Bug 504607

Summary: Opening Orca configuration window unexpectedly turns the screen reader on, contradicting the checkbox on the Accessibility page
Product: [Applications] systemsettings Reporter: Tamás Králl <tamaskrall42>
Component: kcm_accessibilityAssignee: Plasma Bugs List <plasma-bugs-null>
Status: ASSIGNED ---    
Severity: normal CC: cwo.kde, duha.bugs, nate, nicolas.fella, ritchie
Priority: NOR Keywords: accessibility
Version First Reported In: 6.3.90   
Target Milestone: ---   
Platform: Neon   
OS: Linux   
Latest Commit: Version Fixed/Implemented In:
Sentry Crash Report:
Attachments: Long open/close + screen reader turning on on its own

Description Tamás Králl 2025-05-21 10:37:15 UTC
Created attachment 181603 [details]
Long open/close + screen reader turning on on its own

SUMMARY
There are a few problems with the Screen Reader page I've noticed:
- the Orca configuration window needs about 3 seconds to open/close, which is unusually long
- launching the configuration window enables the screen reader for some reason
- after closing the configuration window the screen reader is still enabled, even though the checkbox next to "Enable" isn't ticked

STEPS TO REPRODUCE
1. Go to Accessibility > Screen Reader
2. Click on " Launch Orca Screen Reader Configuration..."
3. Click "Cancel" in the new window

OBSERVED RESULT
Screen Reader is turned on for some reason, yet "Enable" isn't marked with a tick
The configuration window took a long time to open/close

EXPECTED RESULT
Screen Reader isn't enabled without the user asking for it
The configuration window opens/closes quickly

SOFTWARE/OS VERSIONS
System Settings: 6.3.90
KDE Frameworks: 6.15.0
Qt: Using 6.9.0 and built against 6.9.0
KDE neon Unstable Edition (Wayland)
Build ABI: x86_64-little_endian-lp64
Kernel: linux 6.11.0-26-generic
Comment 1 Nate Graham 2025-05-21 15:59:01 UTC
(In reply to hottog from comment #0)
> Created attachment 181603 [details]
> Long open/close + screen reader turning on on its own
> 
> SUMMARY
> There are a few problems with the Screen Reader page I've noticed:
> - the Orca configuration window needs about 3 seconds to open/close, which
> is unusually long
This one is an Orca issue; please report there!

> - launching the configuration window enables the screen reader for some
> reason
This may be our bug, and I can confirm it. We'll use this bug report to track it.

> - after closing the configuration window the screen reader is still enabled,
> even though the checkbox next to "Enable" isn't ticked
This is a symptom of of the above issue.
Comment 2 Nicolas Fella 2025-05-21 21:14:58 UTC
> launching the configuration window enables the screen reader for some reason

That's just how Orca works. The setup button calls "orca -s", that starts the screen reader and opens its settings.

Probably the only sensible thing we can do is to not enable the button unless the checkbox is enabled too
Comment 3 Nate Graham 2025-05-21 21:22:41 UTC
Yeah, that makes sense.
Comment 4 Bug Janitor Service 2025-05-23 18:13:06 UTC
A possibly relevant merge request was started @ https://invent.kde.org/plasma/plasma-desktop/-/merge_requests/3017