[Trainer-talk] 2011 updates to several, free, accessible software solutions
Jamal Mazrui
empower at smart.net
Mon Jan 17 15:52:52 UTC 2011
NonvisualDevelopment.org announces updates to several free, open
source projects. Below is a short description of each project,
including links to its download package and user guide, followed by a
summary of recent changes.
Nearly all of these are Windows-based programs published under the
GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL), which is explained at
http://gnu.org
Some programs are written in cross-platform languages, so may be
adaptable to run on other operating systems as well. Anyone may use
the programs in either binary or source code form. I welcome
feedback, suggestions, and code contributions.
Jamal
----------
EdSharp -- A productive text editor, word processor, file converter,
and code editor.
http://EmpowermentZone.com/edsetup.exe
Documentation
http://EmpowermentZone.com/EdSharp.htm
Version 3.3 adds the Format Code command, Control+4, to format source
code of C-like languages based on file extension. This incorporates
the free Artistic Style utility, which is also available separately at
http://astyle.sourceforge.net
Added an unofficial encoding, UTF-8N, meaning UTF-8 encoding without
a Byte Order Mark (BOM). If this code is used in the YieldEncoding
configuration setting (Alt+Shift+C for Configuration Options), that
default encoding will be assumed. This maximizes compatibility of
files uploaded to Linux-based web servers -- Windows programs
typically add a BOM, but it is often not recognized by
cross-platform programs with Linux origin.
A file saved on the Recent Files list (Alt+R) now includes the last
cursor position when the file window was closed (Control+F4 or
Alt+F4). This position is automatically restored the next time the
file is opened -- unless an explicit bookmark was set (Control+K),
which takes precedence as the initial location in the file.
Added many more import (Control+Shift+O) and output (Alt+Shift+E)
format options, supporting conversions among HTML (.htm), LaTeX
(.tex), Markdown (.md), rich text format (.rtf), and txt2tags (.tt)
formats. These conversions are made possible by incorporating free
utilities called Pandoc
http://johnmacfarlane.net/pandoc/
and txt2tags
http://txt2tags.org
In addition, Microsoft Office 2007 formats such as .docx may be
imported if you install a Microsoft "filter pack" that is offered at
the end of the EdSharp installer.
Sped up time for subsequent invocations of EdSharp after the initial
one. Improved the optional JAWS scripts for EdSharp so that titles of
top-level windows are more reliably read.
----------
Encoding -- Check and convert among various file encodings, including
versions of ANSI and Unicode.
http://EmpowermentZone.com/Encoding.zip
Documentation
http://EmpowermentZone.com/Encoding.htm
Version 1.1 adds an unofficial encoding called ASCIIFY. This works
similar to the ASCII encoding in that only 7- bit characters having
an ordinal value less than 128 are included in the resulting file. A
significant difference, however, is that rather than just dropping
each non-ASCII character, an attempt is made to substitute an
ASCII character or word with equivalent meaning. For example, the
single Unicode character for an ellipses symbol is replaced with
three consecutive period characters. The Encoding.exe utility is now
also distributed in the WebClient subdirectory of the EdSharp and
FileDir applications, which make use of it for detecting
encodings automatically, or converting among different ones.
----------
FileDir -- A file and directory manager that does much more than
Windows Explorer.
http://EmpowermentZone.com/dirsetup.exe
Documentation
http://EmpowermentZone.com/FileDir.htm
Version 3.9 strengthens the Query Encoding command, Shift+2, so that
it automatically detects an encoding using the Encoding.exe utility
previously mentioned. Convert Encoding , Control+2, is a new command
for converting the current or tagged files to another encoding. You
can pick among nearly 100 encodings, including the
unofficial ASCIIFY, UTF-8B, and UTF-8N ones previously
mentioned. As a safety measure, original files are
automatically backed up to files with the same names and an
additional .bak extension. Microsoft Office 2007 formats are
now supported with the What command (Question Mark), Output to Text
command (Shift+O), and Append Text to Clipboard command
(Shift+A). This support requires installation of the Microsoft
"filter pack" previously mentioned, which is offered at the end of
the FileDir installer, and also available separately at
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?familyid=60c92a37-719c-4077-b5c6-cac34f4227cc&displaylang=en&tm
----------
JAWS Script Exchange -- A program for installing 3rd party JAWS
scripts from a zip archive, or for Creating an executable package of
scripts to distribute to others.
http://EmpowermentZone.com/jsxsetup.exe
Documentation
http://EmpowermentZone.com/jsx.htm
Version 3.3 finds the appropriate user script directory more
reliably, regardless of whether JAWS is running as a Windows service
or user process (typically determined by whether JAWS is configured
to run at Windows startup or not). A conflict is eliminated between
the optional HomerKit scripts for Internet Explorer and the IEMax
scripts available separately at
http://EmpowermentZone.com/IEMax.exe
(or .zip for a manual install)
Comprehensive documentation for JAWS 12, rather than JAWS 11, is now
included. JSX also now incorporates the latest, 5.4.0 version of
Inno Setup, which is also available separately from
http://InnoSetup.org
----------
PDF2TXT -- A program for single or batch conversion of PDFs to text,
including OCR capability.
http://EmpowermentZone.com/p2tsetup.exe
Documentation
http://EmpowermentZone.com/pdf2txt.htm
Version 2.3 supports enhanced speech messages with NVDA, in addition
to JAWS, System Access, and Window-Eyes. This is done via a new
version of the SayLine.exe utility that is part of the updated
SayTools package mentioned below.
----------
SayTools -- A COM server and set of executable utilities for
developers to add speech to an application, using either the default
screen reader or SAPI voice.
http://EmpowermentZone.com/saysetup.exe
Documentation
http://EmpowermentZone.com/SayTools.htm
Version 1.9 adds support for NVDA, a free, open source screen reader
available from
http://nvda-project.org
----------
Let me also mention that the web site of the "fruit basket" project
has recently been revised to take advantage of features of the
Drupal content management system:
http://FruitBasketDemos.org
A fruit basket program is a simple, but nontrivial program with a
graphical user interface (GUI). This community project offers many
samples that meet the same criteria using different programming
languages, thereby allowing programmers to compare various aspects
when considering a development approach.
----------
I edit a set of answers to frequently asked questions about nonvisual
development at
http://EmpowermentZone.com/NonvisualDevelopmentFAQ.htm
----------
A complete list of my open source projects (excluding screen
reader-specific scripts) is available at
http://EmpowermentZone.com/OpenSourceProjects.htm
More information about the Trainer-Talk
mailing list