tips

Pro Tip: Fixing a Disappearing Interface in FastSM for Windows

by

FastSM is a popular accessible client for Bluesky and Mastodon, and for the most part it works beautifully with screen readers like JAWS and NVDA. However, some users have encountered a frustrating issue: shortly after FastSM starts, performing any action — such as trying to create a new post — causes the entire user interface to vanish. When this happens, the app is still running in the background but is completely unresponsive, and the usual fix of pressing Control+Windows+W does not bring it back. The only way out seems to be manually ending the FastSM process in Task Manager.

If this has happened to you, don’t worry. There are three solutions below, starting with the simplest and working up to a more thorough reset. Try them in order and stop as soon as one works.

Solution 1: Restore the Window with a Keyboard Shortcut

Before trying anything else, press Control+Windows+W. This shortcut is designed to restore FastSM’s standard visible interface if it has been accidentally hidden. If this brings your interface back, you’re done! If it doesn’t work, move on to Solution 2.

Solution 2: Turn Off the Invisible Interface in Settings

FastSM has a feature called the Invisible Interface, which, if accidentally enabled, can cause the window to disappear when you interact with the app. Here’s how to check and disable it:

  1. Start FastSM and, before doing anything else, press Control+Comma to open Global Options.
  2. Press Control+Tab five times to navigate to the Invisible Interface tab.
  3. Listen for whether “Enable Invisible Interface” is announced as checked. If it is checked, press Spacebar to uncheck it.
  4. Press Enter to save your changes and close the dialog.

FastSM should now behave normally. If the problem persists, Solution 3 below will give you a fresh start.

Solution 3: Reset FastSM by Removing Its Settings Folder

This is the most thorough fix. It completely removes FastSM’s stored settings so that the app starts fresh, just as it did the first time you installed it. Important: after completing these steps, you will need to sign back into all of your Bluesky and Mastodon accounts. If you are not sure whether you have administrator access to your computer, please ask your IT department or another trusted person for help before proceeding.

These steps have been tested on Windows 11 Workstation (version 25H2) with the latest versions of both JAWS and NVDA as of April 2026.

Step 1: Close FastSM Using Task Manager

  1. Press Control+Shift+Escape to open Task Manager.
  2. Press F repeatedly until you hear something like “FastSM collapsed level 1.”
  3. Press Alt+E to end the FastSM process.
  4. Press Alt+F4 to close Task Manager.

Step 2: Open Your Home Folder in File Explorer

  1. Press Windows+R to open the Run dialog.
  2. Type a single period (.) and press Enter. This opens your personal home folder in File Explorer.

Step 3: Show Hidden Files and Folders

  1. Press Alt by itself to focus the File Explorer ribbon.
  2. Press Right Arrow until you hear “View button collapsed” and press Enter to open the menu.
  3. Press Up Arrow until you hear “Show collapsed,” then press Enter to open the submenu.
  4. Press Up Arrow until you hear “Hidden Items.”
  5. If “Hidden Items” is not announced as checked, press Spacebar to enable it. If it is already checked, press Escape to leave this menu without making changes.

Step 4: Switch to Details View for Easier Navigation

  1. Press Alt by itself, then press Right Arrow five times, then press Enter to reopen the View menu.
  2. Press Down Arrow until you hear “Details,” then press Enter. Note: even if “checked” is announced, pressing Enter here will not change anything — it simply confirms the Details view.

Step 5: Navigate to and Delete the FastSM Settings Folder

  1. In the file list, press Down Arrow until you hear “AppData,” then press Enter to open it.
  2. Press Down Arrow until you hear “Roaming,” then press Enter to open it.
  3. Press Down Arrow until you hear “FastSM,” then press Delete to remove the folder.
  4. If a dialog appears asking for permission, press Tab until you hear “Continue” or “Yes,” then press Enter to confirm.

Step 6: Restart FastSM and Sign Back In

  1. Press Windows+D to go to the desktop.
  2. Press F until you hear “FastSM,” then press Enter to launch the app.
  3. FastSM will start as if it has been installed for the first time. Sign back into your Bluesky and Mastodon accounts as you did during the original setup.

Wrapping Up

A disappearing interface can be alarming, but as you’ve seen, there are reliable ways to get FastSM back on track without losing access to your social feeds for long. In most cases, the quick keyboard shortcut or a single settings change in Global Options will solve the problem in under a minute. The full reset, while a bit more involved, is a dependable last resort that leaves you with a clean, working installation.

FastSM continues to be one of the most screen-reader-friendly ways to enjoy Bluesky and Mastodon on Windows, and hopefully this guide helps you spend less time troubleshooting and more time connecting with your communities.

Slack Accessibility Bug in Simplified Layout Mode Confirmed Fixed

by

Great news for screen reader users who rely on Slack’s Simplified Layout Mode: the accessibility regression we reported last month has been resolved.

In our February 14 article, we documented a critical, task-blocking bug introduced in Slack version 4.47.69 in which the Activity tab became completely inaccessible to JAWS users when Simplified Layout Mode was enabled. Focus was trapped on toolbar elements, and the screen reader would report only “Loading” or “Blank” rather than the expected list of notifications, mentions, and direct messages.

We are pleased to confirm that the bug has been fixed.

Confirmation from Slack

On March 12, a member of the Slack team reached out by email with the following update:

“The bug was fixed and pushed to production on the 4th of March. That’s an impressive turnaround time for such detailed and helpful bug reports! Our team also mentioned the screen recording made a huge difference in getting it resolved so quickly.”

We want to express our sincere appreciation to the Slack accessibility and product teams. Throughout this process, Slack worked diligently with members of the online disability community, asking for feedback and providing timely updates. That kind of responsive, collaborative engagement is exactly what the assistive technology community needs from software developers, and it made a real difference.

What We Learned About the Bug

In early March, additional details emerged that shed more light on the root cause. The screen-reader accessibility failure in the Activity tab occurred specifically when two conditions were met simultaneously: Simplified Layout Mode was enabled and the Slack window was not maximized. In our own testing, we were able to confirm this — when Slack was maximized, the bug was not observed.

This is a useful piece of information for anyone who may have been experiencing the issue and wondered why it appeared intermittently. If you had Slack in a smaller or restored window, the bug would surface; if you had it maximized, it would not.

A Reminder for Screen Reader Users

This bug serves as a timely reminder of a best practice that benefits all screen reader users across virtually any application: in general, it is a good idea to keep the currently active and focused window — the one where you are currently working — maximized or in full-screen mode at all times.

Here’s how to keep it maxed.

If you’re not sure whether or not the current window is maximized, follow these steps to make it so:

  1. Press alt+spacebar to open the System Menu for the focused application window. “Restore”, “System Menu” or something similar will be announced.
  2. Press the letter x to maximize the window. The window’s title will be announced and you’re brought right back to the task you were working on before maximizing.

Many accessibility-related rendering and focus issues are window-size dependent, and maximizing your working window can work around an entire category of potential problems before they get in the way of achieving your hopes and dreams. It’s a simple habit that can meaningfully improve your day-to-day experience with any application.

Next Steps

If you are running a version of Slack released on or after March 4, 2026, you should have the fix. If you are still experiencing issues navigating the Activity tab with a screen reader and Simplified Layout Mode enabled, we encourage you to reach out to Slack support right away.

Thank you to everyone in the community who tested, reported, and helped document this issue. Your participation — and especially those screen recordings — made this resolution possible.

Uncovering the Accessibility of Tabs in Google Docs

by

Starting all the way back in April of 2024, Google announced a new tabs feature for Google Docs, providing another way of organizing information in documents similar to that already found in spreadsheets. Soon after that, as the new feature rolled out over the next six months, a support article entitled Use document tabs in Google Docs was posted with all the descriptions and instructions necessary for sighted, non-disabled users to avail themselves of the new capabilities. As blind and other disabled people started to encounter documents containing tabs, we wondered how we would be afforded equitable consideration. It turns out that, in large part, we were considered, even if that fact was not documented. If you’re still reading, then, please stay tuned, as the rest of this article will weave together information from several sources to describe how keyboard-only and screen-reader users can choose, create and rename tabs using keyboard shortcuts and menu selections.

Let’s start with listing the useful keyboard shortcuts, then move in to specific, step-by-step instructions for each significant task.

Please Note: These commands assume that a Windows PC is being used with the latest publicly available version of the Google Chrome browser. They may be slightly different on other browsers and operating systems.

  • Choose the previous tab: control+shift+page up. Note: Though the contents of the newly chosen tab will be available, screen readers cannot announce its label.
  • Choose the next tab: control+shift+page down. Note: Though the contents of the newly chosen tab will be available, screen readers cannot announce its label.
  • Show all available document outlines and tabs in a list: control+alt+a immediately followed by control+alt+h. Note: It is absolutely critical that you either hold down both control and alt while typing a and h, or that you enter each separate command rapidly, as control+alt+h by itself enables and disables Braille support. If you hear “Braille support disabled,” simply press control+alt+h again to turn it back on.
  • Create a new tab: shift+f11. Note: Screen readers will announce “tab added.”

Now that we know the available keyboard shortcuts, let’s dive in to some of the most essential tab management tasks.

Choosing A Tab

There are two ways to choose an existing tab: directly using a single keyboard shortcut or selecting an option from a menu.

Choosing A Tab Using a Keyboard Shortcut

  1. Open a Google Doc that contains two or more tabs.
  2. Press control+shift+page down to move to the next tab after the one currently chosen. Note: Although the contents of the new tab will be available, its name is not provided for screen readers to announce.
  3. Press control+shift+page up to move to the previous tab. Note: Once again, its name is not provided for screen readers to announce.

Using Show Tabs & Outlines to Determine the Current Tab or Choose a Different Tab

Although there’s no way to determine the currently chosen tab using a single keyboard shortcut, there is a way to get this information through a menu, which also represents another way to choose tabs.

Determining the Currently Chosen Tab

  1. Open or create a Google Doc that includes two or more tabs.
  2. Press control+alt+a immediately followed by control+alt+h to open the Tabs & outlines menu. Note: Keep in mind that, if you hear “Braille support disabled,” you will want to press control+alt+h by itself to reenable Braille support.
  3. If the screen reader announces the “Show Tabs & Outlines” button followed by the number of tabs, press enter to open the menu. If this button does not appear first, then you will be immediately taken to the menu.
  4. Press Escape to leave everything alone and stay on the currently chosen tab, or see below for choosing another tab using this menu.

Choosing A Tab Using the Show Tabs & Outlines Menu

  1. Open or create a Google Doc that includes two or more tabs.
  2. Press control+alt+a immediately followed by control+alt+h to open the Tabs & outlines menu. Note: Keep in mind that, if you hear “Braille support disabled,” you will want to press control+alt+h by itself to reenable Braille support.
  3. If the screen reader announces the “Show Tabs & Outlines” button followed by the number of tabs, press enter to open the menu. If this button does not appear first, then you will be immediately taken to the menu.
  4. Press the up arrow and down arrow keys to focus and hear all the available tabs.
  5. Press enter on the tab you wish to choose.

Renaming A Tab

  1. Open or create a Google Doc that includes two or more tabs.
  2. Press control+alt+a immediately followed by control+alt+h to open the Tabs & outlines menu. Note: Keep in mind that, if you hear “Braille support disabled,” you will want to press control+alt+h by itself to reenable Braille support.
  3. If the screen reader announces the “Show Tabs & Outlines” button followed by the number of tabs, press enter to open the menu. If this button does not appear first, then you will be immediately taken to the menu.
  4. Press the up arrow and down arrow keys to focus and hear all the available tabs.
  5. Once you have found the tab you wish to rename, press the tab key to move to the “Tab options” button menu and press the space bar to open it.
  6. Press down arrow until Rename is selected, then press enter to choose this option.
  7. Enter or edit the tab’s name and press enter to make the change.
  8. Press Escape to close the Tab options menu.

Adding A New Tab

When adding a new tab to a document, it is created at the end of the existing tabs regardless of where you are editing. This means that, if a document already has four tabs, a new tab would be labeled “Tab5” which would be the last option in the Show tabs & outlines menu and the last tab visually displayed.

  1. Create or open a Google Doc that has at least one tab defined. In most cases, this will be true of all documents as of the June 2025 date this article was originally published.
  2. Press shift+f11 (as described on a Windows PC running Google Chrome). Observe that the screen reader will announce “tab added” and you will return to the place where you were editing.

There are other features in the Show tabs & outlines and Tab options menus, such as adding, duplicating and deleting tabs, which work in exactly the same way as everything that has already been documented, so they will not be covered in this article.

While there are accessible ways to manage tabs in Google Docs, it would be very nice to see Google documenting them as they have done many other capabilities, including docs and editors themselves. It would also be very nice if they enabled the screen-reader announcement of the currently chosen tab after the control+shift+page up or control+shift+page down commands were pressed. If you agree, please be sure to Contact the Google Disability Support Team to directly request these critical positive changes.

Citations

Please Note: While I am including the accessibility-specific citations for the sake of completeness, they do not document tabs functionality as of the writing of this article in June 2025.

How a “Temporary Error” Encouraged Me to Meet the GMail Standard View Challenge

by

It was one of those Mondays… No, wait. It was actually Tuesday morning. I opened my work GMail and pressed the button to switch to Basic HTML view only to encounter a temporary error that stopped me in my tracks!

I had dabbled in GMail’s Standard view from time to time, but I always returned to the old, faithful basic HTML to get work done. But, now it was time to take Standard view more seriously, at least until Google got around to fixing the problem. I reviewed Vispero’s Using JAWS with Gmail in Standard View webinar before diving right in and I was pleasantly surprised.

I discovered that Standard view had become quite accessible and actually works well with both the JAWS and NVDA screen readers! The list of emails can be easily navigated with the Virtual PC Cursor turned on or off (Vispero recommends keeping it off for this purpose), there is plenty of underlying structure for navigating the user interface and lots of keyboard shortcuts for accomplishing critical tasks such as deleting, replying to and sending emails.

Change can be challenging, especially when it involves something as fundamental as the way we access email. In this case, making the leap to Standard view is well worth the learning curve. Some settings, including the ability to schedule out-of-office responses, are only available in Standard view. Calendar and Chat integration also work only in the Standard view, along with other features such as autocompletion of email addresses, the spell checker and the ability to add or import contacts. Google’s article, See Gmail in standard or basic HTML version, outlines the differences between the two views and provides direct links for quickly switching back and forth.

As of Wednesday, Oct. 13, Google fixed the “temporary error” and it is, once again, possible to easily switch between Basic HTML and Standard views at will. But, will I go back? My answer is an unequivocal “no”, not for anything except an easier way to work with labels, which are GMail’s way of organizing email messages in to folders. Standard is the modern view, and it is the view where all new features will be developed, tested and implemented moving forward. If you are still in Basic HTML view, I hope I have encouraged you to try, and stick with, Standard view. Please share your thoughts in the comments.

Please tell us how you and your family are handling social distancing, feeding yourselves, vaccination and generally getting along, especially from a blind perspective, as we move out of the time of the Coronavirus. Please send an audio recording or a written message to darrell (at) blindaccessjournal (dot) com or tell us about it on our social media channels.

Blind Access Journal, and the Hilliker family, must frequently rely on sighted assistance in order to get important, inaccessible tasks done. In most cases, we have chosen Aira as our visual interpreter. If you are ready to become an Aira Explorer, and you feel it in your heart to pass along a small gift to the journal or our family, we ask that you use our referral link. Your first month of Aira service will be free of charge, we will receive a discount on our bill and we will thank you for supporting the important work we do here at Blind Access Journal.

If you use Twitter, let’s get connected! Please follow Allison (@AlliTalk) and Darrell (@darrell).

F6 Is Your Friend

by

From enterprise collaboration software to web browsers, the little-known F6 keyboard shortcut can do many things that make our lives as blind computer users much easier and more productive.

In Slack F6 moves between the major portions of the window, such as channel navigation and workspace selection. It is, in fact, virtually impossible to access critical functionality, such as channels and direct messages, without pressing F6. Please review the Use Slack with a Screen Reader article for additional documentation. J.J. Meddaugh’s fantastic AccessWorld article An Introduction to Slack, A Popular Chat App for Teams and Workplaces provides a great starting point for using Slack from a blind user’s perspective.

In the Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox web browsers, F6 jumps out of the address bar and moves focus directly into the currently loaded web page with the screen reader’s browse mode or virtual PC cursor active and ready for immediate action. It is not necessary to press tab several times to move through the browser’s toolbar.

In Microsoft Office apps, such as Excel, Outlook and Word, F6 moves focus between major elements of the window, such as the ribbon bar, list of messages, document area and the status bar.

Let’s discover together all the additional productivity boosts we can achieve through keyboard shortcuts like F6. What is your favorite keyboard shortcut? How does it increase your productivity?

Please tell us how you and your family are handling social distancing, feeding yourselves, vaccination and generally getting along, especially from a blind perspective, as we move out of the time of the Coronavirus. Please send an audio recording or a written message to darrell (at) blindaccessjournal (dot) com or tell us about it on our social media channels.

Blind Access Journal, and the Hilliker family, must frequently rely on sighted assistance in order to get important, inaccessible tasks done. In most cases, we have chosen Aira as our visual interpreter. If you are ready to become an Aira Explorer, and you feel it in your heart to pass along a small gift to the journal or our family, we ask that you use our referral link. Your first month of Aira service will be free of charge, we will receive a discount on our bill and we will thank you for supporting the important work we do here at Blind Access Journal.

If you use Twitter, let’s get connected! Please follow Allison (@AlliTalk) and Darrell (@darrell).

Sticking On Labels: Making the GetGlue iOS App Accessible

by

In this approximately 45-minute podcast, Allison Hilliker and Darrell Shandrow use the new iOS 5 VoiceOver custom-labeling feature to make the GetGlue social-entertainment iOS app accessible. Join us to learn about an exciting, useful iOS feature and have some fun along the way.

Custom Labeling Step-By-Step

  1. Locate the unlabeled button by dragging your finger or flicking to it on the screen.
  2. Double tap with two fingers and hold them in place. This is also known as a two-finger double-tap-and-hold gesture. You will hear three tones followed by “Alert, label element, text field, is editing.”
  3. Type a short label for the button.
  4. Locate and double tap the Save button. It can be found above the keyboard on the left side of the screen.

In addition to making the controls in an app accessible, the custom-labeling feature can be used to describe pictures in other contexts, such as the photos in your iPhone’s camera roll.

Allison asked an excellent question: Are custom labels backed up to iCloud or iTunes? Please feel free to answer in the comments.

GetGlue Information

GetGlue is a Foursquare-like social network for entertainment. It is available on smartphones and the Web. You can check into your favorite books, movies, music, TV shows and much more and share information about all the fun you’re having with your friends. The primary GetGlue.com website works best with browsers like Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer or Safari on computers. The mobile m.getglue.com website is intended for use with smartphones. It may be a more accessible alternative to the primary site for some computer users.

Tip from Allison: I recommend signing up on the GetGlue website before logging in with the iOS app.

There are two ways to get started:

We’d Love To Hear From You!

Do you like the show? What would you like us to cover next? Please give us your feedback in the comments.

Listen or Pause – Custom Labeling Demo

Download – Custom Labeling Demo

AT&T Describes How to Fix iPhones in Arizona Whose Time Fell Back by One Hour on Nov. 7

by

While Arizona did not observe the Sunday end of Daylight Saving Time, some iPhones in the state configured with default settings did, falling back an hour along with those in the Pacific time zone.

April, an AT&T customer service representative, reported that the issue involves the configuration of time zone support in the iPhone’s Mail, Contacts and Calendars settings. By default, time zone support is on and set to Cupertino.

April provided the following instructions for disabling time zone support, so that this information can be obtained from AT&T’s network:

These steps will work for sighted users who are not running the VoiceOver screen reader for the blind. Instructions for blind users follow.

  1. Tap Settings on the Home screen.
  2. Tap Mail, Contacts, Calendars.
  3. Tap Time Zone Support.
  4. Tap the button to turn Time Zone Support off.

If you are a blind iPhone user who relies on Apple’s built-in VoiceOver screen reader, follow these steps to turn off time zone support:

  1. Press the Home button to move to the Home screen.
  2. Flick left or right to locate the Settings icon. This will be found on the first page of most iPhones.
  3. Double tap Settings.
  4. Flick right several times to locate Mail, Contacts, Calendars.
  5. Double tap Mail, Contacts, Calendars.
  6. Flick right until you locate “Time Zone Support, On.”
  7. Double tap “Time Zone Support, On.” You are now in the time zone support window.
  8. Flick to the right a couple of times to find a button labeled “Time Zone Support, On.”
  9. Double tap the button to turn this feature off. The iPhone will now pull all its time zone information from the cellular network.

Once the time zone support setting has been deactivated, close the settings screen by pressing the Home button and test the time change by following these steps:

  1. Press and hold down the Sleep button on the top of the iPhone for two seconds.
  2. Double tap the Power Off button. Single tap the button if you are not using VoiceOver. The iPhone will announce it is shutting down.
  3. Wait 5 or 10 seconds.
  4. Hold down the Sleep button for two or three seconds to start the iPhone.
  5. Allow 10 to 15 seconds for the iPhone to fully power up. If you use VoiceOver, its active status will be announced.
  6. The iPhone starts in a locked state, with the current time shown. Flick to the left a couple of times to hear it announced. Flick to the right twice and double tap to unlock the iPhone and go on your merry way.

As always, comments, corrections and all constructive feedback is useful.

Going Fishing with oMoby

by

Karen brings me an interesting grocery package to identify with oMoby. A demonstration and discussion of iPhone camera orientation follows.

Follow these steps to use oMoby:

  1. Locate oMoby on your Home screen and double tap its icon to launch the app.
  2. Four-finger flick down to move to the bottom of the window, where you will find the Settings button.
  3. Flick left once and double tap the Take Photo button. Options for adjusting the camera are shown.
  4. Four-finger flick down to the Take Picture button.
  5. Orient the iPhone in the vertical position with the Sleep button on the top and the Home button on the bottom to take the picture in portrait mode. If a wider view is needed, orient the iPhone 90 degrees to the left, counterclockwise, of the vertical position so that the Home button is on the right to take the picture in landscape mode.
  6. Place the camera against the object to be identified and gradually move the iPhone upward to a distance of six to 12 inches. If you know you have good lighting, you may want to try allowing the camera to auto focus. Stop moving upward when you here VoiceOver say “auto focused.”
  7. Double tap the Take Picture button. A camera sound is heard and a snapshot of the object is taken.
  8. Four-finger flick down to the Use button and double tap it to have oMoby upload the picture for analysis.
  9. Flick left and right around the screen until you locate the newest entry in the list that says “searching.” Once the object has been identified, another screen will appear containing the identity of the object along with a lot of search results you may not find useful. Use the two-finger scrub gesture or find and double tap the Back button to return to the list of identified objects.

Download, Play or Pause – Going Fishing with oMoby

Touch Typing Your Way to New Apps and Social Networking on the iPhone

by

Kevin Chao demonstrates shopping in the iTunes App Store, posting to Twitter and sending a text message by entering text on the iPhone’s virtual on-screen keyboard using the touch typing method.

Follow these steps to switch between “standard typing” and “touch typing” modes:

  1. Move to a field that requires typing and double tap to start editing.
  2. Positioning two fingers on the screen, twist them like a dial several times until you hear “Typing Mode” spoken.
  3. Flick up or down to toggle between “standard typing” and “touch typing” mode. Standard typing mode is the default, which requires double tapping or split tapping on everything in order to type. Touch typing, which is the mode being demonstrated in this podcast, allows automatic entry of text as soon as the finger is lifted. Touch typing mode can be faster for advanced users.

Download, Play or Pause – Touch Typing Your Way to New Apps and Social Networking on the iPhone

What is that thing anyway, oMoby?

by

Kevin Chao demonstrates oMoby, a visual-search application for the iPhone that enables users to take pictures of objects and identify them quickly.

Originally intended for use by sighted people as a shopping tool for locating similar products and making price comparisons, visual-search tools like oMoby and Noogle Noggles are helping blind people independently count their cash, identify their groceries and hear visual descriptions of many other objects.

Download, Play or Pause – What is that thing anyway, oMoby?