JAWS Basic Tips
Types of JAWS Keystrokes/Commands/Shortcuts:
[For a comprehensive list of specific commands:]
http://www.freedomscientific.com/doccenter/archives/training/JAWSKeystrokes.htm
1. Basic Windows Keystrokes
a. General
b. Windows & Menus
c. Dialog Boxes
d. Reading Text
e. Editing Text
2. Different Commands depending on Desktop Layout or Laptop Layout
a. Reading Commands
b. Navigational/Informational Keystrokes
c. Cursor & Mouse Commands
d. Dialog Box Commands
e. Help Commands
f. Miscellaneous Commands
3. Internet Use
a. Brower Specific Commands for Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox
b. HTML Commands for browsing webpages
i. Navigation quick keys
ii. General Commands
iii. Links
iv. Headings
v. Forms
vi. Tables
vii. Placemarkers
viii. Frames
ix. Elements
4. New Keystrokes
a. Tandem Session
b. Layered Keystrokes (Includes Convenient OCR and Research It)
Where do you start if you don’t know many/any key commands?
Example: Creating, Saving, & Re-Opening a Microsoft Word Document
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Press the Windows key to open the Start Menu
Type W or M to pull up Microsoft Word
Press up and down arrows to hear/see choices and press Enter to select Microsoft Word
When Word opens, type the word ‘test’ into your document
To save the document, press Ctrl-S, type ‘text’ as name, press tab repeatedly to choose
folder, press Enter
6. Press Alt+F4 to close document
7. To reopen this document, press Windows key for Start Menu, type ‘test’, select with
arrows and press Enter
Example: Using Internet Explorer
1. Press the Windows key to open the Start Menu
2. Start typing Internet Explorer until it is named
3. Press up and down arrows to hear/see choices, press Enter to select Internet
Explorer
4. To do a Google Search:
When Internet Explorer opens, type in www.google.com and press Enter (*Use Tab
to move into the correct field if you end up in the wrong place)
a.
Your cursor will automatically land in the search field when Google is
opened
b.
Type in a word or phrase to search, and use the down and up arrows to
move among the predicted choices
c.
Press Enter to select a choice
d.
Use Tab to move among the links pulled up by your search
e.
Press enter to select a choice
f.
Example:
1. Search cats
2. Arrow down to cats meowing and press Enter
3. Use Tab and Shift Tab to move among the choices, select one
of the YouTube videos and press Enter
4. Press Ctrl and F4 to close the tab
5. To check Yahoo Email
a. Press Ctrl and T to open a new tab, separate from your Google search tab
b. Type www.yahoo.com
c. Use Tab to move between fields until you hear the Mail option, press Enter to
select it
d. Use Tab to move between fields from username, to password, to Sign In
button, then press Enter
6. Note that the more you use Internet Explorer, it will remember your frequent
addresses and you won’t have to type them entirely
7. Moving among pages
a. Press Alt and Left Arrow to go back a page
b. Press Alt and Right Arrow to go forward a page
8. Open and close tabs
a. Press Alt and T to create a new tab
b. Press Ctrl and Tab repeatedly to move among open tabs
c. Press Ctrl and F4 to close a tab
9. Press Alt+F4 to close Internet Explorer
Most Useful Commands:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Windows Key
Alt+Tab
Ctrl+S
Alt+F4
Esc Key
Ctrl
open Start Menu
switch between open applications
save file
close window
exit any menu
makes JAWS immediately be quiet!