CursorManager._caretMovementScriptHelper: return early if another script is waiting.

[michaelDCurran]

Link to issue number:

Fixes #16812

Summary of the issue:

If holding down an arrow key in NvDA browse mode, such as in Microsoft Word, NVDA can become unresponsive if holding down the key for a long period of time. This is because moving in browse mode can be very costly, and scripts become backed up.

Description of user facing changes

NVDA no longer becomes unresponsive if holding down an arrow key for a long time while in NVDA browse mode, in particular in Microsoft word.

Description of development approach

CursorManager._caretMovementScriptHelper: return early if another script is waiting. There is no point doing something costly when another script is going to happen anyway.

Testing strategy:

with both UIA enabled and disabled for MS Word:

• Opened a large document in Microsoft Word.
• Switched to browse mode with NVDA+space.
• Held down down arrow for at least 5 seconds. Ensured that NvDA had moved down several lines and that it started to report the line straight away, rather than becoming unresponsive.

Known issues with pull request:

None known.

Code Review Checklist:

• Documentation:
  • Change log entry
  • User Documentation
  • Developer / Technical Documentation
  • Context sensitive help for GUI changes
• Testing:
  • Unit tests
  • System (end to end) tests
  • Manual testing
• UX of all users considered:
  • Speech
  • Braille
  • Low Vision
  • Different web browsers
  • Localization in other languages / culture than English
• API is compatible with existing add-ons.
• Security precautions taken.

Summary by CodeRabbit

• New Features
  • Improved keyboard navigation in NVDA to prevent unresponsiveness during extended key presses in browse mode.
  • Added support for braille display routing keys and new cursor selection commands.
• Bug Fixes
  • Resolved an issue where updating NVDA while pending add-on updates would remove the add-on, ensuring a smoother update process.

[coderabbitai]

Walkthrough

The recent update introduces enhancements to the NVDA screen reader, particularly in handling keyboard navigation in Microsoft Word's browse mode. Key down event handling has been modified to prevent time accumulation when keys are held down, addressing performance issues. The update also improves the usability of braille display routing keys for cursor movement and refines the update process for add-ons.

Changes

File(s)	Change Summary
source/cursorManager.py	Added import for isScriptWaiting and integrated a check in _caretMovementScriptHelper to optimize caret movement logic.
user_docs/en/changes.md	Documented features preventing unresponsiveness during prolonged key presses in browse mode and improved update handling.

Assessment against linked issues

Objective	Addressed	Explanation
Modify keyboard handler to prevent time accumulation for key down events in MS Word ( #16812)	✅
Ensure immediate speech feedback upon key release without delays ( #16812)	❌	The update does not fully resolve speech sequence delays.
Improve NVDA's performance during long key presses ( #16812)	✅

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[coderabbitai]

Actionable comments posted: 0

Outside diff range, codebase verification and nitpick comments (1)

user_docs/en/changes.md (1)

46-46: Correct the capitalization of "Microsoft Word".

The term "Microsoft word" should be capitalized correctly as "Microsoft Word".

* NVDA no longer becomes unresponsive if holding down an arrow key for a long time while in NVDA browse mode, in particular Microsoft Word. (#16812)

[AppVeyorBot]

• PASS: Translation comments check.
• PASS: License check.
• PASS: Unit tests.
• PASS: Lint check.
• FAIL: System tests (tags: installer NVDA). See test results for more information.
• Build (for testing PR): https://ci.appveyor.com/api/buildjobs/auj034gxfk5d5nsp/artifacts/output/nvda_snapshot_pr17049-33507,cfaf971a.exe
• CI timing (mins):
  INIT 0.0,
  INSTALL_START 1.2,
  INSTALL_END 0.9,
  BUILD_START 0.0,
  BUILD_END 12.5,
  TESTSETUP_START 0.0,
  TESTSETUP_END 0.4,
  TEST_START 0.0,
  TEST_END 18.4,
  FINISH_END 0.1

See test results for failed build of commit cfaf971a0a

[AppVeyorBot]

See test results for failed build of commit cfaf971a0a

[CyrilleB79]

Thanks for this fix. It's very nice. I hope we won't have side effects though (as explained in my review comment).