# GNOME Desktop Accessibility Guide

The GNOME Accessibility Guide is for users, system administrators, and anyone who is interested in how the GNOME Desktop supports people with disabilities and addresses the requirements of Section 508 of the U.S. Rehabilitation Act.

2006
Don Scorgie
2006
Brent Smith
2005
2004
2003
2002
Sun Microsystems, Inc.
2007
Jan Arne Petersen (jap@gnome.org)
GNOME-Dokumentationsprojekt

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Don
Scorgie
GNOME-Dokumentationsprojekt
Brent
Smith
GNOME-Dokumentationsprojekt
Sun
Java-Desktop-System Dokumentationsteam
Sun Microsystems, Inc.
GNOME 2.20 Desktop Accessibility Guide V2.14.0
September 2007

GNOME-Dokumentationsprojekt

GNOME-Dokumentationsprojekt

GNOME 2.10 Desktop-Barrierefreiheits-Handbuch V2.10.1
Juli 2005

Sun Java-Desktop-System Dokumentationsteam

GNOME-Dokumentationsprojekt

GNOME 2.10 Desktop-Barrierefreiheits-Handbuch V2.10.0
März 2005

Sun Java-Desktop-System Dokumentationsteam

GNOME-Dokumentationsprojekt

GNOME 2.8 Desktop-Barrierefreiheits-Handbuch V2.8.0
September 2004

Sun Java-Desktop-System Dokumentationsteam

GNOME-Dokumentationsprojekt

GNOME 2.6 Desktop-Barrierefreiheits-Handbuch V2.6.0
März 2004

Sun Microsystems

GNOME-Dokumentationsprojekt

GNOME 2.4 Desktop-Barrierefreiheits-Handbuch V2.4.0
Oktober 2003

Sun Microsystems

GNOME-Dokumentationsprojekt

GNOME 2.2 Desktop-Barrierefreiheits-Handbuch V2.2.0
Februar 2003

Sun Microsystems

GNOME-Dokumentationsprojekt

GNOME 2.0 Desktop for the Solaris Operating Environment Accessibility Guide V2.1
Januar 2003

Sun Microsystems

GNOME-Dokumentationsprojekt

GNOME 2.0 Desktop for the Solaris Operating Environment Accessibility Guide V2.0
Dezember 2002

Sun Microsystems

GNOME-Dokumentationsprojekt

This manual describes version 2.20 of the GNOME Desktop.

## Feedback

Wenn Sie Fehler finden oder Vorschläge zum GNOME-Desktop oder diesem Handbuch haben, folgen Sie den Hinweisen auf der GNOME Feedback Page.

## Introduction to Accessibility

This chapter introduces you to accessibility in the GNOME Desktop.

All software products should incorporate accessibility features to enable people with disabilities to use the software easily and efficiently. Recent legislation such as Section 508 of the U.S. Rehabilitation Act heightens awareness of the need to provide accessible software.

The GNOME Desktop is easy to use and incorporates many accessibility features. Every supported application and utility in the GNOME Desktop is designed with accessibility and usability in mind. Users with physical disabilities such as low vision or impaired motor skills can use all of the functionality of the GNOME Desktop thanks to the customization tools that are available. The customization tools enable you to customize the appearance and behavior of the desktop.

The ability to easily customize the GNOME Desktop contributes greatly to the accessibility of the desktop. This guide describes the various customization options that you can use to tailor the desktop to suit your particular needs.

## Enabling Accessibility Tools

You must enable the assistive technology services before you are able to use many of the accessibility tools available.

1. Choose System Preferences Universal Access Assistive Technology Preferences.

2. Select Enable assistive technologies and then press Close and Log Out.

3. Log back in. The assistive technology services will be started automatically.

Once basic assistive technology support is enabled, it is possible to start accessibility services such as the screenreader, screen magnifier and on-screen keyboard.

## General Accessibility Tips

A number of technologies can be of assistance to people with different types of disabilities. These are covered in this section. In particular:

- Keyboard Desktop Navigation - allows users to navigate the desktop without using a mouse or pointer device.

- Accessible Login - users can configure the login screen to be more accessible.

### Accessible Login

The GNOME Desktop includes an Accessible Login feature. The Accessible Login feature enables users to:

- Log in to the desktop even if the user cannot easily use the screen, mouse, or keyboard in the usual way.

- Launch assistive technologies at login time by associating a user action with an assistive technology application. The user can perform the user action from the standard keyboard, or from a keyboard, pointing device, or switch device that is attached to the USB or PS/2 mouse port. These user actions are called gestures.

- Change the visual appearance of the login dialog before the user logs in, for example, to use a high contrast theme for better visibility.

#### To Enable Accessible Login

To configure GDM, perform the following steps:

1. Log in as the `root` user.

2. Open the file `/etc/X11/gdm/gdm.conf`.

3. Search the file for the following line:

   `#AddGtkModules=false`

   and replace the line with the following:

   `AddGtkModules=true`

   This step enables the GtkModules.

4. Search the file for the following line:

   `#GtkModulesList=gail:atk-bridge:dwellmouselistener:keymouselistener`

   and delete the `#` from the start of the line so that the line reads:

   `GtkModulesList=gail:atk-bridge:dwellmouselistener:keymouselistener`

   The above lines must be displayed as single lines in the `gdm.conf` file without line breaks. The formatting of this guide may display the lines over two lines.

   This step loads all of the GtkModules to enable assistive technologies such as On-Screen Keyboard and Screen Reader and Magnifier. You can edit the line above further to load only the GtkModules that you require to support the user base. For example:

   - If you need to use the Screen Reader and Magnifier, include `gail` and `atk-bridge`.

   - If you need to use a pointing device without buttons or switches, include `gail`, `atk-bridge`, and `dwellmouselistener`.

   - If you use pointing devices with switches, alternative physical keyboards, or switch and button devices, include `keymouselistener`.

   - On-Screen Keyboard can operate without `gail` and `atk-bridge` but with a reduced feature set.

   For optimum accessibility, include `gail` and `atk-bridge`.

5. Save the `/etc/X11/gdm/gdm.conf` file.

   If you make any changes to the `/etc/X11/gdm/gdm.conf` file after you enable GDM, you can execute the following command to restart GDM and activate the changes:

   `gdm-restart`

6. Edit the file `/etc/group` and append the following to the `audio` line:

   `,gdm`

   This step ensures that speech works with GDM.

7. Restart your system.

#### To Start Assistive Technologies at Login

If you load the `keymouselistener` and `dwellmouselistener` GtkModules in the GDM configuration file, you can assign user actions to launch specific assistive technologies at login time. These user actions are called gestures. The gesture associations are contained in the following GDM configuration files:

- `/etc/X11/gdm/modules/AccessKeyMouseEvents`

- `/etc/X11/gdm/modules/AccessDwellMouseEvents`

If you modify these files, you must restart your system before the changes take effect.

The following sections contain examples of the gestures that you can add to the GDM configuration files.

The gestures must be contained in a single line in the `AccessKeyMouseEvents` file without line breaks. The formatting of this guide might display the examples in the following sections over two lines.

##### To Start Screen Reader Using a Keyboard Shortcut

Edit the `AccessKeyMouseEvents` file to associate keyboard shortcuts with assistive technologies. For example, the following line enables you to press-and-hold Ctrl S for one second to start Screen Reader and Magnifier in speech and Braille mode:

`<Control>s 1 1000 10000 srcore --login --disable-magnifier --enable-speech --enable-braille`

##### To Start Magnifier Using a Keyboard Shortcut

Edit the `AccessKeyMouseEvents` file to associate keyboard shortcuts with assistive technologies. For example, the following line enables you to press-and-hold Ctrl M for one second to start Screen Reader and Magnifier in magnifier mode:

`<Control>m 1 1000 10000 srcore --login --enable-magnifier --disable-speech`

##### To Start On-Screen Keyboard Using a Switch or Button Gesture

Edit the `AccessKeyMouseEvents` file to associate switch, key, or button gestures with assistive technologies. Since the primary input device for many On-Screen Keyboard users is a switch or button, this is a good way to enable users to start On-Screen Keyboard at login time.

If there is a tendency for a user to start an application unintentionally, you can associate the gestures with multiple switch presses or minimum durations. For example, the following line starts On-Screen Keyboard in inverse scanning mode when the user presses the switch that is defined as Switch 2 three times within two seconds, for a minimum of 100 milliseconds for each press:

`<Switch2>3 100 2000 gok --login --accessmethod=inversescanning --scan-action=switch1 --select-action=switch2`

Users who use single switches may prefer to start On-Screen Keyboard in automatic scanning mode. The following line starts On-Screen Keyboard in automatic scanning mode when the user presses the switch on an alternative access device for more than four seconds:

`<Switch>1 4000 5000 gok --login --accessmethod=automaticscanning --scan-action=switch1 --select-action=switch1`

For information about the On-Screen Keyboard operating modes, see the online Help for On-Screen Keyboard.

##### To Start On-Screen Keyboard Using a Motion-only Gesture

You can define gestures that involve only the motion of a pointing device such as a mouse, or an alternative pointing device, such as a head pointer or trackball. The syntax of the gesture does not change depending on whether you are using a mouse or an alternative pointing device. Edit the `AccessKeyMouseEvents` file to associate motion gestures with assistive technologies.

If the `dwellmouselistener` GtkModule is loaded, alternative pointing devices are temporarily latched to the core pointer. This means that if the user moves the alternative pointing device, the onscreen pointer moves.

For example, the following line starts On-Screen Keyboard in dwell mode when the user moves the onscreen pointer from inside the login dialog through the top edge, back into the dialog through the top edge, out of the dialog through the left edge, back into the dialog through the left edge, and similarly through the bottom and right edges of the dialog in a cross pattern:

`TTLLBBRR O 10000 gok --login --access-method=dwellselection --input-device=MOUSE[3]`

Note that the `--input-device` parameter specified in the gesture must match the name of the extended user input device, such as a head pointer or trackball, as specified in `/etc/X11/XF86Config`.

#### Additional Requirements for Accessible Login

To enable the Accessible Login feature to use alternative pointing devices and switch devices such as sip-and-puff switches, wheelchair-mounted switches, or trackballs, you might need to modify your X server system configuration to recognize these devices. You can use most devices that emulate mouse buttons with the Accessible Login feature and On-Screen Keyboard, including USB single switches and mouse-like pointing devices.

You should not configure an alternative input device to control the primary onscreen pointer. This might result in undesirable behavior or cause situations from which the user of the alternate input device cannot recover without using the primary keyboard or mouse. To prevent this problem, please remove any occurrences of the attributes `SendCore` or `AlwaysCore` from any of `InputDevice` lines in the X Server configuration file.

### Keyboard Desktop Navigation

This section describes how to navigate the GNOME Desktop from the keyboard only. Users who have difficulty using a mouse or other pointing device can navigate and use the desktop from the keyboard.

#### Introduction to Keyboard Navigation

This section describes the essential keyboard shortcuts to enable you to navigate the desktop from the keyboard.

You can customize some of the keyboard shortcuts that are described in this chapter. The text indicates the shortcuts that you can customize. See for information about how to customize keyboard shortcuts.

##### Essential Keyboard Shortcuts

The following table lists the essential keyboard shortcuts that you can use to navigate the desktop. The keyboard shortcuts that you use to navigate specific elements and controls are described in the appropriate sections of this chapter.

Keys | Funktion
--- | ---
Tab | Give focus to the next element or control.
Umschalt Tab | Reverse the navigation direction and give focus to the previous element or control. In general, the Shift key reverses the navigation direction.
Strg Tab | Give focus to the next element or control, if the Tab key has a specific purpose in a control. For example, if you press Tab in a text box, the system inserts a tab space. To give focus to the previous element or control, press Shift Ctrl Tab.
arrow keys | Navigate within an element or control.
Leertaste | Activate the element or control that has focus. For example, if the current control is a button, this action is the equivalent of clicking on the button with a mouse.
Esc | Close a window, menu, or drawer.
F7 | Switch to caret navigation mode. Caret navigation mode enables you to use the keyboard to select text. For more information about caret navigation mode, see .

##### Global Keyboard Shortcuts

The following table lists the keyboard shortcuts that you can use from any part of the GNOME Desktop.

Keys | Funktion
--- | ---
Alt F1 | Open the Main Applications Menu. You can customize this keyboard shortcut.
Alt F2 | Open the Run Application dialog. You can customize this keyboard shortcut.
Druck | Start the screenshot application and take a screenshot of the entire screen. You can customize this keyboard shortcut.
Alt Druck | Start the screenshot application and take a screenshot of the window that currently has focus. You can customize this keyboard shortcut.
F1 | If the focused element is an application window or dialog, this keyboard shortcut opens the Help for the application.
Strg F1 | If the focused element is a panel or application window, this keyboard shortcut switches the display of tooltips for the window or panel objects on and off.
Umschalt F10 | Open a popup menu for the element that has focus, if a popup menu exists.

#### Navigating the Desktop Background

The desktop background is the part of the GNOME Desktop where there are no interface items or applications, such as panels and windows. The following table lists the keyboard shortcuts that you can use to navigate the desktop background and the desktop background objects. A desktop background object is an icon on the desktop background that you can use to open files, folders, or applications.

Keys | Funktion
--- | ---
Strg Alt D | Temporarily hide all windows and give focus to the desktop background. To restore the windows, press Ctrl Alt D again. You can customize this keyboard shortcut.
Strg Alt Tab | Display a popup window with icons that represent the desktop background and the panels. Press-and-hold Ctrl Alt and continue to press Tab to switch the focus between the desktop background and the panels. You can customize this keyboard shortcut.
arrow keys | When the desktop background or a desktop background object has focus, give focus to a neighboring desktop background object.
A sequence of characters that matches the first n characters of a desktop background object name. | When the desktop background has focus, give focus to the desktop background object whose name starts with the specified sequence of characters.
F2 | Rename the desktop background object that has focus.
Umschalt F10 | Open the popup menu for the desktop background object that has focus.
Strg F10 | Öffnen Sie das Menü Desktop-Hintergrund.

#### Navigating Panels

A panel is an area from which you can run special programs, applications, and panel applications. The most common panel is the panel that stretches the full width of the bottom edge of the desktop. The following table lists the keyboard shortcuts that you can use to navigate panels and panel objects.

Keys | Funktion
--- | ---
Strg Alt Tab | Give focus to a panel. This keyboard shortcut displays a popup window with icons that represent the desktop background, panels, and drawers. Press-and-hold Ctrl Alt and continue to press Tab to switch the focus between the desktop background, panels, and drawers. You can customize this keyboard shortcut.
Tab | Give focus to the next object on the panel.
F10 | Open the Applications menu when the Menu Panel has focus. Continue to press F10 to switch focus between the Applications menu and the window list.
Leertaste | Activate a panel object, for example, open a menu or start a launcher.
Umschalt F10 | Open the panel object popup menu.
Strg F10 | Open the panel popup menu.

##### So verschieben Sie ein Panel-Objekt

You can move a focused panel object to a different location on a panel or drawer, or you can move the object to the next panel. To move a panel object, perform the following steps:

1. Press Tab to give focus to the object.

2. Press Shift F10 to open the panel object popup menu.

3. Use the arrow keys to select the Move menu item.

4. Use the keyboard shortcuts that are listed in the following table to perform the move operation.

   Keys | Funktion
   --- | ---
   arrow keys | Move the object left and right on a horizontal panel or up and down on a vertical panel.
   Shift + arrow keys | Move the object and push any objects that you encounter in front of the object.
   Ctrl + arrow keys | Move the object and swap position with any objects that you encounter in the move.
   Tab | Move the object to the next panel.
   Leertaste | Complete the move operation.

The following examples demonstrate the effect of different move operations on the objects in a panel.

Illustration | Beschreibung
--- | ---
Portion of a panel with three objects displayed in the following order from left to right: geyes icon, Volume Control icon, and Help icon. | Shows a panel with three panel objects before a move operation takes place.
Portion of a panel with three objects displayed in the following order from left to right: geyes icon, Volume Control icon, and Help icon. | Shows the effect of using the arrow keys to move the Geyes panel application on the panel. You can use the arrow keys to move the panel application left or right until you meet the next panel object.
Portion of a panel with three objects displayed in the following order from left to right: geyes icon, Volume Control icon, and Help icon. | Shows the effect of using using Shift + arrow keys to move the Geyes panel application on the panel. You can use the Shift + arrow keys to push the Volume Control and Help panel objects ahead of the object that you are moving.
Portion of a panel with three objects displayed in the following order from left to right: Volume Control icon, Help icon, and geyes icon. | Shows the effect of using Ctrl + arrow keys to move the Geyes panel application on the panel. You can use the Ctrl + arrow keys to swap position with the Volume Control and Help panel objects as you meet the objects.

Panel applications that are Locked cannot be moved. To unlock a panel application, use the panel object menu and unselect Lock to Panel.

##### To Navigate Drawers

A drawer is a collapsible extension of a panel. The following table lists the keyboard shortcuts that you can use to navigate into and out of drawers. When you open a drawer, you can navigate the contents of the drawer in the same way as you navigate a panel. See for information about how to navigate a panel.

Keys | Funktion
--- | ---
Leertaste | Open or close the drawer that has focus.
arrow keys | Navigate into the drawer that has focus.
Esc | Close the drawer and give focus to the drawer object on the panel.

##### To Navigate Menus on Panels

The following table lists the keyboard shortcuts that you can use to navigate menus on panels.

Keys | Funktion
--- | ---
Leertaste | Open the menu that has focus.
arrow keys | Navigate the menu.
Leertaste | Select a menu item.
Umschalt F10 | Open the popup menu associated with a menu item, if one exists.
Esc | Close a menu.

##### To Navigate Panel Applications

A panel application is a small application that resides on a panel. You can navigate to all panel applications and open the panel application popup menu from the keyboard. However, if the panel application does not contain controls that you can give focus to, you cannot navigate the controls in the panel application. The following table lists the keyboard shortcuts that you can use to navigate panel applications.

Keys | Funktion
--- | ---
Leertaste | Activate the panel application control that has focus, if applicable. Not all panel applications contain controls that you can activate. If the panel application does not contain a control that you can activate, the spacebar does nothing.
arrow keys | Navigate the controls on the panel application.
Umschalt F10 | Open the panel application popup menu. To navigate the menu, use the standard keyboard shortcuts for navigating menus. See for information about how to navigate menus.

#### Navigating Your Workspaces

A workspace is a discrete area in which you can work. You can have many workspaces on your desktop and you can switch from one workspace to another. Each workspace can contain different windows and processes. The following table lists the keyboard shortcuts that you can use to navigate workspaces.

Keys | Funktion
--- | ---
Ctrl Alt + arrow keys | Give focus to the next or previous workspace. This keyboard shortcut displays a popup window with icons that represent the workspaces. Press and hold Ctrl Alt and continue to press the arrow keys to switch the focus between the workspaces. You can customize this keyboard shortcut.
Ctrl Shift Alt + arrow keys | Move the window that has focus to the next or previous workspace. You can customize this keyboard shortcut.

#### Navigating Windows

The following sections describe the keyboard shortcuts that you can use to navigate windows. A window is a rectangular frame on your screen that displays an application.

You can customize all of the keyboard shortcuts that are associated with navigating windows. See for more information.

##### So wählen Sie ein Fenster als aktives Fenster aus

Before you can use or modify a window, you must give focus to the window. The following table lists the keyboard shortcuts that you can use to give focus to a window.

Keys | Funktion
--- | ---
Alt Tab | Display a popup window with icons that represent each window. Press-and-hold Alt and continue to press Tab to move through the windows until you reach the window to which you want to give focus.
Alt Esc | Raise each window in turn until you reach the window to which you want to give focus.

##### To Control a Window

When a window has focus, you can perform various actions on the window. The following table lists the keyboard shortcuts that you can use to control the window that has focus.

Keys | Funktion
--- | ---
Alt Leertaste | Open the Window Menu.
Alt F4 | Close the window.
Solaris: Open Linux:Alt F9 | Minimize the window.
Alt F10 | Maximize the window.
Alt F5 | Restore a maximized window to the original size of the window.

##### So verschieben Sie ein Fenster

When a window has focus, you can move the window around the screen. The following table lists the keyboard shortcuts that you can use to move a window.

Keys | Funktion
--- | ---
Alt F7 | Start the move operation. The mouse pointer changes to a cross.
arrow keys | Move the window 10 pixels at a time in the direction of the arrow key.
Ctrl + arrow keys | Move the window one pixel at a time in the direction of the arrow key.
Shift + arrow keys | Move the window in the direction of the arrow key to align it with the edge of the nearest window, panel, or screen edge.
Leertaste | Complete the move operation and leave the window in the current position.
Esc | Cancel the move operation and restore the window to the original position.

##### So ändern Sie die Größe eines Fensters

When a window has focus, you can increase or decrease the size of the window. The following table lists the keyboard shortcuts that you can use to resize the window that has focus.

Keys | Funktion
--- | ---
Alt F8 | Start the resize operation.
arrow keys | Resize the window in the direction of the arrow keys.
Leertaste | Complete the resize operation and leave the window at the current size.
Esc | Cancel the resize operation and restore the window to the original size.

##### To Navigate Paned Windows

A paned window is a window that is split into two or more panes. The Help browser is an example of an application that uses paned windows.

The following table describes the keyboard shortcuts that you can use to navigate windows with panes.

Keys | Funktion
--- | ---
F6 | Give focus to the next pane. The system gives focus to the control that last had focus in the pane.
F8 | Give focus to the first resize handle in the window. The resize handle is displayed between the panes and enables you to resize the panes. Press F8 again to give focus to the next resize handle.

When the resize handle has focus, you can use the keyboard shortcuts that are listed in the following table to modify the paned window.

Keys | Funktion
--- | ---
arrow keys | Move the resize handle by a small amount.
Ctrl + arrow keys | Move the resize handle by a large amount.
Home | Reduce the size of the pane to the left of the resize handle for vertical panes, or above the resize handle for horizontal panes, to the minimum size allowed.
End | Increase the size of the pane to the left of the resize handle for vertical panes, or above the resize handle for horizontal panes, to the maximum size allowed.
Leertaste | Set the position of the resize handle and return the focus to the last control that had focus.
Esc | Reset the position of the resize handle to the original position and return the focus to the last control that had focus.

#### Navigating Applications

An application is any program, utility, or other software package that you run on your desktop. Applications comprise the following standard user interface components:

Fenster

  A window is a rectangular frame on your screen that displays an application. See for information about how to navigate windows.

Dialogs

  A dialog is a popup window in which you enter information or commands. See for information about how to navigate dialogs.

Controls

  A control is an instrument that you use to operate or guide the user interface. For example, buttons, check boxes, menus, and text boxes are controls. See for detailed information about how to navigate the different types of controls that are available.

This section of the manual describes the essential keyboard shortcuts that you can use to start using applications and dialogs.

##### Essential Keyboard Shortcuts for Navigating Applications

Since there are many applications that you can use in the GNOME Desktop, this manual does not describe the keyboard shortcuts that you can use to navigate all of the different applications. However, the basic keyboard shortcuts are common to all applications. Access keys also provide an efficient way to navigate an application from the keyboard. An access key is identified by an underlined letter on a menu or control. In some cases, you must press Alt in combination with the access key to perform an action.

The following table lists the essential keyboard shortcuts that you can use to navigate applications.

Keys | Funktion
--- | ---
F10 | Open the first menu on the application menubar.
Alt + access key | Open the menu that is associated with the access key.
Zugriffstasten | Select the menu item that is associated with the access key.
left arrow and right arrow | Switch focus between the menus on the menubar.
up arrow and down arrow | Move focus into a menu.
Esc | Close the open menus and give focus to the control that had focus before the menubar.
Strg O | Open the file selector dialog.
Strg S | Open the Save dialog.
Strg L | Open a Location dialog to enable you to type the name of the file that you want to open or save.

##### Essential Keyboard Shortcuts for Navigating Dialogs

The following table lists the essential keyboard shortcuts that you can use to navigate dialogs.

Keys | Funktion
--- | ---
Alt access key | Activate or select a control.
Tab | Give focus to the next control.
Strg Page Up | If a tab name has focus, move to the next tabbed section of the dialog.
Strg Page Down | When a tab name has focus, move to the previous tabbed section of the dialog.
Esc | Close the dialog.
Eingabetaste | Perform the default action for the dialog. The default action is usually to apply the changes and close the dialog.

#### Navigating the File Manager

By default, the file manager operates in Spatial mode. This mode uses separate windows for each folder. A separate mode, called Browser mode, exists that uses the same window for each folder.

For more information about different modes for the file manager, see the user guide.

##### To Navigate a Folder

The following table describes the keyboard shortcuts that enable you to navigate folders in the file manager.

Keys | Funktion
--- | ---
arrow keys | Select the next or previous file or folder in the direction of the arrow key.
Ctrl + arrow keys | Give focus to the next or previous file or folder but do not select the item. This allows multiple files to be selected.
Leertaste | Open the focused file or folder.
Ctrl + spacebar | Select the item that currently has focus.
A sequence of characters that matches the first n characters of a filename. | Select the first file or folder that starts with the specified sequence of characters.
Home | Select the first file or folder within the current folder.
End | Select the last file or folder within the current folder.
backspace | Open the current folder's parent folder.

##### To Navigate Browser Window Components

When operating in browser mode, the file manager window contains several components and there are different keyboard shortcuts defined to navigate each component.

The following table describes the keyboard shortcuts that enable you to navigate between the components.

Keys | Funktion
--- | ---
F6 | Switch focus between the side pane and the view pane.
Umschalt F10 | Open the side pane popup menu.

#### Navigating Help Content in Caret Navigation Mode

The following table describes how to navigate HTML-based help content in caret navigation mode in the Yelp help browser. Caret navigation is a mode of operation in an application which enables you to use the keyboard to select text.

Keys | Funktion
--- | ---
F7 | Switch to caret navigation mode.
Nach links | Move one character to the left.
Nach rechts | Move one character to the right.
Nach oben | Move up one line.
Nach unten | Move down one line.
Ctrl + left arrow | Move to the beginning of the previous word.
Ctrl + right arrow | Move to the end of the next word.
Page Up | Scroll up one page of content.
Page Down | Scroll down one page of content.
Home | Move to the beginning of the current line.
End | Move to the end of the current line.
Shift + arrow keys | Move from the current position to the destination position and select all text between the two positions.
Tab | Move focus to the next focusable control.
Umschalt Tab | Move focus to the previous focusable control.
Enter | Activate a button or submit a form.

#### Navigating Standard Elements and Controls

The following sections describe how to navigate and use standard user interface elements and controls from the keyboard.

##### To Navigate Menus

The following table lists the keyboard shortcuts that you can use to navigate menus.

Keys | Funktion
--- | ---
up arrow and down arrow | Give focus to the next or previous menu item on a menu.
Nach rechts | If the menu item that has focus is a submenu, open the submenu and give focus to the first menu item on the submenu. If the menu item that has focus is not a submenu, open the next menu on the menubar.
Nach links | If the menu item that has focus is a submenu item, switch the focus back to the submenu. If the menu item that has focus is not a submenu item, open the previous menu on the menubar.
Eingabetaste | Select the focused menu item and close the open menus.
access key | Select the menu item that is associated with the access key and close the open menus.
Leertaste | Select the focused menu item and close the open menus except when the menu item is a check box or radio button. If the menu item is a check box or radio button, the menu does not close.
Esc | Close the open menus.

##### To Navigate Buttons

A button is a control that you use to start an action. Most buttons are rectangular and contain a text label.

###### Sample Button

Close button.

The following table lists the keyboard shortcuts that you can use to navigate buttons.

Keys | Funktion
--- | ---
Leertaste | Activate the button that has focus. This is the equivalent of clicking on the button.
Eingabetaste | Activate the button that has focus or, if no button has focus, perform the default action for the dialog.

##### To Navigate Radio Buttons

A radio button is a control that you use to select one of several mutually-exclusive options.

###### Sample Radio Button

Two sample radio buttons.

The following table lists the keyboard shortcuts that you can use to navigate a set of radio buttons.

Keys | Funktion
--- | ---
arrow keys | Select the next or previous radio button and deselect the other radio buttons in the group.

##### To Navigate Check Boxes

A check box is a control that you use to select or deselect an option.

###### Sample Check Box

Sample check box.

The following table lists the keyboard shortcuts that you can use to navigate a check box.

Keys | Funktion
--- | ---
Leertaste | Select or deselect the check box.

##### To Navigate Text Boxes

Text boxes are controls in which you type text.

###### Sample Single Line Text Box

Sample text box with one input line.

The following table lists the keyboard shortcuts that you can use to navigate a single line text box.

Keys | Funktion
--- | ---
Nach links | Position the cursor one character to the left.
Nach rechts | Position the cursor one character to the right.
Strg Nach links | Position the cursor at the start of the current word. Press-and-hold Ctrl and continue to press left arrow to position the cursor at the start of the previous word.
Strg Nach rechts | Position the cursor at the end of the current word. Press-and-hold Ctrl and continue to press right arrow to position the cursor at the end of the next word.
Home | Position the cursor at the start of the line.
End | Position the cursor at the end of the line.
Shift left arrow or right arrow | Select one character at a time to the left or right of the cursor.
Shift Ctrl left arrow or right arrow | Select one word at a time to the left or right of the cursor.
Umschalt Home | Select all text to the left of the cursor.
Umschalt End | Select all text to the right of the cursor.
Strg A | Select all text in the text box.

In addition to the keyboard shortcuts listed in the previous table, use the keyboard shortcuts in the following table to navigate multi-line text boxes.

Keys | Funktion
--- | ---
Page Up | Position the cursor at the top of the current view. Press Page Up again to position the cursor at the top of the previous view.
Page Down | Position the cursor at the end of the current view. Press Page Down again to position the cursor at the end of the previous view.
Strg Nach oben | Position the cursor at the start of the current paragraph. Press-and-hold Ctrl and continue to press the up arrow key to position the cursor at the start of the previous paragraph.
Strg Nach unten | Position the cursor at the end of the current paragraph. Press-and-hold Ctrl and continue to press the down arrow key to position the cursor at the end of the next paragraph.
Strg Page Up | Position the cursor one view width to the left.
Strg Page Down | Position the cursor one view width to the right.
Strg Home | Position the cursor at the start of the text box.
Strg End | Position the cursor at the end of the text box.
Strg Tab | Give focus to the next control on the dialog.
Umschalt Page Up | Select the text to the start of the current view. Press-and-hold Shift and continue to press Page Up to extend the selection to the start of the previous view.
Umschalt Page Down | Select the text to the end of the current view. Press-and-hold Shift and continue to press Page Down to extend the selection to the end of the next view.
Umschalt Home | Select the text to the start of the line.
Umschalt End | Select the text to the end of the line.
Umschalt Strg Nach oben | Select the text to the start of the paragraph, then to the start of the previous paragraph.
Umschalt Strg Nach unten | Select the text to the end of the paragraph, then to the end of the next paragraph.
Umschalt Strg Home | Select the text to the start of the text box.
Umschalt Strg End | Select the text to the end of the text box.

##### To Navigate Spin Boxes

A spin box is a control that allows you to type a numeric value or select a value from a list of all possible values.

###### Sample Spin Box

Sample spin box. Contains a text box and up and down arrows.

The keyboard shortcuts that you use to navigate the text box area of a spin box are listed in . The following table lists the keyboard shortcuts that you can use to navigate the up and down arrows in the spin box.

Keys | Funktion
--- | ---
up arrow or down arrow | Increase or decrease the value of the spin box by a small amount.
Page Up or Page Down | Increase or decrease the value of the spin box by a large amount.

##### To Navigate Drop-Down Lists

A drop-down list is a control that you use to select one of several available items. The drop-down list contains a button that you use to display the available items.

###### Sample Drop-Down List

Sample drop-down list.

The following table lists the keyboard shortcuts that you can use to navigate a drop-down list.

Keys | Funktion
--- | ---

Leertaste

This key performs one of the following functions:

- If the drop-down list is not open, this key opens the drop-down list.

- If the drop-down list is open, this key accepts the current selection and closes the list.

Nach oben | Select the previous list item.
Nach unten | Select the next list item.
Esc | Close the list without changing the selection.

##### To Navigate Drop-Down Combination Boxes

A drop-down combination box is a text box with a drop-down list attached.

###### Sample Drop-Down Combination Box

Sample drop-down combination box. Contains a text box and an arrow button that you click to display the drop-down list.

When the text box has focus, use the keyboard shortcuts that are listed in to navigate the text box area. When the text box has focus, you can also use the keyboard shortcuts in the following table to navigate the drop-down list area.

Keys | Funktion
--- | ---
Nach oben | Select the previous item from the drop-down list without displaying the list.
Nach unten | Select the next item from the drop-down list without displaying the list.
Ctrl down arrow (Solaris only) | Open the drop-down list.

When the drop-down list has focus, you can use the keyboard shortcuts that are listed in the following table to navigate the drop-down list.

Keys | Funktion
--- | ---
Nach oben | Select the previous list item.
Nach unten | Select the next list item.
Home | Select the first item on the list.
End | Select the last item on the list.
Page Up | Select the item at the top of the current list view.
Page Down | Select the item at the bottom of the current list view.
Leertaste | Accept the current selection and close the drop-down list.
Strg Page Up | Scroll to the left of the list, if required.
Strg Page Down | Scroll to the right of the list, if required.

##### To Navigate Sliders

A slider is a control that you use to set a value in a continuous range of values.

###### Sample Slider

Sample slider. Displays a slider control that you can move left or right.

The following table describes the keyboard shortcuts that you can use to navigate a slider.

Keys | Funktion
--- | ---
left arrow or up arrow | Move the slider left or up by a small amount.
right arrow or down arrow | Move the slider right or down by a small amount.
Page Up | Move the slider left or up a large amount.
Page Down | Move the slider right or down a small amount.
Home | Move the slider to the maximum value.
End | Move the slider to the minimum value.

##### To Navigate Tabbed Sections

###### Sample Dialog with Tabbed Sections

Editing profile dialog from the GNOME Terminal application. Contains six tabbed sections.

Windows and dialogs are sometimes divided into logical sections that are displayed one section at a time on the window or dialog. The divisions are called tabbed sections that are identified by a tab with a text label.

The following table lists the keyboard shortcuts that you can use to navigate the tabbed sections of a window or dialog when a tab name has focus.

Keys | Funktion
--- | ---
Nach links | Give focus to the previous tabbed section.
Nach rechts | Give focus to the next tabbed section.
Tab orCtrl down arrow | Give focus to the first control on the active tabbed section.

The following table lists the keyboard shortcuts that you can use to navigate the tabbed sections of a window or dialog when a control on a tabbed section has focus.

Keys | Funktion
--- | ---
Ctrl Page Up or Ctrl Alt Page Up | Give focus to the previous tabbed section. This keyboard shortcut does not work if the focused control uses Ctrl Page Up for another purpose.
Ctrl Page Down or Ctrl Alt Page Down | Give focus to the next tabbed section. This keyboard shortcut does not work if the focused control uses Ctrl Page Down for another purpose.
Strg Tab | Give focus to the next control outside the tabbed sections.

##### To Navigate Lists

The following table lists the keyboard shortcuts that you can use to navigate multi-column lists when a column header has focus.

Keys | Funktion
--- | ---
left arrow or right arrow | Give focus to the previous or next column header.
Leertaste | Activate the header. This action usually sorts the list by the column header.
Tab | Give focus to the list contents.

The following table lists the keyboard shortcuts that you can use to navigate lists when the contents of the list has focus.

Keys | Funktion
--- | ---
arrow keys | Select the next or previous row or column.
Page Up | Select the top row of the list contents that are in view. Press Page Up again to select the top row of the previous view.
Page Down | Select the bottom row of the list contents that are in view. Press Page Down again to select the bottom row of the next view.
Home | Select the first row in the list.
End | Select the last row in the list.
Shift + arrow keys | For lists that support multi-line selections, add the next or previous row or column to the current selection. For lists that only allow single line selections, select the next or previous row or column.
Umschalt Page Up | Select all the rows between the current selection and the top row of the view.
Umschalt Page Down | Select all the rows between the current selection and the bottom row of the view.
Umschalt Home | Select all the rows between the current selection and the first row in the list.
Umschalt End | Select all the rows between the current selection and the last row in the list.
Ctrl + arrow keys | Give focus to the next row or column but do not extend the selection. Further items can be selected by pressing the spacebar
Strg Page Up | Give focus to the top row in the view but do not extend the selection.
Strg Page Down | Give focus to the bottom row in the view but do not extend the selection.
Strg Home | Give focus to the first row in the list but do not extend the selection.
Strg End | Give focus to the last row in the list but do not extend the selection.
Eingabetaste | Activate the item.
Strg A | For lists that support multiline selections, select all rows in the list.
Umschalt Tab | Give focus to the column header, if applicable.

##### To Navigate Trees

A tree is a user interface control that contains sections that you can expand and collapse. A tree usually represents a hierarchical structure.

###### Sample Tree Structure

Categories tree from the gedit Preferences dialog. Contains three subcategories.

To navigate trees, you can use the same keyboard shortcuts that are listed in . In addition, the following table lists the keyboard shortcuts you can use for the tree items.

Keys | Funktion
--- | ---
+ (plus) | Expand the focused item.
- (minus) | Collapse the focused item.
Back Space | Select the parent item.
Strg F | Display a search dialog if the tree supports searching. You can type the name of the tree item that you want to find.

#### Customizing Your Keyboard Shortcuts

Use the Keyboard Shortcuts preference tool to display the default keyboard shortcuts that you use to navigate the GNOME Desktop. You can customize the default keyboard shortcuts to meet your requirements. You can also create hot keys. Hot keys are keyboard shortcuts that start applications.

To start the Keyboard Shortcuts preference tool, choose System Preferences Keyboard Shortcuts. The Desktop shortcuts table lists the keyboard shortcut that is associated with each action.

##### To Customize Keyboard Shortcuts on Solaris Systems

To customize a keyboard shortcut on a Solaris system, perform the following steps:

1. Click on the action for which you want to customize the keyboard shortcut. The row is highlighted.

2. Click on the keyboard shortcut in the Shortcut column. The text Type a new accelerator, or press Backspace to clear is displayed in the Shortcut column.

3. Press the keys that you want to associate with the action. The new keyboard shortcut is displayed in the Shortcut column.

To disable a keyboard shortcut, perform the following steps:

1. Click on the action for which you want to disable the keyboard shortcut. The row is highlighted.

2. Click on the keyboard shortcut in the Shortcut column. The text Type a new accelerator, or press Backspace to clear is displayed in the Shortcut column.

3. Press Back Space. The keyboard shortcut is disabled.

##### To Customize Keyboard Shortcuts on Linux Systems

To customize a keyboard shortcut on a Linux system, perform the following steps:

1. Click on the action for which you want to customize the keyboard shortcut. The row is highlighted and the text Type a new accelerator, or press Backspace to clear is displayed in the Shortcut column.

2. Press the keys that you want to associate with the action. The new keyboard shortcut is displayed in the Shortcut column.

To disable a keyboard shortcut, perform the following steps:

1. Click on the action for which you want to disable the keyboard shortcut. The row is highlighted and the text Type a new accelerator, or press Backspace to clear is displayed in the Shortcut column.

2. Press Back Space. The keyboard shortcut is disabled.

## Low Vision or Blindness

From low vision to blindness, the range of visual limitations is broad. Symptoms of low vision include dimness, haziness, extreme far-sightedness or near-sightedness, color blindness, and tunnel vision, among others. People with these disabilities are concerned with being able to see text or images on a computer screen and being able to perform tasks that require eye-hand coordination, such as moving a computer mouse. Text size and color can make a big difference in legibility for people who have low vision.

The technologies that can assist those with low vision or blindness are:

- Screen Magnifier - this is like a magnifying glass. People using them are able to control what area of the computer screen they want enlarged, and can move that focus to view different areas of the screen. They are also known as screen enlargers or large print programs.

- Screen Reader - this makes on-screen information available as synthesized speech or a refreshable Braille display. They can only translate text based information. Graphics can be translated if there is alternative text describing the visual images. They are also known as blind access utilities or screen reviewers.

- Desktop Appearance Enhancement - users can configure the desktop to be easy to read, for example by increasing text size and using high contrast themes.

### Screen Reader and Magnifier

The Orca Screen Reader and Magnifier application enables users with limited vision, or no vision, to use the GNOME Desktop and associated applications. Orca provides the following functionality:

- Screen reader

  The screen reader enables non-visual access to standard applications in the GNOME Desktop, using speech and Braille output.

- Magnifier

  The magnifier provides automated focus tracking and fullscreen magnification to aid low-vision users.

The following sections provide information about Orca and how to use it.

#### Introduction to Orca

##### What is Orca?

Orca is a flexible, extensible, and powerful assistive technology for people with visual impairments. Using various combinations of speech synthesis, braille, and magnification, Orca helps provide access to applications and toolkits that support the AT-SPI (e.g., the GNOME desktop). Orca is also free open source software.

##### Why the name Orca?

One of the first DOS screen readers was Flipper by Omnichron corporation in Berkeley, CA. It was named Flipper in part because the blind wife of the programmer envisioned computers as being programmed by flipping switches (an accurate image of a bygone era). Then came another DOS screen reader from Henter-Joyce in Florida - "Jobs access With Speech" (or JAWS). Meanwhile in the UK we had the company Dolphin systems making their own DOS screen reader.

While there isn't otherwise an obvious connection between blindness and creatures from the sea, there is certainly a long tradition around it.

Hence the lore is that it is just keeping with the sea animal naming theme of screen readers. Plus, Orca is a lot tougher sounding than Nemo, Ariel, Willy, or Mr. Limpet.

##### What's the schedule?

Orca is part of the GNOME platform and Orca's releases are coupled with the releases of the GNOME platform.

##### How do I request a new feature?

Bugs and feature/enhancement requests (RFEs) should be reported to the GNOME Bug Tracking System. Patches are always welcome, and instructions for creating patches can be found in the GNOME introduction to Subversion (svn).

##### Where is the discussion list?

You can get in touch with developers and other users by

sending an e-mail to the Orca mailing list ( Archives).

##### Is braille supported?

Yes! Braille is supported via BrlTTY and it is integrated well with Orca. BrlTTY offers support for nearly every refreshable braille display known to man. Please refer to the Braille page for more information.

##### Is contracted braille supported?

Orca currently only supports uncontracted braille. Future support for contracted braille, however, is in our plans. Please refer to GNOME bug 354470 to track the progress on this front.

##### What voices are available?

Orca provides interfaces to both `gnome-speech` and `emacspeak` speech services. As such, the available voices for Orca are only restricted by the speech engines supported by the available speech services. For free speech engines, you typically have a choice of the eSpeak, Festival, and FreeTTS speech engines. For commercial engines, you have a choice of additional engines such as Fonix DECtalk, Loquendo, Eloquence, Cepstral, IBMTTS, and others may be on the way soon. Keep an eye on the `gnome-speech` package for more progress in this area.

##### What languages are supported?

The GNOME Translation teams are composed of many passionate volunteers from around the world. These teams do a great job and keep an up-to-date status report. Please see the Orca translation status page for the large number of languages into which Orca has been translated. Note that the support for a language also depends upon a speech synthesis engine that supports the language whether BrlTTY has braille tables for the language or not.

##### How well does magnification work?

Orca currently uses the `gnome-mag` magnification service. As of this writing (GNOME 2.18), `gnome-mag` has incorporated some support for smoother full screen magnification, which relies upon newer extensions in the X Window System server. These extensions do not always function well on all platforms, so smooth full screen magnification may not always work.

##### How is web access coming along?

We are targeting Firefox 3 for providing compelling web access. The work is progressing step by step and both the Orca and Firefox teams are working feverishly to get it done.

#### Using Orca

##### Initial Set-up

When you run Orca for the first time, it will automatically enter setup mode. If you want to run setup at some later point, you can pass the `--setup` option to Orca the next time you run it. Furthermore, while Orca is running, you can press Insert Space to bring up the Orca setup window. Finally, Orca provides a text setup utility that you can start by passing the `--text-setup` option to Orca. All of these options will create a `~/.orca/user-settings.py` file that holds your preferences and will also enable the accessibility infrastructure. You need to log out and log back in for the accessibility infrastructure settings to take effect.

##### How do I run Orca?

Run Orca by typing `orca`into a Terminal. You can do so from a virtual console window if you do not yet have access to the GUI. Orca will automatically enter text setup mode if you run it from a virtual console window or your GUI environment is not yet set up for accessibility.

##### Quitting Orca

To quit orca, press Insert Q . A confirmation dialog will appear. Select "yes" to quit. If the system seems unresponsive, you can do a couple things:

- Run `orca --quit` from a terminal window, such as a virtual console (press Ctrl Alt F1 on most Linux platforms to get to a virtual console and then Alt F7 to get back to the desktop). This will kill orca and clean up after it. You can then rerun orca using the Orca command.

  Press Ctrl Alt Backspace to kill your login session and get back to the graphical login prompt.

#### Customizing Orca

##### How do I define my own keybindings?

You can currently redefine your key bindings for Orca in two main ways. The first way is to be able to choose between the destkop and laptop layouts, which can be selected on the "General" page of the Orca Configuration GUI (press Insert Space to bring up the Orca preferences GUI). For finer-grained control, you can also redefine indivual key bindings on the "Key Bindings" page of the Orca Configuration GUI.

The remainder of this answer might be out of date.

Here's an example you can add to your `~/.orca/user-settings.py` file. It sets up a global keybinding for Insert T ( Insert is the Orca modifier) to speak and braille "Hello World."

    # Set up custom keybindings.
    import orca.braille
    import orca.input_event
    import orca.keybindings
    import orca.orca
    import orca.speech
    from orca.orca_i18n import _
    def sayHello(script, inputEvent=None):
        message = _("Hello World")
        # Say/braille something.
        #
        orca.speech.speak(message)
        orca.braille.displayMessage(message)
        # Consume the event so it will not go to an application.
        #
        return True
    sayHelloHandler = orca.input_event.InputEventHandler(
        sayHello,
        _("Says hello to this fine world."))
    myKeyBindings = orca.keybindings.KeyBindings()
    myKeyBindings.add(orca.keybindings.KeyBinding(
        "t",
        1 << orca.settings.MODIFIER_ORCA,
        1 << orca.settings.MODIFIER_ORCA,
        sayHelloHandler))
    orca.settings.keyBindingsMap["default"] = myKeyBindings

##### Use a keyboard command to make Orca speak or braille the current date and time

Place the following lines in `~/.orca/orca-customizations.py`. If this file does not exist, create it.

    import orca.input_event
    import orca.keybindings
    import orca.orca
    import orca.speech
    import orca.braille
    import re

    myKeyBindings = orca.keybindings.KeyBindings()

    def sayTime(script, inputEvent=None):
        import time
        message = time.strftime("%a, %d %b %Y %H:%M:%S", time.localtime())
        orca.speech.speak(message)
        orca.braille.displayMessage(message)
        return True

    sayTimeHandler = orca.input_event.InputEventHandler(
        sayTime,
        "Presents the time.")

    myKeyBindings.add(orca.keybindings.KeyBinding(
        "d",
        1 << orca.settings.MODIFIER_ORCA,
        1 << orca.settings.MODIFIER_ORCA,
        sayTimeHandler))

    orca.settings.keyBindingsMap["default"] = myKeyBindings

Note that in this case Insert D will be used to report current information about the time and date.

##### How do I set up my own custom script area?

The short answer is that if you create an empty `~/.orca/orca-scripts/__init__.py` and place your custom scripts in `~/.orca/orca-scripts`, Orca will pick up any scripts from there before looking in the installed area.

##### Orca Configuration GUI

The Orca Configuration GUI allows you to customize the behavior and features of Orca, such as speech, braille, and magnification. For example, you can select which speech synthesis engine you want to use, whether braille is enabled or not, and which magnification preferences you want. You can select which general keyboard layout you want (desktop or laptop) and you can also examine and modify the existing keyboard layout with fine grained control. To bring up the Orca Configuration GUI, press <ORCA MODIFIER> Space , where `<ORCA MODIFIER>` is Insert when you use the desktop key bindings, and Caps Lock when you use the laptop key bindings.

The Orca Configuration GUI is a multi-page dialog containing several sections, each of which is described in the following sections.

###### General Page

The "General" page allows you to customize general aspects of Orca. These include the following:

###### Keyboard layout

The keyboard layout section allows you to specify if you will be working on a laptop (small) or desktop (large, with a numeric keypad) keyboard. You select which layout you want by selecting one of the following option:

- Desktop - if selected, the Desktop Keyboard Layout will be used.

- Laptop - if selected, the Laptop Keyboard Layout will be used

###### Show Orca main window

The Orca main window provides you with a graphical way to display the Orca Configuration GUI (also obtainable via Insert Space ) and to quit Orca (also achievable via Insert Q ). Many users do not like the Orca main window because it shows up in the window manager's tab order when you press Alt Tab to switch windows. By deselecting the "Show Orca main window" button, you can tell Orca to not show the Orca main window.

###### Quit Orca without Confirmation

Normally, when you press Insert Q to quit Orca or press the Quitbutton in the Orca main window, Orca will pop up a confirmation dialog asking you if you want to quit. Unchecking this option prevents the confirmation window from appearing.

###### Disable gksu keyboard grab

When running system administration commands from the launch menu, many distributions use an application known as gksuto authorize the user to run these commands ( gksuis the GUI that asks you for your password). When it runs, gksuenables what is known as a "keyboard grab," which is a feature to prevent keyboard actions from going to any other application on the desktop, including Orca. The result of a keyboard grab is that Orca will not receive any keyboard events, preventing Orca from functioning normally.

By selecting the Disable gksu keyboard grabbutton, you will turn off the keyboard grab behavior, allowing Orca to functional normally with system administration applications.

The keyboard grab is a security attempt by gksuto prevent nefarious applications from "sniffing" the keyboard and obtaining your password. Please be advised that disabling gksu's keyboard grab feature can expose you to such nefarious behavior.

If you do not feel comfortable with this, you can always use the root account for system administration purposes. To do so, you need to enable the root account for login, and the logout and log back in as root whenever you want to perform a system administration command.

###### Present tooltips

When checked, this option will tell Orca to present information about tooltips when they appear as the result of mouse hovering. Specific actions to force tooltips to appear, such as pressing Ctrl F1 when an object has focus, will always result in tooltips being presented, regardless of this setting.

###### Speech Page

The speech page allows you to customize how Orca uses speech synthesis.

###### Enable speech

The first control of note on the speech page is the

enable speech check box. This check box toggles whether or not Orca will make use of a speech synthesizer. This option, along with the ability to enable braille and enable magnifier support, allow Orca to be tailored to meet the needs of a wide variety of users.

###### Speech System and Speech Synthesizer

The next two controls deal with selecting the speech system and synthesizer. Orca provides support for a growing number of speech systems. At the time of this writing, these include GNOME-speech, Emacspeak, and an experimental backend for Speech Dispatcher. Depending upon how your machine is configured, you may have all or none of these options. Typically, you will have just GNOME-speech.

First, determine which speech system you would like to use - GNOME-speech works best at this time. After making your selection, tab to the speech synthesizer combo box and choose from the list of available synthesizers.

###### Voice Settings

If your synthesizer supports it, Orca can utilize multiple voices in order to identify special cases within an application, such as hyperlinks or upper case text. The voice settings and person combo boxes can be adjusted to customize these settings to your liking. For example, assume you were using Fonix DECtalk and wanted the betty voice to denote upper case. To accomplish this, you could do the following:

1. Tab to the voice settings combo box, and down arrow until the upper case voice is selected.

2. Tab to the person combo box, and down arrow to choose the Betty voice.

The next three sliders in the tab order allow adjustment of the synthesizer's rate, pitch and volume respectively.

Note that you can quickly raise/lower the pitch by pressing Insert Up Arrow and Insert Down Arrow . You can also modify the speaking rate by pressing Insert Left Arrow and Insert Right Arrow .

###### Punctuation Level

The punctuation level radio button group is used to adjust the amount of punctuation spoken by the synthesizer . The available levels are none, some, most, and all.

###### Verbosity

The verbosity setting determines the amount of information that will be spoken in certain situations. For example, if it is set to verbose, the synthesizer will speak shortcut keys for items in pull down menus. When it is set to brief, these shortcut keys are not announced.

###### Table Row Speech

The table row speech option determines the way in which Orca will read items within tables. The available settings are speak current row, or speak current cell. The ability to adjust this behavior can be useful in many situations. For example, consider the process of browsing email messages in Evolution. In this instance it may be preferable to set table speech to current row, so that while arrowing through the list of messages, all relevant info, such as the sender, subject, and whether the message has attachments is read automatically. While the current row setting is active, it is still possible to read individual cells by using the left and right arrows.

Note that you can quickly toggle this behavior by pressing Insert F11 .

###### Speak Indentation

When working with code or editing documents, it is often desirable to be aware of justification as well as indentation. Selecting the speak indentation and justification check box will cause Orca to provide this information.

###### Speak Blank Lines

Some users desire to hear "blank" when navigating to a blank line in a document. Other users do not. If the

speak blank lines check box is selected, Orca will speak blank lines.

###### Braille Page

The braille page allows you to customize various aspects about the use of braille. Orca does not automatically start BrlTTY for you -- you typically need to do that yourself, and it is something that is usually done at boot time.

###### Enable Braille Support

The first control on the braille page is the enable braille support check box. This check box toggles whether or not Orca will make use of a braille display. This option, along with the ability to enable braille and enable magnifier support, allow Orca to be tailored to meet the needs of a wide variety of users. By default, this check box is enabled. If BrlTTY is not running, Orca will recover gracefully and will not communicate with the braille display. If you configure BrlTTY later on, you need to restart Orca in order for it to use braille.

###### Enable Braille Monitor

Orca's braille monitor provides an onscreen representation of what takes place on the braille display. This feature is mostly for demonstration purposes, but is also useful for Orca developers who do not have access to a braille display.

###### Abbreviated Role Names

The abbreviated role names check box determines the manner in which role names are displayed and can be used to help conserve real estate on the braille display. The "abbreviated role names" option can be better understood if we consider the following example. Let us assume that a slider had focus, and that the abbreviated role names box was not checked. In that case, the word "slider" would be shown on the display, to reflect the fact that the current control was indeed a slider. If the abbreviated role names box was checked, the word "slider" would be abbreviated to "sldr".

###### Verbosity

The verbosity radio button group determines the amount of information that will be brailled in certain situations. For example, if it is set to verbose, keyboard shortcut and role name information is displayed. This information is not displayed in brief mode.

###### Key Echo Page

The key echo page allows you to specify the behavior of Orca when pressing keys on the page and whether words are spoken as you complete them.

###### Enable Key Echo

The first control on the key echo page is the enable key echo check box. When this box is selected, five additional check boxes become available. These are Enable alphanumeric and punctuation keys, Enable modifier keys, Enable locking keys, Enable function keys, and Enable action keys.

The alphanumeric and function key groups are relatively self explanatory.

Modifier keys are those such as Shift, Control, and Alt.

Locking keys include Caps Lock, Scroll Lock, and Num Lock.

The action keys group consists of keys that perform some logical action, as Backspace, Returnand Tab.

###### Enable Echo by Word

The last toggle on the key echo page is the enable echo by word check box. The echo by word control is always available, regardless of whether any of the key echo options are checked.

In summary, the key echo scheme can offer a great deal of flexibility. For example, one user might choose to enable all key echo options, while another might prefer to use word echo, but only have locking keys announced.

###### Magnifier Page

The magnifier page allows you to enable/disable magnification and specify how magnification is performed.

###### Enable Magnifier

The first control on the magnifier page is the enable magnifier check box. This check box toggles whether or not Orca will provide magnification. This option, along with the ability to enable speech and enable braille support, allow Orca to be tailored to meet the needs of a wide variety of users.

###### Cursor Settings

- Enable cursor

- Color

- Custom size and width

###### Cross-hair Settings

- Enable cross-hair and size

- Enable cross-hair clip

###### Zoomer Settings

- Scale factor

- Invert colors

- Zoomer position

  - Top, left, right, bottom

- Smoothing

- Mouse tracking mode

- Source display - X Window System DISPLAY of what should be magnified. Typically `:0`.

- Target display - X Window System DISPLAY of where to put the magnified area. Typically `:0`.

###### Key Bindings Page

The key bindings page allows you to examine and modify the key bindings for Orca.

###### Orca Modifier Key(s)

The first control on the key bindings page allows you to eaxmine which key (or keys) acts as the "Orca modifier". The Orca modifier is the key that you press and hold in conjunction with other keys to give commands to Orca. For desktop keyboards, the Orca modifier defaults to Insert. For laptop keyboards, the Orca modifier defaults to the Caps Lock key.

You cannot modify the Orca modifier key(s) using the Configuration GUI at this time.

###### Key Bindings Table

The key bindings table provides a list of Orca operations and the keys that are bound to them.

The "Function" column header is a description of the Ora operation to be performed.

The "Key Binding" header is the primary way to invoke the function from the keyboard. Note that the function description may include the word Orca. This indicates that the Orca modifier key should be held down along with the other keys.

The "Alternate" header provides an alternate mechanism for invoking the function from the keyboard.

To modify either the "Key Binding" or the "Alternate" bindings, arrow to the cell and press Return. Then, press a key combination and press Return to confirm the new combination. When you do so, the new keystroke will be saved and the check box in the last column (the Modified column) will indicate that the key binding has been modified.

To unmodify a modified keybinding, merely arrow to the modified column, uncheck the checkbox, and press the Applybutton ( Alt A ).

###### Text Attributes Page

Orca will speak known text attribute information about an object when you press Insert F ( Caps Lock F for laptop systems).

Because the number of text attributes is large, and not everyone cares about every attribute, the "Text Attributes" tab of the configuration GUI allows you to customize which text attributes Orca will present.

On this tab is a text attribute list, where each row consists of three columns:

1. A checkbox which the user can set to indicate whether this text attribute should be spoken or not.

2. The name of the text attribute.

3. An editable "Spoken unless" string value. By default, not all text attributes will have this set. If present, what it means (assuming the user wants this text attribute spoken) is that the value of the attribute will only be spoken if it's a different value than this value.

For example, by default the "underline" text attribute has a value of "none". If the user has this attribute checked and the user presses Insert F and the text in question is not underlined, then this attribute is not spoken. If you always want this attribute to be spoken irrespective of whether the text is underlined, then the attribute should be checked and the "Spoken unless" value cleared.

There is also a "Reset" Alt R button combination present that will set the list values back to their initial state when the dialog was first displayed.

When you initially display the text attribute pane, all your checked attributes are put at the top of the list. They are given in the order that they will be spoken and brailled.

If you decide to check others or wish to adjust the order, there are four buttons to help you do this:

- "Move to top" Alt T - moves the selected attribute to the top of the list.

- "Move up one" Alt U - moves the selected attribute up one row.

- "Move down one" Alt D - moves the selected attribute down one row.

- "Move to bottom" Alt B - moves the selected attribute to the bottom of the list.

Text attributes can also be set on an individual application basis. The text attribute pane is also part of the application specific settings dialog that is started when you give a particular application focus and press Insert Ctrl Space .

#### Application-specific information

##### Accessible Applications

Orca is designed to work with applications and toolkits that support the assistive technology service provider interface (AT-SPI). This includes the GNOME desktop and its applications, OpenOffice, Firefox, and the Java platform. Some applications work better than others, however, and the Orca community continually works to provide compelling access to more and more applications.

##### Using Adobe's Acrobat Reader

We are currently working on a script for Adobe's Acrobat Reader, and the initial version has been contributed to Orca v2.17.5. Note that there is still work to do, and we are very encouraged by Adobe's commitment to accessibility.

###### Installation

If you get Adobe Acrobat Reader directly from the Adobe site, you may find that the software will not launch. The symptoms: If launched from the Applications menu, it appears that nothing has happened. If launched from a terminal window, you receive a long series of syntax error messages. Should this occur, you will need to edit your /usr/bin/acroread file as described in this Ubuntu forum thread.

If you instead choose to install Acrobat Reader from your distribution's packages, be sure to install both acroread and acroread-plugins. Without the plugins package, you will not have the access to the "Reading" category in the Edit Preferences dialog.

Note: If you use Ubuntu and cannot locate the acroread package, you will likely need to edit your /etc/apt/sources.list to include the 'multiverse' repository. Then run `apt-get update`. Having done so, you should then be able to install both acroread and acroread-plugins.

###### Enabling Accessibility and Caret Navigation

Once you've installed Reader, you need to enable accessibility:

1. In the "Accessibility" category of the Edit Preferences dialog, make sure "Always display the keyboard selection cursor" ( Alt D ) is checked.

2. In the "Reading" category of the Edit Preferences dialog, make sure "Enable document accessibility" ( Alt E ) is checked.

###### Working with Untagged Documents

When you open an untagged document, you will be presented with a dialog box asking you to specify the reading order and the reading mode options. The default reading order is "Infer reading order from document." This setting works well for most documents, but not all of them.

The default reading mode will vary depending upon the length of the document: For short documents, the default is "Read the entire document"; for long documents it is "Read the currently visible pages only." Orca seems to provide much better access when "Read the entire document" is selected.

If you find that a document seems to be missing parts of the text, try changing the reading options. To do so, get into the Document menu and select "Change Accessibility Reading Options..." or use the shortcut Ctrl Shift 5 .

###### Page Layout

The best page layout for reading a document with Orca is "single page". When "continuous" is chosen, moving focus to text as the page is scrolling can cause that text not to be read. You can change the page layout to "single page" by getting into the View menu and selecting the Page Layout submenu.

###### Navigating Tables

Regarding tables: As far as we know there's not currently a whole lot of keyboard support for tables in Acrobat Reader. This, by the way, is not an Orca thing; it is an Acrobat Reader thing.

Basically, there are the arrow keys. Their behavior is to move you first within the cell with focus, then to the next cell with data in it. Note that currently, Up and Down Arrow do not seem to move you vertically among cells -- at least that has been the experience with the tables we have tried. Instead, Up and Down seem to move you horizontally until you run out of cells on the current row.

##### Making Application Specific Settings

To customize the settings for a particular application, you will first need to run that application. Make sure that that application has focus, then press ORCA_MODIFIER Control Space (by default, this will be Insert Control Space for the desktop keyboard layout).

This brings up a tabbed dialog window very similar to the generic Orca Preferences dialog, but with the following differences:

1. There is no initial General pane.

2. The Speech System and Speech Synthesizer combo boxes on the Speech pane will be grayed out (made inactive).

3. Any existing application specific key bindings will appear at the top of the list on the Key Bindings pane.

4. There may be a new application specific settings pane at the end of the set of tabbed panes. Note that pressing the End key from the tab list will get you directly to that rightmost tab.

Adjust your application specific Orca settings in a similar way to the way to set your general Orca preferences. For example, you may have key echo disabled generally in Orca but would like to specifically have it enabled for the gcalctool (GNOME Calculator) application. Here's where you could easily set that.

When you have your application settings customized the way that you want, press the OK button. These settings will be written away under your `~/.orca/app-settings` directory in a file called `<APPNAME>.py`, where `<APPNAME>` is the name of the application.

These files are automatically written by Orca. The existing contents of that file will just be blown away each time you change your application settings for that application.

If you want to have some extra application specific settings or code that you don't want to lose, then you should put it in a file called `~/.orca/app-settings/<APPNAME>-customizations.py`. This file will be automatically read when the settings for the `<APPNAME>` application are loaded.

Note that this is an advanced feature that we don't expect most Orca users to use. It's just there if you really want it.

There is currently one known bug (some people would call it a feature) that we are trying to track down and fix:

If you adjust one or more application specific key bindings, the new values will not take immediate effect after you've pressed the OK button on the dialog. The workaround is to either restart Orca, or to Alt-Tab away to some other application and then Alt-Tab back to the one that you've just changed the key bindings for.

#### Braille

Orca uses BrlTTY for braille support. Orca does not automatically start BrlTTY for you -- you typically need to do that yourself, and it is something that is usually done at boot time. Start-up options are described in the BRTLTTY reference manual.

Orca attempts to work with various releases of BrlTTY. It works well with BrlTTY v3.7.2, and we've also been working with the BrlTTY team to get it going for BrlTTY v3.8. The remainder of this document provides information related to using Orca with BRLTTY 3.8.

To get Orca working with BrlTTY v3.8 requires that the Python bindings for BrlAPI are built/installed as part of the BrlTTY build/install process. Below are descriptions of the necessary tasks to do this for Ubuntu and Solaris. For both, you need to first obtain brltty-3.8.tar.gz from the BrlTTY site.

##### BrlTTY 3.8 on Ubuntu

First, setup your build environment to build BrlTTY. Much of this setup is done for you automatically in the Ubuntu distribution with products such as G++ already present. In addition, YOU MUST also install tcl, Pyrex, and the Python developers environment. To do this, execute the following commands as `root` :

    apt-get build-dep brltty
    apt-get install tcl8.4 python-pyrex python-dev

Then, when you build BrlTTY, avoid configuring the package with --prefix=/usr. Use the standard procedure instead, executing the following commands as `root` :

    gunzip -c brltty-3.8.tar.gz | tar xvf -
    cd brltty-3.8
    ./autogen
    ./configure
    make
    make install

Run BrlTTY as `root` (need notes on automatically starting brltty):

    /bin/brltty -bauto -d/dev/ttyUSB0

If you want, you can remove the existing `/sbin/brltty` and replace it with the `/bin/brltty` either by copying the `/bin/brltty` to `/sbin/brltty` or just by making a symbolic link. Do so at your own risk.

#### Keyboard Commands

This is the list of common Orca keyboard commands. Note that you can always enter Orca's "learn mode" while running Orca by pressing Insert F1 . When in learn mode, Orca will intercept all keyboard and braille input events and will tell you what the effect of them would be. To exit learn mode, press the escape key. If you are using a laptop computer, you will want to see the laptop keyboard commands page at live.gnome.org.

##### Commands for adjusting speech parameters

Insert Right Arrow : increase speech rate

Insert Left Arrow : decrease speech rate

Insert Up Arrow : raise the pitch

Insert Down Arrow : lower the pitch

##### Flat review commands

Numpad-7: Move the flat review cursor to the previous line, and read it.

Numpad-8: Read the current line.

Numpad-9: Move the flat review cursor to the next line, and read it.

Numpad-4: Move the flat review cursor to the previous word, and read it.

Numpad-5: Read the current word.

Numpad-6: Move the flat review cursor to the next word, and read it.

Numpad-1: Move the flat review cursor to the previous character, and read it.

Numpad-2: Read the current character.

Numpad-3: Move the flat review cursor to the next character, and read it.

Numpad-/: Perform a left mouse click at the location of the flat review cursor.

Numpad-*: Perform a right mouse click at the location of the flat review cursor.

The above commands apply when working with objects as well as when working with text. For example, if the flat review cursor were positioned on a menu bar, pressing the "read current line" command ( Numpad-8) would speak the names of all visible menus. Similarly, pressing read next word would speak the object to the right of the flat review cursor on the same line, or move flat review to the next line if no more objects were found.

##### Bookmark commands

Alt Insert [1-6] : Add a bookmark in this numbered slot. If a bookmark already exists at this register it will be replaced with the new one.

Insert [1-6] : Go to the position pointed to by the bookmark bound to this numbered slot.

Alt Shift [1-6] : "Where am I" information for this bookmark relative to the current pointer location.

Insert B and Insert Shift B : Move between the given bookmarks for the given application or page.

Alt Insert B : Save the defined bookmarks for the current application or page.

##### Miscellaneous functions

Insert Numpad + : Say all command. reads from the current position of the caret to the end of the document.

Insert Numpad Enter : Where am I command. Speaks information such as the title of the current application window, as well as the name of the control that currently has focus.

Insert F1 : Enter learn mode (press Escapeto exit)

Insert F : Speak font and attribute information for the current character.

Insert Space : Launch the Orca Configuration dialog.

Insert Ctrl Space : Reload user settings and reinitialize services as necessary. In the latest versions of Orca, launch the Orca Configuration dialog for the current application.

Insert S : Toggle speech on and off.

Insert F11 : Toggle the reading of tables, either by single cell, or whole row.

Insert Q : Quit orca.

##### Commands for debugging

Insert F3 : Report information on the currently active script.

Insert F4 : Cycle through Orca's various debug levels.

In order for the next three commands to be of use, Orca needs to be started from a virtual console or via gnome-terminal. Output is sent only to the console (i.e., it is not sent to speech or braille).

Insert F5 : Prints a debug listing of all known applications to the console where Orca is running.

Insert F7 : Prints debug information about the ancestry of the object with focus.

Insert F8 : Prints debug information about the application with focus.

#### Troubleshooting

##### Orca is not speaking. What is going wrong?

See Troubleshooting Speech.

##### My desktop has stopped responding. What do I do?

If you can get to a terminal (or press Alt F2 to open the "Run Command" dialog box), try restarting Orca by issuing another Orca command in a terminal window. This will force any existing Orca process to exit and will then restart Orca. This sometimes has the effect of unhanging the desktop (which is usually due to an ill-behaved application).

If you cannot get to a terminal window, try pressing Ctrl Alt Backspace to kill the X Window System server. This should have the effect of returning you to the login screen.

### Desktop Appearance Enhancement

This chapter describes the methods you can use to change the appearance of the GNOME Desktop to enhance the accessibility of the desktop for users with visual impairments.

#### Customization Options

There are a number of methods to enable you to customize the appearance of the GNOME Desktop to suit your specific needs, as follows:

Themen

  Themes are the most effective way to change the appearance of the desktop in a consistent manner. See for more information about themes and how to use themes to achieve the type of desktop environment that you require.

Desktop and application-specific configuration settings

  You can customize different components of the desktop individually to achieve the display settings that you require. You can configure the desktop and applications in addition to using themes or as an alternative to using themes. See for more information.

The following table summarizes the changes that you can make to the GNOME Desktop and where you can make the changes. This guide does not provide detailed instructions about how to customize the desktop. For detailed instructions about how to use the customization tools that the desktop provides, refer to the Help for each tool or to the User Guide.

##### Quick Reference to Customizing the Appearance of the Desktop

To change the... | Use...
--- | ---
Overall appearance of the desktop to use high contrast colors, low contrast colors, or large print. | The Theme preference tool.
Appearance of the desktop background only. | The Desktop Background preference tool and the file manager Backgrounds and Emblems menu item.
Font displayed on the desktop background and in all desktop applications. | The Font preference tool.
Default font settings of the Text Editor, Terminal or Help application. | By default, these applications use the default application font that is specified in the Font preference tool but can be overridden in the Preferences dialog for the application.

#### Using Themes to Customize the Desktop

This section describes how to use themes to customize the appearance of the GNOME Desktop.

##### Introduction to Themes

A theme is a group of coordinated settings that specifies how a desktop component or a group of desktop components appears. You can use themes to modify and control the appearance of the desktop in a consistent manner. When you apply a theme, the system modifies many desktop components simultaneously to achieve the desired effect. For example, if you apply a theme that increases the font size across the desktop, the theme also modifies the size of panels and icons on the desktop for optimum compatibility with the font size.

A theme contains settings that affect different parts of the desktop as follows:

Controls

  The controls setting for a theme determines the visual appearance of all windows, applications, panels, and panel applications. The controls setting also determines the visual appearance of the GNOME-compliant interface items that appear on windows, applications, panels, and panel applications, such as menus, icons, and buttons. Some of the controls options that are available in the desktop are designed for special accessibility needs.

Window border

  The window frame setting determines the appearance of the border around windows only.

Symbol

  The icon setting determines the appearance of icons on panels and on the desktop background.

##### To Choose a Theme

To choose a theme, perform the following steps:

1. Choose System Preferences Appearance. The themes are listed under the Theme tab.

2. Click on a theme in the list box to choose a new theme. The system automatically applies the theme to the desktop.

   There are several themes available that suit different accessibility needs, as described in the following table:

   ###### Themes Designed for Accessibility Requirements

   Theme Name | Beschreibung
   --- | ---
   High Contrast | Provides dark text on a light background using high contrast colors.
   High Contrast Inverse | Provides light text on a dark background using high contrast colors.
   Large Print | This theme suggests an increased font size of 18pt. The background and foreground colors are the same as those specified by the Default desktop theme. To apply the suggested font, click on the Apply Font button.
   High Contrast Large Print | This theme suggests an increased font size of 18pt using dark text on a light background. To apply the suggested font, click on the Apply Font button.
   High Contrast Large Print Inverse | This theme suggests an increased font size of 18pt using light text on a dark background. To apply the suggested font, click on the Apply Font button.

To view the controls, window frame, and icon settings that are associated with a theme, select a theme in the Theme Preferences dialog, then click on the Theme Details button. The Theme Details dialog contains a tabbed section for each setting category. Each tabbed section lists the options that are available and the current setting for the theme is highlighted.

##### To Modify the Controls Setting for a Theme

To modify the controls setting that is associated with a theme, perform the following steps:

1. In the Theme Preferences dialog, select the theme that you want to modify.

2. Click on the Theme Details button. The Theme Details dialog is displayed.

3. Click on the Controls tab to display the controls options that are available.

4. Select the controls option that you want to associate with the current theme from the list box, then click Close. The following table lists the controls options that are suitable for accessibility needs.

###### Controls Options Designed for Accessibility Requirements

Control Option | Beschreibung
--- | ---
HighContrast | Provides dark text on a light background using high contrast colors.
HighContrastInverse | Provides light text on a dark background using high contrast colors.
LowContrast | Uses low contrast colors for the background and foreground text.
LargePrint | Increases the size of controls to accommodate larger fonts. To increase the font size, you must use the Font preference tool. The background and foreground colors are the same as those specified by the Default desktop theme.
HighContrastLargePrint | Provides dark text on a light background using high contrast colors. Increases the size of controls to accommodate larger fonts. To increase the font size, you must use the Font preference tool.
HighContrastLargePrintInverse | Provides light text on a dark background using high contrast colors. Increases the size of controls to accommodate larger fonts. To increase the font size, you must use the Font preference tool.
LowContrastLargePrint | Uses low contrast colors for the background and foreground text. Increases the size of controls to accommodate larger fonts. To increase the font size, you must use the Font preference tool.

##### To Modify the Window Border Setting for a Theme

To modify the window border setting that is associated with a theme, perform the following steps:

1. In the Theme Preferences dialog, select the theme that you want to modify.

2. Click on the Theme Details button. The Theme Details dialog is displayed.

3. Click on the Window Border tab to display the window frame options that are available.

4. Select the window frame option that you want to associate with the current theme from the list box, then click Close. The Atlanta option is an accessible option.

##### To Modify the Icon Setting for a Theme

To modify the icon setting that is associated with a theme, perform the following steps:

1. In the Theme Preferences dialog, select the theme that you want to modify.

2. Click on the Theme Details button. The Theme Details dialog is displayed.

3. Click on the Icons tab to display the icon options that are available.

4. Select the icon option that you want to associate with the theme from the list box, then click Close. The following table lists the icon options that are suitable for accessibility needs.

###### Icon Options Designed for Accessibility Requirements

Icon Option | Beschreibung
--- | ---
HighContrast | Provides dark on light icons using high contrast colors.
HighContrastInverse | Provides light on dark icons using high contrast colors.
LowContrast | Uses low contrast colors for the background and foreground text.

##### To Create Your Own Themes

For information about how to create your own themes, see the System Administration Guide.

#### Customizing Specific Components of the Desktop

This section describes how to customize specific components of the desktop individually.

##### To Customize the Desktop Background

The themes do not affect the desktop background. Therefore to modify the desktop background to complement your desktop, you must customize the desktop background separately using the Desktop Background preference tool. To start the Desktop Background preference tool,choose System Preferences Appearance and choose a background from the Background tab.

##### To Customize Desktop Background Objects

The size of the icons that are displayed on the desktop background is controlled by the File Management preference tool. To change the size of the icons, perform the following steps:

1. From the File Manager window, choose the Edit Preferences menu item.

2. Select the Views tabbed section.

3. In the Icon View Defaults group, select the zoom level that you require in the Default zoom level drop-down list.

##### To Customize Fonts

This section describes how to customize the font settings for the desktop and frequently-used applications.

If you have difficulty with the default font type and font size that is used on the desktop and desktop background, you can customize the font settings to suit your needs.

You can specify individual font settings for the following desktop components and applications:

- Entire desktop excluding the desktop background

- Desktop background only

- Terminal

- Text editor

- Help

- Web-Browser

###### To Customize the Desktop Fonts

The Font preference tool allows you to specify the default fonts for the desktop.

To start the Font preference tool, choose System Preferences Appearance. The Fonts tab contains the following options:

Anwendungs-Schriftart

  Click on this button to select a default font to use for the text that is displayed on the desktop, including the text displayed on the windows and dialogs associated with GNOME-compliant applications and panel applications.

  If you use the Theme preference tool to select a theme and you click on the Apply Font button, the font that is associated with the theme overrides the font that you select using the Font preference tool.

Document font

  Click on this button to select a font to use for displaying documents.

Desktop-Schriftart

  Click on this button to select a font to use for the text that is displayed on the desktop background only.

Window title font

  Click on this button to select a font to use for the text that is displayed in titlebars of your windows.

Fixed width font

  Click on this button to select a font to use for editing documents.

Font rendering

  To specify how to render fonts on the desktop, select one of the following options:

  - Monochrome

  - Best shapes

  - Best contrast

  - Subpixel smoothing

If you use large fonts, you may need to change the size of panes in applications that use panes such as, the file manager and the Help browser.

For more information about the Font preference tool, see the User Guide.

###### To Customize Application Fonts

By default, GNOME applications use the default font specified in the Font preference tool. Some applications allow this default font to be customized. These applications are:

- Help Browser

- Texteditor

- Terminal

- Web-Browser

#### Meeting Specific Accessibility Needs

The following sections summarize the steps you need to take to improve the accessibility of the desktop in a particular area.

##### To Achieve a High or Low Contrast Desktop

To achieve a high or low contrast desktop, perform the following steps:

1. Use the Theme preference tool to select the high contrast or low contrast desktop theme that you require.

2. Use the Desktop Background preference tool to customize your desktop background as follows:

   - Set the Desktop Wallpaper to No Wallpaper.

   - Set the Desktop Colors to Solid Color.

   - Select a background color that suits your needs.

3. In the Terminal application, ensure that the Use colors from system theme option is selected in the Colors tabbed section of the Editing Profile dialog.

4. In the gedit application, ensure that the Use default theme colors option is selected in the Fonts & Colors tabbed section of the Preferences dialog.

##### To Achieve a Large Print Desktop

To achieve a large print desktop, perform the following steps:

1. Use the Theme preference tool to select the Large Print theme.

2. Click on the Apply Font button to increase the size of the font that is used on the desktop and on window frames.

3. Use the Desktop font option in the Font preference tool to increase the font that is displayed on desktop background objects.

4. Increase the font size that is used to display the contents of the Terminal application window.

5. If the Use default theme font option is selected in the gedit Preferences dialog, gedit uses the font size that is specified in the large print theme that you selected. However, if the Use default theme font option is not selected, increase the font size that is used to display the contents of the gedit text editor window. See the gedit manual for more information.

6. If you use applications that use panes, such as the file manager and the Help browser, you may need to change the size of panes to accommodate the large print. See the online help for the appropriate application for more information.

## Mobility Impairments

Mobility impairments can be caused by arthritis, stroke, cerebral palsy, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, and loss of limbs or digits, among others. Poor muscle control or weaknesses can make using standard keyboards and mouse devices difficult. For instance, some people are unable to type two keys simultaneously, while others tend to hit multiple keys or to bounce keys when pressing or releasing them. People who are able to use only one hand likewise have difficulties with some keyboard and mouse tasks.

The technologies which can assist those with mobility impairments are:

- On-Screen Keyboard - lets users select keys using a pointing method such as pointing devices, switches, or Morse-code input systems.

- Mouse and Keyboard Enhancements - helpful for users who have trouble typing and controlling a mouse or a keyboard.

### On-Screen Keyboard

The On-Screen Keyboard application displays virtual keyboards on your desktop. You can use the standard mouse pointer or alternative pointing device to operate the virtual keyboards. On-Screen Keyboard displays the following types of keyboards:

- Compose keyboards that enable you to compose text. To type alphanumeric characters, you select the characters on the compose keyboard.

- Dynamic keyboards that On-Screen Keyboard generates to reflect the applications that are currently running on the desktop. For example, On-Screen Keyboard generates keyboards that contain keys to represent the applications that are running on your desktop or the menus that are contained in an application.

To start On-Screen Keyboard, choose Applications Accessibility On-Screen Keyboard. For more information about the On-Screen Keyboard application, see the Help for On-Screen Keyboard.

#### Maximizing Application Windows for On-Screen Keyboard Users

If you are an On-Screen Keyboard user, you cannot use any application in Full Screen mode because the application window obscures the On-Screen Keyboard display.

To resize the window for use with the On-Screen Keyboard application, perform the following steps:

1. Do not enable the Full Screen mode in the application.

2. Give focus to the application window.

3. Press F10 to maximize the application.

### Mouse and Keyboard Enhancements

This section describes how to configure the mouse and keyboard to make these devices accessible to more users.

#### Configuring the Mouse

Use the Mouse preference tool to configure the mouse to suit your needs. To open the Mouse preference tool, choose System Preferences Mouse. The Mouse Preferences dialog is displayed.

##### To Configure the Behavior of the Mouse

The following sections describe how to modify the behavior of the mouse to suit your needs.

###### To Configure the Mouse for Left-Handed Use

To configure the mouse for left-handed use, click on the Buttons tab in the Mouse Preferences dialog, then select the Left-handed mouse option. When you select this option, the system swaps the functions of the left mouse button and the right mouse button immediately.

###### To Configure the Double-Click Behavior

If you have difficulty double-clicking, you can increase the period of time that the system allows to elapse between the first click and the second click of a double-click. For example, if the double-click timeout setting is 0.4 seconds, you must perform the second click of a double-click within 0.4 seconds of the first click. If the second click occurs more than 0.4 seconds after the first click, the system interprets the two clicks as two single clicks.

To configure the double-click timeout setting, perform the following steps:

1. Click on the Buttons tab in the Mouse Preferences dialog.

2. Use the Timeout slider to specify the timeout in seconds that the system allows between the two clicks of a double-click. Moving the slider to the right will increase the timeout interval in 0.1 second intervals. In the same manner, moving the slider to the left will decrease the timeout in 0.1 second intervals.

3. Double-click on the light bulb to the right of the slider to test the setting. If you perform the two clicks of the double-click within the timeout specified, the light bulb lights up fully to display a yellow glow around the bulb. If you do not double-click within the timeout specified, the light bulb does not light fully. You should increase the timeout setting and try again. When the light bulb lights, the timeout setting is suitable for your needs.

###### To Change the Size of the Mouse Pointer

To change the size of the mouse pointer that is displayed on the desktop, perform the following steps:

1. Click on the Pointers tab in the Mouse Preferences dialog.

2. This will display a list of pointer themes and sizes available.

3. By default, GNOME does not include mouse pointer themes. Information about installing and using pointer themes can be found in the User Guide.

On some platforms you must log out and log in again for this setting to take effect.

###### To Locate the Mouse Pointer

If you have difficulty locating the mouse pointer on the screen, you can enable an option to highlight the pointer when you press the Control key. To enable this option, click on the Pointers tab in the Mouse Preferences dialog, then select the Highlight the pointer when you press Ctrl option. When you press Control, the system displays an animation around the pointer to highlight the pointer.

On some platforms, you must log out and log in again before this setting takes effect.

###### To Configure the Speed and Sensitivity of the Mouse

To configure the speed and sensitivity of the mouse, perform the following steps:

1. Click on the Motion tab in the Mouse Preferences dialog.

2. Configure the following options:

   Beschleunigung

     Use the slider to specify the speed at which the mouse pointer moves around the screen when you move your mouse.

     If you select a low setting, the mouse pointer moves at a speed similar to the speed at which you are physically moving the mouse. This means that you need to physically move the mouse larger distances to cover the screen area. If you select a high setting, the mouse pointer moves at a faster speed than the speed at which you physically move the mouse. This means that you need to physically move the mouse small distances to cover the screen area.

   Empfindlichkeit

     Use the slider to specify how responsive the mouse pointer is to movements of your mouse. Moving the slider to the right will increase the sensitivity and moving it to the left will decrease the sensitivity.

   Schwellenwert

     Use the slider to specify the distance that you must move an item before the system interprets the move action as a drag-and-drop action.

##### To Configure the Cursor

The following section describes how to modify the display characteristics of the cursor.

###### To Stop the Cursor Blinking

To stop the cursor blinking in text boxes and fields, perform the following steps:

1. Choose System Preferences Keyboard to start the Keyboard preference tool.

2. In the Keyboard tabbed section, deselect the Cursor blinks in text boxes and fields option.

##### To Use the Keyboard to Emulate the Mouse

If you have difficulty using a mouse, you can use the keyboard to emulate the mouse functions. See of this guide for more information.

#### Configuring the Keyboard

Use the Keyboard preference tool, to configure the keyboard accessibility options. To open the Keyboard preference tool, choose System Preferences Keyboard. Accessibility options can be enabled by selecting Accessibility. This will open a new dialog, Keyboard Accessibility Preferences, also known as AccessX.

The Keyboard Accessibility Preferences (AccessX) dialog enables you to customize your keyboard in the following ways:

- To use the numeric keypad to emulate mouse actions. See .

- To specify the duration for which you must press-and-hold a key before the system accepts the keypress. See .

- To ignore rapid, repeated keypresses of the same key. See .

- To accept key combinations in sequence rather than simultaneously. See .

- To emit an audible notification when a user activates or deactivates a toggle key. See .

- To ignore long keypresses of the same key and control the repeat rate of a keypress. See .

##### To Activate the Keyboard Accessibility Options

To activate the keyboard accessibility options, perform the following steps:

1. Choose System Preferences Keyboard and select Accessibility

2. Select the Enable keyboard accessibility features option.

3. Click on the Basic tab.

4. Select the Beep when features turned on or off from keyboard option to receive an audible notification each time a user enables or disables a keyboard accessibility option using the following keyboard shortcuts:

   - Press-and-hold Shift for eight seconds to enable or disable the slow keys feature.

   - Press Shift five times to enable or disable the sticky keys feature.

5. To automatically disable the keyboard accessibility options if the options are not used for a specified number of seconds, select the Disable if unused for X seconds option. Use the slider to specify the number of seconds of keyboard idle time required before the system disables the keyboard accessibility options.

   This option is intended for computers that are shared by a number of different users, some of whom require the keyboard accessibility options.

6. Changes made will be instantly applied.

##### To Enable the Keyboard to Emulate the Mouse

The mouse keys feature enables you to use the numeric keypad on the keyboard to emulate mouse actions. This feature benefits users who have difficulty using a mouse or other pointing device. To enable and configure the mouse keys feature, perform the following steps:

1. In the Keyboard Accessibility Preferences (AccessX) dialog, select the Mouse Keys tab.

2. Select the Enable Mouse Keys option.

3. Configure the following options to determine the behavior of the mouse pointer when you control the pointer from the numeric keypad:

   Maximum pointer speed

     Use this spin box to specify the maximum speed, in pixels per second, at which the pointer moves around the screen.

   Time to accelerate to maximum speed

     Use this spin box to specify the duration, in milliseconds, before the pointer accelerates to the maximum pointer speed.

   Delay between keypress and pointer movement

     Use this spin box to specify the interval, in milliseconds, between a keypress and the time when the pointer starts to move.

When you enable mouse keys, the keys on the numeric keypad have the following functions:

###### Numeric Keypad to Mouse Function Mapping

Numeric Keypad Keys | Funktion
--- | ---
1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9 | Move the mouse pointer around the screen
5 | Mouse button click
0 | Mouse button toggle
/ | Primary mouse button
* | Secondary mouse button
- | Tertiary mouse button

The toggle mouse button key enable the currently selected mouse button until the Mouse button click key is pressed. This allows you to perform drag and drop operations.

The Mouse button click emulates the currently selected mouse button. Pressing /, * or - will change the behaviour of this. The currently selected mouse button can be seen in the Keyboard Accessibility Status panel application, discussed in .

The Primary mouse button is the left mouse button for right handed people. The Secondary mouse button is the right mouse button and the Tertiary mouse button is the middle mouse button.

Some Solaris systems also use the function keys to emulate the mouse buttons. The common function key to mouse button mappings are described in the following table.

###### Function Key to Mouse Function Mapping on Solaris Systems

Function Key | Funktion
--- | ---
F2 | Mouse button 1
F3 | Mouse button 2
F4 | Mouse button 3

##### To Enable the Slow Keys Feature

The slow keys feature enables you to customize how the keyboard handles user input in the following ways:

- Specify the duration for which you must press-and-hold a key before the system accepts the keypress. This aspect of the feature benefits users who frequently press keys that they do not intend to press.

- Enable audible indications of keyboard input and acceptance. This aspect of the feature benefits users who cannot see the result of a keypress.

To enable and configure the slow keys feature, perform the following steps:

1. From the Keyboard Accessibility Preferences (AccessX) dialog, select the Filters tab.

2. Select the Enable Slow Keys option.

   To select or deselect the slow keys feature from the keyboard, press-and-hold Shift for eight seconds. This will present a dialog confirming that you with slow keys enabled. The Shift keyboard shortcut automatically selects all of the slow keys options. If you selected the Beep when features turned on or off from the keyboard option in the Basic tab, after four seconds the system beeps three times to indicate that the system is about to select or deselect the feature.

3. Use the Only accept keys held for slider or spin box to specify the duration, in milliseconds, for which you must press-and-hold a key before the system accepts the keypress. Use the Type to test settings text box to test the slow keys setting and modify the setting as required.

4. To enable audible indications of keyboard input and acceptance, select the following options:

   Beep when key is pressed

     Select this option to hear a beep when you press a key.

   Beep when key is accepted

     Select this option to hear a beep when the system accepts a keypress.

   Beep when key is rejected

     Select this option to hear a beep when the system rejects a keypress. The system rejects a keypress if you do not press-and-hold the key for the duration that is specified in the Only accept keys held for spin box.

##### To Enable the Bounce Keys Feature

The bounce keys feature enables you to customize the keyboard to ignore rapid, repeated keypresses of the same key. For example, users with impaired motor skills might press the same key several times when they intend to press the key once. This feature enables you to customize the keyboard to ignore repeated keypresses.

To enable and configure the bounce keys feature, perform the following steps:

1. From the Keyboard Accessibility Preferences (AccessX) dialog select the Filters tab.

2. Select the Enable Bounce Keys option.

3. Use the Ignore duplicate keypresses within slider or spin box to specify the duration in milliseconds (ms) after the first keypress for which the system ignores repeated keypresses of the same key. For example, if you select a duration of 500 ms, the system ignores all repeated keypresses of the same key that occur within 500 ms of the first keypress.

4. Select the Beep if key is rejected option to hear an audible indication when the system ignores a key.

If you want to enable the bounce keys feature, ensure that the Enable Slow Keys option is deselected. The slow keys feature requires you to press a key for a specified duration before the system accepts the keypress as a valid keypress. If you cannot press the key for the duration that is specified by the slow keys setting, deselect the Enable Slow Keys option to enable the system to accept your input.

##### To Enable the Sticky Keys Feature

The sticky keys feature enables you to press the keys in a key combination in sequence rather than simultaneously. This feature is designed for users who are unable to press two or more keys simultaneously.

To enable and configure the sticky keys feature, perform the following steps:

1. From the Keyboard Accessibility Preferences (AccessX) select the Basic tab.

2. Select the Enable Sticky Keys option.

   To enable the sticky keys feature from the keyboard, press Shift five times. This will present a dialog confirming that you with to enable sticky keys. The Shift keyboard shortcut automatically selects all of the sticky keys options. If you selected the Beep when features turned on or off from the keyboard option, the system beeps to indicate that the system is about to select or deselect the feature. When active, pressing shift five times in a row will present a dialog asking if you want to disable sticky keys.

3. Select the Beep when modifier is pressed option to receive an audible indication each time you press a modifier key such as Ctrl, Alt, or Shift. This option is useful to remind you whether a modifier key is active or inactive.

4. Selecting the Disable if two keys pressed together option will present a dialog with the option to disable sticky keys if two keys are pressed at the same time.

You can use the sticky keys feature in latch or lock mode. The following table describes how to choose a mode and the difference between the two modes.

###### Sticky Keys Latch or Lock Mode

To use the sticky keys feature in... | Press the modifier key... | The modifier key remains active until...
--- | --- | ---
Latch mode | Once. | You press a non-modifier key.
Lock mode | Twice in quick succession. | You press the modifier key again.

Example 1: If you want to press Alt F1, do the following:

1. Press Alt to latch the modifier key. The Alt key remains active.

2. Press F1. The key combination is now complete. After you press F1, the Alt modifier key is no longer active.

Example 2: If you want to press Ctrl Alt Tab, do the following:

1. Press Ctrl twice to lock the modifier key. The Ctrl key remains active.

2. Press Alt.

3. Press Tab. The key combination is now complete.

4. To unlock the modifier key, press Ctrl again.

##### To Enable Audible Notifications for Toggle Keys

A toggle key is any key on the keyboard that can switch between two states. The Num Lock, Caps Lock, and Scroll Lock keys are toggle keys. Most toggle keys have an associated light emitting diode (LED) on the keyboard that lights when the toggle key is active. To assist users with visual impairments, you can customize the keyboard to emit an audible notification when a user presses a toggle key. For example, when you press Num Lock, you can determine whether the key is toggled or not toggled by the sound that the keyboard emits.

To enable accessible toggle keys, perform the following steps:

1. From the Keyboard Accessibility Preferences (AccesX) select the Filters tab.

2. Select the Enable Toggle Keys option.

When you activate the Num Lock, Caps Lock, or Scroll Lock keys, the system beeps once. When you deactivate a toggle key, the system beeps twice.

##### To Enable the Repeat Keys Feature

The repeat keys feature enables you to repeat a keystroke multiple times without pressing the key more than once. This feature is designed for users who cannot release keys quickly, for example users who operate a mouth stick. When you enable repeat keys, you can specify the duration for which you must press a key before the key starts to repeat.

To enable and configure the repeat keys feature, perform the following steps:

1. From the Keyboard Accessibility Preferences (AccessX) select the Basic tab.

2. Select the Enable Repeat Keys option.

3. Use the Delay slider or spin box to specify the duration for which you must press a key before the keyboard interprets the action as a repeat key. If you have difficulty releasing keys, select a long time delay.

4. Use the Speed slider or spin box to specify the speed at which the keyboard repeats the keypress as input.

#### Using the Keyboard Accessibility Status Panel Application

The Keyboard Accessibility Status panel application shows you the status of the keyboard accessibility features. This panel application displays icons to indicate which keyboard accessibility features are enabled in the Keyboard Accessibility preference tool.

To add the Keyboard Accessibility Status panel application to a panel, right-click on the panel, then choose Add to Panel and select the Keyboard Accessibility Status.

The following table describes the icons that the panel application displays and the status that each icon represents.

##### Keyboard Accessibility Status Icons

Symbol | Keyboard Accessibility Status
--- | ---
Keyboard Accessibility Features enabled icon | Keyboard accessibility in general is available but none of the individual key features are enabled.
Bounce keys enabled icon | The bounce keys feature is enabled.
Mouse keys enabled icon | The mouse keys feature is enabled. The dot in the mouse button shows which button is currently associated with the Mouse button click key.
Slow keys enabled icon | The slow keys feature is enabled.
Alt key latched icon | The sticky keys feature is enabled and the Alt key is latched.
Alt key locked icon | The sticky keys feature is enabled and the Alt key is locked.
Ctrl key latched icon | The sticky keys feature is enabled and the Ctrl key is latched.
Ctrl key locked icon | The sticky keys feature is enabled and the Ctrl key is locked.
Shift key latched icon | The sticky keys feature is enabled and the Shift key is latched.
Shift key locked icon | The sticky keys feature is enabled and the Shift key is locked.
Super/Windows key latched icon | The sticky keys feature is enabled and the Super/Windows key is latched.
Super/Windows key locked icon | The sticky keys feature is enabled and the Super/Windows key is locked.