Where Am I

In addition to dedicated commands for reading the title bar and the status bar, Orca provides two context-sensitive Where Am I commands: Basic Where Am I and Detailed Where Am I. Basic Where Am I is implemented for all objects. Detailed Where Am I is implemented just for those objects for which there is a significant amount of information you may wish to know, but likely will not wish to know all of the time.

The best way to become familiar with what Where Am I will present is to give the Where Am I commands a try. However, to give you a better idea of the context-sensitive nature of Orca's Where Am I feature, consider the following:

For most widgets, you will at least be told the label and/or name, the type or role of the widget, and the mnemonic and/or accelerator key if they happen to exist. In addition:

  • If the widget is text, and you perform a basic Where Am I, you will be told the current line if no text is selected. If text is selected, however, a basic Where Am I will tell you what text is selected. A detailed Where Am I within the text will also include the text attributes.

  • If the widget can be checked, as is the case with checkboxes and radio buttons, the checked state will be included.

  • If the widget is a list or list-like object, such as a combo box, radio button group, or page tab list, the position of the current item will be included.

  • If the widget is hierarchical, such as a tree, and you are on an expandable node, you will be told if that node is expanded or not. And if it is expanded, you will also be told how many children it contains. In addition, the nesting level will also be provided.

  • If the widget is a progress bar or a slider, you will be told the current percent.

  • If the widget is an icon within an icon group, a basic Where Am I will include the object you are in, the item you are on, and the number of items which are selected. In a detailed Where Am I, you will also be told which items are selected.

  • If you are on a link, the type of link (same site, different site, FTP link, etc.) will be included.

  • If you are in a table cell, the coordinates of that cell and the cell headers will be included.

  • If you are in the spell checker of an application where Orca provides enhanced support, a basic Where Am I will repeat the error respecting your spell check preferences. A detailed Where Am I will cause Orca to present the full details of the error.

And so on. Again, the goal of Orca's Where Am I is to provide you with the details you are most likely interested in knowing about the object you are currently in. To give Where Am I a try, see the list of Where Am I commands.