Knoppix 7.2.0 Iceweasel not accesible by Orca

[rbenea]

Hi,

I tested Knoppix 7.2.0 and discovered that Iceweasel is not accesible by Orca.

After reading these:
http://lists.debian.org/debian-accessibility/2012/07/msg00101.html
http://lists.debian.org/debian-accessibility/2012/06/msg00150.html
https://mail.gnome.org/archives/orca-list/2012-June/msg00320.html

none of them worked:
- install from repository iceweasel 10.x, 17.x or 21.x
- download and install firefox from firefox.com
- export GNOME_ACCESSIBILITY=1

Any ideas?

Thank you,
Rares

[knopper]

Hi,

I tested Knoppix 7.2.0 and discovered that Iceweasel is not accesible by Orca.

After reading these:
http://lists.debian.org/debian-accessibility/2012/07/msg00101.html
http://lists.debian.org/debian-accessibility/2012/06/msg00150.html
https://mail.gnome.org/archives/orca-list/2012-June/msg00320.html

none of them worked:
- install from repository iceweasel 10.x, 17.x or 21.x
- download and install firefox from firefox.com
- export GNOME_ACCESSIBILITY=1

Any ideas?

Thank you,
Rares

Before the release, I tried to get iceweasel to talk with the current gnome 3.4 orca release using various tricks, environment variables and settings, but no luck.
It seems that orca is currently very much bound to gnome-session, and some programs only work with orca if you start the full gnome desktop, and even there are many reports of instabilities on the accessibility mailing lists. After upgrading gnome-orca to the currentmost version, even the orca preferences window itself wasn't talking anymore.
Unfortunately keeping the old version was not possible because of conflicts with GTK3 needed for many programs. So, I had to give up and just reduced the graphical programs that still worked with orca in the ADRIANE X-starter menu to make a release, that's why only the lxde desktop and libreoffice are listed there. GTK2 programs still work, and some of the GTK3 programs do, too, but not iceweasel.
Hopefully, the situation improves with future updates in gnome-orca and at-spi2/atk.
Regards -Klaus

[Jeffery Mewtamer]

With my existing install of 7.0.5 finally failing, I decided to try getting firefox working with Orca in 7.2.0. adding oldstable to my sources.list and using Aptitude to downgarde gnome-orca, at-spi, and python-pyatspi to the oldest version available worked in getting Firefox back in the Graphical Programs menu and working with Orca. Can't say if this causes problems else where as Iceweasel is the only Graphical application I use. Did run into an issue with Orca's window hogging attantion until I uncheck the "show main window" option and restarting after installing to harddrive, but I got Iceweasel working with Orca in 7.2.0.

[rbenea]

Dear Jeffery, how is the new, downgraded, setup working for you? Is the configuration stable? Did you have problems in running Firefox with Orca for long periods of time without rebooting?

[Jeffery Mewtamer]

I would rate running Adriane 7.2.0 with the older versions of gnome-orca, at-spi, pythonpy-atspi and Adriane-x as being very stable. Orca does occasionally crash, forcing me to return to the Adriane Menu and restore my previous Iceweasel session, but no more often than it did on 7.0.5. It isn't the most newbie friendly solution, but I would recommend it to anyone with experience customizing the installed software set under Debian-based distros.

[rbenea]

I am happy to announce a fix here: http://knoppix.net/forum/showthread.php?30997-Making-Firefox-Iceweasel-accessible-by-Orca-in-Adriane-Knoppix-7-2&p=130558