JAWS 4.01 has improved accessibility

In case you missed it, JAWS 4.01 has improved accessibility:

                                                               
 Announce and Move through HTML Headings                       
                                                               
                                                               
 JAWS now supports navigation of web pages by headings in      
 Internet Explorer 5.x and 6, and in Microsoft HTML help       
 systems. JAWS recognizes headings at levels 1 through 6. IN   
 HTML, headings are used to indicate the start of sections and 
 subsections of a page. When used hierarchically by the author 
 of the page, the level of the heading provides information    
 about how a specific section relates to the page as a whole.  
 When viewing all headings on a page, if the headings are used 
 properly, the hierarchy of the heading levels indicates how   
 the page is structured. This makes it easier to find          
 information and understand the relationships within the       
 information.                                                  
                                                               
                                                               
 After installing JAWS 4.01, view the effective use of         
 headings in the following locations:                          
                                                               
                                                               
   ?  Throughout the JAWS help system                          
   ?  The JAWS 4.01 What's New Announcement                    
   ?  http://www.w3.org                                        
   ?  http://www.lighthouse.org/                               
                                                               
                                                               
 Press CTRL+INSERT+ENTER To move to the next heading, or press 
 CTRL+INSERT+SHIFT+ENTER to move to the previous heading.      
 Press INSERT+F6 to list all headings on the page, select a    
 heading in the list, and press ENTER to move to it on the     
 page.                                                         
                                                               
                                                               
 In the User Agent Accessibility Guidelines (                  
 http://www.w3.org/TR/UAAG10/guidelines.html), the World Wide  
 Web Consortium recommends "user agents" provide navigation    
 based on structural elements in a document. Freedom           
 Scientific continues to strive toward the goals of these      
 guidelines by providing features that aid in quick and easy   
 navigation on the World Wide Web.                             
                                                               
                                                               
 Support for HTML Long Description Attribute                   
                                                               
                                                               
 JAWS now supports the "Longdesc" attribute in HTML within     
 Internet Explorer 5.x and 6. The "Longdesc" attribute allows  
 a long description of graphics to be provided on a separate   
 page. The "Longdesc" attribute contains the address of the    
 descriptive page. After reading any Alt text for the graphic, 
 JAWS announces there is a long description and the address of 
 the page. Just press ENTER to open the page containing the    
 long description in a new window.                             
                                                               
                                                               
 Access keys in HTML                                           
                                                               
                                                               
 JAWS now announces access keys assigned to HTML elements      
 using the HTML "Accesskey" attribute. Access keys let you     
 move directly to an item such as a link or form control.      
 Access keys are used within the JAWS help system to provide   
 quick access to the Back and Next links within most topics,   
 which make it easy to move through the help system. Visit     
 http://www.afb.org/ to see effective use of access keys on a  
 web site.                                                     
                                                               
                                                               
 Mouse Over Effects                                            
                                                               
                                                               
 HTML allows the author of a page to set an "Onmouseover"      
 event for most HTML elements to run specified code such as    
 JavaScript or Visual Basic Script when the mouse is moved     
 over the HTML element. Often this is used to momentarily      
 display text or graphics or links. JAWS now recognizes the    
 "Onmouseover" event, and if it is set to display text or      
 links as part of the page, JAWS provides access to that       
 information. In some cases, links may not be announced as     
 links, but you can still press ENTER to follow them.          
                                                               



For full list of new features see:
http://www.freedomscientific.com/fs_products/software_jaws401newfea.asp

Cheers,  Andrew
_________________________________
Dr Andrew Arch
Manager, Internet Product Development
Vision Australia Foundation
Ph 613 9864 9222; Fax 613 9864 9210
Mobile 0438 755 565
http://www.visionaustralia.org.au/

Member, Education & Outreach Working Group,
W3C Web Accessibility Initiative
http://www.w3.org/WAI/EO/

Received on Sunday, 20 January 2002 21:40:37 UTC