Using Verbosity Schemes
Chapter 4: Verbosity for status
On the previous page we described how to create a new verbosity scheme and how to manage the announcement and description of a control type. Besides the managing of the control’s name there is also the various states a control can possess and these too can be manipulated through a verbosity scheme.
Found in the "Verbosity Schemes" dialog box is a button named "Verbosity for status". When this is selected a dialog box will appear listing the status information available for the selected control type.
Again, as on the previous page, explaining how to manipulate status output in a verbosity scheme is best described through a series of examples. These examples also highlight the impact a change will have and hopefully lead to a more fuller understanding of the verbosity for status options.
Example 1: My verbosity scheme announces the number of items in the pop up menu, for example, "File seven items menu" when I open the "File" menu in NotePad. How do I stop this happening?
Here you are dealing with a "Pop up menu window". The number of items that are announced is controlled by the "Number" option in the "Area status" list. So, to stop the number of items being announced: ensure the correct control type is selected, open the "Verbosity for status" dialog box, select "Number" as the area status item and then in the "Position relative to area type and focus" group, select the "Off" radio button. The number of items will no longer be announced.
Example 2: Can I change WHEN the number of items is announced, for example, instead of saying "file seven items menu", I would prefer "file menu seven items" spoken.
As in the previous example, you need to adjust the settings for the "Number" status for the "Pop up menu window" control type. However, in this case, instead of setting the "Position relative to area type and focus" to "Off" you need to set it to "After". This means this particular status data is announced after the area type.
Example 3: In my scheme I would like to have the menu item number announced before its associated help. How is this done?
To adjust the order in which status information is output, simply re-position the area status item in the list via the "Up" and "Down" buttons. For instance, to have the item number announced before the help prompt, simply move the "Number" item so that it is above the "Type help" item in the "Area status" list. The result will, for example, bring "New CTRL+N, shortcut n, 1 of 7, use cursor keys to select item enter to activate".
Example 4: When I TAB through a web page, I want to stop the announcement of a link’s URL (address) from happening.
In this case, the control type is a "Link" and the "Area status" to be adjusted is "URL". Again, to prevent the URL being announced simply set "Position relative to area type and focus" to "Off". Remember, even when set to off, if you want to get more information about the link you are on you can press LEFT SHIFT + NUMPAD 0 (or RIGHT SHIFT + F5 if using the Function Key hot key set). The announcement of the URL is also set in the "Frame" control type so, in this example, you may also want to turn it off here too!
Example 5: I use a high verbosity scheme but When navigating through my Microsoft Excel spreadsheet I would prefer not to have the cell colour announced all the time. How can I prevent the colour of the cell being announced constantly?
The answer to this question depends on exactly what you require. If you simply do not want the cell colour announced then this can be turned off in the usual way, that is, select "Cell" as the control type and in the "Area status" list in the "Verbosity for status" dialog, select "Colour" and set its position to off. The result being that the colour is no longer spoken.
However, instead of turning colour announcement off permanently, you may simply want to be informed when the colour status changes, for example, when a cell changes from white to green. This can be achieved by selecting the "When moving within same container only speak change" check box. When this is selected, only when a change in the cell colour occurs will the cell colour be announced.
Example 6: Is it possible to change the description associated with selected and unselected check boxes? I would prefer to be told checked and unchecked.
With the "Check box" selected as the control type and with "Checked" selected in the "Area Status" list, you should navigate to the "Value" group. Here you can select the various values associated with a check box, for example, selected, unselected and indeterminate. Select the value you want to adjust from the available list and then select the "Specify" radio button. Move to the available edit area and enter in the description you want to apply to the given value. Here you can also select the "Includes control type" check box if the specified description contains the control type name or if you want to prevent the control type being spoken. This would, in this case, help avoid the announcement of checked check box when "checked" maybe adequate. Note, if you would prefer the values for the given status not to be announced then select the "Off" radio button instead of the "Specify" option.
You should also remember, that the announcement of a checked state is not also restricted to a check box. There is also menu items and check controls. So consider carefully what control type you want to modify.
And that concludes our tutorial on customising verbosity schemes. However, on the final page of this tutorial we will try and help clarify what is meant by "Position relative to area type and focus" and look at the files present in the product’s Settings folder.
Applies to:
- Hal
- Hal Pro
- LunarPlus
- SuperNova
- SuperNova Pro
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