08. November 2016 · Write a comment · Categories: Uncategorized

Is there still a team that can address an accessibility issue with Windows Live Mail?

For any email client, I always disable the preview panel to optimize screen space. It allows me to list more messages or show more of the subject line. I open a message in its own window. I should be able to manipulate that window using system-standard controls for maximize, restore, minimize, resize, move, AeroSnap left/right, etc.

I typically do this with the keyboard, starting with the [Alt]+[Space] keyboard shortcut to show control box options (since at least Windows 3.x), but you can also right-click the title bar or click the tiny envelope icon in the top-left corner of the message window.

From there:

[S] Resize (use arrow keys to select an edge, then use arrow keys to move it, hold Ctrl for pixel precision)

[M] Move (use arrow keys to move, hold Ctrl for pixel precision)

[N] Minimize down to taskbar

[X] Maximize to fill the screen

[R] Restore maximized window to a movable/resizable window

[C] Close the window.

In Windows Live Mail, attempting to size or move the window using the keyboard doesn't work. If there are scrollbars in the message window, the arrow keys just scroll the message window and the mouse pointer disappears. If I try to move the mouse again, the cursor reappears and I see it's still in the move/resize mode with the 4-way arrow. To keep using the keyboard, I'm forced to press [Enter] to get out of move or resize mode (if I press [Esc] to cancel move/resize, the message window is closed). It's the only application I'm aware of that prevents me from using these controls.

Windows 7/8/10 AeroSnap shortcuts work fine, but they don't allow me to resize a window or move it wherever I want.

[WinKey]+[Left Arrow or Right Arrow] to snap window to fill half the screen

[WinKey]+[Up Arrow] to maximize

[WinKey]+[Down Arrow] to minimize

It's one of my greatest pet peeves when an application overrides system standard accessibility defaults. In this case, the options actually appear to be available, but they don't work. The message window in Windows Live Mail seems to access the keyboard in a non-standard way.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.