[Athen] Navigation keys for JAWS

[Karen McCall via athen-list]

Thanks, I've logged this as a bug or problem with Freedom Scientific/Vispero.

I can't believe they would remove this valuable tool!

I kept thinking it was a bug that would eventually be fixed.

I could seamlessly review and edit content without switching to the various cursors and switching back. This takes time, memory of what "cursed" cursor to use and remembering to go back to editing. It makes us less productive!

Cheers, Karen

From: athen-list <athen-list-bounces at mailman12.u.washington.edu> On Behalf Of foreigntype at gmail.com via athen-list
Sent: Thursday, August 15, 2024 6:20 PM
To: athen-list at u.washington.edu
Subject: [Athen] Navigation keys for JAWS

Karen et al,

Found this on top tech tidbits. Perhaps it will be useful.


Current Status of Sentence Navigation Commands in JAWS

As of the latest updates in JAWS, the commands you mentioned-Alt + Up Arrow and Alt + Down Arrow-for moving to and reading the previous and next sentence, respectively, are indeed no longer available by default. This has been a change that has caught several users off guard, particularly those who edit text regularly.

Alternative Commands or Workarounds

Although the old commands are no longer functional, you still have a couple of options:

  1.  Custom Scripts: One option is to create a custom script to bring back the functionality using JAWS' scripting capabilities. This might be a bit advanced, but it allows you to define any key combination you prefer for sentence navigation.
  2.  Using the Virtual Cursor (on Web Pages or Emails): If you are working on web content or emails, you can use Ctrl + Down Arrow or Ctrl + Up Arrow to move by paragraph. While this isn't exactly by sentence, it can be useful in some contexts.
  3.  Use the Review Cursor: Some users find that using the Review Cursor (insert + numpad 5 twice) can help in situations where sentence navigation is required, though it's more manual and may not be as fluid.

Possible Future Updates

Given the importance of sentence navigation for content creators, it might be worth providing feedback to Freedom Scientific. They are generally responsive to user needs, and if enough users request the reintroduction of this feature or a similar one, it could be reinstated in future updates.

In the meantime, setting up a custom script might be your best bet if you need this functionality immediately.

Hope this helps.

Aaron Di Blasi, PMP<https://www.pmi.org/>



Wink Harner


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