Window-Eyes 5.0 Revision History

Document Layout

This document is laid out as follows:

5.5

released: 11/2/2005

Cost: $75

Welcome to Window-Eyes 5.5

Congratulations!

You are about to experience the cutting edge leader in screen access technology: Window-Eyes 5.5.

Installation

When installing Window-Eyes 5.5 (as well as any future upgrade), you will be asked if you want to make a backup of your existing set files. If you choose yes, the Window-Eyes installation will default the Path edit box to a location of x:webackup (where x: is the drive letter where Window-Eyes is currently installed). You may, however, enter a path in the Path edit box manually, or select a different location using the Directories tree view provided. Note that you should not choose your Window-Eyes directory as a location for backing up your set files, as that directory will be removed if Window-Eyes is ever uninstalled. If you choose no to the backup prompt, no backup of your existing set files will be created.

Microsoft Excel

The following section deals with the specific Excel features that Window-Eyes 5.5 now supports. As you will discover, there are many new features available.

The Microsoft Excel DOM (Document Object Model)

Window-Eyes 5.5 uses the Microsoft Excel DOM (Document Object Model) to communicate directly with Excel (much like the Microsoft Word DOM support in Window-Eyes 5.0), insuring a robust and accurate environment when navigating through Excel spreadsheets.

Cell Navigation

When you navigate through cells in Excel, either with the dedicated arrow keys, or with TAB and SHIFT-TAB, you may hear a lot of information (depending on the format and contents of the cell that you have navigated to, as well as your verbosity options, discussed below), such as Cell Data, Cell Position, and Additional Options.

If a cell contains data, by default, Window-Eyes will read that data as you move from cell to cell. If a cell does not contain data, Window-Eyes will not read anything for the contents. You can, however, use the Blank Lines option from the Screen menu to have Window-Eyes say �blank� when it encounters a cell with no data.

Verbosity

Window-Eyes 5.5 includes a new verbosity group in the Window-Eyes Verbosity Settings dialog, accessed by pressing the Verbosity Settings hot key (INS-V by default). Note that when you press the Verbosity Settings hot key while in Excel, the Excel verbosity group will be selected automatically. The Excel verbosity group contains four elements: Cell Information, Miscellaneous, Selection, and Summary.

Cell Information: This information will be announced when navigating through the cells of a worksheet with either the dedicated arrow keys, or TAB and SHIFT-TAB.

Miscellaneous

Selection: This information will be announced when selecting cells.

Summary: This information will be announced when using the Speak Summary hot key (CTRL-SHIFT-S by default)

Hot Keys

Element Properties: To display additional information about the properties of the current element, use the Element Properties hot key (INS-E by default). The Element Properties dialog can contain the following information.

Page Navigation: The Page Navigation dialog (INS-TAB by default) provides the ability to quickly navigate through or review the components of a worksheet, or workbook, in one comprehensive dialog. When accessed, the title bar of the dialog will contain the number of selected element along with whether the element is being examined in the current region, worksheet, or the entire workbook. To switch between the various element groups use the available radio buttons or associated accelerators (listed below). To focus the currently selected item and/or move the selection to that item, select the Focus Item button, press ALT-F, or simply press ENTER.

The current specified area is the region that Window-Eyes will examine to find the items that you have selected. You can control the current specified area by pressing ALT-R for region, ALT-W for Worksheet (the default), or ALT-K for Workbook. When you select a specified area, all items (such as comments, hyperlinks, objects, etc.) will be relative to the specified area. Note that certain element types are not available for certain areas. For example, Cells in Column is not available for the entire workbook.

You can also access an edit box containing Miscellaneous Information regarding the currently selected element by either tabbing to the Miscellaneous Information edit box, or by pressing ALT-I. For example with comments you get the following in the edit box: size, whether the comment is visible or hidden, what cells it obscures when it is visible and if that region is covering any non-blank cells, the cell’s contents, and the full comment. With hyperlinks you get the URL. With objects, you get what cells it obscures and whether there are any non-blank cells under that. With monitor cells, you get all the individual cells for that named group along with their data. Charts also give you what cells they cover.

The Focus Item button will give the selected element focus or make that element active. For example, if you select a comment and activate the Focus Item button, the cell containing that comment will become the active cell.

The Selected Item button is similar to the Focus Item button in that it will give the selected element focus or make that element active. In addition, it will also select all the other cells. For example, if you select Cells in column and have selected a cell from this group, pressing the Focus Item button will cause the selected cell to become the active cell. If you press the Select Item button, the selected cell will become the active cell, and all the other cells in the column will be selected. Note that the Selected Item button is not available for all element types.

Headers and Totals: This dialog allows you to setup what columns and/or rows should be used as either header cell and/or total cells for an area in the current worksheet (ALT-SHIFT-H by default). As you TAB through the Headers and Totals dialog, you will discover the following controls:

Header or Total Name Edit Box � Allows you to enter a description for the currently defined item. This name is only for documentation purposes, and has no impact on the functionality of the item being defined. For example, you might enter the name “headers for yearly sales.” This name is useful for determining the function of each header/total definition for the current worksheet.

Region To Use List Box: Allows you to set the area to be used for your headers and totals definitions. This list box will always start with “current region.” Regions are automatically defined by Excel based on blank rows and columns. The region that you were in when you entered the dialog would be used if you select “current region.” The next item in the Region To Use list box is “full worksheet.” The full worksheet option means that your entire worksheet will be used. Any named regions that exist in the current worksheet will also be listed in the regions list box. Named areas are defined by selecting a group of cells, opening Excel�s insert menu, choosing the Name pull down, and then selecting the Define option. You can then specify a name for the current selection of cells. When you select a named region, that defined region will be used. The last item in the Region To Use list box will always be “custom.” The custom item allows you to manually define an area to be used for headers and/or totals.

Always Read Header (Default: Unchecked) � When a column header is defined, the header will only be read when navigating horizontally through the specified region. When a row header is defined, the header will only be read when navigating vertically through the specified region. With this option enabled, Window-Eyes will always read the defined header, regardless of how you move through the specified region. Note this option will be disabled if you have not selected a region type of header.

Region Cells Edit Box: Allows you to define a range of cells for the custom item in the Region To Use list box. If any other region is selected in the Region To Use list box, the range of cells used in that selected region will be displayed in this edit box, and the edit box will be read only. This item can be used in place of setting up a named region in Excel. An Excel named region, however, should be used over a Window-Eyes custom region if the region itself will be changing in size. Window-Eyes custom region is fixed to the defined size, while an Excel named region automatically adjusts as columns and rows are added or removed.

Add Entry Button: Saves all current data to the list of Current Headers and Totals for the current worksheet. The dialog will remain open after selecting this button.

Remove Entry Button: Removes the currently selected item in the Current Headers and Totals list box, and associated data, for the current worksheet. The dialog will remain open after selecting this button.

OK Button: Automatically saves all current data to the list of Current Headers and Totals for the current worksheet, and closes the dialog.

Cancel Button: Closes the dialog without saving the current entry.

Current Headers and Totals List Box: Displays all areas that have been defined using the Headers and Totals dialog for the current worksheet in the current workbook. When the Headers and Totals dialog is accessed for the first time in a new worksheet, this list will be empty. Entries will be displayed using the text entered in the Header or Total Name edit box after an entry is added, and the defined region type will be added to the end of the name. When you select an item in the Current Headers and Totals list box, the data associated with that header or total will be displayed in the respective controls throughout the Headers and Totals dialog, allowing you to either review the settings or adjust them. If you adjust any settings, you will need to re-add the entry. Note that if you change the name of the Header or Total, and you add the entry, the previous entry will not be removed or replaced. The settings will only be updated if you leave the name the same as the previous entry, and then add the entry.

Rows and Columns To Use Edit Box: Displays the row(s) and/or column(s) that you plan on using as the header or total for the currently selected region in the Region To Use list box. The information in this edit box will default to being the active cell or the selected cells. You can manually change this to use discontinuous rows for headers or totals. For example, you may want to use row 3, then row 5, then row 10 as header information for the currently selected region. You can also specify rows or columns in a different worksheet if desired.

Use Selected Cells Button: Allows you to reset the Rows and Columns To Use edit box to the active cell or the selected cells.

Monitor Cells: This dialog allows you to setup a single cell, or group of cells, you want to monitor (ALT-SHIFT-M by default). You can monitor them manually or they can be set up to speak automatically whenever they change. As you TAB through the Monitor Cells dialog, you will discover the following controls:

Name Edit Box: Allows you to enter a description of the monitor cells group you are about to define. This name is only for documentation purposes, and has no impact on the functionality of the item being defined. The name can also be spoken when the monitor cell is spoken, and will also be displayed in the Monitor Names list box when the “Any monitor cell” hotkey is pressed.

Cells To Monitor Edit Box: Displays cells to be monitored, and defaults to being either the active cell or range of currently selected cells. You may also enter monitor cells manually, using a single cell position, a collection of cells separated by a comma, or a range of cells separated by a colon. You can also supply the worksheet name. For example, you might enter something like:

a1,b1,c5:d10,sheet2!a1,sheet2!b5:sheet2!c10

Note that it is important to make sure all punctuation is correct when entering cell collections or cell ranges. If you do not specify the worksheet name, the current worksheet will be used.

Hotkey Combo Box: Allows you to select an ID (ranging from 1 to 10) to apply to the current group of monitor cells. The ID is only used when you press the associated Monitor Cell hot key (Monitor Cell 1 through Monitor Cell 10, discussed below). If you do not wish to read the defined monitor cells using any of the 10 read monitor cells hotkeys, meaning you set it up to read automatically or you will use the any monitor cell hotkey, then you can set this to none. Doing so will cause Window-Eyes not to attach this monitor cell to any of the 10 read monitor cell hotkeys.

Name Check Box (Default: Unchecked) � With this option enabled, Window-Eyes will speak the name supplied in the Name edit box before speaking the monitor cell data.

Row Header Check Box (Default: Unchecked) � With this option enabled, Window-Eyes will speak the row header (if defined) before speaking the monitor cell data.

Column Header Check Box (Default: Unchecked) � With this option enabled, Window-Eyes will speak the column header (if defined) before speaking the monitor cell data.

Position Check Box (Default: Checked): With this option enabled, Window-Eyes will speak the cell position before speaking the monitor cell data.

Auto Speak Check Box (Default: Unchecked): With this option enabled, Window-Eyes will automatically speak the monitor cell when its content changes. The monitor cell hot keys will always read regardless of whether or not this option is enabled. If the monitor cell group contains more than one cell, only the cell or cells that change will be read automatically within the group.

Get Dependent Cells From Edit Box: Defaults to the active cell position or the selected cells. You can type any cell, collection, or range like the Cells To Monitor edit box. This control is useful for the following list box.

Dependencies For List Box: Displays all cells that are dependencies for the cells listed in the Get Dependent Cells From edit box discussed above. For example, if you have a list of numbers from cell A1 to cell A10 and cell A11 is the sum of cell A1 through cell A10, and cell A5 was the active cell when accessing the monitor cell dialog, cell A5 will be in the Get Dependent Cells From edit box, and cell A11 will be in the Dependencies For list box. You can type any cell, collection, or range like the Cells To Monitor edit box.

Add Selected Dependencies Button: Allows you to add the selected item in the Dependencies For list box to the Cells To Monitor edit box. If monitor cell information already exists in the Cells To Monitor edit box when pressing this button, the selected item in the Dependencies For list box will be appended to the text in the Cell To Monitor edit box. Note that this button will be disabled if you have not selected any items in the Dependencies list box.

The Get Dependant Cells from edit box, Dependencies for list box and the Add Selected Dependencies button are tools which allow you to easily setup monitor cells for cells that are dependent on other cells, and will list the dependent cells for the active or selected cells. You can also use these tools like a calculator to get any dependencies you wish.

Add Entry Button: Saves all current data to the list of Monitor Names for the current worksheet. The dialog will remain open after selecting this button.

Remove Entry Button: Removes the currently selected item in the Monitor Names list box, and associated data, for the current worksheet. The dialog will remain open after selecting this button.

OK Button: Automatically saves all current data to the list of Monitor Names for the current worksheet, and closes the dialog.

Cancel Button: Closes the dialog without saving the current entry.

Monitor Names List Box: Lists all the names of the monitored groups currently defined, and allows you to arrow between them. As you move through them all the other controls will update to their settings. This can be used to review or update settings for existing groups.

The Monitor Cells dialog allows you to easily set up a quick monitor cell by automatically setting the name to Quick # (where # is the first unused Read Monitor hot key. If there is no unused hot key, the name will be left blank), the Cells To Monitor will default to the active cell (or current selection), and only the position check box will be checked. This quick feature can be used if you are on a single cell or selection of cells that you wish to monitor. Simply bring up the Monitor Cells dialog, note the default name given, and press enter. The quick monitor group will be saved automatically. The name indicates the number of the Read Monitor Cell hot key to use. This feature provides you with a way to monitor a cell or group of cells quickly, without having to set up a number of options.

Monitor Cell 1-10: Each of these 10 hot keys will read the monitor cell with the respective ID (ALT-SHIFT-0 through ALT-SHIFT-9 by default). In other words, Monitor Cell 1 will read the monitor cell whose ID is 1. Monitor Cell 2 will read the monitor cell whose ID is 2, and so on. Note that multiple monitor cells can be associated with the same ID.

Any Monitor Cell: This hot key activates the Read Monitor Cell dialog, which allows you to select which monitor cell you want to read (ALT-SHIFT-A by default). As you TAB through the dialog, you will discover the following controls:

Monitored Cells List Box: Lists all defined monitor cells.

Speak Data Button: Allows Window-Eyes to read the selected monitor cell in the Monitored Cells List Box.

Cancel: Closes the dialog.

While in the list of monitor cells, you can press ENTER to have Window-Eyes read the information for the selected monitor cell. Focus will stay in the list so that you can arrow to a different monitor cell without having to TAB back to the list.

Miscellaneous Hot Keys

Document specific settings

Window-Eyes now supports the ability to save specific settings for a specific worksheet using the Document Specific Settings feature located in the File menu of the Window-Eyes Voice Control panel, just like you can for Microsoft Word documents. Whenever you setup headers or totals, or monitor cells, these settings are automatically saved for the current worksheet for the current workbook, and are saved in the document specific settings. Also, as with Microsoft Word, you will be able to import and export document specific settings.

Chart Navigation

When you focus any chart, you can use Excel to navigate the chart elements by using the up and down arrows to move by major groups, and the left and right arrow keys to move within a group. Window-Eyes will automatically read the information as you navigate. You will, however, be able to obtain much more information about the current chart element by using the Element Properties dialog (INS-E by default). This dialog will provide information relative to the focused element on the chart. If the main chart itself (the chart area) is selected, all information about the chart will be provided.

Mozilla Firefox

Window-Eyes 5.5 is the first screen reader to fully support Mozilla Firefox. Firefox is a free, open source, web browser developed by the Mozilla Foundation and hundreds of volunteers. Some of the major features that make Firefox an attractive alternative web browser are:

For more information on all Firefox features, visit the Mozilla Firefox web page: http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/.

Window-Eyes support for Firefox is almost identical to that of Internet Explorer. In other words, all of the quick access keys, detailed in Section 19 of the Window-Eyes manual, will work in both Firefox and Internet Explorer. In other words, regardless of the browser, C will move you through form controls, S will move you through lists. L will move you through links, and so on.

You can find information on where to download Firefox at http://www.gwmicro.com/support/firefox.

Accessible DHTML

Accessible DHTML (Dynamic HyperText Markup Language) is now possible thanks to GW Micro’s partnership with IBM and the Mozilla Foundation. Dynamic HTML is designed for applications that are developed to work through the browser. DHTML applications are treated just like stand alone Windows applications. In other words, we don’t want you to realize the difference between using a dialog in a browser application and using a standard windows dialog. Window-Eyes provides complete access to controls like treeviews, combo boxes, progress bars, radio buttons, check boxes, etc., to ensure a seamless and productive environment, whether online or offline.

Corporations like AOL, Yahoo, Oracle, and Peoplesoft have all expressed great interest in supporting Accessible DHTML in their future web applications, and GW Micro and IBM are working hard to guarantee DHTML accessibility.

Hot Keys

Additional hot keys can be found in the Firefox help menu.

Misc. Features

Enhancements between Window-Eyes 5.5 and Window-Eyes 5.0

Browse Mode

In an effort to clear up the mystery behind what MSAA mode actually is, we are no longer calling it MSAA mode. Window-Eyes now refers to the environment used for browsing web pages, PDF documents, HTML help, HTML emails, etc., as browse mode. Note that the functionality of browsing has not changed; we have simply changed the name to provide users with a better understanding of what this environment is used for. When you’re in browse mode (formerly known as MSAA mode), CTRL-SHIFT-A is still the default toggle key, and when pressed, will announce, “browse on” or “browse off.” And Browse mode, just like MSAA mode, needs to be off before you can interact with edit boxes, and similar form controls. All hot keys that worked in MSAA mode are exactly the same in Browse mode, and can be found under the Hot Keys dialog, in a section called Browse mode. Once again, functionality has not changed. We have only changed the name of this mode to help provide a clear understanding of its purpose.

Microsoft Word

Internet Explorer

Outlook/Outlook Express

Browse Mode

Braille

Lotus Notes

Visual Studio

Performance Enhancements

Misc. Enhancements

Set File Updates

5.0

Released: 1/19/2005

Cost: $75

Welcome to Window-Eyes 5.0

Congratulations!

Your productivity just got better. Thanks to the revolutionary power of Window-Eyes 5.0, with new support for Microsoft Word, and an innovative color identification feature (not to mention the existing robust features of Window-Eyes, like powerful, W3C compliant web access with Internet Explorer), you now have the power to be more successful at work, at school, and at home.

Word Specific Features

The following section deals with the specific Word features that Window-Eyes 5.0 now supports. As you will see, there are many new features available.

The Microsoft Word DOM (Document Object Model)

Window-Eyes 5.0 offers 100% text accuracy, 100% of the time thanks to the use of the Microsoft Word DOM. The DOM (Document Object Model) allows Window-Eyes to communicate directly with Word, insuring that the text you hear is exactly the same text in your document. This is a first in the screen reader industry.

Microsoft Word Hotfixes

Thanks to our working relationship with Microsoft, we now offer the most stable, feature-rich support for Word. During our development cycle, we found a few Word bugs that affected all users of the Microsoft Word DOM. Microsoft has released several hotfixes to resolve these bugs, and we are helping to distribute them, since they benefit all screen reader users. We believe it’s important � and responsible � not only to provide our own bug fixes, but to help you update the software we all rely on. For more information on obtaining the latest versions of Microsoft Word, and the latest hotfixes, please visit http://www.gwmicro.com/support/office.

Color Dictionary

Initially, Window-Eyes presented both foreground and background colors in an RGB (Red/Green/Blue) format that, although extremely accurate, was somewhat difficult to interpret without memorizing multiple combinations of colors. For example, one shade of red might be equal to r255,b0,g0, while another might be equal to r100,b10,g10.

To remove the confusion of RGB values for both foreground and background colors, Window-Eyes 5.0 introduces a revolutionary color dictionary concept that not only indicates colors by names, but also indicates when an unknown color is close to the shade of a known color. For example, instead of reading r255,g0,b0 for the color red, Window-Eyes will now simply say, �red.� Instead of saying, r100,b10,g10, Window-Eyes will now say, �shade of red.�

Like all other Window-Eyes dictionaries, the Window-Eyes Color Dictionary is completely customizable. Colors that have already been defined can be altered, and new colors can be added. For example, the color red could easily be defined as, �my favorite color.� Then, whenever Window-Eyes would encounter the color red, it would announce, �my favorite color.� This can be specific to individual programs and applications.

The power of the Window-Eyes color dictionary becomes evident when you imagine scenarios where Window-Eyes might announce a color as being �shade of my favorite color� or �shade of important information,� such as an email program.

Mozilla

Window-Eyes 5.0 is proud to be the first screen reader to include robust support for the Mozilla web browser, a popular alternative to Internet Explorer.

Enhancements between Window-Eyes 5.0 Window-Eyes 4.5

Keep reading!