Make X apps speak text too! fokSyf Eye R (Puppy and Ubuntu)

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mcewanw
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BRLTTY partially pre-configured dotpet ready for download.

#41 Post by mcewanw »

I changed my mind. Since not everyone will want to use BRLTTY and since it is quite a large file (> 1 MByte), I decided to make it a standalone dotpet. Anyway, I don't have a Braille Display, so couldn't really do many tests of any conclusive sort and don't like including things in foksy CORE that haven't had a lot of testing. You will probably only want brltty-x.x-i486 if you have a Braille Display.

If you do want to try it, make sure you read my brlttyREADME.txt file first. If by chance you have a Braille Display and get it going let me know the details if you don't mind, so that I can fine tune any follow up version.

You'll find it with the foksy CORE files on Eric's (Caneri's) site
(url in top post of this thread).

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Keef
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#42 Post by Keef »

I've got this latest version running on 2.14R. However initially I could not get foksysetup to run. Tried simply clicking on it, and then tried running it from a terminal, but no joy. Eventually opened it in geany (not that I would understand the contents, but I thought I'd have a butchers anyway). I remembered that you could run some files from geany so I clicked 'execute' and that did the trick.
I'm getting used to the voice - I'm sure an experienced HAL or Jaws user would have no problem with it as I've heard some people using voices that sound like a talking watch on speed. A 'natural' voice would probably be too slow and tedious for a competent computer user.
Not that it's particularly necessary for package based on speech, but I have got a terminal setup with larger font and with white text on a dark background. Could be useful for people with some residual vision
(I nicked the script from GLinaccess: http://wearcam.org/glinaccess/README.HTM - some interesting stuff here, and also at http://lists.kde.org/?l=kde-accessibili ... 828673&w=2, a linux accessibility HOW-TO, but I appreciate I'm drifting a little off-topic here)

mcewanw
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foksy setup is two words.

#43 Post by mcewanw »

Keef wrote:I've got this latest version running on 2.14R. However initially I could not get foksysetup to run. Tried simply clicking on it, and then tried running it from a terminal, but no joy. Eventually opened it in geany (not that I would understand the contents, but I thought I'd have a butchers anyway). I remembered that you could run some files from geany so I clicked 'execute' and that did the trick.
In the latest version of fokSyf Eye R the command you should have entered is: foksy setup
[note that there must be a "space" between foksy and setup]
In older versions it was all one word.

Large fonts is a good idea for some. I'll look into that.

Actually, I also about to release a new version which includes cut and paste from X clipboard almost seamlessly from foksy, for those people also using X.

mcewanw
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fokSyf Eye R version 0.9.8 now ready.

#44 Post by mcewanw »

Make X apps speak text too! fokSyf Eye R version 0.9.8 now ready.

This version includes what I think is a very useful improvement for those running foksy in an X console (such as an xterm or rxvt):

This version includes p c (paste X clipboard) and p s (paste X highlighted text selection) into vi, (in addition to the usual middle mouse click method), for those using foksy with X.
e.g. you can use ctrl-a, on any focussed X window to select all text, and then in foksy, press p s to paste that text into vi.

Though fokSyf Eye R works perfectly well from a non-X commandline terminal, it also helps create a powerful hybrid CLI + X screen environment reader, when used alongside X application. For example, with p c and p s, foksy adds new power to users of Opera, or Seamonkey, or Firefox. Not only can the visually-impaired user use X screenmagnifiers, they can also, for example, press ctrl-a to select all text in any focussed X window, and then press p s in foksy to immediately paste that text into vi and have it thus read.
For further details and download:

http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=26184

For the moment the paste facility, from the foksy menu, works only with v i. I'll probably be expanding that facility eventually. However, v i is particularly useful in this situation; using this new facility, many visually impaired users foksy will now be able to relatively easily cut and paste articles from a GUI browser into their own text documents for modification and use. This is in addition to the standard middle mouse button approach.

mcewanw
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Make X apps speak text too! fokSyf Eye R version 0.9.9

#45 Post by mcewanw »

version 0.9.9 now released

CHANGES: Enhanced the paste from X system,
and made some major structural changes to foksy.
Tidied up a few pieces of documentation and restructured the help system.

Details and download via here:

http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=26184

Clearly the next version will be 1.0.0
I'm not planning to upload that for a while now though.
I first want to test 0.9.9 more, and to port it to some
other Linux distributions
(starting with the Ubuntu family, since I have that),
which may take some time.

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re-uploaded fokSyf Eye R 0.9.9 with latest espeak 1.36.02

#46 Post by mcewanw »

re-uploaded fokSyf Eye R 0.9.9 with latest espeak 1.36.02

Sorry, didn't notice a new espeak was out until I saw a post by muggins.
(I had already upgraded espeak to v.1.35 just a few days ago!) :-)

Note: make sure you remove previous fokSyf Eye R version with PETget before installing this re-uploaded one. And check in /usr/lib to make sure the file libespeak.a has been removed (I left it in from a previous compilation by mistake in the last dotpet upload). If its there after installing this new foksy, remove /usr/lib/libespeak.a manually - it isn't needed and shouldn't be there... I expect PETget will have removed it already though.

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fokSyf Eye R 0.9.9 should be there now

#47 Post by mcewanw »

Sorry I had some problems uploading (my dialup account). The latest fokSyf Eye R version 0.9.9 should be at Caneri's site now. Remember to unistall the previous one, and it's probably best if you check the md5sum of the new one.

mcewanw
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bad md5sum when I tried downloading

#48 Post by mcewanw »

Nope. I downloaded the file (after uploading it), and then checked the md5sum, but it was wrong. I'm going to try again, and if it is still bad, I'll have to re-upload again...sigh.

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It is fine.

#49 Post by mcewanw »

Okay, I re-downloaded foksyfeyer from Caneri's site to test it, and this time the md5sum was correct, so the file is fine and you can confidently use it. It is always good to check the md5sum yourself on any file you download though.

i.e. entering: md5sum foksyfeyerCORE-0.9.9.pet

should give the result:

2c6d09a979512aa864a91035ff76462c foksyfeyerCORE-0.9.9.pet

mcewanw
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had problem sending an email from edbrowse

#50 Post by mcewanw »

I used edbrowse to send email for the first time last night, and it works fine once set up correctly. However, first I had to fix a mistake I had made in my edbrowse address book. I described how I fixed it all up on the Speaking Dog for the Blind thread so that anyone using other 'solutions' to foksy, such as Speak-pup, might also benefit. The post I made about it is thus here:

http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewto ... 854#181446

However, though I had intended leaving any further fokSyf Eye R release for a while, I've decided to release a 1.0.0pre1 release today or tomorrow, in order to fix the address book problem and make email setup a little bit easier.

mcewanw
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Make X apps speak text too! fokSyf Eye R version 1.0.0pre1

#51 Post by mcewanw »

Well... that was particularly hard work...

fokSyf Eye R version 1.0.0pre1 is now released.

If you have been setting up edbrowse yourself at any stage, remember to back up copies of your configs before installing this, since it will overwrite them.

CHANGES:
Fixed the edbrowse e mail address book mistake.
Put an e mail getting started guide in help system.
Created a foksy e mail menu hierarchy,
for sending e mail and fethching e mail using edbrowse.
Created a foksy edbrowse config menu,
including a facility for restoring default "factory" settings,
and the most recent config (the latter gets overwritten quickly though, so safer to always back up your own configs manually as well...).
Tidied some menu items up.

There is no easy way to setup edbrowse at the moment. You can't avoid getting your hands dirty manually editing its run control file /root/. e b r c
That file is also pretty sensitive to mistakes, so I included a backup of the supplied default in this distribution of fokSyf Eye R. Karl Dahlke, the author of edbrowse, emailed me to say that he was working on a configuration script for edbrowse, so setting it up for email may become easier in the future. It isn't too difficult though, you just have to be careful not to corrupt /root/. e b r c

The are many options to test in foksy's hierarchical menu. So it needs a lot of testing still. Hopefully I haven't made too many blunders, but I'm a bit exhausted at the moment so errors may have crept in. All going well, I can get back to producing a version for other Linux distributions soon, and take it slightly easier more generally.

Details and download via here as usual:

http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=26184

mcewanw
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building a new edbrowse config script

#52 Post by mcewanw »

I mentioned by email to some of you a while ago that Karl Dahlke was writing a set up script for edbrowse. He sent me a draft a few days ago and I sent him my suggestions and some details of the edbrowse configuration I use in fokSyf.

Yesterday, Karl emailed to let me know that he had pretty much finished the set up script. It allows a user to generate their own edbrowse run control file, . e b r c

Of course, there is a lot in . e b r c, and quite a number of technical details are required to be input. The script is thus great for reasonably technical users who know their way about the configuration generally, such as where ssl certificates and address books are normally kept. Karl however previously contacted me to ask where I stored ssl certs, so that much is accounted for in the script already.

I'll be including Karl's set up script in the next fokSyf Eye R release. However, I've also attached it to this post, for those who wish to use it right away. I've place it in a tar file so that the forum accepts the post.
[note: you'll need to also add the "whereis" utility to your system, since the script uses that towards the end, and it is not in Puppy Linux by default. I'll fix that up in the next fokSyf release]

For less-technically inclined users, I'll also be including a cut-down modified version of the script, especially for fokSy, which will use default fokSy config locations and options where possible, but only ask the user for Mail Account set up data (and any other item that can only be set up on an individual basis). Indeed, in Karl's email (details attached below) he suggested I do that, and will provide me with any help I might need.

I've since also received an email from Erwin, who produces the french translation of Karl's official edbrowse documentation. Erwin informs me that he is
writing a "step-by-step" guide to computers, linux and Edbrowse for my friends : they have absolutely no knowledge (and are 70 years old)
So the guide will be for "absolute beginners", intended to "soften" the learning curve as much as possible.
However, it is in french only, so he is looking for someone to translate it into english.

>>Karl Dahlke sent me this e mail: The setup script, in the doc directory, is reasonably complete.
You may want to modify it, and cut it down to size,
to use the defaults of your distribution,
and only ask about mail accounts, or other settings that are unavoidably individual,
and must be configured by the user.

setuppuppy.ebrc

Let me know if you need any help.<<

Note that there is no setuppuppy.ebrc at the moment, though - something like that is what will be worked on for the next fokSyf release.
Attachments
setupebrc.tar
Karl's script for generating custom
edbrowse run control files ( . e b r c)
setup.ebrc is inside the attached tar file.
(30 KiB) Downloaded 606 times

mcewanw
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Make X apps speak text too! fokSyf Eye R version 1.0.0pre3

#53 Post by mcewanw »

fokSyf version 1.0.0pre3 release.
Please uninstall the old version before installing this,
and then run foksy setup and reboot as usual.
[Remember the space between foksy and setup].
Please read installREADME.txt in detail before installing.

I had the option of selecting screen font size in the back of my mind,
for those running foksy under X. Thanks to murga forum member Keef,
for some pointers to relevant howto documents on the web,
I have now added a major section to foksy to handle that.
Actually, I did a bit more than I intended,
in that I have tried to make foksy take into account the user's underlying
screen resolution, by means of a user supplied commandline argument.
What happens, if you select options x b n or x w n (where n is a specific suggested integer), is that a new, scaled,
rxvt console will open up.
You need to then enter foksy again,
to start up the menu system in that new console.
Should you want to finish, in that console,
you should enter the command exit (or press the close window X symbol).
Best way to understand how it works, is to play with it for a while...


CHANGES

version 1.0.0pre2
Added a foksy --kill option to clean up the speech system,
in case you lose it and want to restart with ifoksy.
Added menu item x b n and x w n for changing x term font sizes.
Of course, this option only applies to those using an X console.

Note that the x term font size and auto console window size changes
is a bit experimental in that it hasn't been well-tested yet.
I could have made the windows a bit bigger,
but I've erred on the side of caution (better too small than too big)
since I only have a 1024x768 monitor to try it on.
[You can always right click and maximise the rxvt console window if you wish]

If you are technically inclined you can fine tune the x term window sizes
by editing the file /usr/local/foksy/foksyopts.
If you break that, don't worry, there is a back up called foksyoptsBACKUP
in the same directory.

You can enter foksy as usual
(in which case a default screen width of 1024 is assumed,
or you can supply a screen width commandline option, such as:
foksy 800, or foksy 1280, and so on. It should word either way,
but will scale any rxvt console window better,
if you supply foksy with your screen width.
Of course the menu options x b n and x w n are only useful if you are
running foksy in an X console. However, foksy can be run outside of X,
as usual.

For a list of all the possible options to foksy,
you can enter: foksy --help

If the underlying speech system ever gets lost,
you should be able to restore it by entering:
foksy --kill
followed by
ifoksy

Further details and download as usual via here:

http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=26184

mcewanw
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mouse scroll wheel, and the command crib sheets

#54 Post by mcewanw »

re. the new fokSyf version 1.0.0pre3 detailed in the above post.

Note that with the big font consoles, you can often scroll the text up and down with the mouse scroll wheel.

In v i, when there is a lot of text on the screen,
move through it line by line with the cursor keys,
or keys j for down, and k for up, or with the enter key
(assuming command mode).

You can have the whole window spoken at any time,
by pressing alt w,

or you can have yasr read from the current cursor position, down to the end of the visible screen, by pressing alt e.

alt l (small l) to read the current line.

You can bring up a yast commands crib sheet from any foksy menu by entering y c for yasr crib.

The other crib sheets are also available from any menu, even if not shown as menu choices...

foksy paste menu choice s is great for reading out any text selected highlighted somewhere in X.

xb47 is quite a nice font on my system.
xw47 gives the black text on white background version.

If you ever seem to get "stuck" in the v i text editor, remember you need to issue a colon command.
:q! will pretty much always get you out (exclamation mark means "force").

If your are reading something in v i read only mode, you can still save any changes you want to make if you put an exclamation mark at the end of :wq (e g. you can press escape, and then enter :wq! filename, or :wq! on its own if v i already knows the filename)

If you want quite a small rxvt console window, just pretend to foksy that your normal screen resolution is only 340x240 and then choose option: xb80 or xw80.

i.e. you would run foksy like this: foksy 320

or: foksy 1 (the 1 here indicates the lowest resolution).
I'm make foksy respond to an even lower resolution in the final 1.0.0. That way it will be possible to have a tiny commandline window: good for using the paste menu and the s option for listening to X clips without taking up much screen real estate. Lots of possibilities there - maybe one long single line rxvt "bar" would be good too.

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version 1.0.0pre4 released

#55 Post by mcewanw »

version 1.0.0pre4 released

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Watch this space

#56 Post by mcewanw »

What I like least about fokSyf Eye R is having to rely on old v i so much...

That is about to change.

After weeks of testing dozens of promising modeless fullsceen text editors, I have finally found one that works with yasr... I think. Under testing - but hopefully coming very soon.

mcewanw
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Make X apps speak text too! fokSyf Eye R version 1.0.0pre5

#57 Post by mcewanw »

fokSyf Eye Reader version 1.0.0pre5 released

Changes:

This is a major upgrade. Now with the "nice" editor
(specially preconfigured for compatibility with the yasr based speech system).
Help system also uses this new editor for help document presentation.

I've left v i in as well, for the moment,
but I'm considering removing it from foksy CORE altogether now,
and just leaving it as a separate dotpet should anyone want it.
The classic v i used in fokSyf doesn't take up much space though, so I've still to decide whether to just leave it (and its documentation) in CORE or not.

The nice editor is a work of art.
Most full screen editors, don't have a chance with yasr,
because the latter intercepts so many hotkeys for its own purposes.
Apart from v i,
the nice editor is the only other editor that has proved capable.
v i only manages because it uses "modes",
so the nice editor is a very special piece of work indeed.

I had almost given up on finding a yasr compatible modeless editor like this.
It is a very easy full screen editor to use, no mouse required,
yet it hides an incredible amount of functionality and power.
The only flaw it has is that it only wordwraps what is typed into it,
not long lined files that are loaded,
and it only has an on-the-fly mechanism for marking a file as read only.
However, I was able to use its macro facility to overcome the
transient nature of its readonly mechanism.
I may also be able to produce a reasonable workaround
for the wordwrap limitation, by means of another macro and a filter.
I've still to try that though.
I actually tried the nice editor some weeks ago, but rejected it because of its status display continuously interrupting yasr. However, for some reason I was curious to try it again (with a view to hacking its code if necessary), and I suddently discovered the all important option which allowed me to turn its status bar off... If only more apps would provide that facility.

A lot of alterations were required to produce this version of foksy (mega insomniac hours),
so I will be surprised if I have not introduced a few, hopefully minor,
errors. However, what I've tested so far appears to function as expected.

Download as usual via:

http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=26184

mcewanw
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fokSyf Eye Reader version 1.0.0pre5 released

#58 Post by mcewanw »

fokSyf Eye Reader version 1.0.0pre5 released

Don't get too used to the current foksy keybindings though.

Most will stay the same,
but now that I've found an "easy to use" full screen text editor in "nice editor",
I've pretty much decided to go with djringjr's suggestion
of having a simple foksy front page menu choice. I already have it partially built, and it takes the form (without the word default):

e for (default) editor, i for (default) internet browser, m for mail, s for spreadsheet, v for voice recorder and player, and c for commandline shell. The menu was partly in that form already anyway.
The above will be the core front page apps.
I'm using i for internet browser, rather than b for browser, in case I later add some kind of file browser too (in addition to the file browsing capabilities of edbrowse). Anyway, most of the world still use Internet Explorer (sigh) so the mneumonic works in that sense too. K rec speakk is capable (through sox) of recording and playing back much higher quality audio than voice of course, but voice recording is its planned primary purpose.

I'm keeping v i but moving it to the extra apps section along with lynx, so that the front page becomes less cluttered and even simpler. That should also be good for less technical users and beginners. In practice both lynx and v i will still be accessible from the front page too, but not shown, by default, in that menu.

The help documentation system will always be a "work in progress", but with time, more categories of help can be provided, with graded levels of difficulty and completeness.

A later version of foksy could include a dynamically reconfigurable menu, but that isn't planned for the near future.

I've discovered that the "nice editor" has a paragraph formatting command that fixes a paragraph's wordwrap for long lines. I can probably therefore write a simple macro to fix that problem for any whole documents, but even if that doesn't work, the "wordwrap flaw" is now just a minor one.

I'm hoping to fix the "ctrl x won't cut text" flaw, with an alternative keybinding in the nice editor or in yasr. I might get as far as a 1.0.0pre9 release now before a "final" reasonably stable 1.0.0 is released, but hopefully everything is proving quite usable so far anyway.

The next release will contain the new simpler frontpage keybindings.

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Make X apps speak text too! fokSyf Eye R version 1.0.0pre6

#59 Post by mcewanw »

CHANGES

version 1.0.0pre6
Major upgrade. New simplified menu keybinding names and structure.

I have not changed any yasr or nice editor keybindings as yet, so no ctrl x for the editor as yet.

I also still have not experimented with a macro for wrapping all lines in the editor.

I haven't bothered modified the e mail getting started guide as yet, because I'll be moving to a mail setup script based on Karl Dahlke's example as part of it. And that is still to be written... For now, you can use v i for editing . e b r c, or use nice editor because that may be easier for most users.

Some of these additions will be tried next.

foksyf downloads as usual via:
http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=26184

mcewanw
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fokSyf Eye R version 1.0.0pre7 released.

#60 Post by mcewanw »

fokSyf Eye R version 1.0.0pre7 released.

Primarily keybinding configuration fixes; tricky,
but has produced excellent results.

In the "nice editor", the following keys now work as intended by its
author:

ctrl a now moves the cursor to the start of the current line (as does Home).
alt home moves to the start of the file (alt end to the end of the file).
ctrl x cuts a marked block of text (ctrl c for copy, ctrl v for paste).
ctrl l causes an editor "Refresh".
ctrl n or PgDn moves down to the next page (ctrl P or PgUp to previous).

Paragraph formatting in the nice editor has now been sorted out
(use alt P, or say, ctrl k pa 1000 for whole document).

I have also added the useful GNU utility fold into /usr/local/bin since
it is a very handy utility for formatting text to a fixed line length,
(rather like option bl in edbrowse).
Enter fold --help for its usage instructions.

Note, that the Alpine email suite,
including the pico editor and the project file manager now work quite
well with foksyf's yasr configuration (it was hopeless before).
Alpine is a big package though (dotpet size just under 6 MBytes),
so I haven't included it in foksyfeyerCore.
Rather than uploading the dotpet of alpine I've currently made,
I would now want to recompile it,
in order to make it work correctly with shared ssl certificates.
Compiling it is simple. Configuration is the hassle and it is low in
my current list of priorities.

I may however upload it as an addon later,
though I feel it is a bit of an overkill compared to edbrowse and
doubt that I'd use it myself.
Foksyf's new yasr configuration may also help anyone trying to use
other console applications in addition to those provided with fokSyf CORE.

As far as yasr itself goes:
ctrl a has been replaced by binding alt ` (alt backtick) for "say cursor".
ctrl l (small ell) replaced by binding ctrl alt l for "say line"
[alt l also causes the yasr action "say line"].
ctrl x has been replaced by binding ctrl alt x for "flush".
ctrl n has been replaced by binding ctrl alt n for "bypass".

Download 1.0,0pre7 version as usual via:

http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=26184

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