Orca FW: Thoughts on whereAmI: Quantity of Information

["Ian Pascoe" <softy lofty ilp btinternet com>]

Hi Joanie

Although new to Orca I have had plenty of experience in the Windows
environment and agree with the sentiments you have described.

I don't just think it would confuse the novice user, but also aggrivate the
experienced one too.

Perhaps within the Orca preferences an option to alter the amount of
verbosity, or route description to where you are and what you are doing.

My only other point, and this I have no experience of within Ubuntu at the
moment, is that when you come out of a screen saver or log back into a timed
out session it automatically provides you with details of the application
that has focus together with an Orca system annoucement.  So using your
examples of Open Office
<Beep>
<Orca activated> obvious I know if it says it but if it doesn't you know
that Orca isn't working or something has gone wrong
<open office active>

My works PC runs ZoomText and the lack of this startup announcement is quite
annoying as to find out the application I am in I have to leave it and
return back to it using the Alt + Tab to move in and out (there might be a
proper keyboard shortcut for this but I'm a bit lazy!).

If Orca does this already then please ignore the above couple of paragraphs
and accept my apologies - as I said I am still coming to grips with Linux
and Orca.

Ian


-----Original Message-----
From: orca-list-bounces gnome org [mailto:orca-list-bounces gnome org]On
Behalf Of Joanmarie Diggs
Sent: 24 October 2006 18:21
To: Orca screen reader developers
Subject: Orca Thoughts on whereAmI: Quantity of Information


For those of you who don't hang out on Bugzilla like I do, there has
been some reason discussion and questions about whereAmI (i.e. what you
get when you press KeyPad Enter) and the implementation of a reverse
whereAmI (so that you can hear where you are without having to listen to
things like the name of the frame you are in).  I started commenting on
the relevant RFEs with my thoughts, but I'm merely one individual.  So I
decided instead to move things here in the hopes of having a broader
discussion on the subject.

In the interest of brevity, I'll keep this message to the existing
whereAmI functionality, and to just one aspect of it:  the quantity of
information that is being spoken which, personally, I think is at times
a bit too much.

Example1:  I sit down to my computer and don't know where I left off.
Turns out I'm in OpenOffice.org writer in a document called Untitled1 on
a line which reads "this is a test."  When I press KeyPad Enter, I would
like Orca to reorient me by saying something like:

"Untiled1 - OpenOffice.org Writer <brief pause> Text <brief pause> This
is a test."

What I get is:

"soffice.bin application Untitled1 - OpenOffice.org Writer frame
Untitled1 - OpenOffice.org Writer root pane paragraph This is a test. No
focus"

Do we really need and/or want to hear the application name and the full
hierarchy along with rolenames?  I, for one, would not.  I also think
all of this information might be rather confusing for the new user.

Example2:  Still sitting down, still don't know where I left off, still
in OOo Writer.  But this time it just so happens that I am in the File
menu, the Wizards submenu, and am currently on Euro Converter.

What I'd like to hear:

"Untitled1 - OpenOffice.org Writer <brief pause>  Euro Converter...
<brief pause> Item 7 of 9 <brief pause> E"

What I get is:

"soffice.bin application Untitled1 - OpenOffice.org Writer frame
Untitled1 - OpenOffice.org Writer root pane menu bar File menu Wizards
menu Item 7 of 9 Euro Converter shortcut Alt fwe"

Let's ignore everything that is already addressed in Example 1 above.
That leaves "File menu Wizards menu Item 7 of 9 Euro Converter shortcut
Alt fwe"

I suppose I can see some value in knowing that Euro Converter is
contained within Wizards which is contained with File and that File
lives on the menu bar.  But if I'm disoriented, my number one concern is
to figure out what I'm currently sitting on.  How on earth I got there
to begin with is something I can worry about later. <smile>

If I know the name of the window I'm in, that I'm on a menu item, and
what that item's name happens to be, that is often all I need.  With
that information, I'm in a position to choose an item in my current menu
or work my way back out to Wizards and then to File.  (And in doing so
answer the question of "How did I get here?") Thus the additional
information (full path to the current menu item along with all the
shortcuts I need) is unnecessary -- and, again for the new user, it may
be potentially confusing.

I'm curious as to what others think.

Thanks in advance!!
Joanie

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