Files
emacs-doom/patches/0006-doc-add-VoiceOver-accessibility-section-to-macOS-app.patch
Daneel 97c14a3bd9 patches: fix all review issues from Opus core maintainer review
BLOCKERS fixed:
- #1: add missing skip_overlay_scan: label (goto without target)
- #2: move accessibilityLineForIndex: to patch 0002 (used in 0002/0003,
  was defined in 0007 — forward reference crash risk)
- #3: move BOOL singleLineMove to patch 0008 (declared in 0007, unused
  until 0008 — -Werror build failure)

WARNINGS fixed:
- #1: block_input ordering at 5 sites (record_unwind_protect_void must
  come AFTER block_input to avoid unmatched unblock_input on error)
- #2: deduplicate ns_ax_face_is_selected (move to patch 0001, remove
  from patch 0007 where it was duplicated)
- #4: improve childFrameLastBuffer comment (document rename edge case)
- #5: complete ChangeLog for patch 0007 (add 3 missing method entries)
- #6: document lastSelectedWindow/lastRootWindow GC safety in nsterm.h

MINOR fixed:
- #2: wrap ns_zoom_track_completion call in MAC_OS_X_VERSION >= 101000
  guard (consistent with the function definition)
- #3: @cindex Zoom verified present in VoiceOver section (already OK)
- #4: raise line_starts/line_ends bound from 128 to 512 (consistent
  with ns_ax_selected_overlay_text)
- #5: add echo_area_buffer[] lifetime comment referencing xdisp.c

All 9 patches apply cleanly (git apply verified sequentially).
2026-03-03 20:43:56 +01:00

137 lines
5.4 KiB
Diff

From 274c545be1a3af3c7e6f416ac3a22e3b98626b0b Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Martin Sukany <martin@sukany.cz>
Date: Sat, 28 Feb 2026 12:58:11 +0100
Subject: [PATCH 7/9] doc: add VoiceOver accessibility section to macOS
appendix
* doc/emacs/macos.texi (VoiceOver Accessibility): New node between
'Mac / GNUstep Events' and 'GNUstep Support'. Document screen reader
usage, keyboard navigation, completion announcements, ns-accessibility-
enabled, and known limitations. Use @xref for cross-reference at
sentence start. Correct description of ns-accessibility-enabled
default: initial value is nil, set automatically at startup.
---
doc/emacs/macos.texi | 77 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
src/nsterm.m | 10 ++++--
2 files changed, 84 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-)
diff --git a/doc/emacs/macos.texi b/doc/emacs/macos.texi
index 6bd334f48e..72ac3a9aa9 100644
--- a/doc/emacs/macos.texi
+++ b/doc/emacs/macos.texi
@@ -36,6 +36,7 @@ Support}), but we hope to improve it in the future.
* Mac / GNUstep Basics:: Basic Emacs usage under GNUstep or macOS.
* Mac / GNUstep Customization:: Customizations under GNUstep or macOS.
* Mac / GNUstep Events:: How window system events are handled.
+* VoiceOver Accessibility:: Screen reader support on macOS.
* GNUstep Support:: Details on status of GNUstep support.
@end menu
@@ -272,6 +273,82 @@ and return the result as a string. You can also use the Lisp function
services and receive the results back. Note that you may need to
restart Emacs to access newly-available services.
+@node VoiceOver Accessibility
+@section VoiceOver Accessibility (macOS)
+@cindex VoiceOver
+@cindex accessibility (macOS)
+@cindex screen reader (macOS)
+@cindex Zoom, cursor tracking (macOS)
+
+ When built with the Cocoa interface on macOS, Emacs exposes buffer
+content, cursor position, mode lines, and interactive elements to the
+macOS accessibility subsystem. This enables use with VoiceOver,
+Apple's built-in screen reader, and with other assistive technology
+such as macOS Zoom.
+
+ Toggle VoiceOver with @kbd{Cmd-F5} (or via System Settings,
+Accessibility, VoiceOver). When Emacs is focused, VoiceOver announces
+the buffer name and current line. Standard Emacs navigation produces
+speech feedback:
+
+@itemize @bullet
+@item
+Arrow keys read individual characters (left/right) or full lines
+(up/down).
+@item
+@kbd{M-f} and @kbd{M-b} announce words.
+@item
+@kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} read the destination line.
+@item
+Shift-modified movement announces selected or deselected text.
+@item
+@key{TAB} and @kbd{S-@key{TAB}} navigate interactive elements
+(buttons, links, completion candidates) within a buffer.
+@end itemize
+
+ The @file{*Completions*} buffer announces each completion candidate
+as you navigate, even while keyboard focus remains in the minibuffer.
+
+ macOS Zoom (System Settings, Accessibility, Zoom) tracks the Emacs
+cursor automatically when set to follow keyboard focus. The cursor
+position is communicated via @code{UAZoomChangeFocus} and the
+@code{AXBoundsForRange} accessibility attribute.
+
+@vindex ns-accessibility-enabled
+ To disable the accessibility interface entirely (for instance, to
+eliminate overhead on systems where assistive technology is not in
+use), set @code{ns-accessibility-enabled} to @code{nil}. Emacs
+detects the presence of assistive technology at startup and sets this
+variable automatically; the initial value is @code{nil}.
+
+@subheading Known Limitations
+
+@itemize @bullet
+@item
+Very large buffers (tens of megabytes) may cause slow initial
+accessibility text extraction. Once cached, subsequent queries
+are fast.
+@item
+Mode-line text extraction handles only character glyphs. Mode lines
+using icon fonts (e.g., icon-based mode-lines)
+produce incomplete accessibility text.
+@item
+The accessibility virtual element tree is rebuilt automatically on
+window configuration changes (splits, deletions, new buffers).
+@item
+Right-to-left (bidi) text is exposed correctly as buffer content,
+but @code{accessibilityRangeForPosition} hit-testing assumes
+left-to-right glyph layout.
+@item
+Block-style cursors are handled correctly: character navigation
+announces the character at the cursor position, not the character
+before it.
+@end itemize
+
+ This support is available only on the Cocoa build. GNUstep has a
+different accessibility model and is not yet supported.
+
+
@node GNUstep Support
@section GNUstep Support
diff --git a/src/nsterm.m b/src/nsterm.m
index c3cd83b774..e4e43dd7a3 100644
--- a/src/nsterm.m
+++ b/src/nsterm.m
@@ -14764,9 +14764,13 @@ Nil means use fullscreen the old (< 10.7) way. The old way works better with
DEFVAR_BOOL ("ns-accessibility-enabled", ns_accessibility_enabled,
doc: /* Non-nil enables Zoom cursor tracking and VoiceOver support.
-Emacs sets this automatically at startup when macOS Zoom is active or
-any assistive technology (VoiceOver, Switch Control, etc.) is connected,
-and updates it whenever that state changes. You can override manually:
+Emacs detects at startup whether macOS Zoom is active or an assistive
+technology (VoiceOver, Switch Control, etc.) is connected, and sets
+this variable accordingly. It updates automatically when accessibility
+state changes. The initial value is nil; it becomes non-nil only when
+an AT is detected.
+
+You can override the auto-detection:
(setq ns-accessibility-enabled t) ; always on
(setq ns-accessibility-enabled nil) ; always off
--
2.43.0