Improve accessibility for blind users? Please?

gamulation.123

Hi there. This is going to be a bit of a rant on how I as a blind computer user currently use Streamfab and how I wish it could improve. I use Windows 11 in case the team needs that information.

I use a screen reader to get elements and everything on the screen spoken out loud by text to speech. I also do not use a mouse, as I have no real way of knowing where it is on screen. Streamfab with just a keyboard is kinda crap. The dropdown menu that has settings and other stuff can not be accessed. I legit have to go to system tray and select streamfab there so it opens a menu where I can select open streamfab, settings or quit. That is one way to access settings so yes, it’s doable. But then how would I authorize my account in there? Thankfully it walks me through that when I open the program for the first time. However now we get to another issue, loggin captcha. The captcha code you’re supposed to type in from the image is not screen reader friendly at all. How do you expect someone blind to type that in? What do I do? Linking with google bypasses captcha altogether which is nice, but the new browser extension does not support google loggin, meaning at least for now, that one cannot be used by me. You could tell me to try using chatGPT to give me the captcha answer, but it doesn’t want to, so that is lovely. Getting back to streamfab on Windows. Trying to select which service to use is a pain, I can navigate the app fine enough, however the screen reader doesn’t speak which service I’m on, and I also cannot just press enter to activate it. I have to use a hacky workaround involving me using mouse emulation keyboard keys and using keyboard to left click and some other stuff. Please, please fix that. When actually activating the service focus is actually placed inside the browser window, however if you were to alt tab out of the app and back in, good luck getting it to focus correctly again. I then have to use the same hacky keyboard mouse workaround.

I am sorry for this rant, but I am not that happy with this UI and my specific user experience. I love the program and what it lets me do, because yes, I am able to download stuff. i am able to enjoy the features, but the road to me doing so is way too long then it needs to be. Accessibility is very important and I hope the dev-team reads and takes notice of my issues. I am not trying to be mean or anything like that, English is not my native language, so if I come accross as ruid towards anyone that is not my intention, but i am frustrated about the difficulty of using this program.

Wilson.Wang

The dev is checking for it.

Sorry for this trouble you.

Wilson

gamulation.123

Thank you!

Wilson.Wang

Hi,

@gamulation.123

Please try the new test version.

https://dl.dvdfab.cn/download/StreamFab_x64_7006official_2026_01_09_13_24_42_utility_tool_dev_vs2019_accessible_streameta_dev_vs2019_a12e4796.exe

Wilson

gamulation.123

Wilson.Wang So far I really like this, I can now access the menu and it speaks which service I’m on, however when I click on it it doesn’t set focus in the browser correctly, could this be fixed? There is also no real good way for me to get back into the browser window when I alt +tab out and into streamfab again. But this is definitely a very good update!

steffen011279

gamulation.123 Then I’ll post something on this topic too, to balance things out. ☺️
At the moment, the only way to move the cursor back into the web document is via a workaround in the NVDA screen reader:
Activate the object viewer with nvda+1.
Then navigate with nvda+6 to the account button, one step further…
The screen reader will then say something about the document. That is the part of the website.
Then press NVDA+/ to drag the mouse pointer to the object where the navigator is located.
Press the left mouse button, i.e. /, and the focus will be back on the website.
It’s a bit awkward, but it works for the transition.
That’s how I solved it in versions prior to V2.7.

gamulation.123

Can I upload audio recordings here? I feel like this issue is easier explaining with a recording of the screen reader.

Wilson.Wang

gamulation.123

Yes, I found that the focus is correct only when opening the website first time. I can use the Tab key to move the focus in Amazon website.

But it can be focus to the Amazon webstie window only sometimes or back to StreamFab windows by Alt + Tab.

And it will be focus to the Amazon website again if I click one time in Amazon website by using the mouse left key.

I will ask the dev to check it again.

Wilson

gamulation.123

steffen011279 Ah. I just use OCR but that seems like a better way if OCR fails. It’s one of the things where it just says document, ocr and click on anything in the result. It’s not perfect and I really wish this could get improved, but this update is really useful and great!

Cats4U

As previously written in the General category…
@Wilson.Wang
I see that the staff has made an effort to allow a blind member to “watch” a movie or TV show. My problem is a little different and could be remedied quite easily. With age, eyes tend to develop cataracts, especially if you worked with welding lasers for 25 years as I did. I’ll be 70 years old this year, and I’m told by my eye doctor that I have about another year to go before my cataracts become “ripe”. When they become “ripe” and harden, they can easily be replaced with plastic lenses in my eyes. Until that time, I am having a lot of problems telling whether the forum topics are black (having new messages) or gray (no new messages). Either way, the topics all look gray and fuzzy with the cataracts. The easiest way to fix the problem would be to switch the black/gray color to a more distinct color scheme. Perhaps, green for having new messages and red for no new messages.

Cats4U

@Wilson.Wang

I’d like to add this reply from Gemini AI as to the prevalence of acquiring cataracts. As you can see, this request is not just for me, but for all forum members here. We are all getting older, each day. If you stay here long enough, you, too, will have problems telling whether a topic is listed in black or gray. Wilson, please change the topic color scheme to a more cataract-readable one. Thank you.

Gemini -
Cataracts are considered a normal part of the aging process. If you live long enough, there is an extremely high probability you will develop them. What percentage of people get cataracts? The likelihood of developing cataracts increases significantly with every decade of life. While only a small fraction of younger adults are affected, the numbers rise sharply after age 60:
Age Group Estimated Prevalence (U.S.)
40–49: 2.5%
50–59: 5% to 9%
60–69: 15% to 25%
70–79: 40% to 50%
80+: Over 70%
By age 80, more than half of all Americans either have a cataract or have already had surgery to remove one. Some clinical studies suggest that if you look at “any level” of lens clouding (even those not yet affecting vision), nearly 90% of people show signs of cataracts by age 65.
At what age do they first start to appear?
While cataracts are often associated with the elderly, the biological changes that cause them usually begin much earlier.
Age 40: This is typically when the proteins in the eye’s natural lens first begin to break down and clump together. Most people do not notice any symptoms at this stage.
Age 60: This is the “tipping point” for many. By your early 60s, these protein clumps have often grown large enough to start clouding the lens, leading to the first noticeable symptoms like glare or blurred vision.
Early-Onset: In some cases, cataracts can appear in your 30s or 40s. This is more common in individuals with certain risk factors such as diabetes, heavy UV exposure (sunlight), smoking, or long-term use of steroid medications.

steffen011279

Wilson.Wang I can confirm this. Perhaps it could be achieved with a hotkey that brings the focus back to the web document for blind users. Then the screen reader would attach itself to the web content. When jumping back, it takes the first element possible, which is the area with the tabs Home, VIP Services, etc.

gamulation.123

steffen011279 Yes a hot key or something would be really nice. I have also found that in the youtube downloader, when downloading a playlist, I can’t seem to focus the popup that asks if you want to download this as a playlist or a single file. I could do it with some workarounds, but it doesn’t seem like that specific popup can be focused easaly

steffen011279

gamulation.123 I can’t test it right now. When the window appears, try switching to the desktop with Windows key+M and back again with Alt+Tab. The window should then be in the foreground.
If nothing happens when you press Tab, press the space bar.
I’ll try it again later.

steffen011279

gamulation.123 Okay, I tested it:
Once you’ve opened the playlist link, jump out of the window and back in again. The focus will then be on the analysis button. Simply press the space bar and the YouTube downloader window will come to the foreground, where you can select individual files or playlists.
@Wilson.Wang Update: Sorry, I need to correct myself, I was a little inaccurate. There is an enter button in the YouTube Downloader window. When you press it, you can see all the individual clips in a playlist and activate or deactivate them.
So it’s a little less work for the developers after all. The button just doesn’t have a name yet.
The problem in this window of youtubedownloader is the same as in the downloader for series: checkboxes are not recognized by the screen reader, nor are the names of the clips.
The developers need to make this just as wonderfully accessible as they have already done in the downloader. ☺️
Once again: it’s great that you’ve addressed this issue, we are so grateful to you.

steffen011279

@gamulation.123 @gamulation.123 In Streamfab V7.0.0.7, the developers have managed to make the screen reader jump back to the web document when you leave the Streamfab window and switch back again.
At first, I couldn’t navigate Prime Video with the tab key, probably because the taskbar was in the foreground. I was able to close it easily with Alt+F4. When I reached the Prime Video area with the tab key or Shift+tab key, the window rebuilt itself and NVDA was back in the web document.
Thank you very much for making it work so well now. ☺️

gamulation.123

Okay the latest update sets focus in the web site correctly as well as setting it correctly when you tab around in the SF UI. This is some amazing stuff and I love it!

gamulation.123

I still have this issue where the button to select to download a youtube playlist as a file or a playlist isn’t being focused. I go to youtube, find the playlist link and click on it, then I alt tab out and back into the app and I still can’t find that button.