Files
emacs-doom/patches/0006-doc-add-VoiceOver-accessibility-section-to-macOS-app.patch
Daneel edab71038a patches: 6-patch series (split Buffer into core + notifications)
0001: Base classes + helpers (+587)
  0002: Buffer core protocol (+1089)
  0003: Buffer notifications + ModeLine (+545)
  0004: Interactive spans (+286)
  0005: EmacsView integration + NEWS (+408)
  0006: Documentation (+75)

Changes from v2:
- Split patch 2 from 1620 to 1089+545 (biggest evaluator concern)
- Added ObjC Notifications category for clean separation
- Enhanced commit messages with test methodology details
- Category declaration added to nsterm.h
2026-02-28 10:35:53 +01:00

110 lines
4.2 KiB
Diff

From e78b534524fec76d257db2c590a87ef61ea4f291 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Martin Sukany <martin@sukany.cz>
Date: Sat, 28 Feb 2026 10:35:36 +0100
Subject: [PATCH 6/6] doc: add VoiceOver accessibility section to macOS
appendix
* doc/emacs/macos.texi (VoiceOver Accessibility): New node. Document
screen reader usage, keyboard navigation, completion announcements,
Zoom cursor tracking, ns-accessibility-enabled, known limitations.
---
doc/emacs/macos.texi | 75 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
1 file changed, 75 insertions(+)
diff --git a/doc/emacs/macos.texi b/doc/emacs/macos.texi
index 6bd334f..c4dced5 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 +273,80 @@ 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}. The default
+is @code{t}.
+
+@subheading Known Limitations
+
+@itemize @bullet
+@item
+Accessibility text is capped at 100,000 UTF-16 units per window.
+Buffers exceeding this limit are truncated for accessibility purposes;
+VoiceOver will announce ``end of text'' at the cap boundary.
+@item
+Mode-line text extraction handles only character glyphs. Mode lines
+using icon fonts (e.g., @code{doom-modeline} with nerd-font icons)
+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.
+@end itemize
+
+ This support is available only on the Cocoa build; GNUstep has a
+different accessibility model and is not yet supported
+(@pxref{GNUstep Support}). Evil-mode block cursors are handled
+correctly: character navigation announces the character at the cursor
+position, not the character before it.
+
+
@node GNUstep Support
@section GNUstep Support
--
2.43.0