JAWS Command Search (New in JAWS 16)
JAWS is the most powerful screen reader in the world, and with that power comes a lot of options for people to try and remember. A new feature to help you make the most of all the power in JAWS, even if you don’t remember the keystrokes to use, is JAWS Command Search. JAWS provides many keystrokes to perform a variety of commands. Many commands can be performed anywhere in Windows, such as reading the window title or current line, while other commands are only available in specific applications like Microsoft Word or Internet Explorer. If you are using JAWS with a refreshable braille display, there are even JAWS commands that can be performed using the controls on the braille display.
While there are certain commands that are used by the majority of JAWS users on a daily basis, such as reading the current line (INSERT+UP ARROW) or reading the current window title (INSERT+T), there are numerous commands that even the most experienced users do not use regularly and need to be looked up. Certain types of commands can be especially difficult to remember as some of them require pressing several keys at once. The JAWS Command Search feature enables you to enter a full or partial description of a command whose keystroke you do not remember. JAWS displays all commands that match your search criteria, the description of the feature, and all the associated keystrokes, including braille commands if a refreshable braille display is currently connected.
For example, you may need to locate a keystroke for working with formulas in Excel. Instead of opening the JAWS help topic for Excel and searching through all of the available keystrokes, or starting Keyboard Help (INSERT+1) and pressing various keystroke combinations until you find the correct one, you can open the JAWS Command Search window while focused in Excel, type “formulas” in the search edit box, and then view a list of all keystrokes related to working with formulas. Similarly, if you are browsing the Web and you need to find the keystroke for displaying a list of headings on the current page (INSERT+F6), you can open the JAWS Command Search window from Internet Explorer or Firefox, type “list headings” in the search edit box, and this command is the first result.
Starting the JAWS Command Search
There are three ways to open the JAWS Command Search window:
- Press INSERT+SPACEBAR, followed by J
- Press INSERT+F2 to open the list of JAWS Managers where it is listed as Search Commands.
- You may also find it in the JAWS Utilities menu where it is listed as Search for Commands.
- When you start JAWS Command Search, an HTML window opens with focus in an edit box. If Forms Mode is set to Auto or Semi-Auto, Forms Mode is activated when the edit box gains focus. Begin typing the description of the command you are looking for and the results area in the lower part of the window automatically updates. As you type, the first result in the list is spoken automatically. Pressing ENTER turns off Forms Mode and places focus on the first result.
NOTE: If Auto Forms Mode is set to manual, you will need to first press ENTER to activate Forms Mode before you begin typing in the edit box.
Navigation in the JAWS Command Search Window
Since this is an HTML window, you can use standard reading commands to review the search results. Each command name along with the most common keystroke used to perform it is displayed as a heading so you can quickly move between results using the H and SHIFT+H Navigation Quick Keys. When you locate the command you want, press DOWN ARROW to move to a brief description of what the command does, and any additional keystrokes that can be used to perform the command. This will include non-layered, layered, and braille keystrokes. If a particular command offers a braille keystroke, but a braille display is not currently connected when you performed the search, the braille keystroke will not be listed.
Each JAWS command name and its associated keystrokes are also displayed as links. This allows you to press ENTER on the command name heading, or any of the associated keystroke links to close the JAWS Command Search window and activate the command. You can also exit the JAWS Command Search window by pressing ALT+F4, or the ESC key.
NOTE: When performing a JAWS Command Search, the search results only contain JAWS keystrokes. Microsoft Windows keystrokes, such as CTRL+A for select all, are not typically included in the search results.
NOTE: In some cases there may be more than one keystroke or keystroke combination that activates the same command. When multiple commands exist for a given task, the additional links for the keyboard commands appear following the description of the command.
JAWS Command Search is Application Specific
The JAWS Command Search feature is sensitive to the application that focus is in when launched. So for example, when one types “Chart” in the search edit box for JAWS Command Search when launched from Notepad, the chart commands do not show up in the search. Also note that the commands for specific programs always appear at the top of the list and more common default commands appear toward the bottom of the list. It is also sensitive to the keyboard layout one uses for JAWS, which is discussed in the next section.
Each one of you will use the JAWS Command Search feature a little differently than others, but it all boils down to making JAWS commands easier to find and use.