I'm very frustrated with accessibility on Thunderbird 115 and above

Cary-rowen — Wed, 06 Nov 2024 04:19:56 GMT

For me, the primary use of Thunderbird is to send and receive emails, but I find it challenging to navigate efficiently using the keyboard. No matter how I configure the layout, I encounter redundant focus points.

When I want to check my inbox, I locate it within the folder tree. The fastest way should be pressing the F6 key; however, the F6 key is located on the top middle row of the keyboard. This forces me to move one hand to reach it and then return it to the original position. The biggest issue, though, is that with modern, more compact laptop keyboards, the F-key row has lost its distinct separation, making navigation even more cumbersome.

In version 102, I could remove some unnecessary layouts from the interface and navigate between the tree and inbox by pressing Tab/Shift+Tab. However, in the current version, no matter how I configure the layout, I still encounter sorting controls in the table when navigating from the tree view to the inbox.

When navigating through a large volume of emails in my inbox, I would like to utilize NVDA’s table navigation commands. While this technically works, NVDA announces redundant header information during navigation. Here is an example of NVDA’s spoken output:

Navigating by “Correspondents”:

Correspondents selected Mozilla Connect <community@connect.mozilla.com>
Correspondents not selected Mozilla Connect <community@connect.mozilla.com>
Correspondents not selected Mozilla SSO <noreply@sso.mozilla.com>
Correspondents not selected Musharraf
Correspondents not selected Malove98

Navigating by “Read status”:

Read status selected
Read status not selected
Read status not selected
Read status not selected
Read status not selected

Navigating by “Subject”:

Subject selected You earned the Welcome Back! badge on Mozilla Connect
Subject not selected You earned the New Member badge on Mozilla Connect
Subject not selected Welcome to Mozilla Connect

To avoid this kind of confusion, I’ve been sticking with version 102. Today, I tried upgrading to 128.4.1esr, but the experience left me thoroughly disappointed. This has caused me to seriously question Mozilla’s approach to accessibility. I’ve always been impressed by the high level of accessibility in Firefox, but the changes in Thunderbird are truly baffling.

Re: I'm very frustrated with accessibility on Thunderbird 115 and above

Cary-rowen — Wed, 06 Nov 2024 04:23:16 GMT

I have to say that when I use F6 to navigate to different areas of the window, NVDA always reads the role and state of the control first instead of the name, which further slows down

topic I'm very frustrated with accessibility on Thunderbird 115 and above in Discussions

I'm very frustrated with accessibility on Thunderbird 115 and above

Re: I'm very frustrated with accessibility on Thunderbird 115 and above