Jaws Version 5.0 beta (long)

http://www.freedomscientific.com/fs_products/software_jaws5pbfea.asp

Automatic Position Virtual Focus to Flashing Cursor
When HTML code automatically places the blinking PC Cursor (force focus)
into an edit field, JAWS also moves to the edit field. By default, JAWS
will not begin a SayAll provided you are in the default Virtual Cursor
mode. When this occurs, you will also be reminded to press ENTER for
forms mode, in order to type in information.
For an example of this, please visit: www.google.com

Forms Mode State Remembered when Switching IE Sessions
If you are using IE in Forms Mode and switch to another session of IE,
JAWS remembers that you were in Forms Mode when you return to the
previous session. JAWS then automatically reactivates Forms Mode.

Automatic Language Detection in HTML
Your multilingual synthesizer will switch to the appropriate language on
the fly, provided the HTML author has used the proper language tags.
This feature is turned on by default, but you can disable it in the
Configuration Manager under HTML options or via the Verbosity Options
dialog. For an example, visit the following Spanish Web Site:
www.once.org

User Definable PlaceMarkers in the Virtual Cursor Mode
This revolutionary feature is designed to further enhance navigation of
frequently used web pages, HTML forms or applications, and other
documents which will utilize our Virtual Cursor Technology. Through an
extremely simple interface, you can add, name, navigate, and remove
PlaceMarkers. Script Writers can even use this new technology to produce
powerful new scripts designed for use in HTML-based applications. This
provides even more opportunities for future jobs, and the JAWS
PlaceMarker Technology will be one more tool to make those jobs even
more productive and valuable.

There are two types of PlaceMarkers: fixed and temporary. Only one
Temporary PlaceMarker can exist at a time but you can move it simply by
dropping it in a new location. To insert the Temporary PlaceMarker in
your current location on an HTML page, you press a user-definable key
combination currently assigned to CTRL+K. If you then move to some other
place or a new page and press the same keystroke again, JAWS removes the
Temporary PlaceMarker from the prior location and places it at the
current location. The Temporary PlaceMarker remains active for the HTML
page until you restart your computer, restart JAWS, or assign the
Temporary PlaceMarker to another location. Leaving that page or even
closing that session of IE or On-Line Help and later returning will not
remove the PlaceMarker.

Once you have assigned the PlaceMarker, you can use the Navigation Quick
Key K to instantly return to that exact location from anywhere on that
particular page.

The Temporary PlaceMarker will also appear in the CTRL+SHIFT+K list of
PlaceMarkers and it will be called "Temporary."

The other type of PlaceMarker is called a Fixed PlaceMarker. As the name
implies, this PlaceMarker is page/domain-specific and is saved with JAWS
across user sessions. To add a Fixed PlaceMarker, move to a location on
an HTML page where you want to insert the PlaceMarker and press
CTRL+SHIFT+K. This user definable key combination displays the
PlaceMarker List Dialog. Simply activate the Add button in this dialog
and decide on the name you want for this particular PlaceMarker. You can
continue to add as many Fixed PlaceMarkers as you'd like, or you can
decide to remove or rename them if necessary. These Fixed PlaceMarkers
are also portable so users will be able to exchange Fixed PlaceMarkers
with other JAWS users which could prove to be the most useful feature,
especially on HTML-based Web applications being used by multiple JAWS
customers doing the same job. Once you have assigned a Temporary or a
group of Fixed PlaceMarkers on a page, just use the letter K, the Quick
Navigation Key for PlaceMarkers, to jump from one to the other quickly.

Press CTRL+SHIFT+K to display a list of all PlaceMarkers on the current
page, including the Temporary PlaceMarker. You can use first letter
navigation in the list for quick access to the one you want. You will
also find buttons for Add, Move To, Rename, Remove, and Remove All.

In addition to using the letter K or the list of PlaceMarkers in the
CTRL+SHIFT+K dialog to navigate, there is another way to quickly review
the content at one of the first 10 PlaceMarkers on any given page. While
on a page with PlaceMarkers, press CTRL+SHIFT+1 through 0 on the number
row to hear the contents of that line for any of the first 10
PlaceMarkers. Pressing one of those key combinations twice quickly moves
you to that location and reads the line from the Virtual Buffer.

PlaceMarkers are stored at the following path:
c:\jaws50\settings\enu\placemarkers (file extension .PMI)


Navigating by Heading Levels is More Intuitive
When navigating by headings, searches for subheadings stop if the
next/prior heading belongs to a different section. For example, if you
are navigating through a group of level 3 headings using the Navigation
Quick Key 3 on the numbers row, then reach a new heading at a higher
level, JAWS will stop and you will be informed that you have reached a
new section. Previously, you could have found yourself at a level 3
heading in another section without knowing that the section changed.

INSERT+F5, Select a Form Field Dialog
While in HTML pages with form fields, you can now use the JAWS Keystroke
INSERT+F5 to display a list box with all the controls on this page. If
you found the INSERT+F7 dialog for listing links useful, you'll really
benefit from using this great feature to fill out or review forms. Note
that when you use this feature to move to a control, JAWS will also
enter Forms Mode automatically for you.

Position Information for Radio Buttons in HTML
JAWS will now properly identify which radio button is selected and how
many are available in the group. This assumes the HTML has been written
correctly using the name attribute to determine which radio buttons go
together.

Position Information for List Boxes and Combo Boxes in HTML
JAWS now has support for position information when in virtual areas.
This means that you will get information about how many items are in the
particular control and which one of these items is currently selected.

Customize how Form Field Prompts Are Identified
This new option is available in the Verbosity dialog box or in the
Configuration Manager. It allows you to customize what gets reported as
prompts for various form fields on the Web. Since there are many
possibilities for HTML authors, the ability to customize this has been
requested.

Reorganized the INSERT+V, Verbosity Dialog
The dialog box options are now more "human-friendly" and intuitive. The
options and their settings now say what they mean in plain English. We
have removed options that were either impractical or unnecessary to
modify per page, such as increasing line length, etc. All options are
now accessible via first-letter navigation. Those that aren't are in
close enough proximity that when you press a letter to go to that group
of options, you should find it. The same standard vernacular and
first-letter navigation applies to the Personalize Web Settings dialog
box, which is described below.

Personalized Settings for Any Web Site
This feature is one you'll surely appreciate if you use the Internet.
Have you ever wished that you could adjust something in the verbosity
options for a certain Web site, without impacting how JAWS will sound on
other sites? Wouldn't it be great if the next time you returned to that
web site, those special settings were remembered for you? Well now you
can use the new SHIFT+INSERT+V dialog to display a list of settings you
can personalize for that specific domain.

The dialog lists the site name, or as much of it as possible, as the
caption. When entering any page on a personalized site from another
location, you'll hear the message: "This web site has been
personalized." Care has been taken so that pages within the same site
(based on the URL) will not repeat the message. It is repeated only when
entering a site from an unrelated page.

While not all verbosity options will be offered in this feature, HTML
options such as page refresh, graphic rendering, links, image maps,
lists, tables, block quotes, etc., will all be available.

Let us emphasize that this feature is not foolproof. There may be some
situations where these Web features may not work, due to the dynamic
nature of the Web in general. If you change a setting using the regular
INSERT+V option, it will not be saved in your personal files.

INSERT+TAB now reveals all Verbosity Options for many HTML Elements
Within virtual buffer areas, you can now use INSERT+TAB to reveal all
setting options for graphics, text links, Form Fields, and Buttons. If
you're on a link, graphic (outside an image map), or button, press
INSERT+TAB repeatedly to hear the control spoken with the available
"verbosity" options.

The first time you press INSERT+TAB, you will hear the control as is
with your current settings. As you press INSERT+TAB again, JAWS will
cycle through the available settings for the given control. As you do
this, you hear the control again, which may or may not sound different,
followed by a message in the message voice which tells you the setting
being used.
Example: "Freedom Scientific Logo" Graphic (message voice) "Alt tag".

Of course, should you be using a scheme in JAWS to have these controls
spoken differently, all your custom speech/sound rules will be followed
by JAWS. If you press any other key, JAWS resumes normal functionality.
Use this feature on several different graphics on the same page so you
know how to personalize verbosity settings in JAWS for these various
items for the current web site, using the Personalize Web Settings
feature described above.


Added the INSERT+F3, Virtual HTML Features Dialog
There are currently two options in this dialog: PlaceMarkers and
Personalized Web Settings. We will be adding other items to this list in
future releases of JAWS. The main purpose of this list box is for users
who seldom use the features and can't recall the specific keystrokes to
launch them.

Added Wrap to Top or Bottom of Document for Many of the Quick Navigation
Keys
In 2002, with the release of JAWS 4.5, we introduced everyone to the
breakthrough concept of Navigation Quick Keys for HTML, letting you use
single letters to jump around the various elements of web pages. This
was one of the most significant changes and is now being adopted by
other products in a similar fashion. In JAWS 5.0, we have added the
ability to wrap to the top or bottom of a document as you move using
these keys. For example, if you are pressing H to move forward by
headings you are on the last heading available on the page, you will be
informed of this and sent back to the top to find the first heading.
This is very similar to the way Internet Explorer works by default if
you are using the TAB key to move between links. You will find this
works for most of your JAWS Navigation Quick Keys, even when moving
backward by adding the SHIFT key.

Added More New Navigation Quick Keys
You can now use four new Navigation Quick Keys while in a virtual
environment like IE and on-line Help.

  a.. B will move to the next Button on the page.
  b.. G moves to the next Graphic.
  c.. Q moves to the next Block Quote.
  d.. O moves to the next Object.
Include the SHIFT key with any of these commands to move backwards.

Jump to HTML Table Cell
JAWS now has an option that lets you identify a particular cell in a
table (based on row and column coordinates) and quickly move to that
location. To try this feature, go to a table while in Internet Explorer
or On-Line Help and press the letter J. This displays a dialog box
called Jump To Cell. Type in the particular column and row that you want
to go to, separated by a comma. Press ENTER to jump right to the cell.
This is very similar to using the F5 Go To feature in Microsoft Excel.
This can be very useful in large tables that you use often.

Jump to Line in the Virtual Buffer when in HTML
If you press J while in an HTML page, but not in a table, you will land
in a JAWS dialog called Jump to Line. You can use this to quickly move
to any line in the Virtual Buffer by entering the desired line number
and pressing ENTER. The dialog provides the number of lines available
and displays the line number you are currently on to give you a proper
reference.

Since our Quick Navigation Key J is used for both Jump to Table Cell
while in a table and Jump to Line if your not in a table, we also added
the ability to use CTRL+J any time which will always Jump to Line,
regardless of whether you are located in a table at that moment.


Percentage of Document Based on Current Location of Cursor
Pressing ALT+DELETE now includes the cursor location as a percentage of
the current document. This is supported in all areas where our Virtual
technology is used. If you are currently reading this information
on-line, press ALT+DELETE at any time to determine how much of the
document remains.

Added Custom Button Search Option for HTML Forms
You can now specify the attributes and search order for buttons in HTML
documents. Note that in forms mode, custom button search is only
supported when the Use Virtual Info for Forms Mode Labels option is
enabled. You can find this new search option on the Miscellaneous page
of the new HTML Options Multi Page dialog in Configuration Manager.

Indicates HTML Elements with OnClick or OnMouseOver
We have now added the ability for JAWS to identify elements with OnClick
or onMouseOver handlers on the web. We can now optionally indicate any
attribute for any element by either speaking a message or playing a
sound. JAWS currently has support for the OnClick and OnMouseOver
attributes so that when you do a Say Line or arrow onto any element with
such an attribute, if the Indicate Element Attributes option is enabled
in the Configuration Manager, you'll be notified. You can try this on
the HTML Challenge Dynamic HTML page where JAWS will now tell you that
the paragraph with the OnClick handler is clickable when you arrow to
it.



New MSAA Support for Extended Select List Box in IE and Other
Applications
When you land in extended select list boxes, you must use the Windows
command SHIFT+F8 to turn on the noncontiguous select option. In IE, if
you're using the Virtual Cursor, you must also turn on Forms Mode.
Previously, if you arrowed up and down, you would sometimes hear extra
highlighted text from a selected item farther up in the list. Now, since
we strictly use MSAA in these cases, this extraneous speech is no longer
present. JAWS will say, "Not selected," if the control is not selected,
but it will speak the item. If the SHIFT+F8 option in Windows isn't
turned on, you won't hear "not selected."

Context Sensitive Help Attribute for HTML Introduced for Web Authors.
Web/HTML authors may now use the newly defined ContextHelp attribute for
form input or other elements. JAWS will tell the user when a field has
such extra help whenever it exists. You can choose to review the help
using speech or Braille with INSERT+F1 or ignore it. The GetObjectHelp
script function has been updated to support this attribute which we will
be sending to the WAI as a recommended option to consider as a standard.

We will be updating our HTML Challenge to include examples of this as
well as other areas of our Web Content. GetObjectHelp also returns the
acc_help for MSAA and the description for Java objects.

For a demonstration of how this can be used, use the following HTML
source:
<P><LABEL for=Mname >Mother's Name: </LABEL><BR><INPUT id=Mname
name=Mname ContextHelp="For this field make sure you enter your mother's
maiden name."></P>



New Speech and Sounds Manager
In previous versions, JAWS could be instructed to tell you when text
attributes, fonts, or colors changed. It even told you when you tabbed
or arrowed between different control types (e.g., from an edit field to
a button). However, the method of feedback was always through speech
which could occasionally become too verbose.

JAWS 5.0 has made a major break through in Windows screen reading
because it now allows all kinds of information to be user-definable.
Imagine being able to tell JAWS to:

  a.. Speak bolded text in a different voice.
  b.. Announce a meaningful message when text was italicized and
underlined (such as link).
  c.. Read all text in a particular font or color in a different
language.
  d.. Change the pitch as the font size changed.
  e.. Use a sound to indicate that you were focused on an edit field.
  f.. Use different sounds to indicate the state of a checkbox.
  g.. Speak a meaningful message when text in a particular color was
encountered.
  h.. Read quoted text in a different voice.
  i.. Use sounds to indicate capitalization.
  j.. Indicate different amounts of indentation using sounds.
  k.. Indicate HTML attributes on the Web using sounds or messages etc.
All this is now possible! You can even use the Dictionary Manager to
replace words with sounds or play a sound, as well as change the
pronunciation of a word. You can also tell JAWS to always speak a
particular word in a particular language. Imagine replacing a left
pointing arrow symbol with a sound which plays from the right ear to the
left. All this power is available just by selecting the appropriate
speech and sounds scheme or by using the more powerful and flexible
Dictionary Manager.

The customization of such feedback is called a behavior, that is, you
can assign a behavior to a particular kind of attribute. You can even
tell JAWS that you're only interested in certain kinds of attributes and
totally ignore others. The set of behaviors which are currently active
have been grouped together in what is called a Speech Manager File, or
scheme. Schemes are easily shared among users and can be switched on the
fly using a keystroke which brings up a list of the currently defined
schemes. The keystroke for the list of predefined schemes is
INSERT+ALT+S or JAWSKey+ALT+S.

This world first feature enables the user experience to be
as intuitive and flexible as possible. There is nothing in the industry
which comes close.

JAWS 5.0 will come with a set of default Speech Manager Files (.smf
extensions) which can be very easily modified and shared. When you first
run JAWS 5.0, it will sound and feel like prior versions of JAWS. This
default scheme is called classic. If you want to hear attributes
announced as you arrow through text, you can select the Classic with
Attributes scheme. You no longer have to go in and select many different
check boxes to get specific information. All you do is load the scheme
which includes all of the information you want to hear in the way you
want to hear it.


For an example of how this can work, try the following after installing
the JAWS 5.0 Version.

  1.. While reading the What's New Page in Internet Explorer press
INSERT+ALT+S for the Select a Scheme Dialog.
  2.. Now choose Classic (Attributes) from the list and press enter.
  3.. Now arrow up and down through the What's New Document and notice
how you hear the changes get reported by JAWS.
  4.. Now go back into the INSERT+ALT+S Schemes list and choose
ProofReading (Attributes) and press enter.
  5.. When you arrow through the same text, you hear the changes this
time indicated by modifications in the synthesizer voice and or pitch
being changed. This helps distinguish the various attributes that you
are encountering without interrupting the actual text from the screen
being read from the document.
Both methods will have benefits for different users in different
situations. This new way of listening to information will go a long way
to changing the way you use your screen reader in the future.

The script language has also been enhanced to provide a way of
specifying all of these kinds of customizations. We now support a basic
set of XML tags. When you use the Say command, you can provide a string
of XML and JAWS will play the sounds, change the voice, change the
language, etc., as defined in the XML.

You can configure the following attributes and indications:

  a.. Control type
  b.. Control state
  c.. Attributes (normal text, bold, italic, underline, strikeout,
graphic, highlight)
  d.. Font name
  e.. Font size
  f.. Font color
  g.. Capitalization (both single and all caps)
  h.. Spell
  i.. Quoted text
  j.. Indentation
  k.. HTML attributes such as OnClick, OnMouseOver, etc. (so you can
hear when a graphic on the web is clickable or requires that the mouse
be moved to the graphic to reveal more information etc)
At the time of writing, JAWS 5.0 comes with the following schemes
already defined:

  a.. Classic
  b.. Classic (Attributes)
  c.. Classic (Attributes and Font Info)
  d.. Classic (Attributes, Font Info and Color)
  e.. Classic with Quotes
  f.. Indent (tab is 0.125 inches Script Manager)
  g.. Indent (tab is four spaces)
  h.. Indent (tab is two spaces)
  i.. ProofReading (Attributes)
  j.. ProofReading (Attributes and Font Info)
  k.. ProofReading (Attributes, Font Info and color)
  l.. Visual Studio .Net (Colors)
  m.. Visual Studio .Net (Indent)
  n.. Visual Studio .Net
  o.. Web RentACrowd
The classic schemes are all like prior versions of JAWS, announcing
items using the message voice. Each classic scheme adds a bit more
information as the names suggest.

The proofreading schemes use different voices for different attributes,
use the word "cap" or "all caps" to indicate capitalization, and change
pitch for different-sized text.

The Web RentACrowd" scheme uses different voices for headings and links
so that you have a family of voices which take turns reading pieces of
your web page to allow you to easily determine the headings, links,
etc., without the extra verbosity of descriptive words being added to
the actual text.


Voice Aliases Dialog, Found in Configuration Manager
Since all synthesizers have a different set of voices and
characteristics, JAWS now allows you to define a uniform set of voice
names. These names are mapped to the specific synthesizer's voices using
a specified pitch and rate. This is called mapping a voice alias. A
voice alias thus allows us to tell JAWS to use the SpellingVoice when
text is being spelled.

Using Eloquence, this could map to Shelly using a slower rate. On
DECtalk it might map to Dennis and a different rate. Regardless of which
synthesizer you use, the voice alias name stays the same. JAWS 5.0 also
has a Voice Alias dialog for setting up these mappings and provides a
default set of voices. You can add, delete, and modify the voice aliases
in this dialog. This option is found under the Set Options menu in the
Configuration Manager.


New in General
Dictionary Manager Lets You Assign Language or Sounds
In addition to setting up pronunciation rules using the Dictionary
Manager, JAWS 5.0 features new functionality never before found in
Windows screen readers. You can now define a Language the dictionary
entry should be spoken in, or even a sound that you want played in
addition to, or rather than, the text to be spoken.

When adding or changing an entry in the Dictionary Manager, in addition
to the Original Word and Replacement Word edit controls, you will now
find an Advanced button. This button takes you to a dialog containing a
Language combo box and Sound list view. The Language combo box is
populated with the languages available from your current Synthesizer.

In addition to the new Sound list view, there is also a Play and Browse
button. These new controls allow a user to sample the selected sound by
pressing the SPACEBAR, pressing ALT+P, or selecting the Play button. You
can access .wav files in other directories by selecting the Browse
button. When you select a .wav file via the Browse button the WAVE file
is automatically copied to the JAWS Settings\enu\sounds directory, where
we have included many sounds for your use. When adding an entry the
sound list will default to "None".


Select a Language Dialog Using CTRL+WINDOWS Key+L
Provided you are using a multilingual synthesizer such as Eloquence, you
can now use the key combination CTRL+WINDOWS Key+L to display a dialog
that allows you to change your synthesizer language on the fly.

Copy and Cut to Clipboard Just Got a Lot Smarter
For a long time, users have noted that the CTRL+C or CTRL+X commands did
not tell you if there was a problem when you pressed them (e.g., no text
was selected). JAWS warns you of this problem by speaking "No Text
Selected" in the error voice so that you are alerted that nothing was
selected when you tried to copy or cut. This is true in lists as well as
editable controls and virtually anywhere else text or items can be
copied or cut.

One addition to this feature is that SHIFT+INSERT+DOWN ARROW now
reports, "No text selected," in its normal voice when no text is
selected.


Redesigned the Configuration Manager HTML Dialog
In an effort to make it easier to navigate all the various JAWS HTML
options available to a user, the HTML options dialog is now a multi-page
dialog. You will find this much more organized and it will better
accommodate our continued growth in this area going forward.

MSAA Used for Checkable Lists
You can now customize check lists in a far simpler fashion than
previously. Simply assign the list control in question to Microsoft
Active Accessibility using the INSERT+7 Window Class dialog. Then label
the graphics as follows: Checked, Not Checked, and Partially Checked.
Note that Partially Checked currently is only available in the
Add/Remove Programs dialog boxes under Windows Components.

Changed INSERT+T Message in Beginner Verbosity
When pressing INSERT+T, the message is shorter now and only says, "Title
is," instead of, "Title equals".

Aliases for All JAWS Configuration Type Files
Aliases are generally created to make things more understandable. For
example, instead of using the name BrowseUI for the name of
configuration, script, or key map files we now use Internet Explorer 5
and 6 as an alias. This makes it much easier to find the files for the
various applications supported by the configuration files included with
JAWS.

Spell Rate Change and Upper Case Increment Now Percentages
In the Voices dialog boxes, you will now find that both of these
settings are now percentages (plus or minus) rather than just numbers.
This change was necessary as part of the new changes related to the
Speech and Sounds Manager.

New Configuration Manager Customize Punctuation Dialog
One of the most popular requested features has been added, and you can
now modify your punctuation settings in the Configuration Manager. There
is a new dialog called Customize Punctuation which can be accessed via
the Configuration Manager's Set Options menu. The dialog is composed of
a list control, four radio buttons, Edit Description... button, Restore
Defaults button, and Advanced... button. The radio buttons allow you to
define the level when the punctuation is spoken. The levels are None,
Some, Most, and All. You can also modify the level setting by pressing
the SPACEBAR when in the list control. You can modify the description,
which is the text spoken when the symbol is encountered. To modify the
description, either select the Edit Description... button or press the
F2 key. You can reset the values to factory defaults by activating the
Restore Defaults button. The Advanced... button allows you to change the
description of other punctuation but does not allow you to define the
level.

INSERT+Q and INSERT+F Have Added Functionality
You can now press INSERT+Q or INSERT+F twice to format text into the
Virtual Viewer. You no longer need to press the key repeatedly to hear
what you missed or go into Speech Box mode to review in Braille.
INSERT+Q is often needed by Script Writers or Technical Support to
determine the exact application being used, while INSERT+F is used to
determine font information.

Laptop Keyboard now includes Table Navigation
The laptop sections of Default.jkm now have additions to support table
cell navigation. These are the same for both laptop sections, as they
are based on the QWERTY logic for character and line navigation.
Keystrokes are as follows:
Say Cell ALT+CTRL+COMMA
Prior Cell ALT+CTRL+M
Next Cell ALT+CTRL+PERIOD
Up Cell ALT+CTRL+Y
Down Cell ALT+CTRL+N


TypeLite Keys Added Back to Default Keymap
Due to the removal of limitations placed on the file size for our .ini
files, we have put the TypeLite keys back in the Default.jkm file.

Access Solutions Updates DoubleTalk LT and Triple-Talk Drivers
There are new drivers for the DoubleTalk LT and TripleTalk which fix
several issues that have been opened for a long time.

If you are using the DoubleTalk LT with JAWS 4.51 or have friends doing
so, they can get the driver and instructions from the TSN on our Support
page.

Quick Identification for the "ANSI" Numeric Value of Any Character
This new feature has been assigned to the Say Character KeyStroke when
pressed 3 times in a row. To see how this works for the DeskTop Layout,
move your cursor to a character and press the NumPad5 three times. You
first hear the character, then the phonetic, then it says character
followed by a number which is the ansi value. On the LapTop layout, it
is JAWSKey Comma pressed 3 times. Going along with this feature, don't
forget the other feature we added in 4.51 to insert various symbols into
your documents, without having to know the ansi symbol. You can get to
this list of symbols by pressing INSERT+4 on the number row at anytime.

JAWS Now Supports the Kinesis Keyboard Layout
You will find this choice in the Basics Dialog in the KeyBoard Layout
ComboBox.

Change in Line Reading Keystrokes for Laptop Layout
We have modified the LapTop Layout commands for Line and Sentence
reading to match that of the PAC Mate TNS model. JAWSKey + U, I, and O
are now used for moving to and reading prior line, current line, and
next line while sentence reading will now be on JAWSKey Y, H, and N.
In the event you use LapTop and feel this change is not one you want,
please use the Keyboard Manager to modify it back.

New Navigation Scripts Added
Two new commands have been added, which you can assign in Keyboard
Manager. The Scripts found in the default file are called:
NumericDataSayNextAsSingleUnit
And
NumericDataSayPriorAsSingleUnit
Long names, but here's the short of it:
If you have a long word filled with numbers and punctuation, such as an
IP address or stock quote, press one of these keystrokes to move forward
or backward past the whole unit. It can make navigating in such material
much quicker and easier to understand. Remember that these keystrokes
are not assigned, you must assign them yourself. They are named as they
are so you can easily find them in Keyboard Manager located in the
Default file.
We recommend that you assign these to new keystrokes such as:
CTRL+JAWSKey+RIGHT or LEFT ARROW respectively.

These were in answer to a question posed by users who needed a way to
quickly skip past a whole series of digits and punctuation. If you're
not using Braille, doing so was quite long and exhausting before. There
is a new TSN posted to explain this for anyone with 4.51 that would like
to add it to that version.


New in Braille
New Driver for Focus and PAC Mate Portable Display
This new driver provides for better functionality of the displays and
auto detection for both.

Whiz Wheels® Now Offer Panning
We have added a fourth setting, Focus Panning, to our whiz wheel support
for the Freedom Scientific Focus Braille devices. This becomes available
when using the Whiz Wheels in a document or any multiline area either
with system (blinking) or Virtual cursor. We have modified this panning
slightly to remain consistent with our line/sentence/paragraph support.
This modification simply means that when the Braille display travels
vertically, as it does when End of Line is reached during panning, the
system or active cursor moves with it.

To switch to Panning Mode with the Whiz Wheels, simply depress either
Whiz Wheel until it reports the desired mode.

The Tether option in the Adjust Braille Options dialog box is not
related to this movement, just like the Line/Sentence/Paragraph
navigation.
Focus Panning is not available outside of the Line/Sentence/Paragraph
structures.

New in Popular Application Support
All new support for Accessible Java Applications
JAWS support for applications written using Sun Microsystems' Java
Access API has been greatly improved in version 5.0. JAWS now speaks
every accessible object available through Sun Microsystems Java
Accessibility Bridge version 1.0.4. JAWS has added functionality to
simulate the JAWS cursor in Java applications. Also new is the virtual
buffer view of Java applications, making many of them as simple to use
as JAWS on the Internet. Freedom Scientific recommends using JAWS 5.0
with Java Accessibility Bridge version 1.0.4 and the Sun Java Runtime
Environment version 1.4.1.


New Scripts Have Been Written for Microsoft Access 2000 and XP
This is an area where there has been many requests for fixes and
improvements. Based on the MS Object Model, we believe you'll find
Access 2K and XP to be much better.

Great Support for AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) Version 5.2
There is an Online Help Topic and we encourage you to read this for all
the details. If you are looking for a very good Instant Messenger this
is a good choice.

Changed Keystroke in MSN Messenger
Within the MSN Messenger application, to assign channels 1 through 5
(for conversations), use CTRL+WINDOWS+1 through 5 respectively.
Previously this was done with CTRL+SHIFT+1 through 5.

To switch to the corresponding conversation from anywhere, press
WINDOWS+1 through 5. This was done to avoid KeyStroke conflicts with
PlaceMarkers, Excel, Word or Winamp, among other things. These
keystrokes will be easier to remember, as this is designed to set
different windows in the foreground; hence the use of the WINDOWS key.
We have also made more changes that positively affect the
SwitchToUrgentConversation keystroke, but it requires that you wait
while the window gains foreground. This may take a couple seconds in
those cases where it hadn't been happening at all.

New Order for Reading Font Information if Attributes Are Present in MS
Word
Previously, if you pressed INSERT+F in Word, attributes were reported
after font information. This slowed down the process of getting
attribute information. Now, when you use INSERT+F in Microsoft Word, you
will now hear font information spoken in the following order:

  1.. Attributes (bold, italics, etc.)
  2.. Point size (12 point, 14 point, etc.)
  3.. Font name : (times New Roman, Arial, etc.)
After these items are spoken, you will still hear all other document
information (i.e., style, line spacing, etc.) as before.

Additionally, you can now press INSERT+F twice quickly to hear font
information in this same order in the virtual viewer for your
convenience and review in Braille.

Improved Bookmark Support in Microsoft Word
In Microsoft Word JAWS can now properly handle defining or going to a
bookmark regardless of where it is in a document, including Tables.

To add a bookmark:

  1.. Place cursor at beginning of text to be bookmarked.
  2.. Select the text to be bookmarked.
  3.. Bring up Insert menu and arrow to bookmark option. Press ENTER to
bring up the dialog.
  4.. Name the bookmark or use the selected text as the name.
  5.. TAB to the Add button and press SPACEBAR.
To go to a defined bookmark:

  1.. Bring up the GoTo dialog.
  2.. SHIFT+TAB to see the list of options and choose bookmark.
  3.. TAB to see the list of defined bookmarks and arrow to your choice.
  4.. TAB to GoTo button and press SPACEBAR.
Improvements for Eudora Email
Added the feature that the up and down arrow keys would announce the top
and bottom of the mailboxes rather than rereading the message heading
information. This feature has now been amended so that pressing the up
or down arrow key quickly a second time will add the message information
to the top and bottom of list messages.

The Home, End, Page Up and Page down keys now announce the message
status information such as read, unread, etc. in addition to the message
information.

Audible Manager Scripts Updated to Include Version 4.0
The keys to read the Device Pane (CTRL+2) and toggle the Device Pane
open or closed (CTRL+SHIFT+E) now work properly when Audible Manager is
in CD burn mode.

INSERT+W Help Message has been amended to include keystrokes available
in CD burn mode.

Modification Information for Script Writers
We have added three scripting functions that will help facilitate use of
FocusChangedEvent for many beginning scripters. The FocusChangedEvent
function can appear confusing. For others, the idea of having to modify
the whole FocusChangedEvent function for one single dialog name is
overkill. Still others find it annoying to have to put the same code in
SayFocusedWindow as they have to in SayWindowPromptAndText (INSERT+TAB).

We have added three functions to improve customization in the JAWS
scripts. If used properly, they resolve the above problems without
having to modify either FocusChangedEvent or SayWindowPromptAndText
(INSERT+TAB). Of course, there may in fact be an odd situation where
modifications of these functions is still necessary, but in most cases
customization should become simpler. These functions are as follows:

· HandleCustomAppWindows
· HandleCustomRealWindows
· HandleCustomWindows

Each takes a handle as a parameter, the relevant place in the hierarchy
to be checked. Each returns an int. Return TRUE when your custom logic
is successful, FALSE to let the default behavior of JAWS take place. No
need to worry about whether the AppWindow has changed, whether the
RealWindow is different, or updating global variables. If you are
familiar with the FocusChangedEvent function, you know the drill.

HandleCustomAppWindows:
This function replaces the speaking of the Application Window name, type
and Text. Add your logic here where the application window code by
default doesn't work.

HandleCustomRealWindows:
Enter your code here for custom dialogs, document names that don't
speak, etc. Remember that the DialogPageChangedEvent is often your place
for dialog page names. However, if it's not being called in this app,
you can add that code here.

HandleCustomWindows:
The code you add here will be spoken when a new window gains focus, or
when you press INSERT+TAB on that window. This helps with the
consistency of focus versus INSERT+TAB speaking. This window may also be
spoken if the JAWSCursor is on, because the INSERT+TAB script uses
GetCurrentWindow as the handle for this function. Of course,
GetCurrentWindow is the window at the position of the active cursor.

Fixes from Previous Versions
  a.. We have solved a significant issue that was causing sluggishness
and general slow downs often requiring a reboot on certain systems to
continue. This was most likely occurring in Windows XP machines but was
not limited to that operating system. We are working on making this fix
available for any JAWS 4.51 customer that needs it in a soon to be
released patch for that version.
  b.. We have solved issues related to documents scrolling when pressing
the UP or DOWN ARROW and JAWS often reading the wrong line. In the event
this would happen, the user could do a Say Line and this would read the
proper line at that time. The issue was related to timing and scrolling
and we believe this should be resolved in most cases now. This fix will
also be made available for 4.51 customers in the soon to be released
patch for that version.
  c.. We solved an issue where certain Web pages were causing JAWS to
unload for no apparent reason. This fix is currently available as part
of a TSN on the Support pages of the Freedom Scientific Web site.
  d.. We have significantly improved Braille tracking in forms mode.
  e.. We addressed issues where the cursor would sometimes blink on the
wrong cell both in form fields and on the last line of Outlook messages.
  f.. We improved JAWS so that it is much more reliable in stopping
speech when pressing CTRL in places where large blocks of text may have
been selected.
  g.. We addressed issues related to Spell Checker not always reading
the misspelled word and suggestion as expected.
  h.. We fixed an issue in MS Word XP where INSERT+SHIFT+DOWN ARROW
pressed twice quickly did not spell the highlighted text.
  i.. JAWS now properly identifies standard or nonstandard tables when
it lands on a table in MS Word. This alerts users to the special
problems and inconsistencies in the number of columns and rows found in
non-uniform tables.
  j.. We fixed Power Point XP so Say All works in slides.
  k.. The Outlook XP Rules Wizard now properly reports checked or not
checked when you arrow up or down in the list.
  l.. We reorganized and updated the JAWSKey+F1 help information within
Internet Explorer and HTML content.
  m.. We now make indentation based on spaces rather than pixels.
  n.. We improved what happens when JAWS comes to a blank line. For
example, JAWS does not announce indentation on a blank line or say 0
spaces but instead says, "left margin."
  o.. We fixed a problem in Microsoft Word XP where JAWS was not
properly reading the General Templates multi-level tab dialog box.
  p.. We fixed a problem in Microsoft Word XP were the highlighted
delivery address was not being read when using the Envelopes and Labels
command in the Tools menu.
  q.. When you launch Excel or PowerPoint, JAWS now says, "Gathering
required information," instead of the less friendly, "Initializing
application scripts."
  r.. We fixed issue with tabindex within Frames.
  s.. When tabbing to a frame with a tabindex, JAWS now just reads the
frame title rather than attempting to read the entire frame, which could
be a very large chunk of text that renders JAWS speech unstoppable.
  t.. Since the 4.51 release, Key Repeat is turned on by default.
However, it was causing some problems with the ALT key. For example, if
you pressed ALT+F4 to exit a window or application, you might find
yourself on the menu bar rather than exiting the window or application.
This should not happen now in 5.0.
  u.. We fixed an issue where Say All spontaneously stopped after the
first line. This occurred sometimes when the first line contained a
single word, so that no index marks were generated for that line.
  v.. We fixed Spell Word/Line, etc. when on buttons and other controls.
  w.. We fixed an issue of table navigation breaking due to rows or
cells being hidden by visibility styles. Now, if the style map contains
any styles affecting visibility, navigation works. The site which
demonstrated this best was at:
http://windowsmedia.com/radiotuner/FindStations.asp?locale=409&genre=NR
  Table navigation in the main table showed the wrong number of rows and
did not allow table navigation.
  x.. We fixed issues with cap indication in mixed case words.
  y.. We fixed the SayControlEx function so it appropriately puts pauses
between the parts of the control. Previously all parts were being run
together.
  z.. We fixed PositionString so they are always accurate when in forms
mode.
  aa.. We enabled Get Row Text and Get Column Text to work even in forms
mode in Internet Explorer. This means that if you are editing data in a
table in forms mode you can still hear row and column data. Note that it
may be necessary to call refresh from the scripts prior to calling Get
Row Text (or Get Column Text if forms mode is active) to ensure that the
field currently being edited is included in the row or column data. This
will not work if the virtual cursor is actually disabled.
  ab.. We improved Get Prompt Type And Text on the Web so that when
prior text is used for the prompt of a form field, text from a table
start or end tag, text from a different field or form, text belonging to
links, etc., wouldn't mistakenly be used for the prompt. Note that this
only would happen if the HTML was not correctly written using a label or
title/alt attribute for a form field.
  ac.. We improved radio button and check box group caption search so
that text from a different table cell or a table start/end tag or text
from a different form is not used as the group caption.
  ad.. We fixed the issue where selecting text in a virtual buffer did
not function similarly to the way Windows selects text.
  ae.. Auto complete of a file name in MS Word's File Open dialog is now
spoken by JAWS.
  af.. We fixed issues where JAWS was double speaking dialogs in AOL.
  ag.. We modified the Outlook Express INSERT+H help page. Previously,
it had the keystroke and action backwards.
  ah.. We fixed JAWS in Spell Checker where it did not always read the
misspelled word the second time if the misspelled word matched the
previous misspelled word.
  ai.. We fixed Route JAWS To Home Row in the Laptop keyboard layout.
  aj.. We fixed the problem where JAWS was spelling out the phonetic
announcement of capital X.
  ak.. Fixed an issue in Outlook Express 6 where attempting to do a Find
with CTRL+SHIFT+F and typing letter T for any word reports, "No more
tables found."

Received on Friday, 15 August 2003 07:27:18 UTC