Desktop accessibility and personalization

Blind Sight is the signature desktop feature for users who want the app to stay operational without leaving the visible interface exposed.

• Alt + Shift + V toggles Blind Sight from anywhere in the app.
• The rest of the interface goes visually dark while the accessibility structure remains active.
• The toggle stays available so you can always turn the visual layer back on quickly.

BlindBox treats spoken feedback and focus management as part of the core interaction model.

• Live regions announce important state changes such as loading, sending, errors, and status updates.
• Skip links and focused landmarks help you jump directly to useful regions instead of tabbing through everything.
• Dialogs trap focus while open and restore it after closing to preserve orientation.

Low-vision and mixed-mode users can reshape how the desktop app looks without leaving the accessible layout behind.

• Increase font size, switch to a readable font stack, and add extra text spacing.
• Choose a comfortable reading width for longer message bodies.
• Use theme mode, high contrast, larger controls, stronger borders, and reduced transparency together instead of choosing only one setting.

The desktop experience can read with you instead of making every message a manual navigation task.

• Prefer plain text when a message offers cleaner and noisier versions.
• Set plain text or formatting as the default compose mode.
• Use auto-read, Read Aloud, and speech-rate controls when you want spoken reading support.

BlindBox can reinforce what happened with sounds as well as visuals and speech.

• Optional sound effects confirm actions and navigation changes.
• A Test Sounds action lets you verify that audio feedback is working before you rely on it.
• Screenshot capture can confirm with a shutter sound, spoken feedback, both, or neither.

Accessibility also means staying recoverable when something feels unclear.

• The Guide tab explains the layout from a screen reader user’s perspective.
• The Q&A view answers common orientation questions such as how to get back to the inbox or where to find attachments.
• The app is designed so there is always a stable recovery point: skip links, the Back button, Settings, or Guide.

The sidebar can be shaped around your real workflow instead of forcing the same folder order on every user.

• Show or hide optional folders such as Starred, Sent, Drafts, Unread, Spam, and Trash.
• Move those folders earlier or later in the sidebar to fit how you actually work.
• Inbox remains fixed so there is always a dependable default destination.

The desktop app separates broad appearance mode choices from detailed color tuning.

• Start with light, warm, or dark mode depending on comfort and glare needs.
• Switch on automatic appearance if you want BlindBox to track system dark mode.
• Edit individual interface colors in the expanded color scheme editor for deeper customization.

BlindBox Desktop includes built-in window screenshot controls so you do not have to leave the app to capture what is happening.

• The default shortcut is Alt + Shift + S, and the shortcut can be changed in settings.
• Choose where screenshots are saved and whether the PNG should also be copied to the clipboard.
• Feedback can be shutter-only, spoken-only, both, or silent depending on what is most comfortable.

A few settings exist mainly to remove friction from everyday mail routines.

• Set default compose behavior so every new message starts the way you prefer.
• Choose mailbox defaults so switching, composing, and returning to the app feels consistent.
• Use notification, refresh, and update settings to match how actively you want BlindBox to stay in the foreground.