PDF version of this manual.
This Easy Menu was inspired by the accessibility work carried out by the ACIAH association for its ACIAH-Linux distribution, following the publication of this article: Digital inclusion: the “Heart” key that aims to replace complex keyboard shortcuts on Linux computers.
The purpose of the Easy Menu is to make it possible to use a computer with very few keys, helping to reduce the cognitive load for people with visual impairments. They therefore do not need to learn a long list of keyboard shortcuts.
It was this approach that encouraged us to adopt the concept developed so effectively by the ACIAH-Linux distribution and integrate it into the accessibility features of Emmabuntüs.
To launch the Easy Menu, simply press the Right Control or F12 key, then navigate through the menu using the Up, Down, Left and Right arrow keys. The menu is both visual and spoken when the screen reader is active. These keys allow you to navigate through the menu and its submenus, which bring together all the accessibility features included in Emmabuntüs.
To launch a software application or execute a command, simply press the Enter key, or use the shortcut key directly associated with some of the most frequently used functions.
The Easy Menu uses the shortcuts found in the ACIAH-Linux distribution, as they are perfectly suited to our approach to accessibility.
To open the Easy Menu, simply press the Right Control or F12 key.
Once the menu is open, press the key corresponding to the desired function:
- L : read messages
- J : save an email attachment
- E : write an email
- I : go to the Internet
- C : open the home folder in the Caja file manager
- T : create or open a document with the word processor
- Y : launch the word processor
- A : save as
- K : copy the selected text
- P : paste
- O : launch the screen reader
- R : access the screen reader preferences
- V : mute or unmute the sound
- H : increase the volume
- B : decrease the volume
- W : enable Wi-Fi
- S : launch the scanner
- U : launch the system update
- X : take a screenshot and send the image to the Internet
- D : launch DwAgent in accessibility mode
- Q : shut down the computer
- M : launch the Whisker Menu to access all applications
- N : open a terminal
- Z : check the battery level
- ! : find out where I am (indicates the current window or application)
Another key has been included as part of this accessibility simplification feature: F4, close the current window.
A copy of the Easy Menu configuration files is available in the user’s home directory, in ~/.config/emmabuntus_easy_menu. This copy allows the user to customize the menu according to their own needs. For example, to prevent a launcher entry from being displayed, simply add the hash symbol (#) at the beginning of that line.