Installing
the Second Public Beta in Windows Vista
Thank you for participating in the
public beta test of JAWS® for Windows® designed to install
and run on Windows Vista™ 32-bit operating system . Over the past two years, Freedom Scientific
has been working closely with Microsoft in preparation for the Windows
Vista operating system and we are proud to make it available for the general
public within 30 days of the official Microsoft release.
For everyone who
have been anxiously waiting to get started in Vista, or for those of you who want to continue with the next phase of the public beta, this page provides all the necessary details that you need to know. Please take a few moments to review this information and take advantage of the beta report link
to provide Freedom Scientific your feedback
during the public beta.
What
to Know About the JAWS Public Beta with Windows Vista!
- Determine
if you are authorized to use your JAWS 8.0 License with the new Windows
Vista operating system.
This information can be found by going to www.fsactivate.com
and choosing the link labeled "Verify the number of activation
keys available for your Freedom Scientific product." On this page,
enter your serial number to find out if your license is current and
what release version is allowed. For example, if you are 8.0V, 8.0 +1,
or 8.0 +2, you are ready to authorize your JAWS license
on Vista. If you are 8.0 only or less. Please contact Freedom Scientific
Sales or your dealer with your JAWS serial number for information on
getting started with Vista. Alternatively, you are welcome to use the
new JAWS 40-Minute Demo in Vista, but you should follow the same instructions
for installing as outlined on this page.
- What's new in this public beta?
This public beta release now supports the
User Account Control (UAC) security feature in Windows Vista. The purpose
of this security feature is to stop malicious software from secretly installing on your computer.
Based on user privileges, when an application is installed, UAC shows
either consent or credential (password) dialogs in what is known as Secure
Desktop mode.
JAWS
speech and braille is now available when the log on screen or
the CTRL+ ALT+DEL security screens appear.
The
Automatically Start JAWS option is now available in the Basics
Dialog with the additional choice of user specific login preferences.
In Windows Vista, gadgets are desktop applications and tools that provide quick visual updates for such items as computer performance, weather, time, and news feeds. JAWS is constantly reading gadget updates to provide you with real time information. For example, when monitoring the CPU meter gadget, JAWS reports immediate CPU performance rather than an expired snapshot.
Gadgets appear in an area of the desktop known as the Sidebar. To open the Sidebar, do the following:
- Press WINDOWS Key.
- Type Sidebar in the Start Search edit field and press ENTER.
To bring the Sidebar and all gadgets to the foreground, press WINDOWS Key+SPACEBAR.
To cycle forward through Sidebar gadgets, press WINDOWS Key+G.
To cycle backward through Sidebar gadgets, press WINDOWS Key+SHIFT+G.
When using and navigating the Start menu, JAWS provides speech and braille support for Windows Vista functionality and keeps pace with Windows Vista as it announces what is happening as the operating system updates the Start Menu. This means that when you open the Start menu, JAWS speaks and shows in braille that the focus is in the Start Search edit field. JAWS also announces text that you enter into the edit field and the associated Start Menu item.
For example, when you open the Start menu, JAWS announces Enter Search Term. If you type the letters c o n in the search field, Windows Vista associates this entry with the Control Panel and its associated group, and moves its focus to that item. As a result, JAWS announces Programs, which is the group, Control Panel, which is the item, and then the list index, such as 1 of 3. This is far superior to what the competition is currently able to do.
Finally, if you navigate up and down the Start menu, JAWS not only announces the highlighted items with speech and braille, but it will also announce when you enter a new item group and the number of items in that group.
In Microsoft Outlook 2007, the AutoComplete feature is turned on by default. As you enter an e-mail address, Outlook begins to populate the To, CC, or BCC edit box with suggested e-mail addresses that you have previously entered. JAWS now announces these addresses as they appear in the edit box.
JAWS now correctly announces the Volume Slider controls available in Windows Vista.
- Technical support
during the JAWS public beta
While in public beta, general technical support of JAWS in the
Vista operating system is not available via our direct support phone
lines. We request that you send feedback directly to Freedom Scientific
using the Beta
Report form.
- Obtaining beta updates
Updates will be available using the "Automatic Update" feature
in the Help menu during the coming weeks. We encourage you to check
regularly using this great feature offered in JAWS.
- Windows XP or Windows 2000 installation
You can also install
this latest version in Windows XP or Windows 2000, and, in these cases,
it is a released version that entitles you to support if you have proper
authorization.
- Aero support disabled
When you run JAWS
with Windows Vista, the color scheme is changed to Windows Vista Basic.
This is normal operation for assistive technology (AT) products, which
use a mirror display driver. (A mirror driver reproduces what appears
on a display device.) The new Vista user interface, known as Aero, is
automatically disabled by the operating system whenever a mirror driver
is loaded. When you exit JAWS, the Aero user interface is automatically
enabled again . Please note that JAWS users will not experience any loss
of functionality as a result of using the Windows Vista Basic scheme.
Installation Overview
If this is your first time using the public beta, follow the instructions that appear in the Downloading and Installing the JAWS Public Beta section.
If you previously installed the JAWS public beta, you will do the following:
- Uninstall your current JAWS beta software
- Download and install the latest public beta software
- Enable UAC
Downloading and Installing
the JAWS Public Beta
The following briefly
describes how to download and install the latest JAWS release.
Note: To install and run JAWS public beta in Vista, you must be logged in using
an account that has Administrative rights. If you do not have Administrative
rights, please consult your IT professional or Windows Vista help.
- Open the JAWS
download link that appears at the end of this procedure.
- When the dialog
box opens, choose Save and select a location where
you can easily find the downloaded executable file.
- Run the executable
and follow the talking installer for JAWS as you would on other Windows
XP systems.
Enabling
User Account Control
UAC is turned on by default in Windows Vista. If this is your first time downloading the public beta, you do not have to perform the following procedures.
If you previously downloaded and installed the public beta, you had to manually disable UAC. The following describes
how to turn on UAC if you had disabled it for previous public beta releases.
- Press WINDOWS Key+R to open the Run dialog, and then type control panel in the Open edit field and press ENTER. The Control Panel opens with focus in the edit field.
- Type user account and press ENTER.
- Press TAB until you navigate to the option labeled Turn User Account Control on or off.
- Press ENTER. The Turn User Account Control on or off dialog appears. Focus is on the check box labeled Use User Account Control (UAC) to help protect your computer.
- Press SPACEBAR to select the check box and enable UAC.
- Press ENTER to accept the change.
- Restart your computer when prompted to do so.
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