Dorico compatibility with software for blind composers

Dorico
#1

Hello!

A question on behalf of a young composer I am mentoring - is Dorico accessible with Speech software such as JAWS and/or with Braille display? Or if not at the moment, could this be a possibility? Apparently nothing has been compatible with JAWS since Sibelius 5 (later versions of Sibelius are not compatible with it).

http://www.freedomscientific.com/Products/Blindness/JAWS

Many thanks! I am mentoring (and doing transcription work) for a young blind composer and if something like this were possible it would be life changing for her - at the moment it takes many hours for her to dictate her pieces to an amanuensis etc.

Thanks!
Cheryl

#2

No, I’m afraid Dorico is only compatible to quite a limited extent with JAWS and NVDA on Windows, and with Voice Over on Mac. You can get around the user interface with the keyboard, and in general the UI elements will speak semi-sensible descriptions via the screen reader, but the problem is that you cannot reasonably interact with the music itself in an accessible way. We definitely intend to add support for assistive technologies, and I’m disappointed that we have not managed to achieve this yet, but I’m afraid there will quite likely be a while longer to wait before it starts to become practical to use the software without sighted assistance.

#3

Thanks so much Daniel - great to know you are thinking about it anyway! best, Cheryl

#4

Does anybody know how to use Jaws or Windows eyes in Cubase ?
I have Cubase 7.5 and became blind for 2 years ago.
I have a personal assistant right now who is trying to help me all the way.
Please help me out here !!!
Greetings from Norway

#5

“Does anybody know how to use Jaws or Windows eyes in Cubase ?”

It is a very big question. I’m sure Jaws can be set up to handle a lot of functions in Cubase as Jaws can handle almost every program in windows. You can start to navigate the menus using the ALT-key system (Alt+f = file etc.). And you can try a search on Jaws+Cubase - there are people out there who has written something about their experience. And try the Danish music group in the forum on http://www.blindsigt.dk/ - I know there are several blind musicians in the forum.

I wish you a good hunt.