Hi,

Ok, if cost is prohibitive for you, I would suggest switching to NVDA, installing Windows 10 and using VS 2017. Both NVDA and JAWS work really well with VS 2017 (though NVDA's performance is slower compared to JAWS' performance in this program.)

If you're in the US, you can get on the JAWS Home Annual program; alternatively, you can get JAWS Home at no cost to you if you're a university student and your university has a site-wide license for JAWS.

Try to find a way to upgrade to Windows 10 and install the latest VS (which is free by the way) before deciding definitely that you MUST stick to VS 2005.

Getting VS 2005 will be difficult since it has been dropped by Microsoft. Unless you have an MSDN account, you'll have to get a copy from someone who still has a copy of it and hope that they haven't injected malicious code into the program, and that they give you a registration key if it's not VS Express.

I got my computer with Windows 7 back in 2011, and I got a free upgrade to JAWS 15, thanks to Freedom Scientific in 2017. Unfortunately, JAWS 15 is the latest build my SMA allows me to run. As for Windows Updates, they cause my CD Rom drive to shut off after several hours, which makes JAWS turn into demo mode, despite the fact that I have an authenticated version with a valid license. It's a pain in the cushioned rear! My sighted friend, Markus Johnson (yes, that's "Markus" with a "K", not a "C"), is the one who tells me not to update that machine, since both of us found out the hard way what it does. In fact, it was Markus who formatted the wrong hard drive by accident, as we were going by drive letter, so the second time we had to restore the machine, we learned that you actually have to go by model number (like ST1000 or ST3500). And, I don't use the Internet with that machine, since I only perform music and audio recordings and beginning programming on it.

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From: main@jfw.groups.io [mailto:main@jfw.groups.io] On Behalf Of Munawar Bijani
Sent: Monday, June 17, 2019 8:32 AM
To: main@jfw.groups.io
Subject: Re: Accessible Version of Visual Studio?

Hi,

I've found VS 2017 to be great in accessibility, mostly because it implements UIA rather than whatever Microsoft was using when VS 2005 was around.

I'd argue that 2017 is the most accessible version yet. I use it at work every day and it works really well with both JAWS and NVDA.

Why does updating Windows "break" things for you? I'd get that sorted out if I were you; people really shouldn't be using VS 2005 nowadays. Technology is so different from what it used to be and I strongly recommend staying current, especially with development tools. Things like the VC++ runtimes are updated with each new version of Visual Studio as well, and many of these updates patch security holes that you really don't want floating around.

On 6/17/2019 10:46 AM, Annabelle Susan Morison wrote:

Hi, it's Annabelle.

I've read somewhere that Visual Studio has a version that's fully accessible to JAWS. The version I was told is fully accessible is Visual Studio 2005. The problem is, I'm not sure where to get that one, especially a copy that's clean and free of viruses, malware, adware, spyware, and the like. I've tried the new version, but it updates Windows, which breaks screenreader compatibility on my machine. I've already had to restore it back to working order by reimaging the hard drive three times within 8 years! The first time, I formatted the wrong hard drive by accident, and now I have to recover what I didn't get the chance to back up on that hard drive. If I can't get Visual Studio 2005, I wonder what programming alternative I can use? Particularly I want to program my own virtual instruments and audio software, as well as software that lets customers write their own scripts for ceremonies. The site where I read about the accessibility of Visual Studio 2005 is here: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/118984/how-can-you-program-if-youre-blind