[nfbcs] When to turn off the Jaws virtual cursor

[Steve Jacobson]

Nicole,

You have shown one of the reasons why we are struggling so much with accessibility.  Screen readers don't act the same, web browsers don't act the 
same, and sometimes operating systems don't act the same, even when they are all processing HTML.  This is interesting information, thanks for it.

Best regards,

Steve Jacobson

On Sat, 30 May 2015 20:54:55 -0700, Nicole Torcolini via nfbcs wrote:

>Okay, I do not know who knows what, but I am going to start with the basics
>to make sure that we are all on the same page.

>When using the internet with JAWS, the web page is loaded into a virtual
>buffer, which allows the user to use the arrow keys as though it was a
>document and to jump to different object types on the page using the quick
>navigation keys. JAWS intercepts all keys that are JAWS commands, including
>the arrow keys. If a control that JAWS recognizes  comes into focus, JAWS
>switches into forms mode and stops intercepting keystrokes. When not in
>forms mode, single letter shortcut keys on web sites generally do not work.
>Often, it is enough to turn off quick navigation keys, but, if you need to
>use the arrow keys on something that is not a control, it is necessary to
>either use pass through (JAWS key 3) or turn off the virtual cursor.

>The only time that I would recommend turning off the virtual cursor is if
>you need to press keys that JAWS intercepts even with quick navigation keys
>turned off, such as the arrow keys. Also, JAWS does not always stay in forms
>mode when expanding/collapsing menus, but this can usually be fixed by
>changing the forms mode type.

>It was mentioned earlier in this thread that pressing enter performs a
>click. For those of you who do not understand why this is, when you press
>enter with JAWS, JAWS does not send the enter key but rather an
>accessibility event. I do not know why this is; perhaps to compensate for
>those controls that have click handlers but not keyboard handlers or to
>mimic the behavior of native HTML controls where pressing enter triggers the
>onclick handler. One note about this behavior, though. What the
>accessibility event actually does is left up to the browser to decide.
>Firefox and Chrome correctly send mouse down, mouse up, click, but Internet
>Explorer only sends click. If you find that a control works in
>Firefox/Chrome but not Internet Explorer, try either changing the setting in
>newer versions of JAWS that allows for sending enter instead of click or
>using pass through. If both of those fail, then use the JAWS cursor to find
>the control and fire a click.

>Going back to the original question of if turning off the virtual cursor
>will help. I do not know. If it is a control that is on the tab order but
>does not have an ARIA role, then yes. Otherwise no.

>Nicole

>-----Original Message-----
>From: nfbcs [mailto:nfbcs-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Nancy Coffman via
>nfbcs
>Sent: Thursday, May 28, 2015 6:51 PM
>To: 'NFB in Computer Science Mailing List'
>Cc: Nancy Coffman
>Subject: Re: [nfbcs] When to turn off the Jaws virtual cursor

>Sometimes when you heed to "click", I have read that you need to use the
>jump to line command and then click from there.  I don't exactly remember
>the sequence but if you look up click in internet explorer help, the
>sequence should be there.

>Nancy Coffman

>-----Original Message-----
>From: nfbcs [mailto:nfbcs-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Steve Jacobson
>via nfbcs
>Sent: Thursday, May 28, 2015 11:02 AM
>To: NFB in Computer Science Mailing List
>Cc: Steve Jacobson
>Subject: Re: [nfbcs] When to turn off the Jaws virtual cursor

>Tracy,

>First, there isn't any absolute rule when to turn off the JAWS Virtual
>Cursor or turn off the Window-Eyes Browse Mode.  On web sites that use newer
>HTML, some web controls are now made to work better directly.  For example,
>sometimes the arrow keys will navigate what appear to be list boxes and
>allow one to interact with them.  This can be seen on some of the newer
>webmail sites where you can move up and down a list of messages without the
>virtual cursor and press a key to delete a message.  Whether that helps you
>in this case is hard to know, though.  If you are clicking on one item of
>what appears to be a list, it might be worth trying with the virtual cursor
>off.  

>Another thing to try with newer websites is that sometimes pressing ENTER on
>an area that would normally need to be clicked will cause the action to
>occur even if the area is not identified as a link.  This, of course, is
>with the virtual cursor on.


>Finally, Mike's advice of routing the JAWS cursor to PC and then clicking
>might be easier than the approach you are currently taking.  It is at least
>worth a try.

>Best regards,

>Steve Jacobson

>On Thu, 28 May 2015 10:32:36 -0400, Tracy Carcione via nfbcs wrote:

>>I have heard people here say they sometimes turn off the Jaws virtual 
>>cursor to make a website work better.  Could someone give an example of 
>>when to try this?

>>The MS Web Publishing website I was being trained on seems to require 
>>clicking with the Jaws mouse, and the Jaws mouse is not where the PC 
>>cursor is.  I was switching to the Jaws cursor, finding the place I 
>>want, then clicking.  Would this be the kind of thing where turning off 
>>the Jaws virtual cursor might help?

>>Thanks.

>>Tracy

>> 

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