Screen reader with customizable web page output

摘要

A screen reader application for visually impaired users suppresses unwanted content that is output by Braille or text-to-speech. The invention accesses, but does not modify, the document object model of the web page and enumerates web page elements for the end user to either hide or skip to. The end user selections are saved as rules which may be applied according to various levels of scope include web page specific, site specific or web-wide. A screen magnification application for visually impaired users automatically sets the visual focus and magnification level on a web page element according to end-user selection.

主权项

1. A method of modifying the presentation of web pages following a document object model, the method comprising the steps of:
loading a first web page into a screen reader application; establishing an end-user navigable virtual cursor, the virtual cursor outputting content from the first web page to a non-visual medium selected from the group consisting of text-to-speech and Braille; receiving an end-user command responsive to the virtual cursor positioned at one or more web page elements having an identifiable property, the identifiable property selected from the group consisting of countable items, named items and identified items; identifying one or more nodes within a document object model corresponding to the one or more web page elements, wherein the document object model is interpreted under the document object model of the screen reader application and thereby is independent of a browser software deployed by the end user; presenting a dialog box responsive to an end-user command, the dialog box comprising a plurality of options for the identified one or more document object model nodes, the options being selected from the group consisting of hiding the one or more web page elements and initiating reading at the one or more web page elements; enumerating the one or more web page elements to the end user in the dialog box; receiving an end-user selection of the enumerated one or more web page elements subject to customization; enumerating a plurality of customization types for the end user-selected web page element; receiving an end-user customization type selection from the enumerated plurality of customization types; saving the end-user selections of the enumerated web page element and the enumerated customization type as a rule to a non-transitory storage medium, wherein the rule is an XPath expression; and automatically applying the XPath expression to the document object model of the screen reader application responsive to loading a second web page matching an application scope to modify a non-visual presentation of the second web page through the screen reader application.