Window-Eyes 2.0 Revision History

Document Layout

This document is laid out as follows:

• Each heading level 1 represents one major version of Window-Eyes.
• Each heading level 2 represents one minor version of Window-Eyes
• Each heading level 3 represents a category of new features under each version of Window-Eyes.

2.1

Released: 5/13/1998

A changelog is not given, however we are given this general information.

General notes for Window-Eyes 2.1:

For the best performance with Window-Eyes we recommend that you use 256 colors and also that you use the Windows Standard color scheme. Our graphic definitions depend on this to function correctly. We also recommend that you use a resolution of 800 x 600 or better yet, 1024 x 768 for best performance.

Set Files and Graphics Dictionaries:

We’ve added many new set files and dictionaries to Window-Eyes 2.1 and are adding more all the time. If you have a modem, check the bulletin board or FTP site from time to time to see if we’ve added files for any of your Windows applications. Be sure you have Window-Eyes 2.1, since the format of the set files has changed with the upgrade and older versions of Window-Eyes can’t read new set files. If you don’t have a modem, give us a call.

2.0

Released: 7/5/1997

• Windows 95 is now fully supported.
• We have completely redesigned the global settings interface.
• We have added a global menu and from this menu you can make global changes to the voice or verbosity settings. The global settings take affect immediately when you make the change. We retrieve the global settings from wineyes.000 every time Window-Eyes is started. To save the global settings to wineyes.000 choose the Apply Settings option from the global menu.
• The verbosity settings can now be global.
• We have split the verbosity dialog into 6 pull-down menus.
• We removed the Voice Settings option from the general menu and replaced it with the Global Settings option on the global menu.
• The Capture Graphic dialog has been redesigned to include more information. You can tab to a read-only edit box to get the Associated File. This file name is the name of the graphic dictionary that is currently associated with the active application. Another read-only edit box gives you the Current dictionary file that the graphic you are defining came from. Finally, a list box lists the dictionaries currently being used by the application. Window-Eyes will put the graphic in the dictionary that is selected in the list boxwhen you exit the dialog. These changes allow you to have full control over the bubble-up of graphic dictionaries and where the labeled graphics go.
• Set2text and text2set now work in DOS and Windows.
• There is a new Window Information dialog on the file menu to give you the currently active module, window, and class information. This information is used by Window-Eyes when it makes set file associations. There is also a button in this dialog that lets you associate the set file with the window class. Normally, Window-Eyes makes set file associations with the window name, but this can cause problems with applications like Write and Netscape where the window name is different depending upon whether or not you start the application with or without command-line parameters. Associating with the class also solves problems when you launch Window-Eyes after an application is running.
• The title bar format has changed. The new format looks like the following: Window-Eyes (Active: file name Associated: file name) This format will show you the currently active and associated set file names. This will be useful if you open a set file or load one with a hyperactive window or a cursoring key. You can get the old title bar information from the Module and Class Info dialog on the file menu.
• Window-Eyes will now always prompt you when you save a set file if the association is going to change. If you choose yes the association is changed and if you choose no the set is saved, without changing the association.
• We changed the voice settings to say global rather than default when global settings are turned on. So for example in the screen menu it would say “rate = global disabled”.
• We changed the offset check boxes in the user window coordinates, hyperactive window coordinates, and float window coordinates dialogs to a pair of radio buttons. So for example the offset from left check box is now a pair of radio buttons that let you choose between offset from left or offset from right. This makes the operation of user window offsets much more clear.
• Options to run Set to Text and Text to Set have been added to the file menu.
• We have removed the Set File and Window Association items from the File Close menu and replaced them with the Set File Association option that permanently removes the association.
• The way that Window-Eyes handles duplicate hot key and cursoring key definitions has changed. We now pop up a dialog that allows you to replace the current definition, replace the current definition and then redefine the old definition, or cancel. So for example if you pressed control-c for prior character and then pressed the Replace Key button WE would define control-c as the prior character and undefine character. If you chose the Replace and Redefine Key button WE would also put you on the entry in the list box for character so that you could easily redefine it.
• We now look for the wineyes.ini file first in the windows directory, and then in the directory where Window-Eyes is installed.
• We added the Allow Auto Redraw option to the general menu that allows you to turn automatic Window-Eyes redraws on or off for the current program. Normally you will not need to use this option unless an application can not correctly handle requests to redraw itself. If this happens the screen will get corrupted and you should turn redraws off for this application.
• We added an option to the global menu that lets you adjust the minimum graphic size that WE will store. This option is stored in the [misc] section of the wineyes.ini and it ranges from 2 to 10 with a default of 7.
• Window-Eyes now supports the Windows and Application keys on the 104-key keyboard. We support these keys both in Windows 3.1 and in Windows 95 and they are allowed as modifiers for hot keys and cursoring keys. These keys are included in the Key Enhancements option of the Special Keys menu on the Keyboard menu.
• We have added a WE cursor. The WE cursor works exactly like the current Window-Eyes mouse hot keys, but it doesn’t move the mouse. The numpad– key toggles between the WE cursor and the Mouse Pointer. The insert-numpad– will synchronize the inactive cursor to the active cursor so if the WE cursor is active and you press this hot key the mouse pointer will be moved to the WE cursor and if the mouse pointer is active and you press this key the WE cursor will be moved to the mouse pointer. Currently the WE cursor toggle is global to Window-Eyes. We are interested in comments as to whether or not this should be saved with each set file. We are also interested in comments as to whether or not the location of the WE cursor should be saved with each set.
• We have cleaned up all known problems with hyperactive windows. They should perform much faster. We have removed many of the trigger options because we felt that they did not make sense in Windows. The current trigger options are any change, contains attribute, contains caret, contains focus, contains string, does not contain attribute, does not contain caret, does not contain focus, and does not contain string.
• We moved the hyperactive status option from the general menu to the global menu. The option now allows you to set the status to off, messages off, or messages on. If you choose the messages on option Window-Eyes announces when a hyperactive window triggers. This option is no longer saved with the set file.
• We have added the active file list option to the file menu. This option pops up a dialog that lists the currently active set file and the dictionaries that are currently being used including dictionaries that are being bubbled up.
• When Window-Eyes reads a dialog or you mouse over the default button we say “default” to tell you that this is the default button.
• The hyperactive triggers contains string and does not contain string now look at graphic descriptions previously graphics were ignored.
• We have added a hot key for the Window-Eyes application help feature. The hot key pops up a dialog that is similar to the capture graphic dialog. It has a read-only edit box containing the help information, a read-only edit box showing the original overlap name that this information was associated with, a read-only edit box showing the current overlap name, a list box containing all overlap names in the current bubble list for associations, an edit button, an associate with window button, and an associate with class button. If you click the edit button the help information becomes editable. If you click the associate with window button the information is specifically associated with this window. If you click the associate with class button the information is associated with the class which is more general. The information is saved to the overlap that is highlighted in the listbox when you exit the dialog.
• We have added a feature that automatically tries to label graphics with their tool tips. We put the graphics in the dictionary that is associated with the current overlap window and then you must save the dictionary. When the hot key is finished it says “auto label graphics finished”. You can interrupt the hot key with the escape key. Window-Eyes will say “auto label graphics aborted” to let you know that you have interrupted the hot key.
• We have added the Line Filter pull down to the screen menu. This pull down has three options. Status can be set to Off, On, or Read-To-End. Position can be set from 0 to 4. Characters can be set to any string up to 5 characters. If status is set to on Window-Eyes looks at the value specified by the position setting for any of the characters spefied in the character setting and if it finds them the line is not spoken. The read-to-end option only filters lines when you are using the read-to-end feature. This feature is useful to filter out quotes in mail messages. To do this set characters to “>” and set status to either on or read-to-end depending upon how you read email. The position option is useful when the greater than character does not appear in column 0 of the line.
• The read title/status hot key now reads the title and status of the focus window and then the active window. This allows you to see the title and status of a Program Manager group or a word processing document. We don’t read titles of focus windows such as buttons where it doesn’t make sense to read them.
• We added the Load Before Startup option to the file menu for Windows 95. This option causes Window-Eyes to load before network login prompts.
• We have added a new option to the cursoring keys. The Ignore Speak Windows option will cause the speak windows to be ignored for twice the length of the cursor delay. You can use this in cases like help where you want to use a speak window, but you want to have the tab key read a light bar.
• The hyperactive windows can now execute a hot key as one of the commands.
• We have added a new hot key. The route to specified highlight hot key allows you to specify a window to search for a highlight and if one is found route the mouse to it. This is useful to read context in the spell checker of a word processor. To use the key do the following:
  1. run a word processor and get a document with misspelled words in it
  2. run the spell checker
  3. do a full screen find for the first misspelled word
  4. pop up the control panel
  5. choose the mouse menu
  6. choose the specify mouse highlight window dialog
  7. answer yes to associate the window
  8. define the route to specified highlight hot key
  9. exit the control panel
  10. press the hot key. The hot key will put the mouse on the misspelled word in the document allowing you to read in context. The associated highlight window has been saved so from now on you need only to use the hot key to read in context.

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