This document catalogs the speech-enabled applications available on the Emacspeak desktop. Note that depending on your Emacs installation, you may need to download and install extra applications to avail yourself of all of the features of the Emacspeak audio desktop. Emacs applications can be located via the various Emacs Lisp archives or by using popular WWW search engines. For one such comprehensive index, see the the Emacs Lisp Library. This is also available through the Emacs Wiki
As of the last update, there are a total of 142 speech-enabled applications in 14 categories on the Emacspeak audio desktop.
| DOCUMENTATION (4) | ||
| 1 | info | Emacs' online hypertext documentation system. Emacspeak uses audio formatting to highlight menus and hyperlinks. |
| 2 | help | Speech-enabled online help across the audio desktop. |
| 3 | man | UNIX online manual browser with full aural highlighting and structured browsing. |
| 4 | howto | Emacspeak wizard for browsing Linux HOWTO documents. |
| DESKTOP (9) | ||
| 1 | ido | Efficiently find buffers and files on the audio desktop --- the IDo way. |
| 2 | ibuffer | Tool for locating open buffers on the audio desktop. |
| 3 | iswitchb | Quickly switch to buffers on the audio desktop. |
| 4 | bs | Tool for locating open buffers on the audio desktop. |
| 5 | buff-menu | Browsing and selecting buffers on the audio desktop. |
| 6 | buff-sel | Interactive selection of buffers on the audio desktop. |
| 7 | yasg | Pattern-based selection of open buffers. |
| 8 | speedbar | Context-sensitive browsing tool. Provides seamless browsing of the entire file system or a single file with the same consistent interface. |
| 9 | sawfish | Speech-enables the Sawfish window-manager. |
| FINDERS (10) | ||
| 1 | dired | Browse and operate on files and folders. |
| 2 | wdired | Edit filenames within dired as a means of moving and renaming files. |
| 3 | ffap | Find file or url at point. |
| 4 | locate | File browser interface for finding files. |
| 5 | find-dired | Seamless integration between the file browser and finder. |
| 6 | find-grep | Using grep with find. also, se igrep. |
| 7 | efs | Front-end to remote file access using an FTP back-end. |
| 8 | tramp | Front-end to remote file access using SSH backend. |
| 9 | finder | Package browser for locating installed applications. |
| 10 | rpm | Client for browsing installed RPM packages. |
| WEB (9) | ||
| 1 | w3 | Standards-compliant WWW browser with Aural CSS support. |
| 2 | w3m | Light-weight WWW browser. Does not support table navigation, CSS or Aural CSS, but can be fast and light-weight. |
| 3 | url-template | Emacspeak client that provides programmable URL templates. Pre-defined templates offer easy access to W3C mailing lists, CNN sites etc. |
| 4 | EmapSpeak | Audio-formatted access to Google Maps |
| 5 | websearch | Emacspeak websearch client with single click access to popular search engines. Once selected, the searcher prompts for the relevant input, performs the search, and speaks the result. In addition, see the Web wizards in Emacspeak Wizards. |
| 6 | xslt | Ability to apply XSL transforms to Web content before it is displayed. |
| 7 | lynx | Single key interface for invoking lynx in an appropriately customized terminal buffer. |
| 8 | net-utils | Front-end to networking tools. |
| 9 | babel | Access Internet translation services. |
| MESSAGING (16) | ||
| 1 | vm | Mail reader featuring full mime support. |
| 2 | bbdb | Manages email addresses and other contact information by seamlessly integrating with messaging applications. |
| 3 | eudc | Universal Directory Client including LDAP support and seamless integration with messaging applications. |
| 4 | gnus | Usenet news and email client with support for exotic information backends such as Slashdot etc. |
| 5 | newsticker | Speech-enabled NewsTicker, a native Emacs RSS reader. |
| 6 | amphetadesk | Emacs front-end to AmphetaDesk |
| 7 | rss | Speech-enabled RSS viewer for RSS 0.9, RSS 1.0 and RSS 2.0 |
| 8 | message | Email composition from within other applications. |
| 9 | supercite | Enables flexible citations when composing email. |
| 10 | tnt | Instant Messenger (AIM) client, with support for multiple parallel chat sessions. |
| 11 | erc | Internet Relay Chat (IRC) client with voice locking support and parallel chat sessions. |
| 12 | imcom | IMCom is a Python-based jabber client. Module emacspeak-imcom speech-enables IMCom with full audio formatting support. Chat sessions can be viewed within W3 with full ACSS support. |
| 13 | gnuyahoo | GNUYahoo is a Yahoo messenger client. |
| 14 | mspools | Interface for working with multiple mail spools; allows easy browsing of automatically archived mail. |
| 15 | mh-e | Interface to the MH suite of email tools. |
| 16 | rmail | Email client. |
| CALENDARING (4) | ||
| 1 | calendar | Desktop calendar with an integrated appointment book. |
| 2 | diary | Speech-enabled diary via EDiary. |
| 3 | appointments | Speech-enabled appointments via the Emacs calendar. |
| 4 | todo | Speech-enabled ToDo Lists. |
| SHELL (7) | ||
| 1 | shell | Runs interactive command interpreters like BASH and TCSH. |
| 2 | ansi-colors | Applies Aural CSS ACSS properties to convert ansi color codes to appropriate voice changes to produce audio formatted output. |
| 3 | eterm | Speech-enabled terminal client for running full-screen applications like VI, Lynx and PINE. |
| 4 | ssh | Front-end to SSH. |
| 5 | eshell | Command shell implemented in Emacs Lisp, making it independent of the underlying operating system. |
| 6 | comint | Support for running generic command interpreters. |
| 7 | xml-shell | Interactive shell for browsing XML structures via libxml and XMLLint. |
| TASKBAR (2) | ||
| 1 | view-process | Front-end for monitoring and controlling processes. |
| 2 | analog | Analog.el provides a log analyzer that can be customized to display system log files with a few convenient keystrokes. |
| MULTIMEDIA (10) | ||
| 1 | aumix | Emacspeak front-end for configuring the auditory display. |
| 2 | cd-tool | Control CD player from anywhere on the audio desktop. |
| 3 | freeamp | Ubiquitous access to Freeamp mp3 with a single keystroke. |
| 4 | mpg123 | Play mp3 files, with keyboard access to all functions. |
| 5 | realaudio | Play RealAudio, RealMedia and mp3 streams. Includes presets for single click access to favorite streams. |
| 6 | alsaplayer | Play MP3 and OGG streams using ALSA. |
| 7 | madplay | Play MP3 and OGG streams using Madplay. |
| 8 | mplayer | Play Windows media and mp3 streams. Includes presets for single click access to favorite streams. |
| 9 | midge | Compose and play MIDI files. |
| 10 | emms | Emacs Multimedia Front-End |
| AUTHORING (12) | ||
| 1 | nxml | XML authoring environment by James Clark. Provides on the fly validation and voice locking. |
| 2 | xae | XML authoring environment based on PSGML and XSL. Enables structured document authoring and interactive preview. |
| 3 | psgml | Environment for authoring and maintaining XML and SGML documents. Provides structured authoring support including context-sensitive help based on current DTD. |
| 4 | tdtd | Author and maintain XML and SGML DTD files. |
| 5 | xslt-process | Interactive environment for working with XSLT. |
| 6 | auctex | Authoring environment for TeX and LaTeX documents; template based authoring, voice locking support and structured browsing. |
| 7 | bibtex | Maintain BIBTeX bibliographies. |
| 8 | reftex | Browse cross-references in LaTeX documents. |
| 9 | texinfo | Authoring support for creating texinfo documentation. Texinfo enables the production of both online hypertext and high-quality print documentation from a single source. |
| 10 | metapost | Speech-enabled metapost mode for creating drawings using the metapost language. |
| 11 | enriched | Rich-text authoring to provide a simple word processor. |
| 12 | rdf-edit | Speech-enabled editing of RDF/DAML ontologies using DAMLITE. |
| READING (12) | ||
| 1 | ocr | Emacs front-end to OCR engines. This module provides speech-enabled access to image aquisition and document recognition tools available on the underlying platform. |
| 2 | emacspeak-daisy | Implements a digital talking book reader for DAISY3 talking books. |
| 3 | view | File browser for reading etexts. |
| 4 | bookmark | Create bookmarks that persist across Emacs sessions. |
| 5 | org |
The org.el package is available in new versions of
Emacs as text/org.el.
It is built on top of outline mode and is a useful
way to keep organized notes. |
| 6 | remember |
Package remember.el
in conjunction with org mode for keeping notes is a
powerful way to remember related items of information. As an
example, I now use the functionality provided by package
remember in conjunction with org mode
instead of maintaining a Web HotList; the
org+remember solution captures a lot more context
and keeps things far better organized. |
| 7 | outline | Context-sensitive outline support for browsing documents. |
| 8 | folding | Application for structuring and later obtaining structured views of files. |
| 9 | hide | Emacspeak client for hiding and exposing blocks of text. Blocks are automatically recognized by lines having a common prefix. This is used to advantage in imposing dialog structure on email conversations, skipping blocks of commented code etc. |
| 10 | table-ui | Emacspeak's rich table browsing interface. See Auditory User Interfaces (AUI) at http://www.cs.cornell.edu/home/raman/aui/aui.html for the theoretical underpinnings of this interface. |
| 11 | filtertext | Emacspeak client for progressively filtering text. |
| 12 | gridtext | Emacspeak client for overlaying grids on text. Useful in browsing log files and other text output that has columnar structure. |
| PRODUCTIVITY (25) | ||
| 1 | search-and-replace | Speech-enabled incremental search is available throughout the audio desktop. Audio formatting is used to aurally highlight search hits, and is used to advantage when providing spoken feedback during search and replace. |
| 2 | browse-kill-ring | Speech-enabled browsable kill ring. Allows easy browsing of Emacs' builtin clipboard facility. |
| 3 | calculator | Simple but powerful desktop calculator. |
| 4 | dismal | Spread-sheet application with suport for customizing spoken feedback on a per-sheet basis. |
| 5 | calc | Calculator with financial and scientific functions. |
| 6 | gnuplot | Front-end to Gnuplot for plotting graphs; integrates with the symbolic calculator. |
| 7 | eperiodic | Periodic table of elements. |
| 8 | custom | Intuitive interface to customize Emacs' extensive set of customization options. |
| 9 | dictation | Front-end to IBM ViaVoice dictation engine; spoken text is recognized using Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR), inserted into the current context and spoken back using Text To Speech. |
| 10 | dictionary | Access dictionary servers. |
| 11 | ediff | Interface for browsing diff output; enables easy merging of different file versions, applying patches etc. Voice locking is used to advantage in aurally highlighting the differences. |
| 12 | forms | Forms-based interface for manipulating structured data. Useful for system administration tasks such as managing password databases and browsing log files. |
| 13 | hyperbole | Information management system. |
| 14 | imenu | Generates context-sensitive table of contents. |
| 15 | ispell | Front-end to interactive spell checker. Errors are aurally highlighted and available corrections automatically spoken. |
| 16 | flyspell | Interactive spell checker that aurally and visually highlights misspelled words as they are typed. |
| 17 | vc | Front-end to version control systems like CVS and RCS. |
| 18 | pcl-cvs | Front-end for working with CVS repositories. |
| 19 | pronounce | Emacspeak client for defining custom pronunciations. Pronunciations can be defined on a per-file, per-directory, or per-mode basis and persisted across sessions. |
| 20 | remote | Emacspeak client for running remote sessions. Like the X windows system, Emacspeak supports a remote speech server, allowing an Emacspeak session running on a remote machine to send speech output to a server running on the local machine. |
| 21 | tar | Front-end for browsing tar, jar and zip archives. |
| 22 | arc | Browse various compressed archives. |
| 23 | wizards | Emacspeak wizards for performing common tasks. |
| 24 | clipboard | Emacspeak clipboard for cut and paste among different emacspeak sessions, possibly running on different hosts. |
| 25 | units | Simple wizard for accessing Units tool --- a powerful unts convertor. |
| PROGRAMMING (18) | ||
| 1 | jde | Java Development Environment with interactive debugging support using the Java Platform Debug Architecture (JPDA). Provides a speech-enabled inspector and wizards. |
| 2 | cedet | Integrated Emacs Development Environment |
| 3 | ecb | Emacs Class Browser with support for Java, C++, C and other popular languages. Provides navigable table of contents as well as a browsable method and function index for the file being editted. |
| 4 | gud | Unified debugger front-end. Allows interactive debugging with fluent spoken feedback. |
| 5 | c | Editting support for C, C++ and related languages with full aural highlighting and semantic support. Provides contextual spoken feedback using semantic context of code being editted. |
| 6 | compile | Front-end to running batch compiles. Provides easy navigation through the lines containing errors. |
| 7 | perl | Editting support for Perl. Features aural highlighting and easy access to online help. |
| 8 | python | Editting support for interactive Python development. Features aural highlighting, structured browsing and debugging. |
| 9 | tcl | Support for interactive TCL development including aural highlighting, structured browsing and interactive help. |
| 10 | sql | support for SQL including aural highlighting and interactive SQL development. |
| 11 | generic | Editting support for JavaScript and Apache configuration files with voice locking and structured navigation. |
| 12 | hideshow | Hiding and showing blocks of C code. |
| 13 | make-mode | Editting support for creating and maintaining Makefiles. |
| 14 | sh-script | Editting support for shell scripts. |
| 15 | rpm-spec | Editting support for RPM spec files. |
| 16 | tempo | Support for creating and filling-in templates. Used to implement wizards in JDE, HTML helper mode and friends. |
| 17 | dmacro | Dynamic macro package for template-based editting. |
| 18 | oo-browser | Tool for browsing object oriented software codebases --- this is largely obsoleted by ECB.. |
| DISTRACTIONS (4) | ||
| 1 | entertain | Speech-enabled access to numerous games including adventure, a multiplication puzzle and Hangman. |
| 2 | gomoku | Speech-enabled version of the traditional board game. |
| 3 | solitaire | Speech-enabled version of the traditional board game. |
| 4 | tetris | Speech-enabled version of Tetris with auditory icons and the needed UI enhancements to play eyes-free Tetris. See the paper entitled Conversational Gestures On The Audio Desktop (Assets 98) for the underpinnings of this enhanced UI --- online paper. |
Many shell-based tools., e.g., the napster.pl from Lincoln Stein's Napster package can be run effectively from within an Emacs shell. In such cases, Emacspeak utilities like filtertext and gridtext can be used to advantage in efficiently scanning and filtering the program output. Finally, note that when using full screen applications like PINE and Lynx when run within the Emacs terminal emulator (provided by package eterm) Emacspeak functions like a traditional screenreader.
Email: T. V. Raman