Comment 1 by jteh on 2011-05-31 03:51
I assume you're using the HTML message composer (default). NVDA's support for this isn't great. Nevertheless, it does work for me if I'm just typing a simple message. I can't reproduce your problem.

What sort of stuff are you doing in the message body field? Are you just typing or are you adding formatting, etc.? Do you have a signature configured? How are you reviewing? Are you using NVDA's review cursor or the system cursor?
Changes:
Changed title from "In mozilla thunderbird 3.1.1 when you go to send a new email after putting in youremail address and subject which you can review, once you tabl down to where you type your meial and typed it out, when you go to review it it just says blank like there is nothing there, how ever if you move the mouse across it it will say what it is you have typed. Now and again it may let you review it in this section, mostly not.I am useing windows 7 64 bit and the latest snapshot 4362, I think it is. You will see what I mean in this area." to "Can't review message body when composing a message in Thunderbird"

Comment 2 by hurrikenny on 2011-05-31 06:27
I have checked the Thunderbird settings word for word to the netbook,
and they are exactly the same except for the operating system. Both are
Thunderbird version 3.1.10

It reads and reviews the letters in XP; but only reads them as I type in
Win 7 and when I go to review them in Win 7 it says blank blank blank...
I cannot see any obvious differences?!

In answer to your questions:

I am not sure if I am using the default html composer in Thunderbird,
but assume so as I have not gone in to change anything there?

In the message body field I am simply typing in a reply to something, or
creating a new email - so it is basic text and punctuation etc. The only
formatting might be in my signature down the bottom as we have bolded
it?! (I can test this out on my XP netbook as well, but I am sure it
worked fine on that using default settings)...I also have the same
signature on my XP netbook as well and this does not seem to affect it.

Yes, I do have a signature configured right down the bottom for my
accessibility central website that I am working on.

I am attempting to review the email with the arrow keys like normal.

I am using the system cursor I think.

I only use the review if I want to read a phone number out number by
number etc. Generally the problem just seems to be when I reply or do a
new message.

The version of Mozilla Thunderbird on this pc and on the netbook is 3.1.10

Can you think of anything in NVDA, Thunderbird and Win7 that might cause
this? Can you recommend any settings to check?

Attachment nvda.log added by hurrikenny on 2011-05-31 06:38
Description:
NVDA log for failure to review text in email

Comment 3 by hurrikenny on 2011-05-31 06:40
I started NVDA up and put the focus in the new email, typed the message body and went to review it with arrow keys and it said blank blank blank. This is the error log it created. Hopefully this helps. Thanks Gene

Comment 4 by jteh on 2011-05-31 06:45
First, as a work around, you can switch to plain text email composition. NVDA doesn't really work brilliantly with the HTML composer at this stage, though it shouldn't be as bad as you're seeing. You can do this by disabling Tools -> Account settings -> -> Composition and Addressing -> Compose messages in HTML format.

Even if this works, I'd still like to know what is causing the issue. Can you test to see if it behaves correctly with the signature disabled?

The log you provided doesn't tell me too much unfortunately.

Comment 5 by briang1 on 2011-05-31 07:57
Maybe an nvda/f1 might help a bit here?

Also he might try invoking a menu then cancelling it and seeing if its then seen, or switching to desktop and back, or even maximising.
I have not used Tbird for some time now, but it did have somewhat odd characteristics outside of plain text.
Never had this one, but it might be specific when running in win 7.

Comment 6 by hurrikenny on 2011-05-31 09:21
Hi Jamie. Thanks heaps for the work around. What I did was went into Thunderbird (while still in html mode) and removed the signature altogether. This did not initially fix it. Next we went into the composition part and unticked the html text part - so that it composes in text rather than html. This seemed to fix it. Next, I tried reinstating my signature and this time it worked. Finally I ticked the box for html that the signature is in and again it still worked. So, to cut a long story short, when it is in html mode, you can review the recipient, subject line, and signature - but not the body of text. When your composition is in non html mode, you can review everything including the text in the main body of the email. This applies to both new messages and replies, just not in html mode! Hopefully this makes sense!

Comment 7 by jteh on 2011-05-31 09:37
It makes sense. It's still strange, as the HTML composer works fine for me (Win7 64 bit), albeit with problems such as hearing repeated lines, inability to read links, etc. I'd like to understand why it doesn't work at all on your system.

Anyone who is using thunderbird? CC @LeonarddeR

NVDA's handling of Mozilla rich text editing (as used by the HTML composer) was completely refactored in #1668. Issues like this should be fixed as a result. Closing, but please comment if the problem persists.