Mind Reader

The current editor options available lack the level of accessibility that is required to allow people who are visually impaired to adequately write, edit, and debug code.

This tool extends Visual Studio Code’s existing accessibility options to enable people with a visual impairment to learn Python programming with LEGO Mindstorms. Our goal is to:

• provide an accessible experience to people with a visual impairment

• not change the editing workflow for people without a visual impairment

Major Features

• Compatible with major screen readers:

  • NVDA
  • JAWS
  • Apple VoiceOver

• Present a summary of the scope for an individual line of code.

• Save, Load, Run, and Delete programs directly onto the LEGO SPIKE Prime Hub from within Visual Studio Code

• Line highlighting with customizable colors and formats

First Time Setting Up the Line Highlighter Feature

Before running Mind Reader for the first time it is recommended to add the following code block to your settings.json file

Opening Settings.json

1. Launch VS Code
2. Open the Command Palette by pressing Ctrl + Shift + P (Windows) / Cmd + Shift + P (Mac)
3. The Command Palette should appear at the top of your screen ready for you to type
4. Type settings and highlight the option that appears saying Preferences: Open Settings (JSON) then select it
5. Your settings.json window should appear, scroll to the bottom and make sure the last item has a , before the closing curly bracket }
6. Paste the following code block after the last comma ,, but before the closing curly bracket }:

    "mind-reader.lineHighlighter.isEnabled"          : true,
    "mind-reader.lineHighlighter.multiLineIsEnabled" : false,

    "mind-reader.lineHighlighter.backgroundColor"    : "#232C5C",

    "mind-reader.lineHighlighter.outlineColor"       : "#4866FE",
    "mind-reader.lineHighlighter.outlineWidth"       : "1px",
    "mind-reader.lineHighlighter.outlineStyle"       : "solid",

    "mind-reader.lineHighlighter.borderColorTop"     : "#FFFFFF",
    "mind-reader.lineHighlighter.borderColorRight"   : "#FFFFFF",
    "mind-reader.lineHighlighter.borderColorBottom"  : "#FFFFFF",
    "mind-reader.lineHighlighter.borderColorLeft"    : "#FFFFFF",

    "mind-reader.lineHighlighter.borderWidthTop"     : "1px",
    "mind-reader.lineHighlighter.borderWidthRight"   : "16px",
    "mind-reader.lineHighlighter.borderWidthBottom"  : "1px",
    "mind-reader.lineHighlighter.borderWidthLeft"    : "1px",

    "mind-reader.lineHighlighter.borderStyleTop"     : "solid",
    "mind-reader.lineHighlighter.borderStyleRight"   : "solid",
    "mind-reader.lineHighlighter.borderStyleBottom"  : "solid",
    "mind-reader.lineHighlighter.borderStyleLeft"    : "solid",

    "mind-reader.lineHighlighter.fontStyle"          : "normal",
    "mind-reader.lineHighlighter.fontWeight"         : "bolder",
    "mind-reader.lineHighlighter.textDecoration"     : "none",
    "mind-reader.lineHighlighter.textColor"          : "#FFFFFF",

The values are set to the default values and can be changed here manually, or through the settings window (File -> Preferences -> Settings -> Mind Reader -> Line Highlighter). Changes made directly in the settings.json will take effect automatically; however, if you change them in the settings window then after you input your new values VS Code must be closed and reopened for the changes to take effect.

After adding the code block, the settings.json file should look similar to this:

7. Save and close settings.json

Line Highlighter Settings Table

Item	Description	Accepted Value	Default Values
isEnabled	Enable/Disables the line highlighter	boolean	true
multiLineIsEnabled	Highlight when clicking and dragging to select lines	boolean	false
backgroundColor	Changes the background color of the highlight	HEX(A), RGB(A), HSL(A), Predefined Color String, or "none"	"#232C5C"
outlineColor	Outline Color	HEX(A), RGB(A), HSL(A), Predefined Color String, or "none"	"#4866FE"
outlineWidth	Outline Width	"medium", "thin", "thick", length (integer + string unit), or "none"	"1px"
outlineStyle	Outline Style	none, hidden, dotted, dashed, solid, double, groove, ridge, inset, or outset	"solid"
borderColorTop	Top Border Color	HEX(A), RGB(A), HSL(A), Predefined Color String, or "none"	"#FFFFFF"
borderColorRight	Right Border Color	HEX(A), RGB(A), HSL(A), Predefined Color String, or "none"	"#FFFFFF"
borderColorBottom	Bottom Border Color	HEX(A), RGB(A), HSL(A), Predefined Color String, or "none"	"#FFFFFF"
borderColorLeft	Left Border Color	HEX(A), RGB(A), HSL(A), Predefined Color String, or "none"	"#FFFFFF"
borderWidthTop	Top Border Width	"medium", "thin", "thick", length (integer + string unit), or "none"	"1px"
borderWidthRight	Right Border Width	"medium", "thin", "thick", length (integer + string unit), or "none"	"16px"
borderWidthBottom	Bottom Border Width	"medium", "thin", "thick", length (integer + string unit), or "none"	"1px"
borderWidthLeft	Left Border Width	"medium", "thin", "thick", length (integer + string unit), or "none"	"1px"
borderStyleTop	Top Border Style	none, hidden, dotted, dashed, solid, double, groove, ridge, inset, or outset	"solid"
borderStyleRight	Right Border Style	none, hidden, dotted, dashed, solid, double, groove, ridge, inset, or outset	"solid"
borderStyleBottom	Bottom Border Style	none, hidden, dotted, dashed, solid, double, groove, ridge, inset, or outset	"solid"
borderStyleLeft	Left Border Style	none, hidden, dotted, dashed, solid, double, groove, ridge, inset, or outset	"solid"
fontStyle	Styling to the font contained within the highlight	"normal", "italic", "oblique", or "none"	"normal"
fontWeight	Weight of the font contained within the highlight	"normal", "bold", "bolder", "lighter", string based number, "none"	"bolder"
textDecoration	Decoration of the font contained within the highlight	See: https://www.w3schools.com/cssref/pr_text_text-decoration.asp	"none"
textColor	Color of the font contained within the highlight	HEX(A), RGB(A), HSL(A), Predefined Color String, or "none"	"#FFFFFF"

For Developers

Developer Dependencies

Development environment setup guide

Windows 10 or 11

• Download install-windows.ps1
• Run ./install-windows.ps1 in PowerShell as a normal user, and accept any UAC prompts that pop up. The installation should take around 8 minutes. If an installer doesn't pop up, don't be alarmed.

For other platforms, or to install the extension manually, check out our Developer Install Guide. This is also where you should search if you encounter errors.

See the Visual Studio Code getting started API page if you need more help.

Contact Information

Single Semester Snobs

Fall 2021 Semester

• Jake Grossman: <JacobGrossman2@my.unt.edu>
• Cal Wooten: <calwooten@my.unt.edu>
• Josiah Moses: <josiahmoses@my.unt.edu>
• Sophia Drewfs: <sophiadrewfs@my.unt.edu>
• Mason Bone: <masonbone@my.unt.edu>

We Don't Byte

Spring 2022 Semester

• John Breaux: <JohnBreaux@my.unt.edu>
• Thomas Lane: <ThomasLane2@my.unt.edu>
• Kendrick Johnson: <KendrickJohnson@my.unt.edu>
• Ryan Tolbert: <RyanTolbert@my.unt.edu>
• Pedro Alvarez: <PedroAlvarez3@my.unt.edu>