What's
New in the JAWS 5.0 Update
Latest
fixes in March 04 posting
This English version
is a free downloadable update for all authorized JAWS 5.0 customers. If
you wish to receive this version on a CD from Freedom Scientific, you
will need to contact Sales or your local dealer or distributor and request
it. Freedom Scientific can provide it to any US customer for a $10 shipping
and handling fee. Customers outside the US are requested to contact their
local distributor for assistance in obtaining a CD if necessary.
One of the first things you will notice in this updated JAWS 5.0 is responsiveness.
We have done a great deal of optimizing under the hood and this Updated
JAWS 5.0 is faster than ever. In addition to the increase in speed, we
have continued to work hard on delivering you the most robust and stable
screen reader available today.
Please read the complete list of changes and fixes below and download.
PlaceMarkers
- The JAWS 5.0 update
introduces a new PlaceMarker feature called Custom Page Summary. If
this option is enabled, JAWS automatically reads any and all PlaceMarkers
and their associated names for each HTML page you visit. The purpose
of this is to allow you to just hear user-defined information on specific
HTML pages rather than having a Say All start when you open the page.
This should be very useful for HTML applications in particular. You
can also choose to have JAWS display only the PlaceMarker information
in the Virtual Viewer when you open the page, in addition to reading
it. This allows you to review the information easily in both speech
and Braille. Pressing ESC closes the Virtual Viewer and lets you return
to the page. Alternately, you can press ENTER on any of your PlaceMarkers
in the Virtual Viewer to move to that location on the HTML page. Custom
Page Summary can be enabled in Configuration Manager (HTML Options),
or you can choose to selectively turn it on only for the pages you define,
using the Personalized Web Settings feature (SHIFT+INSERT+V) while on
any Web page. For more information on this new feature, refer to the
help topic PlaceMarkers.
- PlaceMarkers now
use the correct path in the network version of JAWS.
- Adding more than
12 PlaceMarker links no longer causes the list view to truncate each
PlaceMarker as the first letter followed by ellipses in the CTRL+SHIFT+K
PlaceMarker dialog box.
- JAWS no longer
mistakes PlaceMarkers associated with a single page (or URL) for PlaceMarkers
associated with the domain.
- In previous versions,
when you added PlaceMarkers to the URL or domain-specific list, the
other file was being overwritten, which caused problems with the URL
and domain-specific markers. This would result in unpredictable results
when trying to set up PlaceMarkers.
Internet Explorer
- JAWS fully supports
MathPlayer 2.0. If you want to read math content in Internet Explorer,
download MathPlayer version 2.0 or later. For more information about
MathPlayer, visit www.dessci.com.
- JAWS now supports
Adobe PDF documents embedded in Web pages. JAWS provides access to the
document's toolbars and other functions so that you can view the surrounding
Web page content along with the PDF document.
- Fixed an issue
where JAWS was not applying HTML options until you restarted the program.
- JAWS now reads
the table caption and summary before announcing the number of columns
and rows in the table. This lets you use table navigation keys as soon
as you move past the line describing the number of columns and rows.
- If a table contains
a caption tag with no closing tag, JAWS no longer mistakes the entire
table for a caption.
- The page refresh
filter now works even when JAWS cannot tell whether the page is going
to refresh using the "http-equiv=refresh" keyword. If the
page
is reloaded, and this action was not caused by JAWS, JAWS does not update
the virtual buffer.
- You can now detect
and activate links in the .Net help system. JAWS now recognizes the
links as clickable text.
- Flash content is
no longer truncated when simple accessible nodes follow nodes with structure,
such as list boxes.
- JAWS can now find
group names in non-standard HTML code.
- JAWS does not stop
responding when you use Navigation Quick Keys to move to an element
that is not rendered or recognized by JAWS.
- JAWS can now read
and navigate the dialog boxes that appear when you select a favorite
on the Internet Explorer Favorites menu, press the APPLICATIONS Key,
and choose Delete or Rename.
- JAWS can now read
and navigate HTML Help systems when you run JAWS as a service under
Windows 2000 with Service Pack 4.
- JAWS now handles
comments within script and applet tags properly. Some pages that seemed
to be missing large blocks of text will now read correctly.
- Fixed an issue
where text for the next element was rendered on the same line as the
table end string or Macromedia end string in the virtual document
under certain conditions.
- Hot key help about
using CTRL+1 through 0 to move directly to frames has been removed,
since these keystrokes are not used for this purpose anymore. The scripts
that allow you to move to frames are still available, so you can use
the Keyboard Manager to assign keystrokes to them. In addition, you
can still
use M or SHIFT+M to cycle between frames.
- Long descriptions
for images now work correctly.
- CTRL+HOME and END
now work properly when typing text into edit boxes while in Forms Mode.
- Pressing D and
SHIFT+D to move to the next or previous different element on certain
Web sites no longer causes JAWS to stop responding.
- Buttons in certain
help systems, such as the MSDN 2001 Library, now work correctly with
JAWS.
- Various reported
issues that caused JAWS to become unresponsive on some Web sites have
been fixed.
Braille
- Braille displays
are now updated to show the new cursor position when you use the Active
Moves Braille command (DOTS 1-4-5).
- The Windows XP
Start menu is now correctly identified in Braille. In previous versions,
JAWS did not distinguish between the Start menu and standard menus.
- Menu states, including
submenus, are now shown in Braille. You can configure how your Braille
display indicates menu states by using the Define Structured
Mode feature. To use this feature, start Configuration Manager, open
the Set Options menu, and choose Braille Options. Then press ALT+E to
activate the
Define Structured Mode button. Use the State Properties tab to change
how menu states are displayed in Braille.
- Since menu states
are now properly reported, extra Braille symbols that appeared when
a menu was active have been removed to prevent multiple indications
of state. The configurable states in Braille for menus are: submenu
(->), checked (<x>), grayed (grayed), and disabled (unavailable).
- JAWS now indicates
HTML attributes (such as OnClick and OnMouseOver) in Braille Structured
Mode.
- In the Braille
Options Cursor Settings dialog box, the label "Dot Pattern"
is aligned better with its corresponding edit box. This fixes a problem
that
occurs when you are using Braille in Line mode. Previously the label
would not be displayed on the same line as the contents of the edit
box.
- Fixed various panning
issues.
- Braille status
cells now reliably show whether there is more text to the right.
- Braille routing
in structured mode works properly for same page links.
Word
- JAWS now reads
text in Office 2003.
- The Spell Line
and Spell Word commands spell words in the currently selected language.
- Typing echo repeats
characters and/or words in the currently selected language.
- JAWS now reads
the items in the Toolbars list located on the Toolbars tab of the Customize
dialog box.
- English script
names and key constants for various accelerator keystrokes, including
the Spelling Checker, were changed to facilitate localization.
- German version
of Microsoft Word no longer stops responding when the Protect Document
password confirmation dialog box displays.
- JAWS reads dialog
box options correctly when you use TAB to move through the Print dialog
box.
- When you press
NUM PAD 5 twice quickly, JAWS reads the phonetic representation for
characters in the correct language when automatic language detection
is enabled.
- JAWS spells words
in the correct language when automatic language detection is enabled.
- Using the Spell
Line command no longer reads across the entire table, only the current
table cell.
- Pressing INSERT+F8
provides useful information about the table of contents for the current
document.
- Text displayed
in Braille while working in Word dialog boxes is less verbose.
- JAWS turns off
extended selection (F8) when expected.
Front Page 2002 and
2003
- JAWS now reads
textual information printed to the screen that was not being read in
earlier JAWS releases.
MAGic
- JAWS now starts
properly when MAGic 8.02 or later is running.
Excel
- JAWS now reads
text in Office 2003 properly.
- The Update Web
Queries dialog box no longer causes Excel to stop responding.
- Pressing INSERT+T
now reads the title of the Chart Wizard.
MSN Messenger
- JAWS now supports
MSN Messenger 6.1 in Windows XP and Windows 2000.
- ALT+6 through 0
can be used to read older messages. For instance, you can press ALT+7
to read the seventh most recent message.
- You can now press
CTRL+SHIFT+H to move to the History window.
PowerPoint
- If there are multiple
links in the currently selected object and you press CTRL+SHIFT+ENTER,
JAWS allows you to choose which link you want to activate. This feature
is only available when you are in the Object view.
- JAWS now speaks
the selected bullet or number style in the Bullets and Numbering dialog
box.
- JAWS reads the
Color combo box in the Font dialog box.
Java Support
- Java support has
been enhanced significantly in this update. You should experience performance
improvements when using Java with JAWS. It is recommended that you use
JAWS 5.0 with Java Accessibility Bridge version 1.1 or later and Java
2 Platform version 1.4.2 or later.
- The JAWS cursor
can now be used to review the screen in Java application windows with
both speech and Braille output.
- JTextField with
only one character is displayed correctly.
Miscellaneous Fixes
- The JAWS 5.0 update
includes many performance and stability enhancements in Internet Explorer,
Microsoft Office, and Java applications.
- When you use the
Say Line command on the All Programs item in Windows XP, JAWS no longer
says, "All Programs button."
- An issue that prevented
JAWS from providing proper notification of help balloons and cursor
changes has been fixed.
- JAWS says "blank"
when you use the Say Character command to read a tab character in the
JAWS Script Manager.
- JAWS spells words
phonetically in Notepad when you select the Spell Phonetically Always
check box in Configuration Manager.
- Graphics are recognized
correctly in the Sonar 2 program.
- Several reported
situations where you could not read text with the JAWS Cursor have been
resolved.
- Dictionary manager
starts properly when you press INSERT+D in AOL Instant Messenger or
related software.
- When using the
Spell Line command (INSERT+UP ARROW twice), the speech rate does not
increase after reading punctuation.
- When using the
Say All command, JAWS does not stop reading when a line contains only
one word.
Languages
- You can now define
language-specific punctuation definitions so that punctuation symbols
are spoken correctly when reading multilingual text using a multilingual
synthesizer.
- JAWS uses the proper
language when reading variations of the German language.
- Windows no longer
produces the system sound "Ding" when you type lowercase,
accented characters in certain languages, such as Swiss.
- When you switch
languages, JAWS now reads window types and states in the correct language.
- German ALT GR key
combinations no longer fail if ALT GR is released first.
- The ALT+TAB screen
no longer remains on top of the active window after you release the
ALT key.
- The CTRL key does
not get stuck when you use the German Swiss keyboard layout.
Speech and Sounds
Manager
- When a scheme is
set up to announce color changes in text, JAWS only announces the color
that changed. JAWS no longer announces the color that did not change.
If both the text color and background color change, JAWS announces both
new colors. If only the background color changes, JAWS announces the
new color and then says, "Background."
- JAWS comes with
two new schemes. The Colors scheme announces color changes in text,
but no other font or attribute information. The Colors and Attributes
scheme announces both attributes and color changes, but no other font
information.
- Various issues
have been fixed that caused voices not to return to the default setting
after voice changes when using the Proofreading scheme.
- JAWS has a new
indentation scheme which is applied automatically when you use Notepad
or Textpad. This scheme recognizes multiples of eight spaces as
tab stops. If you enable Indentation Indication with INSERT+V (or in
Configuration Manager), this scheme speaks indentations in these programs
correctly.
- Speech and sound
schemes assigned to menu bars, menu commands, and tree views now work
correctly.
SAPI 5
- SAPI 5 PC cursor
and keyboard voices now speak correctly when using non-English languages.
- Various issues
related to rate, pitch, and voices alternating between the current and
default settings have been corrected.
- SAPI 5 is now capable
of automatic language switching when reading HTML pages.
SAPI 4
- The maximum number
of voices retrieved from a synthesizer has been increased from 50 to
99 so that SAPI 4 InfoVox voices are all retrieved. InfoVox has 60 oices
available.
- SAPI 4 synthesizer
detection has been added to the JAWS Language menu. To add SAPI 4 synthesizers
for use with JAWS, open the Language menu, then open the Change Synthesizer
submenu. Choose SAPI 4 Detect and then select the synthesizers that
you want to use. You can no longer add SAPI 4 synthesizers during JAWS
installation since JAWS can detect these after installation.
Installation
- The file Symbols.ini
file is no longer used by JAWS and is uninstalled when you upgrade to
JAWS 5.0.
Script Functions
- Added the PlaceMarkersEnumerate
function. This function enumerates all PlaceMarkers in a virtual document
and calls a user-supplied callback script function for each marker.
The callback is passed the index of the marker, the name of the marker,
and the text at the marker (optionally marked up). See details in Builtin.jsd.
- The GetJAWSSettingsDirectory
function is now network-aware. Personalized Settings will now work for
the network version of JAWS.
- IniReadSectionNames
and IniReadSectionKeys now properly add the path to a passed file name.
- Added TabStrip20WndClass,
TreeView20WndClass, and Slider20WndClass to the window classes section
of Default.jcf.
- Added the SetTypingEchoLanguage
function. If a language code is passed to this function, and the language
code is either directly understood by the current
synthesizer or has an appropriate language alias (mapping to a supported
language string), that language will be used for typing echo. If no
parameter
is passed to this function or the parameter is an invalid code, the
typing echo language is reset to the global default.
List
of Authorized Serial Numbers
Download
JAWS 5.0 update (34 MB)
Features
and Enhancements in JAWS 5.0 release
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