[nfbcs] Open Office accessibility

Wed May 27 20:11:27 UTC 2009

Brett,

I'm leaving this on the list so that those more knowledgeable than I can make correctsions or update some of this information.  By it's nature, the answer has to be 
long.

As I understand it, Open Office is written at least in part in the Java programming language.  The advantage of Java is that it is designed to work on different 
platforms or types of computer systems.  It does this partly by supplying a Java-VM that handles much of the running of Java code.  The downside of this is that 
much of what Java code does is not using native Windows controls such as buttons, dialogs, and the like.  This means that screen readers don't interact well with 
Java applications.  There are even cases where text is actually displayed within the Java VM so Windows does not always even see the text but rather a picture of 
the Java window leaving screen readers more or less speechless.  Sometimes one can manage to use a Java application with the keys that control the mouse, the 
JAWS cursor in JFW or the Mounse Pointer keys in Window-Eyes.

A significant effort was made to make Java applications accessible.  It involved using specific java controls that had accessibility build into them.  Since it was felt 
that MSAA didn't convey enough information, the Windows Access Bridge was developed to be a bridge from the Java VM to the screen reader to convey the 
accessible information.  The screen reader also had to be modified to take information from the Windows Access Bridge when it was available.  

It is my understanding that Open Office does not use enough of the Java "Classes" that utilize accessibility to make it accessible.  However, to be accessible, one 
would likely have to use the Windows Access Bridge which is free.  To be clear, though, it is my understanding that this still isn't enough.

My understanding is that there has been a new version of Open Office being developed in which accessibility is being taken into account.  I have no experience 
with it, though, and I do not know if it will depend upon the Windows Access Bridge or whether another approach will be used.  There is another approach that 
causes java applications to make use of controls within whatever operating system it is being run.  This makes it a little easier to use more standard accessibility 
techniques.

Finally, recently an approach has been developed for Window-Eyes that uses a different method of getting information from Java applications that does not require 
the Windows Access Bridge but still functions as a sort of bridge.  This is still relatively new, but I think it holds some promise.  There have been some problems with 
Java applications where one had to use a certain version of JFW and a certain version of the Windows Access bridge to get them to work, and the same 
combination didn't work the best for all applications.  Even the version of Java could enter into the mix.  The Window-Eyes approach will likely suffer from some of 
the same difficulties, but their approach might be easier to quickly correct.

Some states have tried to move to the use of the Open Document Format (ODF) which is produced by Open Office.  If you are investigating this because of a similar 
move, care needs to be taken.  While there is nothing about ODF that is in itself not accessible, there are some real concerns if going to ODF also means moving to 
Open Office.  To have blind employees in a state use different software to generate ODF documents than the rest of the state's employees is something I believe 
should be avoided.  Let me know if more needs to be said about this.  We got into this some in Massachusetts a couple of years ago and here in Minnesota as well.  
Yet, I have some confidence that we will see Open Office more accessible in the future.  Maybe someone else on this list knows more about the current status of the 
new version and can comment.

Best regards,

Steve Jacobson

On Wed, 27 May 2009 10:27:50 -0600, Brett Winches wrote:

>Tell me about the Windows access Bridge Steve, off list if needed.  Please also 	cc my personal as above. 

>-----Original Message-----
>From: nfbcs-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfbcs-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Steve Jacobson
>Sent: Tuesday, May 26, 2009 8:32 PM
>To: NFBnet NFBCS Mailing List
>Subject: Re: [nfbcs] Open Office accessibility

>Nancy,

>Are you talking about the new beta version or the older version of Open Office?  Are you using the Windows Access Bridge?  My understanding was that the older 
version used Java and that it did not support the classes that could be used by the Windows Access Bridge.  I am less certain of what the new version that I 
thought was still in beta uses or requires.

>On Tue, 26 May 2009 21:15:12 -0500, Nancy Coffman wrote:

>>In my experience, the spelling checker and some dialog boxes don't work 
>>with JAWS.  They may work with NVIDEA or thunder well enough for your use.

>>Nancy Coffman
>>----- Original Message -----
>>From: "Brett Winches" <Brett.Winches at icbvi.idaho.gov>
>>To: "NFBnet NFBCS Mailing List" <nfbcs at nfbnet.org>
>>Sent: Tuesday, May 26, 2009 11:12 AM
>>Subject: [nfbcs] Open Office accessibility

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