VLC multimedia player: Accessibility enhancements - user's manual

Author: paulber19 (paulber19@laposte.net) with the very active participation of Daniel Poiraud.

URL: https://github.com/paulber19/VLCAccessEnhancementNVDAAddon.git

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Summary

1. Introduction

1.1. Features

This extension adds a number of commands to facilitate the reading of the media with NVDA:

1.2. Compatibility

This version is compatible with version 3.0 of VLC.

2. Gesture command provided by the extension:

These gesture commands can be modified with the " dialogue "acts of command" of NVDA.

3. Keyboard shortcuts specific to VLC vocalisés by this extension:

Some of the shortcuts provided by default by VLC pose problems and must be modified. These are:

To implement these new shortcuts, you must proceed to the modification of the configuration file "vlcrc" in VLC like this:

Here are the keyboard shortcuts that this extension vocalise:

So as not to disturb the user, the played time automatically is vocalized only when the media is paused or playing with the sound muted.

A control is done to prevent jumping outside of the boundaries of the media. For example, it is not possible to make a break of 5 minutes if he only stays 2 minutes remaining to play, or back 10 seconds if the term already read is 3 seconds.

The media is automatically paused when the time remaining to play after a jump is less than 10 seconds, this to avoid stopping the media by VLC and allow to go back if desired.

The state "mute state" is mentioned at the launch of the reading.

The volume level is announced at each change.

The passage in pause is announced.

The options "Announce automatically the volume level" and "Announce automatically the elapsed time" control the behavior of the extension. By default, these two options are enabled.

Each option can be modified using the dialogue of parameter setting of the extension or a script, without a gesture of command assigned by default.

4. Script to Display the dialog to set a time and move the playback cursor to the time

VLC offers the possibility of using the shortcut "control + t" to move to a specific time of the media. But the dialog box that this creates problems of accessibility.

This extension provides an alternative (better) to move at a time with the shortcut "Control + comma". This shortcut presents a dialog box that allows you to set the time (hours, minutes, seconds) where to position the playback cursor in the media, within the limits of the total duration of the media decreased by 5 seconds.

5. Revival of reading

To be able to resume playback of a media, two solutions are possible:

5.1. First solution

VLC remembers the current playback position at the time when it is interrupted, that is to say, either following a command to VLC, either by exiting the application.

When the media is re-launched, VLC displays the possibility of recovery in the status bar for a very short time (a few seconds) and typing the shortcut "Alt + r", playback is restarted at the stored position to the media.

As this is hardly usable for a non-seeing, this extension provides a script that allows you to resume playback at the position recorded by VLC without this time constraint.

When a media is being revived, and that VLC has saved, for the media, a restart position of the reading, the voice announcement "Resume playback Alt + Control + r" indicates. Using the gesture command "Alt + Control + r", playback of the media continues to the stored position.

This gesture control is editable by the user.

5.2. Second

This second solution requires that you first mark the starting position of the playback using the gesture command "NVDA + Control + f5". It is best to pause the media in advance. You do not have to exit VLC to resume the playback of this media.

To resume playback of a media file, the keyboard command "NVDA + Control + f6" to resume playback at the position recorded by the extension for this media.

This position is saved in the configuration file of the extension and for each media are registered in the name of the media and the position associated. Only the media, the most recently opened are kept in this file.

Attention: the name of the media is unique in this file. If two files of the same name are in different folders, only the last record for that name will be retained.

Some media such as a radio, does not allow the use of this feature. This is determined by the absence of total time.

6. Access control of reading

VLC presents elements of control the media playback (mainly buttons and check boxes) that are not reachable by the keyboard.

Although shortcuts of VLC allow you to perform some of the functions of these elements, the extension gives access to these controls using the "Tab" key.

These controls are grouped in a virtual panel. The input in this panel is signalled by the announcement "control Panel". The panel output is signalled by the announcement of the title track of "window focus".

In this pane , the "tab" key lets you move to the next item , "shift + Tab" to the previous item.

It is possible to activate an item with the "Enter" key.

Attention: the space bar pauses or restarts playback of the media, but it does not activate the element.

The option "Access to the playback controls" allows you to change this behavior set by default.

7. Add-ins technical

7.1. Reset the configuration of VLC

At startup, VLC creates in the folder user configuration of Windows, the folder "vlc" which contains the configuration files of the VLC.

To reset the configuration of VLC without having to reinstall, just delete the folder.

To facilitate this, the extension offers the option to "Delete the configuration folder of the VLC" in the dialog "Configuration of VLC".

To bring up this dialog:

Subsequently, if the button "Edit shortcuts of your media player, VLC must be used, it is necessary to run it at least once VLC to re-create this folder and the configuration files of the VLC.

7.2. Support the multilingualism of the VLC media player

As the designers of the media player are not provided in the software to provide relevant information to identify the objects constituting it, this extension relies on their name or their description. To do this, it is necessary to define for each language version of VLC objects used by the extension. These definitions are in the files "strings-xx.ini" (xx = id of the language) in the folder "VLCLocale of the extension. These files are saved in the encoding "UTF-8" without BOM. To know the language configured in VLC, this extension uses the name of the second menu of the menu bar and this is the key "StringToFindLanguage" section of the "hand" that is defined. The section "VLC" file contains the keys to identify the objects. These are:

7.3. Definition of keyboard shortcuts to change

As stated earlier, some shortcuts of VLC are not usable depending on the type of keyboard. This extension allows you to define and modify.

The definitions of these shortcuts to modify are in the file "settings.ini" in the folder "local" to each language of NVDA supported by the extension. In this file, the section "vlc-keynames", defined by a number, the identifiers VLC shortcuts to edit, and the section "vlc-assignments", associates each identifier with the new shortcuts. The shortcuts must be in the form understood by VLC (for example, Ctrl for control, left for left arrow).

7.4. Definition of the gesture command

Gestures commands in this extension are also defined in the file "settings.ini". They can be found in the section "script-gestures", and for each script, it is possible to assign one or more actions command in the form NVDA, (for example kb:(desktop):Control+c, kb:nvda+shift+alt+f1). The identifiers of the scripts are:

8. Update

The update of the extension is, by default, automatically a short time after the start of NVDA (between 20 and 600 seconds) and a maximum of once per day. It is possible to disable this update by unchecking the option "automatically check for updates" in the extension settings, sub-menu "update". The version of the extension can be:

By default, the stable version is updated with a stable version more recent (higher version number). But it is possible to update the stable version running with a development version of the next stable version. Just check the option "Update also update the stable release to the versions of development" located in the extension settings, sub-menu "update".

A development version is updated:

The button "Search for update" placed in the extension settings, sub-menu "update", allows you to search immediately for an update.

The "View history" button, placed in this same category, allows you to display the history of the current version in the browser.

In the case of an automatic update and if a new version is detected, the "Update" dialog box is displayed to suggest:

In the case of an update to a stable version, the "What's new" button offers the possibility of opening, in the browser, the history of the add-on and thus being able to know the new features of the proposed version.

9. History

The history of this add-on is in the file: "changes.html".