---- Original Message ------
From: Jamal Mazrui <[log in to unmask]
Subject: 2011 updates to several, free, accessible software
solutions
Date sent: Mon, 17 Jan 2011 10:20:40 -0500 (EST)
NonvisualDevelopment.org announces updates to several free, open
source
projects. Below is a short description of each project,
including links
to its download package and user guide, followed by a summary of
recent
changes.
Nearly all of these are Windows-based programs published under
the GNU
Lesser General Public License (LGPL), which is explained at
http://gnu.org
Some programs are written in cross-platform languages, so may be
adaptable
to run on other operating systems as well. Anyone may use the
programs
in either binary or source code form. I welcome feedback,
suggestions,
and code contributions.
Jamal
----------
EdSharp -- A productive text editor, word processor, file
converter, and
code editor.
http://EmpowermentZone.com/edsetup.exe
Documentation
http://EmpowermentZone.com/EdSharp.htm
Version 3.3 adds the Format Code command, Control+4, to format
source code
of C-like languages based on file extension. This incorporates
the free
Artistic Style utility, which is also available separately at
http://astyle.sourceforge.net
Added an unofficial encoding, UTF-8N, meaning UTF-8 encoding
without a
Byte Order Mark (BOM). If this code is used in the
YieldEncoding
configuration setting (Alt+Shift+C for Configuration Options),
that
default encoding will be assumed. This maximizes compatibility
of files
uploaded to Linux-based web servers -- Windows programs
typically add a
BOM, but it is often not recognized by cross-platform programs
with Linux
origin.
A file saved on the Recent Files list (Alt+R) now includes the
last cursor
position when the file window was closed (Control+F4 or Alt+F4).
This
position is automatically restored the next time the file is
opened --
unless an explicit bookmark was set (Control+K), which takes
precedence
as the initial location in the file.
Added many more import (Control+Shift+O) and output (Alt+Shift+E)
format
options, supporting conversions among HTML (.htm), LaTeX (.tex),
Markdown
(.md), rich text format (.rtf), and txt2tags (.tt) formats.
These
conversions are made possible by incorporating free utilities
called
Pandoc
http://johnmacfarlane.net/pandoc/
and txt2tags
http://txt2tags.org
In addition, Microsoft Office 2007 formats such as .docx may be
imported
if you install a Microsoft "filter pack" that is offered at the
end of
the EdSharp installer.
Sped up time for subsequent invocations of EdSharp after the
initial one.
Improved the optional JAWS scripts for EdSharp so that titles of
top-level
windows are more reliably read.
----------
Encoding -- Check and convert among various file encodings,
including
versions of ANSI and Unicode.
http://EmpowermentZone.com/Encoding.zip
Documentation
http://EmpowermentZone.com/Encoding.htm
Version 1.1 adds an unofficial encoding called ASCIIFY. This
works
similar to the ASCII encoding in that only 7- bit characters
having an
ordinal value less than 128 are included in the resulting file.
A
significant difference, however, is that rather than just
dropping each
non-ASCII character, an attempt is made to substitute an ASCII
character
or word with equivalent meaning. For example, the single Unicode
character for an ellipses symbol is replaced with three
consecutive
period characters. The Encoding.exe utility is now also
distributed in
the WebClient subdirectory of the EdSharp and FileDir
applications, which
make use of it for detecting encodings automatically, or
converting among
different ones.
----------
FileDir -- A file and directory manager that does much more than
Windows
Explorer.
http://EmpowermentZone.com/dirsetup.exe
Documentation
http://EmpowermentZone.com/FileDir.htm
Version 3.9 strengthens the Query Encoding command, Shift+2, so
that it
automatically detects an encoding using the Encoding.exe utility
previously mentioned. Convert Encoding , Control+2, is a new
command for
converting the current or tagged files to another encoding. You
can pick
among nearly 100 encodings, including the unofficial ASCIIFY,
UTF-8B, and
UTF-8N ones previously mentioned. As a safety measure, original
files are
automatically backed up to files with the same names and an
additional
.bak extension. Microsoft Office 2007 formats are now
supported with the
What command (Question Mark), Output to Text command (Shift+O),
and Append
Text to Clipboard command (Shift+A). This support requires
installation
of the Microsoft "filter pack" previously mentioned, which is
offered at
the end of the FileDir installer, and also available separately
at
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?familyid=60c92
a37-719c-4077-b5c6-cac34f4227cc&displaylang=en&tm
----------
JAWS Script Exchange -- A program for installing 3rd party JAWS
scripts
from a zip archive, or for Creating an executable package of
scripts to
distribute to others.
http://EmpowermentZone.com/jsxsetup.exe
Documentation
http://EmpowermentZone.com/jsx.htm
Version 3.3 finds the appropriate user script directory more
reliably,
regardless of whether JAWS is running as a Windows service or
user
process (typically determined by whether JAWS is configured to
run at
Windows startup or not). A conflict is eliminated between the
optional
HomerKit scripts for Internet Explorer and the IEMax scripts
available
separately at
http://EmpowermentZone.com/IEMax.exe
(or .zip for a manual install)
Comprehensive documentation for JAWS 12, rather than JAWS 11, is
now
included. JSX also now incorporates the latest, 5.4.0 version
of Inno
Setup, which is also available separately from
http://InnoSetup.org
----------
PDF2TXT -- A program for single or batch conversion of PDFs to
text,
including OCR capability.
http://EmpowermentZone.com/p2tsetup.exe
Documentation
http://EmpowermentZone.com/pdf2txt.htm
Version 2.3 supports enhanced speech messages with NVDA, in
addition to
JAWS, System Access, and Window-Eyes. This is done via a new
version of
the SayLine.exe utility that is part of the updated SayTools
package
mentioned below.
----------
SayTools -- A COM server and set of executable utilities for
developers to
add speech to an application, using either the default screen
reader or
SAPI voice.
http://EmpowermentZone.com/saysetup.exe
Documentation
http://EmpowermentZone.com/SayTools.htm
Version 1.9 adds support for NVDA, a free, open source screen
reader
available from
http://nvda-project.org
----------
Let me also mention that the web site of the "fruit basket"
project has
recently been revised to take advantage of features of the
Drupal content
management system:
http://FruitBasketDemos.org
A fruit basket program is a simple, but nontrivial program with a
graphical user interface (GUI). This community project offers
many
samples that meet the same criteria using different programming
languages,
thereby allowing programmers to compare various aspects when
considering
a development approach.
----------
I edit a set of answers to frequently asked questions about
nonvisual
development at
http://EmpowermentZone.com/NonvisualDevelopmentFAQ.htm
----------
A complete list of my open source projects (excluding screen
reader-specific scripts) is available at
http://EmpowermentZone.com/OpenSourceProjects.htm
VICUG-L is the Visually Impaired Computer User Group List.
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