[BlindRUG] Emacs for Statistical Applications with Screen Readers

Thu Jul 27 21:07:54 UTC 2017

Hello all, especially Laxmisagar, Robin, and Liz.

Thank you all for this thread. I can now cross one more item off my list of hopes for this list and blind users of R in general. I knew Robin was using Emacs some time ago and had meant to look into it for myself. As with many things, it hasn't gotten any closer to being given any time though. <smiles> Then I saw a message from Laxmisagar on another list and point to BlindRUG as somewhere more likely to yield a solution.

For the record, the item on my list was that someone would ask a question I had practically no knowledge about, and that as a result, I would learn something from the ongoing discussion. 

I will now lean on the three of you to help me compile a brief set of instructions for the R-Resources.massey.ac.nz website.

Cheers,
Jonathan

-----Original Message-----
From: BlindRUG [mailto:blindrug-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Liz Hare via BlindRUG
Sent: Friday, 28 July 2017 2:25 a.m.
To: Blind R Users Group
Cc: Liz Hare
Subject: Re: [BlindRUG] Emacs for Statistical Applications with Screen Readers

Hi Laxmisagar,

If you are working in a buffer with a .R extension, ESS will know you are writing R commands and you can use the commands Robin described (yes, I use the same ones most frequently!) to submit the commands to the R process. 

I keep two buffers open on my screen: the R process one, which is started by M-x R if you have ESS installed, and the one with my commands. I save the first one with an .Rt extension so I can retrieve the results of the R commands and the second one with its .R extension so I can edit and run the commands again. 

I am so glad to know that it's possible to use NVDA with Emacs and R! Thank you!

Liz

> On Jul 26, 2017, at 7:20 AM, Laxmisagar Samai via BlindRUG <blindrug at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Yes, Robin it is working,
> 
> can I directly start giving R commands to the buffer?
> or something else is required.
> 
> 
> On 7/26/17, Robin Williams via BlindRUG <blindrug at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> Hi Laxmisagar,
>> 
>> No problem. To begin, it's probably worth checking your installation 
>> is working as it should. Can you try launching R from within Emacs 
>> with the command Alt+x and then the letter R? The process should 
>> launch, and ask you to choose the path in which to start R's working 
>> directory. you can just use the default for now, so press enter. You 
>> should then have the R terminal window opened from within Emacs, and 
>> have the cursor positioned after the > prompt. Then just try 
>> executing some simple commands (2+3, 4*8, etc). You will be able to 
>> press the up arrow to read R's output, and shouldn't need to use the JAWS cursor.
>> 
>> Let me know how you get on.
>> 
>> cheers,
>> Robin
>> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: BlindRUG [mailto:blindrug-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of 
>> Laxmisagar Samai via BlindRUG
>> Sent: 26 July 2017 08:26
>> To: Blind R Users Group <blindrug at nfbnet.org>
>> Cc: Laxmisagar Samai <laxmisagar304 at gmail.com>
>> Subject: Re: [BlindRUG] Emacs for Statistical Applications with 
>> Screen Readers
>> 
>> Hi Robin,
>> 
>> Thanks for the time, I have added R to the path environment variable, 
>> but unable to edit anything on the emacs buffer.
>> can I directly start writing R commands in the emacs buffer? or 
>> something else is required?
>> I am a beginner in this, hence would request for a detailed instructions.
>> 
>> Thank you
>> Laxmisagar
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> On 7/25/17, Williams, Robin via BlindRUG <blindrug at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>> Hi,
>>> 
>>> Appologies for the slow response - I've been away getting married.
>>> 
>>> In brief, I use Vincent Goulet's modified distribution of Emacs, 
>>> which comes bundled with Emacs Speaks Statistics (and other 
>>> utilities). In all honesty I haven't done anything particularly 
>>> special to make this work. I'm currently using JAWS 17 under Windows 
>>> 7, although I've also had reports that it works well with NVDA.
>>> The experience isn't perfect, but it works well enough for me. I 
>>> regularly have to refresh the virtual screen buffer (JAWS key + 
>>> escape), but apart from that it works as I would like. Install this, 
>>> and make sure your current version of R is added to your system PATH 
>>> environment variable. You should then be able to launch the R 
>>> process with
>>> Alt+x R.
>>> 
>>> My typical workflow is to have the R process window open and to be 
>>> editing commands in a separate Emacs buffer (make sure this is saved 
>>> with a .r or .R extension). I then have full use of the handy Emacs 
>>> Speaks Statistics keystrokes. The keystrokes I use most commonly are:
>>> CTRL+c CTRL+j - send the current line to the R process for execution 
>>> CTRL+c
>>> CTRL+CTRL+r - send the currently selected region for execution, you
>>> CTRL+must
>>> first select the block of code you wish to send in the standard 
>>> Emacs way, i.e. I can provide further instructions, or you can find out online.
>>> CTRL+Alt+; - comment / uncomment the selected region f - move to the 
>>> CTRL+Alt+end of the current code block. I've only discovered
>>> this recently, and find it particularly useful. Place the cursor on 
>>> the opening brace ({) of a function definition or a control flow 
>>> statement, and press CTRL+Alt+f to move to the end of the current block.
>>> 
>>> There are many other keystrokes available, which I should make more 
>>> use of.
>>> One keystroke to be aware of is the _ - by default this prints the R 
>>> arrow (<-), to produce the _ character you must press it twice.
>>> I recommend you set your screenreader to announce all punctuation, 
>>> and modify your .emacs file as you find necessary (I can go in to 
>>> further details, but mine is pretty standard). For now, let me know 
>>> how you get on.
>>> 
>>> Bests,
>>> Robin
>>> 
>>> From: BlindRUG [mailto:blindrug-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Liz 
>>> Hare via BlindRUG
>>> Sent: 21 July 2017 16:54
>>> To: Blind R Users Group
>>> Cc: Liz Hare
>>> Subject: Re: [BlindRUG] Emacs for Statistical Applications with 
>>> Screen Readers
>>> 
>>> Yes, I'm very curious about how Robin is using Emacs in Windows with 
>>> a screen reader!
>>> 
>>> Thanks!
>>> Liz
>>> 
>>> Liz Hare, PhD
>>> Dog Genetics LLC
>>> doggene at earthlink.net<mailto:doggene at earthlink.net>
>>> http://www.doggenetics.com
>>> 
>>> On Jul 21, 2017, at 3:07 AM, Laxmisagar Samai via BlindRUG 
>>> <blindrug at nfbnet.org<mailto:blindrug at nfbnet.org>> wrote:
>>> 
>>> Thank you Liz,
>>> Robin, would be waiting for your reply.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> On 7/20/17, Williams, Robin via BlindRUG 
>>> <blindrug at nfbnet.org<mailto:blindrug at nfbnet.org>> wrote:
>>> 
>>> Hi all,
>>> 
>>> I use R with Emacs (not Emacspeak) under windows on a daily basis, 
>>> it's by far my preferred method of working. I'm away on holiday this 
>>> week, so am very short of time. I'll reply in more detail next week.
>>> 
>>> Bests
>>> Robin
>>> 
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: BlindRUG [mailto:blindrug-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Liz 
>>> Hare via BlindRUG
>>> Sent: 20 July 2017 14:30
>>> To: Blind R Users Group
>>> Cc: Liz Hare
>>> Subject: Re: [BlindRUG] Emacs for Statistical Applications with 
>>> Screen Readers
>>> 
>>> Hi Laxmisagar,
>>> 
>>> I think it's pretty difficult to use a screen reader with Emacs in 
>>> Windows, unless you can get Emacspeak running. There is a port of 
>>> Emacspeak for Windows but it's not in wide use and I don't have 
>>> direct experience with it.
>>> 
>>> I do use R with Emacspeak on Mac and have also done it on Linux. 
>>> Emacs has a package called Emacs Speaks Statistics (ESS) that 
>>> facilitates running R interactively. I like this setup but it has a 
>>> pretty steep learning curve and I kind of learn the bits and pieces 
>>> I need as I go along.
>>> 
>>> Liz
>>> 
>>> 
>>> On Jul 19, 2017, at 7:02 AM, Laxmisagar Samai via BlindRUG 
>>> <blindrug at nfbnet.org<mailto:blindrug at nfbnet.org>> wrote:
>>> 
>>> Hello,
>>> 
>>> Does anyone has any experience in using Emacs as an editing 
>>> application for statistical softwares like, R, SAS and STATA with 
>>> screen readers on a windows machine?
>>> I request for some help.
>>> 
>>> Thank you
>>> Laxmisagar
>>> Mumbai (India)
>>> 
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> BlindRUG mailing list
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>>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info 
>>> for
>>> BlindRUG:
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>>> hl
>>> ink.net
>>> The list archive can be viewed at:
>>> http://www.nfbnet.org/pipermail/blindrug_nfbnet.org
>>> More information and useful links about using R as a blind person 
>>> can be obtained at:
>>> http://R-Resources.massey.ac.nz
>>> 
>>> Look for help using R commands by reading the accessible e-book 
>>> "Let's Use R Now" compiled by Jonathan Godfrey at:
>>> http://R-Resources.massey.ac.nz/lurn/front.html
>>> 
>>> 
>>> _______________________________________________
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>>> 0e
>>> xeter.ac.uk
>>> The list archive can be viewed at:
>>> http://www.nfbnet.org/pipermail/blindrug_nfbnet.org
>>> More information and useful links about using R as a blind person 
>>> can be obtained at:
>>> http://R-Resources.massey.ac.nz
>>> 
>>> Look for help using R commands by reading the accessible e-book 
>>> "Let's Use R Now" compiled by Jonathan Godfrey at:
>>> http://R-Resources.massey.ac.nz/lurn/front.html
>>> 
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> BlindRUG mailing list
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>>> 40
>>> gmail.com
>>> The list archive can be viewed at:
>>> http://www.nfbnet.org/pipermail/blindrug_nfbnet.org
>>> More information and useful links about using R as a blind person 
>>> can be obtained at:
>>> http://R-Resources.massey.ac.nz
>>> 
>>> Look for help using R commands by reading the accessible e-book 
>>> "Let's Use R Now" compiled by Jonathan Godfrey at:
>>> http://R-Resources.massey.ac.nz/lurn/front.html
>>> 
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> BlindRUG mailing list
>>> BlindRUG at nfbnet.org<mailto:BlindRUG at nfbnet.org>
>>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindrug_nfbnet.org
>>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info 
>>> for
>>> BlindRUG:
>>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindrug_nfbnet.org/doggene%40eart
>>> hl
>>> ink.net
>>> The list archive can be viewed at:
>>> http://www.nfbnet.org/pipermail/blindrug_nfbnet.org
>>> More information and useful links about using R as a blind person 
>>> can be obtained at:
>>> http://R-Resources.massey.ac.nz
>>> 
>>> Look for help using R commands by reading the accessible e-book 
>>> "Let's Use R Now" compiled by Jonathan Godfrey at:
>>> http://R-Resources.massey.ac.nz/lurn/front.html
>>> 
>>> 
>> 
>> _______________________________________________
>> BlindRUG mailing list
>> BlindRUG at nfbnet.org
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindrug_nfbnet.org
>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>> BlindRUG:
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>> 40atass-sports.co.uk
>> The list archive can be viewed at:
>> http://www.nfbnet.org/pipermail/blindrug_nfbnet.org
>> More information and useful links about using R as a blind person can 
>> be obtained at:
>> http://R-Resources.massey.ac.nz
>> 
>> Look for help using R commands by reading the accessible e-book 
>> "Let's Use R Now" compiled by Jonathan Godfrey at:
>> http://R-Resources.massey.ac.nz/lurn/front.html
>> 
>> _______________________________________________
>> BlindRUG mailing list
>> BlindRUG at nfbnet.org
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindrug_nfbnet.org
>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>> BlindRUG:
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindrug_nfbnet.org/laxmisagar304%4
>> 0gmail.com
>> The list archive can be viewed at:
>> http://www.nfbnet.org/pipermail/blindrug_nfbnet.org
>> More information and useful links about using R as a blind person can 
>> be obtained at:
>> http://R-Resources.massey.ac.nz
>> 
>> Look for help using R commands by reading the accessible e-book 
>> "Let's Use R Now" compiled by Jonathan Godfrey at:
>> http://R-Resources.massey.ac.nz/lurn/front.html
>> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> BlindRUG mailing list
> BlindRUG at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindrug_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for BlindRUG:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindrug_nfbnet.org/doggene%40earthl
> ink.net
> The list archive can be viewed at:
> http://www.nfbnet.org/pipermail/blindrug_nfbnet.org
> More information and useful links about using R as a blind person can be obtained at:
> http://R-Resources.massey.ac.nz
> 
> Look for help using R commands by reading the accessible e-book "Let's Use R Now" compiled by Jonathan Godfrey at:
> http://R-Resources.massey.ac.nz/lurn/front.html

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More information and useful links about using R as a blind person can be obtained at:
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Look for help using R commands by reading the accessible e-book "Let's Use R Now" compiled by Jonathan Godfrey at:
http://R-Resources.massey.ac.nz/lurn/front.html