Using Internet Explorer with JAWS for Windows

Surfer with shark in background animation .
This tutorial will get you up and going online with Freedom Scientific's JAWS for Windows screen reader.
We'll learn how to navigate and access specific areas of a Web page.
We'll also cover some of the functions of your screen reader that will totally enhance your Internet surfing experience.
then we'll dive right into Web browsing using a search engine so you can find the many treasures the internet has to offer.

Note: This tutorial supports JAWS 6 and higher, and Internet Explorer 6 and higher.
Note: You can tap the Ctrl key at any time, to pause reading and temporarily silence JAWS.

The 5 parts of this tutorial include:

  1. Web page navigation and elements
  2. Web searching strategies, the JAWS links list, and finding specific text
  3. Using Google search engine, IE tools, and favorites
  4. online forms
  5. Extended Select boxes and conclusion
Internet Explorer (IE) is a Web browser. There are other Web browsers such as Firefox and Safari but screen readers work best with IE, also it is the most commonly used Web browser. The World Wide Web, a major part of the Internet, is made up of Web pages. These Web pages are sometimes referred to as Web sites and can be accessed using a search engine. For this tutorial we will use the Google search engine.

Let's get started.

What does a Web page look like?

Open Internet Explorer either from your Desktop or from your Start Menu. As the Web page opens, your screen reader will identify some key elements of the page such as it's title, number of links and headings.
This information gives us a general sense of the page layout. Say for example, we hear that a page has 50 headings and 200 links, there will surely be an enormous amount of information on that page.
If, however, we hear that a page offers 2 headings and 5 links, we can safely assume that there is a relatively short amount of informaition on that page.

Let's get back to describing the layout of any Internet Explorer page.
The Internet Explorer bar is located along the top of the screen. It displays the:

  1. Title bar.
  2. Menu Bar.
  3. Address bar.

To have JAWS read the Web page title use Insert T.

All Web pages have a Title. Think of it as the "you are here" stamp. Since this, is a Web page, you can read it's title now. The focus remains, while JAWS reads the page title.
Note: When using Insert T. to read a page title, JAWS might first announce the heading closest to your present location on the page, followed by the page title.

Directly below the Title bar is the standard menu bar containing drop down menus such as file, edit, view, favorites and tools.

Access the menu bar, as with all applications, with the Alt key.

Note: To leave the menu bar and return the focus to the place you were within the Web page, simply press ESC.

Directly beneath the Menu bar is the Address bar.
this is where the exact full Web page address is displayed. This Web address is sometimes called a URL (Uniform Resource Locater). An example of a URL is, http://www.StacyBleeks.com/accessibility/html.

To have JAWS read the address bar use the Insert A. keystroek. Focus remains in place while JAWS reads the address bar.
To have your screen reader move to, and then read the current URL use the following keystroke:
Alt D. This keystroek is necessary if you want to copy and paste a URL.
Note: Use the TAB key to move focus out of the address bar, and back to the content of the Web page.

At the very bottom of a Web page is the status bar. This is where status information is displayed, such as how many items need to download before a Web page opens. Use the Insert num pad 3 keystroke. JAWS will read the status bar, and focus will remain where you are on the page.

Between the IE bar at the top, and the status bar at the bottom, lies the main content of the Web page.

reading and Navigating Web Pages

There are several ways to navigate Web pages using JAWS for Windows screen reader.

The following table lists the basic navigation keystrokes:

Basic Navigation.

Keystroke. Function.
Insert Down Arrow. Reads from cursor to bottom of page.
Insert Up Arrow. Reads current line
Down Arrow. Moves down and reads next line.
Up Arrow. Moves up and reads previous line.
Right Arrow. Moves one space right and reads that character
Left Arrow. Moves one space left and reads that character
Ctrl END. Moves to bottom of page.
Ctrl Home. Moves to top of page.
Ctrl Down Arrow. Moves down to next paragraph
Ctrl Up Arrow. Moves up to previous paragraph.
Ctrl. Silences JAWS and stops cursor.

Navigating Tables.

Html tables are used to display data in a grid of rows and columns. When reading a Web page, JAWS will announce tables when they are encountered and also indicate it's number of rows and columns. Knowing the number of rows and columns gives us a sense of the size and amount of information presented in the table. Tables are made up of cells. The cells contain the data.
With html data tables, we can navigate from cell to cell this way:

Elements of a Web page

Web pages contain text, like this paragraph you are reading now. A Web page is structured too, with elements. Specifically, these are known as html elements. Html stands for: hyper text markup language.
Html is the coding language used to create Web pages like this one.

Some main Web page elements include; headings, links, lists, edit boxes, graphics, and data tables.
With JAWS, we can move directly to one of these Web page elements with the stroke of a single key. These are called Quick Navigation keys.

For example, to move from one link to the next, use the Tab key. To move to page headings, use the H. key. If a Web page has a list we can move to it, with the L. key, and tables are accessed using the letter T.

You can also move backwards through these elements by adding SHIFT to the single key. For example, by repeatedly pressing the H key, you can read all the headings on a page, in their normal reading order, and read them in reverse order by pressing SHIFT + H.

The following table lists the most frequently used JAWS quick navigation keys. In all cases you can move to the prior element by adding the SHIFT key.

JAWS Internet Quick keys.

Keystroke. Function.
H. Moves to next heading.
E. Moves to next edit box.
TAB. Moves to link.
V. Moves to next visitted link
U. Moves to next unvisitted link.
T. Moves to next table.
L. Moves to next list.
I. Moves to next list item.
B. Moves to next button.

Form fields and MSA Mode.

There are several other JAWS Quick Keys for use with Internet Explorer, but these are, by far, the most commonly used.
so, how is it that we can hit a key on the keyboard, moving the cursor's focus to a Web page element , as opposed to having that key appear on the screen?

unlike text editors such as MS Word, Effectively, html Web pages are static files. By default, JAWS activates what is referred to as Microsoft Accessibility Mode (MS A Mode), which allows the JAWS Quick keys to work.

Of course there will be times when we will have to enter text on a Web page. For example, if we are filling out a Web form, or want to perform a google search, we will need to enter text. In order to enter text we need to move the focus to an edit box, and then turn forms mode on. When forms mode is on, we are then able to enter text into edit boxes.

The JAWS Quick key to move to an edit box is the letter E. When in an edit box, pressing Enter, will turn forms mode on. JAWS will announce, "forms mode on. Type in text".

Let's try it here. Move to the edit box below, by pressing the letter E. remember, once the focus moves to the edit box, we need to press Enter in order to turn forms mode on.
After typing some text in the edit box, you can press TAB to move to the next form control. In this case it will be a button. You will press the Spacebar key, as with any button, to advance to the second part of this tutorial. Go ahead and press Ctrl, to silence JAWS, and then press E now.