What’s New in JAWS 10 Public Beta
Note: The following information provides details about the upcoming JAWS 10 public beta release. It is scheduled to be posted for download during the week of August 24, 2008.
Thank you for participating in the JAWS 10 English public beta test. This page provides all the necessary details that you need to know. Please take a few moments to review this information and take advantage of the beta report link to provide Freedom Scientific your feedback during the public beta.
Please note that while the final release of JAWS 10 will be a Software Maintenance Agreement (SMA) upgrade, this public beta version will run for anyone with a JAWS license that provides access to JAWS 9. You can verify your ILM authorization by going to www.fsactivate.com, choosing the Continue Product Activation button, and then choosing the link labeled “Verify the number of activation keys available for your Freedom Scientific product.” On this page, enter your serial number to find out if your license is current and what release version is allowed.
For those who do not have a JAWS 9 or later license, you can still install the public beta version and run it using 40-Minute Demo mode.
This public beta version will expire later this year. To use JAWS without interruption, you must continue to update to later versions of the public beta and then to the final release. Please use the Check for Updates feature in the Help menu each week to be sure that you have the most current software.
Note: You do not have to remove earlier versions of JAWS to install JAWS 10. Your previous versions will continue to function when you have JAWS 10 installed, just as each new major version release of JAWS has in the past.
Technical Support During the Public Beta
While in public beta, general technical support of JAWS 10 is not available using our direct support phone lines. We request that you send feedback directly to Freedom Scientific using the Beta Report form.
JAWS 10 Features
JAWS Release 10 offers several new features and improvements as described on this page. To learn more, read the entire What’s New or press INSERT+F6 to open a list of headings and then jump directly to a specific item.
New JAWS 10 Features Demonstrated in FSCast
Listen to Eric Damery, Product Manager for JAWS, and Jonathan Mosen, Vice President of Blindness Hardware Product Development, discuss the latest JAWS 10 enhancements in the August 2008 FSCast.
Surf’s Up! Surfing the Internet with JAWS
Surf’s Up!, the Freedom Scientific Web page that explains how to surf the Web with JAWS, has been updated to help instructors and students take advantage of the new JAWS 10 features that are mentioned on this page. Pay particular attention to the Forms page. It gives great details for using the new Auto Forms Mode function.
Auto Forms Mode
Forms Mode is a function of JAWS that lets you type text into edit fields or select combo box values on Web pages and Adobe Acrobat forms. By default, when using Navigation Quick Keys such as F for next form field or E for next edit box, you must manually turn on Forms Mode using ENTER or NUM PAD PLUS and turn off Forms Mode using ESC. The manual method for controlling Forms Mode may be better suited for experienced JAWS users.
Auto Forms Mode automatically turns on Forms Mode when you move into combo box controls using TAB, or edit fields using TAB and ARROW Keys. This means that you can freely type in the edit field without having to first press ENTER. When you exit the control, Forms Mode turns off. This functionality can be very useful for new and sighted JAWS users in training environments. By default, Auto Forms Mode is on. There are two ways to turn it off. First, you can press INSERT+V and then change the Auto Forms Mode option to off. Second, you can use the new Forms Mode Options dialog located in Configuration Manager.
RealSpeak Solo Direct Synthesizers
JAWS 10 supports RealSpeak™ Solo Direct synthesizers from Nuance® Communications. These new synthesizers work exclusively with Freedom Scientific products, provide better speed and performance over the Nuance synthesizers supplied with earlier JAWS versions, and will not interfere with any synthesizers currently installed on your system. To listen to samples or download these synthesizers, go to the RealSpeak Solo Direct Voices for Freedom Scientific Products Web page.
Another way to open this page is to use the new RealSpeak Solo Direct link available in the JAWS application window. The link is in Web Resources under the Help menu.
Dictionary Manager Tree View
The Dictionary Manager lets you change the way JAWS speaks words, phrases, abbreviations, or symbols to avoid any mispronunciation. In JAWS 10, the Dictionary manager has been expanded so that you can create rules applying to specific languages, synthesizers, or voices. Once the rule is created, it is added to the top of the Dictionary Entries list. It is identified by language, for example, English, and can be expanded into a tree view to show other restrictions that apply to the rule. To open the Dictionary Manager in any application, press INSERT+D.
Navigation Quick Key Manager
Navigation Quick Keys are convenient keystrokes that let you quickly move around Web pages, PDF files, Word documents, and Outlook e-mail messages. Beginning with JAWS 10, you can now change the keystroke assigned to a quick key with any unassigned letter or number using the Navigation Quick Key Manager. This gives you the flexibility of assigning a character that is easy for you to remember. Any changes that you make are immediately applied to the new quick key assignment. To open a Navigation Quick Key Manager from within an application, press INSERT+F2, N, and then ENTER.
Voice Profiles
The Global Voices and Individual Voices profiles in JAWS have been updated to closely match functionality available in MAGic 11 and later. These profiles let you create and save speech rate, pitch, synthesizer, language, punctuation level, and other speech options. Use the Default and Application radio buttons to apply the voice settings as new JAWS default values or as voice settings to a specific application. For more information about these items, open the JAWS Help file, select the Using JAWS book from the Table of Contents pane, and then open the Voice Settings book.
To open the dialog box for either voice profile, choose Options (ALT+O) from the JAWS application window, select Voices (V), and then select Global Adjustment (G) or Individual Voice Adjustment (I). To change voice profiles on the fly, press INSERT+CTRL+S to open the Select a Voice Profile dialog box, and then select a profile from the list.
Language Menu Changes
The Synthesizer Language and Change Synthesizer commands have been removed from the Language menu in the JAWS application window and been replaced by the Voice Profiles command. This new command lets you select and instantly switch to another synthesizer and voice combination that you set up as a voice profile. For more about voice profiles, open the JAWS Help file, and refer to the Global Voices or Individual Voices topics. These topics are found in Voice Settings in the Using JAWS book.
Unified English Braille or Contracted English Braille Setup
JAWS can now provide contracted braille using either Contracted English Braille, formerly known as grade 2 braille, as defined in translation rules from the Braille Authority of North America (BANA), or Unified English Braille (UEB) as provided by the International Council on English Braille (IECB). Using Braille Options in the Configuration Manager
