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see http://www.netbeans.org/servlets/ReadMsg?list=nbdev&msgNo=31941 In the document, section 1 (Testing designed frames (inside the NetBeans in the Form Editor)) seems to be completely out-of-date. there isn't a smiley icon anywhere, just the wheelchair in the IDE toolbar. There is NO mention of needing to restart the IDE with a11ytest.IDE=true... or any other magic words... I was able to work around the lack of a11y testing support in the form editor by using the info in section 3; Testing NetBeans frames and windows (MDI,SDI)
too old without plan to fix it