Windows 10 App Essentials 18.08 (Happy Third Birthday, Windows 10)

Note: version 18.08.1 brings localization updates and resolves an issue for Windows Insiders where recent RS5 builds caused NvDA to play suggestion opened sound when closing Start menu.

Hi all,

Windows 10 App Essentials 18.08 (aka Windows 10 Birthday Edition) is now available.

Changelog:

• Added support for IUIAutomation6 interface (works properly with NVDA 2018.3 or later).
• IN Windows 10 Redstone 5, improved NVDA's responsiveness in some situations by using features introduced in IUIAutomation6, particularly when switching apps while a long-running task is running in the background.
• Updated various add-on source code parts to reflect 2018 changes.
• When tracking events, the sender itself (object where the event came from) is also logged.
• When tracking UIA notification events, debug tone will be heard if notifications came from somewhere other than the active app.
• Expanded submenu handling beyond Shell experience Host, as Microsoft Edge's app menu (Alt+X) contains submenus since Redstone 5.
• Custom handler for looping selector items (not the list) found in Alarms and Clock and Settings apps are no longer included due to improved accessibility of this control in recent Windows 10 releases.
• Added support for recent releases of People (modern Outlook/Contacts) app (via a dedicated app module).
• Modern keyboard: When opening clipboard items list in redstone 5, NVDA will no longer announce "Clipboard" (the label for the list itself) when this panel is opened.
• People: In recent app releases, NVDA will once again announce top suggestions when searching for contacts.

Enjoy.

Windows 10 App Essentials 18.07.1

Note: 18.07.1A replaces 18.07.1 to resolve "heading level" announcement for Calculator results.

Hi all,

Windows 10 App Essentials 18.07.1 (matching its release date) is now available. This version is ideal for those wishing to test ARIA compliance with Microsoft Edge+NVDA combination, or are using Insider build 17704.
Changelog:

• Clarified readme to say that Sets is part of builds 17627 through 17692 for some Windows Insiders. Sets is removed in build 17704.
• NVDA will recognize alert text in various apps and announce them via live region changed event. This includes aria-role=alert element in Microsoft Edge and other apps.
• In build 17704 and later, reduced verbosity when browsing emojis via emoji panel.

Enjoy.

Windows 10 App Essentials 18.07

Hi all,

Windows 10 App Essentials 18.07 is now available.

IMPORTANT: this version requires Windows 10 Version 1709 (build 16299) or later.

Changelog:

• Added UIA active text position change event (Redstone 5) to list of events to be tracked in debug mode.
• NVDA will play a tone and log a message when encountering a dialog (through use of IsDialog property (Redstone 5) or after consulting a list of known dialog class names).
• Modern keyboard: Reduced unnecessary verbosity when working with modern keyboard and its features. These include no longer announcing "Microsoft Candidate UI" when opening hardware keyboard input suggestions and staying silent when certain touch keyboard keys raise name change event on some systems.
• Settings: More messages about Windows Update status are announced, especially if Windows Update encounters errors.
• Settings: in Version 1803 and later, headings are announced when using object navigaiton to review screen content.
• Settings: in Settings/Update and Security/Recovery/Reset, initial progress messages and content changes are announced.

Enjoy.

Windows 10 App Essentials 18.06

Note: 18.06.1 replaces 18.06/18.06A, and 18.06.1A, an emergency hotfix is now available that allows users to switch channels once again.

Hi all,

Windows 10 App Essentials 18.06 is now available.

IMPORTANT NOTES:

• NvDA 2018.2 or later is required.
• Version 18.06.x is the last release series to support Windows 10 Version 1703 (build 15063). Add-on 18.07 will require Windows 10 Version 1709 (build 16299) or later.

Changelog:

• Various fixes included in this add-on are now part of NVDA. These include no more announcement of "unknown" when opening quick link menu (Windows+X), announcing notifications from newer apps releases and so on.
• In Windows 10 Redstone 5 builds with Sets enabled, when switching between Sets tabs, NvDA will announce name and position of the tab you are switching to.
• NVDA will announce unit conversion values in recent Calculator releases.
• 18.06.1: NVDA will no longer announce Start menu size text when changing screen resolutions or orientation.
• 18.06.1: NVDA will announce various dialogs as "dialog".
• 18.06.1: NVDA will announce more notifications from Microsoft Edge, including Reading View availability notification.

Enjoy.

Windows 10 App Essentials 18.05/Marlaina Lieberg Memorial

Updates:

• Version 18.05.1 resolves a major problem where NVDA may play error sounds when trying to start dictating text (Windows+H) on recent Windows 10 releases.
• Version 18.05.2 introduces support for redesigned emoji panel and basics of Sets in Redstone 5. This version also serves as a virtual memorial to Marlaina Lieberg, a distinguished member of American Council of the Blind and the larger blindness community who passed away on May 14, 2018.
• Version 18.05.3 is the last stable version to support NVDA releases earlier than 2018.2. If using 2018.2 RC or stable, you'll be asked to update twice - 18.05.3, then to 18.06. The extra update step will be gone once 2018.2 stable version is released.

Hi,

Windows 10 App Essentials 18.05 is now available. This version is ideal for people upgrading to Windows 10 Version 1803.

Changelog:

• When opening, closing, or switching between virtual desktops, NVDA will announce current desktop ID (desktop 2, for example).
• In Windows 10 Version 1803, with hardware keyboard input suggestion turned on and if NVDA is set to announce all candidates via input composition settings dialog/panel, NVDA will announce the first suggestion as you type.
• 18.05.2: When opening a new Sets tab (Redstone 5) and search for items in the embedded Cortana search box, NVDA will announce suggestions and let you navigate context menus for certain items.
• 18.05.2: added support for redesigned emoji panel and announcing paste candidates for cloud clipboard in Redstone 5.

Enjoy.

Windows 10 App Essentials 18.04.2

Hi all,

Windows 10 App Essentials 18.04.2 is now available.

Changelog:

• NVDA will no longer announce "unknown" when opening quick link menu (Windows+X).
• On build 17627 and later, when opening a new Sets tab (Control+Windows+T), NVDA will announce search results when searching for things in the embedded Cortana window.
• Product update announcements on recent Microsoft Store releases (11801 and later) are more reliable.

Enjoy.

Windows 10 App Essentials 18.04.1

Hi all,

Windows 10 App Essentials 18.04.1 is now available.

Changelog:

• NVDA will track tooltip opened UIA event.
• Tooltips from Edge and universal apps will be recognized and announced.
• Resolves more issues with audio volume progress beep in Settings/System/Sound in Version 1803.

Enjoy.

Windows 10 App Essentials 18.04 (Spring Creators Update)

Hi all,

Windows 10 App Essentials 18.04 is now available.

Changelog:

• Added tracking support for UIA drag events, including drag start, drag cancel, and drag complete.
• In recent Feedback hub releases, if running NVDA 2018.1 or later, NVDA will no longer announce feedback categories twice.
• Internal changes to add-on update feature.
• NVDA will not announce notifications (powered by UIA notification event) from background apps.

Enjoy.

Windows 10 App Essentials 18.03 (Thunderbolt)

Update: 18.03.1 resolves double-speaking problem in Calculator app, and 18.03.2 restores support for NVDA 2017.4 (manual install required).

Hi all,

Windows 10 App Essentials 18.03 (Thunderbolt) is now available.

Changelog:

• NVDA will now track UIA notification event introduced in Version 1709 (Fall Creators Update). This allows NVDA to announce notifications in apps such as Microsoft Edge, Microsoft Store, Calculator, Alarms and Clock and others. With debug logging enabled, NVDA will output debug information about this event to the log.
• Added support for IUIAutomation4 and IUIAutomation5 interfaces.
• Note that these features will work properly with NVDA 2018.1 and later.

Enjoy.

Windows 10 App Essentials 18.02

Note: version 18.02.1 replaces 18.02 due to critical issue found with add-on update feature while running recent NVDA next snapshots. For people using NVDA next snapshots, you need to apply this update manually by downloading the add-on package and installing it.

Hi all,

Windows 10 App Essentials 18.02 is now available. This version brings several enhancements to Emoji Panel support, Skype and others.

Changelog:

• UIA notification event (introduced in Version 1709) is now tracked if NVDA is restarted with debug logging enabled. In 18.02.1, with NVDA restarted with debug logging enabled, this event will be announced and a debug tone will be heard.
• In post-1709 builds (past 16299), when emoji panel opens, NVDA will announce first selected emoji.
• Added a workaround in recent versions of Calculator and Skype where new information isn't announced (such as calculation results or new chat messages).
• More status messages are now announced in Settings app.
• New and updated localizations.

Enjoy.