PRB: JAWS Software Cannot Read Some of FoxPro Menus (191326)



The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Visual FoxPro for Windows 3.0
  • Microsoft Visual FoxPro for Windows 3.0b
  • Microsoft Visual FoxPro for Windows 5.0
  • Microsoft Visual FoxPro for Windows 5.0a
  • Microsoft Visual FoxPro for Windows 6.0

This article was previously published under Q191326

SYMPTOMS

WARNING: The information in this article has not been confirmed or tested by Microsoft. Some or all of the information in this article has been taken from unconfirmed customer reports. ANY USE BY YOU OF THE INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THIS ARTICLE IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. Microsoft provides this information "as is" without warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, including but not limited to the implied warranties of merchantability and/or fitness for a particular purpose.

When using the Jaws for Windows software to read the Visual FoxPro menus, the software is not able to read some of the menus. For example, here is a listing for some of the menus that cannot be read:
  • File / New
  • View / Toolbars
  • Tools / Options
Any of the menus that are called through the Windows API, such as, File - Open, File - Print, or Format - Font, can be read properly by the Jaws software.

JAWS for Windows is manufactured by Henter-Joyce, Inc., a vendor independent of Microsoft; we make no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding this product's performance or reliability.

CAUSE

The Visual FoxPro menus have not been designed to expose their objects.

STATUS

Microsoft is researching this problem and will post new information here in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.

MORE INFORMATION

Jaws for Windows is a software product that runs in the background, allowing blind users to use other software while Jaws talks to them and "speaks" what object is on the screen they are accessing with the mouse or keyboard. Visual FoxPro's menus are written in such a way that the objects are not exposed at run-time. Some of the menus that can be read by Jaws are menus that are called through the Windows API. These menus have been designed to expose their objects, therefore, Jaws can read the objects and can "speak" those objects to the user.

Steps to Reproduce Behavior

  1. Start the Jaws for windows software, start Visual FoxPro for Windows, and from the File menu, choose New. As you tab through the menu, Jaws is not able to read the objects. However, accessing the File - Open menu allows Jaws to read the objects.
  2. If Jaws for Windows is not available, start Visual FoxPro, and from the File menu, choose Open.
  3. Open Microsoft Spy++ that comes with Microsoft C++ and select the Spy [ASCII 150] Windows menu. Scroll down the list and find the "Open" #32770 (Dialog) entry. Note that there are items listed under this entry that describe the objects in the Open dialog box.
  4. Now, go back to Visual FoxPro and select from the File menu, choose New. Switch back to Spy++ and press the F5 key to refresh the window. Scroll down the list and find the "New" Fox_4000002 entry or "New" VFP664000002 if using Visual FoxPro 6.0. Note that there are no objects listed under this entry.

REFERENCES

For more information, please see the following World Wide Web URL:

Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:3/3/2005
Keywords:kb3rdparty kbenable kbEnableSight kbprb KB191326