## Accessibility Guide {#idm68319056} ### _Using Fedora with a visual, hearing, or mobility impairment_ ### ### Eric Christensen Fedora Project
Documentation Team
<[sparks@fedoraproject.org](mailto:sparks@fedoraproject.org)> Copyright © 2011-2014 Fedora Project Contributors. The text of and illustrations in this document are licensed by Red Hat under a Creative Commons Attribution–Share Alike 3.0 Unported license ("CC-BY-SA"). An explanation of CC-BY-SA is available at . The original authors of this document, and Red Hat, designate the Fedora Project as the "Attribution Party" for purposes of CC-BY-SA. In accordance with CC-BY-SA, if you distribute this document or an adaptation of it, you must provide the URL for the original version. Red Hat, as the licensor of this document, waives the right to enforce, and agrees not to assert, Section 4d of CC-BY-SA to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law. Red Hat, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, the Shadowman logo, JBoss, MetaMatrix, Fedora, the Infinity Logo, and RHCE are trademarks of Red Hat, Inc., registered in the United States and other countries. For guidelines on the permitted uses of the Fedora trademarks, refer to [https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Legal:Trademark\_guidelines](https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Legal:Trademark_guidelines). Linux® is the registered trademark of Linus Torvalds in the United States and other countries. Java® is a registered trademark of Oracle and/or its affiliates. XFS® is a trademark of Silicon Graphics International Corp. or its subsidiaries in the United States and/or other countries. MySQL® is a registered trademark of MySQL AB in the United States, the European Union and other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Abstract This document describes some of the hardware devices, applications, and utilities available to assist people with disabilities to use a computer with the Fedora operating system. ---- ## 1\. Introduction {#introduction} There are approximately 500 million people worldwide with some kind of visual, hearing, or mobility impairment. People with disabilities often find it extremely difficult to effectively use existing and emerging technologies which are often designed without regard to their needs. Websites with inaccessible content can also be problematic for screen readers and other specialized devices used by the disabled community. Accessible features have been voluntarily integrated into operating systems, web interfaces, and other technologies because of marketing potential or because it has been "the right thing to do." Equal access to educational, professional, and recreational technologies is rapidly becoming a legal requirement. Federal agencies in numerous countries are formulating accessibility standards. Specialized hardware devices, applications, and utilities are available which considerably increase the usability of Linux for individuals with special needs. Screen readers and magnifiers, on-screen keyboards, mouse tools, and other tools are available for Fedora users to help make their computer usable. ## 2\. Why should people choose Fedora as an accessibility solution? {#why_choose_fedora} Linux offers an inexpensive and efficient solution for the disabled community. Open source software costs far less compared to tools that run on other operating systems and Linux tools are often freely downloadable. While the _Graphical User Interface_ (GUI) is convenient for sighted users, it is often inhibiting to those with visual impairments because of the difficulty speech synthesizers have interpreting graphics. Linux is a great operating system for users with visual limitations because the GUI is an option, not a requirement. Most modern tools including email, news, web browsers, calendars, calculators, and much more can run on Linux without the GUI. The working environment can also be customized to meet the hardware or software needs of the user. Fedora is an extremely popular Linux distribution. Most industry professionals are familiar with Fedora, making it relatively straightforward to find assistance if necessary. The Fedora Project issues regular and frequent updates and enhancements, and computers that have Fedora installed can download and install these automatically and without cost. It is therefore easy and economical to keep computers secure and up to date. ### 2\.1. The Section 508 Mandate {#section_508} In the United States, the Section 508 Mandate is an addendum to the _Rehabilitation Act_ made in 1998 that requires federal agencies to use accessible electronic and information technologies so that people with special needs have the same opportunities as everyone else. For detailed information about the requirements of the Section 508 Mandate, visit ### 2\.2. The Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) {#VPAT} The VPAT template details how a particular product or service conforms to Section 508 criteria. The VPAT helps federal personnel adhere to Section 508 by helping them determine whether they are buying the most accessible IT products and services available. The VPAT template participation by private vendors is voluntary. These templates are hosted on the individual vendor websites. The vendors maintain their own information and the government does not endorse this information in any way. ## 3\. Available open source tools, utilities and drivers {#tools} Current development is focusing on visual and mobility impairments. There are both software and hardware based solutions available. There are also both console and graphical solutions available, however, the graphical solutions are limited at this time. ### 3\.1. Hardware {#hardware} The biggest advantage of the hardware speech solutions is that speech is available before the operating system loads, which even makes it possible for people with a visual impairment to install the operating system. Hardware solutions include speech synthesizers, braille terminals, braille printers, sip and puff systems, and eye gaze pointing devices. These devices are usually very expensive and it is difficult to find drivers for them. Drivers are being written (mostly for speech synthesizers) for Linux but they need to be tested and integrated by the community into "upstream" software projects before becoming part of Fedora. ### 3\.2. Software {#software} This document focuses mostly on software tools and utilities that work with Linux. Most of these tools have been developed by the Open Source community and many have not yet been tested by the Fedora Project. ## 4\. Screen Readers {#idm12195840} Screen readers are important accessibility tools that allow a person with limited vision to have the computer read what is on the screen. There are numerous solutions that provide this service. This section covers some of the ones available to Fedora users. ### 4\.1. Orca for GNOME {#Orca} GNOME supplies its own screen reader, Orca. This package is installed by default on all Fedora systems. Additional information on Orca may be found by visiting . To enable Orca you may run **orca** from the command line. This first time you will be asked a number of preference questions. After the initial configuration, run **orca** a second time to start orca. The graphical application which starts has options for changing the preferences, quitting the program, and obtaining help. During the initial setup, the questions are also said allow as they are displayed in the terminal. Alternately, from the graphical menus select System > Preferences > Assistive Technologies and check the box labeled "Enable Assistive Technologies" then click Preferred Applications to ensure that either Orca or Orca and Magnifier is selected. ### 4\.2. Jovie for KDE {#Jovie} Jovie is the KDE system for Text-to-Speech, previously known as ktts. Jovie consists of a Text-to-Speech Daemon, a Konqueror plugin, and an extension for the Kate text editor. The Daemon provides text-to-speech functionality to applications, such as KMouth and KNotify, via D-Bus. It also provides an icon from the system tray, for additional features. From this tray icon, Jovie can speak the contents of a text file, speak the contents of the clipboard, and access the control module for configuration. Comprehensive information on jovie can be found on the KDE website: To start Jovie in Fedora, run **jovie** from the command line. To start it from the KDE graphical menus, select Applications > Utilities > Text-to-Speech. ### 4\.3. Using Emacspeak with Fedora {#Emacspeak} Emacspeak is a speech interface that allows visually impaired users to interact independently and efficiently with the computer. Emacspeak has dramatically changed how hundreds of blind and visually impaired users around the world interact with the personal computer and the Internet. A rich suite of task-oriented speech-enabled tools provides efficient speech-enabled access to the evolving semantic world wide web. When combined with Linux running on low-cost PC hardware, Emacspeak provides a reliable, stable speech-friendly solution that opens up the Internet to visually impaired users around the world. Before using Emacspeak, you should familiarize yourself with some documentation. Start with _A Gentle Introduction to Emacspeak_ by Gary Lawrence Murphy, which is available online at The _Emacspeak HOWTO_ written by Jim Van Zandt is also a very good resource, although the document is limited to the Slackware distribution. The Emascspeak HOWTO is available online at: The following sections describe how to perform various tasks using Emacspeak and Fedora. ### The Meta key At various points, the following sections refer to the **Meta** key. This key is fundamental to Emacs (and therefore Emacspeak) commands, but is very seldom found on modern keyboards. Most keyboard layouts map the **Alt** key to take the place of **Meta**. #### 4\.3.1. Reading news using Fedora and Emacspeak {#news_with_Emacspeak} Gnus is the news reader included with Emacspeak. Gnus gets the appropriate data from the `.newsrc` file in the user's home directory. To post and read news through Emacspeak, refer to for manuals, tutorials, HOWTOs, and more. To start Gnus, press **Meta**+**X**, then type **gnus** and press **Enter**. This command displays all the newsgroups you are subscribed to. To select a newsgroup, highlight your selection and press the space bar. Next, specify how many articles you would like to open: type a number and press **Enter**. This splits the screen into two buffers. The top section is the summary buffer, the bottom section is the article buffer. You should now be able to read your news. #### 4\.3.2. Sending and reading email using Fedora and Emacspeak {#email_with_Emacspeak} There are several email clients available in Emacspeak. The Gnus utility can actually be used for both email and news. Press **Meta**+**X** to start Gnus, then press **M** to use the mail client. The easiest tool to use is RMAIL. To send a message using RMAIL, press **Ctrl**+**X**, then type **rmail**. When you are in RMAIL, press **M**. Fill in the `To:` and `Subject:` fields. Put the body of the message below the line that reads `-text follows this line-`. To send the message when you are finished, press **Ctrl**+**C** twice in succession. To read a message using RMAIL, press **Meta**+**X**, then type **rmail** and press **Enter**. For more information on using RMAIL visit [http://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/manual/html\_node/emacs/Rmail.html](http://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/manual/html_node/emacs/Rmail.html) #### 4\.3.3. Using Emacspeak to execute Linux shell commands {#Linux_commands_with_Emacspeak} It is not necessary to leave Emacspeak to execute a Linux command. To execute a command within Emacspeak, press **Esc**, then type `!` followed by the name of the command when Emacspeak prompts you. To exit the command output window, press **Ctrl**+**X**, followed by **1** This functionality is extremely useful. You can even print and compile files you are working on within Emacspeak. For more information on Linux shell commands refer to _Josh's Linux Guide_ or any other comparable command resource. _Josh's Linux Guide_ is available from ## 5\. Screen Magnifiers {#Screen_Magnifiers} Screen magnifiers are just what they sound like, programs that considerably magnify portions of the computer screen so it can be more easily read. ### 5\.1. KMagnifier {#idm12934288} In KDE, KMagnifier, or KMag, magnifies the area around the cursor or a user-defined area. You can also save a magnified portion of the screen to disk. Additional information can be found at #### 5\.1.1. Installing KMagnifier {#idm92034992} In Fedora, KMagnifier is packaged in the kdeaccessibility package. This package also contains kmousetool, kmouth, and ktts, all of which are discussed in other areas of this guide. To install kdeaccessibility you can either select System > Administration > Add/Remove Software and then type in kdeaccessibility in the screen that pops up or in a terminal window type **su -c "yum install kdeaccessibility"**. ## 6\. Mouse Tools {#Mouse_Tools} Mouse tools allow the mouse to be used in different ways, and provide an alternate solution to people with limited mobility. ### 6\.1. KMouseTool {#idm26020752} A program for KDE, KMouseTool, provides an alternate method for clicking the mouse by clicking the mouse whenever the cursor pauses and even provides a dragging capability. KMouseTool works with any mouse or pointing device. #### 6\.1.1. Installing KMouseTool {#idm68622896} In Fedora, KMouseTool is packaged in the kdeaccessibility package. This package also contains kmagnifier, kmouth, and ktts, all of which are discussed in other areas of this guide. To install kdeaccessibility you can either select System > Administration > Add/Remove Software and then type in kdeaccessibility in the screen that pops up, or in a terminal window type su -c "yum install kdeaccessibility". ### 6\.2. Mousetweaks {#idm90470800} Similar to KDE's KMouseTool, GNOME's Mousetweaks provides functions for simulated secondary clicks, dwell clicks, and pointer capture. Additional information on Mousetweaks can be found at #### 6\.2.1. Installing Mousetweaks {#idm3913632} In Fedora, Mousetweaks is packaged and can be installed by selecting System > Administration > Add/Remove Software and then typing Mousetweaks; or in a terminal window, type su -c "yum install mousetweaks". ## 7\. On\_Screen\_Keyboards {#On_Screen_Keyboards} Many on screen keyboards have been created for environments with no keyboards such as wearable computers or palm devices. They are also very useful for accessibility enhancement when used with a mouse or no-hand tools such as a head-mouse or an eye-tracker. Some of tools included in Fedora are described in this section. ### 7\.1. Indic Onscreen Keyboard {#idm71283824} iok is Indic Onscreen Keyboard. It provides virtual keyboard functionality. It currently works with Inscript and xkb keymaps for Indian languages. The following keymaps are currently available: Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Marathi, Malayalam, Punjabi, Oriya, Tamil, Telugu. iok can even try to parse and display non-inscript keymaps. Visit for more information on iok. #### 7\.1.1. Installing iok {#idm92441472} To install iok in fedora, you can either select System > Administration > Add/Remove Software on the GNOME panel, and then type iok in the screen that pops up; or alternatively type **su -c "yum install iok"** in a terminal window. ### 7\.2. Florence {#idm97015344} Florence is an extensible, scalable, virtual keyboard, whose sole requirement is a pointing device. Once enabled, Florence displays an icon in the notification area on the GNOME Panel. Florence can be sent to the background when it is not needed, making it a practical solution for screens of all sizes. To toggle whether Florence is displayed or hidden, just click the icon. Alternatively, Florence can be set to autohide until an editable area is selected. Florence can also be configured easily to be transparent, through the Preferences dialogue. To edit all available Preferences, right-click on the icon on the GNOME Panel, and choose Preferences from the dropdown list. Additional information on Florence Virtual Keyboard can be found at the project's homepage, . Once Florence is installed, to view full documentation right-click on the icon on the GNOME Panel, and choose Help from the dropdown menu. #### 7\.2.1. Installing Florence {#idm71088192} Florence is available in the fedora package repositories; to install either select System > Administration > Add/Remove Software on the GNOME Desktop and then type florence in the window that pops up, or type **su -c "yum install florence"** in a terminal window. ### 7\.3. Dasher {#idm12941120} Dasher is an information-efficient text-entry interface, driven by natural continuous pointing gestures. Dasher is not really a "keyboard" but instead uses a zooming interface and a predictive language model with word completion. Dasher makes data entry easy by people utilizing a joystick, touchscreen, trackball, or mouse for one-handed operations. It can also be utilized by people using no-hand tools such as a head-mouse or an eye-tracker. Additional information on Dasher can be found at . #### 7\.3.1. Installing Dasher {#idm90815184} In Fedora, Dasher can be easily installed by either selecting System > Administration > Add/Remove Software and then type in dasher in the screen that pops up or in a terminal window type **su -c "yum install dasher"**. ## 8\. Help for Linux Desktops {#Desktops} Certain desktops have their own internal settings that can help with accessibility. ### 8\.1. KDE {#idm100437920} In KDE, keyboard and mouse settings can be configured in kcontrol. These settings are available by selecting Personalization > Accessibility. Additional information on Accessibility Tools in KDE can be found at ### 8\.2. GNOME {#idm99211680} ![The GNOME 3 Universal Access menu][1] In GNOME, accessibility controls can be configured in the Universal Access menu. By selecting Activities and then typing Universal Access a menu will display that allows tweaking of all accessibility options within the GNOME 3 desktop environment. Additional information on GNOME's accessibility tools can be found at ### 8\.3. XFCE {#idm68388048} In XFCE, accessibility options for the keyboard and mouse can be configured in the Accessibility Settings dialogue. To access these settings from the graphical menus, select Preferences > Accessibility. Alternative keyboard configurations, such as keyboard shortcuts, can be set by selecting Preferences > Keyboard. Similarly, extra mouse related settings are available by selecting Preferences > Mouse. Some minor additional accessibility options for XFCE can be found through Preferences > Window Manager Tweaks. ### 8\.4. Sugar: Making computing accessible for children. {#idm100456032} The Sugar Learning Platform is an innovative learning interface for children, which encourages learning, critical thinking, and creativity. Sugar was originally created for the OLPC (One Laptop Per Child) initiative. The traditional "office-desktop" style computer interface can be quite intimidating and is often not very accessible for children who are learning to read and write. Sugar offers an alternative, more child-friendly approach to learning and computing. To install the Sugar platform in fedora, you can either select System > Administration > Add/Remove Software on the GNOME panel, and then type sugar in the screen that pops up; or alternatively type **su -c "yum install sugar"** in a terminal. There is also an alternate version of Fedora featuring the Sugar Platform, known as Sugar on a Stick It is available at Various Sugar Activities are also available through the Fedora package repositories. To browse the available sugar activities through the GNOME package manager, select System > Administration > Add/Remove Software on the GNOME panel, and then type **sugar-** in the screen that pops up; you will be presented with a list of packages relating to Sugar. Alternatively, type **su -c "yum install sugar-"** in a terminal window. More information on Sugar for learners, parents, teachers, and contributors can be found at the official website, ## A. Revision History {#idm92091392} |**Revision History**| |Revision 0.15-1|Sun Mar 23 2014|Eric Christensen| ||Removed text for software not in Fedora.| |Updated text to remove U.S.-specific text.|| |Revision 0.14-1|Wed Apr 21 2010|Gerard Ryan| ||Fixed Revision History| |Added information on Indic Onscreen Keyboard.| |Added information on Florence Virtual Keyboard.| |Added information on Jovie for KDE.| |Added information on XFCE and Sugar Desktops.|| |Revision 0.13-1|Wed Apr 21 2010|Gerard Ryan| ||Grammar updates.|| |Revision 0.12-1|Mon Mar 06 2010|Joseph Allen| ||Updated section 4.3.2 to fix inconsistent instructions.|| |Revision 0.11-1|Sat Nov 28 2009|Eric Christensen| ||Commented out Emacspeak sections that still need work.| |Changed to be the official version for Fedora 12.|| |Revision 0.10-1|Sat Nov 28 2009|Susan Lauber| ||Made some minor readability, grammar, and style edits.| |Added a number of markup additions for consistency.| |Added information on enabling Orca in GNOME to the Screen\_Readers section.| |Added information on GNOME Magnifier to the Screen\_Magnifiers section.| |Moved On Screen Keyboards to their own section to clean up Other Tools.| |Added information on gok (GNOME On-Screen Keyboard).|| |Revision 0.9-1|Sun Nov 22 2009|Eric Christensen| ||Added Gnome features Dasher and Caribou.| |Commented out dated information on how Red Hat and Fedora had or had not tested some of the FOSS solutions.|| |Revision 0.8-1|Mon Nov 09 2009|Eric Christensen| ||Modified the "screen readers" section.| |Removed link to KMouseTools and it was broken.|| |Revision 0.7-1|Sun Nov 08 2009|Susan Lauber| ||Various style edits (tense, spelling, etc.)| |Added markup for menuitems|| |Revision 0.6-1|Sun Nov 08 2009|Eric Christensen| ||Created "Mouse Tools" section, moved KMouseTools to that section, and added Mousetweaks.| |Added GNOME information in the "Desktops" section.| |Added comments to Tools.xml for further editing.|| |Revision 0.5-1|Wed Nov 07 2009|Eric Christensen| ||Created "Other Tools" section and added BRLTTY, KMouth, and KMouseTool to that section.| |Created "Screen Magnifiers" section and added KMagnifier.| |Created "Desktops" section and added KDE. This section will include specific Desktop accessibility controls.|| |Revision 0.4-1|Wed Nov 04 2009|Eric Christensen| ||Combined Speakup and Emacspeak into the Screen Readers section.|| |Revision 0.3-1|Thu Aug 20 2009|Rüdiger Landmann| ||Extra XML markup.|| |Revision 0.2-1|Thu Aug 20 2009|Eric Christensen| ||Updated links and added information on Emacspeak.|| |Revision 0.1-1|Thu Aug 6 2009|Eric Christensen| ||Publicanized all information in the Accessibility Guide|| [1]: images/Universal_Access.png