Fenrir will now read dots in the middle of or at the beginning of words regardless of punctuation settings.

src/fenrirscreenreader/core/outputManager.py

@@ -77,6 +77,27 @@ class OutputManager:
     def get_last_echo(self):
         return self.last_echo
 
+    def process_mid_word_punctuation(self, text):
+        """
+        Process punctuation that appears mid-word to ensure proper pronunciation.
+        Specifically handles dots between word characters (e.g., "settings.conf" -> "settings dot conf")
+        and dots at word beginnings (e.g., ".local" -> "dot local")
+        while preserving sentence-ending periods and other punctuation behavior.
+        """
+        if not text:
+            return text
+        
+        # Handle dots at the beginning of words (like .local, .bashrc, .config)
+        # Look for non-word character (or start of string), dot, then word characters
+        text = re.sub(r'(?<!\w)\.(\w+)', r'dot \1', text)
+        
+        # Replace dots that appear between word characters with spoken form
+        # Use a loop to handle multiple consecutive dots like www.example.com or a.b.c.d
+        while re.search(r'\b\w+\.\w+\b', text):
+            text = re.sub(r'\b(\w+)\.(\w+)\b', r'\1 dot \2', text)
+        
+        return text
+
     def speak_text(
         self,
         text,
@@ -208,6 +229,7 @@ class OutputManager:
             clean_text = self.env["runtime"]["TextManager"].replace_head_lines(
                 clean_text
             )
+            clean_text = self.process_mid_word_punctuation(clean_text)
             clean_text = self.env["runtime"][
                 "PunctuationManager"
             ].proceed_punctuation(clean_text, ignore_punctuation)