Welcome to In-Process for Halloween, 31st October 2017.
For those reading this for the first time, read on! For those who have read it previously, the update is that I’ve included some of the community contributions for Halloween at the bottom.
We hope you enjoyed the choose your own adventure episode last time!
There has been a lot of talk in the community lately about Mozilla’s soon to be released update to the popular Firefox web browser. The changes in Firefox 57, known as Firefox Quantum are designed to improve the speed and security of the browser. This, unfortunately, also impacts on the user experience for screen reader users. At this stage, NV Access is recommending that users switch to using Firefox’s Extended Support Release (ESR) version, and avoiding 57 until it is suitable for use with NVDA.
You can download Firefox ESR here.
Speaking of updates, the Windows 10 “Fall creators update” has started rolling out, as noted in our last edition. While NVDA is compatible with the update, it is recommended that you have “Controlled folder access” disabled while installing or updating NVDA. Controlled folder access is a new feature in the Fall Creator’s update. It is designed to prevent malware and particularly ransomware, from accessing system folders and user files. When enabled, however, many programs, including NVDA, encounter errors when installing. NVDA can install, however it is unable to create a desktop shortcut, and gives an error. Once NVDA has been installed or updated, the feature does not interfere with NVDA.
Disability services in Australia are transitioning to a new model, known as the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). Participants can use their NDIS plan to purchase equipment and services. NV Access is pleased to announce that we have registered as an NDIS provider. This means that NVDA telephone support and training modules can be purchased under the NDIS and is a great benefit to users in Australia.
Did you know we offered telephone support? That’s right, from the NV Access shop, you can purchase anywhere from half an hour, up to ten hours of personal NVDA telephone support. Once purchased, you will be sent instructions, including local telephone numbers in both the United States of America, and Australia.
Remember, you can also get support from our growing pool of NVDA Certified Experts. When someone completes the NVDA Certified Expert exam and purchases their listing and certificate, they can also include contact details. Feel free to browse the listing at https://certification.nvaccess.org/ to find a certified expert near you.
To end this Halloween edition of In-Process, I thought I’d share a spooky recording that suddenly and mysteriously found its way to my computer today.
Ok, that’s not overly spooky. So now it’s your turn! Get creative with NVDA for Halloween! Share your best efforts and be sure to tag @NVAccess on Twitter!
UPDATE: Wow, you are a creative bunch!
Toutauclavier’s NVDA is being VERY spooky and creative:
They tweeted: “Hey @NVAccess my NVDA has a strange behaviour for halloween… You can ear the problem here : https://www.dropbox.com/s/ja9ew57xtht2cgq/NVDA%20Halloween.mp3?dl=0 #BestEfforts”
Derek Riemer made a whole addon! Tweeting “Nv Access told us to see what Halloween fun we could have with NVDA. Here’s my boo NVDA addon! https://files.derekriemer.com/boo.nvda-addon @NVAccess”
Be careful, it can make you jump randomly!
Wow, great efforts! Whether it’s still Halloween in your part of the world or not, feel free to keep creating, tag NV Access and I’ll update this post as needed.