Sara SoueidanFeb 22

#lazyWeb Friends on macOS, what is your favorite tool for testing your work using a Windows screen reader?

Do you use a Virtual Machine (VM)? If so, what do you use to run it? Do you use an online tool like @AssistivLabs ? Bonus points for free tools

I use Parallels Desktop & it's honestly well worth the investment. But I'm looking for a variety of accessible options to recommend to workshop attendees who don't yet test on Windows & who want a way to start quickly & preferably not costly.

Show threadHiddeFeb 22
@SaraSoueidan @AssistivLabs I have a cheap Windows laptop specifically for running Windows screenreaders and trying forced color modes. It is a little annoying when you want to record stuff for, like, a blog post, but it's simple and effective.
Show threadCurtis WilcoxFeb 22

@hdv
For forced-color testing, I don't use a VM anymore, I use Microsoft Edge's Page Colors feature. The feature is available in Edge for macOS, Linux, and Windows.

The one "gotcha" is unlike Windows Contrast Themes, it doesn't automatically switch prefers-color-scheme based on the theme, you have to remember to also change that setting in the browser.

Page Colors doesn't let you create custom themes but I don't need that for testing.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/edge/features/page-colors

@SaraSoueidan @AssistivLabs

Page Colors | Microsoft Edge

Show threadLuke
@cwilcox808 @hdv @SaraSoueidan @AssistivLabs chrome Dev tools also had a forced colours emulation mode which seems to work mostly okay. I don't think that's customisable either though.
Feb 22 at 8:07pmWeb
Show threadCurtis WilcoxFeb 23

@Lukew
I used to use that but I find going into the rendering tab in DevTools more of a hassle and it can only do black-on-white and white-on-black. Page Colors has the same options as Windows Contrast Themes, plus White.

@hdv @SaraSoueidan @AssistivLabs