Dealing with Difficult Pages

JAWS makes reading and using the Internet easy and fun. However, Web page authors must follow certain guidelines to make their pages accessible to JAWS and other screen reading software. JAWS reads most pages well, even if they are not designed with accessibility in mind. Occasionally, you may come across a page that is poorly designed or difficult to use with JAWS. In this section, you will learn some tricks for dealing with these difficult Web pages.

Reading Pages that Refresh Automatically

Some Web pages automatically refresh - or reload - after a certain period of time. Usually this is done to update information on the page in a timely fashion. When a page refreshes, JAWS moves you back to the beginning of the page. This can interrupt what you are doing. To see an example of a page like this, go to the refreshing version of the E-Stocks sample page and try to read through it. This version of the E-Stocks sample page is designed to refresh every twenty seconds so that the stock quotes remain accurate.

JAWS Tip: Notice that JAWS informs you how often this page reloads. You must be using Beginner verbosity to hear this message.

EXERCISE: Follow along with the steps below to make pages that automatically refresh easier to work with:

  1. Go to the refreshing version of the E-Stocks sample page.
  2. Press INSERT+V.
  3. Press P until you select "Page Refresh - automatically."
  4. Press the SPACEBAR to choose "Off."
  5. Press ENTER.
  6. Try reading through the refreshing version of the E-Stocks sample page again. The page still refreshes every 20 seconds, but you can read the text without being interrupted or returning to the top of the page.

Working with Improperly Tagged Images

Sometimes a Web page author does not assign alternate text, a title, or a long description to images on the page. JAWS ignores images like these because the program cannot provide you with any useful information. However, if the image is also a link, then JAWS announces the location (or file path) of the image. You can also view the destination URL of the image link.

JAWS Tip: You can also have JAWS announce images on the page with no descriptive text that aren't links. Alternatively, you can tell JAWS to ignore all images on the page. To do this, press INSERT+V and select "Graphics Show - Tagged" Choose "All" to hear all images on the page, or choose "None" if you don't want JAWS to announce any images.

The image below this paragraph is the Freedom Scientific corporate logo. It is also a link to the Freedom Scientific Web site. This image does not have any descriptive text. When you move to the image, JAWS reads the name of the file. Unfortunately, in this case the file name is also not descriptive.

EXERCISE: Follow the steps below to obtain some more information about this image:

  1. Press INSERT+V.
  2. Press U to select "Untagged Graphical Links Show - Image Source."
  3. Press the SPACEBAR to choose "Untagged Graphical Links Show - URL."
  4. Press ENTER.
  5. Press SHIFT+TAB to move back to the Freedom Scientific logo image link. Notice that JAWS now reads the destination of this graphic link, which is www.FreedomScientific.com.

NOTE: This is an example of a change made with the Adjust JAWS Options dialog box that is temporary. It is only in effect while you are in Internet Explorer. If you press ALT+TAB to move away from Internet Explorer, and then press ALT+TAB again to return to Internet Explorer, the setting reverts to the default, Untagged Graphical Links Show - Image Source.

Ignoring Flash Content

Some Web pages use a format called Flash to display animated, dynamic content. You can select Flash links, activate buttons, read information, and type within edit fields just like on most Web pages, provided the author created them with accessibility in mind. Flash animations are presented as part of the page, and JAWS announces when you enter and exit the animation.

Since Flash is a very graphical format, some pages that use Flash may have little or no useful text content that JAWS can read and use to tell you what is on the screen. There is a JAWS verbosity option that will help you work with these types of pages.

EXERCISE: The Freedom Scientific Web site contains several different types of flash. On the home page there is a simple flash movie. It contains a collage of pictures of some of our customers with nothing more than an ALT tag describing it. Follow the instructions below to investigate a flash movie of the ONYX™ camera from another part of the Freedom Scientific Web site:

  1. Open the ONYX demo flash movie.
  2. Press CTRL+HOME to make sure the virtual cursor is at the top of the page.
  3. Press DOWN ARROW to move through the flash movie and explore the different buttons.
  4. Feel free to experiment with the flash buttons by pressing ENTER on any of them.

NOTE: BE CAREFUL TO PROTECT YOUR EARS! The volume may change when playing different media types. Use caution and move the headset away from your ears before you begin playing any new type of audio/video files. To pause playback once the movie has started, find the pause button and press ENTER on it.

  1. Next, still in the ONYX flash page, open the Adjust JAWS Options dialog box by pressing INSERT+V.
  2. Press F until you land on the item Flash Movies Recognize - On.
  3. Press SPACEBAR to turn this option off to ignore Flash content on Web pages.
  4. Press ENTER to close the Adjust JAWS Options dialog box.
  5. Now try reading the ONYX flash movie again. What do you hear? Just the word "ONYX" and nothing else.

This demonstrates how valuable it is to have the ability to read accessible flash on the Web. When it is done properly, everyone should have access to it. You may set JAWS to ignore flash on the Web, but you might also miss important information by doing so.

NOTE: Using the Adjust JAWS Options dialog box in this case is only a temporary setting. To change the setting permanently, use either the Personalized Settings for JAWS or use the Configuration manager.

Ignoring Advertisements

There are two types of advertisements that you will often encounter while browsing the Internet: pop-ups and banners. Pop-up ads automatically create a new browser window that contains the advertisement. Banner ads are inline frames that appear within the page content and display advertisements.

Pop-Up Ads

Because many Web pages have legitimate reasons to create new browser windows, JAWS does not have a setting that prevents pop-up ads. When a pop-up ad displays, you can press ALT+F4 to close the new browser window that displays. Alternatively, you can purchase or download a third party program that blocks pop-up ads.

EXERCISE: Internet Explorer 7.0 includes a pop-up blocker. It is turned on by default. To verify this, do the following while in IE:

  1. In Internet Explorer press ALT+T to open the Tools menu.
  2. Press P to move to and open the Pop Up Blocker submenu.
  3. Check to see how the first item in the submenu reads. If it reads "Turn Off Pop-up Blocker" then Pop Up Blocker is currently enabled. To disable Pop Up Blocker, press ENTER to toggle this setting and close the menus.
  4. To exit the menu without making any changes, press ESC a couple of times.

For other information or details, choose the second item in the Pop Up Blocker menu, the item called "Pop-up Blocker Settings."

Banner Ads

If you want JAWS to temporarily ignore banner ads on a page, do the following:

  1. Press INSERT+V.
  2. Press I until you select "Inline Frames Show - On."
  3. Press the SPACEBAR to choose "Inline Frames Show - Off."
  4. Press ENTER.

To have JAWS permanently ignore all inline frames, including banner ads that you might encounter:

  1. Press INSERT+F2, select "Configuration manager," and press ENTER.
  2. From the Set Options menu, choose HTML Options.
  3. Press CTRL+TAB until you move to the Headings and Frames tab.
  4. Press ALT+N to move to and check the Ignore Inline Frames check box.
  5. Close Configuration manager and save your changes.

Getting More Information about Links

Sometimes the text of a link will not be very descriptive. For example, a Web may have a link called "Click here." To change how JAWS reads links on a Web page, do the following:

  1. Press INSERT+V.
  2. Press T until you select "text Links show Using - Screen Text."
  3. Press the SPACEBAR to cycle through the available options. Choose one of the following:

The following is an example of a link with both screen text and a title attribute:

JAWS Training Headquarters

EXERCISE: Follow the instructions below to switch temporarily between the screen text and the title and notice how JAWS reads each:

  1. Press INSERT+V to open the Adjust JAWS Options dialog box.
  2. Press T until you select "text Links show Using - Screen Text."
  3. Press SPACEBAR to toggle this until you hear "text Links show Using - Title."
  4. Press ENTER to close the Adjust JAWS Options dialog box and re-read the link.
  5. Open the JAWS list of links with INSERT+F7 and notice the title now appears there as well.
  6. Press ESC to get out of the list of links when you are finished.

This is a temporary setting. As soon as you press ALT+TAB to move away from Internet Explorer to another program and back again, the default setting will be in place again.

Skipping Past Site Navigation

Many sites have site navigation elements, such as navigation bars or a long series of links, at the top of each page. These links are a useful way to help visitors get around the site. However, designs like this can make it difficult for users of screen readers to get to the content of each page on the site, since you have to read through all the links first.

TIP: Some sites may provide a link at the top of each page called "Skip to Main Content," "Skip Navigation," or something similar. You can use these links to move past the site navigation and get to the page content.

To skip past site navigation links, buttons, and other elements, use the navigation quick key N. Pressing N moves you to the next block of text that is not a link. Usually, pressing N a few times will take you right to the main content of the page.

Using the Information Bar

Internet Explorer may block some Web content. Most often this includes pop-up windows or active content. When Internet Explorer blocks content, you hear a sound, and a message appears on the Information Bar. The Information Bar is located below the address bar and provides information about downloads, blocked pop-up windows, and other activities. This helps you avoid potentially harmful files that you might otherwise download from the Internet.

To move to and read the Information Bar, press ALT+N. You can then press the SPACEBAR to open the Information Bar menu so you can allow Internet Explorer to display the content. To hide the Information Bar and return to the page you were viewing, press ESC.