[blindlaw] Re JAWS scripts as a remedy for inaccessible workplace software

Mon Feb 9 18:27:07 UTC 2015

I love these types of discussions because there are so many great tips
within the discussion. 

I am a ZoomText user and in the past had problems with Blackboard due to
images. Someone on this listserv suggested for me to get JAWS so that if I
run into the problem JAWS can be my back up tool. I plan to get it as soon
as I save up the money.

I tried Windows Eyes at the suggestion of another listserv member and it
completely locked up my computer. I found out later that it was not
compatible with ZoomText. I have to use ZoomText to see the computer screen.
I use the version that has the reader as well, but I am trying to encourage
the little eyesight that I have, to grow, so I magnify and listen at the
same time.

I have experimented with JAWS and ZoomText in school, so I know that I can
use both of them together successfully. The main issue that I have with JAWS
is that I have to train my mind to hear JAWS without thinking of it making
too much noise. Before I went blind and only needed larger font print, I
could not wrap my eyesight and brains around ZoomText. ZoomText became my
academic lifeline.

I agree with you both, we need to be fluent in more than one tool to help us
accomplish our goals.

Please keep the tips coming!!!

Thank you.

Anita Keith-Foust
919-430-1978

-----Original Message-----
From: blindlaw [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Michal
Nowicki via blindlaw
Sent: Sunday, January 25, 2015 6:12 PM
To: 'Blind Law Mailing List'
Subject: Re: [blindlaw] Re JAWS scripts as a remedy for inaccessible
workplace software

Dear Ms.  Rene,

Thank you for your comments.  I will address each of them in the paragraphs
that follow:

I agree with you 100% that blind people (not just lawyers) should use all
available assistive technology.  In fact, I have come to believe that
ideally, a blind person should have at least 2 screen readers:  a primary
one for everyday use and a secondary one.  That way, when the primary
program fails, there is always a chance that the secondary one will do the
job.  For example, I have observed that NVDA correctly reads some image alt
text tags that JAWS fails to recognize.  However, part of the reason why
JAWS remains so popular in the workplace is because it offers more features
than the competition, including, for instance, the ability to create custom
labels for web elements and the text analyzer, a tool that makes the
proofreading of documents much easier for blind people.

Until a few weeks ago, I too felt reluctant about accessing most PDF
documents using JAWS.  The exception was documents that were tagged for
heading navigation, and those which contained in-page links to other parts
of the document.  After doing some research, though, I discovered a couple
of features that changed my attitude towards JAWS compatibility with Adobe
Reader.  One of these is the ability to create multiple placemarkers in a
PDF document, and the other is the "go to page" function, which, when
accessed by pressing Control plus Shift plus N, causes JAWS to tell you
which page of the document you are currently on.  Additionally, while Adobe
find isn't very accessible, JAWS find works perfectly well for searching
documents.  With that in mind, I am no longer concerned about navigating
PDFs with JAWS, so long as the files aren't scanned images.  Even then,
however, I can use OCR software to make such files accessible, provided that
the image resolution is reasonable.

As for WindowEyes, I must say that as a JAWS user, I hate it.  I've had the
chance to try it out, but, unlike NVDA, with which I haven't had any
trouble, I just can't get used to WindowEyes, no matter how hard I try.  In
fact, sometimes I feel that GW Micro intentionally wrote the software in
such a way that JAWS users wouldn't be able to utilize it efficiently.  I am
not the only JAWS user that despises it, and I know that many WindowEyes
users can't stand JAWS.

I won't say anything about an office's duty to purchase accessible software
because I don't really know anything about the topic.

Best,

Michal

-----Original Message-----
From: blindlaw [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Elizabeth
Rene via blindlaw
Sent: Sunday, January 25, 2015 3:36 PM
To: blindlaw at nfbnet.org
Subject: [blindlaw] Re JAWS scripts as a remedy for inaccessible workplace
software

When dealing with inaccessible workplace software, I wonder whether we
lawyers shouldn't be using more than one screen reader tool.  We're always
talking about whether JAWS will do this or do that.  What about Apple OSX
and iOS?

I find, for example, that working with PDF files in JAWS is a headache,
while opening a PDF document in iBooks lets me breeze right through it.  In
fact, Apple reads PDFs better than it does Word documents!  But Apple does
something else better than JAWS.  Now I have a tiny, tiny bit of eyesight.
I can read the Apple screen with a 10X magnifying lense.  So if something
isn't readable with VoiceOver, I can turn VO off and use the Zoom utilities
to enlarge the print as much as I need to, and scroll through text that VO
somehow isn't flexible enough to accommodate.  A simple click of the home
button allows switching back and forth, or, if you want to, switch back and
forth to reverse from white on black to black on white.  And you can flip
between portrait and landscape orientations.  No extra software needed!  And
you can do all of this at your desk, at a cafe or a pub with something good
in front of you, or on your backyard deck with the kids outside.

 For that matter, maybe WindowEyes does some jobs better than JAWS or Apple.

I think we should be skilled in every tool we can find and afford, to make
our lives what we want them to be, and not be held hostage to office
programs that one tool can't handle.

And even as I say this, our offices may have a duty to vet their software
for accessibility before they buy it.To me, that seems to be part of the
"reasonable" in "reasonable accommodation."

Elizabeth Rene

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