make object navigation user friendly by optional restriction for current window, locking feature and quick navigation keys

[Adriani90]

Steps to reproduce:

1. Go in any application (browser ms office, Winamp etc.)
2. In Laptop layout press NVDA + Shift and start navigating by objects

Expected behavior: NVDA should allow me to restrict the object navigation for the active window or at least for the applications which are not minimized. Additionally, certain Actions should be more intuitive in this Navigation mode (i.e. adding quick Navigation keys for objects with custom context menus, easy mouse Routing and clicking key strokes, locking Feature like browse mode etc.).

Actual behavior: When you are in child object zone and press up arrow, you come to the next parent object zone. But when you press multiple times up arrow it brings you out of the window to the desktop and then you end up at the very left border where you have to go all way back, find your relevant parent objects and go to the relevant child objects. This is quite annoying in very complex applications like in finance. But also in other applications such as MS Excel can cause frustration if you always have to go all way back just because you have pressed one time too often the up arrow while trying to read the formula of a protected cell.

System configuration: NVDA version: all

NVDA Installed or portable: both

Windows version: all

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

Other questions:

Does the issue still occur after restarting your PC? yes

Have you tried any other versions of NVDA? yes, all

[h2359]

Hi I also think that this feature would be great in particular I’m playing around with a piece of 3-D printing software The only way I seem to be able to navigate in the program is with object navigation. When I tried to navigate through objects with a flatten view, I get taken out of the program and get taken to anywhere else, but back into the program, which usually makes me have to alt tab back just to get back into the program itself. The reason I think that a restrict feature would be good is so that when you’re inside a program you can stay inside that program and not move out of that program into unnecessary programs that you really don’t need at that moment and that way you can’t get lost in other programs just to try to figure out all of the elements available in the particular program that you’re working with

[Adriani90]

I am curious how many people use object navigation to (deliberately) move out of the current program in the first place?

I think this is still a feature visually impaired developers use to explore the object structure on the screen. So both restricted and unrestricted object navigation have their justifications.

By the way, this discussion is very interesting and this is really what we need when dealing with such a complex topic like object navigation. So i hope the comments will be considered when implementing this.

[CyrilleB79]

I am curious how many people use object navigation to (deliberately) move out of the current program in the first place?

I think this is still a feature visually impaired developers use to explore the object structure on the screen. So both restricted and unrestricted object navigation have their justifications.

I am using object navigation out of the current foreground window for two reasons:

• As explained by @Adriani90, as a visually impaired developer, to explore the object hierarchy
• In some situations where a modal window (e.g. message box) expects an answer, blocking the rest of the application, but this modal window is not reachable through alt+tab and tab/shift+tab commands. This is not so frequent and it is probably due to a badly coded application

But it happens much more often to me to navigate out of the current foreground window without wanting it.

So not only I think that a configurable restriction to the top-level window should be implemented, but I also think that this restriction should be enabled by default.

[XLTechie]

  I am curious how many people use object navigation to (deliberately) move out of the current program in the first place?

I seem to recall having to do this to access the Proton Mail Bridge. It, or some aspect of it, could not gain focus by any other means. But this was some years ago, and I no longer recall specifics. Most of the time I leave the active window with object nav, it is undesired.

[lukaszgo1]

I can recall the following situations where I had to intentionally move with object navigation outside of the current window:

• Inspecting accessibility hierarchy of objects
• In Cisco Webex when sharing screen the main window of the program is hidden, and the only way to access its options (including ability to stop screen sharing) is by means of a floating, not present in the alt+tab order, control
• There is a similar problem when sharing screen in MS Teams - while there the sharing popup is in the alt+tab order it is often easier to access it by object navigation
• I'm not sure if that is still the case, but JetBrains IDEs often show a notifications about updates or stuff like this as a window which is a descendant of the desktop, and not the main window of the program

Also it looks like many people are not aware about the NVDA+numpad minus which moves the navigator object to ther current focus position.

[CyrilleB79]

Regarding the use case related to focusing a window unreachable with alt+tab, I seem to recall that Jaws had a feature to list and be able to reach such windows. It should be discussed in a separate issue if needed. But it's surely something more user friendly than an unrestricted object navigation.

[h2359]

This reasoning is very valid, but I still think the option should be available in the case of the program I’m using when I use the object hierarchy feature I seem to just keep getting lost and have to all tab back to where I was before which is annoying lol but if there was an option for it, then people can decide what they want for each individual situationSent from my iPhoneOn Dec 6, 2023, at 5:48 AM, Cyrille Bougot @.***> wrote: Regarding the use case related to focusing a window unreachable with alt+tab, I seem to recall that Jaws had a feature to list and be able to reach such windows. It should be discussed in a separate issue if needed. But it's surely something more user friendly than an unrestricted object navigation.

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[gregjozk]

Hello,

I also like this possible feature. Mytel client is usable almost only with object navigation, but sometimes a day I unintentionally land outside of its window. So I have to work around to return into it.

regards Jožef

2023-12-06 15:02 GMT +01.00, h2359 @.***>:

This reasoning is very valid, but I still think the option should be available in the case of the program I’m using when I use the object hierarchy feature I seem to just keep getting lost and have to all tab back to where I was before which is annoying lol but if there was an option for it, then people can decide what they want for each individual situationSent from my iPhoneOn Dec 6, 2023, at 5:48 AM, Cyrille Bougot @.***> wrote: Regarding the use case related to focusing a window unreachable with alt+tab, I seem to recall that Jaws had a feature to list and be able to reach such windows. It should be discussed in a separate issue if needed. But it's surely something more user friendly than an unrestricted object navigation.

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