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A11y: windows terminal emits selection/deselection events in mark mode when navigating with arrow keys #17876

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opened 2026-01-31 05:57:06 +00:00 by claunia · 8 comments
claunia commented 2026-01-31 05:57:06 +00:00
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Originally created by @beqabeqa473 on GitHub (Jul 7, 2022).

Originally assigned to: @carlos-zamora on GitHub.

Windows Terminal version

1.15.1862.0

Windows build number

10.0.19044.1766

Other Software

  • Narrator
  • NVDA latest version

Steps to reproduce

  • Run Narrator on NVDA;
  • Open Windows terminal;
  • Go to mark mode with ctrl+shift+m;
  • Navigate text with arrow keys.

Expected Behavior

Screen readers should announce only characters when navigating with arrow keys.

Actual Behavior

Screen readers announce selection of the current char plus unselection of previous char in addition with current char announcement

Originally created by @beqabeqa473 on GitHub (Jul 7, 2022). Originally assigned to: @carlos-zamora on GitHub. ### Windows Terminal version 1.15.1862.0 ### Windows build number 10.0.19044.1766 ### Other Software - Narrator - NVDA latest version ### Steps to reproduce - Run Narrator on NVDA; - Open Windows terminal; - Go to mark mode with ctrl+shift+m; - Navigate text with arrow keys. ### Expected Behavior Screen readers should announce only characters when navigating with arrow keys. ### Actual Behavior Screen readers announce selection of the current char plus unselection of previous char in addition with current char announcement
claunia commented 2026-01-31 05:57:08 +00:00
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@codeofdusk commented on GitHub (Jul 7, 2022):

CC @carlos-zamora.

@codeofdusk commented on GitHub (Jul 7, 2022): CC @carlos-zamora.
claunia commented 2026-01-31 05:57:08 +00:00
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@carlos-zamora commented on GitHub (Jul 7, 2022):

Hmm... This seems to be operating as expected. When you enter mark mode we create a single-cell selection at the current cursor position. The arrow keys then move that single-cell selection as described in the docs. Since we're selecting an adjacent character and unselecting the one we were just on, everything seems to be working as expected.

That said, we do want to get rid of that single-cell selection and instead move the cursor (just like in conhost). It's doable, but it requires a bit of refactoring under the hood. Doing so would require...

  • selections to be stored as an inclusive start and an exclusive end (similar to how UIA handles it). Currently they're stored as inclusive start and end.
  • ensure we differentiate between no selection and an empty selection (particularly important when copying text and calling IsSelectionActive)
  • (from the UIA text provider side) GetSelection() needs to be able to get any of the following: (1) the selected range, (2) an empty selection exposed as the cursor, and (3) the cursor when no selection exists. We already do (1) and (3). (2) just requires us to be careful the previous point.

I'll chat about it with Dustin today to create a game plan here.

@carlos-zamora commented on GitHub (Jul 7, 2022): Hmm... This seems to be operating as expected. When you enter mark mode we create a single-cell selection at the current cursor position. The arrow keys then move that single-cell selection as described [in the docs](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/terminal/selection#keyboard-support). Since we're selecting an adjacent character and unselecting the one we were just on, everything seems to be working as expected. That said, we do want to get rid of that single-cell selection and instead move the cursor (just like in conhost). It's doable, but it requires a bit of refactoring under the hood. Doing so would require... - selections to be stored as an inclusive start and an exclusive end (similar to how UIA handles it). Currently they're stored as inclusive start and end. - ensure we differentiate between no selection and an empty selection (particularly important when copying text and calling `IsSelectionActive`) - (from the UIA text provider side) `GetSelection()` needs to be able to get any of the following: (1) the selected range, (2) an empty selection exposed as the cursor, and (3) the cursor when no selection exists. We already do (1) and (3). (2) just requires us to be careful the previous point. I'll chat about it with Dustin today to create a game plan here.
claunia commented 2026-01-31 05:57:08 +00:00
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@beqabeqa473 commented on GitHub (Jul 7, 2022):

It needs a refactor indeed, because in a way how it is working now it
is not so comfortable to use this feature.

@beqabeqa473 commented on GitHub (Jul 7, 2022): It needs a refactor indeed, because in a way how it is working now it is not so comfortable to use this feature.
claunia commented 2026-01-31 05:57:09 +00:00
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@carlos-zamora commented on GitHub (Jul 8, 2022):

Since this is a decent size change, we probably won't service this to 1.15, so I'm removing it from the servicing pipeline.
That said, I'll be working to fix this up to work as expected. Currently scheduled for 1.16 (next release).

@carlos-zamora commented on GitHub (Jul 8, 2022): Since this is a decent size change, we probably won't service this to 1.15, so I'm removing it from the servicing pipeline. That said, I'll be working to fix this up to work as expected. Currently scheduled for 1.16 (next release).
claunia commented 2026-01-31 05:57:09 +00:00
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@carlos-zamora commented on GitHub (Jul 8, 2022):

For reference, doing this fix is a huge step towards #5099, so that's nice.

@carlos-zamora commented on GitHub (Jul 8, 2022): For reference, doing this fix is a _huge_ step towards #5099, so that's nice.
claunia commented 2026-01-31 05:57:09 +00:00
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@beqabeqa473 commented on GitHub (Jul 8, 2022):

I understand development pipeline and it is of course sadly, that we
won't see this fix in 1.15 series, but it is good that it will be
fixed in the next release.

@beqabeqa473 commented on GitHub (Jul 8, 2022): I understand development pipeline and it is of course sadly, that we won't see this fix in 1.15 series, but it is good that it will be fixed in the next release.
claunia commented 2026-01-31 05:57:09 +00:00
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@beqabeqa473 commented on GitHub (Jun 29, 2023):

@carlos-zamora are there any news in this area?

@beqabeqa473 commented on GitHub (Jun 29, 2023): @carlos-zamora are there any news in this area?
claunia commented 2026-01-31 05:57:09 +00:00
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@carlos-zamora commented on GitHub (Jul 5, 2023):

Not yet, sorry. As I've mentioned before, it's a pretty big and risky change (though I get it's a really important one). We'll be having some planning meetings relatively soon, so I'll be sure this is a part of that so we can get a more accurate ETA. For now, I've moved it to the 1.20 milestone.

FYI, we do want to lump a lot of the accessibility work together, so this'll be a part of that discussion, for sure. Not a matter of if we'll do it, just a matter of when. We'll post updates on this issue as the plan becomes more clear though, so don't worry about being left out of the loop 😊

@carlos-zamora commented on GitHub (Jul 5, 2023): Not yet, sorry. As I've mentioned before, it's a pretty big and risky change (though I get it's a really important one). We'll be having some planning meetings relatively soon, so I'll be sure this is a part of that so we can get a more accurate ETA. For now, I've moved it to the 1.20 milestone. FYI, we do want to lump a lot of the accessibility work together, so this'll be a part of that discussion, for sure. Not a matter of if we'll do it, just a matter of when. We'll post updates on this issue as the plan becomes more clear though, so don't worry about being left out of the loop 😊
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