Command line interfaces
A command line interface allows the user to issue commands to the system in the form of successive lines of text. Command line interfaces are preferred by blind users due to its text-based nature.
Discussion by Disabilities
Command line interface is easier for blind users than a graphical interface, and is more concise and powerful for advanced users.
Existing Products
This listing includes a wide range of products, from screen readers, to simple text-to-speech utilities, to large literacy suites that include a text-to-speech application. Please note that these products are not necessarily endorsed by RtF, but represent the range of available options.
Many operating systems, including Windows Vista and Mac OS X, include limited built-in screen reading ability as well.
Open Source and free
These products are free and their source code may be modified with few restrictions.
Related Research and Papers
- Transforming graphical interfaces into auditory interfaces for blind users- Elizabeth D. Mynatt
- Nonvisual presentation of graphical user interfaces: contrasting two approaches- Elizabeth D. Mynatt, Gerhard Weber
- Visual programming and the blind: the challenge and the opportunity- Robert M. Siegfried
- Using spatial audio for the enhanced presentation of synthesised speech within screen-readers for blind computer users- Kai Crispien, Wolfgang Würz, Gerhard Weber