[nfbcs] Last Post on Editors

[Joe Orozco]

Hello all,

For those of you on NFBCS, I promise this is my last post on editors.  I'm
copying NFB-Web in hopes that my post, which is half report and half a call
for help, will widen the number of people who could potentially lend a hand
or make referrals.

Over the past week I've evaluated half a dozen text editors in search of
something that will make my job a little less monotonous.  I'm a grants
manager for a nonprofit here in DC.  In addition to maneuvering grant
programs from inception through closeout, it iss my responsibility to design
the online application in a way that is as accessible as it is visually
appealing.  The applications are not of the government length, but they are
sufficiently long enough to make each application an arduous task.  Anyway,
our department has now bought a domain in hopes of creating an independent
portal for applicants, grantees and alumns to apply, check status and
actively communicate.

I got FrontPage 2003 but was told the program produced negative, bloated
results.  I now have DreamWeaver MX but I am still making my way through the
manual to understand its functionality.  Ultimately I may use DreamWeaver to
manage the large site that is coming, but I feel much more comfortable
knowing exactly what string of code goes where.  Actually, DreamWeaver
intimidates the hell out of me.

I need a program that will:

* provide spellchecking functionality;

* launch browser view without creating a new file first;

* provide instant editing capability via FTP;

* manipulate multiple files in a project; and

* navigate well with JAWS 10.

This last should be a given, but my overriding problem is that JAWS is not
adequately navigating text the way it's supposed to.  Were my needs solely
about web development, this would not be a problem, but these grant
applications also require a number of guides and tip sheets to be written.
Before I begin populating the document with code, I like to be able to look
at the clean copy of the file to adequately assess its written quality.

UltraEdit appears to be the most versatile package.  There are different
environments for different types of users, from the basic Notepad
replacement to the technical writer and web developer.  The menu structure
changes according to the person's needs, and moving from one environment to
the other is a simple progression of three keystrokes.  Unfortunately, JAWS
does not automatically read paragraphs on its own.  The Alt and Left and
Right arrow keys jump from section to section, and were this the only
problem, I could live with it.  Yet, I have found that there are more than
several menus that are not accessible to JAWS 10.  Key mapping is
unachievable, because landing on the field renders the screen reader
immovable.  You have to try to back up into the field after selecting the
function you want from the other side.  Plan on using the JAWS cursor to
make the process only slightly easier, and even after turning off the
program's Control and Up and Down features, JAWS 10 does not read the
paragraphs correctly.  This was only one menu where I found accessibility
issues.  Further, I did not find an auto-complete function for the web
developer environment.  DreamWeaver, as enormous as it is, has the neat
ability to automatically close tags for you, something shared by the HTML-R
library in NoteTab Pro.

NoteTab Pro is one of the two programs I am leaning toward.  The navigation
is probably worse than UltraEdit's, because NoteTab will just say "blank,
blank" when I try to use the traditional paragraph functions with Control Up
and Down arrows.  It does, however, have Spellchecking functionality, and
although I have not attempted to use the FTP feature, it would allow me to
edit directly onto a remote server.  NoteTab has a configuration file which
I have dumped into my JAWS settings, but I wonder if it is not working
because I only have a trial version of the software.  I attempted to turn on
the accessibility mode using the command line, but I get an error alerting
me that "notetab.exe" is not a recognized internal function.  NoteTab does
have the neat little feature of automatically closing tags and joining lines
on specified sections.  As far as I can tell, there are clip libraries
people contribute to keep this program fresh between upgrades.  These are
code snips that reduce time on projects.

The second program I'm leaning toward is EditPad Pro.  It works beautifully
with JAWS as far as navigation.  A few of the menus are not readily
accessible, but I have only begun toying with this program since this
afternoon.  It feels the need to create a new file to view in a browser even
when the file type is set to HTML, but it does have a spellchecker and
project functionality just like NoteTab.

So, what it comes down to is that in EditPad Pro I found a superior text
editor.  In NoteTab I may have found the best HTML editor.  How in the world
could I go about merging them into the single perfect package?  Buying both
is a waste of money.  At fifty dollars, EditPad Pro seems like a bit much to
charge for a glorified Notepad substitute that is lacking in HTML resources.
Then again, at thirty dollars NoteTab is more or less in the same
neighborhood at the cost of glitches in my ability to navigate.

Over the past week I also tried Boxer Editor, Crimson Editor, Arachnophilia
and HTML Kit.  Steve Jacobs suggested I find a good one and then force it to
work for me.  Well, not his exact words, but same idea.  Each of these
aforementioned packages were not accessible to me in some form or fashion.
The three listed above are among the best of their class, but there's a
combination of accessibility and feature sets that makes choosing difficult.
I guess I'm looking for a good Notepad replacement with just enough HTML
resources to make web site development slightly easier.  UltraEdit has a
unique feature where you can copy and paste from one of nine or ten
different clipboards.

Okay, now that my rambling is done, here are my specific questions:

1. Is there a list-serve or web site where I can find scripting programmers
for JAWS who can help me figure out what's ailing my JAWS with NoteTab?

2. Are there any users of any of the three aforementioned programs who use
the package for both text editing and HTML coding?  If so, what would you
suggest to go about configuring the package to work with JAWS?

3. What are the advantages of maintaining a text editor separate from an
HTML editor?  I know ultimately it's a matter of personal choice, but my
conundrum between NoteTab and EditPad Pro makes me wonder if others have
balanced both to manage projects.

4. Is there a repository for blind web developers already in progress?

For your own knowledge, I am using Windows XP SP3 with JAWS 10.

If you can point me in the right direction or forward my post to someone who
can help, I would be most appreciative.  And, I promisse to drop my stream
of editor-related messages after this point.  You guys are the only active
lists of which I am aware of that can help, hence my constant harassment
over the past few days.

Sincerely,

Joe Orozco

"Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity."--James M.
Barrie