Job Access With Speech (JAWS) is a popular screen reader used by people with visual impairments. In case you are not familiar with screen readers, they are designed to help users interact with their computer by reading everything aloud on the screen. If you are new to using JAWS, you may feel overwhelmed by the many commands and features it offers. JAWS is a powerful tool that helps users interact with their computers by reading text and on-screen events aloud, making it possible for people with visual impairments to operate a computer.
To help you get started, I have compiled a comprehensive list of essential JAWS commands that every beginner should know. Whether you are reading documents or browsing the web, daily practice with these commands will help you become more comfortable and efficient using your computer. Let’s dive in!
General Navigation Commands
- Reading the active window, insert + T. This command is useful when you need to know which window or program you are in.
- To temporarily stop speech, press control. I call this the “hush key” because sometimes you need JAWS to stop speaking for a moment in order to listen to other things.
- To read line by line, press the up or down arrow keys. This is great for reading documents at a slower pace.
- To read word by word, press Control + left for previous work, and control + right arrow for next word. This is useful for editing text.
- To read character by character, use the left or right arrows. Ideal for correcting typos.
- Read from the cursor to the end of the document, press insert + down arrow. Starts continuous reading from the cursor to the end of the document, or until you press control. This will allow you to listen to longer documents without interruption.
- To read the current character, use numpad 5.
- To spell the current word, use insert + numpad 5. This is helpful for confirming the spelling of words as you type.
- To repeat the last phrase JAWS spoke, use insert + up arrow. Useful if you missed something and need to hear it again.
- To move to the top of a document, press control + home, and for the bottom of a document, press control + end. These are quick commands to move quickly to the start and end of a document.
- To read by paragraph, press control + up arrow, and control + down arrow.
- To move by screens, press page up or page down. This moves up or down one screen at a time, allowing for quick navigation without moving line by line.
- To navigate a page at a time, press control + page up or control + page down. This is similar to flipping pages in a print document, making it easier to navigate multi-page documents.
Internet Browsing
- To bring up a list of links, press insert + F7. This opens a dialog box with a list of all the links on the webpage, making it easier to know what links are on the page.
- To bring up a list of headings, press insert + F6. This opens a dialog box of all headings on the page, which is great for finding headings of interest.
- To move by headings, press H or shift + H. This is different and sometimes faster than using insert + F6 to bring up the list of headings. Both of these commands are useful for quickly skimming a document.
- To move to the various form fields on a webpage, use F or shift + F. This is great for webpages with multiple forms such as job applications.
- To quickly move between links or forms in a webpage, press tab and shift + tab. This is one of the first commands one should memorize, because it helps users move around a webpage efficiently.
Conclusion
By familiarizing yourself with these basic JAWS commands, you will be well on your way to efficiently navigating and using your computer. Spend some time each day using these commands until they become second nature. As you grow more comfortable with JAWS, you can explore more advanced features. I hope this guide helps you get started with JAWS. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out, I would love to hear from you!
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