6.6 Moving the Cursor

After you have activated, saved, and moved the JAWS or invisible cursor to the active application window, you can move the cursor.

Nearly all of the keyboard commands you use to move the various cursors within JAWS have corresponding built-in functions. For example, pressing DOWN ARROW to move the cursor to the next line has a comparable built-in function of NextLine. Likewise, pressing RIGHT ARROW has a comparable built-in function of NextCharacter.

Note: When you press DOWN ARROW to read the next line, behind the scenes JAWS activates the SayNextLine script. The SayNextLine script does more than just move the cursor down to the next line. The script determines what type of window is active and then reads the information accordingly.

JAWSPageDown and JAWSPageUp

The JAWSPageDown and JAWSPageUp built-in functions perform special versions of their respective keyboard commands. You can use these functions when any of the cursors are active. However, the outcome of the function is based on the active cursor.

When the PC cursor is active, each function performs the standard PAGE UP and PAGE DOWN commands for the application. For example, when you press PAGE DOWN from within a word processor, the PC cursor is moved down a screen of information. Likewise, when you press PAGE UP from within a word processor, the PC cursor is moved up one screen of information.

Example 1: Using the JAWSPageDown function with the PC cursor

PCCursor (); activate the PC cursor
SaveCursor (); save the location of the PC cursor
JAWSPageDown (); performs a page down command using the PC cursor

In the above example, the PC cursor is activated and then saved before it is moved. Next, the JAWSPageDown function moves the PC cursor down one screen of information.

When the JAWS or Invisible cursor is active, the JAWSPageDown function moves the cursor to the bottom of the active window based on the cursor restriction setting. Likewise, the JAWSPageUp function moves the JAWS or Invisible cursor to the top of the active window based on the restriction setting.

Example 2: Using the JAWSPageDown function with the Invisible cursor

InvisibleCursor (); activate the Invisible cursor
SaveCursor (); save the location of the Invisible cursor
RouteInvisibleToPC (); move the Invisible cursor to the location of the PC cursor
JAWSPageDown (); move the Invisible cursor to the bottom of the screen

In the above example, the Invisible cursor is activated and then saved. Next, the RouteInvisibleToPC function routes the Invisible cursor to the location of the PC cursor in the active window. Finally, the JAWSPageDown function moves the Invisible cursor to the bottom of the active window.

Note: The JAWS restriction setting is set to application by default. This setting keeps the JAWS and Invisible cursors within the boundaries of the active application window. You can cycle through the various restriction settings by pressing INSERT+R. See the JAWS help system for more information on cursor restriction settings.

JAWSEnd and JAWSHome

The JAWSEnd and JAWSHome built-in functions perform special versions of their respective keyboard commands. Like the JAWSPageDown and JAWSPageUp functions, you can use these functions when the PC, JAWS, or Invisible cursor is active. However, the outcome of each function is based on the active cursor.

When the PC cursor is active, each function performs the standard END and HOME commands for the application. For example, when you press END from within a word processor, the PC cursor is moved to the end of the current line. Likewise, when you press HOME from within a word processor, the PC cursor is moved to the beginning of the current line.

Example 3: Using the JAWSHome function with the PC cursor

PCCursor (); activate the PC cursor
SaveCursor (); save the location of the cursor
JAWSPageDown (); move the PC cursor down one screen
JAWSHome (); move the PC cursor to the beginning of the line

In the above example, the PC cursor is activated, saved, and moved down one screen. The JAWSHome function then moves the cursor to the beginning of the line. When you execute this block of code, the PC cursor is limited to the active window.

When either the JAWS or Invisible cursor is active, the JAWSEnd function moves the cursor to the last text character or graphic on the line within the active window. Likewise, the JAWSHome function moves the cursor to the first text character or graphic on the current line within the active window. The active window is based on the cursor restriction setting.

Example 4: Using the JAWSHome function with the Invisible cursor

InvisibleCursor (); activate the Invisible cursor
SaveCursor (); save the location of the invisible cursor
RouteInvisibleToPC (); move the Invisible cursor to the location of the PC cursor
JAWSPageDown (); move the Invisible cursor to the bottom of the screen
JAWSHome (); move the Invisible cursor to the beginning of the current line

In the above example, the Invisible cursor is activated, saved, moved to the location of the PC cursor and moved to the bottom of the screen. Next, the JAWSHome function moves the Invisible cursor to the beginning of the current line. By moving the Invisible cursor to the beginning of the current line, you now have a distinct starting point. You can then use a number of other built-in movement functions to move the Invisible cursor across the line to read a specific piece of information such as a line number.

Next and Prior Cursor Movement

You can also use built-in functions to move to the next or prior piece of information. Many of these functions also have equivalent keyboard commands like the JAWSEnd, JAWSHome, JAWSPageDown, and JAWSPageUp functions.

You can use these functions with any of the three cursors. However, the outcome of the function is determined by the active cursor. For example, if you move the JAWS cursor to the title bar of the active application, you can continually press INSERT+RIGHT ARROW to move across the title bar a word or graphic at a time. When you continually press the keystroke, the JAWS cursor does not stop at the end of the line. Rather, it continues to move on to the next line until you reach the bottom of the window.

On the other hand, you can only move the PC cursor within the document edit area of a word processor when you continually press INSERT+RIGHT ARROW. Once you reach the bottom of the document edit window, the PC cursor can move no further.

Note: When you continually press INSERT+RIGHT ARROW, JAWS activates the SayNextWord script. The script must determine how to read the next word based on the active window. When you use any of the built-in functions to move to the next item, the active cursor is only moved to that item, but, does not speak it.

The following list of functions moves the active cursor based on the name of the function. For example, the NextWord function moves the active cursor to the next word. The NextSentence function moves the active cursor to the next sentence and so on.

Example 5: Using the NextWord function

InvisibleCursor (); activate the invisible cursor
SaveCursor (); save the location of the Invisible cursor
RouteInvisibleToPC (); move the invisible cursor to the location of the PC cursor
JAWSPageDown (); move the Invisible cursor to the bottom of the screen
JAWSHome (); move the Invisible cursor to the beginning of the current line
NextWord (); move the Invisible cursor to the next word or graphic

In the above example, the Invisible cursor is activated, saved, and then routed to the location of the PC cursor. Next, the invisible cursor is moved to the bottom of the screen and then to the beginning of the current line. The NextWord function then moves the Invisible cursor to the next word or graphic on that line.

 

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