Hi Sarah, There have been discussions between developers and Apple, as well as users and Apple about this issue. I'm giving you a link to an old, archived list post on this subject that describes the issues:
http://www.mail-archive.com/macvisionaries%40googlegroups.com/msg09249.html (Accessible Status Menu Bar Icons and VoiceOver) The problem is that the default method that Apple recommends to developers of implementing status menu bar icons does not expose these icons to VoiceOver. The private API method that Apple uses for its own applications does make these icons available. There may be reasons why developers should not use the Apple private API calls because of they may require access to other system features that the apps should not be able to control. However, the big problem is that the standard, recommended system calls for status menu bar icons leaves us with an accessibility issue for VoiceOver. The linked post describes this in more detail, and also links to some other sources, such as queries from developers or their blog posts. For some apps, access to the status menu bar icon is not absolutely necessary -- it's a convenience, but the built-in app shortcuts do everything that you would need by accessing the status menu bar icon. For other apps, there are hooks in the way the app is designed so that you can tie an AppleScript to those hooks to again work the necessary commands. Users should not need to have to know how to do this, but at least there's a work around. The problem is that there are still a number of apps for which alternative access methods cannot easily be found. This issue came up again with Dropbox and Snow Leopard on the list: http://www.mail-archive.com/macvisionaries%40googlegroups.com/msg07940.html (Snow Leopard and Dropbox any ideas?) I know there was a solution that I'll try to dig out. HTH. Cheers, Esther On Aug 13, 2010, Sarah Alawami wrote: Is there no other way we can get to hthese status icons? I am unsure of how to write to apple regarding this oddness. Several apps require finder menues we can't access. S On Aug 13, 2010, at 1:13 PM, Esther wrote: Hi, OK, scratch that information then. I have to say that my experience with getting to the Dropbox icon on the status menu bar with the window chooser menu from Finder was the first report I'd ever seen for VoiceOver, and it was at least a year and a half ago The "Just Notes" beta version that I was using as a desktop counterpart for my Simplenote iPhone/iPod Touch app also works this way. I never bothered to update the setup after a certain point, because it was working. Cheers, Esther On Aug 13, 2010, at 09:54 AM, Ray Foret Jr wrote: Thing is, I just went to my finder window, pressed VO+F2 twice quickly to get in to the window chooser menu, and all there is is just one window. That's the desk top window. Sincerely, The Constantly Barefooted Ray!!! On Aug 13, 2010, at 2:46 PM, Esther wrote: Hi Ray, I was using window chooser menu (VO-F2 twice) from Finder. And the entry for Dropbox that I choose is "untitled" as described in my earlier post -- not, as I typed here, "unknown". HTH. Cheers, Esther On Aug 13, 2010, Ray Foret Jr wrote: It must do because I am in my Apple Mail client and I can't find it either. Another thing. When I'm in the typing keybord program, (the one that makes your keyboard sound like a typewriter), there's supposed to be another menu item to the right of the help menu; but, I can never find it. Sincerely, The Constantly Barefooted Ray!!! A Very Proud and Happy Mac User!!! E-Mail: rforetjr at comcast dot net Skype Name: barefootedray On Aug 13, 2010, at 2:33 PM, Esther wrote: Hi Louie, I set up my Dropbox account over a year and a half ago -- the "unknown" in the Window chooser menu was a real surprise and the first time I'd ever encountered this. It's possible that the current installation works differently. Cheers, Esther On Aug 13, 2010, at 09:05 AM, louie wrote: athanks I could nod find any thing call unkowned from the window choser menu. I must have some other configuration set wrong. On Aug 13, 2010, at 11:46 AM, Esther wrote: Hi Louie, To get to the Dropbox icon on your status menu bar, use window chooser menu (VO-F2 twice), and choose "untitled". Then, route your mouse cursor to that location, which will be the Dropbox icon on the status menu bar. There are a couple of apps I know of that work this way, where you can get around the fact that the icon on the status menu is not seen by VoiceOver by using VO-F2 twice. Unfortunately (if you're using more than one of these), they all identify their icon as "untitled", so you have to determine whether you want the first or second "untitled" in the window chooser menu list. Mike, Dropbox is a cross-platform file sharing program that you can use to share or sync files across machines, You can also use this through an app on your iPhone or iPod Touch as a way of transferring files. I think you get 2 GB of file space for free when you sign up. You can purchase additional space. Also, unlike some file sharing services, the transmission and data are encrypted with SSL, and sharable folders can only be viewed by people you invite. HTH. Cheers, Esther Michael Busboom wrote: Hello. Although I cannot answer your question, I have one of my own. What is a drop box? Thanks, Mike On 13,Aug,2010, at 8:13 PM, louie wrote:
Hi all, I am told by my sighted friend that there is a dropbox item on the finder menu bar. How do you get to this item? Thanks for any help. louie louiem...@wavecable.com http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en.
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