What's new with JAWS 7?

JAWS Features FSClipboard
FSClipboard extends the functionality of the Windows Clipboard. When you use the Windows Copy (CTRL+C) or Cut (CTRL+X) commands to place text on the Clipboard, it replaces any text already there. When using the FSClipboard feature, text that you copy is added to any text that you have previously copied to the Clipboard. This allows you to continue adding text to the Clipboard until you are ready to paste it into a document.

To add text to the Clipboard, select it using the text selection commands, and then press WINDOWS Key+C. The text is appended to the end of any text already on the Clipboard. To paste all the text that you have placed on the Clipboard so far, use the Windows Paste command (CTRL+V). The text is inserted into your document at the current location of the cursor. Each block of text that you copied is separated by a blank line.

Improved Menu Reading JAWS now relies on Microsoft Active Accessibility (MSAA) information when reading menus. This allows for greater accuracy when reading menu items, which is useful for users who like to customize the Windows system colors.

Getting Started with JAWS Cassette Tape The Freedom Scientific Training department has created a new cassette tape that helps you get up and running with JAWS quickly and easily. It introduces users to the basics of using JAWS to work with Windows. After you listen to the tape, you can receive further instruction and detailed information by listening to the JAWS Basic Training DAISY book.

Read DAISY Books on the JAWS Program CD with Most DAISY Readers You can now insert your JAWS 7.0 program CD into most hardware DAISY book readers and access Freedom Scientific training materials in DAISY format. Most players present a list of all the DAISY training books on the CD, allowing you to select the book you want to read.

New Training Materials Available in DAISY Format JAWS 7.0 includes even more short training guides for various new JAWS features available in DAISY format. To access this material, open the JAWS Help menu and choose Training. FSReader Demo (installed with JAWS) starts and a list of available DAISY training materials displays.

Note: These training materials are only available when installing JAWS from the program CD or demo CD. If you install the downloadable version of JAWS, you will need to download these materials separately from the Freedom Scientific Audio Demos page.

The supplemental DAISY training materials in JAWS 7.0 discuss the following topics: Portable Column and Row Titles in Excel, Using Custom Labels in Microsoft Word and Internet Explorer, MSN Messenger, How to Use the Placemarker and Custom Page Summary Features, Skim Reading with JAWS, Creating Custom Schemes for the Speech and Sounds Manager, Document Presentation Mode, and Custom Labels in Excel.

Run JAWS from a USB Thumb Drive A USB thumb drive is a small, portable device that can store much more information than a floppy disk. You can now install a special version of JAWS on to any USB thumb drive. This allows you to carry your current settings with you to use on any computer. After you connect the drive to the computer, a dialog box displays allowing you to start JAWS. JAWS uses whatever authorization is available on the computer. If no authorization is available, JAWS runs in 40 minute mode.

To use JAWS on a USB thumb drive, the computer must have Microsoft Display Chain Manager (DCM) and JAWS Video Intercept installed. Any computer where JAWS or MAGic is installed already has these components. In addition, a special file is available that allows you to quickly install these components on any computer without installing JAWS.

To run JAWS from a USB thumb drive, you must download a special version of the program from the Freedom Scientific Web site. In addition, you can download the executable file that allows you to install Video Intercept and Microsoft DCM. The thumb drive version of JAWS will be available tomorrow, October 4, 2005. For more information on running JAWS from a thumb drive, see JAWS for Thumb Drives - Questions and Answers.

Note: A thumb drive version of MAGic Screen Magnification (version 9.50) will also be available.

New Start Menu Shortcut for Reference Materials A new shortcut named "Explore the Manuals" has been added to the Explore JAWS submenu in the JAWS program group. You can use this shortcut to open a folder containing electronic copies of printed JAWS documentation and other useful reference materials, including the JAWS Quick Start Guide and a list of keystrokes in Word (.doc) and text format.

Support for Roaming Profiles You can now use the command line switch "/roam" when installing JAWS on a network with roaming profiles. No separate folders are created for user and shared settings. All settings are stored in the folder where you installed JAWS. If you are installing JAWS from the package for the Web, you will need to precede this switch with the /a switch as well.

Hear the Name of the Script Attached to a Keystroke When you enable JAWS keyboard help, you can once again hear the name of the script attached to a keystroke. After pressing INSERT+1, press any JAWS keystroke three times quickly to hear JAWS say and spell the name of the script attached to that keystroke.

Use JAWS Authorization when Working in PAC Mate Desktop JAWS 7.0 provides a new feature that allows you to make use of third-party scripts that are locked to your JAWS serial number while using PAC Mate Desktop. To enable this feature, open the Options menu and choose Basics. Then, choose the Advanced button. Clear the Use Authorization from PAC Mate check box. Remote JAWS will then use the computer's authorization information (including the serial number) instead of the PAC Mate's information.

Re-Initialize Authorization You can now use the Re-Initialize Authorization command on the Utilities menu to force JAWS to search for valid ILM authorization. If the search is successful, JAWS displays your serial number.

Braille Focus 40/80 Shortcuts for Word, PowerPoint, and Excel JAWS now provides Focus 40/80 shortcuts for various commands in Word, PowerPoint, and Excel. These commands are the same as those previously available for the Focus 44/70/84.

HTML, PDF, and the Internet
Document Presentation Mode
Document Presentation Mode allows you to read tables by row, just as they are presented on the screen. With this feature, you can change how JAWS structures HTML pages and other virtual documents (such as PDF documents) in the virtual buffer. If you select "Simple Layout," each cell in the table is displayed on a separate line. This is the default layout, and the behavior should be familiar to users of JAWS 6.20 and earlier. If you select "Screen Layout," pages are rendered in the virtual buffer in a way that is more similar to what a sighted user sees on the screen. All items in a single table row are displayed on the same line, and each column is separated by a vertical bar. This helps you better understand the overall table design as well as the relationship between table cells in each row.

To switch to Screen Layout mode temporarily, press INSERT+V. Alternatively, you can change this option for the current Web site by pressing INSERT+SHIFT+V. Select "Document Presentation" and press the SPACEBAR to choose "Screen Layout." You can permanently change this setting on the Misc tab of the HTML Options dialog in Configuration Manager.

This new feature is especially useful for copying and pasting table information from virtual documents. Because all text in the row appears on the same line, you can easily select all the text in every cell in a row with SHIFT+DOWN ARROW. Alternatively, you can press F8 to select the entire table (if you are at the beginning). When you copy and paste the row(s) or table into another document, the text of each cell is separated by a vertical bar to preserve readability. You can even use the enhanced functionality of FSClipboard to copy non-contiguous rows or rows from different tables and then paste them all into another document.

To see this new feature in action, press INSERT+V now. Select "Document Presentation" and press the SPACEBAR to choose "Screen Layout." Then, read the table below to see how the information is presented. Notice how each cell is separated with a vertical bar and each row appears on its own line.

Command Desktop Keystroke Laptop Keystroke
Read Current Row
INSERT+SHIFT+UP ARROW
CAPS LOCK+SHIFT+UP ARROW
Read from Current Column
INSERT+SHIFT+PAGE UP
CAPS LOCK+SHIFT+PAGE UP

Tip: The DAISY training material that can be installed with JAWS 7.0 includes a lesson on using Document Presentation mode. To listen to this DAISY book, open the JAWS Help menu and choose Training. Then, select the book "XTraDocumentPresentationAndHTMLElementSelection" and press ENTER.

Enhanced Features for Adobe Acrobat and Reader
Freedom Scientific has been working closely with Adobe to make PDF files more accessible to JAWS users. When reading PDF files with JAWS and Adobe Acrobat or Reader, you will experience increased responsiveness and improved accuracy. JAWS can also better read font information and switch to the appropriate synthesizer language when necessary. Navigation in complex tables has also been improved. In addition, you can now select text using the Virtual Cursor. You can then press the APPLICATION Key to access a context menu containing commands applicable to the selected text.

Note: Language detection is not available in version 6.x of Acrobat or Reader.

Furthermore, the same great features available in Internet Explorer are now available in virtual PDF documents. You can navigate using the same commands you use for Web pages, including using Navigation Quick Keys to jump to different document elements. Features like PlaceMarkers, custom labels, and the custom summary are fully supported. You can even press INSERT+V to access the same verbosity options available in Internet Explorer.

In order to take advantage of these great features, it is important that the PDF files are properly created and tagged by the document author. Information on authoring accessible PDF documents is available at http://access.adobe.com.

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