[Accessibility] RadioBOSS Screen Reader Accessibility

[djsoft]

RadioBOSS can be used with screen reader software such as JAWS and NVDA. This allows people with vision impairments to use almost all RadioBOSS features. Accessibility features are available starting with RadioBOSS 5.4. Accessibility was tested with JAWS software.

This guide explains some additional RadioBOSS features to help you use it with screen reader software.

Some features that cannot yet be used with Screen Readers (limited access): Segue Editor, Advertisement Scheduler.

RadioBOSS Main Window
Please enable Screen Reader Mode. This is done only once, and then RadioBOSS will operate in screen-reader-friendly mode. To enable, press Ctrl+Shift+A, or in the menu, click View->Accessibility (Screen Reader).

Using Tab Controls (playlist zone or additional Zone 2 or Zone 3)

• To navigate between tabs, use the arrow keys or Ctrl+Tab/Ctrl+Shift+Tab
• To add a tab press the "+" (plus) key on the keyboard
• To display the context menu for the selected tab press the Menu key (located near the right Ctrl)
• To close a tab (available only in the Log zone when an "overlay" event or jingle is being played), use the "-" (minus) key.

Playlist

• Playlist: move the selected track up and down using the Alt+Up and Alt+Down shortcuts
• Playlist: select currently playing track: Alt+Home. To select the previous and next track, use Alt+Left Arrow and Alt+Right Arrow, respectively.

Playback Queue

• Move the selected track up and down using the Ctrl+Up and Ctrl+Down shortcuts.

Window navigation keys

• F1 - File Explorer
• F2 - Search
• F3 - Scheduler
• F4 - DSP
• F6 - Focus active playlist (this hot key can be reassigned from the Hot Keys window)
• F7 - Jump between work zones
• Shift+F9 - Focus "Remaining time" text

Streaming

• Ctrl+E - enable/disable broadcasting

List Views (Playlist, Search, Scheduled events, Music Library, etc.)

• Hold the Shift key and press the Menu key to open the header menu, which allows you to select available list columns and perform sorting.

Track Tool
To focus various input areas, use Shift+F1..F9 keys (Shift+F1 will focus the Start edit field, Shift+F2 - Intro, and so on).

Please report any problems with accessibility in this topic or contact support@djsoft.net - we'll be happy to assist and make necessary changes to the software.

 

[bostonfreeradio]

This is excellent. Thank you for focussing on this very important element of UX and accessibility!

 

[alexander.westphal]

Although I am happy that Radioboss is very accessible in deed, I'd be thankful if a few things could be realized in future:
1. Using the build in notepad for loading and reading text.
2. An easier way to check, if the selected track is a usual Music track or jingle or whatever I added as file type.
3. An easier way to place tracks chosen from the explorer tap in the playlist. Double klicking on a file is not that difficult, but maybe a hotkey like CTRL+Enter would be nice.
4. An easier way  to access the cart form. At this time under Windows 10 it is only possible to edit carts with Jaws's OCR feature, because in the normal scren the carts aren't visible.

I know, that's allot, and it must seam like I am not satisfied with this program, but that isn't true. I only would be glad, if more or less of these suggestions could be implemented.

 

[pety]

2. An easier way to check, if the selected track is a usual Music track or jingle or whatever I added as file type.

FileType is easy for visual side. Colors just "talk " about the type.

 

[djsoft]

Thanks for your suggestions! We'll try to gradually add those improvements in future updates.

One thing about the notepad and reading the text - what is the purpose of such a feature?

 

[Sasa Grbic]

Hello. What's new in the accessibility area for RadioBoss?

 

[djsoft]

Hello. What's new in the accessibility area for RadioBoss?

Only minor improvements in RadioBOSS 5.6 compared to 5.5. Do you experience any problems with accessibility in some areas? In this case, please let us know where the improvements should be made.

 

[Sasa Grbic]

Thank you. I am a potential user of your software. I have one more question. Is there any tutorial written in the script for blind people to work with the program? I looked at your help and it's been quite explained to visual users.

 

[djsoft]

Currently we only have one user manual: http://manual.djsoft.net/radioboss/en/index.html

And a little instruction on how to use RadioBOSS with screen reader software, in the first message of this topic: https://www.djsoft.net/smf/index.php/topic,4088.msg18615.html#msg18615

 

[schulle4u]

Hello,

as a blind user I was testing RadioBoss for a while and finally got a license for it. Here are some things that could be improved. I'm working under Windows 10 Home using the NVDA screenreader.

Playlist: After hiding certain columns using the View -> Playlist columns command, NVDA doesn't read the playlist propperly. Instead of the actual columns the playlist is being presented very cluttered, some information is missing that should actually be visible. Maybe an accessible way to resize the remaining columns can solve this, e.g. an option to automatically adjust column's width.

Main window: A few buttons should be correctly labeled to make them fully accessible, such as in the effects tab (adding/removing effects). Here is some developer information from NVDA for an unlabeled button in the effects tab:

Developer info for navigator object:
name: u''
role: ROLE_BUTTON
states: STATE_FOCUSABLE, STATE_FOCUSED
isFocusable: True
hasFocus: True
Python object: <NVDAObjects.IAccessible.Button object at 0x0779A4F0>
Python class mro: (<class 'NVDAObjects.IAccessible.Button'>, <class 'NVDAObjects.IAccessible.IAccessible'>, <class 'NVDAObjects.window.Window'>, <class 'NVDAObjects.NVDAObject'>, <class 'documentBase.TextContainerObject'>, <class 'baseObject.ScriptableObject'>, <class 'baseObject.AutoPropertyObject'>, <type 'object'>)
description: None
location: (304, 162, 25, 25)
value: None
appModule: <'appModuleHandler' (appName u'radioboss', process ID 8072) at address 72ef8b0>
appModule.productName: u'RadioBOSS'
appModule.productVersion: u'5.7'
TextInfo: <class 'NVDAObjects.NVDAObjectTextInfo'>
windowHandle: 67378
windowClassName: u'TBitBtn'
windowControlID: 67378
windowStyle: 1409351691
windowThreadID: 5884
windowText: u''
displayText: u''
IAccessibleObject: <POINTER(IAccessible) ptr=0xbd3ad38 at 76eaf30>
IAccessibleChildID: 0
IAccessible event parameters: windowHandle=67378, objectID=-4, childID=0
IAccessible accName: None
IAccessible accRole: ROLE_SYSTEM_PUSHBUTTON
IAccessible accState: STATE_SYSTEM_FOCUSED, STATE_SYSTEM_FOCUSABLE, STATE_SYSTEM_VALID (1048580)
IAccessible accDescription: None
IAccessible accValue: None

As you can see the values for at least WindowText and DisplayText are missing. Other buttons such as the gap killer are fully accessible:

Developer info for navigator object:
name: u'Gap killer:'
role: ROLE_BUTTON
states: STATE_FOCUSABLE, STATE_FOCUSED
isFocusable: True
hasFocus: True
Python object: <NVDAObjects.IAccessible.Button object at 0x0779A0D0>
Python class mro: (<class 'NVDAObjects.IAccessible.Button'>, <class 'NVDAObjects.IAccessible.IAccessible'>, <class 'NVDAObjects.window.Window'>, <class 'NVDAObjects.NVDAObject'>, <class 'documentBase.TextContainerObject'>, <class 'baseObject.ScriptableObject'>, <class 'baseObject.AutoPropertyObject'>, <type 'object'>)
description: None
location: (14, 396, 68, 21)
value: None
appModule: <'appModuleHandler' (appName u'radioboss', process ID 8072) at address 72ef8b0>
appModule.productName: u'RadioBOSS'
appModule.productVersion: u'5.7'
TextInfo: <class 'NVDAObjects.NVDAObjectTextInfo'>
windowHandle: 525846
windowClassName: u'TButton'
windowControlID: 525846
windowStyle: 1409351681
windowThreadID: 5884
windowText: u'Gap killer:'
displayText: u'Gap killer:'
IAccessibleObject: <POINTER(IAccessible) ptr=0xbd3b1b0 at 75978f0>
IAccessibleChildID: 0
IAccessible event parameters: windowHandle=525846, objectID=-4, childID=0
IAccessible accName: u'Gap killer:'
IAccessible accRole: ROLE_SYSTEM_PUSHBUTTON
IAccessible accState: STATE_SYSTEM_DEFAULT, STATE_SYSTEM_FOCUSED, STATE_SYSTEM_FOCUSABLE, STATE_SYSTEM_VALID (1048836)
IAccessible accDescription: None
IAccessible accValue: None

Cartwall: Currently the buttons are only focusable using NVDA's object navigation. It Would be nice to have a quicker access to them using tab or cursor  keys.

Some other minor things such as the counters for track length / remaining time are a bit uncomfortable to use at the moment, but this could be improved with a screenreader add-on which allows to read them immediately on keypress.

Thanks for making this software accessible in most parts, it is a great alternative for more expensive and unflexible products such as SPL.

Steffen

 

[djsoft]

Playlist: After hiding certain columns using the View -> Playlist columns command, NVDA doesn't read the playlist propperly. Instead of the actual columns the playlist is being presented very cluttered, some information is missing that should actually be visible. Maybe an accessible way to resize the remaining columns can solve this, e.g. an option to automatically adjust column's width.

When you hide/show columns, they are internally being resized and moved. Hidden columns are resized to zero width, making them effectively invisible. The shown columns are automatically resized to non-zero width. Please try restarting RadioBOSS when you edit the column list, there's a chance it will fix the problem with screen reader.

Main window: A few buttons should be correctly labeled to make them fully accessible, such as in the effects tab (adding/removing effects) and in the broadcast settings (add/edit/remove encoders). Here is some developer information from NVDA for an unlabeled button in the effects tab:

Thank you for pointing this out, in the next update those buttons will be labeled properly. Currently they only have a graphic icon, that's why no text is available.

Cartwall: Currently the buttons are only focusable using NVDA's object navigation. It Would be nice to have a quicker access to them using tab or cursor  keys.

Yes, this should be improved too - noted for future updates.

Some other minor things such as the counters for track length / remaining time are a bit uncomfortable to use at the moment, but this could be improved with a screenreader add-on which allows to read them immediately on keypress.

What about this solution: it will read remaining time and duration when you navigate to "Now playing" using Tab key?

 

[djsoft]

Thanks for making this software accessible in most parts, it is a great alternative for more expensive and unflexible products such as SPL.

You're welcome, however, RadioBOSS is not fully accessible yet. Mostly because its UI is mostly graphic, so making it accessible is a challenge

 

[schulle4u]

When you hide/show columns, they are internally being resized and moved. Hidden columns are resized to zero width, making them effectively invisible. The shown columns are automatically resized to non-zero width. Please try restarting RadioBOSS when you edit the column list, there's a chance it will fix the problem with screen reader.

Unfortunately this doesn't work, I've already tried restarting RadioBoss after modifying the columns. But your explanation probably restricts the problem. Simply hiding something from a GUI doesn't necessarily hide it for screenreaders. For example you can have a 1x1 PX grafic in a website and normal visitors won't see it, but for screenreaders it most likely is still a navigable object. Similar behaviour applies to RadioBoss, and the results here are even worse.

What about this solution: it will read remaining time and duration when you navigate to "Now playing" using Tab key?

This depends on where the counters are positioned in tab order, and which GUI elements are opened. For example I always have the left panel disabled completely in order to get a quicker access to the now playing / next track display from the playlist view during live shows. So if the counters can be placed in tab order within the top panel, this indeed can be helpful.

Another solution would be to make playback counters a part of the status bar like in Foobar2000. This allows even quicker access since most screenreaders have a keystroke to read the status bar of application windows.

Steffen

 

[djsoft]

nfortunately this doesn't work, I've already tried restarting RadioBoss after modifying the columns. But your explanation probably restricts the problem. Simply hiding something from a GUI doesn't necessarily hide it for screenreaders. For example you can have a 1x1 PX grafic in a website and normal visitors won't see it, but for screenreaders it most likely is still a navigable object. Similar behaviour applies to RadioBoss, and the results here are even worse.

That's sad - we'll try to find some solution for this. But it also appears to that it should be a feature request for NVDA developers - do not read columns that are not visible (those that have width of 0 or 1).

This depends on where the counters are positioned in tab order, and which GUI elements are opened. For example I always have the left panel disabled completely in order to get a quicker access to the now playing / next track display from the playlist view during live shows. So if the counters can be placed in tab order within the top panel, this indeed can be helpful.

Noted, thank you. I think we'll make it a tab stop after the "Now playing" bar.

 

[schulle4u]

FYI: I've posted an issue regarding zero width GUI elements to the NVDA devs, using the playlist columns problem as an example, along with your explanation.

Steffen

 

[nuno.costa]

hello... how i can in a playlist with various items, marc a song with next playing track? with older versions, with aplications key, this option is available.

 

[djsoft]

hello... how i can in a playlist with various items, marc a song with next playing track? with older versions, with aplications key, this option is available.

It's now called playback queue, to add track to the queue, press Q on keyboard, or use the right-click playlist menu, "Add to playback queue" command.

 

[actucast]

Hi!

Thank you for your work. However, Radioboss is not very accessible with the NVDA screen reader. I have not tested with Jaws, but with nvda in the options it does not announce the settings, but for example the slider to modify (0.00DB) we do not know which option is changed. Could you correct that?

 

[schulle4u]

Thank you for your work. However, Radioboss is not very accessible with the NVDA screen reader. I have not tested with Jaws, but with nvda in the options it does not announce the settings, but for example the slider to modify (0.00DB) we do not know which option is changed. Could you correct that?

You can access the level sliders by using NVDA's focus mode. To hear which slider is being modified use the object navigation (NVDA+Numpad 4 and 6). You will have to do this each time you modify the slider with arrows left or right. NVDA doesn't automatically report the status.

 

[actucast]

Thank you for your work. However, Radioboss is not very accessible with the NVDA screen reader. I have not tested with Jaws, but with nvda in the options it does not announce the settings, but for example the slider to modify (0.00DB) we do not know which option is changed. Could you correct that?

You can access the level sliders by using NVDA's focus mode. To hear which slider is being modified use the object navigation (NVDA+Numpad 4 and 6). You will have to do this each time you modify the slider with arrows left or right. NVDA doesn't automatically report the status.

If I'm in options, if I use object navigation, nvda moves to the next slider without telling me which slider it is.
I use the latest version of radioboss ...