JAWS Basics, Thursday, Mar 12, 2026

Desktop Navigation Basics

Siena demonstrated fundamental JAWS navigation techniques for the Windows desktop.

• Details
  • Siena(She/Her): Explained desktop is arranged in a grid format with 5 rows
  • Siena(She/Her): Showed arrow key navigation (up/down/left/right) to move between icons
  • Siena(She/Her): Demonstrated typing first letter repeatedly to jump between items starting with same letter
  • Siena(She/Her): Showed typing multiple letters quickly to navigate to specific icons
  • Siena(She/Her): Explained JAWS announces icon name and position (e.g., “30 of 41”)
• Conclusion
  • Users can navigate desktop efficiently using arrow keys or typing icon names
  • Single letter navigation cycles through items starting with that letter
  • Typing multiple letters quickly narrows down to specific items

Web Navigation Techniques

Comprehensive demonstration of navigating websites using JAWS keyboard commands.

• Details
  • Siena(She/Her): Demonstrated using H key to navigate by headings
  • Siena(She/Her): Showed number keys (1-6) to jump to specific heading levels
  • Siena(She/Her): Explained B key navigates to buttons, E key to edit fields
  • Siena(She/Her): Demonstrated Ctrl+Home to go to top of page, Ctrl+End to go to bottom
  • Siena(She/Her): Used Techstravaganza website as demonstration example
• Conclusion
  • JAWS provides single-letter navigation for different element types
  • Heading level navigation allows quick access to page structure
  • Control+Home/End provides quick page navigation

JAWS List Features

Detailed explanation of JAWS condensed list dialogs for efficient navigation.

• Details
  • Siena(She/Her): Demonstrated Insert+F7 opens links list dialog
  • Siena(She/Her): Showed Insert+F6 opens headings list dialog
  • Siena(She/Her): Revealed Insert+F5 opens form controls list
  • Siena(She/Her): Explained lists can be sorted alphabetically or in tab order
  • Siena(She/Her): Showed filtering options (all links, visited only, unvisited only)
  • Siena(She/Her): Demonstrated Alt+M to move to link without activating it
  • Jackie: Confirmed familiarity with Insert+F7 but not F5 or F6
  • Siena(She/Her): Noted single letter navigation works within list dialogs
• Conclusion
  • JAWS separates different element types into dedicated list dialogs
  • Lists provide filtering and sorting options for easier navigation
  • This approach differs from VoiceOver’s unified list with granularity switching

System Information Shortcuts

Demonstration of JAWS shortcuts for accessing system information.

• Details
  • Siena(She/Her): Showed Insert+F12 announces current time
  • Siena(She/Her): Demonstrated Insert+F12 pressed twice announces date
  • Siena(She/Her): Explained Insert+Shift+B announces battery status, AC connection, and Wi-Fi network
  • Siena(She/Her): Noted this is more efficient than navigating to system tray with Windows+B
  • Siena(She/Her): Mentioned JAWS does not announce volume percentage when using volume keys
• Conclusion
  • JAWS provides quick keyboard shortcuts for common system information
  • Battery status shortcut also includes network connectivity information
  • Volume adjustment lacks percentage announcement, requiring manual checking

Typing Echo Settings

Explanation of JAWS typing echo options for different user preferences.

• Details
  • Siena(She/Her): Demonstrated Insert+2 cycles through typing echo modes
  • Siena(She/Her): Showed four options: None, Characters, Words, Both characters and words
  • Siena(She/Her): Used Notepad to demonstrate each setting with live typing
  • Siena(She/Her): Explained personal preference for either all or nothing, not individual settings
• Conclusion
  • Users can customize typing feedback based on personal preference
  • Insert+2 provides quick toggle between echo modes
  • Different modes suit different tasks and user preferences

Document Reading and Navigation

Demonstration of reading and navigating text documents in JAWS.

• Details
  • Siena(She/Her): Showed arrow keys read line by line
  • Siena(She/Her): Demonstrated left/right arrows read character by character
  • Siena(She/Her): Explained JAWS announces phonetic alphabet for letters
  • Siena(She/Her): Showed Ctrl+Right/Left arrows navigate word by word
  • Siena(She/Her): Used sample text “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog”
• Conclusion
  • JAWS provides multiple granularity levels for reading text
  • Phonetic pronunciation helps distinguish similar-sounding letters
  • Control key modifiers enable word-level navigation

Virtual PC Cursor Functionality

Comprehensive explanation of Virtual PC Cursor and its use cases.

• Details
  • Siena(She/Her): Explained Virtual PC Cursor allows browsing website content with JAWS navigation commands
  • Siena(She/Her): Demonstrated conflicts when using website keyboard shortcuts with Virtual PC Cursor on
  • Siena(She/Her): Showed YouTube example where K key (pause) conflicted with JAWS place marker command
  • Siena(She/Her): Explained Insert+Z toggles Virtual PC Cursor on/off
  • Siena(She/Her): Demonstrated left/right arrows rewind/fast-forward in YouTube only with cursor off
  • Siena(She/Her): Noted VoiceOver does not have equivalent feature due to different modifier key approach
• Conclusion
  • Virtual PC Cursor should be ON for reading web content with JAWS navigation
  • Virtual PC Cursor should be OFF for using website-specific keyboard shortcuts
  • Toggle is necessary to avoid conflicts between JAWS and application shortcuts

Gmail Navigation with Virtual PC Cursor

Practical demonstration of Virtual PC Cursor usage in Gmail.

• Details
  • Siena(She/Her): Showed navigating inbox list requires Virtual PC Cursor OFF
  • Siena(She/Her): Demonstrated opening messages with Enter key
  • Siena(She/Her): Explained reading message content requires Virtual PC Cursor ON
  • Siena(She/Her): Showed semicolon key to expand thread conflicted with JAWS when cursor was on
  • Siena(She/Her): Demonstrated G+I shortcut to return to inbox only works with cursor off
  • Siena(She/Her): Provided rule: cursor off for lists, cursor on for reading content
• Conclusion
  • Gmail requires frequent toggling of Virtual PC Cursor
  • Lists and navigation work best with cursor off
  • Reading message content requires cursor on for proper heading navigation

Google Calendar Navigation

Demonstration of calendar grid navigation with Virtual PC Cursor.

• Details
  • Siena(She/Her): Showed T key navigates to today’s date
  • Siena(She/Her): Demonstrated left/right arrows move between days of week (columns)
  • Siena(She/Her): Showed up/down arrows move between weeks (rows)
  • Siena(She/Her): Explained Virtual PC Cursor ON makes grid navigation confusing
  • Siena(She/Her): Demonstrated entire calendar can be navigated with cursor OFF
  • Siena(She/Her): Showed tabbing through events after selecting a date
• Conclusion
  • Google Calendar works best with Virtual PC Cursor OFF throughout
  • Calendar grid navigation uses arrow keys like a spreadsheet
  • Virtual PC Cursor ON interferes with proper grid navigation

Hidden JAWS Features

Revelation of lesser-known JAWS functions accessed through Insert+Space menu.

• Details
  • Siena(She/Her): Demonstrated Insert+Space+F11 toggles screen shade on/off
  • Siena(She/Her): Explained screen shade saves battery and provides privacy
  • Siena(She/Her): Showed Insert+Space+V+B controls audio balance
  • Siena(She/Her): Demonstrated routing JAWS to right ear and system audio to left ear
  • Siena(She/Her): Explained this enables multitasking with separate audio streams
  • Jackie: Confirmed understanding that balance feature is for multitasking
  • Siena(She/Her): Showed Insert+Space+V+C switches between sound cards
  • Jackie: Stated this makes JAWS the best screen reader
  • Siena(She/Her): Called these “Easter egg functions” not widely known
• Conclusion
  • Insert+Space reveals hidden menu with advanced features
  • Audio balance control is unique to JAWS among screen readers
  • Screen shade provides battery savings and privacy benefits

Find Out What’s Coming Up on Techstravaganza At The Following Link

Updated as of Mar 10, 2026, What’s Coming Up on Techstravaganza

Contact the team:

Email

support@techstravaganza.ca

Like us on Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61578990010675

Follow the Show:

On Tunein

http://tun.in/pxXlj

On Apple Podcasts:

On Audible:

https://www.audible.ca/podcast/Techstravaganza/B0FWTHWQG7?source_code=ASSGB149080119000H&share_location=pdp

On iHeart:

On Spotify

https://spotify.link/vVGru9nKBXb