[Blindmath] Announcing SVGExplore01 from the creator of SVGDraw01

Fri Oct 28 23:19:09 UTC 2011

Mike is correct. The mouse is far from ideal for this purpose. A touchpad is
much better because you can usually set the active area of the touchpad to
correspond to a specified rectangular portion of the screen, such as a 1000
by 700 pixel area in the upper.

Also, as Mike said, you need to be careful not to pick up the mouse. If you
do, you need to recalibrate back to the upper-left corner.

If you open Mouse Properties in Vista Control Panel, a very complicated
dialog appears. I count 7 different tabs at the top of the dialog. One of
those tabs is named Pointer Options. That tab has a subsection named Motion.

The motion subsection contains a slider. The left end of the slider is
labeled Slow and the right end is labeled Fast.  With the slider at the Fast
end, very little physical mouse motion is required to cause the mouse
pointer to move a large distance. At the Slow end, a lot of physical mouse
motion is required to cause the mouse point to move just a little bit. I
normally put that slider at a location that NVDA identifies as 60. At that
setting, I only need to move the mouse about 1.5 inches to cause the mouse
pointer to move 1000 pixels. A much slower setting would be needed to
explore a drawing on an embossed grid.

For the slowest setting, a full 11 inches of mouse movement only moves the
mouse pointer about 300 pixels, so there is plenty of dynamic range to play
with.

You should be able to identify the upper-right corner of the drawing because
two lines come together at that point. You should hear a lot of pulses when
you mouse pointer arrives there. You could use that point along with the
slider in Mouse Properties to set the mouse motion required to cause the
pointer to move 1000 pixels to something that you are comfortable with.

Similarly two lines come together in the bottom left corner, which is 700
pixels down from the upper-left corner of the drawing. You could also use
that measurement to calibrate your mouse motion to your liking.

Dick Baldwin

On Fri, Oct 28, 2011 at 5:27 PM, Michael Whapples <mwhapples at aim.com> wrote:

> That is one issue with the mouse, I think it is possible for you to set how
> much the mouse moves for a given amount of actual physical mouse movement.
> Also it is important you do not lift the mouse when doing this as then you
> could move it without the pointer moving on the computer. I guess if you
> know you have done this then you could recalibrate it back to the top left
> corner.
>
> Michael Whapples
> On 28 Oct 2011, at 22:59, Amanda Lacy wrote:
>
> > Hi,
> >
> > Part of this may have to do with my inexperience with a mouse. It seems
> it will take some practice to master. I haven't yet embossed a grid but was
> first testing it on the cover of one of my math books. I was also using the
> vOICe in order to sometimes be able to see where my mouse pointer was.
> Starting in the top left corner of the math book, I worked my way down
> through the circle, found a shape underneath it, lost it, and found a shape
> to its right. As I was near the bottom right corner of my math book, I
> noticed that the mouse pointer was near the top of the screen and near the
> right. I have no idea how this happened. Also, should a standard sized
> Braille book or embossed page be large enough so that an edge of the page
> corresponds to an edge of the screen?
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Amanda
> > ----- Original Message ----- From: "Richard Baldwin" <
> baldwin at dickbaldwin.com>
> > To: "BlindMath Mailing List" <blindmath at nfbnet.org>; <
> accessibleimage at freelists.org>
> > Sent: Friday, October 28, 2011 12:45 PM
> > Subject: [Blindmath] Announcing SVGExplore01 from the creator of
> SVGDraw01
> >
> >
> >> SVGExplore01 is a program designed to allow blind users to explore
> drawings
> >> created using SVGDraw01 by using sound in conjunction with an embossed
> grid
> >> system on a computer touchpad. This message describes a prototype
> "mouse"
> >> version of the program.
> >>
> >> Version 0.0.1 20111028
> >> Table of contents
> >>
> >>   Welcome to the prototype version of SVGExplore01
> >>   This is a mouse version of the program
> >>   User instructions
> >>   This is not an SVG drawing
> >>   Packaging
> >>   Downloading and running the program
> >>   Please provide feedback
> >>
> >>
> >> Welcome to the prototype version of SVGExplore01
> >>
> >> This is a prototype version of the program.
> >>
> >> The program is posted at
> >> http://www.austincc.edu/baldwin/SWT-SVG/SVGDraw01.zip and is available
> for
> >> immediate downloading.
> >>
> >> This program makes it possible for blind users to trace out the shapes
> in a
> >> drawing by moving a finger on an embossed grid system while listening to
> >> stereo sounds emitted by the program.
> >>
> >> Audio hints are provided to help the user acquire the different shapes
> in a
> >> drawing. Once the user has touched a location on the touchpad that
> >> corresponds to the border of a shape, a series of stereo audio pulses
> makes
> >> it possible for the user to trace out the shape with the finger on the
> >> embossed grid.
> >>
> >> My hope is that this will provide an economical "quick look" alternative
> to
> >> the use of fully embossed drawings for the purpose of allowing the user
> to
> >> form a mental image of the shapes in the drawing.
> >>
> >> Each shape in the drawing emits pulses with a different audio frequency.
> >> This is the mechanism by which the user can distinguish one shape in the
> >> drawing from the other shapes in the drawing.
> >>
> >>
> >> This is a mouse version of the program
> >>
> >> A fully operational touchpad version of the program is still in
> development.
> >> I am providing a mouse version at this time to allow potential users of
> the
> >> program to get a taste of how it works. I am hopeful that those users
> will
> >> try it out and provide feedback and suggestions for improvement.
> >>
> >>
> >> User instructions
> >>
> >> I will explain how to download and run the program later in this
> document.
> >>
> >> In addition to a Windows computer with stereo speakers or headphones,
> you
> >> will need a mouse and (optionally) a sheet of paper embossed with a
> >> rectangular grid system. Emboss horizontal and vertical grid lines on
> the
> >> paper at approximately one-half-inch intervals. If you don't have an
> >> embosser, use a tracing wheel, a straight edge and an ice pick, or
> whatever
> >> works for you to create tactile grid lines. It will probably work best
> if
> >> you tape the grid paper to the tabletop to keep it from moving.
> >>
> >> Start the program running using the instructions provided later in this
> >> document.
> >>
> >> Grasp the mouse in your right hand with your thumb touching the
> upper-left
> >> corner of the grid. Try to hold the mouse so that the front-to-back axis
> of
> >> the mouse is parallel to the left edge of the grid.
> >>
> >> Press the 'h' key with your left hand. That will position the mouse
> pointer
> >> in the upper-left corner of the drawing. Any time you feel lost you can
> >> repeat that procedure to reposition the mouse pointer in the upper-left
> >> corner to get your bearings again.
> >>
> >> If you move the mouse to the right while dragging your thumb along the
> top
> >> edge of the grid (or along any horizontal grid line), you will
> (sometimes)
> >> hear a deep rumble in both ears similar to a motorcycle idling. Whenever
> you
> >> hear that sound, it means that there is a shape somewhere along a
> vertical
> >> line that is parallel to the left edge of the grid and below (or above)
> the
> >> mouse pointer. Note that you will only hear sounds when the mouse
> pointer is
> >> moving.
> >>
> >> To acquire a shape with the mouse pointer (when you hear the
> motorcycle),
> >> slowly move the mouse in a zig-zag pattern from the top of the grid
> towards
> >> the bottom of the grid. Pay attention to the position of your thumb in
> the
> >> grid system in order to identify the location of the shape.
> >>
> >> When you have acquired the boundary of a shape with the mouse pointer,
> you
> >> will hear a series of pulses with a frequency or pitch that is higher
> than
> >> the motorcycle sound.
> >>
> >> There are three pitches associated with each shape. In addition, the
> three
> >> pitches associated with one shape are readily distinguishable from the
> three
> >> pitches associated with each of the other shapes.
> >>
> >> When you have placed the mouse pointer squarely on the center line of
> the
> >> boundary of a shape, you will hear a series of pulses at a pitch that I
> will
> >> refer to as the center pitch. When the mouse pointer is slightly below
> the
> >> center line, you will hear a slightly higher pitch. This means that you
> >> should slowly move the mouse toward the top of the grid to place the
> mouse
> >> pointer on the center line. When the mouse pointer is slightly above the
> >> center line, you will hear a pitch that is slightly below the center
> pitch.
> >> This means that you should slowly move the mouse toward the bottom of
> the
> >> grid to put the pointer on the center line.
> >>
> >> You will also hear the pulses in your left ear, your right ear, and
> evenly
> >> in both ears. When the mouse pointer is positioned squarely on the
> center
> >> line, you should hear the pulses with equal intensity at the center
> pitch in
> >> both ears. If you hear the sound in your left ear only, you need to move
> the
> >> mouse slowly to the left in order to place the mouse pointer on the
> center
> >> line. Similarly, if you hear the pulses in your right ear only, you need
> to
> >> move the mouse slowly to the right to acquire the center line.
> >>
> >> Once you acquire the center line of the boundary of a shape with the
> mouse
> >> pointer, your task is to move the mouse on the grid in such a way as to
> >> follow the boundary of the shape that you have acquired, while feeling
> the
> >> embossed grid with your thumb to form a mental image of the geometry of
> the
> >> shape. As you move along the boundary, use the pitch variations and
> stereo
> >> variations to keep the mouse pointer centered on the center line of the
> >> boundary.
> >>
> >> In order to help you maintain your orientation, all shapes are forced to
> be
> >> closed, even if they weren't originally closed when the drawing was
> created
> >> in SVGDraw01. By this I mean, for example, that if you plot a series of
> >> points using the Polyline action in SVGDraw01, a line will be drawn that
> >> automatically connects the last point back to the first point in this
> >> program. That will help you to identify the ends of a curve and avoid
> >> falling off the end of a curve only to search in vain for the rest of
> the
> >> curve.
> >>
> >> On the other hand, this is not completely without its problems. The
> return
> >> stroke can sometimes cross the curve and create a crossroads where there
> is
> >> no difference in the pitch of each of the four directions of travel at
> the
> >> intersection. (Think of the center of a figure 8.) I'm still thinking
> about
> >> how to solve this problem and suggestions are welcome.
> >>
> >>
> >> This is not an SVG drawing
> >>
> >> This prototype version does not make it possible to explore an actual
> SVG
> >> drawing. Instead, this prototype draws the following four hard-coded
> shapes
> >> for the purpose of giving you an opportunity to evaluate and provide
> >> feedback on the process.
> >>
> >>   A circle with a wide border near the upper-left corner.
> >>   A rectangle with a very thin border in the lower-left quadrant.
> >>   A clipped and rotated ellipse in the lower-right quadrant.
> >>   A cubic Bezier S-shaped curve that begins in the lower-left corner and
> >> ends in the upper-right corner. (Note that the return stroke on this
> shape
> >> is a straight line from the upper-right corner to the lower-left corner
> that
> >> crosses the Bezier curve near the center of the drawing. The curve and
> the
> >> return stroke will sound the same so make sure to distinguish between
> them.)
> >>
> >> The borders on the ellipse and the Bezier curve are thicker than the
> border
> >> on the rectangle but not as thick as the border on the circle.
> >>
> >> The overall drawing is a rectangle that is 1000 pixels wide and 700
> pixels
> >> high. Therefore, it should fit on most modern computer monitors
> >>
> >> See how many of the shapes you can find and trace out with your mouse.
> In
> >> doing so, try to keep the front-to-back axis of the mouse parallel to
> the
> >> left side of the grid.
> >>
> >>
> >> Packaging
> >>
> >> As mentioned earlier, the program is posted at
> >> http://www.austincc.edu/baldwin/SWT-SVG/SVGDraw01.zip and is available
> for
> >> immediate downloading. I elected to encapsulate this program in the same
> zip
> >> file with the program named SVGDraw01 in order to share libraries and
> >> conserve disk and server space.
> >>
> >>
> >> Downloading and running the program
> >>
> >> Download and extract all of the material from the zip file into an empty
> >> folder being careful to preserve the directory tree structure. Don't
> extract
> >> into the root directory. One user has reported problems accessing the
> Help
> >> file for the program named SVGDraw01 when the contents of the zip file
> were
> >> extracted into the root folder.
> >>
> >> Execute the file named RunSVGExplore01.bat to run the program named
> >> SVGExplore01.
> >>
> >> As before, execute the file named RunSVGDraw01.bat to run the program
> named
> >> SVGDraw01.
> >>
> >> As of the date of this writing, this document contains all of the Help
> >> information that is available for the prototype version of SVGExplore01.
> >>
> >>
> >> Please provide feedback
> >>
> >> Please let me know if you find errors in these instructions, or you find
> >> areas that deserve a more thorough explanation.
> >>
> >> I would also like to know if there are features that you would like to
> see
> >> added to this program, or hear suggestions for better ways to accomplish
> the
> >> existing features.
> >>
> >> Dick Baldwin
> >> baldwin at dickbaldwin.com
> >>
> >> --
> >> 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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> >
> >
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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/