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By default, if JAWS has become unresponsive due to a problem with another application, it will automatically shut down and restart in approximately 30 seconds. In most cases, the application that caused the problem has itself stopped responding and needs to be closed. However, there are some instances where applications need additional time to complete a task. For example:
- When trying to load a shared document from a specific domain, there could be cases where it might take longer than 30 seconds. Or,
- When trying to compile code in a programming application, there could be a case where it takes longer depending on the size of the program being compiled.
In both of these examples, you may not want JAWS to restart at all, or you might want one or more warnings before it restarts.
Beginning with the JAWS 18 update released in January 2017, we have added options, which can be configured by manually editing the Default.jcf file, to provide more control for users in certain situations where the default JAWS restart settings are not enough. You can now choose to enable or disable JAWS automatically restarting after shutting down, whether or not crash dump files are created, specify the time before JAWS shuts itself down, and the number of warnings and the sounds played when JAWS encounters this state. JAWS also adds the ability to extend the time of system inactivity before JAWS will shut down for specific applications or domains.
To change the JAWS restart options, navigate to the JAWS Shared Settings folder and use a text editor such as Notepad to open Default.jcf.
Locate the [AutoRestart] section and change the following lines as needed.
Enable=1 (change this to 0 if you do not want JAWS to restart automatically)
CreateDumps=0 (change this to 1 to have dump files created in C:\Users\Username\AppData\Roaming\Freedom Scientific\Reports when JAWS restarts)
Delay=30 (enter a value between 10 and 900 to specify the amount of time in seconds JAWS waits before restarting)
Warnings=1 (specify the number of warnings up to 100 before a restart)
Sound1= (no sound is specified by default, to add a sound, include the full path to the sound file, Sound1 is played after 15 seconds of inactivity using the default settings)
Sound2= (no sound is specified by default, to add a sound, include the full path to the sound file, Sound2 is played after 30 seconds of inactivity before JAWS restarts using the default settings)
If you want to change the length of time before JAWS restarts for specific applications or domains, locate the [AutoRestartAppSettings] section and add each program or domain and it’s delay time on a separate line. For example:
outlook=infinite
notepad=60
www.domain.com=90
Note: If you set the application delay to infinite, JAWS will never shut down and restart in the specified application or domain. In addition, the delay setting for an application or domain must be greater than the delay setting in the [AutoRestart] section.
Applies to: JAWS