[GOK] Ang. Re: Why ui grabbing in direct selection mode of gok?

[Francesco Fumanti <francesco fumanti gmx net>]

Hello,


Mats Lundälv wrote:
> I appreciate the arguments for the ui grabbing in GOK - both for
> switch input and direct selection users.
>
> But there are also reasons for wanting to disable this functionality
> for some users in some situations - in fact for some users of both
> these categories: GOK is currently targeted towards advanced
> alternative input users. For them the ui grabbing will often make
> sense, unless for direct selection users who master the ordinary gui
> without major problems.
>
> But for some other potential users, e.g. individuals with additional
> cognitive difficulties, it may be preferrable to have a more stable
> interface with less functionality. The dynamic features of the ui
> grabbing may be disturbing and confusing rather than helpful.
>
> So does it have to be either or? I don't yet know the inner secrets
> of GOK well enough, but I would like to have an easy way to turn ui
> grabbing on/off - both for a support person and possible to provide
> for the user him/herself. Is that possible? If not, could it be
> added?

I was now going to propose to add an option to disable ui grabbing in 
direct selection mode. But after reading your explanation above, it 
might be sensible to add it for all access methods.

Moreover, you make a distinction between the support person and the user 
itself. Does this mean that you would like to have such a distinction in 
gok? Or is it already available (non-core input device?)?


> Another aspect that I have found very awkward is the fact that GOK
> (and I believe also OnBoard) requires the adaptive features for the
> physical keyboard (like sticky keys etc) to be activated for the OSK
> to be fully functioning. This is really unfortunate and weird, as
> well as totally non-standard for all other OSK solutions outside the
> unix-linux sphere: Why should the OSK - being provided for users who
> cannot use the physical keyboard - be depending on alternative
> settings for the physical keyboard? This is a totally unmotivated
> interference in the basic system settings, and in fact creates
> accessibility problems for people supporting the OSK user. I regard
> this as being a design flaw that should be removed asap. Any comments
> on this?

I suppose that you are talking about the requirement to enable the 
sticky keys feature. Or are you talking about Assistive Technology 
(at-spi).

As far as I understand, Assistive Technology is at least required for 
the ui grabbing feature. So I don't think it will be possible to remove 
that requirement. And for what concerns the sticky keys, I don't know. 
Maybe somebody with more knowledge than me will add its comments.


Concerning onboard: it does not need any assistive feature of the 
hardware keyboard to be turned on. It even does not need Assistive 
Technology. But on the other hand, it does not offer switch input, there 
is no word prediction, no ui grabbing,... The first two are part of the 
specifications, but still have to be implemented.


Cheers

Francesco