Re: [libreoffice-accessibility] Orca only shows window titles of LibreOffice applications

[adding the accessibility mailing list back to recipients]

Hi,

based on the desktop environment in use, LibreOffice decides which 
so-called VCL plugin it uses, but that can be overriden using an 
environment variable.

Does ensuring you have Debian package libreoffice-gtk3 installed and 
then starting LibreOffice with environment variable 
SAL_USE_VCLPLUGIN=gtk3 set make any difference?

Best regards,
Michael

On 2025-11-14 15:49, Tim Böttcher wrote:
> Hi,
>
> bit the bullet and upgraded from bookworm to trixie.    I did not start from a clean slate--I might 
> try to do that next if this problem cannot get debugged, but for now it looks like updating from 
> the existing bookworm to trixie worked fine.
>
> LibreOffice is now at 25.2.3.2. Orca is also at 49.4 now.
>
> The problem unfortunately persists across all LibreOffice programs. Is there any known environment variable 
> or the like I should export? Or is this perhaps a consequence of "faking" a screen with Xorg dummy 
> display? (Basically, I'm using a RaspBerry Pi 5 without an actual screen connected, since I don't need one).
>
> Kind regards,
> Tim Böttcher
>
> > Am 14.11.2025 um 13:30 schrieb Michael Weghorn <m.weghorn@posteo.de>:
> >
> > Hi,
> >
> > this should be unrelated to Java. (At some point in the past, there was a Java Accessibility Bridge 
> > that was responsible for making LibreOffice accessible, but that hasn't been the case for quite a 
> > while already. For the gtk3 variant of LibreOffice, ATK is used by now, and for the qt6/kf6 one, Qt 
> > implements the AT-SPI2 logic directly.)
> >
> > The LibreOffice version you're using is already a bit older. Is updating to current Debian stable (Trixie) an 
> > option to see whether it "just works" there?
> >
> > Best regards,
> > Michael
> >
> > > On 2025-11-14 13:12, Tim Böttcher wrote:
> > > Hi,
> > > I'm on Debian (Bookworm) running on a RaspBerry Pi 5, LibreOffice 7.4.7.2, BRLTTY 6.8, Orca 48.7, 
> > > MATE desktop.
> > > When launching any LibreOffice program, such as LibreOffice writer, I can only see the window 
> > > titles, but nothing that happens within the program. Keyboard input is getting passed through to 
> > > the program correctly, e.g., CTRL+O triggers the file picker, but said file picker is also 
> > > inaccessible (i.e., I can only see the window title).
> > > As per my digging on the internet and conversations with assorted chatbots, this is supposed to be 
> > > a Java accessibility thing. However, none of the listed fixes (notably editing 
> > > /etc/java-17-openjdk/accessibility.properties) changes anything. Exporting an environment variable 
> > > with the relevant settings for AtkWrapper gets picked up by Java correctly, but also doesn't make a 
> > > difference. Interestingly, even with Java completely purged from my system, LibreOffice Writer 
> > > still opens, so I suspect it bundles its own JRE and it's possible that isn't receiving the proper 
> > > accessibility instructions.
> > > I'd appreciate any suggestions at this point because I'm stumped.
> > > Thank you in advance and kind regards,
> > > Tim Böttcher
> >
> >
> > --
> > To unsubscribe e-mail to: accessibility+unsubscribe@global.libreoffice.org
> > Problems? https://www.libreoffice.org/get-help/mailing-lists/how-to-unsubscribe/
> > Posting guidelines + more: https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Netiquette
> > List archive: https://listarchives.libreoffice.org/global/accessibility/
> > Privacy Policy: https://www.documentfoundation.org/privacy


--
To unsubscribe e-mail to: accessibility+unsubscribe@global.libreoffice.org
Problems? https://www.libreoffice.org/get-help/mailing-lists/how-to-unsubscribe/
Posting guidelines + more: https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Netiquette
List archive: https://listarchives.libreoffice.org/global/accessibility/
Privacy Policy: https://www.documentfoundation.org/privacy