[libreoffice-accessibility] Reality Check - Windows Java Accessibility API non-functional for ALL LibreOffice 3.6.x releases to date

[Tom Davies]

Hi :)
+1
A huge +1 really.  Just +1 doesn't really get close!  Definitely impressive work from Stuart there!  "Above and beyond" gets closer.  

I tried voting but found that really unclear, and i have been editing wiki's for a while now.  I was able to add a comment in support but i'm not sure if it's the type of thing they are looking for.  

Stuart also gave links to the relevant bug-reports and i have a feeling it might be easier to post comments there but only if they help the devs get closer to fixing the problems, such as version number of LO you are using and which OS (Windows Xp, Ubuntu or whatever)

I think the wiki wanted more conversational type comments but i wasn't sure what i should say.  
Regards from
Tom :)  



--- On Mon, 15/10/12, Kevin Cussick <the.big.white.shepherd at googlemail.com> wrote:

From: Kevin Cussick <the.big.white.shepherd at googlemail.com>
Subject: Re: [libreoffice-accessibility] Reality Check - Windows Java Accessibility API non-functional for ALL LibreOffice 3.6.x releases to date
To: "V Stuart Foote" <VStuart.Foote at utsa.edu>
Cc: accessibility at global.libreoffice.org, libreoffice at lists.freedesktop.org, users at glogal.libreoffice.org
Date: Monday, 15 October, 2012, 20:04

Hello,

No apology needed Stuart. You have done more than most and i would like 
to take this opportunity to thank you on list.

I knew the LO was not right but I now am pleased that someone from LO is 
now agreeing with me. Anyway. moving on, I will take a look at the link to 
vote on the ticket to get accessibleIa2 added into the code for LO.  Let 
me once again thank you for all your effort and hard work on this. OK we 
don't have the result we would like but now we know we can maybe try and 
get a fix for it.

On 15/10/2012 01:10, V Stuart Foote wrote:
> LibreOffice versions 3.6.0 and later have not correctly implemented the Java Access Bridge (JAB) modules used to expose the Java Accessibility API roles for Windows users.
>
> It took me a little while to work out the testing methods, but the Oracle test utilities JavaFerret-32 and JavaMonkey-32 show that LibreOffice is not implementing the Java Accessibility API and therefore does not expose accessibility roles to Assistive Technologies.
>
> Neither JAB v.2.0.2 or v 2.0.3, nor current JRE version 1.6u35 or 1.7u7 will make a difference.
>
> I tested LibreOffice builds 3.6.0.4, 3.6.1.2, 3.6.2.2, and 3.6.3.1 none of which are functional.
>
> In addition today I completed testing of ALL builds of LibreOffice from 3.4.5 to 3.5.7rc2.  With exception of the 3.5.0 build they all correctly map Java Accessibility API roles to UNO Accessibility roles.
>
> The Java Accessibility API is not as comprehensive as the IAccessible2 role mappings provided by IBM Lotus Symphony 3.0.1, but it is functional for the 3.4 and 3.5 releases of LibreOffice.  And, for these versions Windows  Assistive Technologies will work. For example, the Windows NVDA screen reader will function with cursor control and component announcements for the entire document tree.
>
> Windows versions of LibreOffice 3.6, including the current build 3.6.3 rc1, are NOT USEABLE with Assistive Technologies and they have not been usable with Windows Assistive Technologies at any point.
>
> For folks that I've mislead with my insistence that all is well with LibreOffice 3.6 and Java Access Bridge and JRE with use of Assistive Technologies like NVDA screen reader I was wrong--I apologize.
> I've updated the FDO#53474 (http:  bug report https://bugs.freedesktop.org/show_bug.cgi?id=53474 ) and would encourage folks to vote, i.e. comment on, the enhancement to implement IAccessible2 API  ( http://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Vote_for_Enhancement ) for Windows builds by incorporating the IBM contributed Symphony code base as a replacement of the Java Accessibility API as that is probably the fastest means of bringing Windows builds of LibreOffice to the same functional level as Linux builds that use the ATK AT-SPI accessibility APIs.
>
> Stuart
>

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