Windows App Essentials 23.02

Hi all,

Windows App Essentials 23.02 is now available.

Changelog:

• NVDA 2022.4 or later is required.
• Various features and fixes that were included with the add-on are now part of NVDA. These include announcing "dragging" when an item is about to be dragged and announcing drag and drop target effects.
• Removed additional UIA event tracking facility as the last set of additional events (drag and drop) are included in NVDA 2022.4.
• Improved Windows 10 and 11 taskbar experience, including announcing results of rearranging icons when pressing Alt+Shift+left/right arrow keys (Windows 11 prior to build 25267) and reporting item position when moving through taskbar icons (Windows 10 and 11 prior to build 25281).
• In Windows 11 22H2, Open With dialog can be navigated using mouse and/or touch interaction.
• NVDA will announce empty folder text inside an empty folder in File Explorer.
• In aps such as File Explorer and Notepad where tabbed windows are supported, NVDA will announce the name and the position of tabs when switching between them.
• Notepad (Windows 11): NVDA will once again announce status bar contents in version 11.2212 or later, particularly when multiple tabs are open.

Enjoy.

Windows App Essentials 23.01

Hi all,

Windows App Essentials 23.01 is now available.

Changelog:

• NVDA 2022.3 or later is required.
• Removed app module for People app.
• Removed the ability to toggle UIA notification announcements from apps such as Calculator via "Report notifications" setting found in NVDA's object presentation settings panel.
• In Windows 11 22H2 Moment 2, redesigned system tray overflow area can be detected properly when using mouse and/or touch interaction.
• NVDA will record processor architecture for the current Windows installation (x86/32-bit, AMD64, ARM64) in the log when the add-on starts.
• Maps: NVDA will no longer interrupt speech when focused on items other than the map control in some cases.

Enjoy.

Windows App Essentials 22.12

Hi all,

Windows App Essentials 22.12 is now available.

Changelog:

• Supported releases and builds across Windows 10 and 11 will be displayed if attempting to install the add-on on unsupported Windows releases including releases earlier than 10 and unsupported feature updates.
• Removed most of Windows version detection code from WinAppObjs global plugin as it was ineffective in preventing the add-on from running in unsupported Windows releases.
• Windows 11: If running on 22H2 beta builds (22622/22623), NVDA will recognize this fact and record this information in the log.
• Windows 11 22H2 beta: Requires build 22623.
• Transferred virtual desktop switch announcement from WinAppObjs global plugin to CSRSS (client/server runtime subsystem) ap module as announcements come from CSRSS.
• Voice access: Microphone toggle state is announced once again in Insider Preview build 25200 series.

Enjoy.

Windows App Essentials 22.11

Hi all,

Windows App Essentials 22.11 is now available.

Changelog:

• Transferred Word 365 formatting announcement fix to Office Desk add-on.
• The ability to toggle UIA notification announcements from apps such as Calculator via "Report notifications" setting found in NVDA's object presentation settings panel is deprecated and will be removed in a future add-on release.
• Removed microphone toggle announcement from everywhere except File Explorer in Windows 11 22H2 and later. As a workaround, minimize all apps and then press Alt+Windows+K to toggle microphone status.
• In Windows 11, NVDA will announce search highlights in Start menu when it opens.
• Modern keyboard: Suggested Actions is now part of Windows 11 22H2 Moment 1 (enabled in build 22621).
• People: Recognizing contacts search field and suggestions are deprecated and will be removed in a future add-on release as NVDA 2023.1 will provide a more generic support for search suggestions in more apps such as People app.

Enjoy.

Windows App Essentials 22.10

Note: version 22.10.1 backports the fix required to enable support for Suggested Actions introduced in Windows 11 Version 22H2 Moment 1 (released in October 2022) from development builds.

Hi all,

Windows App Essentials 22.10 is now available.

Changelog:

• The following UIA property changes are recognized: drag is grabbed (recognized as a distinct state), drop target effect.
• UIA drag start/cancel/complete events are recognized once again, this time as a state change events.
• NVDA will announce "dragging" when dragging certain items such as when arranging Windows 10 Start menu tiles by pressing Alt+Shift+arrow keys.
• Drop target dropped UIA event is removed. As a result, NVDA will no longer announce position of the newly dragged item by faking focus events once drag and drop operation completes, replaced by announcing drag drop and drop target effects while drag and drop is in progress.
• Debug logging for drag and drop events is now handled by Event Tracker add-on, more so if using NVDA 2022.4.
• Due to verbosity issues, item status change announcements in more apps has been removed.

Enjoy.

Windows App Essentials 22.09

Hi all,

Windows App Essentials 22.09 is now available.

IMPORTANT: Windows 10 Version 21H2, Windows 11 Version 21H2, or later releases re required, as well as NVDA 2022.2 or later.

Changelog:

• NVDA 2022.2 or later is required, more so for security (2022.2.2 or later is recommended).
• Windows 10: Requires Version 21H2 or later.
• Various features and fixes that were included with the add-on are now part of NVDA. NVDA 2022.1 include support for Windows 11 Calculator, announcing history and memory items in Windows 10 Calculator, fixing inability to use arrow keys to review emojis in Windows 11 emoji panel, and resolving text output repetition in Windows Terminal 1.12.10733 and later. NVDA 2022.2 include announcing more results including scientific mode command results in Calculator, announcing search result details in Start menu again, detecting Windows 11 UI elements when interacting with mouse and/or touch, and announcing status bar in Windows 11 Notepad if shown.
• Removed app modules for Windows 10 and 11 Calculator, Mail, Microsoft Solitaire Collection, and Windows 11 Notepad. NVDA includes Calculator and Notepad app modules, removed table navigation commands for mail items from Mail app module, and cards are labeled in Solitaire Collection.
• The list of supported releases is also shown on Windows 11 systems when attempting to install the add-on on unsupported releases. Currently supported releases are 21H2 (22000), 22H2 (22621/22622 beta), and Windows Insider builds above 25000.
• Item status changes are announced in more apps including Visual Studio Community 2022.

Enjoy.

Windows App Essentials 22.08/22.08.1

Note: 22.08.1 introduces support for Windows 10 Version 22H2, not to be confused with Windows 11 Version 22H2.

Hi all,

Windows App Essentials 22.08 is now available.

IMPORTANT: this is the last release to support Windows 10 Version 21H1 (May 2021 Update/build 19043).

Changelog:

• Initial support for Windows 10 Version 22H2 (2022 Update), not to be confused with Windows 11 Version 22H2.
• Added support for automatic add-on updates feature from Add-on Updater add-on. In particular, the add-on will not install if using unsupported Windows releases.
• Event debug log for events added by this add-on (drag complete, drag drop effect, drop target dropped) are logged from event handlers themselves rather than through a dedicated method. This makes debug log for events more concise.
• Microsoft Solitaire Collection: In version 4.13 and later, NVDA will announce card (suit and rank) labels provided by the app itself. As a result, support for Solitaire Collection is deprecated and will be removed in a future add-on release.
• Modern keyboard: Added support for Suggested Actions backported to build 22622 (Windows 11 22H2 beta).
• Settings: In Windows 11 22H2 and later, NVDA will announce the name of the update being downloaded from Windows Update. This works best with selective UIA event registration off, but if this setting is enabled, move to updates list as soon as it appears so NVDA can detect and announce update progress.
• Settings: In newer Windows 11 21H2 releases, optional update title will be announced if shown.

Enjoy.

Windows App Essentials 22.07

Hi all,

Windows App Essentials 22.07 is now available.

Changelog:

• Initial support for Windows 11 Version 22H2 (2022 update).
• In Windows 10, NVDA will present a list of supported releases when attempting to install the add-on on unsupported Windows 10 releases. Currently supported releases are Windows 10 21H1 (19043), 21H2 (19044), and Server 2022 (20348). Consequently, installing and using the add-on on Windows Insider Preview builds earlier than 20348 is no longer supported unless Windows 10 feature updates are released from these builds.
• Mail: Table navigation commands for mail items is deprecated and will be removed in a future release.

Enjoy.

Windows App Essentials 22.06

Hi all,

Windows App Essentials 22.06 is now available.

Changelog:

• Added support for Voice access (Windows 11 Version 22H2 preview).
• Initial support for Suggested Actions presented by modern keyboard (Windows 11 Insider Preview).
• Modern keyboard: In Insider Preview build 25115, NVDA will announce suggested actions when compatible data such as phone numbers is copied to the clipboard.
• Notepad (Windows 11): Removed text repetition fix as it is resolved in Notepad 11.2203.
• Notepad (Windows 11): Fixed a regression introduced in add-on 22.05 where NVDA did nothing or played error tones when trying to read status bar text.
• Voice access: NVDA will announce microphone toggle status when pressing Space or Enter keys while focused on microphone button.

Enjoy.

Windows App Essentials 22.05

Hi all,

Windows App Essentials 22.05 is now available.

Changelog:

• NVDA will once again announce search result details in Start menu.
• In Windows 11, Taskbar items and other user interface controls can be detected properly when using mouse and/or touch interaction.
• Settings: In Windows 10, NVDA will interupt speech and report updates to Windows Update status as download and install progresses. This may result in speech interruption when navigating Settings app while updates are being downloaded and installed.

Enjoy.