Chapter 4 JAWS MENU BAR AND OTHER TOOLS (Also contained in the disk file "J4MENU.TXT".) CONTENTS OF CHAPTER 4 1. CHAPTER INTRODUCTION 33 2. ACTIVATING AND USING THE JAWS MENU BAR 33 3. FILES MENU 34 4. VOICES MENU 34 4.1 Global Dialog 35 4.2 Keyboard Dialog 37 4.3 PC Cursor Dialog 37 4.4 JAWS Cursor Dialog 38 4.5 Uppercase 38 5. OPTIONS MENU 38 5.1 Typing Echo 38 5.2 Typing Interrupt 39 5.3 Reading Interrupt 39 5.4 Key Repeat 39 5.5 Screen Echo 40 5.6 Verbosity Level 40 6. UTILITIES MENU 40 6.1 Macro Editor 40 6.2 Graphics Editor 41 7. HELP MENU 41 7.1 Contents 41 7.2 Quick Reference 41 7.3 Changes 42 7.4 Customer Support 42 7.5 About JAWS for Windows 42 1. CHAPTER INTRODUCTION This chapter describes the JAWS menu bar. Each of its menus are introduced and brief notes about the use of menu items are provided. 2. ACTIVATING AND USING THE JAWS MENU BAR The JAWS menu bar is used to modify the way your speech synthesizer speaks, to control how JAWS responds as you type or read the desktop, and to activate program features or to carry out commands. It can be used to make your speech synthesizer speak faster, speak slower, or to use a different voice. You can use it to limit the speaking of punctuation characters and the amount of information that is to be spoken as you type or move the cursor. The JAWS menu bar functions in the same way as other menu bars in Windows. a. To use the menu bar, switch to the JAWS application window by using ALT+TAB, Windows Task List, or by using the JAWS hot key INSERT+J. You can activate the Task List by pressing CONTROL+ESCAPE. Use your arrow keys to find "JAWS" in the list, then press ENTER to switch to the application. b. Press ALT or F10 to activate the menu bar. c. The menu bar contains the names of several menus arranged along a horizontal bar. Use LEFT ARROW or RIGHT ARROW to select a menu name. JAWS speaks menu names as the highlighted selection cursor moves along the menu bar. d. Press ENTER to choose a menu name and to display its dropdown menu box. If there is more than one menu item in the list, then the items are arranged in a vertical list. e. Use UP ARROW and DOWN ARROW to select a menu item, and press ENTER to choose an item. This will either display a dialog box, start an application, or execute a command. f. To get a description of how to use the current menu or dialog option, you can use screen sensitive help by pressing INSERT+F1. To obtain information about the use of a program option or setting, press F1 for context help. For example, screen sensitive help might tell you about which keys to press when setting a dialog option, while context help tells you about the purpose or use of the dialog setting itself. g. Use ALT, F10, or ESCAPE to exit a menu or a dialog. Use ALT+F4 to quit an application. Use ALT+TAB or the Task List to switch away from the JAWS application window. 3. FILES MENU The Files Menu contains the Exit dialog. You can use this dialog to quit JAWS. You also can use INSERT+F4 to quit JAWS from anywhere in Windows. 4. VOICES MENU When you choose the Voices Menu, you can use various dialog boxes to set up the speech characteristics of your speech synthesizer. Settings in these dialog boxes determine the rate of speech, speech synthesizer volume, the pronunciation of punctuation characters, etc. The general function of each dialog in the dropdown voice menu box is listed below. Global Dialog = Adjusts speech characteristics that universally affect all other voice menus. Keyboard Dialog = Separately adjusts the voice characteristics of speech that is produced when you type text and numbers on the keyboard. PC Cursor Dialog = Separately adjusts voice parameters for speech that is produced when the PC cursor is active and the speech pad is being used to move the cursor. JAWS Cursor Dialog = Separately adjusts the voice characteristics for speech that is produced when the JAWS cursor is active and the speech pad is used to move the cursor. Uppercase Dialog = Adjusts the pitch that is used when speaking uppercase characters. 4.1 Global Dialog When a setting is made in the Global Dialog, it affects the speech that is produced when the keyboard, PC cursor, and JAWS cursor are used. Each of these sources of speech also can be separately adjusted from within their respective dialog boxes, but the global dialog offers greater speed for making general changes. TIP! It is best to first change Global dialog settings and try them out. After you are satisfied with your synthesizer's performance, then you may want to try using the other dialogs in the Voices menu. If you make changes in the PC cursor, JAWS cursor, and Keyboard dialogs, and then go back and make changes in the Global dialog, your new global settings will replace the settings in the other dialogs. Volume The Volume Scroll Bar is used to adjust the volume level of speech that is produced by your speech synthesizer. Use your arrow keys to change the volume, then press TAB to move on to the next dialog option. Higher numbers increase the level of speech volume while lower numbers decrease the loudness of output. Many synthesizers also have a built-in volume knob which must be adjusted before this setting can be used. Rate The Rate Scroll Bar is used to adjust the rate or speed of speaking. Use your arrow keys to change the setting, then press TAB to move on to the next dialog option. Higher numbers increase the rate at which words are spoken while lower numbers decrease the number of words that are spoken per minute. Tip! To move more rapidly through the settings on the scroll bar, use your PAGE UP and PAGE DOWN. Pitch The Pitch Scroll Bar is used to adjust the pitch of spoken words. Pitch is easier to explain when thinking in terms of singing. A bass singer has a very low pitch voice while a soprano sings very high musical notes. Lowering the setting for pitch makes the synthesizer sound more like a bass, while increasing the setting makes the speech output sound more like a soprano. Raising the pitch level to the top of its range may give the synthesizer certain childlike qualities. Use your arrow keys to change the setting, then press TAB to move on to the next dialog option. Voice The Voice Combo Box is used to choose a speaking voice for the synthesizer. The number of available voice selections and their names vary from synthesizer to synthesizer, and you will need to try the voices that are listed to learn about how they sound. Use your arrow keys to change the voice selection, then press TAB to move on to the next dialog option. Punctuation The Punctuation Combo Box is used to determine how many of the punctuation symbols and other special characters are to be spoken. A setting of zero turns off the speaking of punctuation. Use your arrow keys to change the selection, then press TAB to move on to the next dialog option. OK Button The OK Button is used to indicate that you are satisfied with the changes you have made, and that you are ready to exit the dialog. Your changes are automatically saved when you use this button. Cancel Button The Cancel Button is used to indicate that you want to exit the dialog and you do not want the changes you made to be saved or used. Help Button When you press the Help Button, you activate a help window that describes the general use of the dialog box. If you want specific help about an option, move the selection cursor to the item, and press F1 for context sensitive help. 4.2 Keyboard Dialog Settings in the Keyboard Dialog determine the voice characteristics of information that is spoken as you type text and numbers. The dialog options for volume, rate, pitch, voice, and punctuation are used in the same way as was previously described in the section on the Global dialog. Settings in the Keyboard dialog only affect speech that occurs as you type. There are additional settings that determine what is spoken as you type, and these settings are adjusted in the User Options dialog of the JAWS Options menu. 4.3 PC Cursor Dialog Settings in the PC Cursor Dialog determine the voice characteristics of information that is spoken when you use the PC cursor. The dialog options for volume, rate, pitch, voice, and punctuation are used in the same way as was previously described in the section on the Global dialog. The majority of screen reading is done with the PC cursor, and these dialog settings determine how the synthesizer speaks when the PC cursor is used. There is an additional setting that determines whether speech pad keys will interrupt the speaking of information when they are pressed. The Options menu contains this setting. 4.4 JAWS Cursor Dialog The JAWS Cursor Dialog is used to adjust the characteristics of speech output that you hear when the JAWS cursor is active. Some JAWS users give the JAWS cursor a somewhat different voice quality to serve as an auditory reminder that they are using the JAWS cursor for reading the desktop. This provides a subtle reminder of which cursor is active and is being used for reading. The speech synthesizer can be made to speak faster or slower when the JAWS Cursor is active and it can be given a totally different voice. 4.5 Uppercase The Uppercase dialog is used to determine whether uppercase letters will be read in a higher pitched voice when they are spoken. A setting of zero means that this feature is turned off. 5. OPTIONS MENU The Options Menu contains a variety of settings that affect the behavior of JAWS in different situations. The following options can be set in the User Options dialog. 5.1 Typing Echo When the setting for Typing Echo is on, JAWS speaks the text as you type it. When this setting is off, then JAWS remains silent as you type. 5.2 Typing Interrupt The use of Typing Interrupt is directly linked to your setting for typing echo. If the setting for typing echo is turned off and nothing is spoken as you type, then the typing interrupt setting does not have an effect on speech output. If typing echo is on, then this setting determines whether all of your typing is spoken or whether speech can be interrupted. For example, if the setting for typing echo causes individual characters to be spoken as you type them and the setting for typing interrupt is off, then JAWS keeps up with your typing no matter how fast you type. If typing interrupt is on, then JAWS speaks every character you type and its speaking may lag behind your typing. If you want to be sure of every character you type, then you would want to have the setting for typing interrupt turned off. 5.3 Reading Interrupt When the setting for Reading Interrupt is on, then JAWS stops the current speaking of information whenever a speech pad key is pressed. For example, if you are using your DOWN ARROW to move down through a list of names, you may not want to listen to all of the information on each line. When reading interrupt is on, then JAWS starts speaking the next line of information as soon as the DOWN ARROW is pressed, even if there is additional information from the previous line that has not been spoken. When reading interrupt is off, then JAWS reads all information regardless of how fast you press the DOWN ARROW. 5.4 Key Repeat The setting for Key Repeat determines how your keyboard responds when a key is continually held down. If this check box is checked, then you can hold down a key and produce a series of repeated characters such as a string of PERIODS. When it is unchecked, then each keystroke produces one character regardless of how long the key is held down. Keeping the key repeat check box unchecked is often preferred by new keyboard users. 5.5 Screen Echo When information on the desktop changes, such as when a dialog box is displayed, or a new block of text is inserted into a document, you can determine whether some or all of this information is spoken. If you set up JAWS to read all changes, then everything that appears on the desktop will be spoken as it is displayed. If you choose to only have highlighted information spoken, then much less information is spoken. If you do not wish to have any information automatically spoken, then choose "none". A setting of "all" is often appropriate when using a telecommunications program. 5.6 Verbosity Level You can control the amount of descriptive information that JAWS speaks by choosing a Verbosity level. The "highest level" provides the maximum information about the Windows desktop. The "intermediate level" and "lowest level" provide progressively less information. Those who are very familiar with the Windows environment may want to use the intermediate or lowest level. 6. UTILITIES MENU The Utilities Menu is used to activate software programs called JAWS utility programs. 6.1 Macro Editor The JAWS Macro Editor is a text editor that is used for creating and modifying macros. Macros are sets of instructions that determine how and when JAWS reads the desktop. The use of the JAWS macro editor and JAWS macro functions are fully described in the JAWS Technical Reference. The macro editor also can be used for general text editing activities. 6.2 Graphics Editor The JAWS Graphics Editor is used for two activities. It can be used to merge two graphics label files, or it can be used to edit the existing entries in a graphics label file. It can not be used to create new labels. The simplest and quickest method for creating and/or editing a single graphics label is to use the Graphics Wizard that was described in Chapter 3. 7. HELP MENU Several types of help can be started from the JAWS Help menu. These are in addition to context help and screen sensitive help which can be used at any time. 7.1 Contents When you choose Contents from the Help menu, you activate the JAWS help system. The JAWS Help System can be thought of as the instruction manual for JAWS. It actually contains the JAWS manuals and can be used, for example, to read chapters from a manual or to search for information on a specific topic. The JAWS help system also contains tips for using help that were specifically written for JAWS users. When you finish using the JAWS help system, press ALT+F4 to exit the help system. 7.2 Quick Reference When you choose Quick Reference from the JAWS Help menu, you can read through a list of JAWS and Windows commands. The quick reference is designed as a resource tool for those who already understand the use of JAWS and Windows. When you finish using the quick reference section of the JAWS help system, press ALT+F4 to exit the help system. 7.3 Changes When you choose Changes from the JAWS Help menu, you activate a resource that contains information about JAWS that may not be included in the printed manuals. Information in this resource is most useful to persons who have just updated their JAWS software to the latest version. 7.4 Customer Support When you choose Customer Support from the JAWS Help menu, you can read information about how to contact Henter- Joyce when you need assistance with solving problems related to JAWS for Windows. 7.5 About JAWS for Windows When you choose About JAWS from the JAWS Help menu, you can read your JAWS version number and your JAWS serial number.