As I unfortunately can not use the menus/toolbars creation facility from the Directory Opus GUI, I would like to know if it could be possible to achieve this manually, creating those elements with a traditional text editor ?
I think having a partially answer to my question knowing that all configuration and customization settings are registered in xml files.
But, as I do not know really what XML is, how it really works and how the complex Directory Opus language is, I would like to know if with a bit of learning and patience, it could be doable ?
Is there a description of Directory Opus XML language somewhere ?
And is there an extensive described list of commands which can be used in creating those toolbars/menus items ?
In other words, without using the GUI, as a blind, could I be able to customize DOpus to my liking ?
And a subsidiary question related to this subject : have someone already created a complete menu with all available existing commands currently available ?
In theory you could edit the XML files by hand. Editing an existing command is reasonably straightforward, once you get used to the way XML works, since you just have to find the command and change that one line (or add a new line after it). Adding new buttons by copying and pasting existing ones is also possible, although I expect will be fiddly if you have to keep the position of everything in your head. If you do try this I'd advise you make a backup of your toolbars first, in case the edits go wrong. Remember that Opus generally only reads the toolbars when it loads, too, so it's best to exit Opus, edit the XML, then restart it.
Each button also has some flags. For example, one flag sets the type of command, such as internal, external, or MS-DOS batch file. Those flags are easy to set in the GUI but there isn't a list of all the possible values that can appear in the XML.
What access do you have to toolbars? If you can "click" on them using the screen reader then you should be able to edit a given toolbar button by making it generate a mouse click while the alt key is held down. (Check that this option is on: Settings - Preferences - Toolbars - Alt-Click to edit Toolbar buttons.) That will put you in the dialog for editing an individual button. I don't know how well that dialog will work with a screen reader, but it's worth trying out in case it makes the job easier.
Easier still is just letting the forum know if you need a button and one of us can give you something that you can paste on to your toolbar.
At first, when III said I knew nothing to XML, I was a bit exagerating.
As I previously was a developer, I know a bit of programming and especially in HTML, so I know some things about tag and things like that.
What I'm looking for is the special syntax DOpus is using to build its XML file in order to syntactically create configuration file properly...
Do you know if there is a reference list of all DOpus command available with their parameters which we can add in a toolbar/menu ?
I can, from the customize dialog, check/uncheck a toolbar.
In the main window I can click on buttons and edit their configuration alt-left clicking on them, but unfortunately I can not create new button from scratch as we have to right-click, as far as I remember, on an empty space with the mouse, and as my screen reader can see graphic elements ...
Again, thank you for your help, I know I could lie on you (and some others) if I need help, but as long as possible I would like to do thing myself, that's why I'm asking, as a new DOpus user, all those obvious questions for a sighted person ...
Yes, it's in the "Opus Raw Commands" section of the manual, which is near the bottom of the table of contents. If you push F1 in Opus it will open the manual in a standard Help window which should support full accessibility.
Is it just a problem clicking on empty space? If so then maybe you can create buttons by entering Customize mode (via Settings - Customize) and then, in the right-click context menu that appears, using the "Insert New" sub-menu. That will insert a new button next to the one you right-clicked.
Ok, could you tell me the name of the help section refering to this please ?
And is there a description of the DOPUS XML language in the help too ?
[Quote)Is it just a problem clicking on empty space? If so then maybe you can create buttons by entering Customize mode (via Settings - Customize) and then, in the right-click context menu that appears, using the "Insert New" sub-menu. That will insert a new button next to the one you right-clicked.[/quote]
Yes, a problem and the biggest one !
I can enter in the customize mode but when I right-click I don't see a contextual menu, where do you click to see this ?
And could you tell me if there is somewhere a full DOPUS menu gathering all DOpus commands I can use ?
OR could it be possible to create such thing ?
The menu should appear when you right-click any toolbar button while in Customize mode. It's a standard menu, too, not a custom-drawn one so it should work with screen readers so long as it can be made to appear.
[quote]And could you tell me if there is somewhere a full DOPUS menu gathering all DOpus commands I can use?
OR could it be possible to create such thing?[/quote]
In the Customize window there is a Commands tab which has a long list of preset commands. They can be dragged & dropped to toolbars, but I'm guessing that drag & drop isn't very useful in this case. If the Customize window and list of commands are visible to your screen reader, perhaps Opus could be updated to allow the preset commands to be copied & pasted to the toolbars so that drag & drop is not the only method.
The list of preset commands is not a list of every possible command. A list of every possibility would be thousands of items long as most of the raw commands in Opus can take switches to modify their behaviour, either tweaking what they do or changing it completely. File paths can also be hardcoded into commands so, of course, a list of commands could never be truly complete. The list in the Customize window is still a good place to start and offers a lot of power.
When I enter in the customize mode I see the various tab "commands", "Toolbars", "keys", "context menus".
I'm positionned in the toolbar tab where I can see each available toolbars and if they are checked or not, but unfortunately I can see any button !
Where are they located ?
[quote]And could you tell me if there is somewhere a full DOPUS menu gathering all DOpus commands I can use?
OR could it be possible to create such thing?[/quote]
[quote]In the Customize window there is a Commands tab which has a long list of preset commands. They can be dragged & dropped to toolbars, but I'm guessing that drag & drop isn't very useful in this case. If the Customize window and list of commands are visible to your screen reader, perhaps Opus could be updated to allow the preset commands to be copied & pasted to the toolbars so that drag & drop is not the only method.
The list of preset commands is not a list of every possible command. A list of every possibility would be thousands of items long as most of the raw commands in Opus can take switches to modify their behaviour, either tweaking what they do or changing it completely. File paths can also be hardcoded into commands so, of course, a list of commands could never be truly complete. The list in the Customize window is still a good place to start and offers a lot of power.[/quote][/quote]
So, for me what could be the best way to access all functionalities DOpus offer ?
If one toolbar gathering all DOpus functions is not doable what about making a series of toolbars each of them representing a category of functions (file managements, display options, ...) ?
While you're in Customize 'mode', you would click the right mouse button on an actuallt toolbar or toolbar button shown in the normal part of your Opus lister... not anywhere in the actual Customize 'dialog'.
About your questions regarding 'accessing all of the Opus command'. Like nudel said, an exhaustive list would be HUGE and impractical... at least what "I" think would be impractical for 'most' people. You also have to keep in mind that the functions in the Opus raw command set are meant to be used in a variety of ways, so for each command there could be dozens of actual use-case scenarios or more...
I "think" that most peoples use of the Opus command set is something that is extended over time, as features are newly discovered or added, or as a persons workflow changes to cause them to find use in an area they might not have ever had a reason to explore before... so having a 'super menu' of all possible Opus commands would probably be overwhelming for most people.
That said, I'm wondering if your "intent" behind asking for such a thing is something we're not understanding exactly right... Are you looking for such a thing in order to be able to actually 'use' items on it throughout the daily course of working within Opus, or is it something you would make use of as a sort of repository for button templates that you would refer to when you wanted to make your own buttons or something like that, given that the GUI interface provided to create new buttons might a bit difficult for you to navigate?
While you're in Customize 'mode', you would click the right mouse button on an actuallt toolbar or toolbar button shown in the normal part of your Opus lister... not anywhere in the actual Customize 'dialog'.[/quote]
I tried both and both give the same result, nothing !
I checked the applications toolbar for example , right-click on it from the customize dialog, or on its button from the Directory Opus main window and both case I see no contextual menu appearing...
What's wrong ?
I think I will try to see with a sighted person to see what happens ...
Have you considered trying hotkeys? They let you use the same command set as the toolbars/menus but the interface to them should be fully accessible (once you're in Customize mode, that is.)
Very good news !
I finally succeeded in playing a bit with the toolbars/buttons configuration options.
But the main problem I encountered was due to the fact I maximized the customize dialog box and so never saw the main window containing the various toolbar to customize, and did not know we hav to keep those two windows opened in order to navigate between them.
But everything is not really simple and I will make some suggestions in another thread.. to try making DOpus more accessible ...