What's New in JAWS 8.0 This page lists the new features and significant enhancements available in JAWS version 8.0.2173, released in June 2007, and all the released updates since the initial JAWS 8.0 release in November 2006. If you have recently installed JAWS 8.0, please use the "Check for Updates" feature found in the JAWS Help Menu. (Note that the latest full JAWS download includes all updates that have been posted.) To go directly to the download links on this page, choose JAWS download links. If you are not sure whether you are authorized for this version, you can look up your JAWS serial number on www.FSActivate.com by choosing the Continue Product Activation button, and then choosing the link: "Verify the number of activation keys available for your Freedom Scientific product." This page will tell you the specifics about your license. JAWS Features Enhancements in JAWS Version 8.0.2173 (21 June 2007) Enhancements in JAWS Version 8.0.2107 (26 April 2007) Enhancements in JAWS Version 8.0.1177 (2 April 2007) Enhancements in JAWS Version 8.0.1163 (28 February 2007) Enhancements in JAWS Version 8.0.423 (27 November 2006) Enhancements in JAWS Version 8.0.422 Download JAWS 8.0 JAWS Features New DAISY Book for Windows Vista. JAWS 8.0 and Supported Operating Systems. Automatically Start JAWS in Windows Vista Keystrokes for Windows Vista Gadgets. Speech and Braille Available when using the Start Menu Say All Command and SAPI 5 Voices. Alternate Say All Command. RealSpeak Solo Speech Synthesizers. Virtualize Window and Virtualize Current Control. Internet Explorer 7 and Tabbed Navigation. New Keyboard Functions in Internet Explorer. New and Modified Keystroke Commands. New FSReader Demo Commands. Startup Wizard. Updated Getting Started Cassette Tape New and Updated DAISY Training Books. Web Resources. Expanded JAWS Find Dialog. Skim Reading by Text Color or Text Attribute. Creating a Skim Reading Rule Using Color and Attribute Rules. Manage Application Settings. SAPI 5 Synthesizer Voice Aliases. Synthesizer Dialect Switching. Spell Alphanumeric Data. Smart Word Reading. Turning Off Custom Labels. Version Specific Configuration Script Set Loading. Enhanced Reading of Web Pages with Dynamic Content. AOL Instant Messenger 6.0 Support Updated Instant Messenger Commands. Special Characters in Microsoft Word. Table Description in Microsoft Word. Reading Tables in Microsoft Word Bullet Type Indication in Microsoft Word. Reading Footnotes, Endnotes, and Comments in Microsoft Word. Improved Display of Hyperlinks in Microsoft Excel. Viewing Cell Comments in an Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet. Font Color and Attribute Detection in Microsoft Excel. JAWS Memory Dump Command New DAISY Book for Windows Vista A new DAISY book that describes how to install, activate, and use JAWS or MAGic on a Windows Vista™ computer is available for download from Freedom Scientific. This free book, which is full of valuable information to help guide you through the new operating system's user interface, is also offered in MP3 format.  To download this book, choose the JAWS and MAGic with Windows Vista link that appears on the Freedom Scientific JAWS Training Headquarters page. While visiting the JAWS Training Headquarters, you may also be interested in another new DAISY book, Laptop Keystrokes with JAWS. It describes how to enable and use the laptop keyboard layout with JAWS. Once the DAISY books are downloaded and installed, they appear in a folder that is easily accessed by the FSReader Demo DAISY reader. To open and play the books using FSReader Demo, do the following: From the JAWS Help menu, choose Training. The Open dialog box appears. Use the ARROW keys to navigate to either the XTraJAWSAndMAGicIntroToWindowsVista DAISY book or the XTraLaptopKeystrokesWithJAWS DAISY book. Press ENTER to open the DAISY book. Press CTRL+P to play the narrated audio, or use the standard JAWS reading commands to read the text of the DAISY book. Note: These new DAISY books are included on all program and demo JAWS CDs beginning with the June 2007 release of JAWS 8.0 or later. Return to list of features JAWS 8.0 and Supported Operating Systems JAWS 8.0 Professional supports the following 32-bit versions of Microsoft Windows: Windows Vista Ultimate Windows Vista Enterprise Windows Vista Business Windows Vista Home Premium Windows Vista Home Basic Windows 2000 Windows XP Pro Windows XP Home Windows Media Center Windows 2003 Server Note: Windows Vista support is only available with JAWS 8.0.1163 or higher. JAWS 8.0 Standard supports the following 32-bit versions of Microsoft Windows: Windows Vista Home Premium Windows Vista Home Basic Windows XP Home Note: Windows Vista support is only available with JAWS 8.0.1163 or higher. If you are new to JAWS, and you are running Windows 98 or Windows ME, please download JAWS 7.10 from the JAWS Download page. Return to list of features Automatically Start JAWS in Windows Vista For Windows Vista users, the Automatically Start JAWS function now appears as a button in the Basic Settings dialog under the Options menu. Use this button and its options to configure JAWS to start before or after you start Windows Vista. These options can also be used to determine if JAWS runs if several individuals use the same computer. For example, imagine that a couple owns one computer: he uses JAWS and she does not. In Windows Vista, they can set up separate user accounts so that his account always runs JAWS before and after he logs on, and her account never starts JAWS after she logs on. Another example is when JAWS is used in a classroom or network environment. If several students use JAWS, the network administrator can set up their user accounts so that JAWS is running before and after log on. However, the administrator can configure his account so that JAWS never starts. For more information about using this function, use the INSERT+F1 context-sensitive help, or refer to Starting JAWS and Other Applications in the JAWS help file. Note: Windows Vista support is only available with JAWS 8.0.1163 or higher. Return to list of features Keystrokes for Windows Vista Gadgets 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. Return to list of features Speech and Braille Available when using the Start Menu When using and navigating the Start menu, JAWS provides speech and braille support for Windows Vista functionality. This means that as you type in the Start Search edit field, JAWS speaks the letters entered and announces the associated Start menu item.  For example, if you type the letters c o n in the search field, Windows Vista associates this entry with the Control Panel in the Programs group and moves its focus to that item in the Start menu. JAWS keeps pace with Windows Vista and announces what is happening as the operating system updates the Start Menu. Also, 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. Return to list of features Say All Command and SAPI 5 Voices JAWS can immediately switch from its current Eloquence synthesized voice to a SAPI 5, RealSpeak Solo synthesized voice when using the Say All command (INSERT+DOWN ARROW). While the JAWS default Eloquence voice may be useful for reading and navigating short text such as prior or next line, sentence, or paragraph, it may not be the preferred voice for longer passages of text. The SAPI 5 voice offers a higher-quality sound, which makes reading using the Say All (INSERT+DOWN ARROW ) command a more pleasing experience. When using the new feature, the SAPI 5 voice remains active during the Say All even as you fast forward, rewind, speed up, slow down, or move using the Navigation Quick Keys during the Say All. However, when you stop the Say All and use any other navigation functions such as Say Character, Word, Line, or Paragraph, JAWS will always be using the Eloquence voice. Note: The RealSpeak Solo synthesizers cannot be downloaded from Freedom Scientific. You will receive your RealSpeak CD as part of your upgrade or SMA Shipment. To choose a SAPI 5 synthesizer to use during the Say All, do the following: From the Utilities menu in the JAWS window, choose Configuration Manager. From the Set Options menu, choose Say All Options. In the Say All dialog, select the Use SAPI 5 During Say All checkbox. Choose a SAPI 5 voice from the SAPI 5 Say All Voice combo box. Adjust the SAPI 5 speech rate using the SAPI 5 Rate Amount slider. Choose the amount of punctuation that JAWS announces using the SAPI 5 Say All Punctuation combo box. Choose OK, and press CTRL+S to save your changes. Press ALT+F4 to close the JAWS Configuration Manager. Return to list of features Alternate Say All Command If you have the SAPI 5 Say All command enabled, this feature allows you to perform a Say All without engaging the SAPI 5, RealSpeak Solo voices. This may be useful if you do not want to hear a particular passage spoken in the SAPI 5 voice. The keystroke for Alternate Say All is ALT+INSERT+DOWN ARROW. Return to list of features RealSpeak Solo Speech Synthesizers Included with your package is the RealSpeak Solo, SAPI 5 synthesizer CD. It contains a variety of voices in several languages. To install these voices, insert the CD into your computer's CD-ROM drive. Then, follow the instructions to select which voices you want to install, and complete the installation. The following voices are available on the English/Spanish CD: RealSpeak Solo Voices on English/Spanish CD Language RealSpeak Solo Voice American English Jill, Samantha, and Tom British English Daniel and Emily Australian English Karen and Lee Latin American Spanish Paulina Castilian Spanish Isabel Note: Additional languages will be available from your international distributor. Note: The RealSpeak Solo synthesizers cannot be downloaded from Freedom Scientific. You will receive your RealSpeak CD as part of your upgrade or SMA Shipment. Return to list of features Virtualize Window and Virtualize Current Control Virtualize Window The Virtualize Window (CTRL+INSERT+W), a feature that has long been available in JAWS since release 4.51, captures everything in the current application window. This even includes the static text that appears in the window, so that you can avoid trying to recall something to type into a message in order to communicate it to others such as support staff. This is a great way to capture error codes and dialog messages since the text can easily be copied into an e-mail message. For a quick example to see how this works, try the following: Press INSERT+F4. The Quit JAWS dialog box appears. Next, press CTRL+INSERT+W. The dialog box title, message, and command buttons appears in the virtual viewer, for example: "Quit JAWS Are you sure you want to quit JAWS? Press Enter to quit now, or Escape to cancel. OK Cancel" To select and copy the contents of the virtual viewer, press CTRL+A then CTRL+C. You can now open your e-mail application and paste (CTRL+V) the contents of the virtual viewer into your e-mail message. Based on customer requests, Freedom Scientific has taken this a step further by virtualizing the contents of a specific list, control, combo box, or screen area. This is known as the Virtualize Current Control. Virtualize Current Control In some cases, such as lists, you might want to only virtualize the current control rather than the entire window. Starting with JAWS 8.0, just add the SHIFT Key to the Virtualize Window command. Therefore, pressing CTRL+SHIFT+INSERT+W results in getting only the text located within the current control. For a quick example to see how this works, try the following: Open Windows Explorer (WINDOWS Key+E). Press TAB to navigate to the list of files. Press CTRL+SHIFT+INSERT+W. Only the file list appears in the virtual viewer. To select and copy the contents of the virtual viewer, press CTRL+A then CTRL+C. You can now open your e-mail application and paste (CTRL+V) the contents of the virtual viewer into your e-mail message. Return to list of features Internet Explorer 7 and Tabbed Navigation JAWS 8.0 continues to keep pace with the latest developments from Microsoft. Internet Explorer 7 introduces tabbed browsing navigation, which allows you to run multiple Web pages within a single browsing window. This browsing approach is similar to Mozilla Firefox. The following table describes new keyboard commands for tabbed browsing navigation. Note: For a detailed list of JAWS keystrokes, refer to the JAWS Keystrokes page at the Freedom Scientific Training Headquarters. Internet Explorer 7 Commands Tabbed Browsing Navigation Commands Description CTRL+T Open a New Tab ALT+ENTER (when focus is in the Address bar) Open a New Tab from the Address Bar ALT+ENTER (when focus is in the Toolbar Search edit box) Open a New Tab from the Toolbar Search Edit Box ALT+ENTER(when focus is not on the Address bar or the Toolbar Search edit box) Toggle between Full Screen mode and Normal View mode on the current Web page CTRL+ENTER Open Links in a New Tab in the Background CTRL+SHIFT+ENTER Open Links in a New Tab in the Foreground CTRL+SHIFT+Q View List of Open Tabs CTRL+Q Toggle Quick Tabs (Thumbnail View) CTRL+TAB Switch to the Next Tab CTRL+SHIFT+TAB Switch to the Previous Tab CTRL+n, where n is a digit from 1 to 8 Switch to a Specific Tab Number CTRL+9 Switch to Last Tab CTRL+W or CTRL+F4 Close Current Tab ALT+F4 Close All Tabs CTRL+ALT+F4 Close Other Tabs CTRL+J Opens and places focus on the Feeds tree view Return to list of features New Keyboard Functions in Internet Explorer Freedom Scientific has made a significant modification to Internet Explorer keyboard functionality. In previous JAWS releases, the tabbing order in Internet Explorer always placed the address bar and tool bar first, before any Web page links. With JAWS 8.0, pressing TAB now takes you to the first link or control on the page, skipping over the address bar and tool bar. From a usability stand point, this is much more efficient than previous JAWS releases. Pressing SHIFT+TAB still allows you to move backwards to the tool bar and address bar. Also, if you tab all the way through the page, JAWS will wrap to the address bar from the last element on the page as expected. This functionality is part of the Internet Explorer design and has not been altered by JAWS. Return to list of features New and Modified Keystroke Commands The Jump to Cell command, CTRL+J, which appears in the Navigation Quick Keys help topic and the JAWS Commands for HTML help topic, has changed. The new command is CTRL+WINDOWS Key+J. The CTRL+J command is now used to view the Feeds list in Internet Explorer 7. The ALT+J command opens the Feeds menu in Internet Explorer 7. The CTRL+E command moves focus to the Search box in Internet Explorer 7. Return to list of features New FSReader Demo Commands The JAWS program CD includes basic training materials in a digital document format known as DAISY (Digital Accessible Information System). You can listen to and read the training modules by using the FSReader Demo (a demonstration version of Freedom Scientific’s DAISY reader), which is automatically installed with JAWS. By default, at least one DAISY book (FSReader Getting Started) is also installed. JAWS 8.0 introduces the following new global play, pause, fast forward, and rewind commands where audio is available in DAISY books. These commands can be performed from within any program as long as FSReader Demo is running. CTRL+P. Press CTRL+P to begin reading the book. Press CTRL+P again to pause reading the book. Note: As long as FSReader Demo is running, CTRL+P will toggle between play and pause. If you want to print while FSReader Demo is active, you must use an application’s Print command. CTRL+PERIOD. Press CTRL+PERIOD to fast forward five seconds. CTRL+COMMA. Press CTRL+COMMA to rewind the book five seconds. Return to list of features Startup Wizard The JAWS Startup Wizard is a helpful tool that allows you to configure specific JAWS parameters, such as automatically starting JAWS when you turn on your computer, or installing training material, or loading various other JAWS items and functions. During a new JAWS installation, the Startup Wizard appears after you complete product activation. However, it can always be accessed later from the JAWS Help menu by pressing ALT+H and choosing Startup Wizard. Return to list of features Updated Getting Started Cassette Tape Full copies of JAWS 8.0 include the "Getting Started with JAWS" audio cassette. It explains the fundamentals of using JAWS on your computer. You will also learn how to use FSReader to access Basic Training materials included that appear in DAISY format. The new version of "Getting Started with JAWS" has been improved and expanded from 76 minutes to more than 110 minutes of instruction. It covers new JAWS 8.0 features, such as the JAWS Startup wizard, RealSpeak Solo installation, and more! Other newly covered topics include What's in the Box, authorization, installation, and activation. Return to list of features New and Updated DAISY Training Books The following are new DAISY training books, which are also available in MP3 format at the Freedom Scientific Training Headquarters. What's New. Alternate Say All. Smart Word Reading. The following DAISY books were updated for JAWS 8.0. These books are also available in MP3 format at the Freedom Scientific Training Headquarters. FSReader Getting Started. Basic Training. Skim Reading. Custom Labels in Microsoft Word and Internet Explorer. Placemarkers. Return to list of features Web Resources Web Resources is a new command that is located under the Help menu. It provides the following helpful links to Freedom Scientific products and resources: JAWS Headquarters – a one-stop resource for JAWS. Use these pages to download software updates, locate resources, and learn new ways to use JAWS. Technical Support – Use this link to access support bulletins and FAQs. FS Activate – Use this link to verify the number of available JAWS activation keys, request a reset of the number of activations allowed for a registered user, or retrieve an activation license code based on your Authorization number and Locking code. Surfing the Internet – Use this link to access Surf's Up! A useful tool that teaches you how to work with and read HTML pages with JAWS. MAGic Screen Magnification – Learn more about MAGic, Freedom Scientific's screen magnification software. Training Headquarters – Learn more about training options and tutorials available from Freedom Scientific. PAC Mate Headquarters – Use this link to access information, documentation, and tools available for the PAC Mate accessible PDA. www.FreedomScientific.com – Use this link to open the Freedom Scientific home page. Return to list of features Expanded JAWS Find Dialog A new addition to the Find dialog is the Maintain History of Recent Finds check box. When selected, the Find dialog's Find What combo box retains a history of your past 20 searches. If you wish to delete the current entry in the Find What combo box, select the Delete button, which is also new to the dialog. If you want to clear all entries in the Find What combo box, select the Clear Find History button. Return to list of features Skim Reading by Text Color or Text Attribute Skim Reading by text color or text attribute is a new feature in JAWS 8.0. It acts as an advanced Find feature that searches for text based on the selected color or attributes criteria. When the search is complete, you have the option of hearing the search results, using the Start Skim Reading button, or having the results appear as a link list in the Virtual buffer, using the Create Summary button. Return to list of features Creating a Skim Reading Rule Using Color and Attribute Rules The following example describes how to create and save a skim reading rule using text color and attributes. This procedure assumes that you are using Skim Reading for the first time. Open a document or Web page. Press CTRL+SHIFT+INSERT+DOWN ARROW to open the Skim Reading dialog. The first time you open the Skim Reading dialog, the focus is on the Read First Line of Every Paragraph radio button in the Use Rule Type group. Subsequent openings will place the focus on the Rules History combo box. Press the DOWN ARROW three times to select the Attributes and Color Rules Apply for Reading radio button, which appears in the Use Rule Type group. This action enables the Color or Attribute Rules combo boxes and check boxes. Press TAB. Focus moves to the Rules History combo box. The default value is <New> when you open the Skim Reading dialog for the first time. Note: When you want to create a new rule, always select <New> from the Rules History combo box. Press TAB again. The focus moves to the Text Color combo box in the Color or Attribute Rules group. In the Color or Attribute Rules group, select the text color and attribute parameters that will be part of your skim reading search. For example, if you want to search for all red, bold text in a Word document, first enter the letter r in the Text Color combo box. The combo box automatically populates with the word red. Next, press TAB twice to move to the Bold check box. Press SPACEBAR to select the Bold check box. Press TAB until the focus is on the Speak Unit combo box. Next, select how the Skim Reading feature searches for the text color and attribute parameters. For example, decide if you want Skim Reading to search for lines, sentences, or paragraphs that have matching search parameters. Press TAB twice to move to and select the Start Skim Reading button. JAWS searches the document for the selected rules, and when encountered, reads the text. The next time you open the Skim Reading dialog, the rule that you just created appears in the Rules History combo box. Return to list of features Manage Application Settings This dialog is ideal for technical support personnel who are assisting users with their installed version of JAWS. The Manage Application Settings dialog contains a list of applications that have user modified settings . The user may have made changes through the Configuration Manager, or with custom scripts. This dialog allows you to temporarily disable those application-specific settings quickly, in order to troubleshoot, by ruling out any changes they may have made in their JAWS 8.0. Once inside the dialog, use the SPACEBAR to check or uncheck the check box next to an item in the list. To open the Manage Application Settings dialog, do the following: From the JAWS window, press ALT+O to open the Options menu. Choose Manage Application Settings. Return to list of features SAPI 5 Synthesizer Voice Aliases A voice alias allows you to associate a different voice, pitch, or rate with different reading functions. For example, JAWS may read links on a Web page using a voice other than its default voice. JAWS 8.0 introduces Say All voice aliases. This lets you assign SAPI 5 voices to various dialog boxes, windows, HTML pages or documents. To choose a SAPI 5 synthesizer to use during the Say All, do the following: From the Utilities menu, choose Configuration Manager. From the Set Options menu, choose Say All Voice Aliases. In the Voice Aliases dialog, select the Add button. Enter a name for the voice alias, select a SAPI 5 voice, and adjust the pitch and rate. Choose OK, and press CTRL+S to save the changes. Return to list of features Synthesizer Dialect Switching JAWS 8.0 introduces a new Text Processing feature called Generalized Dialect. It is a check box that determines if JAWS switches to a different language to account for dialects within the same base language. This feature is enabled by default. For example, if this feature is checked, and JAWS is reading, in English, a Web page that supports US English, UK English, and Australian English, JAWS will not switch between languages since the base language is English. However, if JAWS encounters another language, such as German or French, it will switch to that language. To turn off or on the Generalized Dialect feature, do the following: From the Utilities menu, choose Configuration Manager. From the Set Options menu, choose Text Processing. Press TAB until the cursor arrives at the Generalized Dialect check box. (This check box is selected by default.) Press SPACEBAR to disable the feature. Press SPACEBAR again to enable the feature. Choose OK, and press CTRL+S to save the changes. Return to list of features Spell Alphanumeric Data The Spell Alphanumeric Data combo box lets you configure how JAWS reads alphanumeric information. This function is turned off by default. To change the value of Spell Alphanumeric Data, do the following: From the Utilities menu, choose Configuration Manager. From the Set Options menu, choose Text Processing. Press ALT+A to select the Spell Alphanumeric Data combo box. (Off is the default setting.) Press the UP or DOWN ARROW to select an option. Choose OK, and press CTRL+S to save the changes. The following table describes the options that are available in this combo box: Spell Alphanumeric Data Options Options Description Off This is the default setting. When selected, JAWS reads the text as it appears. For example, JAWS reads the license plate number 123RON as one hundred twenty three Ron. Spell JAWS spells alphanumeric data. For example, JAWS reads 123RON as 1 2 3 R O N. Spell Phonetically JAWS uses the phonetic alphabet to spell alphanumeric data. For example, JAWS reads 123RON as 1 2 3 Romeo Oscar November. Return to list of features Smart Word Reading In previous releases, when issuing the Say Word command, JAWS would only read the current word or character when the cursor was positioned on a text unit, such as a compound word, telephone number, date, time, or math equation. With Smart Word Reading enabled in version 8.0, JAWS now reads the entire text unit when the Say Word command is issued. Note: The Smart Word Reading feature is application dependent. So, if Microsoft Word normally reads the entire text unit as one word or number, then JAWS will do the same. Likewise, if an application, such as WordPad, reads each component of the text unit, then JAWS will do the same. For example, in the sentence, "She is my sister-in-law," if the cursor is placed anywhere on the word "sister," JAWS would say "sister." However, in JAWS 8.0 with Smart Word Reading, JAWS will say the entire compound word, "sister-in-law." Likewise, in the sentence, "The appointment was at 2:00 P.M.," JAWS would say "colon" if the cursor was placed between the digit 2 and the colon. In JAWS 8.0 with Smart Word Reading, JAWS will say the entire text unit as two o'clock. As a final example, let's look at how JAWS reads a telephone number. If the cursor is placed between the dash and the 444 in the telephone number 1-800-444-4443, previous JAWS versions would say, "444." In JAWS 8.0 with Smart Word Reading, JAWS reads the entire telephone number as, "1-800-444-4443." To turn off or on the Smart Word Reading feature, do the following: From the Utilities menu, choose Configuration Manager. From the Set Options menu, choose Text Processing. Press TAB until the cursor arrives at the Smart Word Reading check box. (This check box is selected by default.) Press SPACEBAR to disable the feature. Press SPACEBAR again to enable the feature. Choose OK, and press CTRL+S to save the changes. For more information about Smart Word Reading, refer to the XTraSmartWordReading DAISY book that is installed from the JAWS CD. The book is also available in DAISY or MP3 format from the JAWS Training Headquarters. Refer to the Additional Books in DAISY or .MP3 Formats section for the book. Return to list of features Turning Off Custom Labels You can now toggle the Custom Labels option off and on using the Adjust JAWS Verbosity dialog (INSERT+V). Custom labels, which are on by default, allow you to assign text labels to most Word forms and HTML elements, such as buttons, graphic links, text links, and form fields. This option is available for multiple applications and your current Internet Explorer session. Use this option to temporarily hide customized labels that you created for Web pages and forms. For example, it allows individuals, such as support staff, developers, and testers, to suppress their custom labels, without permanently deleting them, while they work with a document or Web page. When you turn off custom labels, this mode stays in effect until focus moves away from the current application. The option then reverts to its default setting, on. To temporarily hide your custom labels, do the following: Press INSERT+V. Use the ARROW keys to select Custom Labels. Press the SPACEBAR to choose off. Return to list of features Version Specific Configuration Script Set Loading The architecture now exists to load a configuration set (scripts and settings) based file version for JAWS 8.0. JAWS already has the feature of specifying a file alias. If the file name is not a desirable configuration name, an alias is created in ConfigNames.ini. When the application focus changes, JAWS will read the executable name and check it against this file. If a match is found, then the match is used. Otherwise, JAWS will simply use the executable filename. The new changes will expand this feature so the aliases can be version-specific. This only affects the JAWS application (including MagUtil). Return to list of features Enhanced Reading of Web Pages with Dynamic Content Many Web pages add or update content automatically as you read or navigate. In previous versions of JAWS, you would often lose your place when such pages were updated. In JAWS 8.0, the position of the Virtual Cursor is retained when the page is updated, so that you no longer have to move back to the text you were reading. This useful feature means that Web pages with frequently updated content are more accessible to JAWS users and less frustrating to read. The following is a good demonstration of this feature: Type www.bbc.co.uk/news in your Web browser's address bar. Press INSERT+F9 and choose the front page ticker frame. This may be the only frame available. Press DOWN ARROW. The cursor appears on the ticker tape. (Braille users can watch the ticker tape as it writes to the braille display. Use the Say Line command and you can hear the ticker tape speak as it changes.) Press DOWN ARROW to move below the ticker tape. The information on the rest of the page is consistent. The content and positioning of elements has not changed. This means that you no longer need to turn off the Page Refresh option in your Personalized Settings for that page. Not only can JAWS read the ticker tape on the screen as it gets updated, which was introduced in JAWS 7.1, but it can now read the rest of the content below the ticker tape. Return to list of features AOL Instant Messenger 6.0 Support AOL Instant Messenger 6.0 is AOL's latest update to the popular AOL Instant Messaging software. You can install AIM 6 while keeping the prior version, AIM 5.9, on your system since JAWS support is independent for each program. The actual AIM 6 program only runs under Windows XP and Windows 2000. Windows 98 and Me users should continue to use AIM 5.9 for this reason. AIM 6 offers several new features including tabbed IM windows, increased support for accessibility, increased security, text messaging, voice chat, and other features such as managing buddy contact information with a universal address book. For full details regarding AIM 6 visit www.aim.com. For the most part, AIM 6 functions with JAWS in the same manner as AIM 5.9. You can use standard Windows and JAWS keystrokes to navigate within AIM. When you are in a conversation window, new incoming messages are automatically spoken. Note, if necessary, this can be turned off in the JAWS verbosity dialog (INSERT+V). If you are within AIM but not in the conversation window, JAWS alerts you when you have a new message from a buddy by saying, "buddy x sent a message." Once you ALT+TAB into the conversation window, the message is automatically read to you. To review the conversation history, you can use the keyboard commands ALT+1, ALT+2, ALT+3, and so on through ALT+0, where ALT+1 is for the last message and ALT+0 is for the 10th previous message. Previously, AIM scripts only supported review of up to three messages. Note: If you press any of the ALT+1 through ALT+0 keys twice quickly, the focus moves to that message in the Conversation History window. As always, you can review the conversation history by tabbing to the conversation history window or by pressing CONTROL+SHIFT+H to move focus to this window. This window is now an HTML window thus HTML navigation options can be used. When messages arrive in a tabbed IM window, but that tab is not the current conversation, AIM will alert you that a message arrived by playing the sound associated with that buddy. (You also have the option of having JAWS speak the buddy's name.) To read the message, you can press CONTROL+TAB to select the tab for the buddy in question and then use the review conversation history commands or tab to the conversation history window to review the new messages. Note: By default, AIM 6 is configured to flash the task bar when an incoming instant message is received from a buddy. It is recommended that you turn off the flash functionality since it can cause JAWS to speak constantly when a new instant message is received and the IM window is not in the foreground. To disable the flash functionality, uncheck the "Flash the window when IM messages received" check box. It is found by choosing the Settings command from the Edit menu and then choosing the General IM tab. If sign in or sign out notifications are enabled in AIM 6, these notifications are automatically spoken in AIM 6 and any other application that has focus since AIM 6 is still loaded in memory. To disable speaking of buddies signing in or out, use the JAWS verbosity option when in AIM 6 and restart JAWS, or disable buddy sign in or sign out notifications in AIM 6 by choosing the Edit menu, the Settings command, and then the Notifications tab. Return to list of features Updated Instant Messenger Commands JAWS 8.0 does not use ALT+SHIFT+F10, ALT+SHIFT+F11, ALT+SHIFT+F12, and CTRL+SHIFT+DASH as instant messenger keystrokes. Instead, the following keystrokes are used for instant messenger applications: CTRL+SCROLL LOCK+F10 – Repeat the last Yahoo! Instant Messenger alert. CTRL+SCROLL LOCK+F11 – Repeat the last AOL Instant Messenger alert. CTRL+SCROLL LOCK+F12 – Repeat the last MSN Messenger sign-in alert. CTRL+SCROLL LOCK+DASH – Find an urgent conversation. Note: If you previously used the SCROLL LOCK keystroke as a toggle, you must now press it twice. Return to list of features Special Characters in Microsoft Word JAWS now recognizes the following special characters in Microsoft Word: Soft hyphen – Press CTRL+HYPHEN to insert a soft hyphen. Non-breaking hyphen – Press CTRL+SHIFT+HYPHEN to insert a non-breaking hyphen. Non-breaking space – Press CTRL+SHIFT+SPACE to insert a non-breaking space. Return to list of features Table Description in Microsoft Word JAWS 8.0 can detect the color pattern and shading of table cells in Microsoft Word. For example, if a cell is 50 percent shaded with a clear background, JAWS will announce, "Gray 50 percent shaded on clear pattern background." Table description is on by default. Note: This functionality is not currently available in Word 2007. Press INSERT+TAB if you want JAWS to repeat the cell description. To disable table description, do the following: Open a Word document. Press INSERT+V to open the Adjust JAWS Verbosity dialog. Use the ARROW keys to select Table Description, and press SPACEBAR to turn off this item. Close the Adjust JAWS Verbosity dialog. Return to list of features Reading Tables in Microsoft Word The following JAWS keystrokes, used for HTML tables on Web pages, can now be used with Word tables: Say Next Row – WINDOW Key+DOWN ARROW. Say Prior Row – WINDOW Key+UP ARROW. Read Current Row – WINDOWS Key+5. Read Current Row – WINDOWS Key+COMMA. Read Current Column – WINDOWS Key+PERIOD. Say Next Column – WINDOWS Key+RIGHT ARROW. Say Prior Column – WINDOWS Key+LEFT ARROW. An error message is announced if a key is pressed while not in a table. JAWS always announces if the keystroke is entered while in the first or last row of the table. Return to list of features Bullet Type Indication in Microsoft Word JAWS can now read an outline-style list that contains bullets rather than numerals. For example, if a Word document contains an outline list that uses different bullet styles, JAWS announces these shapes as filled-round bullet, hollow-round bullet, star bullet, and so on. Bullet Type Indication is on by default. To disable bullet type indication, do the following: Open a Word document. Press INSERT+V to open the Adjust JAWS Verbosity dialog. Use the ARROW keys to select Bullet type indication, and press SPACEBAR to turn off this item. Close the Adjust JAWS Verbosity dialog. Return to list of features Reading Footnotes, Endnotes, and Comments in Microsoft Word When you turn on the "Comments, Footnotes, & Endnotes" verbosity option, JAWS now detects the presence of footnotes, endnotes, and comments even when performing the Say All command. If you want JAWS to announce the contents of a footnote or endnote in a Word document, do the following: Open a Word document. Place the cursor on the footnote or endnote reference. Press ALT+SHIFT+E. JAWS reads the footnote or endnote. If you want JAWS to announce the contents of a comment, do the following: Open a Word document. Place the cursor on the comment reference. Press CTRL+ALT+APOSTROPHE. JAWS reads the comment. Return to list of features Improved Display of Hyperlinks in Microsoft Excel JAWS now lists hyperlinks in Microsoft Excel more intuitively. When you press INSERT+F7 to display the list of links, the text of each cell that contains a hyperlink appears instead of only the cell address. Return to list of features Viewing Cell Comments in an Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet In Microsoft Excel, you can insert a note into a spreadsheet cell by adding a comment. JAWS 8.0 can read these comments and display them in the virtual viewer. Use the following commands to read and view cell comments that appear in an Excel spreadsheet. Viewing Cell Comments in Excel Command Description CTRL+SHIFT+APOSTROPHE This command shows all cell comments that appear in an Excel spreadsheet. ALT+SHIFT+APOSTROPHE This command reads the comments of the currently selected cell in an Excel spreadsheet. ALT+SHIFT+APOSTROPHE twice quickly This command places the cell comments into the virtual viewer for reading. Return to list of features Font Color and Attribute Detection in Microsoft Excel JAWS 8.0 can detect and report the formatting styles associated with a font, such as font name, point size, text color, background text color, and attributes like bold, italic, underline, and strikethrough. This feature is useful in Excel spreadsheet documents where a variety of colors may be used to emphasize certain details in spreadsheet cells. Do the following to enable the font attribute detection feature: Open an Excel spreadsheet. Press INSERT+V to open the JAWS Verbosity dialog. Use the ARROW keys to select Font Color and Attribute Changes, and press the SPACEBAR to turn this feature on. This feature is on for the duration of your JAWS session or until you turn it off. Navigate through the spreadsheet. As you move from one cell to another, JAWS announces the cell label and the cell's font attributes when font styles or attributes change. Note: Do not confuse the font attribute detection feature with the cell shading detection feature that was introduced in JAWS 7.10. The earlier feature detects a cell’s shading and pattern colors. The new feature detects a cell’s font style and attributes. Return to list of features JAWS Memory Dump Command If a total loss of speech occurs, it is difficult to recover JAWS without rebooting the computer. However, a reboot provides no diagnostic information to assist Freedom Scientific in researching the underlying problem. INSERT+WINDOWS Key+F4 is a new JAWS keystroke for emergency recovery. The new keystroke closes JAWS, terminates all related processes, and creates a memory dump file. The diagnostic information can be used to assist Technical Support. (Note: The keystroke will not work at the Windows Log In screen.) After issuing this command, you can restart JAWS to regain speech. The memory dump file is saved to the Settings folder. To locate the file, do the following: Press CTRL+ESC to open the Start menu. Choose Programs. Choose JAWS 8.0, Explore JAWS, and then Explore My Settings. This opens the following folder: C:\Documents and Settings\<your user name>\Application Data\Freedom Scientific\JAWS\8.0\Settings\ENU. Press the BACKSPACE key to navigate to the Settings folder. Select the JAWSMemDmp folder and press ENTER. The files in this folder are identified by the JAWS version and build number. Return to list of features Enhancements in JAWS Version 8.0.2173 (21 June 2007) JAWS Freedom Scientific is proud to announce that JAWS 8.0 has officially completed its public beta test cycle with Windows Vista. The feedback the public provided was extremely helpful, and, as a result of the reports provided, we addressed many issues ensuring that JAWS 8 is working smoothly and seamlessly with Vista. While not every comment and suggestion could be addressed at this time, we have incorporated many changes already for JAWS 9, coming out in September 2007. Resolved an issue reported by the public where two versions of JAWS for Windows were active when a UAC dialog box opened in Windows Vista. In Windows Vista, the WINDOWS Key+SPACEBAR keystroke brings the Sidebar and all gadgets to the foreground. If the Sidebar is not running when you issue this keystroke, JAWS explains how to launch it. For example, JAWS says that you have to type the word "sidebar" in the Run dialog box. When focus is on the Clock gadget of the Windows Vista Sidebar, JAWS correctly updates the time automatically. This allows JAWS to provide the proper time without having to move away from the gadget and back again. Through a collaboration between Freedom Scientific, IBM, and RBC Financial Group, JAWS now successfully works with Host on Demand (HOD), a JAVA-based terminal emulation application that many companies are now deploying in place of PCOMM.  JAWS is the only screen reader that works with HOD.  JAWS does not crash when the text string "c a e s u r e" is spoken. JAWS now speaks messages associated with the JAWS clipboard, the CTRL+C command, and the WINDOWS Key+C command when a User Access Control (UAC) dialog appears. The updated Papenmeier braille driver is included in this release. The latest Handy Tech driver, version 3.0.1.13, is included in this release. Fixed reported issues where JAWS, running in Windows Vista, would not automatically read certain static text when using the INSERT+B keystroke. The GetRegistryEntryDWord script works correctly when JAWS is run as a service. The MAGic 6.2 keyboard layout option has been removed from JAWS. Internet Explorer Resolved an issue for the Social Security Administration where JAWS was not speaking hidden text that appeared on some of their HTML pages. Lotus Notes JAWS, when running as a service, can successfully read Lotus Notes e-mail messages. Microsoft Excel 2007 When ESC is pressed to exit a comment, JAWS confirms that focus is back on the worksheet by announcing and displaying the active cell in braille. JAWS correctly speaks and shows in braille split buttons that appear in the Microsoft Excel ribbon. JAWS correctly announces cell comment information when moving from the beginning or end of the comment. When using the LEFT ARROW and RIGHT ARROW keys to navigate by character, JAWS now reads text as expected in the Parameters dialog of Microsoft Excel 2007. Fixed an Excel 2007 issue reported by Microsoft where JAWS would read extra information when navigating Context menus. Microsoft Office 2007 When screen-sensitive help (INSERT+F1) is issued for split buttons, JAWS now announces the correct help message for the selected control type. JAWS speaks as expected when it encounters a spelling error related to capitalization in Word 2007 and Outlook 2007. Previously, JAWS would say "blank" twice. JAWS correctly reads the Context menu when the Applications key is pressed in an Office 2007 application. Microsoft Outlook 2007 When in the header of an e-mail message, pressing ALT+GRAVE moves the cursor to the message body field. JAWS speaks the e-mail message that is highlighted in the Inbox as you move up and down the message list using the UP ARROW and DOWN ARROW keys. JAWS correctly reads text when you run the Spelling and Grammar function after pasting text from a Word 2007 document into a new e-mail message. JAWS functions correctly when using the Previous Message command (CTRL+COMMA) or the Next Message command (CTRL+PERIOD) in Outlook 2007. When using TAB or SHIFT+TAB to navigate through the Spelling and Grammar dialog box, JAWS correctly speaks and shows in braille the buttons, check boxes, and list boxes that appear in this dialog box. As you use the UP ARROW and DOWN ARROW keys to navigate through the Folder list in Outlook 2007, JAWS correctly says the name of the folders. JAWS correctly reads RSS feeds messages that are opened using Outlook 2007. Microsoft Outlook 2003 JAWS correctly speaks e-mail rules that appear in the Rules Wizard for Microsoft Outlook 2003. When using the Say Line command (INSERT+UP ARROW), JAWS now reads the correct information when the auto-complete function inserts an e-mail address in the To edit field. First letter navigation works for Folder List view in Outlook 2003. Microsoft Word 2007 By default, when you open the Ribbon toolbar, the cursor is placed on the Home tab. The letter H in the word Home now appears in braille. JAWS correctly handles repeated words that appear as misspelled words when running spell check in a Microsoft Word 2007 document. When a document is protected from unintentional editing, the context-sensitive help (INSERT+F1) associated with the read-only status is now correctly reported. When the Verbosity Spelling and Grammar function is turned on, JAWS correctly reports misspelled words as you navigate forward and backward using the INSERT+LEFT ARROW and INSERT+RIGHT ARROW keystrokes. JAWS speaks the title bar when the Spell Checker function is launched in Microsoft Word. When Hot key Help (INSERT+H) is turned on for the Spelling and Grammar dialog box, the UP ARROW and DOWN ARROW keys now allow you to navigate up and down in the Virtual Viewer. Windows Mail JAWS recognizes graphics associated with attachments when using Windows Mail, which is available in Windows Vista. Windows Update JAWS can now use the JAWS cursor to read text in areas of Windows Vista where previously it could not. Back to Top Enhancements in JAWS Version 8.0.2107 (26 April 2007) The following items were addressed in this update: JAWS Numerous enhancements were made to improve JAWS performance with Windows Vista. JAWS is more accurate when navigating or toggling various controls in .NET applications. Fixed the issue where JAWS was announcing bad font in several applications. JAWS no longer repeats words when using Next Word and Previous Word navigation in Microsoft Outlook 2007 or Microsoft Word 2007. JAWS correctly reads all text that appears in the Startup Wizard dialog. Corrected the INSERT+F1 help message that is spoken for the radio buttons appearing on the Attributes page of the Speech and Sounds Manager. When entering the time for a scheduled task, JAWS now announces the hours and minutes as you use the LEFT and RIGHT ARROWS to move through the Start Time list box. When the SAPI 5 During Say All check box is selected, and you exit and reenter the Say All Options dialog in Configuration Manager, JAWS now announces the name of the check box. When using JAWS and a braille display to read the Freedom Scientific Developers Network scripting manual, a flash message no longer appears as you navigate through the document's many tree view levels. JAWS now correctly shows in braille when multiple user accounts appear on the Windows XP Welcome screen. The SAPI 5 voice synthesizer and the Eloquence voice synthesizer no longer speak simultaneously when the case sensitive spelling option is selected in HJPad. When using the Rank Your Computer Knowledge slide bar in HJPad, the PAGE UP key now increases the value on the slide bar, and the PAGE DOWN key now decreases the value on the slide bar. When using the Dot Firmness slide bar, which appears in the Advanced Braille Display Options dialog in Braille Options, the PAGE UP key now increases the slide bar value, and PAGE DOWN decreases the slide bar value. The Control Group Name, Control Name, and Control Type preferences of the Verbosity Options dialog now function independently. If you turn one off, it does not affect the other two settings. Fixed the scripting function StringSegmentIndex. JAWS now speaks the menu items for 16-bit applications. Previously, only the access keys were spoken. Adobe Acrobat Reader When in Forms mode in a PDF file, JAWS now correctly announces the name of the new field as you navigate from one field to the next. In a PDF file, JAWS only announces the color of the text and not the page due to Acrobat Reader limitations. FSReader An error message now appears if you try to use the Find command (CTRL+F) when focus is in the tree view of a DAISY book instead of the text area. Internet Explorer Resolved an issue for the Social Security Administration where JAWS was not correctly moving to subsequent links when using the TAB key to navigate a Web page table. Made improvements in how JAWS interacts with HTML-based applications in non-virtual mode. These adjustments were specifically made for Libera, Inc. Addressed an issue of coding in certain HTML pages where <div> block with style display:none set was not being honored in Internet Explorer as it was in Firefox. This was a problem reported by Oracle. After confirming to close Internet Explorer 7 when multiple tabbed pages are open, JAWS no longer announces information from one of the open Web pages as the browser closes. Frames are now announced when tabbing through a Web page. JAWS now correctly announces when you have changed a search engine in Internet Explorer 7. When you first open the Favorites Center (ALT+C), JAWS now announces that you must press the UP or DOWN ARROW keys to select an available item. JAWS and MAGic When JAWS and MAGic run simultaneously, the Alternative Say All function now works correctly when you issue the ALT+INSERT+DOWN ARROW command. Screen saver and power saving features no longer interrupt Say All reading when using JAWS with MAGic. Microsoft Excel JAWS is no longer limited to a maximum of nine regions when labeling columns and rows as titles in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. JAWS correctly announces the contents of merged cells rather than indicating that the cells are selected when they are not when you navigate out of and back into the cells. JAWS correctly speaks different color fonts when using the PC Cursor to move around a spreadsheet. JAWS can detect if worksheet cells contain conditional formatting. You can now open a dialog that shows a list of cells containing formulas in an Excel worksheet. To do this, press CTRL+SHIFT+EQUALS. If you use the Custom Auto Filter feature in a populated cell, JAWS correctly speaks what appears in combo boxes. Microsoft Office 2007 JAWS now reads the value as you scroll up and down through the history of the Help search combo box. Microsoft Office 2003 The Ask a Question combo box that appears in the Menu bar of Office 2003 applications is now read correctly by JAWS. Previously, JAWS would read the entire Menu bar when focus was placed on this combo box. Microsoft Outlook 2007 JAWS now announces all available access keys when moving through the Ribbon of an Office 2007 application. JAWS now correctly announces the controls that appear on the Send/Receive Groups dialog. Headers are now announced when Say All is enabled to start when you open an e-mail message. Microsoft Outlook 2003 When in the Rules and Alerts dialog of Outlook 2003, JAWS now only announces the name of the tabbed page once instead of twice when you use CTRL+TAB to switch between pages. JAWS now automatically announces any highlighted item when adding a new contact to Outlook 2003. When entering an address that does not appear in the Outlook 2003 address book, JAWS now announces "no suggestion" when CTRL+K is pressed. Microsoft PowerPoint The Virtual Viewer no longer remains active after you close a PowerPoint presentation. The CC: field is now announced and shown in braille when e-mailing a presentation from within PowerPoint. When exiting a slide show, it is no longer necessary to press ESC twice to leave virtual PC Cursor mode. Pressing ESC once closes virtual PC Cursor mode and returns JAWS to PC Cursor mode. Microsoft Word JAWS now uses the same synthesizer voice to indicate horizontal movement (for example, an indent or hanging indent) in a line of text. Previously, different voices were used to indicate an indent (CTRL+M or CTRL+SHIFT+M) and a hanging indent (CTRL+T or CTRL+SHIFT+T). JAWS can now use Voice Aliases to distinguish between inserted and deleted revisions in a Microsoft Word document. The DeletedTextVoice alias is the default for deleted text revisions. The InsertedTextVoice alias is the default for inserted text revisions. JAWS correctly identifies inserted or deleted text when you use the Say Font command (INSERT+F). When you create a table with column headings in Word, JAWS will announce the column and row count in addition to the column heading. The default Verbosity setting for Track Changes is now Speak Type instead of Off. When navigating through a table using the TAB key or the LEFT and RIGHT ARROWS, JAWS will announce the word that appears before the cursor when you use the Say Word command (INSERT+NUM PAD 5) If you have Spelling and Grammar enabled, JAWS will now consistently report that a word is misspelled no matter if you pass by it by one or several words using the Move to Next Word (INSERT+NUM PAD 6) or Move to Prior Word (INSERT+NUM PAD 4). JAWS will now speak numbers that are automatically generated when you create a numbered list in Word. Mozilla Firefox As you toggle between multiple tabbed pages in Firefox, JAWS announces the name of the tabbed page that has focus. PAC Mate Desktop Previously, when using PAC Mate Desktop (a program that allows you to establish a connection between your PAC Mate and a computer with JAWS installed), characters entered on a PAC Mate BX were intermittently lost. This no longer occurs using the latest JAWS release. Windows Live Messenger As you navigate through menus, JAWS now announces when focus is placed onto an menu item. Back to Top Enhancements in JAWS Version 8.0.1177 (2 April 2007) The following items were addressed in this update: Resolved an issue specific only to Windows 2000, which involved tabbing in Internet Explorer 6, Adobe Acrobat Reader, or HTML help. JAWS would use the name of the first link or control it encountered for all subsequent links or controls on the page. Fixed a problem where JAWS was not recognizing the Review Conversation History commands, ALT+1, ALT+2, ALT+3, and so on, in AOL Instant Messenger. Now when you issue these AIM commands, JAWS places focus on the chosen conversation. The System Requirements that appear in the JAWS Help file have been modified to include Windows Vista. Note: Another update to the public beta for Windows Vista will be posted in the next few weeks. It will be available using the Check for Updates feature located in the JAWS Help menu. Back to Top Enhancements in JAWS Version 8.0.1163 (28 February 2007) The following items were addressed in this update: JAWS Resolved a reported problem with certain models of the IBM ThinkPads where the CD-ROM tray could inadvertently open or close since installing JAWS 8.0. This was a result of a fix added in JAWS 8.0 to avoid a screensaver or Power Save mode from interrupting the use of JAWS during a long Say All. When you have Typing Echo set to Words, and you use either the LEFT ARROW or the BACKSPACE keys to navigate through and correct a misspelled word, JAWS now speaks the entire word after the correction is made. Previously, JAWS would only speak from the correction to the end of the word. The following scripting commands now function correctly by saving data and creating a registry variable: GetRegistryEntryDWORD, GetRegistryEntryString, SetRegistryEntryDWORD, SetRegistryEntryString. JAWS, when used with a non-English Windows operating system, now successfully switches to other languages when using RealSpeak Solo voices. JAWS now saves the setting for the Eloquence Software Punctuation combo box. This box appears in the Synthesizer Options dialog box of the Configuration Manager. When creating combo box controls in Visual Studio 2005, JAWS now correctly recognizes these controls. JAWS now maintains changes made to an application's Punctuation settings. Punctuation settings are accessible from the Synthesizer Options dialog in Configuration Manager and the Global Voice Settings dialog and the Individual Voice dialog under the Voices command in the Options menu. When Word is configured as the editor in Outlook 2003, the auto-complete feature used in the To field of the header now works correctly. When performing a Say All using a SAPI 5 voice, JAWS no longer switches back to Eloquence when the PAGE UP or PAGE DOWN keys are pressed to speed up or slow down the SAPI 5 voice. JAWS no longer has difficulty when it encounters empty table elements on a Web page. If a table on a Web page has no summary, JAWS no longer sends a blank braille flash message to a braille display when you use the Navigation Quick Key T to jump to a table. JAWS no longer experiences a significant delay (for example, 15 to 45 seconds) when pressing ALT+TAB to switch between different tasks. JAWS can now accept the selected speech synthesizer or braille display as the primary device in the Set Primary Device dialog of the JAWS Synthesizer and Braille Manager. When you issue the OnMouseOver command (CTRL+INSERT+ENTER), JAWS now reads the text associated with the OnMouseOver link instead of opening the link. JAWS is able to announce radio buttons that appear in .NET applications; however, due to MSAA limitations, JAWS cannot provide positional information, such as radio button 3 of 5. JAWS now announces keyboard layout switching, even if you change the default Windows command to switch keyboards. Previously, JAWS would indicate keyboard switching only if you used ALT+SHIFT. Adobe Reader (PDF) When backspacing over characters in a Form field, characters now briefly disappear and then reappear on a braille display. Previously, characters would not appear until you used the ARROW keys to move left or right in the Form field. JAWS now reads graphics that appear in pdf files. JAWS now announces all open dialog titles when Adobe Reader is open. Citrix/Windows Terminal Services Resolved a reported issue in Citrix Remote sessions where JAWS would not always recognize the ALT key after a computer is unlocked. Internet Explorer JAWS now correctly announces long description HTML attributes that appear on Web pages. JAWS now correctly identifies text and graphics when navigating Web pages. Previously, if you pressed CTRL to stop speech on a Web page, and then press TAB to move the focus to a graphic, JAWS would be out of sync with the text and graphics that appeared on the page. JAWS now provides table description information when navigating to a table using a braille display. You can now navigate to Form elements within a table using table navigation commands. Once you have arrived at the element, you can then press ENTER to activate Forms mode. Fixed a problem when using the WebBoard messaging application to respond to a message. JAWS can now read very long sentences without looping on the same line when the Say All function is configured for Read by Sentence. Tables that appear on a Web page are now correctly read by JAWS and braille displays configured for Braille Structured mode. Resolved a reported problem where JAWS was not properly recognizing all the edit fields on the eBay Web site. When using PAGE UP and PAGE DOWN to navigate through a Web page by a specified number of lines, JAWS now honors the number of lines per page as determined by the HTML Options in Configuration Manager. When using the navigation quick keys S and SHIFT+S for move to Next Same Element or Previous Same Element on a Web page, JAWS now moves to the same type of element instead of moving to every link on a Web page. JAWS now reads HTML Span tags that are hidden within HTML Anchor tags. You no longer receive an error message when performing a Google search using Internet Explorer 6. If, during a Say All, you press H to jump to a heading, JAWS now announces heading level and then the text of the heading before continuing to read. Resolved a reported problem where JAWS would sometimes read the name of the Web page before the name of a combo box when navigating. When using the JAWS Find function on a Web page, you can now enter a term for searching without having to worry about using uppercase or lowercase characters in the Find field. This specifically applies to Internet Explorer 6 and Windows 2000. JAWS now announces the contents of an edit field after pressing CTRL+A. If multiple Web pages are open in Internet Explorer or Firefox, and the current page has Forms mode turned on, Forms mode turns off as you move to other pages, but turns on again when you return to the original page. JAWS no longer experiences problems with the Flash animation that appears on the Bank of America Web page. JAVA Resolved a long standing issue where JAWS had difficulty reading Web pages that have embedded JAVA applets. JAWS can now distinguish between individual groups of buttons that appear in JAVA applications. Microsoft Access JAWS now correctly announces when functions are added to a database. Microsoft Excel When in an Excel spreadsheet, JAWS now announces all spelling errors and possible suggestions or corrections. In Excel, the INSERT+TAB keystroke once again announces the name of the current Tab control in a dialog. JAWS correctly speaks the name of tabbed pages in the Options dialog. When using the Spelling function in Excel, JAWS now speaks the misspelled word, spells the misspelled word, and speaks the first item in the Suggestions list. JAWS now only speaks the name of a Tab control once instead of twice. When you select cell data using the Cells with Data command, the Column command, or the Row command, JAWS only announces the data once. When using the spelling function, JAWS spells the misspelled word that appears in the Not in Dictionary field and also announces the first word that appears in the Suggestion list box. JAWS now announces when a new worksheet is added to a workbook using the ALT+SHIFT+F1 keystroke. JAWS now recognizes the SHIFT+F2 command, which opens the comment of a cell. If a comment exists, JAWS reads the last line of the comment. If the comment is new, JAWS says, "blank." JAWS no longer says "blank" when you type characters into the edit fields of the Find and Replace dialog and the Go To dialog. Items that appear in drop-down list boxes are now spoken by JAWS and shown in braille when navigating the list using the UP and DOWN ARROW keys. When you press the ALT key, the braille display now states "Menu Bar File" instead of "mnubar." You can now use the Merged Cells option, which appears in the Adjust JAWS Verbosity dialog, to stop JAWS from detecting merged cells in a worksheet. JAWS now correctly shows all cell comments when the CTRL+SHIFT+APOSTROPHE command is issued. Previously, the comments would appear as white square, Unicode symbols. JAWS now always activates the selected link that appears in a list (INSERT+F7) instead of the last link that appears in a list. Previously, the last link would always be activated no matter which link was selected. Microsoft Office 2007 The name of the Options dialog in any Office 2007 application is now announced by JAWS. When configured for Braille Structured mode, JAWS now provides more information about the commands and buttons that appear on Office 2007 Ribbons. JAWS no longer echoes each character as it is entered into the Search edit combo box after pressing F1 to open Help. JAWS now correctly announces and displays in braille menu items that appear for Split buttons. Split buttons no longer double speak. Microsoft Outlook 2007, Outlook 2003, and Outlook Express When using CTRL+SHIFT+A to create a new appointment, JAWS now says Subject: edit instead of CC: edit. Resolved an issue reported by users where deleting an Outlook Express message and selecting another message to read would sometimes result in reading the previously deleted message. In Outlook Express, if you delete a message and then another message to read, JAWS will not respond as expected. Previously in JAWS, if you deleted an Outlook Express message and then selected another message to read, JAWS would instead read the previously deleted message. This issue is fixed in this JAWS release. When using international versions of Microsoft Outlook, JAWS now announces the appointment text as a user tabs to an appointment field. Fixed an issue where the Say Word command was not working in the To, CC, and BCC fields of an e-mail message. JAWS now correctly speaks the time and flag color of a reminder event in Outlook. Fixed an issue where JAWS would announce both the previous and current time selections when choosing the start time or end time for an appointment. JAWS now lets you type a message when creating a meeting request or a task request in Outlook 2007. JAWS announces "Message Edit" when the cursor appears in the edit field of a task request in Outlook 2007. Fixed an issue in Outlook Express where JAWS was not making a program event sound, such as a ding sound, when reaching the top or bottom of an e-mail message. JAWS can now read and navigate in multi-line edit fields, such as the message body window, for an e-mail message, task, or note in Outlook 2007. JAWS now reads the misspelled word when you check spelling in Outlook Express. When Word is configured as your e-mail editor, and you use the DOWN ARROW or the UP ARROW to navigate through the header of an e-mail message, a ding sound is no longer heard as JAWS reads the contents of the header. When deleting several e-mail messages from Outlook folders, JAWS now continues to announce when messages are being deleted. Some applications, such as Outlook, tend to use division attributes (div tags) instead of paragraph attributes (P tags) to separate blocks of text in a document. When reading by paragraph, JAWS now recognizes DIV tags as paragraph breaks, and will read by paragraph instead of reading the entire message. The Find command (CTRL+SHIFT+F) now works correctly from within the Inbox in Outlook 2003. When using the Find/Replace dialog or when moving to different fields in Outlook 2007, JAWS no longer repeats the word "edit" multiple times. JAWS now announces the selected text when you press CTRL+A in an edit field while in Forms mode on a Web page. When creating a signature in Outlook 2007, JAWS now speaks what was entered for the signature when you use the UP ARROW or DOWN ARROW keys to review the text. JAWS now correctly announces the contents of multi-line edit fields, dialog titles, and window titles in Outlook 2007. JAWS now reads shared Outlook calendars within an Exchange server. JAWS now announces active appointments when using the UP and DOWN ARROWS to navigate through a list of current appointments in Outlook 2003. JAWS no longer speaks extra text at the end of lines when creating an HTML message in Outlook 2003.  In Outlook, the Reply Directly To Sender command (INSERT+SHIFT+R) allows users, who subscribe to mailing lists, to reply directly to the sender of the message rather than the entire mailing list address. The INSERT+SHIFT+R command now appears in the JAWS help file. Microsoft PowerPoint JAWS no longer says, "blank" when navigating by characters, words, or sentences when in an editable area of a PowerPoint slide. Microsoft Word There is a change in the way Navigation Quick Keys detect misspelled words in Microsoft Word. When Navigation Quick Keys are turned on (INSERT+Z), and you select Next Misspelled Word (M), JAWS does the following: Announces and highlights the error, spells the error, and speaks the sentence that contains the error. Resolved an issue where JAWS was not correctly identifying grammatical errors in a Word document when using Navigation Quick Keys. JAWS correctly announces different styles in a Word document. When using a braille display with Word, JAWS no longer repeats the next page or prior page messages twice when you press CTRL+PAGE DOWN or CTRL+PAGE UP. When INSERT+H is pressed while in a Word document, the following messages now appear in the JAWS Virtual Viewer: Say the current table column. WINDOWS+PERIOD, and Say the current table row. WINDOWS+NUMPAD5. Fixed an issue where JAWS would announce the Tab page name twice when pressing CTRL+TAB to navigate to other pages in a multiple page dialog. When JAWS is configured to use Laptop layout, the ALT+INSERT+Q keystroke now states which Speech and Sounds Scheme is currently loaded. When performing a grammar check using Navigation Quick Keys in Word (INSERT+Z, A), JAWS now detects errors in all sentences in a Word document. JAWS no longer says, "Blank, blank no more spelling errors found" in a Word document when performing a spelling check using Navigation Quick Keys (INSERT+Z, M). JAWS can now find and report spelling errors when moving backwards through a document using the navigation quick key, SHIFT+M. When you apply a custom label to a field, JAWS now recognizes and reads the label assigned to the field. If the last row in a table is blank or nonuniform, JAWS handles it accordingly by announcing that the row is blank or by announcing the text that appears in the nonuniform row. JAWS no longer double speaks and braille displays no longer repeat twice when navigating through combo box selections. The CTRL+PAGE UP and CTRL+PAGE DOWN keys can now be used to move to the previous page and next page even after Word's navigation quick keys are turned off. When a braille display is attached to a computer, JAWS no longer announces "next page" or "prior page" twice as a flash message when pressing CTRL+PAGE UP or CTRL+PAGE DOWN. The Mark Proofreading Errors in Braille command now works as expected. Form field labels are now announced by JAWS and braille displays. In Word 2007, JAWS no longer echoes both the typed character and typed text as you enter text into edit fields. Mozilla Firefox Resolved a problem in Firefox where JAWS would become very sluggish when entering the term "about:config" into the Firefox address bar and pressing ENTER. When using CTRL+TAB to navigate through multiple tabbed pages, JAWS now announces the title of the page as you move from one tabbed page to another. If multiple Web pages are simultaneously open in Firefox or Internet Explorer, and the current page has Forms mode on, Forms mode turns off as you move to other pages, but turns on again when you return to the original page. Winamp JAWS now announces the station information when you press INSERT+SHIFT+W. Resolved a long standing Winamp issue by adding the open and close Library keystroke (ALT+L) and the open and close Video Window keystroke (ALT+V) to the Winamp Hot key help (INSERT+H). In addition, JAWS now recognizes the open or closed status of the Library and Video Window when you press ALT+L or ALT+V. JAWS now recognizes the on or off status of the Always on Top option when you press CTRL+A. JAWS now recognizes the open or closed status of the Station Info window when you press ALT+B. Windows Live Messenger When configuring Windows Live Messenger's audio and video settings, JAWS now announces the list items that appear in combo boxes of the Audio and Video Setup dialog. In Windows Live Messenger 8.1 beta, JAWS recognizes the status bar so that the Typing Announcement and Typing Sound features work correctly. Back to Top Enhancements in JAWS Version 8.0.423 (27 November 2006) The following items were addressed in this update: Fixed a problem found by the Department of Education, in Windows 2000 only, where the Ignore Case check box in the JAWS Find dialog (CTRL+INSERT+F) was not being honored. Previously, all searches using the JAWS Find function would fail unless the text and case matched exactly. Fixed an issue for an IBM Instant messaging program called Sametime Connect. JAWS now speaks all incoming chat messages automatically. Fixed a reported issue where Microsoft Outlook was not properly shutting down, which resulted in multiple sessions of Outlook running in the Task Manager. Back to Top Enhancements in JAWS Version 8.0.422 JAWS Fixed a problem where JAWS sometimes needed to be closed and then restarted before application specific configuration settings were honored after making changes in Configuration Manager. The Left/Right Sliders found in the JAWS Voice dialogs, now move in the correct direction when using the LEFT and RIGHT ARROW keys or PAGE UP and PAGE DOWN keys. However, the UP and DOWN ARROW keys are reverse so that the UP ARROW lowers values and the DOWN ARROW raises values. You can now switch to Grade 2 braille while installing JAWS. JAWS now announces the state of the Toggle Speech button in the Customize List View Headers dialog. This is available when you open, from Windows Explorer, the Configuration Manager and select Customize List View. Resolved a long standing issue related to certain video cards where text located or typed at the location at the mouse pointer, was not always read by JAWS. In worst cases, text that had scrolled by the mouse would be then missing to JAWS forcing a Screen Refresh to restore it. This fix was also included in the latest update to JAWS 7.1 When using a multimedia keyboard or laptop with volume adjustment buttons, JAWS is not interrupted by multimedia keystrokes such as B for volume up and C for volume down, and D for mute. Fixed an issue when using a SAPI 5 synthesizer with JAWS, where it would sometimes pause when it encountered the word "a" in a sentence. Resolved the keyboard help (INSERT 1) issue where pressing keys on a Braille Display did not provide the functional description of that particular key as it does when pressing keys on the keyboard. If you run JAWS as a service, and multiple user names are available when you log on to Windows, it now reads the names that appear in the list. Fixed an issue reported by SAP Germany related to JAWS logic in recognizing HTML data tables under certain circumstances. When localizing JAWS' screen sensitive help messages into French, the following characters are no longer reversed: a and q, q and a, z and w, w and z. The screen sensitive help messages that appear for the Graphical Link Last Resort radio buttons, which appear on the Graphics tab page of the HTML Options in Configuration Manager, have been corrected. UTF-8 characters are visible to JAWS when the Expand Abbreviations and Expand Acronyms check boxes are selected. To locate these check boxes, open Configuration Manager and select HTML Options. Next, select the Text tab. Both check boxes appear on the Text page. You can now successfully log off of Windows XP with multiple users when JAWS is running as a service. Changes to the default.jcf file in the User Settings folder are now processed correctly. JAWS Braille Sleep mode now works correctly with braille displays that are auto detected (Focus and PAC Mate Portable braille displays). When using the Say Next Word (INSERT+RIGHT ARROW) to read a multi-page document, JAWS would on occasion not move to the next line when the last word of the current line was reached. This problem has been resolved. HTML and the Internet Resolved a reported issue where blank lines would appear between bullets and the list items on certain lists when using both IE 6 and 7. JAWS does not speak all of the cell information when you enter into another table on the same page while navigating with the TAB key. Unable to navigate tables with the standard table reading commands while in Forms mode. JAWS announces when you move from one frame to another on a Web page when using the TAB and SHIFT+TAB keys. JAWS recognizes both the SPACEBAR and ENTER key as ways to start a Flash Player video. Fixed an issue where JAWS would exit Forms mode when you press ENTER in a multi-line edit field in Internet Explorer. This problem often appeared when entering text into the body of an e-mail message using Yahoo e-mail (http://mail.yahoo.com). JAWS now shows bulleted text in the virtual buffer with FSDOM support. Screen sensitive help (INSERT+F1) is now available for the Page Refresh Filter command. This command is located in the HTML Options dialog in Configuration Manager. JAWS now turns off Forms mode when you exit Internet Explorer while Forms mode is still enabled. The Rely on MSAA option is no longer available in the default configuration file. This eliminates the issue where JAWS would not read some JAWS-related list boxes under the following conditions: Rely on MSAA is checked in the default configuration file and JAWS is running as a service. When the navigation quick key N is pressed on a Web page with a non-link graphic, JAWS now moves to the next non-link block of text instead of the graphic. Resolved an issue for the Florida Division of Blind Services where JAWS would not read the title attribute in a table with editable cells. Fixed a problem where JAWS would read headings twice on an HTML page when navigating with the UP and DOWN ARROW keys. Resolved an issue reported by Microsoft where JAWS was not reading combo boxes on HTML pages. JAWS now correctly reads buttons in both Forms mode and Virtual mode in Internet Explorer. JAWS no longer looses speech when it encounters security dialogs in Internet Explorer. When in Forms mode in Internet Explorer, if a character is deleted from a field, JAWS speaks the recently deleted character instead of the character that the cursor is now focused on. This has been fixed in JAWS 8.0. In Internet Explorer 7 in the Options dialog found under tools, JAWS now reads the full content of the Privacy tab in the Internet Explorer Options dialog when you first open the tabbed page. Previously, JAWS would only announce the setting of the Up Down slider and not the other information on the page. As you change the slider, pressing INSERT+TAB will read all the details for the new setting. Fixed a reported problem where JAWS would crash if you tried to assign an existing placemarker name to a newly created placemarker in Internet Explorer. JAWS can now recognize characters such as German capital umlauts or Russian capital letters when searching for non-English characters in the Internet Explorer 7 Virtual Buffer. There is now a description for the Delete Browsing History button, which appears in Internet Explorer 7 when you select the Tools menu, Internet Options command, and then the General tab page. JAWS now reads Hebrew Web pages properly. JAWS now announces detailed information about the Auto Complete Settings button and the Feeds Settings button in Internet Explorer 7. Both buttons are located on the Content tab page in the Internet Options dialog. JAWS now reads the Windows Update page as expected. JAWS no longer shows same page links as being visited when the page has not been visited. The for= and id= attributes no longer have to match (for example, lowercase versus mixed case characters) for JAWS to recognize the correct label for a form field. This was an issue in JAWS 7.1. Mozilla Firefox When you press CTRL+F in Firefox to find a word or phrase, JAWS now finds subsequent instances of the item if it appears multiple times on a Web page. List anchors command (INSERT+CTRL+A) now works. The forward command (ALT+RIGHT ARROW) returns you to your previous location after using the back command (ALT+LEFT ARROW). Fixed an issue in Mozilla FireFox 2.0 where pressing enter on a link that was part of a list would fail to activate the link. When this problem occurred, the user would hear JAWS attempting to go into Forms mode. Firefox no longer crashes when opening a very large file. Fixed the issue where the Virtual PC cursor would move to the top of an HTML page when any dialog is opened or closed. JAWS now sees all frames that appear when using Mozilla Firefox to log on to RoadRunner. JAWS now honors line breaks properly in Mozilla Firefox 1.5 or 2.0 so you can use CTRL+UP or DOWN ARROW keys to move by paragraph along with Navigation Quick Key "P". Microsoft Excel Double speaking is no longer heard when navigating the Paper Size combo box of Excel's Print Setup dialog. When pressing CTRL+SHIFT+GRAVE, JAWS now returns to the previous cell location from a monitor cell as intended. When working with creating and editing comments in Excel, JAWS now works as expected while selecting or navigating the text of the comment. When selecting multiple rows and or columns in a spread sheet, JAWS now announces the cell at the top left and cell at the bottom right of the selection as you add new rows or columns to the selection. SHIFT+INSERT+DOWN ARROW will still repeat the entire block of the selection at anytime. In the CTRL+G dialog, JAWS now properly reads the prompt for the "Reference" Edit field. In the Format Cells dialog, JAWS correctly reads the contents of the Font Edit combo box as you use the UP and DOWN ARROW keys. Additionally, it no longer reads any other information at adjacent controls when it is unexpected. Items in drop down lists from within a cell are now read as expected. Items in the auto filter drop down list are now read as expected when navigating using UP or DOWN ARROW. JAWS now properly speaks the results after you press either CTRL+SEMICOLON to insert the date or CTRL+SHIFT+SEMICOLON to insert the time into the current cell. The "CTRL+" static text associated with the short cut field in the Record Macro dialog, is now spoken as expected. Fixed an issue where JAWS would often read the title of the current workbook instead of the cell navigated to when navigating quickly in a spread sheet with the arrow keys. When a title row or column is blank and Extended Selection mode is turned on, only the cell text and coordinates are announced. Resolved an issue where Column and Row headings were no longer spoken or brailled correctly if a merged cell was part of the heading itself. Fixed a reported issue in JAWS which would result if an entire row or column were deleted from a spread sheet. Fixed a long standing issue reported where using intermediate or advanced verbosity and moving with CTRL and the ARROW keys, would often read the cell you came from rather than the cell you navigated into. JAWS is now consistently reporting the status of checkboxes in Excel Fixed a reported issue where JAWS would read the title of a row or column if focus was on the cell that actually contained the title. Pressing INSERT+F twice while in Excel now presents all the font and format information into the virtual buffer making it easier to review in speech and braille. Pressing the INSERT+UP ARROW twice quickly will now spell the current line as expected. Fixed an issue where navigating a multi-line cell after pressing F2 was not working properly in previous versions. Fixed an issue in the Diagram Gallery dialog box where you could not reach the top item in the list box with the PC cursor. JAWS now properly reads the descriptions of the various diagram types in the Diagram Gallery dialog. Fixed a reported issue where JAWS would not read a title that included the ampersand. Fixed the reported problem where SayFromCursor or SayToCursor in the virtual viewer did not read as expected. Fixed reported issue where document named titles that included title restriction set to any data cell, would fail if it was the first column of a worksheet. Fi