Screen Reader List View Presentation Method

• US 20060115799A1
• Filed: 11/14/2005
• Published: 06/01/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 11/12/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Freedom Scientific Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Freedom Scientific Incorporated
• Inventors: Stephen, Joseph, Damery, Eric
• Granted Patent: US 8,092,221 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 434/185
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 15/06 Devices for exercising or strengthening fingers or arms; Devices for holding fingers or arms in a proper position for playing for teaching typing G09B13/00; exercising apparatus for developing or strengthening the muscles for physical training A63B21/00, A63B23/00
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 21/006 using audible presentation of the information

Abstract

A speech-generating product for controlling the output of tabular or other composite data in a computer having a screen reader function. The product provides a customized control presentation tool that configures a screen reader to present tabular or other composite data to a user in the order most useful to the user. The tool includes the ability to configure the screen reader independently for both speech and Braille output on a control by control basis. This customized control presentation is saved in permanent storage. Consequently, each time the screen reader is presented with this instance of the control, the screen reader immediately knows how to present it to the user. The software product allows a user to modify the output by the screen reader of the data according to preferences configurable by the user. These preferences may include the ability to skip display information, to specify the order in which the screen reader presents the display information and the ability to alter the headers associated with the display information. By altering the headers the user may annotate the headers to provide additional information about the underlying data. The headers may also be output in an alternative voice by a speech synthesizer to queue a user to a change of information. The user may also specify that certain display information is sent by the screen reader to one display device while other display information is sent to an alternative display device.

Claims

1. A screen reader software product comprising:

a screen reader module communicatively coupled with resident software on a computer, the reader adapted to display information generated by the resident software;

a broadcast module communicatively coupled to the reader module, the broadcast module adapted to communicate the display information collected by the reader module to an output device; and

a control presentation module coupled to the broadcast module, the control presentation module adapted to control the output of composite data according to one or more preferences configurable by a user.

2. The screen reader software product according to claim 1 wherein the composite data is tabular data.

3. The screen reader software product according to claim 1 wherein the tabular data is a listview.

4. The screen reader software product according to claim 1 wherein the control presentation module is adapted to allow the user to alter the display information presented for a header.

5. The screen reader software product according to claim 4 wherein the header comprises a tag to alter the voice of a speech synthesizer when the header is audibly output.

6. The screen reader software product according to claim 1 wherein the control presentation module is adapted to change the order of presentation of composite data.

7. The screen reader software product according to claim 1 wherein the output device is a speech synthesizer.

8. The screen reader software product according to claim 1 wherein the output device is a Braille display.

9. The screen reader software product according to claim 1 wherein the output device is an array of a speech synthesizer and a Braille display, whereby the speech synthesizer and the Braille display output are separably configurable.

10. The screen reader software product according to claim 1 wherein the one or more preferences are configurable by an end-user.

11. A method of controlling the output of a listview in a computer having a screen reader function comprising the steps of:

generating an identifier for a listview control in focus;

comparing the generated identification for the listview control with a screen reader data store comprising an array of identifiers to identify the listview instance; and

outputting the associated listview data for the identified listview instance according to one or more preferences configured by a user specific to the listview instance.

12. The method according to claim 11 wherein the identifier is generated from the column headers of the listview instance.

13. The method according to claim 12 wherein the headers are concatenated to produce a CRC for the listview instance.

14. The method according to claim 11 wherein the one or more preferences are configurable by an end-user.

15. The method according to claim 11 wherein the associated listview data is output to a speech synthesizer.

16. The method according to claim 11 wherein the associated listview data is output to a Braille device.

17. The method according to claim 11 wherein the associated listview data is output an array of a speech synthesizer and a Braille display, whereby the speech synthesizer and the Braille display output are separably configurable.

18. The method according to claim 11 wherein the one or more preferences include a preference to alter the display information presented for a header.

19. The method according to claim 15 wherein the header comprises a tag to alter the voice of a speech synthesizer when the header is audibly output.

20. The method according to claim 11 wherein the preferences include a preference to alter the order of presentation of the listview data.