2.8 Keyboard Manager Options

You can use the Options menu to change the way information in the right hand pane of the Keyboard Manager is displayed. You can sort the information based on a different column, filter out different types of keystrokes, turn off the confirmation messages, and assign the TAB, SHIFT+TAB, ENTER, and ESC keys to scripts.

When you access any of the items found within the Options menu, the Keyboard Manager displays the Options multi-page dialog. The active page corresponds to the option you selected. Press CTRL+TAB to move among the pages. The five pages contained within the dialog going from left to right are:

Key Filter Options

You can use the Key Filter page to determine what keystrokes are displayed within the right hand pane of the Keyboard Manager. You can choose to display all, active, or application keystrokes only. You can also choose to display only those scripts that have keystrokes assigned, or those that do not. This page contains two sets of radio buttons. You can use the first set of radio buttons to filter keystroke information based on the actual keystroke. You can use the second group of radio buttons to filter out information based on the script to which the keystroke is assigned. The following sections discuss these options.

All Keystrokes

Use this option when you want to display all keystrokes from both the application and default key map files. When you choose this option, the contents of the key map file name column will contain either the name of the application-specific or default key map file name. This option allows you to see all keystrokes available within a given application.

Active Keystrokes

Use this option when you want to display only active keystroke assignments in both the application specific and the default key map files. If a keystroke is assigned in both the application and default key map files, only the application keystroke is active. JAWS always acts on the first keystroke it finds and it looks in the application key map file first.

This setting filters out duplicate keystrokes in the default key map file. For example, when you have a keystroke such as CTRL+G defined in both the application-specific and default key map files, the Keyboard Manager displays only the keystroke assignment in the application-specific file. For more information on application-specific keystrokes versus default keystrokes, see 3.2 Processing Keystrokes.

Application Keystrokes

Use this option when you want to display only keystrokes contained within the selected key map file. This is the default key filter option. For example, when you open the Keyboard Manager from within Microsoft Word 2007, the Keyboard Manager opens the Microsoft Word 2007.jkm key map file. This is the key map file for Word. The Keyboard Manager displays only those keystrokes that are specific to Microsoft Word in the right hand pane.

All Scripts

Use this option when you want to display all scripts contained within the selected key map file. This is the default setting. This option lists all scripts regardless of whether they have a keystroke assigned to them.

Scripts Assigned to Keys

Use this option when you want to display only scripts that are assigned to keystrokes. This option keeps any scripts with the word "none" shown in the keystroke column from being displayed. For example, when you are viewing the default key map file and you have not installed a Braille display, choosing this option keeps the keystrokes used in conjunction with a Braille display from being displayed. Scripts without keystroke assignments are also not displayed.

Messages Options

You can use the Messages page of the Options multipage dialog to turn off the notification messages displayed each time you make a change to the selected key map file. By default, the Keyboard Manager displays these messages each time you add, change, or remove a keystroke from the selected key map file. This page contains only a single checkbox. You can clear this check box by pressing SPACEBAR.

Sorting Options

You can use the Sort page of the multi-page Options dialog to determine the column for which information is to be sorted. By default, the Keyboard Manager displays all keystroke information sorted by the script name.

This page contains a single group of radio buttons that you can use to change the sort option. Use your arrow keys to select the column that you would like to sort by.

HotKey Options

You can use the HotKey page of the Options multipage dialog to assign the TAB, SHIFT+TAB, ESC, and ENTER keys to scripts contained within the selected key map file. Each hot key has a check box, that when checked, allows you to assign the key to a script. Once you have assigned one of these hot keys to a script, the keystroke no longer performs its normal function. For example, when you check the TAB check box in the hot key page of the Options multipage dialog and assign it to a script, you can no longer use the TAB key to move from control to control within a dialog box. You should only use these keys as a last resort when all options for key assignments have been exhausted.

To assign one of these hot keys to a script, you must first check the appropriate check box for the desired key. Next, you can close the dialog by either pressing SPACEBAR on the OK button or by pressing ENTER on the check box for the desired key. After you have closed the Keyboard Manager Options multi page dialog, select the script or scripts for which the hot key will be assigned. Choose either the Add Keystroke or Change Keystroke item from the Action menu. Press the hot key when prompted by the dialog. After you confirm the modification to the selected key map file, your keystroke becomes active.

File Filter Options

You can use the File Filter page of the Options multipage dialog to indicate which set of key map files JAWS should display in the Keyboard Manager. This page contains a single group of radio buttons that you can use to change the file filter option. Use your arrow keys to select the type of key map files you want to display in the Keyboard Manager. You can choose from active, user only or shared files. The following sections discuss these options

Active Files

Use this option to display all key map files currently in use. If both a shared and user version of the same key map file exist, only the user-specific file is displayed. This is the default file filter option.

User Files

Use this option to display only those key map files that reside in the user folder on your system. These keystrokes override those in the shared key map files.

Shared Files

Use this option to display only those key map files that reside in the shared folder on your system.

 

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