NVDA unable to identify link in HTML messages in Outlook for Office 2019

[chojiro]

NVDA does not consistently identify links in HTML-messages in Outlook 2019. NVDA reads the text, but not whether it is a link or not. Using NVDA+F7 to bring up the elements list shows only the links NVDA will properly identify, but not other links that are present. Pressing Shift+F10 to bring up the context menu for actual links shows that it is a link, but NVDA doesn't see it as such.

Steps to reproduce:

1. Find an HTML message
2. Read the message and try finding a link inside of it, both using Insert+F7 and K for quick navigation.

   Actual behavior:

   NVDA does not consistently in all HTML messages recognize something is a link when it is.

   Expected behavior:

   NVDA should consistently recognize whether something is a link or not in HTML messages.

   System configuration

   NVDA installed/portable/running from source:

   Installed

   NVDA version:

   2020.1

   Windows version:

   Windows 10Ver2004 (64-bit) build 19041.264, also attempted with windows version 1909.

   Name and version of other software in use when reproducing the issue:

   Outlook 2019 for Office 2019 Standard.

   Other information about your system:

Other questions

Does the issue still occur after restarting your computer?

Yes

Have you tried any other versions of NVDA? If so, please report their behaviors.

If addons are disabled, is your problem still occuring?

Yes

Did you try to run the COM registry fixing tool in NVDA menu / tools?

Yes

[Adriani90]

@chojiro do you still have this issue with NVDA 2023.2? I cannot reproduce in Outlook for Office 2016 and Office 365. Please make sure you set the UIA for Microsoft Word in NVDA advanced settings to "only when necessary". This setting affects also Outlook.

[chojiro]

I generally always use UIA at this point.

In 2023.1 I had this issue, so when I was able to use Windows Mail consistently again I switched. It will take a bit to test, as I'll have to wait for the necessary emails to come through.

If it happens, I can provide a .msg file as it is not confidential if necessary. If I do not encounter the problem, I can close this if you like.

[chojiro]

Here is a .msg file where this occurs.

It happens at the top, where links with text like "konferencer" exists. Some links are identified and some are not, but identified as links if you use K to navigate or arrow left and right to the end or beginning of a link. 🧩 Nu i København Den Offentlige Formidler- og Underviseruddannelse.zip

[Adriani90]

@chojiro again my question: did you try with UIA set to "only when necessary" in advanced settings pannel of NVDA? Does this make a difference?

[chojiro]

@Adriani90 No, this doesn't make a difference.