Sara Ford's Weblog

As I’ve mentioned in my previous post, I’ve decided to use this blog to talk about topics besides Accessibility.  I’ve just recently taken ownership of window docking in Visual Studio, including tool windows and files opened in the editor space....

If you’re using Visual Studio and Accessibility Features and/or Assistive Technologies, please share with me your experiences.  Feel free to leave comments here with any issues, concerns, or bugs you’ve encountered.  This request has always...

Consider this my testament as an Accessibility Tester. I am a Software Designer Engineer in Test on the Visual Studio Core Team. My team owns the critical aspects of the integrated shell, and I am responsible for the quality of the shell's Accessibility...

Last night, MSNBC reported on a Tennessee protest about a disabled man who was forced to crawl up the courthouse stairs for his court appearence, because the courthouse did not have a ramp or elevator. When the man refused to crawl up the stairs for his...

<i’m moving this post to the new karate category> Last night, I had my first karate class in about eight years.  Back in the day, I was a 1st kyu brown belt (the next rank is black) who had participated in regional and national competitions...

I’ve finally made up my mind to blog here about other VS features, instead of just Accessibility.  Note that I’m not calling Accessibility a feature by any means.  Accessibility is just like Localization, Security, Logo, and so forth – it is...

I attended a few get-togethers with some Assistive Technology vendors a while back when they were on campus for an Accessibility conference. While eating dinner with one particular AT vendor, I had asked him what we, Visual Studio , could do to improve...

<i’m moving this post to the new karate category> Last night, I had my first karate class in about eight years.  Back in the day, I was a 1st kyu brown belt (the next rank is black) who had participated in regional and national competitions...

I’m often asked about the relationship among Normal (same as Visible), Unavailable, and Offscreen, and Invisible AA States. Here’s my best guess at an explanation. What the docs say Starting with the MSAA Docs on Object State Constants , the following...

These postings are provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights. The content of this site are my own personal opinions and do not represent my employer's view in anyway. In addition, my thoughts and opinions often change, and as a weblog...

I’m often asked “What’s the correct name for this control?” There are many variations to this question, for example: Does this control need an AA name? Do we change the AA name if a control’s caption or label changes? Do we add the AA description to the...

What s the Accessibility Lab? The Accessibility Technology Group on campus has a lab with numerous licensed-versions of Assistive Technologies (ATs), including Motion Trackers, Screen Readers, Screen Magnifiers, Braille Displays, Speech Recognition, and...