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Help with Linux Screenreaders
For better accessibility testing of the software I build, I've started testing more with screen readers.
On Android, enabling and using TalkBack is relatively straightforward, but for testing on my desktop, Orca is completely unusable.
I have a brand new Debian VM with GNOME, and Orca enabled, but actually using it in firefox just barely works. TalkBack has a nice workflow with highlighted elements that you move between as you read the page, but Orca seems delegated to using caret browsing and reading whatever your cursor is on? Am I missing shortcuts (which are also a pain, because the modifier can only be caps-lock or insert, not really conveniently placed)
Am I missing something, or is this the state of #Accessibility on #Linux?
Also the tts quality is very poor, which would make this even worse for any prolonged testing, but maybe there are alternative engines?
re: Help with Linux Screenreaders
@Seirdy right, might just have to dust off a windows vm instead then 🙄
From my understanding Orca just doesn't recognize any kind of landmarks/tree structure at all, and so it's practically useless for my testing because I can already see the same visible text it reads..
Odilia seems interesting, gonna try a build of that then
re: Help with Linux Screenreaders
@Seirdy got Odilla built and seems like an interesting project, but not much functionality yet. Definitely worth keeping an eye on though
Help with Linux Screenreaders 
:boosts_ok_gay:Help with Linux Screenreaders
@f0x The state of linux accessibility is indeed very bad. There are other TTS engines, though you the choice is usually good, free, gratis, pick any 1.
:boosts_ok_gay:Help with Linux Screenreaders
As for the TTS engines there is #RHVoice with some very good voices such as english voice named slt.
:boosts_ok_gay:Help with Linux Screenreaders
@f0x Unfortunately, this is the state of Linux accessibility as it currently stands. There is potential for improvement over the next few years with the Odilia and Access Kit projects, however, there are no guarantees to my knowledge. Here's the GitHub page for both projects, in case you're interested. https://github.com/odilia-app/odilia https://github.com/AccessKit/accesskit
re: Help with Linux Screenreaders
@dangero yep.. Odilia seemed quite promising, keeping an eye on that for sure
re:
Help with Linux Screenreaders
@f0x Desktop screen readers generally have a very high learning curve. NVDA on Windows is the most popular option, which takes time to learn; VoiceOver for macOS and Narrator for Windows are a bit easier.
Orca is similarly hard (and kinda buggy), and also less capable. It’s worth testing with but it’ll take time to grok and support for it varies. I’ve heard that GNOME’s Wayland compositor also has some major a11y gaps, but I haven’t tested it.
Odilia will be a better alternative that’s actually extensible like NVDA.