[BlindMath] Asking Mathworks to improve access for latest MatLab version

[Bora Eryilmaz]

Hello John and others,

My name is Bora Eryilmaz and I work at the MathWorks, the maker of MATLAB. Specifically, I am a member of the Accessibility Program tasked with making MATLAB more accessible to blind users.

We have been making progress with supporting screen readers in MATLAB, especially in MATLAB Online. If you haven't already used it, MATLAB Online (https://matlab.mathworks.com<https://matlab.mathworks.com/>) is a lot more accessible these days and could be a better alternative to using the nodesktop option with the regular MATLAB.

If you are interested in having a Zoom call to share your needs for a better MATLAB experience and perhaps demonstrate your current coding workflow, please contact me at my email address (beryilma at mathworks.com<mailto:beryilma at mathworks.com>).

The following links also talk about accessibility features in MATLAB Online:

  *   Use a Screen Reader in MATLAB Online<https://www.mathworks.com/help/matlab/matlab_env/accessibility-use-a-screen-reader-to-access-matlab.html>
  *   Accessibility in MATLAB<https://www.mathworks.com/help/matlab/matlab_env/accessibility-in-matlab.html>
  *   Use Keyboard Shortcuts to Navigate MATLAB<https://www.mathworks.com/help/matlab/matlab_env/accessibility-use-keyboard-shortcuts-to-navigate-matlab.html>

Thanks,
Bora



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Message: 2
Date: Mon, 11 Jul 2022 13:00:58 -0700
From: John <johnmillerphd at hotmail.com<mailto:johnmillerphd at hotmail.com>>
To: blindmath at nfbnet.org<mailto:blindmath at nfbnet.org>
Subject: [BlindMath] Asking Mathworks to improve access for latest
MatLab version
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Hello, I continue to recommend using MatLab from Mathworks for data analysis such as plots or complex calculations. I am having good results with MatLab 2018b with the -nodesktop option. However,I am encountering some challenges with the most recent MatLab version 2022a. I use MatLab with a refreshable braille display. I have made a support request to Mathworks with case number 05621801. If you are using MatLab with a Windows PC, please provide me your email information. Perhaps together we can encourage Mathworks to get MatLab to provide sufficiently good speech and braille experience for professional or student use.
>
> Below is a summary of my service request to Mathworks:
> Description:
> I am a blind Engineer and use MatLab at work.
> I use a braille display from Humanware, the Brailliant BI 40 along with a screen reader JAWS 2022 from Vispero.
> I have always accessed Matlab by typing matlab -nodesktop.
> This works well with Matlab r2018b. It works somewhat okay with Matlab r2022a.
> For matlab r2022a When I type an expression at the command prompt Matlab is breaking the command into two pieces and trying to execute the characters of the first piece as a command.
> Matlab historically has not worked well without running the nodesktop option for blind individuals.
> This is particularly true when reviewing matlab output with a refreshable braille display.
> Also, 2022a with the -nodesktop option has some trouble launching the matlab debugger and setting break points.
>
> My blind colleagues who run Matlab on a Mac have a good experience. For the windows platform, however, the nodesktop option has been the best blind user experience. Can you help get Matlab 2022a and future versions working well for blind users in particular with good speech output and good braille output on Windows machines?
>
> Email: Johnmillerphd at hotmail.com<mailto:Johnmillerphd at hotmail.com>
>
> Best Regards,
> John Miller
>

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