4-corners touchscreen overlay for visually impaired preset browsing?

[glokraw]

Keeping it simple, a key combo would invoke the four squares
in the corners of a touchscreen, tapping in each one would load
a simplified recategorized range of presets. Arrow keys or down-up swipes
could move thru the sounds, a double tap could audibly pronounce
the selected preset name, and move it to favorites. Favorites could be a rectangle
at the top or bottom a the touchscreen, or also in each corner, invoked by some
typical action.

corner 1__________________________________corner 2:
arps-seqs...............................................pads



corner3:______________favorites___________corner 4:
leads/pluks...........................................bass/percussion

better ideas may abound, or such solutions already exist, but
in addition to U-he products, could this be added to NKS?
or even better, to CLAP?

[EvilDragon]

Neither NKS nor CLAP have anything to do with UI stuff like this.

[Alex_Longard]

glokraw
For several years, I degrade to some developers to make simple things for blind and visually impaired, but they spit on it. I advise you to forget such hotkeys.
Or as an option I can offer an autohotkey script that will control the mouse with your keyboard.

[glokraw]

Hi, Yoshimi synth evidently provides a lot of access via commandline for visually impaired musicians, and my vision is fine, but many others with blindness are excellent pianists, and the thought of their skills being more available to play
modern plugins, inspired my idea.

As an aside, EvilDragon's reply was short and to the point, but he probably answers more internet questions from musicians than anyone else I can think of, so I wouldn't expect a long detailed reply. I do think such a gui capability is a vacancy in the plugin market, and that someone who fills it might garner some decent sales from
special education curriculum reps, schools specialized for the blind, as well as
private citizen musicians. Perhaps a kind of a 'Field Of Dreams' scenario.

You could PM the script, and I'll pass it on to someone who might use it!
Cheers

[Alex_Longard]

Hi Glokraw.
Sorry, I am poorly writing in English, but I will try to explain some details.

Now there are some plugins available for the blind, these are Tone2 Electra2 plugins, Rayblaster2, Nemesis, and the entire Bundle RPCX Explorer. Last month, the developers team made an affordable SURGE, and it was a very non-standard solution to the problem of interaction with ScreenReader Software.
I write scripts on AutohotKey for individual plug-ins to control the buttons and menus in the window of these plugins. This is only necessary for those plugins that do not provide access to Host Automation Parameters. All the blindness more use these parameters than pressing the buttons in the plug-in window.

I will try to find a screen recording software, for writing the video to show the video how it works.

Most developers do not have the desire to understand some details, and they are afraid that the improvements for the blind will somehow change the plug-ins. It's really unnecessary to invent crutches, for a long time all came up with and it works.
There is one big problem - many blind people do not understand what the plug-in interface looks like, and they are waiting that it can be controlled as a regular program in Windows or Mac. It's easier for me, I lost my sight more than ten years ago and I know well as people with good vision see the program window and how it is managed. Only I am a beggar programmer, and I have no opportunity to make a big solution alone so that it becomes convenient for all people or the availability standard.

I discussed the problems of the availability of some interfaces with other programmers, I was advised to spit into the ceiling from the sofa and not spoil the business ...

[glokraw]

Thankfully, with today's megasynths, and their giant preset collections, even just one of them can make a huge difference. Your English is far better than my coding, which was barely adding enough javascript to a Bitwig form, for it to recognize my midi keyboard.
Cheers

[Alex_Longard]

Thank you Glokraw!
Switch presets it is sad, when there is an idea for the arrangement and the necessary sound. Sounds in the head, it must be done on the synthesizer. It often happens that presets in the set of the synthesizer lacks and it is impossible to do it, due to the fact that the management is done badly or is completely absent...
For example: my hardware Korg Oasys sounds gorgeous, i explode when the piano sounds))))
Only if i switch the presets where there are synthesized sounds on Mod-7 or Polysix, it covers sorrow, because all control is made only on the touch screen. I calmly use the Iphone with the Voice Over enabled and the touch tablet on Windows OS, but these abilities are not available for iron synthesizer ...

It is not difficult to program on JavaScript, to begin with, it is necessary to properly build the necessary algorithm of actions in the head)))
It is easy for me to learn the new syntax programming language, than learning English. I tried many times, only i still use knowledge of english received at school and institute
Cheers!

[u-u-u]

Hi, just want to add an idea here. I think it was in the first post of the CLAP thread but Urs stated that they have some money to support cool development projects like CLAP - if understand it correctly. So maybe some open standard initiative concerning better audio plugin accessibility for visually impaired would be such a project (?)
Don't know if something like this could be done via a new CLAP extension (?)

[Alex_Longard]

Hi U-u-u)))))
If developers will have a desire to do this, they will definitely come up with how to do it. If I spent five minutes to write a simple code for control, then professionals do it for any plug-in need one day.

Here is the code that i wrote when it was just started with VST

Code: Select all

struct fx_parameter
{
int param_index;
char* param_name[];
float param_value;
};

switch (key_pressed)
{
case key_right_arrow:
// param_index++;
NextParameter(fxp.param_index);    // Next GUI element
ShowTooltip(fxp.param_name);
break;
case key_left_arrow:
// param_index--;
PrevParameter(fxp.param_index);    // previous GUI element
ShowTooltip(fxp.param_name);
break;
case key_up_arrow:
// param_value++;
ChangeParamValue(fxp.param_index, fxp.param_value);
ShowTooltip(fxp.param_value);
break;
case key_down_arrow:
// param_value--;
ChangeParamValue(fxp.param_index, fxp.param_value);
ShowTooltip(fxp.param_value);
break;
// min_val "shift", open menu "enter" (or application key like right mouse click)
}			

[Funkybot's Evil Twin]

It would be great if there was a readily available extension for CLAP that developers could tap into that could basically allow for plugins to better integrate with screen readers, basically for free. I have no idea as to the feasibility of that, I know WCAG compliance is something the web developers aren't really hip to at my job, even though they should be, but anything that allows non-sighted users to have a better experience making music, I'm all for. Reaper recently became more usable with screen readers and I definitely feel like I saw an increase in the forums by blind members. It would be nice if CLAP's core pillars and benefits were 1) open source 2) ease of use and 3) built-in accessibility.

[Alex_Longard]

Hi Funkybot.
Reaper's blind users have long lived on the forum, only they communicate a little.
I probably are the most arrogant user who runs through the forums and asks to make some things more comfortable

[glokraw]

I wouldn't consider sound help requests as arrogant, but rather, confronting
realities and possibilities through open channels. Plenty of hammers come down
on devs for being slow or uninterested in quite benign bug reports and feature requests.
Cheers

[Alex_Longard]

Hi Glokraw,
sorry, in my dictionary lacking english words, and i don't know how to replace "arrogance".
Cheers!

[glokraw]

Assertive, resolute, and persistent are good synonyms but lacking the negative impression. I admire people with a native language, computer code language(s),
and then English to top it off.
Cheers

[Alex_Longard]

Thank you, i know!
Cheers!