[Trainer-Talk] Windows Mail or Thunderbird

Wed Apr 14 02:52:33 UTC 2021

Marci,

In all honesty any recent version of Outlook will provide the best accessibility experience for email management with JAWS if that is something that the student would consider. JAWS includes many features that make Outlook a joy to use as long as the device is a recent model. Older, slower machines may provide slower performance.

I used Thunderbird for around eleven years before I switched to Outlook when I bought a used but powerful laptop. Thunderbird should be powerful enough for most home users. It's also very fast and responsive, even on slower machines. It works reasonably well with JAWS although it may present a few quirks, not the least being that it is very difficult to rearrange columns from the keyboard. By default, Thunderbird presents the subject of the message first, followed by the sender. This is atypical from the default behavior of every other email program I've used, going back to Eudora in the late 1990s and possibly even Pine before that although my memory is a bit hazy when it comes to Pine, but I digress. While you can rearrange the columns to show the sender of the message before the subject Thunderbird offers no method for doing this with the keyboard. When using NVDA I was able to rearrange columns using object navigation along with drag and drop commands but the process for doing this is awkward. NVDA also has an addon<https://addons.nvda-project.org/addons/mozillaScripts.en.html> in their official addon repository that provides a way to rearrange columns using a fairly intuitive interface. However, I am unclear as to whether the addon will be updated for the 2021.1 release, which will require addons to be updated in order to support this upcoming release. It may be possible to rearrange columns using the touch cursor in JAWS along with drag and drop but I haven't attempted to do this.

Also, sometimes when deleting messages using JAWS you might hear "not selected, not selected" followed by the new message which has gained focus. I have raised this issue with Freedom Scientific in a blog post<https://davidgoldfield.wordpress.com/2020/01/02/my-feature-wish-list-for-jaws-2020/> I wrote a while back containing a list of feature requests that I'd like to see implemented in JAWS. One of the things I mentioned was that JAWS needed more robust support for Thunderbird and the issues I just mentioned were brought up in that post.

Also, the last time I attempted to use Thunderbird’s built-in Lightning calendar I found it to be inaccessible. Contrast this with Outlook’s calendar which is very accessible. In fact, when used with the third-party Leasey<http://www.leaseycentral.com/> software from Hartgen Consultancy using the calendar in Outlook is a wonderful experience. It's been a while since I've used the Windows Mail app installed with Windows 10. I found it to be a bit unreliable, though not inaccessible. I didn't use it long enough to be able to competently describe my experiences. It certainly can be used but it's very basic compared to Thunderbird. As an example, I don't believe that the Mail app allows the user to set up any message rules or filters. Thunderbird allows for this and doing so is accessible.

Bottom line: if your student can gain access to Outlook and if the laptop is powerful enough to support it with decent performance that's really the way to go, particularly with JAWS. If that's not an option Thunderbird should definitely be considered as the next choice.

David Goldfield,

Blindness Assistive Technology Specialist

JAWS Certified, 2019

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www.DavidGoldfield.org

-----Original Message-----
From: Trainer-Talk <trainer-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Brad Snyder via Trainer-Talk
Sent: Tuesday, April 13, 2021 3:33 PM
To: List for teachers and trainers of adaptive technology <trainer-talk at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Brad Snyder <wbsjr at swbell.net>
Subject: Re: [Trainer-Talk] Windows Mail or Thunderbird

Personally, I really don't like accessing email using a web browser, and would choose any email client over the web browser alternative.

Since I have not used windows mail, I cannot comment on how closely it resembles using Outlook. I would assume the keyboard command structure is very similar, and since it should already be installed on a windows 10 computer, there's no harm in giving it a try. alternatively, Thunderbird is free, and I understand the accessibility using JAWS is very good.

I would think either one would be a better choice than using the web-based alternative.

- Brad -

On Apr 13, 2021, at 12:51, Marci Duty via Trainer-Talk <trainer-talk at nfbnet.org<mailto:trainer-talk at nfbnet.org>> wrote:

Hello, I have a student who purchased a desktop and a laptop from Computers for the Blind. For ease of access to email she purchased a copy of Office 2016 Pro for her desktop. She has recently received her laptop and Computers for the Blind includes a copy of Office Home and Student 2019 with her laptop.

She has access to Word and Excel, but wants a client for her Email accounts. She has Gmail and Outlook accounts and just updated to JAWS 2021 on both computers. Which email client is recommended? She wants ease of use and if possible a lot of the same commands she is used to in Outlook 2016.

I thought Windows Mail would be a good choice because of the similar command structure and because both programs are from Microsoft. A conversation yesterday encouraged me to download and teach her Thunderbird. I also entertained the thought of teaching Gmail in standard view after the FS Training.  Your thoughts please requested.

Thank you for reading and make this Tuesday terrific!

Respectfully,

Marci Duty

Email: marci.smiles at gmail.com<mailto:marci.smiles at gmail.com>

Phone: (214) 732-5788

Isaiah 30

15  For this is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel, says:

"By returning to me and resting, you will be saved;

Your strength will be in keeping calm and showing trust."

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