Important considerations about clicking links with Firefox and Dragon

Apologies for not mentioning this sooner. I’ve written about the accessibility.typeaheadfind.linksonly setting with regard to Dragon before, but there’s an important distinction in how it works, based on whether you’re using the apostrophe shortcut or the about:config permanent setting. This distinction does not occur on every webpage, but it does occur fairly often — enough that you might want to change your method depending on how you browse, especially if you don’t use Mouseless Browsing.

If you’re using the apostrophe shortcut — the one that turns on linksonly temporarily — Dragon will frequently forgo typing in the Find box and actually move the cursor to the link and click it instead. This is odd to me, considering I use that shortcut because Dragon has not registered the mere spoken word as a link the first time. Apparently, if Dragon doesn’t recognize the word is a link the first time, pressing the apostrophe then saying the word will force it to understand the word is a link to be clicked. I wonder what’s so special about the apostrophe that it can do that. This doesn’t happen all the time — it depends on how a webpage is coded — but it happens so frequently that it would be nice if the “apostrophe magic” could be integrated into Dragon somehow, for those who browse that way.

The downside of the apostrophe shortcut is that you will not be able to open links in new tabs, more often than not. If you frequently open links in tabs, you would want to use the about:config typeaheadfind settings instead. If you use Mouseless Browsing, you won’t have this problem, because Mouseless Browsing has its own method of opening links in tabs.

Assistive technology and good customer service: Fusion

I might need to amend my mention of the Fusion. I received an encouraging response from Writer Learning, the makers of the Fusion Writer word processor/augmentative communication device, about the illogical Sticky Keys setup. As in my similar e-mail to Renaissance Learning (the company that makes the AlphaSmart Neo), I suggested using the Windows keyboard shortcut of pressing Shift 5 times. The Fusion representative was much more optimistic than the Neo representative, and said xe would “expect” future versions of the Fusion to conform to the Windows shortcut. I don’t know how often the Fusion is upgraded, but the use of USB software makes me think it’s an easier process than it might otherwise be. (Of course, engineering the shortcut itself would take a good bit of time.)

Even though I can’t really type much, especially at the moment, I feel strongly about spelling-and-word-based communication, and I’m glad a fairly big oversight is being corrected. Some of the devices I look at are things that I would be using myself if I could still type fluently. It does still bewilder me how so many companies could make an oversight like that — all you need to do is test your shortcut with one finger to see that doesn’t work. I think that was why the irritation came through in my Fusion post; it was another one I didn’t understand. But the important thing is that companies are willing to fix it when you point it out… though the ideal would be not having to point it out in the first place. But they’re learning, and I commend them for that. It’s a start. A lot of bigger companies wouldn’t even do that.

Fixing assistive technology is not always an indication of bad business. It might also indicate companies who are open to evolving — they don’t put out a product set in stone, the code too bloated to go back and change. They work up, starting with the basics and adding only what’s most needed to make the product work as it’s intended.

Assistive technology for dealing with rude people

The following site/macro is not targeted to people with disabilities, but it helps me deal with the acquaintance who asks intrusive and patronizing questions about my disability. This is usually the same person who will consistently pat me on the head, put words in my mouth or take things out of my hand, and passive-aggressively retaliate when I object because Person was “only CURIOUS” or “only ever being HELPFUL to you, HandToMouth. You can’t appreciate that?” I don’t mean the average person who asks where I got my input devices. I mean a person with a nose-in-air oblivious sense of entitlement.

It’s snarky enough that I can both express my frustration and, with luck, make the other person see the illogic in the presumption that I would be an encyclopedia or “self-narrating zoo exhibit.” (Another disclaimer: I don’t mind answering questions and doing research as a rule, especially about assistive technology. I wouldn’t have a blog if I minded. If a condescending person is asking the question to Other me, though, that’s different.)

End preamble: let me Google that for you.

Teach your computer to swear: profanity with Dragon NaturallySpeaking

To answer the search question I found in my stats: yes, you can dictate profanity with Dragon NaturallySpeaking. It has the tamer ones in its lexicon already, including the more flippantly spelled “dammit,” so you can curse according to your mood. The rest of them you have to spell into the vocabulary yourself and save, training if necessary. After that, you can swear as creatively as you like.

(I don’t reproduce all the words here because I’m trying to avoid the net nannies sometimes found on public machines.)

Fusion Writer/communication device: alternative to AlphaSmart

Please note that I have not tried this myself even though a free trial period is offered. I’m just a potential end user, after all — the only people who get the demo are special education teachers or therapists. I do wish I could try it.

“This” refers to the Fusion, a portable word processor much like the AlphaSmart Neo, except vastly improved. Word prediction for all models is built in, not separate. If you choose the speaker model, the speaker is built in, not separate. The screen is much larger with variable font size, and the keyboard seems to be a bit more compact (which is good, because unfortunately it appears the only layout is QWERTY). Overall it has a sleeker appearance, and there are adhesive skins to add some color at a small extra charge.

I do have one complaint — there is a Sticky Keys function for single finger or one-handed typing, but I have no idea what the designers were thinking. According to the PDF manual, to activate that function you must press Control Alt P SIMULTANEOUSLY. The AlphaSmart had a similar problem, so it seems to be a pretty common oversight. What the hell? How about some independence here? UPDATE: The company has promised to fix it.

Don’t get me wrong — I know that tools like this are often primarily marketed to schools, and it’s great they can be used in various settings with many ages. However, since this company is also explicitly marketing it as a communication device with input from occupational and speech therapists, I think they should realize that some adults are probably going to want to appropriate something like this for themselves too, particularly — as I’ve said before — those who can’t get evaluated for more expensive devices or who don’t need the bells and whistles of an expensive device at the moment.

And it really is a bargain, especially considering the speaker model. The speaker model with word prediction is $430. The external speaker for the AlphaSmart alone costs almost $480, never mind the AlphaSmart unit itself, with the optional word prediction. That adds up. In short, if it were for me and my financial situation were different, I would get over my irritation with the “nanny” Sticky Key setup and probably purchase one if I liked it enough, even if I did have to ask someone to help me set up first and even if I only used it sporadically. This appears to be a viable and welcome alternative to the AlphaSmart. You can find a feature list on the Fusion website.

Firefox 3.6 RC1 and Dragon 10: harmless, no new accessibility

As ever, Firefox remains my default browser, with the relevant workarounds in place — the release candidate of 3.6 didn’t break anything in terms of its accessibility to Dragon NaturallySpeaking. But, once again, it didn’t fix anything either. I KNOW there were plans to add Text Services Framework support. Maybe it just took longer than planned, though. Understandable. Oh well — being able to  edit dictation into a post field would be nice, I suppose, but there’s always the dictation box or Jarte.

Hot Virtual Keyboard review: excellent for the mouse, but not for scanning users

I’ve been asked to check out Hot Virtual Keyboard by Comfort Software. And after trying it I have to say: I really wish I could use this keyboard. I’m serious. If I could use a mouse, I would. But I’m a switch user and keypress user, and this keyboard doesn’t have any kind of scanning option. So I couldn’t use it on a regular basis. As it is, for the sake of testing, I used the mouse movement commands in Dragon NaturallySpeaking. I’ll start with the positive, then explain the negative. I am concentrating on accessibility.

Right after you install the keyboard, you receive options to run the keyboard on startup and to show it on the logon screen. You are then taken through a Setup Wizard, in which you can choose your keyboard and its preferred behavior, including word completion and other typing aids.

This keyboard is extremely configurable in terms of both aesthetics and accessibility (IF you can use a mouse). Aesthetically, you can choose from a number of skins to change the color of the keyboard. The default keyboard layouts are QWERTY or alphabetical, but there are many arrangement options, from full-screen to split. There are a ton of options; I can’t go through them all here. For accessibility purposes, I’m partial to the various “Mini” and “Tight” configurations, as well as the Multimedia Small, but that would just be my preference. The best thing about the keyboard layouts is that they include hotkeys for various programs, such as Copy and Paste. Also, in some layouts, punctuation keys that would normally be shifted have their own separate keys, which is wonderful. I hate having to shift for punctuation. Once you choose a keyboard, however, you can create your own letter layout if you want, complete with macro keys for functions and even websites. You can do this by right-clicking a blank spot and selecting Edit Keyboard Type from the menu.

The writing aids are well done. The word completion list was haphazard for my taste, but the dictionary can be edited and replaced by a more logical list if you choose. You can choose whether to learn newly typed words. The best part is, under Typing Aid, you have the option for smart punctuation and automatic capitalization. If you’re using the word completion with an automatic space, and you click a period or comma, the keyboard will backspace for you, insert the mark, then a space. It will then capitalize the first letter of a sentence. This feature is wonderful. And there is an Autoclick function, so that you can hover the mouse over the key without clicking.

However, there are negatives. As I said, it doesn’t do switch or keypress scanning. This makes it unusable for people who can’t move a mouse. Also, while there are keyboard shortcuts to choose an option from the menu that appears when you right click the keyboard, these don’t work — you have to click the option. Also, you can’t use the onscreen keyboard when you’re creating a new layout.

I hope the developers consider adding scanning access, a la the Windows method of the Space key and click options, provided the word completion list could be also reached by scanning. But if you use a mouse and need a better keyboard than your current one, this could be worth checking out.

Use Windows on-screen keyboard as a switch scanning mouse cursor

While scanning the Click N Type on-screen keyboard is my default choice for whenever I have to use one, certain programs are noncompliant and have buttons etc. that can’t be accessed by keyboard — not even by the tedious Tab-and-Enter method. This total inaccessibility is not so frequent in mainstream programs, but it does happen. Therefore, switch scanners need a way to move the mouse sometimes. You can’t do this with the Click N Type, because it immobilizes the mouse cursor in scanning mode. However, you can use the Windows on-screen keyboard with the free Mouse Grid to move the mouse cursor — the cheapest option I know of. (There are, of course, commercial programs like Cross Scanner.)

The first step is to configure the keyboard for scanning. (You can use the Click N Type to do this, but bear in mind that you’ll need to be able to close it afterward. You can also use voice or physical keyboard.) The onscreen keyboard has slightly different menus in different operating systems, so all I can tell you is to look around to find the settings. If you have XP or Vista and you don’t have a switch input device, you’ll need to be able to press the physical Space key (the largest choice). If you’re feeling particularly patient and have AutoHotkey, you can also program other keys to act as the Space key. For example, q::Space. If you have XP or Vista and you do have a switch input device, you might need AutoHotkey to program your switch to act as a Space key rather than a mouse click. I do know that the Windows 7 keyboard, among its many improvements, gives the option to use a mouse click. However, this option WILL NOT WORK, because with that option the pointer has to be over the keyboard at all times. Therefore, you will need to program your switch or mouse click into a Space key anyway. For example, LButton::Space.

Once you have that figured out, you need to download Mouse Grid. See this post for how it works, as well as tips. Once you have Mouse Grid running, all you need to do is scan over the corresponding number and punctuation keys to jump the mouse cursor to the desired point on your screen. I know that there’s some assembly required, but it works when you need it.

Optimizing Click N Type onscreen keyboard for scan mode

Lately, my good hand has been hurting badly and left me at a loss for what to do when I can’t use my voice. Though technically I can press a switch with my left fist until I get too spastic, I can’t afford an input device, especially one that I don’t use that often. Luckily, I remembered that the Click N Type on-screen keyboard lets you press the entire physical keyboard in the absence of switches or mouse buttons. Almost every key counts for left click in scanning mode, and the number pad if you have one counts for right-click. A right-click cancels the group you’re scanning, and a double right-click is Backspace. There is downloadable word completion. The keyboard is also portable, which is a huge plus.

However, if you’re going to use Click N Type in scanning mode, you’re probably going to want to do some tweaks. (These tweaks, unless you also have cursor scanning software, have to be done by voice, physical keyboard, or scanning the Windows on-screen keyboard for navigation.) The major tweak, if you want to use the keyboard on a regular basis unassisted, is to go to Options — Program preferences and check the option to load an application on startup. It doesn’t matter what you pick, though it would make sense to choose something useful like a browser or word processor. (If you don’t already have Firefox, you’ll want it for the typeaheadfind.linksonly setting and/or the autoscrolling bookmarklet.) It’s better to do this before you enable scan mode. Regardless, you need to do this because it’s the only way the keyboard will start itself in scan mode in subsequent sessions.

The next most important tweak is to add a Windows key to whatever keyboard layout you are using. This requires opening the layout through the Keyboard Designer, the instructions for which are on the website. A Windows key is necessary if you want to open more programs besides the one you told the keyboard to open when it started. The Windows keys have been made sticky, so that you will have to scan it twice in a row. You may also want to have a menu key, so as to be able to get context menus for things you highlight with the arrow keys. (NOTE: You can also create AHK shortcuts that will run programs from any window, for example ::fx::Run, firefox.exe.) You might also want to improve on the key arrangement so that more common letters are scanned first (I didn’t care for the default scanning layout), and/or shrink the keyboard.

The next tweak was just my preference — after installing the word completion list, I opened the file and erased all the words, replacing them with 978 most common words in English. (On the wordlist webpage, press F7 to turn on caret browsing, then Control A, then Control C.) Paste the words into your word processor first — you will need to select all again and set to lowercase. (You might also want to delete the opening paragraph.) Then copy and paste everything into the prediction file and save it. I also added phrases and word pairs that I used fairly often. Especially with the option to learn common words enabled, using a core word list increased my chances of finding the right word quickly. Another useful tool is shorthand, whether through your word processor or a script. Along with a good word list and layout, this will speed writing.

NOTE: Using this keyboard in sites or programs that aren’t keyboard friendly is very difficult. For that you need the Windows on-screen keyboard in conjunction with Mouse Grid. I will post instructions next.

Read with Dragon (sort of): Kindle for PC

Although I’m able to turn pages and make good use of my BookChair, there are times that I would rather read on the computer. This is mainly because of neck trouble and trying to learn C++; getting the keyboard out of the way, setting the book on the keyboard table, turning the pages and hoping Dragon doesn’t pick that up, and glancing up and down from the book to the screen make it a little more cumbersome than I would like. I’ve been thinking it would be nice to just vocally switch windows; read the book on the screen, then go into Win32Pad to dictate some code.

It turns out that I can potentially do that now using Amazon’s Kindle for PC application, which is free (with the exception of the books, of course). I hadn’t had very high hopes for the application’s accessibility, considering that Amazon isn’t great with it (see the lack of captioning for Unbox video products). However, it’s actually not that bad. (Better with Vocola commands, which I will create shortly.) While all buttons must be accessed by mouse commands, actually reading isn’t a bad experience at all.

C++ without Fear was not available for Kindle, but C++ Primer Plus was, so I downloaded a free sample to test how Kindle PC would work with Dragon. To open a book, mousegrid to the Home button (yay, verbing nouns) and click it if it’s not already highlighted. Then, by the same method, double click the book icon. The clicking isn’t as tedious as it sounds because the buttons are large; the grid doesn’t require much narrowing. To turn pages, say “Go left” [previous page] or “go right” [next page]. Up and down do the same thing respectively. To turn multiple pages, say “Go <direction> <number>.”

Text is very clear, and there is a button to adjust the font size. There are also a Go To and a Bookmark button, but Kindle PC already saves your last position when you exit, so that you can open the book where you left off. Note that I didn’t say page number — Kindle doesn’t use them. That somewhat disorients me, but for something like a programming text I suppose it would keep me from getting overwhelmed. That is, seeing 20% read looks more encouraging than “Oh god, I have 900 pages left. Dammit I’m slow!”.

At the moment you can’t create notes, unfortunately. (Not that Kindle would be select and say compatible even if you could, but I’m hoping for something that would allow at least partial dictation, a la Foxit. You also can’t copy text, for understandable reasons, but that sucks for a programming book. I do wish there could be a PDF style layout option, by which I mean the possibility of an autoscroll feature. Kindle PC is nowhere near perfect, but it is passable.