Personalized Web Page Settings

You can configure many JAWS settings for specific Web sites. Personalized settings apply to all pages of a given domain, such as CNN dot com or Freedom Scientific dot com. Some examples where using personalized settings could be useful might include:

• Turn off heading announcement on Web sites that use headings to format information rather than structure it.
• Turn off inline frames on sites that use them for advertising.
• Turn off announcement of image map links on sites that do not provide alternate text for them, but do provide text links as well.
• And more...

Make the various JAWS settings work for you to enhance your experiences on the Internet.

JAWS includes many configurable settings to access information on Web pages as efficiently as possible, and JAWS uses default settings that provide the most information on the majority of Web sites. However, there are many Web sites that are not designed with accessibility in mind or do not use HTML correctly. When using JAWS default settings, some of these Web pages may not provide enough information, while others may provide too much.

What Settings can be Personalized?

You can personalize many types of Web settings. For example:

• Prevent Web sites from automatically refreshing, so the information does not reload and cause JAWS to read from the top of the page all over again.
• Turn off graphic links on sites where alternate text is not provided or where the graphic links do not provide useful information.
• Turn off heading announcement when headings are not used to structure information on a page.
• Turn off navigation quick keys on pages that use certain types of access keys so the keys do not conflict.
• Personalize Web settings for forms, frames, lists, and long quotations.

Personalizing Web Settings

Do the following to create or modify personalized settings for a Web page. Note that changes made are saved permanently to JSI files (for example, FreedomScientific.com.jsi) and do not apply to other Web pages. JSI files are stored in the PersonalizedSettings folder, which can be found by choosing the Start button, All Programs, JAWS X (where X is the JAWS version number), Explore JAWS, and then the Explore My Settings folder.

1. Press INSERT+V to open the Quick Settings dialog box. Focus is in the Search edit box.
2. Press DOWN ARROW to move to the Quick Settings tree view.
3. Press P to move to the Personalize Web Settings group. If necessary, press RIGHT ARROW to expand the group.
4. Press DOWN ARROW to move to the different options and groups within Personalize Web Settings, and press SPACEBAR to make changes.
5. After making all necessary changes, press TAB to move to the OK button and then press SPACEBAR to save changes and exit Quick Settings.

Sharing Personalized Settings

JAWS stores personalized settings information in JSI files. You can use the JAWS Settings Packager to create and share personalized settings with others. JAWS versions 5.10 and later have this feature which allows you to easily share files of these types with other JAWS users. For information on this program, see the module later in Surf's Up on using Settings Packager.

To manually share your personalized settings with other JAWS users

1. First, open the Start Menu, and choose All Programs.
2. Navigate to the JAWS program group, and open the JAWS program submenu.
3. Choose Explore JAWS, Explore My Settings. A folder opens that contains all of the files you have had JAWS modify or create for you.
4. Select the folder PersonalizedSettings and press ENTER to open it.
5. Locate the JSI file with the domain name of the page that uses the personalized settings you want to share. For example: "Google.com.jsi."
6. Copy this file and distribute it to others. Those you share your JSI file with need to copy the JSI file into their user folder on their computer following the steps above. They can now use that HTML page with your personalized settings.