[nabs-l] Google applications and accessibility

Bryan Duarte bjduarte at asu.edu
Wed Feb 3 03:22:09 UTC 2016 

Justin,

Yes Chrome VOX only works within the Chrome web browser. Google Chrome is cross platform. which means it will run on Windows, Mac, and Linux. You can download the Chrome web browser and within Chrome you would install Chrome VOX. Hope this helps.

Go Devils!

Bryan Duarte
ASU Software Engineering Graduate Student
QwikEyes CEO



> On Feb 2, 2016, at 7:31 PM, justin williams via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Does Chrome Vox work on Windows?
> Justin
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nabs-l [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Bryan Duarte via nabs-l
> Sent: Monday, February 01, 2016 7:21 PM
> To: Simon Bonenfant <sbonenfant2 at gmail.com>
> Cc: Bryan Duarte <bjduarte at asu.edu>; National Association of Blind Students mailing list <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Google applications and accessibility
> 
> Hello Simon,
> 
> Using Chrome VOX is very easy to use but the commands are not exactly like Windows. The list of commands can be found at the link I provided in the first email I sent out but basically you would move the VOX keys by pressing the CTRL + Command keys then using the arrows. Tab will also move the cursor as well as shift tab. The cool thing about VOX keys are they can move you by character, word, line, object, or group depending on how detailed you need to be when navigating. To change these levels of detail simply press VOX keys along with the plus sign and minus sign. For the most part I really only ever use it in object navigation but some times you might want to move to a by line or word navigation. As a note you do not need to use these levels of navigation in something like Google Docs as simply pressing the Option key plus the arrows will move you by word, and left and right arrows along will move you by character. This is only for when you are trying to drill down on objects like a link, button, or some other type of element which you wish to interact with more in detail.
> 
> Yes I have a Chrome Book and Chrome VOX is running on it and I use the entire computer with nothing other than Chrome VOX just fine. Thanks for the question and I hope this helps.
> 
> Go Devils!
> 
> Bryan Duarte
> ASU Software Engineering Graduate Student QwikEyes CEO
> 
> 
> 
>> On Feb 1, 2016, at 4:48 PM, Simon Bonenfant <sbonenfant2 at gmail.com> wrote:
>> 
>> Hi Brian, thank you for posting this resource, I to have a Mac and 
>> have struggled with the same things you were talking about, when you 
>> use chrome box, are the commands simple to use and are they like 
>> windows?, Do you get access to the whole chrome operating system or 
>> just the different applications, is the operating system similar to 
>> windows, thank you for posting this again
>> 
>> Sent from my iPod
>> 
>>> On Feb 1, 2016, at 1:04 AM, Bryan Duarte via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>> 
>>> Hey all,
>>> 
>>> I appreciate your feedback both for the questions and comments. I will just say that I use a Mac predominately and even though Voiceover can interact with Google applications it is not easy to do nor does it work that well. Here are some examples of what I am talking about. 
>>> • When editing a google doc while collaborating with others, Voiceover will lose focus of your selection momentarily to speak their name if they cross into your selection area. 
>>> • When moving by character or word Voiceover is very sluggish especially when you are attempting to edit a line where someone else is currently editing. 
>>> • When navigating through the document by line some times Voiceover has a delay which causes it to tell you the line is blank when it is not. 
>>> • The most annoying thing for me is the interaction with the menu options. Although Voiceover can interact with the menus I have found it to take more time than necessary to do simple things like share a document, move it to a folder, navigate through the menu options in the file bar, or find out if accessibility mode is enabled. 
>>> 
>>> I am currently working on two large scale software projects with two teams of 4 and we use google applications for all of our teams documentation. Had I not installed google chrome and chrome vox I would not have wanted to use the google applications because getting by with a solution that is slow, unresponsive at times, and difficult to actually collaborate with is not helpful to me when working on large team projects. With Chrome and Chrome VOX I do not experience any of these issues and if you read the documentation for VOX you will see there are only a handful of commands needed to use Chrome VOX and they work great when interacting with Google applications. If using another screenreader when it sounds like most of us are already using two is an inconvenience, I completely understand, but I felt like it would be useful for someone who is using a Mac and would like to have a streamline experience when collaborating on a team using Google applications. I made the suggestion and if anyone has any questions or comments about using them feel free to reach out. If you are ok with Jaws and NVDA that is awesome and I am happy to hear Windows has a good solution to the issues I mentioned, but for now Voiceover is not well supported in this way in my opinion. Hope this helps you all understand where I am coming from. Have a great night.
>>> 
>>> Go Devils!
>>> 
>>> Bryan Duarte
>>> ASU Software Engineering Graduate Student QwikEyes CEO
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>>> On Jan 31, 2016, at 9:11 PM, Greg Aikens via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>>> 
>>>> I would be interested in hearing more specifics of how people have gotten JAWS to work well with Google Apps. I tried to use Google Sheets a few weeks ago and was unable to get JAWS to read the spreadsheet, using Chrome or Internet Explorer or Voiceover and Safari. It has been a few years since I gave Chromo a try but I may check it out because I would like to have access to sheets. 
>>>> 
>>>> Has anyone had success using sheets specifically? 
>>>> 
>>>> Thanks for any tips.
>>>> 
>>>> -Greg
>>>> 
>>>>> On Jan 31, 2016, at 7:53 PM, Ashley via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>>>> 
>>>>> Hello all
>>>>> Yes, both screen readers work well with Google applications. I have found that this is true with the chrome and Firefox browsers. 
>>>>> ForJAWS, you must press a command to make the pages accessible; however, for NVDA automatically make things work. I have mainly used the Google sweet of applications with NVDA. I have also had some experience with chrome and chromevox.
>>>>> If anyone has questions about any of the applications or browsers, 
>>>>> please let me know. :-) Ashley
>>>>> 
>>>>> Sent from my iPhone
>>>>> 
>>>>>> On Jan 31, 2016, at 19:17, Christina Moore via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> It is not necessary. JAWS works great with chrome.
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> --Christina
>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> On Jan 31, 2016, at 15:28, Chris Nusbaum via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> Bryan:
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> Thanks so much for putting together this resource! Just 
>>>>>>> curious--has anyone tried using Chrome with JAWS or NVDA on 
>>>>>>> Windows? If so, has its accessibility improved in recent updates? 
>>>>>>> In other words, is it necessary to install ChromeVox?
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> Thanks,
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> Chris
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>>>>> From: nabs-l [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of 
>>>>>>> Bryan Duarte via nabs-l
>>>>>>> Sent: Saturday, January 30, 2016 9:01 PM
>>>>>>> To: nabs-l at nfbnet.org
>>>>>>> Cc: Bryan Duarte
>>>>>>> Subject: [nabs-l] Google applications and accessibility
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> Hello NABS,
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> I wanted to send this out just to make it known in case some of 
>>>>>>> you may not know. We have all had the issues facing accessibility 
>>>>>>> to Google applications at some time or another right? Yes, I can answer this rhetorical question.
>>>>>>> Well let me provide you some information which may or may not 
>>>>>>> surprise you about the incredible accessibility Google 
>>>>>>> applications have for blind individuals no matter what operating system you are using.
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> As we all know Google has been telling us at NFB conventions for 
>>>>>>> years that they are building accessibility into their products 
>>>>>>> but when we open Google Drive, Google Docs, or any other Google 
>>>>>>> app on our Windows or Mac we are getting frustrated with their 
>>>>>>> lack of access right? The answer is once again Yes! Well guess 
>>>>>>> what? Google has actually been telling the truth but not telling 
>>>>>>> it correctly. Google has developed the Chrome web browser which 
>>>>>>> is free for all to use. I am sure some of us use Google Chrome as 
>>>>>>> our web browser but for the most part we do not mess with it 
>>>>>>> because Jaws and other windows screen readers interact better 
>>>>>>> with browsers such as Firefox, Safari, and yes some people still 
>>>>>>> use Internet Explorer. What Google has not told you is that they 
>>>>>>> have also developed their own screen reader called Chrome VOX 
>>>>>>> which only runs in Google Chrome. Not only does it run in Chrome 
>>>>>>> but it gives you complete access to all Google applications which 
>>>>>>> guess what, also run right inside of Chrome. So here is what you need to do if you would like to use Googles powerful suite of web based tools to collaborate with your teams of sighted peers.
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> 1. No matter what operating system you use navigate to, 
>>>>>>> https://www.google.com/chrome/browser/desktop/
>>>>>>> <https://www.google.com/chrome/browser/desktop/>
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> Download the Google Chrome web browser and install it for your 
>>>>>>> operating system Windows or Mac or Linux.
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> 2. Then download and install Chrome VOX from within the Chrome web browser.
>>>>>>> http://www.chromevox.com <http://www.chromevox.com/>
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> 3. Once Chrome VOX is installed simply go to the preferences or 
>>>>>>> settings tab and customize the voice and you are off and running.
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> 4. Here is the link to the keyboard commands you will need to 
>>>>>>> control Chrome VOX 
>>>>>>> http://www.chromevox.com/keyboard_shortcuts.html
>>>>>>> <http://www.chromevox.com/keyboard_shortcuts.html>
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> I use Google applications everyday all the time to manage all my 
>>>>>>> teams and communicate with my peers. I use a Mac so when I open 
>>>>>>> Chrome I will press Command plus F5 to turn off Voiceover then I 
>>>>>>> use Chrome VOX while I am using the Google Applications then 
>>>>>>> simply close Chrome and resume Voiceover. Just as a side note 
>>>>>>> Voiceover will not speak once you are editing within a Google Doc 
>>>>>>> and Chrome VOX is running so that is convenient so you do not have to worry about having to toggle one on and off.
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> I hope this helps some of you who might have been wanting or 
>>>>>>> needing to use Google applications but have been way to 
>>>>>>> frustrated with the inconsistency of accessibility.
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> Go Devils!
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> Bryan Duarte
>>>>>>> ASU Software Engineering Graduate Student QwikEyes CEO
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> 
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