A free update has been released for users of Jaws 16, and it may be a welcome one to users experiencing frustrations when trying to use Google Docs. In addition to bugs fixed when using Docs, improvements for Internet Explorer, Microsoft Excel, Word, and Outlook, and Skype are also included. The complete list of reported changes is listed below. If you get a chance to test out Google Docs with Jaws 16, let us know what you think.
Enhancements in JAWS 16.0.2136 (April 2015)
The following is a list of improvements made between the JAWS 16 January 2015 release and the April 2015 update.
To download the latest release, visit the
Downloads web page
.
Note: During the week of April 6, we discovered that recent changes to the MLB web site caused the MLB Scores Research IT lookup source to no longer display Baseball scores and schedule information. We are working to determine exactly what changes were made to the site and will make a fix available as soon as possible.
Google Docs
Found and resolved issues related to using Google Docs where JAWS would unexpectedly exit Application mode and place the user in different locations when navigating across headings or interacting with iframes. With these fixes, we expect much better results using JAWS with Google Docs.
JAWS
After meetings with Amazon during the CSUN 2015 convention, it was learned that the lookup source used by our Research It feature which allows JAWS and MAGic customers to shop on Amazon will soon be unavailable. Additionally, some customers have reported problems with the Amazon product search displaying incomplete results. Based on this feedback, we have changed the way Research It accesses the Amazon Shopping site which will avoid any interruptions and addresses current customer issues.
A new setting, Allow Web Application Reserved Keystrokes, is available for interactive web sites that offer hot keys to perform various tasks, but conflict with JAWS keystrokes. For example, on the Facebook site, you can press P to post a status, L to like a story, C to comment on a story, or J and K to scroll between News Feed stories, however, these keys conflict with JAWS Navigation Quick Keys. Turning this option on through Settings Center or Quick settings will allow any JAWS keystrokes that are also defined as hot keys by a web site to perform the site specific task instead of the JAWS command.
Addressed issues with JAWS treating HTML ARIA Multiline edits as single line edits. This caused problems for Braille Users because you remained in structured mode when navigating the lines of text.
If you do a full install of JAWS 16.0.2136 or later, the JAWS remote access client is now enabled by default during a Typical installation. This allows anyone with JAWS remote access authorization to simply install JAWS and immediately begin using Remote Desktop and have speech and braille access. If you install through Check for Updates and JAWS Remote Access is currently not installed, you will be prompted to install the remote access components when you attempt to establish a remote access connection.
When using Research It to lookup sports scores and schedules, it was discovered that abbreviations for certain teams were being displayed in the Results Viewer instead of the full name of the team. For instance, if you press INSERT+SPACEBAR, R, press TAB to move to the list of lookup sources, and select NHL Scores, instead of reading "TB at WSH," it will now read "Tampa Bay Lightning at Washington Capitals."
For users who run both JAWS and MAGic, numerous changes have been made to ensure JAWS works seamlessly with the recently released MAGic 13.
Addressed an issue for a customer in France where a WPF application at a job site that reported information using data templates caused issues for how JAWS processed the information in UI Automation, which led to JAWS not reporting the on-screen information as expected.
Certain Government Agencies have reported issues where their Citrix or Terminal Server connections using JAWS would unexpectedly drop because JAWS was checking its authorization too often to make certain it should still be working. We greatly expanded the time between these checks so this should not be occurring in the future.
In response to customer feedback, performing the layered command INSERT+SPACEBAR, T now only activates the table layer when focus is inside a table.
When using a braille display in Line Mode to navigate a long list of files in Windows Explorer, resolved a long standing issue where the display would unexpectedly go blank when the window scrolled.
Addressed an issue with the Stock Quotes Research It lookup source not displaying any results if a particular stock was not specified. If you press INSERT+SPACEBAR, R and select Stock Quotes from the list of lookup sources without entering a stock, only the Dow Jones and S&P500 are displayed.
When attempting to perform a layered command from the keyboard of a braille display and JAWS braille translation is set to Input and Output, resolved an issue where characters were being entered into the document.
When using Research It to search for an entry on Wikipedia and the term was not found, addressed an issue where a link to an empty page was being displayed in the Results Viewer.
Addressed a reported issue with navigating using the JAWS cursor not working as expected when Active Follows Braille is enabled.
Addressed issues reported to us by the CNIB regarding working with the web based CNIB store.
When establishing a connection to another computer using the JAWS Tandem feature, addressed an issue with keystrokes performed on the controller system not always getting passed through to the target system.
Java
Addressed issues with JAWS not properly announcing tree views in Java applications.
Microsoft Excel
Addressed a reported issue where Excel 2013 would become unresponsive when attempting to move a row using JAWS.
When editing a cell and you press any of the keystrokes for toggling attributes such as
CTRL+B for bolding text, a long standing issue was resolved where JAWS was announcing "off" even though the attribute was on.
Microsoft Internet Explorer
Resolved an ARIA issue regarding how JAWS should report and read non-interactive lists while navigating HTML pages.
Resolved an issue reported by customers in Spain where link descriptions which are spoken messages, were also displayed in Braille by default, which takes up extra real estate on the display. These descriptions are no longer included by default when navigating with a braille display in structured mode. Users can still change it in the Settings Center if they choose.
JAWS now correctly announces the text and background colors on web pages when using the INSERT+5 command. This was also addressed in Firefox.
JAWS now announces "required" for check boxes that are marked as required using HTML5 or ARIA. This has been addressed for both Internet Explorer and Firefox.
Resolved an issue reported by Florida Division of blind services where the JAWS feature to save Personalized Web Settings failed to save as expected on a particular URL on their site.
Resolved an issue where iframes, with either a width or height set to zero, were not being read correctly by JAWS. This was observed on the Microsoft Windows 10 Preview web site.
Microsoft Outlook
Resolved an issue with the Categories list box in Outlook 2010 where JAWS was not indicating if a list item was checked.
Addressed a customer reported issue where JAWS was not reading as expected in the dialog box used to insert an Outlook item.
If the Contacts view in Outlook 2013 was set to Card view, resolved an issue where JAWS was not announcing the currently selected contact as you navigated.
In Outlook 2013, pressing the ALT key in conjunction with a key on the number row twice quickly now moves focus to the specific field as expected. For instance, ALT+3 twice quickly moves you to the To field, ALT+5 twice quickly moves you to the Subject field, and so on.
Microsoft Word
Resolved a reported issue with JAWS not reading as expected in some Word 2013 documents using CTRL+DOWN ARROW to read by paragraphs.
Improved JAWS reporting of colors when using the INSERT+F command to hear font information and the INSERT+5 command to hear the foreground and background colors.
Resolved an issue where Word was closing unexpectedly in some instances when typing in a form field that was moved to using the F11 keystroke.
If Active Follows Braille and Braille Follows Active are both enabled, a customer reported that when using the braille display controls to move through a document, JAWS would speak as well as move the display. This is now resolved.
Mozilla Firefox
JAWS now properly reads controls contained inside edit fields when navigating with TAB or
SHIFT+TAB
Addressed reported issues with words containing umlauts or accented characters not being read correctly by JAWS. This was observed primarily on international versions of Windows.
JAWS now correctly identifies toggle buttons on web pages when Forms Mode is active.
Mozilla Thunderbird
Addressed reported issues with JAWS not reading as expected in address fields.
If a message is deleted while focus is in the preview area, addressed a reported issue where the contents of the Thunderbird title bar were being spoken prior to the subject and contents of the next message.
Skype
The Skype hot keys to answer or end a call, ALT+PAGE UP and ALT+PAGE DOWN, now work correctly from the message list in Outlook 2013.
Source: Freedom scientificCategory: News
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J.J. Meddaugh is an experienced technology writer and computer enthusiast. He is a graduate of Western Michigan University with a major in telecommunications management and a minor in business. When not writing for Blind Bargains, he enjoys travel, playing the keyboard, and meeting new people.
