Tables with JAWS

A Web page author can use tables in two primary ways on the Internet. One is for the layout of structure on a Web page to place items where the author wants them to be in relation to other items on the page. These are called layout tables.

The most common type of table contains data, and is called a data table. JAWS announces when you enter and leave a table. A well-designed HTML table has several features. One of these is a caption, which is visible to a sighted user and is also read by JAWS. The caption is usually like a title, and generally appears above the table. Another design feature is the table summary. The table summary is not visible on the screen to sighted users. Web page designers can add summaries to the HTML code specifically for screen reader users. A good table summary provides a meaningful overview of the table, giving you some idea of what the table contains before you get there. Pay particular attention to the table summaries as you read through this page.

In many tables, the first row, going from left to right, contains headers for the information in the columns below it. Also, many times the first column, going up and down, contains headers for the information in the rows to the right. By default, JAWS treats the information in the first row and the first column as headers and automatically reads this information as you navigate using the JAWS table reading commands. When moving left and right in a table, you hear the item in each column at the top of the column and then the contents of the current cell. When moving up and down in a table, you hear the item at the beginning of each row and then the contents of the current cell.

Document Presentation Mode

There are two different document presentation modes that you can use when reading tables with JAWS: Simple Layout and Screen Layout. With Simple Layout, each cell of the table is displayed on a separate line. Screen Layout mode allows you read tables by row, just as they are presented on the screen. Each row of the table is displayed on a separate line and each cell is separated by a vertical bar. This lets you get a much better idea about how the table is structured and how different cells in a row relate to each other.

Tip: Screen Layout mode is also helpful when you want to copy an entire table row and paste it into another document as a single line. The default document presentation mode is Simple Layout. To temporarily enable Screen Layout mode, do the following:

1. In Internet Explorer, press INSERT+V.
2. Select "Document Presentation" and press the SPACEBAR to choose "Screen Layout."
3. Press ENTER.

When you begin learning to use JAWS for reading tables in the following section, experiment with Screen Layout mode and Simple Layout mode to see which you like best. If you determine that Screen Layout mode is better suited to your needs, you can do the following to permanently enable this feature in Internet Explorer:

1. In Internet Explorer, press INSERT+F2.
2. Select "Configuration Manager" and press ENTER.
3. From the Set Options menu, choose HTML Options.
4. Press CTRL+SHIFT+TAB to move to the Misc tab.
5. In the Document Presentation Mode combo box, select "Screen Layout."
6. Press ENTER and then press CTRL+S to save your changes.
7. Press ALT+F4 to close Configuration Manager.

Reading Tables

You can use the navigation quick key T to move quickly between tables. On this page, each table also has a caption that is a level two heading, so you can move among them by pressing the letter H. If you want to list all tables on the page, press CTRL+INSERT+T. You can then select a table and press ENTER to move to it.

Once you enter a table, you can use table reading commands to move through and read the information. Most of the movement is done by holding down the CTRL and the ALT keys in combination with the ARROW KEYS to move in a given direction. You can press CTRL+ALT+NUMPAD 5 to read the information in the current cell.

The first table on this page discusses air and water temperatures for the Tampa Bay area. The Tampa Bay area enjoys an average of 361 days of sunshine a year. The Guinness Book of World records credits Saint Petersburg with the longest run of consecutive sunny days: 768. All the sunshine makes it easy to enjoy the area's beaches, which include two of the top ten rated beaches in the nation.

The information above is taken from the Chamber of Commerce Web site in Saint Petersburg.

Tip: Try re-reading the previous table using Screen Layout mode instead of Simple Layout mode. If you need a reminder about how to switch document presentation modes, see the steps for switching to Screen Layout mode.

Below is an example of a table that uses the ID and AXIS attributes to make JAWS speak different information when reading different areas of the table. For example, when moving up and down the Employee Name column, you hear the department name as the row header. However, when moving up and down the Phone Extension column, you hear the employee name as the row header. The employee name is actually in column two, but the HTML code is telling JAWS to treat it as the row header in this case, rather than the text in column one.

This next table is much more complex, but notice how JAWS reads it. When moving up and down column two, where the company name is, the row header information is gathered from column one, the region. When moving up or down any column from three to eight, the row header information is gathered from column two, the company name. You will also hear the axis attribute spoken with the words "Region" and "Where."

In the following table, the first row actually spans the entire width of the table, across all five columns. JAWS uses the ColSpan and Scope attributes to determine how it should read the information in the table. Try reading this table now.

Copying and Pasting Table Information

You can select text in an HTML table and then copy it, just as you can in any document. You can then paste that information into a text editor, such as Notepad or Microsoft Word. Using the Screen Layout document presentation mode makes this even easier. In the following exercise, you will practice copying information from a table. Before beginning the exercise, ensure that Document Presentation Mode is set to "Screen Layout."

Tip: If you need a reminder about how to switch document presentation modes, see the steps for switching to Screen Layout mode. Do the following to see how Screen Layout mode can help you copy and paste table information.

1. Open the page Table Reading Commands for JAWS and press CTRL+HOME to move to the top of the page.
2. Press DOWN ARROW until you hear JAWS read the summary for this table.
3. Ensure that your are using Screen Layout Mode. Then, press F8 to select the entire table. This keystroke can be used when the cursor is at the beginning of a table to select the entire table.
4. Press CTRL+C to copy the selected table to the Clipboard.
5. Start Notepad and then press CTRL+V to paste the table that you copied. Notice how the original structure of the table is preserved. Each row is on its own line, and each cell in the row is separated by a vertical bar.

Using FSClipboard with Tables

If you want to select and copy non-contiguous rows (that is, rows that are not adjacent to each other), you can use the FSClipboard feature. Do the following to use FSClipboard to copy non-contiguous rows:

1. Open the page Table Reading Commands for JAWS and press CTRL+HOME to move to the top of the page.
2. Press T to move the table of JAWS commands.
3. Ensure that your are using Screen Layout mode. Then, press DOWN ARROW to move to first non-header row of the table.
4. Press SHIFT+DOWN ARROW to select the row and then press CTRL+C.
5. Press WINDOWS Key+DOWN ARROW five times. You should be in the row containing the Current Cell command.
6. Press SHIFT+DOWN ARROW to select the row and then press WINDOWS Key+C. This command adds the currently selected text to the Clipboard, just after the text you copied in step 4.
7. Press WINDOWS Key+DOWN ARROW three times. You should be in the row containing the Cell Above command.
8. Press SHIFT+DOWN ARROW to select the row and then press WINDOWS Key+C.
9. Start Notepad and then press CTRL+V to paste the rows that you copied. Notice how all three rows that you copied are pasted into Notepad, even though you copied each separately. If you had used the Windows Clipboard functionality (CTRL+C) instead of FSClipboard, only the last row that you copied in step 8 would have been pasted into the document.