Hi everyone,
before I start I’d like to introduce myself a little bit.
I am a blind programmer from Poland. My daily driver is macOS, however I used Linux in 2017 for a year. I don’t plan on changing MacOS for anything else, its just perfect for what I need it for, but my other big, too big of a hobby is gaming, and I dislike Windows even more.
Back in the old days I always wanted to use KDE, for me it seemed like the environment which combines the best of desktop and mobile world, but at that time it was almost completely inaccessible to the Orca Screenreader, this program reads everything for me on the computer. Now to my questions
How can I remap right meta key for the context menu key? My keyboard does not have the context menu key and unfortunately SHIFT+F10 is still not a widely used combination in KDE< and not all applications support it.
How can I make a new panel with keyboard only?
How can I cycle between those panels?
Where can I report accessibility bugs? I heard KDE has a dedicated group of people working on accessibility.
Are there any resources for blind KDE users by any chance?
Well I am an octogenarian and just had cataract surgery so I do understand (partly) your needs. I can offer some ideas for workflow. Firstly I suggest that you need a single port to instruct the various resources you are accessing. I suggest that you explore using Albert launcher as your single point of entry into the KDE (and other) worlds. A simple key stroke (Ctrl+Space) which I can do with eyes shut brings up a single query form. Then with a custom Python extension (I can point to the right tutorials) you can design your own protocol to drive KDE. For example if I type Apps (followed by space) a list of Apps appears and if you remember how many clicks down to any app you can launch the App. That is a good start. But this theme can be extended further to running UI scripts to perform tasks. All by remembering simple short key sequences. You could develop a new paradigm for blind KDE users. I am using this method to instruct AI Agent to drive my UI desktop. Once it is calibrated and tested it will be easier to use daily. So Albert meets all your points. I’m sure. Just a bit of learning of Albert Python extensions is needed. Perhaps you can get audio feedback on your blind keystrokes?
P.S. if you are in Mac then the alternative to Albert is Alfred (I have little experience in Mac).
under settings > keyboard > advanced there are hundreds of keyboard variants to choose from that reassign keys and/or move them around and you might find some of them useful.
there is also a package called input-remapper that i have found to be quite powerful when i want to reassign a key or mouse button, maybe your distro has that package.
i don’t see a plasma or kwin shortcut to add a panel (only a widget), or cycle between them but that doesn’t mean it can’t be done… if you are using X11 there is a command line tool for automating screen stuff called xdotool, and i understand there is a wayland variant as well.
bugs.kde.org is where you report any bugs that you find that are kde specific… your distro will have it’s own bug reporting process.
this link is a good starting point
also, kde has it’s own screen reader at meta+alt+s if you want to try it.
P.S. If your hobby is gaming two further ideas:
(1) Look up HaXe.org
(2) Try WolframAlpha which has a simple command structure fitting in with Albert/Alfred thesis.
Hi,
A program similar to Albert I use on the Mac is called Raycast. It’s good to see there are options for Linux too.
Meta Alt S is Orca, which is a Linux screenreader for Gui. That’s whaq I use.
Thank you so much for your time.
I don’t understand why this comprehensive curated clip was flagged. “Flaggers explain”. If you thought that I was pushing a product your were wrong .. yet again.