[blindlaw] Research and screen readers

[Angie Matney]

I am not a fan of Westlaw Text at all. It's harder for me to navigate
than other sites, and it doesn't provide the level of detail I need
when search results are displayed.

Except for some random crashes when I try to change my jurisdiction in
WestlawNext, the site is very accessible with JAWS, as is regular
Westlaw. I haven't used Lexis in a few years, but it was just as
accessible back then.

I prefer all of these sites to the text.westlaw.com site. I can do
more with screen-reader keystrokes on Westlaw Classic and WestlawNext.
In JFW, x and shift-x take you to the next and prior checkbox
respectively. This makes jumping between search results a snap. I
imagine WindowEyes has a similar keystroke.

Also, each of these sites displays excerpts from your search results
on the results page. I don't know of a way to make Westlaw Text do
this, which means I have to click on each result to see if it is
relevant--far too time-consuming. If there is a way to have Westlaw
Text display excerpts from search results, I would really be
interested to know about it.

Basically, I have found that it helps to learn about the different
elements on the page of your preferred database and then learn the
corresponding keystrokes for your screen-reader.

On 12/11/12, Susan Kelly <Susan.Kelly at pima.gov> wrote:
> I use a combination of MAGic and JAWS with WestLaw, usually the text
> version (text.westlaw.com).  I was one of the people that WestLaw Next
> was tested on for accessibility software, and it seemed fairly usable,
> but I still prefer using the less "busy" screen on the text-only version
> of WestLaw, as do a lot of co-workers with no vision problems.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: blindlaw [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Jeckel,
> Christopher
> Sent: Tuesday, December 11, 2012 9:16 AM
> To: Blind Law Mailing List
> Subject: [blindlaw] Research and screen readers
>
> Hey Gang,
>
> So the tech support folks at G.W. Micro have explained to me that the
> function on WindowEyes which allows a user to hover the mouse over text
> for audio feedback will most likely not be compatible with most online
> browsers in a few years.  Reason being is because of the new way
> Microsoft is writing code for windows.  The program will still work
> fine, just not with the hover function.  What this means for me and
> other partially sighted WindowEyes users is that we will have to learn
> how to use WindowEyes or Jaws only using the key commands, hot keys etc.
>
>
> My question for you all is when doing legal research, have you found any
> particular combination of Jaws or WindowEyes with Lexis or WestLaw to be
> the most efficient?  Do you find one legal database easier to navigate
> with a screen reader than the other using key commands, hot keys, etc.?
>
> Love you guys,
> Chris
>
>
>
>
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