first impressions / observations of Allaire's HomeSite 4.0

Aloha, y'all!

Just a quick note to let the WG know that I am currently
performing an evaluation of Allaire's HomeSite 4.0 -- based,
in no small part, upon the conversion of the conformance
evaluation that I executed for the User Agent WG to
HTML4/CSS2...

Here are a few first impressions:

1) Allaire has done a pretty impressive job of putting
accessibility front and center -- every HTML4 property sheet
that I've encountered so far, has an accessibility tab...

2) The main usability problems (for anyone working in an
eyeless, mouseless, and monitorless modality at least) which
plague HomeSite are the lack of field labeling and the use
of custom controls -- there are plenty of things that you
either just can't do from the keyboard, or which one can
only do from the keyboard if one is:
     (a) using a screen reader,
     (b) facile with a mouse emulation cursor, and
     (c) stubborn as a mule...

This is particularly true of some of the items available via
the "Tools" Menu, in particular the "Validate" option, which
can also be invoked using the SHIFT+F6 keystroke...  The
main problems are:

  1. Invoking the "Validate" option spawns a child window
  that does not receive point of regard / focus, which
  would have (optimally) allowed JFW to automatically voice
  the child window's contents, or (at the very least) allow
  me to route the JAWS (speech) cursor to the application
  cursor and use JFW screen review or mouse movement /
  emulation keystrokes to have the contents of the child
  window voiced.
  
  2. Custom control (graphical button) used as "close child
  window" hot-spot instead of platform control (traditional
  close button). Had great difficulty locating the custom
  control using screen review (i.e. gross navigation with
  the arrow keys, using the JAWS/speech cursor), and when I
  was able to get a tooltip to be voiced ("Close Results"),
  any attempt to label the graphic yielded a JFW error
  message "Graphics Labeler Not Positioned on a Graphic".
  Despite this, the child window cleared when I used JFW's
  left-mouse click command.  (Note: JFW does not invariably
  speak tooltips, but, rather, will assign an unlabeled
  graphic a number [i.e. "Graphic 69"] which will be spoken
  when the unlabeled graphic received the point-of-regard
  from the mouse emulation cursor.  Depending on how
  quickly the tooltip is displayed, it may or may not be
  spoken.)

All of which is quite frustrating, especially since one of
the features of the "Validation Results" child window is
that, by activating an error message, the point-of-regard /
focus is shifted back to the editing window, and the cursor
/ system caret is placed on the line (and, in many
instances, on the start of the invalid code) where the error
occurs...

3) The default template is simplicity itself, consisting
solely of a DTD declaration (HTML 4.0 Transitional), and the
following elements: HTML, HEAD, TITLE, /TITLE, BODY, /BODY,
/HTML
    (Note: the TITLE container contains the text:"Untitled")

4) WARNING! dialog / alert boxes not automatically voiced,
save for the window title and the active control ("OK").
Had to use screen-review to ascertain the contents of the
error message.

A more organized evaluation of HomeSite 4.0, using the Last
Call draft of the AUGL will (hopefully) follow in the not-to-
distant future (my target is the next teleconference, but
that may or may not prove realistic)

And, if anyone really wants them, the raw notes that I've 
compiled so far, are available upon request...

gregory

--------------------------------------------------------
He that lives on Hope, dies farting
     -- Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard's Almanack, 1763
--------------------------------------------------------
Gregory J. Rosmaita <unagi69@concentric.net>
   President, WebMaster, & Minister of Propaganda, 
        VICUG NYC <http://www.hicom.net/~oedipus/vicug/>
--------------------------------------------------------

Received on Thursday, 9 September 1999 18:43:38 UTC