Closed Bug 1233874 Opened 8 years ago Closed 8 years ago

e10s being disabled because of a11y for apparently no reason

Categories

(Core :: Disability Access APIs, defect)

Product:
Core
Component:
Disability Access APIs
Type:
defect
Priority:
Not set
Severity:
normal

Tracking

()

Status:
RESOLVED INVALID

People

(Reporter: quicksaver, Unassigned)

References

Details

Attachments

(2 files)

about:support contents
2.90 KB, text/plain
Details
Crash Report from fresh profile with issue
5.83 KB, text/plain
Details 
From a few weeks back, Nightly has been prompting me on every startup if I want to disable e10s because it detected some accessibility tool being used. At the time I did not install any new application, so I did not know why it started prompting me all of a sudden.

From about a week ago, e10s has been disabled altogether and I was directed to bug 1198459 where I did find a workaround, but I've noticed accessibility.lastLoadDate is constantly updated, as in every second. I have no clue why, I currently have absolutely nothing running that would require a11y features (that I'm aware of, is there any sort of list? I'm on a laptop without a touchscreen).

I wasn't sure if/how I should report this, but from reading the latest comments in bug 1198459, I'm apparently not the only one with this problem.
Definitely not the only one with the problem - I run into the same thing. I can force enable e10s but it is still convinced that some a11y tool is running while I have nothing of the sort installed or running.
Me, too. I have to zero-out "accessibility.lastLoadDate" before I start FF, otherwise e10s is disabled.
Some accessibility tool got enabled once (I don't know why) and disabled e10s for me.
Here's my workaround:

1. Close Firefox completely.
2. Open prefs.js from your Firefox profile.
3. Remove the line:
    user_pref("accessibility.lastLoadDate", "a value here");
4. Save and close the file.
5. Open Firefox. e10s should be enabled if it was already enabled before a11y blocked the setting.

If accessibility.lastLoadDate is constantly updated, edit the following settings:

browser.tabs.remote.force-enable to true
browser.tabs.remote.disabled-for-a11y to false
(In reply to Luís Miguel [:quicksaver] from comment #0)
> From a few weeks back, Nightly has been prompting me on every startup if I
> want to disable e10s because it detected some accessibility tool being used.
> At the time I did not install any new application, so I did not know why it
> started prompting me all of a sudden.
> 
> From about a week ago, e10s has been disabled altogether and I was directed
> to bug 1198459 where I did find a workaround, but I've noticed
> accessibility.lastLoadDate is constantly updated, as in every second. I have
> no clue why, I currently have absolutely nothing running that would require
> a11y features (that I'm aware of, is there any sort of list? I'm on a laptop
> without a touchscreen).
> 
> I wasn't sure if/how I should report this, but from reading the latest
> comments in bug 1198459, I'm apparently not the only one with this problem.


Something on your system requests firefox accessibility access. When this happens we disable e10s. Once accessibility is e10s compatible we'll remove this.
(In reply to Charles Milette from comment #3)
> Some accessibility tool got enabled once (I don't know why) and disabled
> e10s for me.
> Here's my workaround:
> 
> 1. Close Firefox completely.
> 2. Open prefs.js from your Firefox profile.
> 3. Remove the line:
>     user_pref("accessibility.lastLoadDate", "a value here");
> 4. Save and close the file.
> 5. Open Firefox. e10s should be enabled if it was already enabled before
> a11y blocked the setting.
> 
> If accessibility.lastLoadDate is constantly updated, edit the following
> settings:
> 
> browser.tabs.remote.force-enable to true
> browser.tabs.remote.disabled-for-a11y to false

Note the pref 'browser.tabs.remote.disabled-for-a11y' is no longer in use. It was replaced by the more general 'browser.tabs.remote.force-enable'.
A few things that can load a11y:

- remote desktop or remote access related tools
- software keyboards
- magnifiers and other related assistive tools
- 3rd party firefox extensions
(In reply to Jim Mathies [:jimm] from comment #4)
> Something on your system requests firefox accessibility access. When this
> happens we disable e10s. Once accessibility is e10s compatible we'll remove
> this.

I know, my point was I don't have anything doing it (again, that I know of).

(In reply to Jim Mathies [:jimm] from comment #6)
> A few things that can load a11y:
> 
> - remote desktop or remote access related tools
> - software keyboards
> - magnifiers and other related assistive tools

None of those.

> - 3rd party firefox extensions

Tried in a new profile, same thing.
I'm echoing Luis' experiences here. Fresh profile and none of the indicated things that "can load a11y" are present on my system. I even went as far as making sure to remove the extra HID compliant mouse interface from my configuration in case that was the issue, but nope.

For me, the lastloaded pref is constantly updated (ticks every second) so Firefox apparently thinks I have a11y in active use. Is there a way to find out what exactly triggers this? i.e.: is there some debugging possible to see what exactly makes the a11y loaded while it shouldn't be?
(In reply to Mark Straver from comment #8)
> I'm echoing Luis' experiences here. Fresh profile and none of the indicated
> things that "can load a11y" are present on my system. I even went as far as
> making sure to remove the extra HID compliant mouse interface from my
> configuration in case that was the issue, but nope.

Do you have a touch screen or sketch related input device attached? Can you post about:support?

> For me, the lastloaded pref is constantly updated (ticks every second) so

I filed bug 1234210 on this. The setting is updated whenever a window accessible object is requested by Windows. There's probably some overhead here so I've posted a patch such that we'll only update this value on shutdown.

> Firefox apparently thinks I have a11y in active use. Is there a way to find
> out what exactly triggers this? i.e.: is there some debugging possible to
> see what exactly makes the a11y loaded while it shouldn't be?

You can break out on the request in a debugger and see if there's anything on the stack, that's about it. We have a bug filed on figuring out what some of these unknown clients use in accessibility. (bug 1232745).
(In reply to Jim Mathies [:jimm] from comment #9)
> Do you have a touch screen or sketch related input device attached?

No. Standard monitor, and standard keyboard/mouse, as already stated.

> Can you
> post about:support?

Application Basics
------------------

Name: Firefox
Version: 46.0a1
Build ID: 20151221030239
Update Channel: nightly
User Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.1; WOW64; rv:46.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/46.0
Multiprocess Windows: 1/1 (default: true)
Safe Mode: false

Crash Reports for the Last 3 Days
---------------------------------

Report ID: bp-d079c6de-548f-42d4-b8ef-94d122151219
Submitted: 2 days ago

Report ID: bp-aceb42a6-9e87-422c-862e-90dbd2151218
Submitted: 3 days ago

All Crash Reports

Extensions
----------

Name: Firefox Hello
Version: 0.1
Enabled: true
ID: loop@mozilla.org

Name: uBlock Origin
Version: 1.4.0
Enabled: false
ID: uBlock0@raymondhill.net

Graphics
--------

Adapter Description: AMD Radeon HD 6800 Series
Adapter Drivers: aticfx64 aticfx64 aticfx64 aticfx32 aticfx32 aticfx32 atiumd64 atidxx64 atidxx64 atiumdag atidxx32 atidxx32 atiumdva atiumd6a atitmm64
Adapter RAM: 1024
Asynchronous Pan/Zoom: wheel input enabled
ClearType Parameters: Gamma: 2200 Pixel Structure: R ClearType Level: 50 Enhanced Contrast: 200
Device ID: 0x6738
Direct2D Enabled: true
DirectWrite Enabled: true (6.2.9200.17568)
Driver Date: 7-28-2015
Driver Version: 15.200.1062.1003
GPU #2 Active: false
GPU Accelerated Windows: 1/1 Direct3D 11 (OMTC)
Subsys ID: 174b174b
Supports Hardware H264 Decoding: Yes
Vendor ID: 0x1002
WebGL Renderer: Google Inc. -- ANGLE (AMD Radeon HD 6800 Series Direct3D11 vs_5_0 ps_5_0)
windowLayerManagerRemote: true
AzureCanvasBackend: direct2d 1.1
AzureContentBackend: direct2d 1.1
AzureFallbackCanvasBackend: cairo
AzureSkiaAccelerated: 0

Important Modified Preferences
------------------------------

accessibility.lastLoadDate: 1450718947
accessibility.loadedInLastSession: true
browser.cache.disk.capacity: 358400
browser.cache.disk.filesystem_reported: 1
browser.cache.disk.smart_size.first_run: false
browser.cache.disk.smart_size.use_old_max: false
browser.cache.frecency_experiment: 2
browser.download.importedFromSqlite: true
browser.places.smartBookmarksVersion: 7
browser.sessionstore.upgradeBackup.latestBuildID: 20151221030239
browser.startup.homepage_override.buildID: 20151221030239
browser.startup.homepage_override.mstone: 46.0a1
browser.tabs.remote.autostart: true
browser.tabs.remote.disabled-for-a11y: false
browser.tabs.remote.force-enable: true
dom.apps.reset-permissions: true
dom.ipc.plugins.enabled.np_prsnl.dll: false
dom.mozApps.used: true
extensions.lastAppVersion: 46.0a1
gfx.crash-guard.d3d11layers.appVersion: 43.0.1
gfx.crash-guard.d3d11layers.deviceID: 0x6738
gfx.crash-guard.d3d11layers.driverVersion: 15.200.1062.1003
gfx.crash-guard.d3d11layers.feature-d2d: true
gfx.crash-guard.d3d11layers.feature-d3d11: true
gfx.crash-guard.status.d3d11layers: 2
gfx.crash-guard.status.d3d9video: 2
gfx.direct3d.last_used_feature_level_idx: 0
gfx.driver-init.appVersion: 42.0
gfx.driver-init.deviceID: 0x6738
gfx.driver-init.driverVersion: 15.200.1062.1003
gfx.driver-init.feature-d2d: true
gfx.driver-init.feature-d3d11: true
gfx.driver-init.status: 2
media.gmp-eme-adobe.abi: x86-msvc-x64
media.gmp-eme-adobe.lastUpdate: 1450718926
media.gmp-eme-adobe.version: 15
media.gmp-manager.buildID: 20151218030232
media.gmp-manager.lastCheck: 1450718925
media.hardware-video-decoding.failed: false
network.cookie.prefsMigrated: true
network.predictor.cleaned-up: true
places.history.expiration.transient_current_max_pages: 104858
plugin.disable_full_page_plugin_for_types: application/pdf
plugin.importedState: true
privacy.sanitize.migrateClearSavedPwdsOnExit: true
privacy.sanitize.migrateFx3Prefs: true
security.sandbox.content.tempDirSuffix: {dac6f9b8-e23d-4f8d-9f8e-45842470a972}

Important Locked Preferences
----------------------------

JavaScript
----------

Incremental GC: true

Accessibility
-------------

Activated: true
Prevent Accessibility: 0

Library Versions
----------------

NSPR
Expected minimum version: 4.11
Version in use: 4.11

NSS
Expected minimum version: 3.21 Basic ECC
Version in use: 3.21 Basic ECC

NSSSMIME
Expected minimum version: 3.21 Basic ECC
Version in use: 3.21 Basic ECC

NSSSSL
Expected minimum version: 3.21 Basic ECC
Version in use: 3.21 Basic ECC

NSSUTIL
Expected minimum version: 3.21
Version in use: 3.21

Experimental Features
---------------------

> > Firefox apparently thinks I have a11y in active use. Is there a way to find
> > out what exactly triggers this? i.e.: is there some debugging possible to
> > see what exactly makes the a11y loaded while it shouldn't be?
> 
> You can break out on the request in a debugger and see if there's anything
> on the stack, that's about it. We have a bug filed on figuring out what some
> of these unknown clients use in accessibility. (bug 1232745).

Sounds like a lot of trouble for a maybe :P I'm not set up to build the browser anyway.
But if there's a specific debug/try build with relevant logging you want me to poke at, let me know.
(In reply to Mark Straver from comment #10)
> (In reply to Jim Mathies [:jimm] from comment #9)
> > Do you have a touch screen or sketch related input device attached?
> 
> No. Standard monitor, and standard keyboard/mouse, as already stated.

Thanks, sent you an email.
In Mark's case we narrowed this down to a 3rd party productivity tool named "Actual Window Manager".
Status: NEW → RESOLVED
Closed: 8 years ago
Resolution: --- → INVALID
Um, just because this was narrowed down in MY case doesn't mean this bug as a whole is invalid. It shouldn't have been marked resolved; unless all others here are all using the same tool? (I doubt it)
(In reply to Mark Straver from comment #13)
> Um, just because this was narrowed down in MY case doesn't mean this bug as
> a whole is invalid. It shouldn't have been marked resolved; unless all
> others here are all using the same tool? (I doubt it)

Disabling e10s when any 3rd client accesses our accessibility layer is "by design". We'll undo that once our a11y layer is e10s compliant. Hence this bug being closed out, since, the behavior is expected.
I experience the same issue and just came across this bug. Now it isn't really an issue for me (I can just force e10s enabled), however perhaps it'd be useful to have a better way to determine what the cause is?

The issue is named for a11y triggering "for apparently no reason". In general, I'd probably be helpful if we could not only determine that a11y is being triggered, but also what causes it to be triggered. (Which is not only useful for this specific e10s issue, but also for any other case in which a11y is triggered "for apparently no reason".)

Primarily, perhaps we could share/document the steps for determining what 3rd-party client is triggering a11y (that is, if there was a structured way). If feasible, in the future we could look into automatically determining some basic info about the 3rd party client and including those results in the about:support page, thus making supporting a11y-related issues a bit easier in the future?
Attached file about:support contents — 
Here's my about:support. Jim, can you also help me figure out what's triggering a11y? (That'll teach me to not open new bugs just before the holidays when I can't follow up in useful time.)
Flags: needinfo?(jmathies)
I found mine: TechSmith SnagIt makes use of a11y for taking it's scrolling captures
(In reply to Luís Miguel [:quicksaver] from comment #16)
> Created attachment 8704223 [details]
> about:support contents
> 
> Here's my about:support. Jim, can you also help me figure out what's
> triggering a11y? (That'll teach me to not open new bugs just before the
> holidays when I can't follow up in useful time.)

I would need a crash report to do that since I have to look at the modules loaded into your browser process. There are some addons that will trigger a crash and report on amo if you want to generate one.
Flags: needinfo?(jmathies)
Generated a crash report on a fresh profile where e10s is disabled because of a11y.
Flags: needinfo?(jmathies)
(In reply to Luís Miguel [:quicksaver] from comment #19)
> Created attachment 8706969 [details]
> Crash Report from fresh profile with issue
> 
> Generated a crash report on a fresh profile where e10s is disabled because
> of a11y.

That doesn't have module info in it. Do you have a corresponding crash stats link/id for this?
Flags: needinfo?(jmathies)
(In reply to Jim Mathies [:jimm] from comment #20)
> (In reply to Luís Miguel [:quicksaver] from comment #19)
> That doesn't have module info in it. Do you have a corresponding crash stats
> link/id for this?

Oh, you're right, I'm sorry about that. Forced a new crash: 39648f72-3666-41d8-9204-4968a2160112

BTW, I'm using ni because the bug is already closed, so that you don't miss it. Let me know if it's unnecessary.
Flags: needinfo?(jmathies)
I see an avast dll there but that shouldn't be loading accessibility, and I see the tipstsf library, which is part of microsoft's tablet services software. Do you have any utilities related to touch or pen input running? I don't see why this would be loaded on Win7 unless you have a touch screen or sketch pad connected.
Flags: needinfo?(jmathies)
(In reply to Jim Mathies [:jimm] from comment #22)
> I see an avast dll there but that shouldn't be loading accessibility
I've used Avast for years. I don't particularly recall if it updated any time recently or around the time I noticed e10s started being disabled, but I know it didn't cause this before.

> see the tipstsf library, which is part of microsoft's tablet services
> software. Do you have any utilities related to touch or pen input running? I
> don't see why this would be loaded on Win7 unless you have a touch screen or
> sketch pad connected.
I don't have either. :( Is there any way to find out why a dll has been loaded or what is *using* it?
If Avast has an anti-spyware option you can try disabling that and testing. We've had problems with anti-spyware invoking accessibility in the past.
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