JAWS Tutorial

JAWS Tutorial, version 1.22

Last update on August 6, 2009
By Jon Mason

To save yourself extra work in the long term, do not skip any part of the tutorial. To improve your learning efficiency, ask a friend with vision to help you during the first time that you work through the tutorial. You will probably also benefit from an embossed copy of this tutorial.
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Exercise One: General Advice
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Many computer users with low vision should exercise low cost options to fancy and expensive accessability applications. As a first option, users who only need to write simple documents and surf text based websites might survive with a gratis screen reader such as Thunder. Still, an upgrade of the voice in Thunder from the low quality Mircrosoft Sam to a high quality Realspeak will cost $60. As a second option, Freedom Scientific provides demo versions of JAWS for free. The only limitation is that the user must reboot the operating sytem every 40 minutes. I believe that Freedom Scientific provides the demo version of JAWS on these generous terms to help persons who can not afford a regular license. (Thank you Freedom Scientific.)

Before you purchase expensive accessibility software, try these simple ideas in order from best to worst:
1. Change the default font sizes and theme of your operating system.
2. Reduce the screen resolution of your monitor to increase the size of text and images.
3. Use the text zoom feature in Firefox when you surfe the Internet.
4. Use the screen magnifier that comes with the operating system.
5. Memorize the short cut keys to avoid visually searching through complex menus.
6. Use the free skweezer website to reformat complex web pages.

Printers cause unnecessary difficulties for totally blind high school and college students. When the printer incorrectly prints a document, or prints a blank page, a person with no vision might never know that an error occured. Similarly, inevitable paper jams will create stress for a person who can not see the source of the problem. Instead, a person with limited vision should prevent unnecessary stress by electronically submitting assignments via email or U.S.B. drive.
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Exercise Two: Dialog Boxes
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Two important Rules Before You Start!
A. Turn off the number lock feature on your keyboard.
B. Press the ESCAPE key one or two times to escape a menu or dialog box.
PROCEEDURE:
1. Press START Key.
2. Press ”P” until you hear programs.
3. Press RIGHT ARROW.
4. Press ”J” until you hear JAWS.
5. Press DOWN ARROW until your hear HJPad.
6. Press ENTER.
7. Press ALT to access the menu bar.
8. Press RIGHT ARROW until you hear tools.
9. Press DOWN ARROW until you hear sample dialogs.
10. Press RIGHT ARROW to hear Single Page 1.
11. Press ENTER.
RADIO BUTTONS:
1. Press DOWN ARROW to cycle through the radio buttons.
2. Press TAB at the correct title.
EDIT FIELD:
1. Type your first name and press TAB.
2. Type your last name and press TAB.
3. Type your street address and press TAB.
EDIT COMBO BOX:
1. Type your city in the field and press TAB.
2. You may also press ALT + DOWN ARROW for a list of choices. Use ARROWS to cycle through choices.
Press TAB at the correct choice. Press ALT + UP ARROW or ESC to exit the list and type your choice.
COMBO BOX:
1. Press DOWN ARROW to cycle through the list of states. (Or repeatedly press first letter of your state.)
2. Press TAB at the correct choice.
EDIT SPIN BOX:
1. Type a value or use ARROWS to choose from a list.
2. Press TAB.
LEFT/RIGHT SLIDER:
1. Press LEFT and RIGHT ARROWS to move one percent at a time.
2. Press PAGE UP and PAGE DOWN to rapidly change the value.
3. Press TAB.
CHECK BOX:
1. Press SPACEBAR to check or un-check.
2. Press ARROW keys to cycle through a list of Check Boxes.
3. Press INSERT + UP ARROW to examine check box status.
4. Press TAB until you hear OK.
5. Press ENTER to save the information and close the dialog box.
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Exercise Three: The Internet with Firefox or Internet Explorer.
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PROCEEDURE:
1. Press START KEY.
2. Press ”p” until you hear the word ”programs”.
Note: Or use the UP or DOWN ARROW keys until you hear "programs".
3. Press RIGHT ARROW to enter programs sub-menu.
4. Press ”i” until you hear Internet Explorer.
5. Press ENTER.
6. Maximize the window to help JAWS speak.
7. Press ALT + SPACEBAR.
8. Press DOWN ARROW until you hear Maximize Window.
9. Press ENTER.
10. Press ALT + D to move to the address bar.
11. Type: http://easysites.4t.com.
12. JAWS automatically reads the web page.
13. Press CTRL To stop the reading.
14. Press TAB repeatedly until you hear Dictionary by Look Way Up.
15. Press SHIFT TAB if you accidentally pass Dictionary by Look Way Up.
16. Press ENTER when you hear the link to the Dictionary by Look Way Up.
17. Press TAB until you hear Definition of Edit.
18. Press ENTER to start the forms mode.
19. Type a word that you would like to look up.
20. Press ENTER.
21. You will hear the definition of your word in a new web page. JAWS will automatically exit forms mode.
Note: Should you ever need to manually exit forms mode, press NUMBER PAD PLUS.
22. Press ALT + LEFT ARROW twice to move back to Easy Sites Home.
23. Press ALT + RIGHT ARROW move forward to the dictionary web page.
24. Press INSERT + T to read the name of current file name and application.
25. Press ALT + F4 to close Internet Explorer.
26, Use the same proceedure as described above to visit www.yahoo.com.
27. Press INSERT+F5 for form fields
28. Press INSERT+F6 for headings
29. Press INSERT+F7 for links
30. Press INSERT+F9 for frames
31. Press INSERT+F3 for other items
INTERNET COMMAND LIST
Access Menu Bar - ALT
Back a Page - ALT + LEFT ARROW
Forward a Page - ALT + RIGHT ARROW
Move to Address Bar - ALT + D
Next Link - TAB
Prior Link - SHIFT + TAB
Start Forms Mode - ENTER
Stop Forms Mode - NUM PAD PLUS
Next Frame - M (rarely used)
Prior Frame - SHIFT + M
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Exercise Four: Screen Reading
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PROCEEDURE:
1. Open http://easysites.4t.com as described in Exercise Three.
2. Open the link to Encyclopedia by Wikpedia.
3. Press TAB until you hear Edit.
4. Press ENTER to start the forms mode.
5. Type the phrase “dog intelligence” in the edit box and press ENTER.
6. Press CTRL to cause JAWS to stop reading the article.
7. Maximize the window as described in Exercise One.
8. Press INSERT + DOWN ARROW to start JAWS reading again.
9. Press CTRL to cause JAWS to stop reading again.
10. Press ALT + INSERT + HOME to hear the first heading in this article.
11. Press H repeatedly to hear the rest of the headings.
12. Press SHIFT + H to return to the previous heading.
13. Press ALT + INSERT + HOME again to hear the first heading in this article.
14. Press CTRL + DOWN ARROW to read by paragraph.
15. Read several paragraphs.
16. Press ALT + INSERT + HOME again to hear the first heading in this article.
17. Press ALT + DOWN ARROW to read by sentence.
18. Read several sentences.
19. Press DOWN ARROW to read by lines.
20. Read several lines.
21. Experiment with the following list of reading commands.
READING COMMAND LIST
Say file name and application - INSERT + T
Say All - INSERT + DOWN ARROW
Stop Speech - CTRL
First Heading - ALT + INSERT + HOME
Next Heading - H
Prior Heading - SHIFT + H
Prior Character - LEFT ARROW
Current Character - NUM PAD 5
Next Character - RIGHT ARROW
Prior Word - INSERT + LEFT ARROW
Current word - INSERT + NUM PAD 5
Spell Word - INSERT + NUM PAD 5 twice quickly
Next Word - INSERT + RIGHT ARROW
Prior Line - UP ARROW
Current Line - INSERT + UP ARROW
Next Line - DOWN ARROW
Prior Sentence - ALT + UP ARROW
Current Sentence - ALT + NUM PAD 5
Next Sentence - ALT + DOWN ARROW
Prior Paragraph - CTRL + UP ARROW
Next Paragraph - CTRL + DOWN ARROW
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Exercise Five: Manage Files and Folders
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PROCEEDURE:
OPEN MY DOCUMENTS WINDOWS XP INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Press START.
2. Press ”m” until you hear My Documents.
3. Press ENTER.
OPEN MY DOCUMENTS WINDOWS VISTA INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Press START.
2. Press TAB until you hear your user name.
3. Press DOWN ARROW until your hear documents.
4. Press ENTER.
CHANGE FOLDER TO DETAILED VIEW FOR EASIER NAVIGATION
1. Press ALT + V.
2. Press DOWN ARROW until you hear Detailed.
3. Press ENTER.
CREATE A FOLDER:
1. Follow the instructions to create three folders: Alpha, Beta and Gamma.
2. Press ALT to access the menu bar.
3. Press the DOWN ARROW until you hear New.
4. Press RIGHT ARROW.
5. Press DOWN ARROW until you hear Folder.
6. Press ENTER.
7. Type the name of your Folder.
8. Press ENTER.
DELETE A FOLDER OR FILE:
1. Follow the instructions to delete folder Gamma.
2. Use ARROWS to move to the file or folder that you wish to delete.
3. Press ALT to access the menu bar.
4. Press DOWN ARROW until you hear Delete.
5. Press ENTER.
COPY A FOLDER OR FILE:
1. Follow the instructions to copy folder Beta.
2. Move to the file or folder that you would like to copy.
3. Press ALT.
4. Press RIGHT ARROW until you hear Edit.
5. Press DOWN ARROW until you hear Copy.
6. Press ENTER.
PASTE A FOLDER OR FILE:
1. Follow the instructions to paste folder Beta in folder Alpha.
2. Move inside folder Alpha.
3. Press ALT to access the menu bar.
4. Press RIGHT ARROW until you hear Edit.
5. Press the DOWN ARROW until you hear paste.
6. Press ENTER.
EMPTY RECYCLE BIN:
1. Open My Documents as described above.
2. Press ALT + V.
3. Press DOWN ARROW until you hear Go To.
4. Press RIGHT ARROW.
5. Press DOWN ARROW until you hear Up One Level.
6. Press ENTER.
7. Press ALT to access the menu bar.
8. Press DOWN ARROW until you hear empty recycle bin.
9. Press ENTER.
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Exercise Six: Create and Save a Document
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Note: To prevent data loss, quick save open documents every hour by pressing CTR + S.
PROCEEDURE:
1. Open HJPad as described in Exercise One.
2. Type ”I know how to use JAWS.”
3. Press ALT to access the menu bar.
4. Press DOWN ARROW until you hear Save As.
5. Press ENTER.
6. Press TAB until you hear Save In Combo Box.
7. Press DOWN ARROW until you hear My Documents.
8. Press TAB until you hear list of files and folders.
9. Use ARROWS to select folder Alpha.
10. Press ENTER to open the folder.
11. Press TAB.
12.Type a name for your document.
13. Press ENTER.
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Exercise Seven: Edit a Document with Wordpad, HJPad, Abiword, or Microsoft Word
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PROCEEDURE:
COPYING, PASTING AND DELETING
1. Open http://easysites.4t.com.
2. Press TAB until you hear ”About Me”.
3. Press SHIFT + ENTER to open ”About Me” in a new window.
4. Press TAB until you hear ”Gettysburg Address”.
5. Press ENTER.
6. Open HJPad as described in Exercise Two.
7. Press ALT + TAB until you hear ”http://easysites.4t.com/Gettysburg.html”.
8. Press ENTER.
9. Move the cursor to the first word the in the first paragraph.
10. Press NUM PAD 5. If you hear ”Four”, you are in the correct place.
11. Press CTRL + SHIFT + RIGHT ARROW repeatedly to select several words in the first paragraph.
12. Press CTRL + C to copy the selected text.
13. Press ALT + TAB until you hear HJ Pad.
14. Press ENTER.
15. Press CTRL + V to paste the text.
16. Press ALT + TAB until you hear "http://easysites.4t.com/Gettysburg.html".
17. Move to the first word in the third paragraph.
18. Press NUM PAD 5. If you hear "But", you are in the correct place.
19. Press SHIFT + DOWN ARROW to select the third paragraph by line.
20. Press CTRL + C to copy the selected text.
21. Press ALT + TAB until you hear HJ Pad.
22. Move past the last word in the document.
23. Press CTRL + V to paste the text.
24. Select the first few words in the document.
25. Press CTRL + X to cut the selected text.
26. Press CTRL + A to select all text in HJ Pad.
27. Press ALT + F4 to close HJ Pad.
EDITING COMMAND LIST
Select One Word Right - CTRL + SHIFT + RIGHT ARROW
Select Next Line - SHIFT + DOWN ARROW
Select All - CTRL + A
Copy - CTRL + C
Paste - CTRL + V
Cut - CTRL + X
WINDOW MANAGEMENT COMMANDS
Change Application - ALT + TAB
Close Window - ALT + F4
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Exercise Eight: Spell Check with HJPad, Abiword, or Microsoft Word
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Note: Abiword is a great free alternative to Microsoft Word.
PROCEEDURE:
1. Open HJPad as described in Exercise Two.
2. Type the following sentence with spelling errors: ”The transision from high school to collig is diffikolt.”
3. Press F7 to check the spelling.
4. A dialog box will appear.
5. Press INSERT + C to hear the misspelled word in context.
6. The dialog box has the following fields.
7. The first field is an edit box that contains the misspelled word.
8. The field has a list of alternative spelling suggestions.
9. Use the arrow keys to navigate the list of spelling suggestions.
10. You may also change the text in the edit box that contains the misspelled word.
11. Press TAB to cycle through a series choices for this word. Most notably, you may ”ignore” the misspelling or ”change” the spelling.