Upgrade StorageBeta 7 accessibility: Feedback on Reader
Hi,
I have tried reading both pdf and epub files in Zotero running Windows 11 and NVDA 2024.2. For now, I still prefer using external readers for both file types.
Too be efficient, the reader would probably need a few more shortcuts, for example to navigate page by page. When I want to know which page I am on, I have to go to the edit box containing the page number and then navigate back to where I stopped reading. This is more inconvenient than in other readers.
I am going to describe the process using an epub file as an example.
1. Open the epub in Zotero.
2. NVDA focus will land in the navigation bar. By default, NVDA will enter reading mode. This means pressing h for example will jump to the first heading of the opened chapter. I can now read using the arrow keys or the read all feature or navigate paragraph by paragraph.
3. Once I've found a relevant section I want to quote from, I first have to remember a text string in that section to be able to find it again later.
4. Then press enter so the page number in the navigation bar changes to the page I am on.
5. Then I press insert+space to enter focus mode, shift+tab to navigate to the navigation bar and arrow right or down to find the relevant page number.
6. Getting back to the passage I was reading is more difficult. Pressing tab brings me into the document again. Pressing insert+space switches from focus mode back to reading mode. However, once I enter reading mode, I am at the top of the section I was reading
7. Pressing insert+ctrl+f to open the NVDA text search and enter the string I remembered and find the spot where I stopped reading.
Epub: I am unable to se where a page ends and the next page starts. I have tried this with a file that has page numbers, I have checked this using the reader I usually use.
When I activate the side bar where you can see the document outline, I cannot navigate the chapters when in focus mode. when I go into reading mode, I cannot select a chapter by pressing enter on it, I have to drag the mouse to my reading position and click the text to open the section I want. It would be better if it was possible to select a chapter by remaining in focus mode, selecting a chapter using the arrow keys and pressing enter and then pressing tab to actually read the chapter.
PDF: In PDF files, it is easier to se where pages start and end, because the reader displays each page as a region. In NVDA, I can jump from region to region pressing d or shift+d when I'M in reading and not in focus mode. I'm sure JAWS has its own shortcut to achieve this, but I don't use JAWS oftn and don't know the shortcut key.
However, in PDF files, it is not possible to navigate from paragraph to paragraph (ctrl+ArrowUp and ctrl+ArrowDown), because these key strokes just go to the next or to the previous line. This is a problem in many PDF viewers and I assume Zotero uses some third-party software component to display PDFs. I will post a sample PDF below where it is possible to navigate from paragraph to paragraph when opening it in Acrobat Reader but not in Zotero. This PDF doesn't use heading tags correctly, but still it's fairly accessible.
https://www.doi.org/10.47476/jat.v3i2.2020.139
I have tried reading both pdf and epub files in Zotero running Windows 11 and NVDA 2024.2. For now, I still prefer using external readers for both file types.
Too be efficient, the reader would probably need a few more shortcuts, for example to navigate page by page. When I want to know which page I am on, I have to go to the edit box containing the page number and then navigate back to where I stopped reading. This is more inconvenient than in other readers.
I am going to describe the process using an epub file as an example.
1. Open the epub in Zotero.
2. NVDA focus will land in the navigation bar. By default, NVDA will enter reading mode. This means pressing h for example will jump to the first heading of the opened chapter. I can now read using the arrow keys or the read all feature or navigate paragraph by paragraph.
3. Once I've found a relevant section I want to quote from, I first have to remember a text string in that section to be able to find it again later.
4. Then press enter so the page number in the navigation bar changes to the page I am on.
5. Then I press insert+space to enter focus mode, shift+tab to navigate to the navigation bar and arrow right or down to find the relevant page number.
6. Getting back to the passage I was reading is more difficult. Pressing tab brings me into the document again. Pressing insert+space switches from focus mode back to reading mode. However, once I enter reading mode, I am at the top of the section I was reading
7. Pressing insert+ctrl+f to open the NVDA text search and enter the string I remembered and find the spot where I stopped reading.
Epub: I am unable to se where a page ends and the next page starts. I have tried this with a file that has page numbers, I have checked this using the reader I usually use.
When I activate the side bar where you can see the document outline, I cannot navigate the chapters when in focus mode. when I go into reading mode, I cannot select a chapter by pressing enter on it, I have to drag the mouse to my reading position and click the text to open the section I want. It would be better if it was possible to select a chapter by remaining in focus mode, selecting a chapter using the arrow keys and pressing enter and then pressing tab to actually read the chapter.
PDF: In PDF files, it is easier to se where pages start and end, because the reader displays each page as a region. In NVDA, I can jump from region to region pressing d or shift+d when I'M in reading and not in focus mode. I'm sure JAWS has its own shortcut to achieve this, but I don't use JAWS oftn and don't know the shortcut key.
However, in PDF files, it is not possible to navigate from paragraph to paragraph (ctrl+ArrowUp and ctrl+ArrowDown), because these key strokes just go to the next or to the previous line. This is a problem in many PDF viewers and I assume Zotero uses some third-party software component to display PDFs. I will post a sample PDF below where it is possible to navigate from paragraph to paragraph when opening it in Acrobat Reader but not in Zotero. This PDF doesn't use heading tags correctly, but still it's fairly accessible.
https://www.doi.org/10.47476/jat.v3i2.2020.139
Maybe you might need some help from the NVDA devs? Unfortunately I don't know enough about how NVDA works to recommend something you might try.
https://www.nvaccess.org/services/