Surf's up! Let's See Where JAWS Can Take Us:
Introduction to Browsing the Web
Web Page Elements
Tips for Transitioning to Microsoft Edge
Navigating Web Pages
Temporary Versus Permanent Changes
JAWS Web Verbosity
Tables
Forms
Frames
Languages
Dealing with Difficult Pages
Using the JAWS Find Command
Skim Reading
PlaceMarkers and the Custom Page Summary
Personalized Web Settings
Speech and Sounds Schemes
Using Custom Labels
Search Engines
Using HTML Help Systems
Aria Live Regions
Aria Live Regions, Atomic
MathML
Contacting Freedom Scientific
Getting Started With Surf's Up
You can use Surf's Up with the web browser of your choice, however, we recommend using Google Chrome™, Microsoft Edge® Chromium™, or Mozilla Firefox™ as these browsers work very well with JAWS and are frequently updated to support the latest web standards.
Install and Launch Google Chrome
If you would like to install Chrome, do the following:
- From a web browser such as Microsoft Edge, Internet Explorer, or Firefox, go to the Chrome download page.
- Press B to move to the Download Chrome button and press ENTER.
- Press B to move to the Accept and Install button and press ENTER. Chrome will automatically download and install.
To launch Chrome, select the Google Chrome shortcut on the Windows Desktop.
Install and launch Mozilla Firefox
If you would like to install Mozilla Firefox, do the following:
- From a web browser such as Google Chrome, go to the Firefox download page.
- Press INSERT+F7 to open the JAWS list of links, and then choose the Download Now or Download in another language link.
- Press SHIFT+F6 to move to the Installer button on the bottom left side of the page, and then press ENTER to start the install.
To launch Firefox, select the Firefox shortcut on the Windows Desktop.
Install and launch Microsoft Edge Chromium
Microsoft Edge is the default web browser in Windows 10. In 2020, Microsoft updated Edge to use Chromium, the same technology used in the popular Google Chrome browser. In most cases, your PC may have already installed the latest Edge browser through Windows Automatic Updates. To check this, launch Microsoft Edge and press the JAWS command INSERT+Q to see what JAWS settings are currently loaded. If you are running JAWS 2020 or later and you receive the message "Microsoft Edge with Chromium settings are loaded," then you are running Edge Chromium. Earlier versions of JAWS will say that Google Chrome settings are loaded.
If you find that you are still running the older version of Edge, it may not have been rolled out to your PC yet. You can try manually checking for updates or download and install it by doing the following:
- From a web browser such as Google Chrome, go to the Edge download page.
- Press B to move to the Get stable build for Windows 10 button and press ENTER.
- Focus should land on the Accept terms link. Press ENTER to download the Edge installer.
- Press SHIFT+F6 to move to the setup file, and then press ENTER to start the install.
To launch Edge, select the Microsoft Edge shortcut on the Windows Desktop.
If you are a long time Internet Explorer user moving to Edge Chromium, refer to our Transitioning to Edge Chromium document. This offers some tips on how to access certain Edge features like Favorites, History, as well as some commonly used keystrokes to help make the transition easier.
JAWS Help Keystrokes
JAWS provides context-sensitive help for many different elements you might encounter in web pages. To read help information for the current web page, or for an element within a web page, press INSERT+F1. For general help with whatever browser you are using press INSERT+F1 twice quickly while the browser is the active window. For Hot Key Help for browsers (or other apps) with JAWS press INSERT+H.
Tabbed Browsing
Many of the exercise pages and keystroke command pages in Surf's Up either open in new browser windows or in new browser tabs, depending on how your version of any browser is set up. You can press ALT+TAB to move between the different open windows, or CTRL+TAB to move between different tab pages in the current browser session. Also remember to close the open windows by pressing ALT+F4 when you are finished with them or close a single tab page by pressing CTRL+F4.
The JAWS Key
You will notice occasional references to the JAWS key when using JAWS. This key is used by JAWS in combination with other keys on the keyboard to perform various actions. For example, the JAWS Key+T reads the title of the current document while JAWS Key+F7 opens a list of links in a web page.
The default JAWS keys are as follows:
- JAWS desktop layout uses the INSERT key
- JAWS laptop layout uses the CAPS LOCK key
The JAWS key can be changed from the INSERT key to the CAPS LOCK or SCROLL LOCK key. This can be done by opening the list of JAWS managers (INSERT+F2) and choosing Settings Center. The JAWS Key for either desktop or laptop layout is found in the Keyboard branch of the tree view. This must be changed in the default settings which can be selected by pressing CTRL+SHIFT+D.
Access Keys to Navigate by Page Forward or Backward in Surf's Up
At the bottom of each page in Surf's Up are links to the next or prior page. Use the following Access Keys to navigate forward or backward one page at a time in Surf's Up:
- ALT+N activates the Next page link
- ALT+B activates the Back link to move to the prior page
NOTE: Firefox adds the SHIFT key to the key combination for access keys on web pages. If you use Firefox, press ALT+SHIFT+N or ALT+SHIFT+B to move to the next or prior pages with the access keys in Surf's Up.
Using Surf's Up on a Local Computer
Finally, you can download a ZIP file containing all Surf's Up pages and files. This allows you to install the whole Surf's Up training website on a local computer. For example, if you are an instructor, you could store it on a thumb drive for use if you ever encounter the need to do web-based training where there is no Internet connection.
Surf's Up ZIP file download