + -When running commands from the launch menu, many distributions use an application known as gksu to authorize the user to run these commands; gksu is the GUI that asks you for your password. When it runs, gksu enables what is known as a "keyboard grab," which is a feature to prevent keyboard actions from going to any other application on the desktop, including Orca. The result of a keyboard grab is that Orca will not receive any keyboard events, preventing Orca from functioning normally. +HighContrastLargePrint + + -By selecting the "Disable gksu keyboard grab" button, you will turn off the keyboard grab behavior, allowing Orca to function normally with system administration applications. +Provides dark text on a light background using high-contrast colors. Increases the size of controls to accommodate larger fonts. To increase the font size, you must use the Font preference tool. - + + + + -The keyboard grab is a security attempt by gksu to prevent nefarious applications from "sniffing" the keyboard and grabbing secret information. Please be advised that disabling the gksu keyboard grab feature can expose you to such nefarious behavior. If you do not feel comfortable with this, you can always use the root account for system administration purposes. To do so, you need to enable the root account for login, and then logout and log back in as root whenever you want to perform a system administration command. +HighContrastLargePrintInverse - -
- -
-Present tooltips + + -When checked, this option will tell Orca to present information about tooltips when they appear as the result of mouse hovering. Specific actions to force tooltips to appear, such as pressing CtrlF1 when an object has focus, will always result in tooltips being presented, regardless of this setting. +Provides light text on a dark background using high-contrast colors. Increases the size of controls to accommodate larger fonts. To increase the font size, you must use the Font preference tool. + + +
 + +
-
-Speak object under mouse +
+Modifying the Window Border Setting for a Theme + + +themes +window border + -When checked, this option will tell Orca to present information about the object under the mouse when you move it around the screen. Note that this can cause Firefox and Thunderbird versions 2.x and earlier to crash; this is not a problem with Firefox and Thunderbird versions 3.x and later. +To modify the window border setting that is associated with a theme, perform the following steps: -
- -
-Start Orca when you login + + -When checked, this option will tell the system to automatically launch Orca when you log in. +In the Appearance preference tool, choose the Theme tab and the theme you want to modify. -
+ + + +Click on the Customize button. The Customize Theme dialog is displayed. + + + + +Click on the Window Border tab to display the window frame options that are available. + + + + +Select the window frame option that you want to associate with the current theme from the list box, then click Close. The Atlanta option is designed for accessibility. + + +
-
-Speech Page - - - - - - - -Orca GUI Configuration - Speech Page - - - - +
+Modifying the Icon Setting for a Theme + +themes +icon + -The speech page allows you to customize how Orca uses speech synthesis. +To modify the icon setting that is associated with a theme, perform the following steps: - -
-Enable speech + + -The first control of note on the speech page is the "enable speech" check box. This check box toggles whether or not Orca will make use of a speech synthesizer. This option, along with the ability to enable braille and enable magnifier support, allow Orca to be tailored to meet the needs of a wide variety of users. +In the Appearance preference tool, choose the Theme tab and select the theme that you want to modify. -
- -
-Speech System and Speech Synthesizer + + -The next two controls deal with selecting the speech system and synthesizer. Orca provides support for a growing number of speech systems. At the time of this writing, these include GNOME-speech, Emacspeak, and an experimental backend for Speech Dispatcher. Depending upon how your machine is configured, you may have all or none of these options. Typically, you will have just GNOME-speech. +Click on the Customize button. The Customize Theme dialog is displayed. + + -First, determine which speech system you would like to use - GNOME-speech works best at this time. After making your selection, tab to the speech synthesizer combo box and choose from the list of available synthesizers. +Click on the Icons tab to display the icon options that are available. -
- -
-Voice Settings + + -If your synthesizer supports it, Orca can utilize multiple voices in order to identify special cases within an application, such as hyperlinks or upper case text. The voice settings and person combo boxes can be adjusted to customize these settings to your liking. For example, assume you were using Fonix DECtalk and wanted the Betty voice to denote upper case. To accomplish this, you could do the following: +Select the icon option that you want to associate with the theme from the list box, then click Close. The following table lists the icon options that are suitable for accessibility needs: - - + + + +Icon Options Designed for Accessibility Requirements + + + + + + + +Icon Option + + +Description + + + + + + -Tab to the voice settings combo box, and down arrow until the upper case voice is selected. +HighContrast - - + + -Tab to the person combo box, and down arrow to choose the Betty voice. +Provides dark-on-light icons using high-contrast colors. - - + + + + -The next three sliders in the tab order allow adjustment of the synthesizer's rate, pitch and volume, respectively. +HighContrastInverse - + + -You can quickly raise/lower the pitch by pressing ORCA_MODIFIERUpArrow and ORCA_MODIFIERDownArrow. You can also modify the speech rate by pressing ORCA_MODIFIERLeftArrow and ORCA_MODIFIERRightArrow. +Provides light-on-dark icons using high-contrast colors. - - - -
-Punctuation Level + + + +
 + +
-
-Say All By +
+Creating Your Own Themes + +themes +creating own + -This combo box allows you to specify whether the "say all" functionality of Orca speaks by sentence or line (see Desktop Keyboard Layout and Laptop Keyboard Layout for how to invoke the "say all" functionality). +For information about how to create your own themes, see the +System Administration Guide.
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-Braille Page - - - - - - - -Orca GUI Configuration - Braille Page - - - - - -The braille page allows you to customize various aspects about the use of braille. See also Using Orca with BrlTTY for more information on configuring and setting up BrlTTY. - - +
+Customizing Specific Components of the Desktop + -Orca does not automatically start BrlTTY for you; typically you need to do this yourself, usually at boot time. +This section describes how to customize specific components of the GNOME Desktop individually. - -
-Enable Braille Support +
+Customizing the Desktop Background + +customizing desktop appearance +desktop background + -The first control on the braille page is the "enable braille support" check box. This check box toggles whether or not Orca will make use of a braille display. This option, along with the ability to enable braille and enable magnifier support, allow Orca to be tailored to meet the needs of a wide variety of users. By default, this check box is enabled. If BrlTTY is not running, Orca will recover gracefully and will not communicate with the braille display. If you configure BrlTTY later on, you need to restart Orca in order for it to use braille. +The themes do not affect the desktop background. To set the desktop background, choose SystemPreferences +Appearance and select a background from the Background tab. If no background is chosen, the first entry listed here may be used.
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-Enable Braille Monitor +
+Customizing Desktop Background Objects + +customizing desktop appearance +desktop background objects + -Orca's braille monitor provides an on-screen representation of what takes place on the braille display. This feature is mostly for demonstration purposes, but is also useful for Orca developers who do not have access to a braille display. +The size of the icons that are displayed on the desktop background is controlled by the File Management preference tool. To change the size of the icons, perform the following steps: -
- -
-Abbreviated Role Names + + -The "abbreviated role names" check box determines the manner in which role names are displayed and can be used to help conserve real estate on the braille display. The "abbreviated role names" option can be better understood if we consider the following example. Let us assume that a slider had focus, and that the abbreviated role names box was not checked. In this case, the word "slider" would be shown on the display, to reflect the fact that the current control was indeed a slider. If the abbreviated role names box were checked, the word "slider" would be abbreviated to "sldr". +From the File Manager window, choose the Edit +Preferences menu item. -
- -
-Disable end of line symbol + + -When checked, this feature tells Orca to not present the "$l" string at the end of a line. +Select the Views tabbed section. -
- -
-Contracted Braille - -Orca supports contracted braille via the liblouis project, where you can find additional information about setting up liblouis with Orca. - -
- -
-Verbosity + + -The verbosity radio button group determines the amount of information that will be brailled in certain situations. For example, if it is set to verbose, keyboard shortcut and role name information is displayed. This information is not displayed in brief mode. +In the Icon View Defaults group, select the zoom level that you require in the Default Zoom Level drop-down list. + +
-
-Selection Indicator +
+Customizing Fonts + +customizing desktop appearance +fonts + + + -When you select text, Orca will "underline" that text on your braille display with Dots 7 and 8. If you would prefer, you can change the indicator to only be Dot 7, only be Dot 8, or not be present at all. +This section describes how to customize +the font settings for the desktop and frequently-used applications. -
- -
-Hyperlink Indicator -When you encounter a hyperlink, Orca will "underline" that text on your braille display with Dots 7 and 8. If you would prefer, you can change the indicator to only be Dot 7, only be Dot 8, or not be present at all. +If you have difficulty with the default font type and font size that is used on the desktop and desktop background, you can customize the font settings to suit your needs. -
-
- -
-Key Echo Page - - - - - - - -Orca GUI Configuration - Key Echo Page - - - - -The key echo page allows you to specify the behavior of Orca when pressing keys on the page and whether words are spoken as you complete them. +You can specify individual font settings for the following desktop components and applications: - -
-Enable Key Echo + + -The first control on the key echo page is the "enable key echo" check box. When this box is selected, six additional check boxes become available. These are: Enable alphanumeric and punctuation keys, Enable modifier keys, Enable locking keys, Enable function keys, Enable action keys, and Enable navigation keys. +Entire desktop (excluding the desktop background) + + +Desktop background only + + +Terminal + + +Text Editor + + +Help + + +Web Browser + + +
+Customizing Desktop Fonts + +customizing desktop appearance +desktop fonts + -The alphanumeric and function key groups are relatively self explanatory. +The Appearance preference tool allows you to specify the default fonts for the desktop. -Modifier keys are those such as Shift, Control, and Alt. +To start the Appearance preference tool, choose System +PreferencesAppearance. The +Fonts tab contains the following options: + + + +Application Font + + -Locking keys include Caps Lock, Scroll Lock and Num Lock. +Click on this button to select a default font to use for the text that is displayed on the desktop, including the text displayed on the windows and dialogs associated with GNOME-compliant applications and panel applications. + -The action keys group consists of keys that perform some logical action, such as Backspace, Return and Tab. +If you use a predefined theme and you click on the Apply Font button, the font that is associated with the theme overrides the font from the Appearance preference tool. + + + + + +Document Font + + -The navigation keys group include the four arrow keys as well as any key combination in which the Orca Modifier key is being held down. The latter is designed to prevent Orca from echoing flat review commands. +Click on this button to select a font to use for displaying documents. -
- -
-Enable Echo by Word + + + + +Desktop Font + + -The next toggle on the key echo page is the "enable echo by word" check box, used to echo the word you just typed. The "echo by word" control is always available, regardless of whether any of the key echo options are checked. +Click on this button to select a font to use for the text that is displayed on the desktop background only. -
- -
-Enable Echo by Sentence + + + +Window Title Font + -The last toggle on the key echo page is the "enable echo by sentence" check box, used to echo the sentence you just typed. The echo by sentence control is always available, regardless of whether any of the key echo options are checked. +Click on this button to select a font to use for the text that is displayed in the titlebar area of windows. + + + +Fixed Width Font + -In summary, the key echo scheme can offer a great deal of flexibility. For example, one user might choose to enable all key echo options, while another might prefer to use word echo, but only have locking keys announced. +Click on this button to select a font to use for editing documents. -
-
- -
-Magnifier Page - - - - - - - -Orca GUI Configuration - Magnifier Page - - - - + + + +Font Rendering + -The magnifier page allows you to enable/disable magnification and specify how magnification is performed. +To specify how to render fonts on the desktop, select one of the following options: - -
-Enable Magnifier + + -The first control on the magnifier page is the "enable magnifier" check box. This check box toggles whether or not Orca will provide magnification. This option, along with the ability to enable speech and enable braille support, allow Orca to be tailored to meet the needs of a wide variety of users. +Monochrome -
- -
-Zoomer Settings + + -Two zoomer GUI controls determine magnification characteristics: +Best Shapes - + -Scale factor, which sets magnification power from 1.0x to 16.0x (fractional values are supported). +Best Contrast -Position, which sets the location and size of the magnifier window: Full Screen, Left Half, Right Half, Top Half, Bottom Half, and Custom. The default position is Full Screen. Choosing Custom causes four spin buttons to become available: Top, Left, Right, and Bottom. These spin buttons allow you to define the location of each edge of the zoom window. Units are in pixels. +Subpixel Smoothing -
- -
-Border Settings + + + -These options are not available in Full Screen mode. +If you use large fonts, you may need to change the size of panes in some applications, such as the file manager and Help browser. - -
-Enable border -This option determines if a window border is visible for the magnifier. +For more information about the Appearance preference tool and fonts, see the +User Guide.
-
-Border size +
+Customizing Application Fonts + +custom desktop appearance +set choose individual font + -This value determines the size of the border in pixels. +By default, GNOME applications use the default font specified in the Appearance preference tool. Some applications allow this default font to be customized. These applications are: -
- -
-Border color - -Border color settings allow additional visual options. + + + +Help Browser - -
-Invert colors + + -Creates a reverse or negative-image effect. - -
- -
-Brightness + +Text Editor + + -Ranges from -1 to 1 (-1 is black/no brightness; 1 is white/total brightness; 0 is "normal"/unchanged). + +Terminal -
- -
-Contrast + + -Ranges from -1 to 1 (-1 is grey/no contrast; 1 is maximum contrast; 0 is "normal"/unchanged). +Web Browser + + +
-
-Cursor Settings +
+Meeting Specific Accessibility Needs -These controls can be used to customize the size and color of the magnifier's cursor. +The following sections summarize the steps you need to take to improve the accessibility of the desktop in a particular area. -
-Enable cursor - -If this check box is enabled then a cursor is visible and the size and color options become available. - -
- -
-Custom size - -Enable this check box if you would like to make the mouse pointer larger than it normally is. The cursor size can be changed from the default value of 32 pixels. - -
- -
-Custom color - -If the cursor is enabled, a custom color can also be applied. - -
-
- -
-Cross-hair Settings - -This set of controls can be used to customize the magnifier's optional area-targeting cursor. - - -
-Enable cross-hair - -If checked, you can additionally configure the clipping behavior, size and color of the cross-hair. - -
- -
-Enable cross-hair clip - -If enabled, the cross-hair will be "clipped" (removed) in the area immediately surrounding the mouse pointer. - -
- -
-Cross-hair size - -This control sets the thickness of the cross-hair in pixels. - -
- -
-Cross-hair color - -This control allows a custom color to be used for the cross-hair. - -
-
- -
-Tracking and Alignment Settings - -These options control the behavior of the mouse cursor. - - -
-Mouse pointer - -If unchecked, no mouse pointer is visible. - - -
-Centered - -Keep the mouse pointer at the center of the screen whenever possible. This is the default. - -
- -
-Proportional - -Position the mouse pointer in the zoom window relative to its actual, unmagnified position. For instance, if the mouse pointer is 25% away from the left edge of the desktop, Orca positions the magnified mouse pointer 25% from the left edge of the zoom window. - -
- -
-Push - -Move the zoomer window the least amount necessary to keep the mouse pointer on the screen. - -
- -
-None - -Moving the mouse pointer has no impact on what the zoomer window displays. - -
- -
-Pointer follows zoomer - -This option is enabled by default. If the mouse pointer is not on the screen when you initially move the mouse, it will be moved into the zoomer so that you can continue to see what you were working on. If your preferred mouse tracking mode is centered, the pointer will be moved to the center; otherwise it will be moved to the item with focus. - -
-
- -
-Control and menu item - -These options control additional behavior of the magnifier. - - -
-Centered - -When navigating via keyboard, keep the focused dialog box control or menu item at the center of the screen whenever possible. - -
- -
-Push - -When navigating via keyboard, move the zoomer window the least amount necessary to display the focused dialog box control or menu item. This is the default. - -
- -
-None - -Using the keyboard to navigate among dialog box controls and menu items will have no impact on what the zoomer window displays. - -
- -
-Pointer follows focus - -If this option is enabled, the mouse pointer will follow you as you arrow through menu items and move among controls in dialog boxes. This option is disabled by default. - -
-
- -
-Text cursor - -These options control how the text cursor behaves. - - -
-Centered - -As the text cursor moves, keep it at the center of the screen whenever possible. - -
- -
-Push - -As the text cursor moves, move the zoomer window the least amount necessary to display it. This is the default. - -
- -
-None - -Moving the text cursor will have no impact on what the zoomer window displays. - -
- -
-Edge margin - -The edge margin is how close the caret should be allowed to get to the edge of the screen before it's time to "push" the zoomer window. The margin can range from 0 to 50%, with 50% being the equivalent of choosing centering. The default value is 0. - - - -This option is only available if "Push" is your text cursor tracking mode. - - -
-
- -
-Advanced Settings - -If you press the Advanced Settings button located near the bottom of the Magnifier page, the following dialog will appear: - - - - - - - - -Orca GUI Configuration - Magnifier - Advanced Settings - - - - - -
-Smoothing - -Bilinear or none. - -
- -
-Brightness - -Red, Green, Blue: Individual controls for choosing customized brightness levels. Choosing different brightness levels for each color allows you to create the color scheme that works best for you. - -
- -
-Contrast - -Red, Green, Blue: Individual controls for choosing customized contrast levels. While not as significant as changes to brightness, choosing different contrast levels for each color helps you to create the color scheme that works best for you. - -
- -
-Color Filtering +
+Achieving a High- or Low-Contrast Desktop + +high contrast desktop + + +low contrast desktop + -Allows you to pick one of the colorblind filters available through libcolorblind. +To achieve a high- or low-contrast desktop, perform the following steps: - + + -In order to take advantage of this feature you will need to install libcolorblind and then rebuild gnome-mag. +Use the Appearance preference tool to select the high-contrast or low-contrast desktop theme that you require from the Theme tab. - -
- -
-Multi-Monitor Settings - Source Display + + -X Window System DISPLAY of what should be magnified. Written in the form ":0.x" where x is the number of the screen whose contents should be magnified. +Use the Background tab to customize your desktop background as follows: -
- -
-Multi-Monitor Settings - Target Display + + -X Window System DISPLAY of where to put the zoomer window. Written in the form ":0.y" where y is the number of the screen where the zoomer window should appear. +Set the Desktop Wallpaper to No Wallpaper. -
-
-
-
-
- -
-Key Bindings Page - - - - - - - -Orca GUI Configuration - Key Bindings Page - - - - + + -The key bindings page allows you to examine and modify the key bindings for Orca. +Set the Desktop Colors to Solid Color. - -
-Orca Modifier Key(s) + + -The first control on the key bindings page allows you to examine which key (or keys) acts as the "Orca modifier." The Orca modifier is the key that you press and hold in conjunction with other keys to give commands to Orca. For desktop keyboards, the Orca modifier defaults to Insert. For laptop keyboards, the Orca modifier defaults to the Caps Lock key. +Select a background color that suits your needs. - + + + + -You cannot modify the Orca modifier key(s) using the Configuration GUI at this time. +In the Terminal application, ensure that the Use colors from system theme option is selected in the Colors tabbed section of the Editing +Profile dialog. - -
- -
-Key Bindings Table + + -The key bindings table provides a list of Orca operations and the keys that are bound to them. +In the gedit (Text Editor) application, ensure that the Use default theme colors option is selected in the Fonts & Colors tabbed section of the +Preferences dialog. + + +
+ +
+Achieving a Large Print Desktop + +large print desktop + -The "Function" column header is a description of the Orca operation to be performed. +To achieve a large-print desktop, perform the following steps: + + -The "Key Binding" header is the primary way to invoke the function from the keyboard. Note that the function description may include the word "Orca". This indicates that the Orca modifier key should be held down along with the other keys. +Use the Appearance preference tool to select the Large Print theme. + + -The "Alternate" header provides an alternate mechanism for invoking the function from the keyboard. +Click on the Apply Font button to increase the size of the font that is used on the desktop and on window frames. + + -To modify either the "Key Binding" or the "Alternate" bindings, arrow to the cell and press Return. Then, press a key combination and press Return to confirm the new combination. When you do so, the new keystroke will be saved and the check box in the last column (the "Modified" column) will indicate that the key binding has been modified. +Use the Desktop Font option in the Font tab to increase the font that is displayed on desktop background objects. + + -To undo a modified keybinding, merely arrow to the modified column, uncheck the checkbox, and press the "Apply" button AltA. +Increase the font size that is used to display the contents of the Terminal application window. + + -Beneath the list of Orca keybindings, you will find a group of "unbound" commands: +If the Use default theme font option is selected in the gedit (Text Editor) Preferences dialog, gedit uses the font size that is specified in the large-print theme that you selected. However, if the Use default theme font + option is not selected, increase the font size that is used to display the contents of the gedit text editor window. See the gedit manual for more information. - - - - - - - -Orca GUI Configuration - Key Bindings Page showing the 'unbound' group of commands - - - - + + -These are commands which we feel will be very useful for some users, but not needed by most users. Rather than "use up" a keystroke for such commands, we have left them unassigned. You can assign a keystroke to any of these unbound commands by following the procedure outlined above. In addition, you can unbind any bound command in a similar fashion: press Return to edit the keybinding, and when prompted for the new keybinding, press Delete or Backspace. You will be told that the key binding has been removed. Press Return to confirm. +If you use applications that use panes, such as the file manager and help browser, you may need to change the size of panes to accommodate the large print. See the online help for the appropriate application for more information. + + +
-
-Pronunciation Page - - - - - - - -Orca GUI Configuration - Pronunciation Page - - - - +
+Orca: Screen Reader and Magnifier + +Screen Reader and Magnifier + + +Orca + -Sometimes your speech synthesizer just doesn't say the right thing for a given string. You might prefer to hear "laughing out loud" rather than "LOL." Or there may be a name or a technical term which the synthesizer mispronounces. The pronunciation page is where you can add, edit, and delete Orca's pronunciation dictionary entries. Because the pronunciation page is also part of the application-specific settings dialog that's started when you give a particular application focus and type Orca_ModifierCtrlSpace, you can customize your entries on an as-needed basis for each application you use. +The Orca Screen Reader and Magnifier application enables users with limited or no vision to use the GNOME Desktop and associated applications. Orca provides the following functionality: - -
-Add a new dictionary entry - - + + -Press the New Entry button (AltN). +Screen Reader - - -Type the text of the new entry and press Return to finish editing the actual string. +The screen reader enables non-visual access to standard applications in the GNOME Desktop by using speech and braille output. - - + + -Move to the Replacement String column and press Return to begin editing. +Magnifier - - -Type the text that you would like to have spoken instead and press Return to finish editing the replacement string. +The magnifier provides automated focus tracking and full-screen magnification to aid low-vision users. - - -
- -
-Edit an existing dictionary entry - - + + -Move to the cell you wish to edit and press Return to begin editing. +The following sections provide information about Orca and how to use it. - - + +
+Introduction to Orca +
+What is Orca? -Make your changes and then press Return to finish editing. +Orca is a flexible, extensible, and powerful assistive technology for people with visual impairments. Using various combinations of speech synthesis, braille and magnification, Orca helps provide access to applications +and toolkits that support the AT-SPI (e.g., the GNOME Desktop). Orca is also free open source software. - -
-Delete an existing dictionary entry - - +Why the name Orca? -Move to the entry you wish to delete. +One of the first DOS screen readers was Flipper, made by Omnichron Corporation in Berkeley, CA. It was named Flipper in part because the blind wife of the programmer +envisioned computers as being programmed by flipping switches (an accurate image of a bygone era). Then came another DOS screen reader, this one from Henter-Joyce in +Florida - "Jobs Access With Speech" (or JAWS). And so on.... - - -Press the Delete button or AltD. +Although no obvious connection exists between blindness and creatures from the sea, there is certainly a naming tradition for screen-reader software. Hence Orca, which is a lot tougher-sounding than Nemo, Ariel, Willy, or Mr. Limpet. - - -
-Text Attributes Page - - - - - - - -Orca GUI Configuration - Text Attributes Page - - - - +What's the schedule? -Orca will speak known text attribute information about an object when you press InsertF (desktop layout) or Caps_LockF (laptop layout). Because the number of text attributes is large, and not everyone cares about every attribute, the "Text Attributes" tab of the configuration -GUI allows you to customize which text attributes Orca will present. +Orca is part of the GNOME platform and Orca's releases are coupled with the releases of the GNOME platform. +
+ +
+How do I request a new feature? -On this tab is a text attribute list, where each row consists of four columns: +Bugs and feature/enhancement requests (RFEs) +should be reported to the GNOME Bug Tracking System +. Patches are always welcome, and instructions for creating patches can be found in the +GNOME Introduction to Subversion (SVN) +. - - +
+ +
+Where is the discussion list? -The name of the text attribute. +You can get in touch with developers and other users by sending an e-mail to the Orca mailing list +(Archives). - - +
+ +
+Is braille supported? -A checkbox which the user can set to indicate whether this text attribute should be spoken or not. +Yes! Braille is supported via BrlTTY and it is tightly integrated with Orca. BrlTTY offers support for nearly every refreshable braille display known to man. - - +
+ +
+Is contracted braille supported? -A checkbox which the user can set to indicate whether this text attribute should be "underlined" on the braille display. +Yes, Orca fully supports contracted braille output. - - +
+ +
+What voices are available? -An editable "Present unless" string value. By default, not all text attributes will have this set. If present, what it means (assuming the user wants this text attribute presented) is that the value of the attribute will only be presented if it is not this value. +Orca provides interfaces to both gnome-speech and emacspeak speech services. As such, the available voices for Orca are only restricted by the speech engines supported by the available speech services. For free speech engines, you typically have a choice of the eSpeak, Festival, and FreeTTS speech engines. For commercial engines, you have a choice of +additional engines such as Fonix DECtalk, Loquendo, Eloquence, Cepstral and IBMTTS, with others on the way. Periodically check the gnome-speech package for more progress in this area. +
+ +
+What languages are supported? -For example, by default the "underline" text attribute has a value of "none." If the user has this attribute checked and the user types -Orca_ModifierF and the text in question is not underlined, then this -attribute is not spoken. If you always want this attribute to be spoken irrespective of whether the text is underlined, then the -attribute should be checked and the "Present unless" value cleared. +The +GNOME translation teams are composed of many passionate volunteers from around the world. These teams do a great job and keep an up-to-date status report. See the +Orca translation status page for the large number of languages into which Orca has been translated. - - - -There is also a Reset button (AltR) which will set the list values back to their initial state when the dialog was first displayed. + +Note: support for a language also depends on +the speech synthesis engine also supporting the same language. - - +
+ +
+How well does magnification work? -When you initially display the text attribute pane, all your checked attributes are put at the top of the list. They are given in the order that they will be spoken and brailled. +Orca currently uses the gnome-mag +magnification service. gnome-mag has incorporated support for smoother full-screen magnification, which +relies upon newer extensions in the X Window System server. These extensions do not always function well on all platforms, so smooth full-screen magnification may not always work. +
+ +
+ +
+Enabling Orca -If you decide to check others or adjust the order, there are four buttons to help you do this: +For a text-only guided setup, open a Run dialog with AltF2 or MetaR and use the command orca --text-setup Enter. - - -Move to top (AltT) - moves the selected attribute to the top of the list. +The first time Orca is launched you will be asked a few questions: - - -Move up one (AltU) - moves the selected attribute up one row. +First you will be presented with a list of languages to choose from; there are currently about 45 languages supported. Most of this list will scroll off the screen, so you may have to use the terminal's scrollbar to view earlier parts of the list. Type in the number of your language choice (e.g., 7 for American English) and press Enter. You do not need to wait for the entire list to be spoken, and Orca attempts to make your default language the first choice (choice 1). - - -Move down one (AltD) - moves the selected attribute down one row. +You are next asked to set Echo By Word. This option instructs Orca to speak words as you finish typing them. Type y or n and press Enter. - - -Move to bottom (AltB) - moves the selected attribute to the bottom of the list. +The next item is Key Echo. This option will speak all keys as they are pressed. Type y or n and press Enter. - - -Beneath these push buttons is the Braille Indicator group of radio buttons. Here you can select the cell or cells to be used to indicate text which has at least one of the specified attributes. Your choices are: +Now select your desired keyboard layout; generally, you will want to choose the layout that matches your keyboard type - 1 for Desktop or 2 for Laptop. This choice will determine what key will act as the Orca modifier key. The Desktop layout uses Insert while the Laptop layout uses Caps Lock. A system, host, shift or modifier key is one which is used in conjunction with other keys, enabling keyboard access to most program functions. - - -None (the default) +Next, specify if you require braille output. This functionality assumes a BrlTTY-compatible device is available. Type y or n and press Enter. Note that you can usually just enter y here; Orca will recover gracefully and function even if it cannot find BrlTTY. - - -Dot 7 +Lastly, indicate whether you want an on-screen braille output monitor. This is mostly for developers who need to verify BrlTTY output, but may also be useful in other situations, such as visually diagnosing or verifying braille output. Type y or n and press Enter. - - -Dot 8 +That's it! Orca is now ready for use. If accessibility was not yet enabled, Orca does so now and asks you to logout and back in for the services to start. Type y and press Enter to restart your login session. - - -Dots 7 and 8 +After completing the first-time Orca settings, use AltF2 or MetaR to bring up the Run dialog, type in orca and press Enter. Accessibility functions should now be active. Orca's Configuration GUI () also has an option to let you indicate that Orca should be started automatically when you log in. - - -Text attributes can also be set on an individual application basis. The text attribute pane is also part of the application-specific settings dialog that's started when you give a particular application focus and type Orca_ModifierCtrlSpace. +If you plan to use the Magnifier portion of Orca in full screen mode, nonfirm the Xserver "Composite" extension is enabled: use AltF2 or MetaR to bring up the Run dialog, type in xdpyinfo and press Enter. Look for the string "Composite" in the output.
-
-Orca Keyboard Commands - -You can get a complete list of available keyboard commands by visiting the Key Bindings page of the Orca Configuration GUI. To bring up the Orca Configuration GUI, press Orca_ModifierSpace, where Orca_Modifier is the Insert key for the desktop layout and the Caps_Lock key for the laptop layout. Note that you can also enter Orca's "learn mode" while running Orca by pressing Orca_ModifierH. When in learn mode, Orca will intercept all keyboard and braille input events and tell you what the effect would be. To exit learn mode, press the Escape key. - - - -Orca provides additional commands for some applications, such as Firefox. To get the list of additional commands for an application, press CtrlOrca_ModifierSpace when that application has focus. This will bring up the Orca Configuration GUI in the "application-specific" state, and the additional commands will appear in the Key Bindings page. - - -The GNOME Desktop itself also has built in keyboard commands to control the desktop and its applications. - +Using Orca +
+Initial Setup -WARNING: the MouseKeys functionality of AccessX can interfere with the Orca modifier key (see bug 548169), resulting in odd behavior. In particular, MouseKeys uses the KP_Insert key to emulate a mouse button press. When enabled, MouseKeys can conflict with KP_Insert as the Orca modifier, resulting in what appears to be a stuck Orca modifier key. As an alternative, you can use the laptop key bindings, which avoids the keypad for Orca commands. If you accidentally enabled MouseKeys, you can disable it via the gnome-keyboard-properties application. +When you run Orca for the first time, it will automatically enter setup mode. If you want to run setup +at some later point, you can pass the +--setup option to Orca the next +time you run it. Furthermore, while Orca is running, +you can press InsertSpace to bring up Orca's Configuration GUI (). Finally, Orca provides a text setup utility that you can start by passing the +--text-setup option to Orca. All of these options will create a ~/.orca/user-settings.py file that holds your preferences and will also enable the accessibility infrastructure. You need to log out and log back in for the new settings to take effect. - +
-
-Desktop Layout +
+How do I run Orca? -Following is a list of common Orca keyboard commands for desktop keyboards arranged by category: +Run Orca by typing orca in a terminal session window. You can do so from a virtual +console window if you do not yet have access to the GUI. With the GUI installed you can also press Alt +F2 or Meta +R to bring up the Run dialog and then type orca as the command (followed by any optional parameters). Then, press Enter. Orca will automatically enter text setup mode if you run it from a virtual console window or your GUI environment is not yet set up for accessibility. +
-Flat review commands +Quitting Orca + +To quit Orca, press Insert +Q (or CapsLock +Q in laptop layout mode). A confirmation dialog will appear. Select Yes to quit. If the system seems unresponsive, you can try a few things: + -Numpad-7 - move the flat review cursor to the previous line and read it. +Run orca --quit from a terminal window, such as a virtual console; press Ctrl +AltF1 + (on most Linux platforms) to get to a virtual console, enter your commands, and then use Alt +F7 to get back to the desktop. This will kill the Orca process and reclaim system resources. You can then +rerun Orca using the previously outlined methods. -Numpad-8 - read the current line. +Press Ctrl +AltBackspace + to end your login session and get back to the graphical login prompt (not implemented in all Linux distributions). - + +
+
+ +
+Orca Configuration GUI -Numpad-9 - move the flat review cursor to the next line and read it. +The Orca Configuration GUI allows you to customize the behavior and features of Orca, such as speech, braille, and magnification. For example, you can select which speech synthesis engine you want to use, whether braille is enabled or not, and which magnification preferences you want. You can select which general keyboard layout you want (desktop or laptop) and you can also examine and modify the existing keyboard layout with fine-grained control. To bring up the Orca Configuration GUI, press Orca_ModifierSpace, where Orca_Modifier is Insert when you use the Desktop Keyboard Layout () and CapsLock when you use the Laptop Keyboard Layout (). If you want to change settings for a single application, press CtrlOrca_ModifierSpace while the application has focus. - - -Numpad-4 - move the flat review cursor to the previous word and read it. +The Orca Configuration GUI is a dialog containing several tabbed pages, each of which is described in the following sections. - - + +
+General Page + + + + + + + +Orca GUI Configuration - General Page + + + + -Numpad-5 - read the current word. +The General page allows you to customize general aspects of Orca. These include the following: - - + +
+Keyboard Layout -Numpad-6 - move the flat review cursor to the next word and read it. +The keyboard layout section allows you to specify if you will be working on a laptop (small) or desktop (large, with a numeric keypad) keyboard. You select which layout you want by selecting one of the following options: - - -Numpad-1 - move the flat review cursor to the previous character and read it. +Desktop - if selected, the Desktop Keyboard Layout () will be used. - - -Numpad-2 - read the current character. +Laptop - if selected, the Laptop Keyboard Layout () will be used. - - +
+ +
+Show Orca main window + + + + + + + +Orca GUI Configuration - Main window + + + + -Numpad-3 - move the flat review cursor to the next character and read it. +The Orca main window provides you with a graphical way to display the Orca Configuration GUI (also accessible with Orca_ModifierSpace, where Orca_Modifier is Insert when you use the Desktop Keyboard Layout () and Caps_Lock when you use the Laptop Keyboard Layout ()). The main window also provides a Quit option, also available with Orca_ModifierQ). Many users do not like the Orca main window because it shows up in the window manager's tab order when you press AltTab to switch windows. By deselecting the "Show Orca main window" button, you can tell Orca to not show the Orca main window. - - +
+ +
+Quit Orca without Confirmation -Numpad-slash - perform a left mouse click at the location of the flat review cursor. +Normally, when you press Orca_ModifierQ to quit Orca or press the Quit button in the Orca main window, Orca will pop up a confirmation dialog asking you if you want to quit. Unchecking this option prevents the confirmation window from appearing. - - +
+ +
+Disable gksu keyboard grab -Numpad-star - perform a right mouse click at the location of the flat review cursor. +When running commands from the launch menu, many distributions use an application known as gksu to authorize the user to run these commands; gksu is the GUI that asks you for your password. When it runs, gksu enables what is known as a "keyboard grab," which is a feature to prevent keyboard actions from going to any other application on the desktop, including Orca. The result of a keyboard grab is that Orca will not receive any keyboard events, preventing Orca from functioning normally. + + +By selecting the "Disable gksu keyboard grab" button, you will turn off the keyboard grab behavior, allowing Orca to function normally with system administration applications. - - -The above commands apply when working with objects as well as when working with text. For example, if the flat review cursor were positioned on a menu bar, pressing the "read current line" command would speak the names of all visible menus. Similarly, pressing the "read next word" command would speak the object to the right of the flat review cursor on the same line, or move flat review to the next line if no more objects were found. +The keyboard grab is a security attempt by gksu to prevent nefarious applications from "sniffing" the keyboard and grabbing secret information. Please be advised that disabling the gksu keyboard grab feature can expose you to such nefarious behavior. If you do not feel comfortable with this, you can always use the root account for system administration purposes. To do so, you need to enable the root account for login, and then logout and log back in as root whenever you want to perform a system administration command.
-Bookmark commands - - +Present tooltips -AltInsert[1-6] - assign a bookmark to a numbered slot. If a bookmark already exists in the slot it will be replaced with the new one. +When checked, this option will tell Orca to present information about tooltips when they appear as the result of mouse hovering. Specific actions to force tooltips to appear, such as pressing CtrlF1 when an object has focus, will always result in tooltips being presented, regardless of this setting. - - +
+ +
+Speak object under mouse -Insert[1-6] - go to the position pointed to by the bookmark bound to this numbered slot. +When checked, this option will tell Orca to present information about the object under the mouse when you move it around the screen. Note that this can cause Firefox and Thunderbird versions 2.x and earlier to crash; this is not a problem with Firefox and Thunderbird versions 3.x and later. - - +
+ +
+Start Orca when you login -AltShift[1-6] - "Where am I" information for this bookmark relative to the current pointer location. +When checked, this option will tell the system to automatically launch Orca when you log in. - - +
+
+ +
+Speech Page + + + + + + + +Orca GUI Configuration - Speech Page + + + + -InsertB and InsertShiftB - move between the given bookmarks for the given application or page. +The speech page allows you to customize how Orca uses speech synthesis. - - + +
+Enable speech -AltInsertB - save the defined bookmarks for the current application or page. +The first control of note on the speech page is the "enable speech" check box. This check box toggles whether or not Orca will make use of a speech synthesizer. This option, along with the ability to enable braille and enable magnifier support, allow Orca to be tailored to meet the needs of a wide variety of users. - -
-Miscellaneous functions - - - -NumpadPlus - "say all" command; reads from the current position of the caret to the end of the document. - - - +Speech System and Speech Synthesizer -NumpadEnter - "Where am I" command; speaks information such as the title of the current application window, as well as the name of the control that currently has focus. +The next two controls deal with selecting the speech system and synthesizer. Orca provides support for a growing number of speech systems. At the time of this writing, these include GNOME-speech, Emacspeak, and an experimental backend for Speech Dispatcher. Depending upon how your machine is configured, you may have all or none of these options. Typically, you will have just GNOME-speech. - - -InsertH - enter into Orca's "learn mode"; press Escape to exit. +First, determine which speech system you would like to use - GNOME-speech works best at this time. After making your selection, tab to the speech synthesizer combo box and choose from the list of available synthesizers. - - +
+ +
+Voice Settings -InsertF - speak font and attribute information for the current character. +If your synthesizer supports it, Orca can utilize multiple voices in order to identify special cases within an application, such as hyperlinks or upper case text. The voice settings and person combo boxes can be adjusted to customize these settings to your liking. For example, assume you were using Fonix DECtalk and wanted the Betty voice to denote upper case. To accomplish this, you could do the following: - - + + -InsertSpace - Launch the Orca Configuration dialog. +Tab to the voice settings combo box, and down arrow until the upper case voice is selected. - - + + -InsertControlSpace - reload user settings and reinitialize services as necessary. Also launches the Orca Configuration dialog for the current application. +Tab to the person combo box, and down arrow to choose the Betty voice. - - + + -InsertS - toggle speech on and off. +The next three sliders in the tab order allow adjustment of the synthesizer's rate, pitch and volume, respectively. - - +
+ +
+Punctuation Level -InsertF11 - toggle the reading of tables, either by single cell or whole row. +The punctuation level radio button group is used to adjust the amount of punctuation spoken by the synthesizer. The available levels are None, Some, Most and All. - - +
+ +
+Verbosity -InsertQ - quit Orca. +The verbosity setting determines the amount of information that will be spoken in certain situations. For example, if it is set to verbose, the synthesizer will speak shortcut keys for items in pull down menus. When it is set to brief, these shortcut keys are not announced. - -
-Commands for debugging - - +Table Row Speech -InsertHome - report information on the currently active script. +The table row speech option determines the way in which Orca will read items within tables. The available settings are "speak current row" or "speak current cell". The ability to adjust this behavior can be useful in many situations. For example, consider the process of browsing email messages in Evolution. In this instance it may be preferable to set table speech to "speak current row" so that while arrowing through the list of messages all relevant info, such as the sender, subject, and whether the message has attachments, is read automatically. While the current row setting is active, it is still possible to read individual cells by using the left and right arrows. - - -In order for the next three commands to be of use, Orca needs to be started from a virtual console or via gnome-terminal. Output is sent to the console only (i.e., it is not sent to speech or braille). +You can quickly toggle this behavior by pressing Orca_ModifierF11. - - +
+ +
+Speak Progress Bar Updates -InsertEnd - print a debug listing of all known applications to the console where Orca is running. +If this setting is enabled, Orca will periodically announce the status of progress bars. How often the announcement is made is determined by the value chosen in the Update Interval spin button. Note that this spin button is only available if the "Speak progress bar updates" checkbox has been checked. - - +
+ +
+Speak Indentation and Justification -InsertPage_Up - print debug information about the ancestry of the object with focus. +When working with code or editing other documents it is often desirable to be aware of justification and indentation. Selecting the "Speak indentation and justification" check box will cause Orca to provide this information. - - +
+ +
+Speak Blank Lines -InsertPage_Down - print debug information about the hierarchy of the application with focus. +Some users desire to hear "blank" when navigating to a blank line in a document. Other users do not. If the "speak blank lines" check box is selected, Orca will speak blank lines. - -
+ +
+Speak tutorial messages + +When moving from component to component in an interface, this option will provide spoken tutorial messages for how to work with the component. +
-
-Laptop Layout +
+Say All By -Following is a list of common Orca keyboard commands for laptop keyboards arranged by category: +This combo box allows you to specify whether the "say all" functionality of Orca speaks by sentence or line. See the Desktop Keyboard Layout () and Laptop Keyboard Layout () for how to invoke the "say all" functionality). +
+
-Flat review commands - - +Braille Page + + + + + + + +Orca GUI Configuration - Braille Page + + + + -Caps_LockU - move the flat review cursor to the previous line and read it. -Double-click to move flat review to the top of the current window. +The braille page allows you to customize various aspects about the use of braille. - - + -Caps_LockI - read the current line. -Double-click to read the current line along with formatting and capitalization details. +Orca does not automatically start BrlTTY for you; typically you need to do this yourself, usually at boot time. - - + + +
+Enable Braille Support -Caps_LockO - move the flat review cursor to the next line and read it. Double- click to move flat review to the bottom of the current window. +The first control on the braille page is the "Enable braille support" check box. This check box toggles whether or not Orca will make use of a braille display. This option, along with the ability to enable braille and enable magnifier support, allow Orca to be tailored to meet the needs of a wide variety of users. By default, this check box is enabled. If BrlTTY is not running, Orca will recover gracefully and will not communicate with the braille display. If you configure BrlTTY later on, you need to restart Orca in order for it to use braille. - - +
+ +
+Enable Braille Monitor -Caps_LockJ - move the flat review cursor to the previous word and read it. -Double-click to move flat review to the word above the current word. +Orca's braille monitor provides an on-screen representation of what takes place on the braille display. This feature is mostly for demonstration purposes, but is also useful for Orca developers who do not have access to a braille display. - - +
+ +
+Abbreviated Role Names -Caps_LockK - read the current word. -Double-click to spell the word. Triple-click to hear the word spelled phonetically. +The "Abbreviated role names" check box determines the manner in which role names are displayed and can be used to help conserve real estate on the braille display. The "Abbreviated role names" option can be better understood if we consider the following example. Let us assume that a slider had focus, and that the abbreviated role names box was not checked. In this case, the word "slider" would be shown on the display, to reflect the fact that the current control was indeed a slider. If the abbreviated role names box were checked, the word "slider" would be abbreviated to "sldr". - - +
+ +
+Disable end of line symbol -Caps_LockL - move the flat review cursor to the next word and read it. Double- click to move flat review to the word below the current word. +When checked, this feature tells Orca to not present the "$l" string at the end of a line. - - +
+ +
+Contracted Braille -Caps_LockM - move the flat review cursor to the previous character and read it. -Double-click to move flat review to the end of the current line. +Orca supports contracted braille via the liblouis project. Refer to the Orca WIKI, where you can find additional information about setting up liblouis with Orca. - - +
+ +
+Verbosity -Caps_LockComma - read the current character. Double-click to pronounce the character phonetically if it is a letter. +The verbosity radio button group determines the amount of information that will be brailled in certain situations. For example, if it is set to verbose, keyboard shortcut and role name information is displayed. This information is not displayed in brief mode. - - +
+ +
+Selection Indicator -Caps_LockPeriod - move the flat review cursor to the next character and read it. +When you select text, Orca will "underline" that text on your braille display with Dots 7 and 8. If you would prefer, you can change the indicator to only be Dot 7, only be Dot 8, or not be present at all. - - +
+ +
+Hyperlink Indicator -Caps_Lock7 - perform a left mouse click at the location of the flat review cursor. +When you encounter a hyperlink, Orca will "underline" that text on your braille display with Dots 7 and 8. If you would prefer, you can change the indicator to only be Dot 7, only be Dot 8, or not be present at all. - - +
+
+ +
+Key Echo Page + + + + + + + +Orca GUI Configuration - Key Echo Page + + + + -Caps_Lock8 - perform a right mouse click at the location of the flat review cursor. +The key echo page allows you to specify the behavior of Orca when pressing keys on the page and whether words are spoken as you complete them. - - + +
+Enable Key Echo -Caps_Lock8 - perform a right mouse click at the location of the flat review cursor. +The first control on the key echo page is the "Enable key echo" check box. When this box is selected, six additional check boxes become available. These are: "Enable alphanumeric and punctuation keys", "Enable modifier keys", "Enable locking keys", "Enable function keys", "Enable action keys", and "Enable navigation keys". - - - -The above commands apply when working with objects as well as when working with text. For example, if the flat review cursor were positioned on a menu bar, pressing the "read current line" command would speak the names of all visible menus. Similarly, pressing the "read next word" command would speak the object to the right of the flat review cursor on the same line, or move flat review to the next line if no more objects were found. +The alphanumeric and function key groups are relatively self explanatory. - -
- -
-Bookmark commands - - -AltCaps_Lock[1-6] - add a bookmark to the numbered slot. If a bookmark already exists for the slot it will be replaced with the new one. +Modifier keys are those such as Shift, Ctrl, and Alt. - - -Caps_Lock[1-6] - go to the position pointed to by the bookmark bound to this numbered slot. +Locking keys include Caps Lock, Scroll Lock and Num Lock. - - -AltShift[1-6] - "Where am I" information for this bookmark relative to the current pointer location. +The action keys group consists of keys that perform some logical action, such as Backspace, Return and Tab. - - -Caps_LockBand Caps_LockShiftB - move between the given bookmarks for the given application or page. +The navigation keys group include the four arrow keys as well as any key combination in which the Orca Modifier key is being held down. The latter is designed to prevent Orca from echoing flat review commands. - - +
+ +
+Enable Echo by Word -AltCaps_LockB - save the defined bookmarks for the current application or page. +The next toggle on the key echo page is the "Enable echo by word" check box, used to echo the word you just typed. The "Echo by word" control is always available, regardless of whether any of the key echo options are checked. - -
-Miscellaneous functions - - +Enable Echo by Sentence -Caps_LockSemicolon - "Say all" command; reads from the current position of the caret to the end of the document. +The last toggle on the key echo page is the "Enable echo by sentence" check box, used to echo the sentence you just typed. The echo by sentence control is always available, regardless of whether any of the key echo options are checked. - - -Caps_LockEnter - "Where am I" command; speaks information such as the title of the current application window, as well as the name of the control that currently has focus. +In summary, the key echo scheme can offer a great deal of flexibility. For example, one user might choose to enable all key echo options, while another might prefer to use word echo, but only have locking keys announced. - - +
+
+ +
+Magnifier Page + + + + + + + +Orca GUI Configuration - Magnifier Page + + + + -Caps_LockH - enter learn mode (press Escape to exit). +The magnifier page allows you to enable/disable magnification and specify how magnification is performed. - - + +
+Enable Magnifier -Caps_LockF - speak font and attribute information for the current character. +The first control on the magnifier page is the "Enable magnifier" check box. This check box toggles whether or not Orca will provide magnification. This option, along with the ability to enable speech and enable braille support, allow Orca to be tailored to meet the needs of a wide variety of users. - - +
+ +
+Zoomer Settings -Caps_LockSpace - launch the Orca Configuration dialog. +Two zoomer GUI controls determine magnification characteristics: - + -Caps_LockControlSpace - reload user settings and reinitialize services as necessary; also launches the Orca Configuration dialog for the current application. +"Scale factor", which sets magnification power from 1.0x to 16.0x (fractional values are supported). -Caps_LockS - toggle speech on and off. +"Position", which sets the location and size of the magnifier window: "Full Screen", "Left Half", "Right Half", "Top Half", "Bottom Half", and "Custom". The default position is "Full Screen". Choosing "Custom" causes four spin buttons to become available: "Top", "Left", "Right", and "Bottom". These spin buttons allow you to define the location of each edge of the zoom window. Units are in pixels. - + +
+ +
+Border Settings + -Caps_LockF11 - toggle the reading of tables, either by single cell or whole row. +These options are not available in "Full Screen" mode. - - + + +
+Enable border -Caps_LockQ - quit Orca. +This option determines if a window border is visible for the magnifier. - -
-Commands for debugging - - +Border size -Caps_LockAltControlHome - report information on the currently active script. +This value determines the size of the border in pixels. - - - +
+
+ +
+Cursor Settings -In order for the next three commands to be of use, Orca needs to be started from a virtual console or via gnome-terminal. Output is sent to the console only (i.e., -it is not sent to speech or braille). +These controls can be used to customize the size and color of the magnifier's cursor. - - - + +
+Enable cursor -Caps_LockAltControlEnd - prints a debug listing of all known applications to the console where Orca is running. +If this check box is enabled then a cursor is visible and the size and color options become available. - - +
+ +
+Custom size -Caps_LockAltControlPage_Up - prints debug information about the ancestry of the object with focus. +Enable this check box if you would like to make the mouse pointer larger than it normally is. The cursor size can be changed from the default value of 32 pixels. - - +
+ +
+Custom color -Caps_LockAltControlPage_Down - prints debug information about the object hierarchy of the application with focus. +If the cursor is enabled, a custom color can also be applied. - -
-
-Application-Specific Information +Cross-hair Settings + +This set of controls can be used to customize the magnifier's optional area-targeting cursor. + +
-Accessible Applications +Enable cross-hair -Orca is designed to work with applications and toolkits that support the Assistive Technology Service Provider Interface (AT-SPI). This includes the GNOME Desktop and its bundled applications: OpenOffice, Firefox, and the Java platform. Some applications work better than others, however, and the Orca community continually works to provide superior access to more and more applications. +If checked, you can additionally configure the clipping behavior, size and color of the cross-hair.
-Using Adobe's Acrobat Reader +Enable cross-hair clip -We are currently working on a script for Adobe's Acrobat Reader, and the initial version has been contributed to Orca v2.17.5. Note that there is still work to do, and we are very encouraged by Adobe's commitment to accessibility. +If enabled, the cross-hair will be "clipped" (removed) in the area immediately surrounding the mouse pointer. +
-Installation +Cross-hair size -If you get Adobe Acrobat Reader directly from the Adobe site, you may find that the software will not launch. If launched from the Applications menu, it may appear that nothing has happened, or if launched from a terminal window you may receive a long series of syntax error messages. Should this occur, you will need to edit your /usr/bin/acroread file as described in this Ubuntu forum thread. +This control sets the thickness of the cross-hair in pixels. +
+ +
+Cross-hair color -If you instead choose to install Acrobat Reader from your distribution's packages, be sure to install both acroread and acroread-plugins. Without the plugins package, you will not have the access to the "Reading" category in the -Edit- -Preferences - dialog. +This control allows a custom color to be used for the cross-hair. +
+
+ +
+Color Settings -Note: If you use Ubuntu and cannot locate the -acroread package, you will likely need to edit your /etc/apt/sources.list to include the 'multiverse' repository. Then run apt-get update. Having done so, you should then be able to install both acroread and acroread-plugins. +This allows you to do some rough color adjustments of the magnified region. -
-Enabling Accessibility and Caret Navigation +Invert colors -Once you've installed Reader, you need to enable accessibility: +Creates a reverse or negative-image effect. - - +
+ +
+Brightness -In the "Accessibility" tab of the - -Edit- -Preferences - dialog, make sure -Always display the keyboard selection cursor ( -AltD -) is checked. +Ranges from -1 to 1 (-1 is black/no brightness; 1 is white/total brightness; 0 is "normal"/unchanged). - - +
+ +
+Contrast -In the "Reading" tab of the - -Edit- -Preferences - dialog, make sure -Enable Document Accessibility - ((Alt -E) is checked. +Ranges from -1 to 1 (-1 is grey/no contrast; 1 is maximum contrast; 0 is "normal"/unchanged). - - +
-Working with Untagged Documents +Tracking and Alignment Settings -When you open an untagged document, you will be presented with a dialog box asking you to specify the reading order and the reading mode options. The default reading order is -Infer reading order from document -. This setting works well for most documents. +These options control the tracking of the mouse cursor. + +
+Mouse pointer -The default reading mode will vary depending on the length of the document; for short documents, the default is Read the entire document; for long documents the default is Read currently visible pages only. Orca tends to work better when Read the entire document is selected. +Choose from the following options: + +
+Centered -If you find that a document seems to be missing parts of the text, try changing the reading options. To do so, get into the Document menu and select Change Accessibility Reading Options... or use the shortcut CtrlShift5. +Keeps the mouse pointer at the center of the screen whenever possible. This is the default.
-Page Layout +Proportional -The best page layout for reading a document with Orca is Single Page. When Continuous is chosen, moving focus to text as the page is scrolling -can cause that text not to be read. You can change the page layout to Single Page by getting into the View menu and selecting the Page Layout submenu. +Positions the mouse pointer in the zoom window relative to its actual, unmagnified position. For instance, if the mouse pointer is 25% away from the left edge of the desktop, Orca positions the magnified mouse pointer 25% from the left edge of the zoom window.
-Navigating Tables +Push -As far as we know there isn't currently a whole lot of keyboard support for tables in -Acrobat Reader. We hope Adobe will remedy this soon. +Moves the zoomer window the least amount necessary to keep the mouse pointer on the screen. +
+ +
+None -Basically, there are the arrow keys. Their behavior is to move you first within the cell with focus, then to the next cell with data in it. Note that currently, Up and Down Arrow do not seem to move you vertically among cells - at least that has been the experience -with the tables we have tried. Instead, Up and Down seem to move you horizontally until you run out of cells on the current row. +Moving the mouse pointer has no impact on what the zoomer window displays.
-Making Application-Specific Settings - -To customize the settings for a particular application, you will first need to run that application. Make sure the application has focus, then press ORCA_MODIFIER -ControlSpace - (by default, this will be -InsertControl -Space for the Desktop keyboard layout). - +Pointer follows zoomer -This brings up a tabbed dialog window very similar to the Orca configuration dialog, but with the following differences: +This option is enabled by default. If the mouse pointer is not on the screen when you initially move the mouse, it will be moved into the zoomer so that you can continue to see what you were working on. If your preferred mouse tracking mode is centered, the pointer will be moved to the center; otherwise it will be moved to the item with focus. - - +
+ +
+Control and menu item -There is no initial General pane. +These options control additional behavior of the magnifier. - - + +
+Centered -The Speech System and Speech Synthesizer combo -boxes on the Speech pane will be grayed out (made inactive). +When navigating via keyboard, keep the focused dialog box control or menu item at the center of the screen whenever possible. - - +
+ +
+Push -Any existing application-specific key bindings will appear at the top of the list on the Key Bindings pane. +When navigating via keyboard, move the zoomer window the least amount necessary to display the focused dialog box control or menu item. This is the default. - - +
+ +
+None -There may be a new application-specific settings pane at the end of the set of tabbed panes. Note that pressing the End key from the tab list will get you directly to the right-most tab. +Using the keyboard to navigate among dialog box controls and menu items will have no impact on what the zoomer window displays. - - +
+ +
+Pointer follows focus -Adjust your application-specific settings in the same way you set your general Orca preferences. -For example, you may have Key Echo disabled generally in Orca but would like to specifically have it enabled for the gcalctool (GNOME Calculator) application. Here's where you could easily set that. +If this option is enabled, the mouse pointer will follow you as you arrow through menu items and move among controls in dialog boxes. This option is disabled by default. +
+
+ +
+Text cursor -When you have your application settings customized the way you want, press the OK button. These settings will be written to your -~/.orca/app-settings directory in a file called -<APPNAME>.py, where <APPNAME> is the name of the application. +These options control how the text cursor behaves. + +
+Centered -These files are automatically written by Orca. The contents of the file will be overwritten each time you change your application settings for that -application. +As the text cursor moves, keep it at the center of the screen whenever possible. +
+ +
+Push -If you want to have some extra application-specific settings or code that you don't want to lose, then you should put it in a file called ~/.orca/app-settings/<APPNAME>-customizations.py. This file will be automatically read when the settings for the -<APPNAME> application are loaded. +As the text cursor moves, move the zoomer window the least amount necessary to display it. This is the default. +
+ +
+None -Note that this is an advanced feature that we don't expect many people to use. It's just there if you really want it. +Moving the text cursor will have no impact on what the zoomer window displays. +
+ +
+Edge margin -There is currently one known bug (some people would call it a feature) that we are trying to track down and fix: +The edge margin is how close the caret should be allowed to get to the edge of the screen before it's time to "push" the zoomer window. The margin can range from 0 to 50%, with 50% being the equivalent of choosing centering. The default value is 0. -If you adjust one or more application-specific key bindings, the new values will not take effect until you've pressed the OK button. The work-around is to either restart Orca, or Alt-Tab -away to some other application and then Alt-Tab back to the one that you've just changed the key bindings for. +This option is only available if "Push" is your text cursor tracking mode.
+
-Braille +Advanced Settings -Orca uses -BrlTTY for braille support. On Linux systems, BrlTTY is used to access the text mode console content. On a typical braille-enabled installation of Linux, BrlTTY is already running and providing access to the text consoles. When Orca starts, it connects to BrlTTY. If you switch from a text console to your X Windows session, your braille display will automatically follow and display the content that Orca is presenting to you. +If you press the Advanced Settings button located near the bottom of the Magnifier page, the following dialog will appear: + + + + + + + +Orca GUI Configuration - Magnifier - Advanced Settings + + + + + +
+Smoothing -Orca attempts to work with various releases of BrlTTY. It works well with BrlTTY v3.7.2, and we've also been working with the BrlTTY team to get it going for BrlTTY v3.8. The remainder of this document provides information related to using Orca with BrlTTY 3.8. +Bilinear or none. +
+
+Brightness -Below are descriptions of the necessary tasks to install/setup BrlTTY in Ubuntu and Solaris. For both, you need to first obtain -brltty-3.8.tar.gz from the BrlTTY site. +Red, Green, Blue: Individual controls for choosing customized brightness levels. Choosing different brightness levels for each color allows you to create the color scheme that works best for you. +
-BrlTTY 3.8 on Ubuntu +Contrast -First, configure your build environment to build BrlTTY. Much of this setup is done for you automatically in the Ubuntu distribution with products such as G++ already present. In addition, you must -also install tcl, Pyrex, and the Python developer environment. To do this, execute the following commands as root: +Red, Green, Blue: Individual controls for choosing customized contrast levels. While not as significant as changes to brightness, choosing different contrast levels for each color helps you to create the color scheme that works best for you. - - - - +
+ +
+Color Filtering -Then, when you build BrlTTY, avoid configuring the package with --prefix=/usr. Use the standard procedure instead, executing the following commands as root: +Allows you to pick one of the colorblind filters available through libcolorblind. - - - - + -Run BrlTTY as root: +In order to take advantage of this feature you will need to install libcolorblind and then rebuild gnome-mag. - - - - + +
+ +
+Multi-Monitor Settings - Source Display -If you want, you can remove the existing -/sbin/brltty and replace it with the /bin/brltty, either by copying the /bin/brltty to /sbin/brltty or just by making a -symbolic link. Do so at your own risk. +X Window System DISPLAY of what should be magnified. Written in the form ":0.x" where x is the number of the screen whose contents should be magnified. - -
-Troubleshooting -
-Orca is not speaking. What is going wrong? +Multi-Monitor Settings - Target Display -See - -Troubleshooting Speech. +X Window System DISPLAY of where to put the zoomer window. Written in the form ":0.y" where y is the number of the screen where the zoomer window should appear.
+
+
-My desktop has stopped responding. What do I do? - +Key Bindings Page + + + + + + + +Orca GUI Configuration - Key Bindings Page + + + + -Press AltF2 or MetaR to open the Run dialog and restart Orca by running a new instance: type orca and press Enter. This will force any existing Orca processes to exit and will then restart Orca. This -sometimes has the effect of unhanging the desktop (which is usually due to an ill-behaved application). +The key bindings page allows you to examine and modify the key bindings for Orca. + +
+Orca Modifier Key(s) -If you cannot get to a terminal window, try -pressing Ctrl -AltBackspace -: shut down the X Window System server. This should return you to the login screen. +The first control on the key bindings page allows you to examine which key (or keys) acts as the "Orca modifier." The Orca modifier is the key that you press and hold in conjunction with other keys to give commands to Orca. For desktop keyboards, the Orca modifier defaults to Insert. For laptop keyboards, the Orca modifier defaults to the Caps Lock key. See the Desktop Keyboard Layout () and Laptop Keyboard Layout () sections for the default values. -
-
+ + +You cannot modify the Orca modifier key(s) using the Configuration GUI at this time. + +
-
-Desktop Appearance Enhancement +
+Key Bindings Table -This chapter describes the methods you can use to change the appearance of the GNOME Desktop in order to enhance the accessibility of the desktop for users with visual -impairments. +The key bindings table provides a list of Orca operations and the keys that are bound to them. - -
-Customization Options - -customizing the desktop appearance - -There are several ways to customize the appearance of the GNOME Desktop to suit your -specific needs: +The "Function" column header is a description of the Orca operation to be performed. - - -Themes - -Themes are the most effective way to change the appearance of the desktop in a consistent manner. See for more information about themes and how to use them to achieve the type of desktop environment that you require. +The "Key Binding" header is the primary way to invoke the function from the keyboard. Note that the function description may include the word "Orca". This indicates that the Orca modifier key should be held down along with the other keys. - - - -Desktop and Application-Specific Configuration Settings - - -You can customize different components of the desktop to achieve the display settings that you require. You can configure the desktop and applications in addition to using themes or as an alternative to themes. See for more information. +The "Alternate" header provides an alternate mechanism for invoking the function from the keyboard. - - - -The following table summarizes the changes that you can make to the GNOME Desktop and where you can make the changes. This guide does not provide detailed instructions about how to customize the desktop. For detailed instructions about how to use the customization tools that the desktop provides, refer to the Help for each tool or to the User Guide. +To modify either the "Key Binding" or the "Alternate" bindings, arrow to the cell and press Return. Then, press a key combination and press Return to confirm the new combination. When you do so, the new keystroke will be saved and the check box in the last column (the "Modified" column) will indicate that the key binding has been modified. - -Quick Reference to Customizing the Appearance of the Desktop - - - - - - - -To change the... - - -Use... + +To undo a modified keybinding, merely arrow to the modified column, uncheck the checkbox, and press the "Apply" button AltA. - - - - - - -Overall appearance of the desktop using high-contrast colors, low-contrast colors, or large print. +Beneath the list of Orca keybindings, you will find a group of "unbound" commands: - - -The Theme section of the Appearance preference tool. + + + + + + + +Orca GUI Configuration - Key Bindings Page showing the 'unbound' group of commands + + + + + +These are commands which we feel will be very useful for some users, but not needed by most users. Rather than "use up" a keystroke for such commands, we have left them unassigned. You can assign a keystroke to any of these unbound commands by following the procedure outlined above. In addition, you can unbind any bound command in a similar fashion: press Return to edit the keybinding, and when prompted for the new keybinding, press Delete or Backspace. You will be told that the key binding has been removed. Press Return to confirm. - - - - + + + +
+Pronunciation Page + + + + + + + +Orca GUI Configuration - Pronunciation Page + + + + + +Sometimes your speech synthesizer just doesn't say the right thing for a given string. You might prefer to hear "laughing out loud" rather than "LOL." Or there may be a name or a technical term which the synthesizer mispronounces. The pronunciation page is where you can add, edit, and delete Orca's pronunciation dictionary entries. Because the pronunciation page is also part of the application-specific settings dialog that's started when you give a particular application focus and type Orca_ModifierCtrlSpace, you can customize your entries on an as-needed basis for each application you use. + + +
+Add a new dictionary entry + + + +Press the New Entry button (AltN). + + + + +Type the text of the new entry and press Return to finish editing the actual string. + + + + +Move to the Replacement String column and press Return to begin editing. + + + + +Type the text that you would like to have spoken instead and press Return to finish editing the replacement string. + + + +
+ +
+Edit an existing dictionary entry + + -Appearance of the desktop background only. +Move to the cell you wish to edit and press Return to begin editing. - - + + -The Desktop Background section of the Appearance preference tool; also the file manager Backgrounds and Emblems menu item. +Make your changes and then press Return to finish editing. - - + + +
- - +
+Delete an existing dictionary entry + + -Appearance of the mouse pointer. +Move to the entry you wish to delete. - - + + -The Theme section of the Appearance preference tool; use the Pointers tab of the Customize option. +Press the Delete button or AltD. - - + + +
+
- - +
+Text Attributes Page + + + + + + + +Orca GUI Configuration - Text Attributes Page + + + + -Font displayed on the desktop background and -in all desktop applications. +Orca will speak known text attribute information about an object when you press InsertF (desktop layout) or Caps_LockF (laptop layout). Because the number of text attributes is large, and not everyone cares about every attribute, the "Text Attributes" tab of the configuration +GUI allows you to customize which text attributes Orca will present. - - -The Font section of the Appearance preference tool. +On this tab is a text attribute list, where each row consists of four columns: - - - - + + -Default font settings of the Text Editor, Terminal or Help application. +The name of the text attribute. - - + + -Normally these applications use the default -application font that is specified in the Font section of the Appearance preference tool, but these font settings can also be overridden in the Preferences dialog for the application. +A checkbox which the user can set to indicate whether this text attribute should be spoken or not. - - -
 - -
-
- -
-Using Themes to Customize the Desktop + + -This section describes how to use themes to customize the appearance of the GNOME Desktop. +A checkbox which the user can set to indicate whether this text attribute should be "underlined" on the braille display. - -
-Introduction to Themes - -themes - + + -A theme is a group of coordinated settings that specifies how a desktop component or a group of desktop components appears. You can use themes to modify and control the appearance of the desktop in a consistent manner. When you apply a theme, the system modifies many desktop components simultaneously to achieve the desired effect. For example, if you apply a theme that increases the font size across the desktop, the theme also modifies the size of panels and icons on the desktop for optimum compatibility with the font size. Some themes have suggested font settings that may optionally be auto-set; in addition, most colors within a theme can be customized. +An editable "Present unless" string value. By default, not all text attributes will have this set. If present, what it means (assuming the user wants this text attribute presented) is that the value of the attribute will only be presented if it is not this value. -A theme contains settings that affect different parts of the desktop: +For example, by default the "underline" text attribute has a value of "none." If the user has this attribute checked and the user types +Orca_ModifierF and the text in question is not underlined, then this +attribute is not spoken. If you always want this attribute to be spoken irrespective of whether the text is underlined, then the +attribute should be checked and the "Present unless" value cleared. - - -Controls + -The controls setting for a theme determines the visual appearance of all windows, applications, panels, and panel applications. The controls setting also determines the visual appearance of the GNOME-compliant interface items that appear on windows, applications, panels, and panel applications such as menus, icons, and buttons. Some of the control options that are available in the desktop are designed for special accessibility needs. +There is also a Reset button (AltR) which will set the list values back to their initial state when the dialog was first displayed. - - -Window Border + + +When you initially display the text attribute pane, all your checked attributes are put at the top of the list. They are given in the order that they will be spoken and brailled. + + +If you decide to check others or adjust the order, there are four buttons to help you do this: + + -The window frame setting determines the appearance of the border around windows only. +Move to top (AltT) - moves the selected attribute to the top of the list. - - -Icon -The icon setting determines the appearance of icons on panels and on the desktop background. +Move up one (AltU) - moves the selected attribute up one row. - - -
- -
-Choosing Themes - -themes -desktop - -To choose a theme, perform the following steps: - - -Choose SystemPreferencesAppearance -. The themes -are listed under the Theme tab. +Move down one (AltD) - moves the selected attribute down one row. -Click on a theme in the list box to choose a new theme. The system automatically applies the theme to the desktop, and may also prompt whether to apply a suggested font for the theme. +Move to bottom (AltB) - moves the selected attribute to the bottom of the list. + + -There are several themes available that suit different accessibility needs, as described in the following table: +Beneath these push buttons is the Braille Indicator group of radio buttons. Here you can select the cell or cells to be used to indicate text which has at least one of the specified attributes. Your choices are: - -Themes Designed for Accessibility Requirements - - - - - - - -Theme Name - - -Description - - - - - - + + -High Contrast +None (the default) - - + + -Provides dark text on a light background using high-contrast colors. +Dot 7 - - - - + + -High Contrast Inverse +Dot 8 - - + + -Provides light text on a dark background using high-contrast colors. +Dots 7 and 8 - - - - + + -Large Print +Text attributes can also be set on an individual application basis. The text attribute pane is also part of the application-specific settings dialog that's started when you give a particular application focus and type Orca_ModifierCtrlSpace. - - + + + +
+Orca Keyboard Commands -This theme suggests an increased font size of 18pt. The background and foreground colors are the same as those specified by the Default desktop theme. To apply the suggested font, click on the Apply Font button. +You can get a complete list of available keyboard commands by visiting the Key Bindings page of the Orca Configuration GUI. To bring up the Orca Configuration GUI, press Orca_ModifierSpace, where Orca_Modifier is the Insert key for the desktop layout and the Caps_Lock key for the laptop layout. Note that you can also enter Orca's "learn mode" while running Orca by pressing Orca_ModifierH. When in learn mode, Orca will intercept all keyboard and braille input events and tell you what the effect would be. To exit learn mode, press the Escape key. - - - - + -High Contrast Large Print +Orca provides additional commands for some applications, such as Firefox. To get the list of additional commands for an application, press CtrlOrca_ModifierSpace when that application has focus. This will bring up the Orca Configuration GUI in the "application-specific" state, and the additional commands will appear in the Key Bindings page. - - -This theme suggests an increased font size of 18pt using dark text on a light background. To apply the suggested font, click on the Apply Font button. +The GNOME Desktop itself also has built in keyboard commands to control the desktop and its applications. - - - - -High Contrast Large Print Inverse +WARNING: the MouseKeys functionality of AccessX can interfere with the Orca modifier key (see bug 548169), resulting in odd behavior. In particular, MouseKeys uses the KP_Insert key to emulate a mouse button press. When enabled, MouseKeys can conflict with KP_Insert as the Orca modifier, resulting in what appears to be a stuck Orca modifier key. As an alternative, you can use the laptop key bindings, which avoids the keypad for Orca commands. If you accidentally enabled MouseKeys, you can disable it via the gnome-keyboard-properties application. - - + + +
+Desktop Layout -This theme suggests an increased font size of 18pt using light text on a dark background. To apply the suggested font, click on the Apply Font button. +Following is a list of common Orca keyboard commands for desktop keyboards arranged by category: - - -
 - -
- - + +
+Flat review commands + + -In some GNOME distributions there are also prebuilt low-contrast/low-contrast-large-print themes to complement the high-contrast theme set. +Numpad-7 - move the flat review cursor to the previous line and read it. + + -To view the controls, window frame, and icon settings that are associated with a theme, select a theme in the Appearance preference tool, then click on the Theme tab. The Customize option contains a tabbed section for each setting category. Each tabbed section lists the options that are available and the current setting for the theme is highlighted. +Numpad-8 - read the current line. -
- -
-Modifying the Controls Setting for a Theme + + -To modify the controls setting that is associated with a theme, perform the following steps: +Numpad-9 - move the flat review cursor to the next line and read it. - + -Within the Theme tab, select the theme that you want to modify. +Numpad-4 - move the flat review cursor to the previous word and read it. -Click on the Customize button. The Customize Theme dialog is displayed. +Numpad-5 - read the current word. -Click on the Controls tab to display the controls options that are available. +Numpad-6 - move the flat review cursor to the next word and read it. -Select the controls option that you want to associate with the current theme from the list box, then click Close. The following table lists the controls options that are suitable for accessibility needs: +Numpad-1 - move the flat review cursor to the previous character and read it. - - -Controls Options Designed for Accessibility Requirements - - - - - - - -Control Option - - -Description - - - - - - + -HighContrast +Numpad-2 - read the current character. - - + + -Provides dark text on a light background using high-contrast colors. +Numpad-3 - move the flat review cursor to the next character and read it. - - - - + + -HighContrastInverse +Numpad-slash - perform a left mouse click at the location of the flat review cursor. - - + + -Provides light text on a dark background using high-contrast colors. +Numpad-star - perform a right mouse click at the location of the flat review cursor. - - - - + + + -LargePrint +The above commands apply when working with objects as well as when working with text. For example, if the flat review cursor were positioned on a menu bar, pressing the "read current line" command would speak the names of all visible menus. Similarly, pressing the "read next word" command would speak the object to the right of the flat review cursor on the same line, or move flat review to the next line if no more objects were found. - - + + + +
+Bookmark commands + + -Increases the size of controls to accommodate larger fonts. To increase the font size, you must use the Font preference tool. The background and foreground colors are the same as those -specified by the Default desktop theme. +AltInsert[1-6] - assign a bookmark to a numbered slot. If a bookmark already exists in the slot it will be replaced with the new one. - - - - + + -HighContrastLargePrint +Insert[1-6] - go to the position pointed to by the bookmark bound to this numbered slot. - - + + -Provides dark text on a light background using high-contrast colors. Increases the size of controls to accommodate larger fonts. To increase the font size, you must use the Font preference tool. +AltShift[1-6] - "Where am I" information for this bookmark relative to the current pointer location. - - - - + + -HighContrastLargePrintInverse +InsertB and InsertShiftB - move between the given bookmarks for the given application or page. - - + + -Provides light text on a dark background using high-contrast colors. Increases the size of controls to accommodate larger fonts. To increase the font size, you must use the Font preference tool. +AltInsertB - save the defined bookmarks for the current application or page. - - -
 - -
+ +
-
-Modifying the Window Border Setting for a Theme - - -themes -window border - +
+Miscellaneous functions + + -To modify the window border setting that is associated with a theme, perform the following steps: +NumpadPlus - "say all" command; reads from the current position of the caret to the end of the document. - + -In the Appearance preference tool, choose the Theme tab and the theme you want to modify. +NumpadEnter - "Where am I" command; speaks information such as the title of the current application window, as well as the name of the control that currently has focus. -Click on the Customize button. The Customize Theme dialog is displayed. +InsertH - enter into Orca's "learn mode"; press Escape to exit. -Click on the Window Border tab to display the window frame options that are available. +InsertF - speak font and attribute information for the current character. -Select the window frame option that you want to associate with the current theme from the list box, then click Close. The Atlanta option is designed for accessibility. +InsertSpace - Launch the Orca Configuration dialog. - -
- -
-Modifying the Icon Setting for a Theme - -themes -icon - + -To modify the icon setting that is associated with a theme, perform the following steps: +InsertCtrlSpace - reload user settings and reinitialize services as necessary. Also launches the Orca Configuration dialog for the current application. - + -In the Appearance preference tool, choose the Theme tab and select the theme that you want to modify. +InsertS - toggle speech on and off. -Click on the Customize button. The Customize Theme dialog is displayed. +InsertF11 - toggle the reading of tables, either by single cell or whole row. -Click on the Icons tab to display the icon options that are available. +InsertQ - quit Orca. + +
+ +
+Commands for debugging + -Select the icon option that you want to associate with the theme from the list box, then click Close. The following table lists the icon options that are suitable for accessibility needs: +CtrlAltInsertHome - report information on the currently active script. - - -Icon Options Designed for Accessibility Requirements - - - - - - - -Icon Option - - -Description - - - - - - + + -HighContrast +In order for the next three commands to be of use, Orca needs to be started from a virtual console or via gnome-terminal. Output is sent to the console only (i.e., it is not sent to speech or braille). - - + + + -Provides dark-on-light icons using high-contrast colors. +CtrlAltInsertEnd - print a debug listing of all known applications to the console where Orca is running. - - - - + + -HighContrastInverse +CtrlAltInsertPage_Up - print debug information about the ancestry of the object with focus. - - + + -Provides light-on-dark icons using high-contrast colors. +CtrlAltInsertPage_Down - print debug information about the hierarchy of the application with focus. - - - - - -
-
- -
-Creating Your Own Themes - -themes -creating own - + + -For information about how to create your own themes, see the -System Administration Guide. +Caps_Lock8 - perform a right mouse click at the location of the flat review cursor. -
-
- -
-Customizing Specific Components of the Desktop - + + -This section describes how to customize specific components of the GNOME Desktop individually. +Caps_Lock8 - perform a right mouse click at the location of the flat review cursor. - -
-Customizing the Desktop Background - -customizing desktop appearance -desktop background - + + + -The themes do not affect the desktop background. To set the desktop background, choose SystemPreferences -Appearance and select a background from the Background tab. If no background is chosen, the first entry listed here may be used. +The above commands apply when working with objects as well as when working with text. For example, if the flat review cursor were positioned on a menu bar, pressing the "read current line" command would speak the names of all visible menus. Similarly, pressing the "read next word" command would speak the object to the right of the flat review cursor on the same line, or move flat review to the next line if no more objects were found. +
-
-Customizing Desktop Background Objects - -customizing desktop appearance -desktop background objects - +
+Bookmark commands + + -The size of the icons that are displayed on the desktop background is controlled by the File Management preference tool. To change the size of the icons, perform the following steps: +AltCaps_Lock[1-6] - add a bookmark to the numbered slot. If a bookmark already exists for the slot it will be replaced with the new one. - + -From the File Manager window, choose the Edit -Preferences menu item. +Caps_Lock[1-6] - go to the position pointed to by the bookmark bound to this numbered slot. -Select the Views tabbed section. +AltShift[1-6] - "Where am I" information for this bookmark relative to the current pointer location. -In the Icon View Defaults group, select the zoom level that you require in the Default Zoom Level drop-down list. +Caps_LockBand Caps_LockShiftB - move between the given bookmarks for the given application or page. - -
- -
-Customizing Fonts - -customizing desktop appearance -fonts - - - + -This section describes how to customize -the font settings for the desktop and frequently-used applications. +AltCaps_LockB - save the defined bookmarks for the current application or page. + + +
+ +
+Miscellaneous functions + + -If you have difficulty with the default font type and font size that is used on the desktop and desktop background, you can customize the font settings to suit your needs. +Caps_LockSemicolon - "Say all" command; reads from the current position of the caret to the end of the document. + + -You can specify individual font settings for the following desktop components and applications: +Caps_LockEnter - "Where am I" command; speaks information such as the title of the current application window, as well as the name of the control that currently has focus. - + -Entire desktop (excluding the desktop background) +Caps_LockH - enter learn mode (press Escape to exit). -Desktop background only + +Caps_LockF - speak font and attribute information for the current character. + -Terminal + +Caps_LockSpace - launch the Orca Configuration dialog. + -Text Editor + +Caps_LockCtrlSpace - reload user settings and reinitialize services as necessary; also launches the Orca Configuration dialog for the current application. + -Help + +Caps_LockS - toggle speech on and off. + -Web Browser - - -
-Customizing Desktop Fonts - -customizing desktop appearance -desktop fonts - -The Appearance preference tool allows you to specify the default fonts for the desktop. +Caps_LockF11 - toggle the reading of tables, either by single cell or whole row. + + -To start the Appearance preference tool, choose System -PreferencesAppearance. The -Fonts tab contains the following options: +Caps_LockQ - quit Orca. - - - -Application Font - + + +
+ +
+Commands for debugging + -Click on this button to select a default font to use for the text that is displayed on the desktop, including the text displayed on the windows and dialogs associated with GNOME-compliant applications and panel applications. +Caps_LockAltCtrlHome - report information on the currently active script. + + -If you use a predefined theme and you click on the Apply Font button, the font that is associated with the theme overrides the font from the Appearance preference tool. +In order for the next three commands to be of use, Orca needs to be started from a virtual console or via gnome-terminal. Output is sent to the console only (i.e., +it is not sent to speech or braille). - - - - -Document Font - + -Click on this button to select a font to use for displaying documents. +Caps_LockAltCtrlEnd - prints a debug listing of all known applications to the console where Orca is running. - - - -Desktop Font - -Click on this button to select a font to use for the text that is displayed on the desktop background only. +Caps_LockAltCtrlPage_Up - prints debug information about the ancestry of the object with focus. - - -Window Title Font -Click on this button to select a font to use for the text that is displayed in the titlebar area of windows. +Caps_LockAltCtrlPage_Down - prints debug information about the object hierarchy of the application with focus. + + + +
+
+ +
+
+Application-Specific Information +
+Accessible Applications + +Orca is designed to work with applications and toolkits that support the Assistive Technology Service Provider Interface (AT-SPI). This includes the GNOME Desktop and its bundled applications: OpenOffice, Firefox, and the Java platform. Some applications work better than others, however, and the Orca community continually works to provide superior access to more and more applications. + +
+ + -
-Customizing Application Fonts - -custom desktop appearance -set choose individual font - +
+Making Application-Specific Settings -By default, GNOME applications use the default font specified in the Appearance preference tool. Some applications allow this default font to be customized. These applications are: +To customize the settings for a particular application, you will first need to run that application. Make sure the application has focus, then press Orca_Modifier +CtrlSpace + (by default, this will be +InsertCtrl +Space for the Desktop keyboard layout). - + +This brings up a tabbed dialog window very similar to the Orca configuration dialog, but with the following differences: + + - -Help Browser + +There is no initial General pane. - -Text Editor +The Speech System and Speech Synthesizer combo +boxes on the Speech pane will be grayed out (made inactive). + - -Terminal +Any existing application-specific key bindings will appear at the top of the list on the Key Bindings pane. -Web Browser +There may be a new application-specific settings pane at the end of the set of tabbed panes. Note that pressing the End key from the tab list will get you directly to the right-most tab. - -
-
-
- -
-Meeting Specific Accessibility Needs + -The following sections summarize the steps you need to take to improve the accessibility of the desktop in a particular area. +Adjust your application-specific settings in the same way you set your general Orca preferences. +For example, you may have Key Echo disabled generally in Orca but would like to specifically have it enabled for the gcalctool (GNOME Calculator) application. Here's where you could easily set that. - -
-Achieving a High- or Low-Contrast Desktop - -high contrast desktop - - -low contrast desktop - -To achieve a high- or low-contrast desktop, perform the following steps: +When you have your application settings customized the way you want, press the OK button. These settings will be written to your +~/.orca/app-settings directory in a file called +<APPNAME>.py, where <APPNAME> is the name of the application. - - -Use the Appearance preference tool to select the high-contrast or low-contrast desktop theme that you require from the Theme tab. +These files are automatically written by Orca. The contents of the file will be overwritten each time you change your application settings for that +application. - - -Use the Background tab to customize your desktop background as follows: +If you want to have some extra application-specific settings or code that you don't want to lose, then you should put it in a file called ~/.orca/app-settings/<APPNAME>-customizations.py. This file will be automatically read when the settings for the +<APPNAME> application are loaded. - - -Set the Desktop Wallpaper to No Wallpaper. +Note that this is an advanced feature that we don't expect many people to use. It's just there if you really want it. - - -Set the Desktop Colors to Solid Color. +There is currently one known bug (some people would call it a feature) that we are trying to track down and fix: - - + -Select a background color that suits your needs. +If you adjust one or more application-specific key bindings, the new values will not take effect until you've pressed the OK button. The work-around is to either restart Orca, or Alt-Tab +away to some other application and then Alt-Tab back to the one that you've just changed the key bindings for. - - - - + +
+
+ +
+Braille -In the Terminal application, ensure that the Use colors from system theme option is selected in the Colors tabbed section of the Editing -Profile dialog. +Orca uses +BrlTTY for braille support. On Linux systems, BrlTTY is used to access the text mode console content. On a typical braille-enabled installation of Linux, BrlTTY is already running and providing access to the text consoles. When Orca starts, it connects to BrlTTY. If you switch from a text console to your X Windows session, your braille display will automatically follow and display the content that Orca is presenting to you. - - -In the gedit (Text Editor) application, ensure that the Use default theme colors option is selected in the Fonts & Colors tabbed section of the -Preferences dialog. +Orca attempts to work with various releases of BrlTTY. It works well with BrlTTY v3.7.2, and we've also been working with the BrlTTY team to get it going for BrlTTY v3.8. The remainder of this document provides information related to using Orca with BrlTTY 3.8. - - -
-
-Achieving a Large Print Desktop - -large print desktop - -To achieve a large-print desktop, perform the following steps: +Below are descriptions of the necessary tasks to install/setup BrlTTY in Ubuntu and Solaris. For both, you need to first obtain +brltty-3.8.tar.gz from the BrlTTY site. - - + +
+BrlTTY 3.8 on Ubuntu -Use the Appearance preference tool to select the Large Print theme. +First, configure your build environment to build BrlTTY. Much of this setup is done for you automatically in the Ubuntu distribution with products such as G++ already present. In addition, you must +also install tcl, Pyrex, and the Python developer environment. To do this, execute the following commands as root: - - + + + + -Click on the Apply Font button to increase the size of the font that is used on the desktop and on window frames. +Then, when you build BrlTTY, avoid configuring the package with --prefix=/usr. Use the standard procedure instead, executing the following commands as root: - - + + + + -Use the Desktop Font option in the Font tab to increase the font that is displayed on desktop background objects. +Run BrlTTY as root: - - + + + + -Increase the font size that is used to display the contents of the Terminal application window. +If you want, you can remove the existing +/sbin/brltty and replace it with the /bin/brltty, either by copying the /bin/brltty to /sbin/brltty or just by making a +symbolic link. Do so at your own risk. - - + +
+
+ +
+Troubleshooting +
+My desktop has stopped responding. What do I do? + -If the Use default theme font option is selected in the gedit (Text Editor) Preferences dialog, gedit uses the font size that is specified in the large-print theme that you selected. However, if the Use default theme font - option is not selected, increase the font size that is used to display the contents of the gedit text editor window. See the gedit manual for more information. +Press AltF2 or MetaR to open the Run dialog and restart Orca by running a new instance: type orca and press Enter. This will force any existing Orca processes to exit and will then restart Orca. This +sometimes has the effect of unhanging the desktop (which is usually due to an ill-behaved application). - - -If you use applications that use panes, such as the file manager and help browser, you may need to change the size of panes to accommodate the large print. See the online help for the appropriate application for more information. +If you cannot get to a terminal window, try +pressing Ctrl +AltBackspace +: shut down the X Window System server. This should return you to the login screen. - -
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