Basic information that might be helpful
1 view
Skip to first unread message
Fernando Botelho
Dec 1, 2015, 10:51:41 AM12/1/15
to F123 Access Users (English)
Hi everyone,
Some of you might not have received an email with this introductory
information, so I am including it here in case it helps those who are
getting started with F123 Access. It now includes instructions on how to
activate or deactivate accessibility packages for Youtube and Facebook:
This e-mail includes:
* Links to Install Firefox and the F123 Access Extension
* E-mail address to subscribe to the F123 Access Google Group
* Web WhatsApp with F123 Access
* Activating and Deactivating Accessibility Packages
* Facebook with F123 Access
* Suggestions for F123 Access developers
If your question is not addressed in this message, please participate in
our group. The e-mail to subscribe to F123 Access group is included below.
* Links to Install Firefox and the F123 Access Extension
To install Mozilla Firefox please visit:
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/
To install F123 Access please visit the following link with your Firefox
browser:
https://f123access.com/intro_en
Please make sure you have "Private Browsing" turned off. Whenever
"Private Browsing" is on, all extensions are automatically turned off,
including F123 Access. This can also happen if you have Firefox
configured to never remember history.
* E-mail address to subscribe to the F123 Access Google Group
To participate on our F123 Access Google group, please send a blank
e-mail to the following address:
F123-Access-En...@googlegroups.com
* Web WhatsApp with F123 Access
At this time, the Web WhatsApp page is not accessible to users of
screen-readers (despite the popularity of the service among the blind).
To allow screen-reader users around the world to have the convenience of
their full-size computer keyboard when using WhatsApp, and to
demonstrate the power of our technology, Web WhatsApp became the first
publicly available site reformatted by F123 Access. In this section we
describe the process of signing-up and then using Web WhatsApp with F123
Access.
Please note that because of the way the WhatsApp team designed the
service, it is necessary that you have a smartphone with WhatsApp
installed and working, preferably through a WiFi connection, so that you
may use WhatsApp on your computer. The WiFi suggestion is merely in
order to prevent that you use-up all your cellular data plan with
WhatsApp's frequent updates, as accessing the service through your
computer will still cause your phone to constantly update.
Since Web WhatsApp requires users to sign-in by scanning a QR code with
their phones, we suggest that most users ask for sighted assistance when
signing-in for the first or second time. If you check the box on the
WhatsApp web page where you have to scan the QR code, where it says
"Keep me logged in", you will only have to scan it once. In any case, it
is usually possible to learn the right position for the phone and then
scan the QR code independently.
The process is as follows:
1. Open WhatsApp on your phone and select Settings and then Web WhatsApp.
On some phones, when you are on the WhatsApp screen, you need to find
the menu button and select it to get these options: New Group, New
Transmission, Web WhatsApp, Status and Settings. In that case, select
"Web WhatsApp".
2. Open Web WhatsApp on your Mozilla Firefox browser after installing
F123 Access. The address for Web WhatsApp is:
https://web.WhatsApp.com/
3. Then position your phone vertically in front of your computer screen
with its camera facing the screen. The touch screen will be facing you
while the outside or back camera is facing the screen.
On my laptop computer the distance is more or less the same as the
spacebar and the phone is held left of center. In other words, I hold it
vertically right above the left-most edge of the spacebar. I move it
left and right a bit if the login does not happen immediately.
4. You will usually hear a beep or feel a vibration when login takes place.
If you are using screen magnification, have screen brightness turned too
low, or have a dialog box open on the screen, login will not happen this
easily. If the above steps are not working for you, please ask someone
sighted to check if your screen brightness is normal, if magnification
is not active, and if there is nothing blocking the normal view on the
screen, i.e. the QR code.
5. Once you are logged-in, you will notice that you can easily jump from
one recent conversation to another using 2 and Shift+2 for level 2
headers, or just H and Shift H if you prefer. You can then choose one of
those contacts or groups by pressing Enter and your screen reader focus
will be placed on the edit field to write to that contact.
Buttons and links that were previously not labeled will now be labeled,
and you can quickly read messages exchanged with H and Shift H. But if
you just want to see the messages sent by your contact, 4 and Shift 4
will give you those, while 5 and Shift 5 will show you just your
messages to that person or group.
The above F123 Access convention of using level 4 headers for text
messages sent to you and level 5 headers for the messages you sent, is
the same we use on Facebook chat.
Now, with F123 Access, you are ready to use Web WhatsApp!
* Activating and Deactivating Accessibility Packages
F123 Access improves the accessibility of web pages thanks to special
computer code designed to correct problems. We divide that software code
in what we call accessibility packages. Some accessibility packages are
specific to certain web pages, such as WhatsApp or Facebook, while
others are generic, and can make corrections in a wide variety of pages.
You can activate or deactivate your accessibility packages by checking
or unchecking them under "My Preferences", in the F123 Access menu.
You may quickly open the F123 Access menu with Alt+3 and once you enter
the preferences option, you will find two sections. One contains
settings and the other lists the packages available to you. Everyone has
WhatsApp, Facebook, and Youtube. However, members of our testers' group
might also have access to additional packages.
Everyone who has helped others on our support Google Group or WhatsApp
group is eligible to join our testers' group. Contact us if you are
interested in joining.
* Facebook with F123 Access
Here are the main changes to Facebook with F123 Access:
Facebook Headers:
The major sections on the Facebook page can be found with your
screen-reader's command for level 1 headers. This is usually 1 and
Shift+1. Level 4 headers are used for names of friends and level 5 for
stories on the newsfeed. Level 6 header indicates the button to load
more posts on your newsfeed.
Friend Requests and Newsfeed:
Depending on your selection on the "My Preferences" settings, these
lists will be either structured as tables or with headings, to make
reviewing and acting on them easier and faster for you.
Making a post on Facebook:
It is now possible to see all of the settings for privacy, etc. and to
change them while making a post.
Facebook Short-Cut Keys:
Alt C will place you on the keyboard shortcut menu where you can use the
letter F to jump to the search box for that page, or the H key to jump
to the home page of that site.
Facebook Chat:
You can now hear an audio notification when you receive a chat message
and you can quickly review previous messages looking for level 4 and
level 5 headers with your screen reader. Messages sent to you are shown
with level 4 headers, and messages sent by you are shown with level 5
headers. This is the same arrangement F123 Access uses on Web WhatsApp.
You can also easily send a text message by pressing the 'Enter' key when
you are finished writing. There is no need to press Tab and then click
on the 'Send' button.
* Suggestions for F123 Access developers
Suggestions are always welcome and appreciated. It is thanks to
suggestions from our users that F123 Access improves daily. But they are
not always implemented because in such a complex technical project like
F123 Access, the sequence and priority of which features are
implemented, do not only depend on what is visible to our users, but
also on internal processes.
When we distribute updates that make new features available to the user,
this will be reported in the support list created in Google, so that
those interested in those improvements can have a chance to try them. If
F123 Access has been updated and there is no notice on the list, users
can assume that changes were made to improve the speed and/or security
of the software and not its functionality.
Considering the size of our task list, the only way to speed up the
process is with more resources. If anyone has contacts on a foundation
or other entity that can support our project, please let us know at:
F123A...@F123.org
Best regards,
The F123 Team
Help a blind friend by sharing this link:
https://F123Access.com/intro_en
Some of you might not have received an email with this introductory
information, so I am including it here in case it helps those who are
getting started with F123 Access. It now includes instructions on how to
activate or deactivate accessibility packages for Youtube and Facebook:
This e-mail includes:
* Links to Install Firefox and the F123 Access Extension
* E-mail address to subscribe to the F123 Access Google Group
* Web WhatsApp with F123 Access
* Activating and Deactivating Accessibility Packages
* Facebook with F123 Access
* Suggestions for F123 Access developers
If your question is not addressed in this message, please participate in
our group. The e-mail to subscribe to F123 Access group is included below.
* Links to Install Firefox and the F123 Access Extension
To install Mozilla Firefox please visit:
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/
To install F123 Access please visit the following link with your Firefox
browser:
https://f123access.com/intro_en
Please make sure you have "Private Browsing" turned off. Whenever
"Private Browsing" is on, all extensions are automatically turned off,
including F123 Access. This can also happen if you have Firefox
configured to never remember history.
* E-mail address to subscribe to the F123 Access Google Group
To participate on our F123 Access Google group, please send a blank
e-mail to the following address:
F123-Access-En...@googlegroups.com
* Web WhatsApp with F123 Access
At this time, the Web WhatsApp page is not accessible to users of
screen-readers (despite the popularity of the service among the blind).
To allow screen-reader users around the world to have the convenience of
their full-size computer keyboard when using WhatsApp, and to
demonstrate the power of our technology, Web WhatsApp became the first
publicly available site reformatted by F123 Access. In this section we
describe the process of signing-up and then using Web WhatsApp with F123
Access.
Please note that because of the way the WhatsApp team designed the
service, it is necessary that you have a smartphone with WhatsApp
installed and working, preferably through a WiFi connection, so that you
may use WhatsApp on your computer. The WiFi suggestion is merely in
order to prevent that you use-up all your cellular data plan with
WhatsApp's frequent updates, as accessing the service through your
computer will still cause your phone to constantly update.
Since Web WhatsApp requires users to sign-in by scanning a QR code with
their phones, we suggest that most users ask for sighted assistance when
signing-in for the first or second time. If you check the box on the
WhatsApp web page where you have to scan the QR code, where it says
"Keep me logged in", you will only have to scan it once. In any case, it
is usually possible to learn the right position for the phone and then
scan the QR code independently.
The process is as follows:
1. Open WhatsApp on your phone and select Settings and then Web WhatsApp.
On some phones, when you are on the WhatsApp screen, you need to find
the menu button and select it to get these options: New Group, New
Transmission, Web WhatsApp, Status and Settings. In that case, select
"Web WhatsApp".
2. Open Web WhatsApp on your Mozilla Firefox browser after installing
F123 Access. The address for Web WhatsApp is:
https://web.WhatsApp.com/
3. Then position your phone vertically in front of your computer screen
with its camera facing the screen. The touch screen will be facing you
while the outside or back camera is facing the screen.
On my laptop computer the distance is more or less the same as the
spacebar and the phone is held left of center. In other words, I hold it
vertically right above the left-most edge of the spacebar. I move it
left and right a bit if the login does not happen immediately.
4. You will usually hear a beep or feel a vibration when login takes place.
If you are using screen magnification, have screen brightness turned too
low, or have a dialog box open on the screen, login will not happen this
easily. If the above steps are not working for you, please ask someone
sighted to check if your screen brightness is normal, if magnification
is not active, and if there is nothing blocking the normal view on the
screen, i.e. the QR code.
5. Once you are logged-in, you will notice that you can easily jump from
one recent conversation to another using 2 and Shift+2 for level 2
headers, or just H and Shift H if you prefer. You can then choose one of
those contacts or groups by pressing Enter and your screen reader focus
will be placed on the edit field to write to that contact.
Buttons and links that were previously not labeled will now be labeled,
and you can quickly read messages exchanged with H and Shift H. But if
you just want to see the messages sent by your contact, 4 and Shift 4
will give you those, while 5 and Shift 5 will show you just your
messages to that person or group.
The above F123 Access convention of using level 4 headers for text
messages sent to you and level 5 headers for the messages you sent, is
the same we use on Facebook chat.
Now, with F123 Access, you are ready to use Web WhatsApp!
* Activating and Deactivating Accessibility Packages
F123 Access improves the accessibility of web pages thanks to special
computer code designed to correct problems. We divide that software code
in what we call accessibility packages. Some accessibility packages are
specific to certain web pages, such as WhatsApp or Facebook, while
others are generic, and can make corrections in a wide variety of pages.
You can activate or deactivate your accessibility packages by checking
or unchecking them under "My Preferences", in the F123 Access menu.
You may quickly open the F123 Access menu with Alt+3 and once you enter
the preferences option, you will find two sections. One contains
settings and the other lists the packages available to you. Everyone has
WhatsApp, Facebook, and Youtube. However, members of our testers' group
might also have access to additional packages.
Everyone who has helped others on our support Google Group or WhatsApp
group is eligible to join our testers' group. Contact us if you are
interested in joining.
* Facebook with F123 Access
Here are the main changes to Facebook with F123 Access:
Facebook Headers:
The major sections on the Facebook page can be found with your
screen-reader's command for level 1 headers. This is usually 1 and
Shift+1. Level 4 headers are used for names of friends and level 5 for
stories on the newsfeed. Level 6 header indicates the button to load
more posts on your newsfeed.
Friend Requests and Newsfeed:
Depending on your selection on the "My Preferences" settings, these
lists will be either structured as tables or with headings, to make
reviewing and acting on them easier and faster for you.
Making a post on Facebook:
It is now possible to see all of the settings for privacy, etc. and to
change them while making a post.
Facebook Short-Cut Keys:
Alt C will place you on the keyboard shortcut menu where you can use the
letter F to jump to the search box for that page, or the H key to jump
to the home page of that site.
Facebook Chat:
You can now hear an audio notification when you receive a chat message
and you can quickly review previous messages looking for level 4 and
level 5 headers with your screen reader. Messages sent to you are shown
with level 4 headers, and messages sent by you are shown with level 5
headers. This is the same arrangement F123 Access uses on Web WhatsApp.
You can also easily send a text message by pressing the 'Enter' key when
you are finished writing. There is no need to press Tab and then click
on the 'Send' button.
* Suggestions for F123 Access developers
Suggestions are always welcome and appreciated. It is thanks to
suggestions from our users that F123 Access improves daily. But they are
not always implemented because in such a complex technical project like
F123 Access, the sequence and priority of which features are
implemented, do not only depend on what is visible to our users, but
also on internal processes.
When we distribute updates that make new features available to the user,
this will be reported in the support list created in Google, so that
those interested in those improvements can have a chance to try them. If
F123 Access has been updated and there is no notice on the list, users
can assume that changes were made to improve the speed and/or security
of the software and not its functionality.
Considering the size of our task list, the only way to speed up the
process is with more resources. If anyone has contacts on a foundation
or other entity that can support our project, please let us know at:
F123A...@F123.org
Best regards,
The F123 Team
Help a blind friend by sharing this link:
https://F123Access.com/intro_en
Reply all
Reply to author
Forward
0 new messages