lynx-dev Re: Conagent.exe and keyboard conflicts

[Janina Sajka]

We have dealt with many of the issues raised in the posts below here at
AFB. Our experience is similar, but not the same in all respects. Let me
make several comments:

1.)     I do not know COMAGENT.EXE --it does not appear to be on my
Windows 95 system;

2.)     I have had no problems using either PKZIP 2.5 or the FTP client
that ships with Windows 95 using ASAP speech. We've done nothing to make
these work for us, and they work across all AFB machines today, so I'm
befuddled why these should be problematical--they've never been a problem
here.

3.)     In case anyone is unclear about it, the TELNET client that ships
with Windows 95 is not a console application and, therefore, one's Windows
speech is active when one uses this TELNET program;

4.)     We tried several TELNET clients in 1997 in order to get one that
would work well in DOS sessions under Win 95. We found one at Columbia
University. Today, AFB computers are equipped with Kermit 95, and many of
us use the TELNET client that comes with Kermit 95. We have found this
client to work very well with ASAP following some key modifications which
Columbia people were generous to help us with. In particular, additional
specifications where made to Kermit to tell Kermit to ignore key presses
on the Nunumeric keypad. You can learn more about this at
http://www.columbia.edu/kermit/k95.html.

5.)     We also have Lynx32 installed on computers at AFB. We believe we
were not fully understood, however, by the Lynx development folks who
ported Lynx to 32-bit Windows. At our suggestion, Lynx32 was provided with
programming to ignore the numeric key pad when NumLock is off--which is
why it works well with JAWS for DOS. This same functionality has not yet
been provided for screen readers, like ASAP, which require the NumLock key
to be on--which explains the behavior noted below.  There is a work
around, which is simple to issue the "cancel link" command, Ctrl-G, after
using the numeric key pad for screen review.

Special note about Kermit for Windows 95 -- I know that Columbia is
planning to make this a gui application. I do not know whether the current
release is gui or console. Our version is a PC Console application from
1997, and it works very very well with ASAP, but not with Vocal-Eyes as
far as we know.



                                Janina Sajka, Director
                                Information Systems Department
                                American Foundation for the Blind (AFB)

address@hidden


On Tue, 22 Sep 1998, Lloyd G. Rasmussen wrote:

> This is a recurring problem, and I would like to see Microsoft answer 
> some of our questions.  I don't know what conagent does: provide 
> network services, 32-bit console services, or what.  Vocal-Eyes 
> thinks that all programs that use this service are called 
> conagent.exe.  
> 
> I use Lynx/32, an MPEG Layer III encoder, and other programs in 
> Win95 DOS boxes with Vocal-Eyes.  An advantage of V E is that you run 
> separate copies of V E in each DOS box you start.  Thus it is no 
> problem to turn on Revector Check for the DOS session that is 
> running Lynx.  When you quit Lynx, you exit DOS, taking down that 
> copy of Vocal-Eyes, which would otherwise misbehave because it is 
> playing with the keyboard interrupt handler.  Revector Check does 
> prevent review commands from being typed into Lynx, and also enables 
> the use of the VE cursor without those arrows bleeding through to 
> Lynx.  However, Vocal-Eyes hotkeys which are pressed while outside of 
> screen review do go through to Lynx, causing unpredictable results.  
> In Lynx, some keys can be remapped.  This is still being worked on 
> by the developers of Lynx, but a good solution to key remapping does 
> not yet exist.
> 
> If you are running ASAP/ASAW all the time, you may end up with a 
> messed-up DOS session after Lynx exits.  Janina Sajka at AFB uses 
> this setup with ASAP, and she may be able to give you some 
> pointers.  But I wish Microsoft would look at how keyboard handling 
> is done by conagent.exe and explain to screen reader developers and 
> other DOS/32 afficianados how to get clean keyboard behavior out of 
> these programs.    
> 
> 
> On Tue, 22 Sep 1998 09:28:49 -0400, 
> on Blind-l, Joseph Norton   <address@hidden> wrote:
> 
> >Hi All:
> >
> >I have been trying to use several "console" applications running under Win
> >95 (including pkzip 2.50 Command-Line and lynx_w32).  These programs seem to
> >have one thing in common; they all employ a program under the Windows
> >directory called "conagent.exe".  Every time I try to use a program that
> >requires conagent, my keyboard commands to ASAP get processed by both ASAP
> >and the application.  For example:  When I am running the ftp program (that
> >comes with dial-up networking) if I use the num-pad commands for reviewing
> >the screen, ASAP will review the screen just fine, but, at the ftp> command
> >prompt, I then have a string of 7's 8's and 9's (or any other keyboard
> >command ASAP uses).  After I review the screen, I have to backspace to get
> >all those numbers out.  When I use lynx_w32, the same thing occurs.  I enter
> >commands on the Num-Pad to review the screen (or whatever) and these key
> >strokes get echoed back to lynx as well.  I have tried both ASAP's keyboard
> >interrupt handling methods.  They seem to work the first time lynx is run,
> >but, subsequently, it's as if I never used them.  I have to restart the
> >computer to get this method to work again.
> >
> >Any thoughts?
> >
> >Oh, well, at least I got realplayer working with Lynx_w32 anyway.
> >
> >--Joseph (Joe) Norton <address@hidden>
> >Dalton, Georgia, U.S.A.--The Carpet Capital of the World!
> >
> >This message transmitted on 100% recycled electrons.
> >
> 
> -- Lloyd Rasmussen
> Senior Staff Engineer, Engineering Section
> National Library Service for the  Blind and Physically Handicapped
> Library of Congress          202-707-0535
> (work)       address@hidden    http://www.loc.gov/nls/
> (home) address@hidden http://home.sprynet.com/sprynet/lras/      
> 
>