JavaTM Accessibility Helper Getting Started

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Before Starting the Helper

Before starting the Java Accessibility Helper, you must do the following:

• Download and install the Java 2 Runtime Environment or the Java 2 Platform SDK from the java.sun.com download site. The Java Accessibility Helper will only run properly with Java 2 version 1.4 or later.
• Download the Java Accessibility Helper

Installing the Helper

Check that you have completed the tasks listed in Before Starting the Helper.

To install the Helper:

1. In a terminal window, run the install command:
   java Accessibility_Helper_Installer
   Note that if you have a previous version of the Helper installed, you will need to uninstall it first. See the Uninstalling the Helper section below for more details on how to do this.
2. This starts the installer program. Click Next to proceed past the Welcome screen.
3. Select the installation directory. The default is a subdirectory called "jaccesshelper" under the users home directory. On a Windows system, the default location is
   C:\Documents and Settings\<user>\jaccesshelper
   You can type a new path or use the browse button to locate a different directory.
   If the directory does not exist, the installer automatically asks if you would like it created.
   We'll refer to this installation directory as $JAHELPER_HOME throughout the rest of this documentation.
   Click "Next" to continue.
4. Select the components to be installed. The options are:
   Helper Files
   Design Documents
   Source Jar Files
   By default all files will be installed. The "Helper Files" are required to make the Helper run. Make changes as needed in these selections, and click "Next" to continue.
5. The install program then verifies there is enough disk space for the installation. You may or may not see a screen for this step.
6. The install program then displays a summary of what will be installed on your system for your verification. Please review the information and click "Install Now" to proceed.
7. When the installation is completed a summary will be displayed. Click on "Details..." to get more information on the installation process. Click "Close" to finish the installation.
8. If you need to reinstall the Helper, you must first uninstall the current version. Please see the uninstall section for instructions on how to complete it.

Uninstalling the Helper

If you need to uninstall the Helper, there is a tool to do this.

1. In a terminal window, go to the installation directory ($JAHELPER_HOME) you provided during the install.
2. Type the command:
   java uninstall_Java_Accessibility_Helper
3. This starts the uninstall program. Click "Next" to continue.
4. The uninstall program then displays a summary of what will be uninstalled on your system for your verification. Please review the information and click "Uninstall Now" to proceed.
5. When the uninstall is completed a summary will be displayed. Click on "Details..." to get more information on the uninstallation process. Click "Close" to finish the uninstallation.

Starting the Helper

Once installed, all you need to do in order to run the Helper is to invoke the wrapper script.

On Unix-like systems, use the following command to invoke the wrapper script:

$ $JAHELPER_HOME/bin/jahelper options...

On Windows systems, the command to invoke the wrapper script is:

C:\My Directory>$JAHELPER_HOME\bin\jahelper.bat options...

On both Unix-like and Windows systems, you can simply add the $JAHELPER_HOME/bin directory to your PATH environment variable and then invoke the Java Accessibility Helper using the jahelper command.

Standard Options

• -jvmArgs args
  Specifies arguments to pass to the JVM.
• -extDir directory
  Specifies the location of an alternate ext directory,
• -javahome directory
  Specifies the directory containing the JRE (Java Runtime Environment) to use to execute the Helper.
• -maxHeap size
  Specifies the maximum Java heap size in megabytes. The default is 256. More memory may be required to analyze the accessibility of very large applications.
• -help
  Display a list of all the options available.
• -debug
  Enable debug tracing.
• -nodebug
  Disable debug tracing.
• -firstminidletime ms
  Specifies the minimum amount of time (in milliseconds) to wait for the application to initially acquiesce"
• -firstmaxidletime ms
  Specifies the maximum amount of time (in milliseconds) to wait for the application to initially acquiesce"
• -normalminidletime ms
  Specifies the minimum amount of time (in milliseconds) to wait for the application to normally acquiesce"
• -normalmaxidletime ms
  Specifies the maximum amount of time (in milliseconds) to wait for the application to normally acquiesce"

All other options are passed through to the Helper application.

The Java Accessibility Helper Main Window

 
  The Java Accessibility Helper main window consists of the following parts:

• Menu bar

  Use the menus to choose Helper functions to execute. The menu bar includes the File menu, Test Set menu, and Help menu.

• Icon bar

  Click the icons for quick and convenient execution of Helper functions. From left to right, the icon bar includes the Execute Test Set icon, Test Set Properties icon, Open Test Set icon, and Save Report As... icon.

• Display area

  The display area shows messages, such as "Ready to execute test set," and shows the accessibility report during and after test set execution.

File Menu

The Test Set menu lists the following choices:

New Test Set...	Displays the Test Set Properties dialog to create a new test set.
Open Test Set...	Opens a test set to execute or edit.
Save Test Set	Saves the current new or edited test set.
Save Test Set As...	Saves the current test set to a different file of your choice.
Save Report As...	Saves the report generated by executing a test set to a file of your choice.
Exit	Quits the Helper.

Test Set Menu

The Test Set menu lists the following choice:

New...	Displays the Test Set Properties dialog to create a new test set.
Properties...	Displays the Test Set Properties dialog to edit the current test set.
Execute...	Executes the current test set.

Help Menu

The Help menu lists the following choices:

About...	Displays the Helper version number.
Contents...	Displays introductory information about Helper features.

Icons

The icon bar includes the following icons, from left to right:

Execute Test Set	If a test set is open, click this icon to execute the test set.
Test Set Properties	To create or edit a test set, click this icon.
Open Test Set	To open an existing test set, click this icon.
Save Report As...	To save the currently displayed report, click this icon.

Copyright © 2005 Sun Microsystems, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Please send comments to: jaccesshelper@sun.com