EdSharp 2.0 released

http://www.EmpowermentZone.com/edsetup.exe

Version 2.0
Released August 25, 2007

Major programming and word processing enhancements have raised the version
from 1.2 to 2.0. EdSharp is now a text editor, file converter, coding
environment, and mini word processor! Fixes and improvements are documented
below.

Jamal

Fixed the Jump command not recognizing a column as well as line number.
Fixed regular expression dialogs requiring a double rather than single
backslash to begin a special token.
Fixed the Yield with Regular Expression command (Control+Shift+Y) not
remembering the previous expression used.
Fixed Exporting from HTML to Markdown.

Extra speech messages may now be toggled off — or reactivated — with
Control+Shift+X. When off, such messages are redirected to a text file
called Speech.log, which may be examined in an editing window with
Alt+Shift+X. This file is initialized when EdSharp starts, and the Extra
Speech setting is remembered from the previous session.

Made Delete Right (Control+Shift+Delete) and Delete Line (Alt+Backspace)
delete to the end of the visible line — wrapping is respected. The new
Delete Hard Line command (Control+D) deletes through any wrapping until just
past the next hard line break (what is created by pressing Enter).
The Delete Paragraph command (Control+Shift+D) deletes from the current line
through the next one or more blank lines.

Press Alt+F7 to look up definitions of a word from the dictionary.com web
site. EdSharp prompts for a word or phrase, defaulting to the current chunk
or selected text. The definitions retrieved are placed in a new editing
window.

When a file is saved without giving it an extension, .rtf is added as a
configurable default. If a file would be overwritten, the original may be
optionally saved with .bak added (default is No).
Each option in the Configuration dialog (Alt+Shift+C) has a unique access
key in its label, so you can jump directly to it with an Alt plus letter
combination. Some options are reserved but not yet implemented.

Sections added to the EdSharp documentation discuss the new word processing
and programming features as follows:

Word Processing
EdSharp supports several aspects of Rich Text Format (.rtf) as well as plain
text (with optional structure). In certain situations, EdSharp behaves
differently if a file has a .rtf extension rather than any other one.
Specifically, the Open Other Format command, Control+Shift+O, imports a .rtf
file with its formatting rather than converting it to plain text. The Save,
Save As, and Save Copy commands, Control+S, Control+Shift+S, and Alt+S, save
a .rtf file with formatting preserved.
Use the Copy Rich Text command, Control+Shift+C, to copy selected text with
formatting to the clipboard.

Formatting commands include the following. Use the Justify command,
Alt+Shift+J, to set the horizontal alignment of text as left, center, or
right. This formatting applies to either selected text or the current hard
line — a line of text terminated by a hard line break (created by pressing
Enter rather than wrapping).

Use the Style command, Alt+Slash, to set or clear bold, italic, or underline
formatting. This applies to either selected text or text ahead of the
current cursor position. Similarly, the Set Selection Font command,
Alt+Shift+Dash, adjusts the font or color of selected text or text ahead of
the cursor (think of a "dashing" display). The key to its right,
Alt+Shift+Equals, is for setting the default font of a new document. The
Justify, Style, and Font dialogs indicate current format settings.

Navigation commands let you move forward or backward to a change in
formatting. Control+RightBracket goes to the next justification change, and
Control+LeftBracket goes to the previous one. Control+Slash goes to the
next style change, and Control+Shift+Slash goes to the previous one.
Control+Dash goes to the next font change and Control+Shift+Dash goes to the
previous one. The cursor stops at the character with different formatting.
The new formatting is announced and current line is read.

To query the current font and color, press Alt+Dash. For justification and
styles, press Alt+Slash.

Programming
Press Tab to indent the current line of text, or Shift+Tab to outdent it.
If multiple lines of text are selected, these commands are applied to all of
them. Press Alt+I to hear the number of indentation levels of the current
line. The Trim Blanks command, Control+Shift+Enter, removes all indentation
and trailing spaces at once, as well as removing more than two consecutive
blank lines (when multiple lines are selected).

Press Alt+Shift+I to toggle a mode in which you are alerted to changes in
indentation level, such as when using the up and down arrow keys. EdSharp
will say how many levels in or out the indentation has changed. This mode
also reverses the rols of the Enter and Shift+Enter keys.

When Indent Mode is off, you can start a new line of text with the same
indentation as the current one by pressing Shift+Enter. By default, an
indentation unit is two spaces. This may be changed with the Configuration
Options command, Alt+Shift+C (or use Alt+Shift+M to manually edit settings
in the EdSharp.ini file). To go to the first character of the current line
after any indentation, press Alt+Home. To go to the last non-white space
character, press Alt+End.

Press Control+I to go to the next code block, or Control+Shift+I to go to
the previous one. EdSharp considers a line of text with less indentation to
be part of a different code block. For example, if the cursor is inside a
loop block, then Control+I will go to the line at the closing of the loop
where a lower level of indentation resumes. In Ruby, this would be the line
with the word "end" or a right brace (}) character. In Python, it would be
the first line of code following the loop, since the change in indentation,
itself, indicates the end of the loop.

The Quote and Unquote commands, Control+Q and Control+Shift+Q, may be used
to add or remove comment symbols at the start of lines. The default quote
prefix may be changed from > to a comment sequence appropriate for the
language in use, e.g., ' for Visual Basic, * for Xbase, ; for AutoIt, or #
for Ruby.

Curly brace characters delimit code structures in a number of languages.
Press Control+B to find the matching right brace (}) character from the
current location. Press Control+Shift+B for the matching left brace ({)
instead. Press Alt+B to hear the number of unmatched left braces before the
cursor and right braces after. Different brace characters may be
configured, e.g., angle brackets (<>) for editing HTML or XML. If the
cursor is on a brace-type character when issuing one of these commands,
i.e., one of {}<>[]() , then EdSharp uses that character and its opposite
when searching, regardless of the current setting.

A scripting language allows a program to be run as a text file associated by
extension with its interpreter, e.g., .pl for Perl, .au3 for AutoIt, and
.rbw for Ruby files. Press F5 to run the current file with its associated
interpreter. If the current file name has a complete path, EdSharp saves to
disk before running the file to ensure the latest version is being used.
Otherwise, EdSharp saves to a file in a temporary folder and runs that file.

The Alt+F5 command prompts for a command to run and speaks its standard
output. The path of the current file may be passed via the syntax described
for EdSharp's Import and Export capability. The command remembers its
previous value, and may be adjusted each time it is run.
Use the Review Output command, Alt+Shift+F5, to open a new editing window
containing the output produced by the last command.

Use the Compile command, Control+F5, for a programming language that
involves compiling source code to binary form. For example, a C# program in
a .cs file may be compiled to a .exe file. This command may also be used
for interpreters that report syntax errors via the standard output or
standard error streams.

These tool commands typically begin with the file name of the compiler or
interpreter. Any parameters may be specified thereafter. If the token
%SourceDir% is included, EdSharp temporarily changes to the directory
containing the source file before running the tool.

The first line and column position mentioned in the output, if any, is
assumed to be the position of a compilation error in the source code.
EdSharp uses the JumpPosition setting to find the position in the output
based on a regular expression. The regular expression should be defined so
that the first number of a matching string is the line number and the second
number, if any, is the column number. EdSharp automatically jumps to that
position. It is also saved so that the Jump Again command, Alt+J, returns
there.

Another regular expression may be configured for navigating among routines
in source code. The NavigatePart setting is used by Alt+PageDown and
Alt+PageUp to go to the next or previous function, method, or class
definition.

Thus, the Compile command, Control+F5, combines debugging steps efficiently
by compiling, saying output without a model message box, and automatically
jumping to the first error position, if found in the output. The output
spoken may be abbreviated by means of a regular expression setting that
specifies the pattern of text to remove. The Pick Compiler command,
Control+Shift+F5, lets you conveniently configure the CompileCommand ,
AbbreviateOutput, JumpPosition, NavigatePart, and QuotePrefix ssettings for
a particular compiler or interpreter. EdSharp offers settings for the
following languages: C#, HTML, Java, JAWS Script, Perl, PHP, PowerBASIC,
PowerShell, Python, Ruby, and Visual Basic .NET.

The name of a tool to be run should either include its directory location or
be available on the Windows search path. This may be adjusted by editing
the Path environment variable in the Advanced tab page of the System applet
in Control Panel. If the tool is a long file name enclosed in quotes then
either prefix the command line with the @ symbol or enclose the whole thing
in quotes. This is necessary to prevent .ini file manipulation functions of
Windows from losing the opening quote before the tool.

For HTML, the HTML Tidy utility is configured by default and distributed
with EdSharp. After eliminating coding errors found with Control+F5, use
Alt+Shift+E to export to a target file containing clean HTML. More
information is available at http://tidy.sourceforge.net

For PowerBASIC, a batch file is needed (in the EdSharp program folder),
which refers to the default location of PowerBasic for Windows version 8.0.
The path to the JAWS script compiler is also hard coded for the latest
version. JAWS scripting is additionally supported by EdSharp's own scripts:
Control+I is a hot key for inserting the path to the user script folder, and
Control+Shift+I is for the All Users script folder, when focus
is in the Open or Save Dialog of EdSharp.

Compiler settings are stored in the [Compilers] section of the EdSharp.ini
file. Only current compiler settings appear in the configuration options
dialog, Alt+Shift+C. Other settings may be edited, however, using the
Manual Options command, Alt+Shift+M. You can adjust command line
parameters of configured compilers, or add others. Installing a new version
of EdSharp does not change existing compiler settings.

EdSharp 1.2 released

http://www.EmpowermentZone.com/edsetup.exe

Version 1.2
Released August 18, 2007

Fixed the default EdSharp.ini overwriting the Import and Export sections of
the user's EdSharp.ini configuration file. Fixed commands such as Quote
(Control+Q) producing an error if no text was at the cursor position
(because the document was empty or the cursor was at the end).

Added support for enhanced speech messages when using the System Access
screen reader from
http://serotek.com

Enhanced Find and Replace commands (Control+F, Control+Shift+F, and
Control+R). The Text you enter in Find or Replace dialogs may now include
tokens that represent nonprinting characters. This syntax is available for
strings in the C programming language and its variations. Common tokens are
a pair of characters consisting of a backslash and letter, such as the
following: \r for carriage return (ASCI 13), \n for line feed (ASCII 10),
\t for tab (ASCII 9), and \f for form feed (ASCII 12). Such tokens allow
you to search for text, say, at the beginning or end of a line (use \n for a
line break in EdSharp).

The trade off for this flexibility is that backslash and quote characters
must be preceded by a backslash when intended literally (not part of a
token), i.e., \\ for backslash and \" for quote. Since this doubling of
characters may be cumbersome with search terms such as a file path, however,
EdSharp supports use of an initial @ character to indicate that the
following characters should be interpreted literally rather than as possible
tokens. For example, if searching for a file in the document, you could
enter the term
@c:\temp\temp.txt
rather than c:\\temp\\temp.txt
If you need to search for an interpreted string that begins with the @
character, precede it with a backslash, e.g.,
\@\c:\\temp\\temp.txt

The Open Other Format command (Control+Shift+O) now shows the command line
attempted by a custom converter if it failed to produce text. Added several
converters distributed with EdSharp. External converters are stored in the
Convert subfolder of the EdSharp program folder, e.g., in (default
installation):\Program Files\EdSharp\Convert

Besides the pdf converter mentioned previously, the default EdSharp.ini
configuration file (in the EdSharp program folder) now includes the
following conversions. GetText.exe is configured for importing from Windows
Help (.hlp) and Microsoft Word (.doc) — thereby eliminating the need to
load Word for this purpose. chm2txt imports Compiled HTML Help (.chm).
htm2md.exe imports from HTML and variations (.htm, .html, and .xhtml) to a
text format called Markdown — explained at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Markdown
md2htm.exe does the reverse, exporting from Markdown to HTML. EdSharp
supports Markdown as an aid to developing web pages.

Jamal

Announcing CHM2TXT

Now available at
http://www.EmpowermentZone.com/chm2txt.zip

I hope this utility increases access to information stored in CHM archives.
It is explained below.

Jamal

———-

CHM2TXT
Version 1.0
August 16, 2007
Copyright 2007 by Jamal Mazrui
Modified GPL License

Contents
Description
Operation
Development Notes
———-

Description
Running on Windows 98 and above, CHM2TXT (chm2txt.exe) is a command line
utility that converts a file from Compiled HTML format (.chm) to structured
text (.txt). Combining multiple HTML and graphics files, the CHM format is
commonly used for software documentation, e.g., what is displayed by
pressing F1. The usual help viewing program, however, can be challenging to
search globally or to read continuously. A single, structured text file
provides an alternative in such cases. CHM2TXT is a free, open source
program that seeks to fill an observed need of many users. Note that its
present limitations include the fact that topics are ordered alphabetically,
rather than according to the outline view of the CHM file.
———-

Operation
The command line syntax of CHM2TXT is as follows:
chm2txt "SourceFile.chm" "TargetFile.txt"

A file name should be fully qualified, that is, include a leading path —
either absolute or relative — if not located in the current directory.
Quotes around a file may be omitted if it does not include a space
character. The target may be omitted to produce one named like the source
except for extension. Status messages are displayed on the console (via
standard output) during the conversion process.

The chm2txt.exe executable may be copied to and run from any directory. The
program creates a workspace in a subdirectory of the user's temporary
directory. Batch files or other applications may invoke CHM2TXT in order to
convert multiple files with a single command, or to provide a graphical user
interface for specifying source and target files. For example, such
capabilities are included in the EdSharp editor available at
http://www.EmpowermentZone.com/edsetup.exe

The text file produced by CHM2TXT observes a few conventions that facilitate
navigation in editors that implement the "Homer editor interface." Besides
EdSharp, TextPal is another such application, available at
http://www.EmpowermentZone.com/palsetup.exe

A structured text document is divided into sections separated by a character
sequence consisting of a hard page break and line break (ASCII 12, 13, and
10 codes). The first section is the table of contents, and remaining
sections are the body. Each topic name in the contents is also a section
heading in the body.

Relevant Homer keys for navigation are as follows.
Press Control+PageDown to go to the next section, or Control+PageUp for the
previous one.
Press F6 to go from a topic in the contents to its corresponding section in
the body. Press Shift+F6 to reverse that, going from a section in the body
to its topic in the contents.
Press Control+F6 to search for a section based on text in its topic name.
Press Alt+F6 to search for the next match.

A structured text document may also be converted to an equivalent HTML
version, with a table of contents linked to section headings. Press
Control+H to convert the current document to HTML format. Press Control+S
to save it to disk. Press F5 to launch it in the default web browser.
———-

Development Notes
I developed CHM2TXT with the Perl Developer Kit 7.0 from
http://ActiveState.com
It incorporates Perl 5.8, as well as the libraries Text::CHM,
HTML::Stripper, and File::OldSlurp from the Comprehensive Perl Archive
Network at
http://cpan.org

The distribution archive, chm2txt.zip, contains Perl source code
(chm2txt.pl) and the batch file to compile it (compile.bat). The code is
covered by a modified version of the GNU General Public License (GPL), which
is explained at
http://gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html
Essentially, software that uses the code must be open source, except that I
am willing to relax GPL conditions in a particular case if persuaded that a
greater good would result.

I welcome feedback, which helps CHM2TXT improve over time. When reporting a
problem, the more specifics the better, including steps to reproduce it, if
possible. If you happen to be a programmer, please consider contributing
code that fixes a problem or improves functionality.

The latest version of CHM2TXT is available at the same URL,
http://www.EmpowermentZone.com/chm2txt.zip

Jamal Mazrui
jamal@EmpowermentZone.com

New Features, New Host, New Look!

Wow! We have been busy beavers! Over the past week, we have switched web hosting providers, added many new features and changed the “look and feel” of Blind Access Journal! Here’s exactly what we have done:

  • Switched to DreamHost for web hosting. I recommend this provider for accessibility, reliability and solid technical support. Full disclosure: Clicking this link to sign up with DreamHost provides me with a commission. Please consider supporting the work of Blind Access Journal!
  • Added the ability to follow me on Twitter. You may now have a glimpse into the less serious side of my life. Enjoy!
  • Changed Blogger hosting to use a Custom Domain to enable all the features available in Blogger.
  • Changed the editor@blindaccessjournal.com e-mail address so that mail is now delivered to both Karen and myself. This site is a huge undertaking. Karen and I are both partners in Blind Access Journal! She will now receive all official correspondence. Please feel free to say “hi” to Karen.
  • Upgraded from the classic template to layouts so that new features and page elements can be quickly added. The only downfall is that a blind person is unable to use the drag-and-drop functionality to rearrange the elements. It is possible to use all other features of this template mode, so the benefits should vastly outweigh the drawbacks.
  • Added a list of links to favorite blogs and web sites.
  • Added links to the most recent articles from Darrell’s Accessibility, Electronic Communications and Technology news – Powered By Bloglines, quickly delivering the latest “interesting” content.
  • Added a separate feed enabling subscribers to follow comments made in response to all posts. Thanks to Jeff Bishop for keeping on me about this one. I know he’s a much happier man now!
  • Made minor changes to the way blog archives and other elements of the page are displayed.
  • Implemented Google AdSense in hopes of recovering some of our costs.
  • Made the Skype contact name a live link.
  • Modified the visual presentation of the site as a result of the layout changes and addition of the new page elements. These modifications were automatically done by Blogger. Sighted readers, please feel free to comment on our new look.
  • Added a poll asking for your vote on all these changes.

As always, your active participation is key. Please post a comment or send e-mail with your feedback on these changes and enhancements.

Blind Navigation Research Project Seeking Participants

The Computer Science Assistive Technology Laboratory at Utah State University is seeking volunteers who are visually impaired to participate in an online survey.

The survey is part of a research project to discover how people with visual impairments describe and share descriptions of routes. A route is the path a person would travel to get from one location to another location. A route description, also known as route instructions or a set of directions, is the set of statements one person gives to another person so that the second person can successfully travel the route.

Limited Time Free CallBurner License Offer to Existing Skylook 2.0 Users

The people at Netralia have decided that, for a limited time, a free CallBurner license will be granted to owners of Skylook 2.0. Simply send your Skylook 2.0 order details to callburner@callburner.com to take advantage of this excellent deal. Netralia is also willing to offer a discount of 50% of the original Skylook 1.0 or 1.5 purchase price off the price of CallBurner for those blind or visually impaired customers who did not update to Skylook 2.0 due to accessibility concerns. For example, a Skylook 1.5 Business license purchased for $49.95 would be granted a $25 discount. Smaller discounts are available for Home and Academic customers.

Target is Seeking a JAWS Scripter

We have been made aware of the following need for a JAWS scripter. 
 
I am Deepak working on behalf of TAJ Technologies. We are a preferred vendors and recruit for Target Corp.  There is a position in Minneapolis, MN for a JAWS Scripter.  Please go through the description below, and if interested please respond with the following.  Email me a copy of your WORD formatted resume. Along with the details given below.
 
Job Title: JAWS Scripting
Client: Target Corporation
Duration: 2 Months
Location: Minneapolis, MN
 
Job Description:
Need a resource to perform scripting work in Freedom Scientific’s JAWS vision assistive and adaptive product against dynamic web pages. Experience with JAWS scripting is a must!
 
Required Skills:
Analytical Skills
Experience with JAWS Scripting
Retail Industry Experience
 
Please fill in the details below:
Current Location:
Relocation: Yes/No
Expected Bill rate:
Visa Status:
Availability:
 
As this is an urgent requirement, kindly reply at the earliest possible.
 
Thanks & Regards,
Deepak Vitta
Technical Recruiter
TAJ Technologies Inc
1168 Northland Dr
Mendota Heights MN 55120
612-216-8474, 612-216-8475. Ext – 127
deepak.v.ilink@tajtech.com
www.tajtech.com

Mike Calvo on Computer America Tonight!

Serotek CEO Mike Calvo will be interviewed live on the Computer America
program tonight July 10th at 10pm to Midnight eastern. Computer America is
the nation's longest running radio talk show about computers. Shows include
up to the moment technology news, interviews with industry experts,
appearances by hardware and software companies, show business personalities,
special segments and lots more. Throughout the Monday through Friday
two-hour program, Craig Crossman and his co-host Carey Holzman take your
phone calls, answer questions and make computers fun. A live chat room lets
you participate online during the show. And don't forget the ongoing
contests with big ticket computer prizes! Computer America is your primary
resource to the world of computers and technology. Mike will be talking
about Serotek and it's plan to provide accessibility anywhere. Current
Serotek customers are encouraged to call in and give feedback as to how
Serotek's products have impacted their lives.

Computer America is carried across the country over the Business TalkRadio
NetworkŽ. If you cannot find a radio station carrying the show, you can
still listen because the Business TalkRadio Network streams its signal live
over the Internet. The streaming audio is in Windows Media format only, so
you will need to have a player that supports this format. Click the
following link to listen to the show:
http://www.warpradio.com/player/embed.asp?page=Tuner&id=14175
If that link doesn't work, then please try this alternate link from Las
Vegas affiliate K-News 970AM:
http://www.warpradio.com/player/embed.asp?page=Tuner&id=6225