[Blindmath] First attempt at an SWT/SVG based drawing program

Tue Aug 30 22:02:56 UTC 2011

This little program really made my day.  It's so wonderful to be able 
to express myself graphically again.

Upon further consideration, I'd like to add one additional feature 
request, and I think it's probably got to go to the top of the list.

So that these drawings can be exchanged with sighted folks, some 
ability to add text objects is really required.  I can see how this 
might become complicated in a hurry, but if we limited it to some 
stock font and size that exists everywhere, we'd have 80% of the 
solution for 20% of the effort.

May I propose some thin san serif font?  I'm guessing the point size 
is going to have to be fairly large to be tactilly legible, say 24 or 
36 point.

Richard, if you happen to have a sample SVG file with a particular 
font, I'd be happy to emboss it here and let you know how tactilly 
legible it is.

Thanks,

Ben

At 01:57 PM 8/30/2011, you wrote:
>Hi Ben,
>
>Thanks for the response. See my comments inline with rgb] on the left end.
>
>On Tue, Aug 30, 2011 at 11:44 AM, Ben Humphreys 
><brh at opticinspiration.org>wrote:
>
> > Professor Baldwin,
> >
> > This program is fantastic!
> >
> > I've read your tutorials on SVG and the Java library you developed but of
> > course even with those resources, the effort to produce an actual drawing
> > isn't trivial.
> >
> > But with your SVGDraw1 tool, I'm up to speed with an actual drawing -- a
> > see-saw I envisioned.
> >
> > It took 3 iterations of draw and print to Tiger embosser before I got what
> > I pictured in my mind.  Along the way, I discovered a few human factor
> > issues:
> >
> > 1.  The coordinate system of 8.5 x 11 leaves a lot to be desired. However,
> > I found that if I designed the drawing in landscape orientation 
> where x-axis
> > is 11.5 inches and y-axis is 8.5 inches, that helped me render more natural
> > drawings.
> >
>
>You can change the size to anything you want. If I remember correctly, a
>Tiger can handle 11x14-inch paper. If you have access to a Tiger, you might
>also want to consider getting an IVEO touchpad and the free IVEO software to
>go with it. If you already have IVEO, i will be interested in your comments
>regarding IVEO compatibility.
>
> >
> > 2.  I truncated the x-axis at 10 inches and the y-axis at 8 inches and that
> > really helped simplify my calculations.
> >
> > 3.  printing the .svg file from browser using a Landscape orientation
> > worked as designed.  Firefox (6.0 in my case) seems to work much 
> better than
> > IE.  IE either won't print anything or pops up with a request to install
> > Adobe SVG Viewer, whatever that is.  I can be certain I don't want Adobe
> > involved in my SVG efforts though.
> >
>
>rgb] I'll add this to my list of reasons why I don't like to use IE <grin>.
>You indicate at the end of the message that you are running IE9. However,
>this behavior sounds like IE8 or earlier. If so, and if you can upgrade to
>IE 9, the SVG Viewer is already installed so it should work fine. If you
>really are running IE9, I don't know why you are having this problem. I
>don't have that problem with IE9 at home but am completely unable to open an
>SVG file in IE8 at my office..
>
> >
> > 4.  When entering data in the input fields, most Windows programs highlight
> > the field first so that once you begin typing, the previous value is
> > overwritten.  It seems in this Java implementation, the default behavior is
> > to insert typed text in front of what is already there.  So I had to
> > remember to clear existing data before entering new values in input fields.
> >
>
>rgb]Good suggestion. I will put this on my todo list. Don't know exactly how
>to program it right now, but can probably figure it out.
>
> >
> > 5.  It would be nice to make use of the Esc key to abandon a previously
> > initiated Drawing object.  So for example, if I started a line then decided
> > what I really wanted was a rectangle, I could press Esc to return to the
> > combo box.
> >
>
>rgb] Good suggestion. It is on my todo list. Actually, you can abandon an
>incomplete element now by tabbing past the button at the bottom of the page.
>However, I think the addition of the Esc key capability would be a great
>addition.
>
> >
> > 6.  A nicer title for the "Main Window" would be "[Drawing Name ] -
> > SVGDraw1"
> >
>
>rgb] Will do. It's on the list.
>
> >
> > I can't wait until this program gets some advanced features like:
> >
> > 1.  Ability to reload an existing drawing
> >
> > 2.  Ability to edit an existing object by name.
> >
> > 3.  Ability to easily specify a "grid" or set of hash marks on the x and y
> > axis.
> >
> > 4.  Ability to specify a user-defined coordinate system.  For example,
> > x-axis = 10 and y axis = 13.
> >
> > 5.  Ability to specify one coordinate of a new object as an intersection
> > with another object.  For example, Draw polyline "Sail" whose 
> first point is
> > the topmost endpoint of line "Mast"
> >
>
>rgb] These are all great suggestions, and is exactly the kind of feedback I
>am looking for.
>
> >
> > Of course, having used AutoCAD when I had sight, I'm ultimately envisioning
> > a tool which would allow one to draw amazing things with perfect precision.
> >  Until then, this is a wonderful tool!
> >
>
>rgb]You are in a unique position to provide advice on this project. Having
>been a sighted computer user of an outstanding drawing program, you know
>what is possible. Being blind, you have a good feel for what will be needed
>in a program to make it possible for blind users to achieve those
>possibilities. I sincerely appreciate your input.
>
>
> >
> > P.S. Running Win7 + JRE 6 + Java Access Bridge + JAWS 12 + Firefox 6 + IE 9
> > + Tiger Spot Dot Embosser.
> >
>
>rgb] As I mentioned above, it sounds like you might be running IE8 instead
>of IE9.
>
>Thanks again,
>Dick Baldwin
>
> >
> > Ben
> >
> >
> > At 10:02 PM 8/29/2011, you wrote:
> >
> >> For those who may be interested, I have posted my first attempt at putting
> >> an SWT GUI front end on my SVG graphics library and have posted the
> >> resulting program in a file named SVGDraw01.jar at the following URL:
> >>
> >> 
> http://www.austincc.edu/**baldwin/SWT-SVG/SVGDraw01.jar<http://www.austincc.edu/baldwin/SWT-SVG/SVGDraw01.jar>
> >>
> >> I would appreciate it if some of you would download the program, try it,
> >> and
> >> provide feedback in several different areas. You will need the Java
> >> virtual
> >> machine installed on your computer to run the program. On Windows, you can
> >> run the program either by double-clicking on the jar file, or by opening a
> >> command prompt in the folder containing the jar file and entering the
> >> following command at the command prompt:
> >>
> >> java -jar SVGDraw01.jar
> >>
> >> When the program starts running, you should find yourself in an SWT Combo
> >> object with an item labeled "User Instructions" highlighted. Pressing the
> >> Enter key at this point will take you to the beginning of a page
> >> containing
> >> user instructions. A screen reader should tell you to press shift-tab to
> >> return to the combo box or to press the tab key to continue.
> >>
> >> Pressing the tab key will cause the screen reader to begin reading the
> >> instructions. At the end of the instructions, the screen reader should
> >> tell
> >> you to "Press tab to return to the combo box." (Of course, you can press
> >> tab
> >> at any time. You don't need to wait until the screen reader finishes
> >> reading
> >> the instructions.)
> >>
> >> You can navigate up and down the list in the combo box using the arrow
> >> keys
> >> and act on an item by pressing the Enter key when that item is selected.
> >> The
> >> combo box currently contains the following items:
> >>
> >> User instructions (which is what you should do first)
> >> Start a new drawing (which is what you should do next)
> >> Draw a line
> >> Draw a rectangle
> >> Draw a circle
> >> Draw an ellipse
> >> Draw a polyline
> >> Draw a polygon
> >> Write drawing file (which is what you should do next to last)
> >> Stop program (which is what you should do last)
> >>
> >> When you press the Enter key on the item labeled "Start a new drawing," an
> >> empty SVG page of a specified size with optional title and description
> >> attributes will be created in memory.
> >>
> >> When you press the Enter key on the item labeled "Write drawing file",
> >> that
> >> SVG page will be written to an output SVG file with a name of your
> >> choosing
> >> and an extension of .svg.
> >>
> >> Between starting a new drawing and writing the drawing file, you can add
> >> elements for any number of any of the six shapes (which are the SVG basic
> >> shapes) in any order to the SVG page.
> >>
> >> When you press the Enter key on a shape item, you will land on a form that
> >> allows you to enter the most commonly used attributes for that shape. Fill
> >> in the blanks, check the check boxes (if any), and finally push the button
> >> labeled "Push to draw ---" to add the shape element to the SVG page. You
> >> can
> >> navigate up and down the the form with the tab key and shift-tab.
> >>
> >> I would appreciate receiving feedback in at least the following areas.
> >> Feedback in other areas not listed below will be appreciated also.
> >>
> >> 1. Will the program be accessible to a blind student? What could be done
> >> to
> >> improve accessibility?
> >>
> >> 2. Will the navigation structure of the program be functionally useful to
> >> a
> >> blind student? What could be done to improve the navigational
> >> functionality
> >> and make the program easier to use?
> >>
> >> 3. Will the "fill-in-the-blanks" concept for creating technical diagrams
> >> and
> >> drawings, such as vector diagrams and free-body diagrams, be useful to a
> >> blind student? If so, which of the many additional capabilities of SVG,
> >> such
> >> as arcs, paths, etc., would be appropriate as an upgrade to the program.
> >> (I'm already planning on adding the ability to create text elements. I
> >> just
> >> haven't resolved all the questions regarding fonts yet.)
> >>
> >> 4. To what extent is the output SVG file compatible with graphics
> >> embossers
> >> that can work with SVG files as input? What could be done to improve that
> >> compatibility?
> >>
> >> Thank you,
> >>
> >> Dick Baldwin
> >>
> >> --
> >> Richard G. Baldwin (Dick Baldwin)
> >> Home of Baldwin's on-line Java Tutorials
> >> http://www.DickBaldwin.com
> >>
> >> Professor of Computer Information Technology
> >> Austin Community College
> >> (512) 223-4758
> >> mailto:Baldwin at DickBaldwin.com
> >> http://www.austincc.edu/**baldwin/ <http://www.austincc.edu/baldwin/>
> >> ______________________________**_________________
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> >>
> >
> >
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>
>
>--
>Richard G. Baldwin (Dick Baldwin)
>Home of Baldwin's on-line Java Tutorials
>http://www.DickBaldwin.com
>
>Professor of Computer Information Technology
>Austin Community College
>(512) 223-4758
>mailto:Baldwin at DickBaldwin.com
>http://www.austincc.edu/baldwin/
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