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

Tue Aug 30 22:14:56 UTC 2011

Hi Ben, I do have that near the top of my list right below a couple of known
bugs. Also, once I get it running, I will send you an SVG file containing
text of varying point sizes so that you can evaluate the legibility.

I just added your offer to the Text item on my todo list.

Thanks,
Dick Baldwin

On Tue, Aug 30, 2011 at 5:02 PM, Ben Humphreys <brh at opticinspiration.org>wrote:

> 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>
>> <**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/><
>> http://www.austincc.edu/**baldwin/ <http://www.austincc.edu/baldwin/>>
>>
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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/ <http://www.austincc.edu/baldwin/>
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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/