Managing Key Labels - JAWS V15

Amending Key Label Settings with JAWS V15

When you start out using a screenreader you tend to hang on every word or every bit of "echo" the software provides. But, over time, you start to focus on the audio cues you actually need. In fact, the mission with your screenreader soon becomes one of paring down all that beginner level verbosity which can, ultimately, get really irritating.

A valuable option in trying to personalise the JAWS echo is to manage the labels spoken for some of the keys on your keyboard. As you know, when you use certain keys on the keyboard, JAWS will indicate the key you have pressed. But what is often under-acknowledged is that you have some control over how JAWS is doing this - in fact, over whether JAWS speaks at all!

To give you an idea of how JAWS can control this type of key label echo, I am going to walk through how to both mute the echo completely and also how to change the label to a text string of your own choosing. (So, if you always wanted to have a TAB KEY echo "Gerald" every time you press it, then read on!)

Toggle Key Label Speech On and Off

1. With JAWS running, use the keystroke of INSERT F2 to open the Run JAWS Manager list box.
2. Use the letter S several times to quickly move to the Settings Centre item in the list and use ENTER.
3. Press CONTROL SHIFT D to open the Default Configuration file in the Settings Centre dialog box.
4. In the Search field (CONTROL E) type in the word "Manage" then DOWN ARROW to focus on "Manage Key Labels..." Press ENTER.
5. Focus will now be on "Manage Key Labels..." in the formal tree view of settings, so tap F6 to move and focus on the "Manage Key Labels button..." Use SPACEBAR to activate this.
6. The Manage Key labels dialog box will now open and your focus will be in a list view, each row containing three columns of information. Use the DOWN ARROW to move through the options and listen to the feedback for each item.

7. The three columns of information for each item in the list is as follows:
• Key Name: This is the name of the key on the keyboard.
• Key Label: This is the text label spoken when the key is used.
• Mute Status: This piece of information shows whether the label is spoken or not. NOTE: if the text is "Always Speak" then you are unable to mute that key.
8. With focus in the list, press the letter "T" to move to the "Tab" key entry in the list. Notice that "Tab" is set to "Speak" and the key label is "Tab".
9. Use the ALT T keystroke to toggle the Mute Status on and off - in this case, set it to "mute".
10. Use INSERT UP ARROW to conduct a final read across the columns for the Tab key and ensure that the Mute setting is active.
11. Press the TAB key to move to the OK button and use SPACEBAR to confirm.
12. Focus will move back to the Manage Key Labels... button so tap the F6 key to return to the tree view, then TAB to the OK button. Use the SPACEBAR to confirm and activate your configuration change.

Now go into a new document (or navigate around something like the CONTROL P Print File Dialog box) in MS Word and test out your new silent TAB key!

Customise Key Label Speech

But what if you want to change the text that is spoken rather than turn the text off completely? In this example I'm going to change the echo speech "Num Lock" into "Number Lock".

1. Follow the steps as previous to navigate through the Settings Centre, choosing the default file and Manage Key Labels dialog box.
2. Locate the "Num Lock" item in the list.
3. This time, use the keystroke of ALT C to activate the Change Label button.
4. Focus moves to an edit field, replace "Num Lock" with "Number Lock".
5. Press the TAB key to move to the OK button and use SPACEBAR to confirm.
6. As before, use the F6 key to move to the tree view then TAB to OK and confirm with SPACEBAR.

Now test out your new key label for Number Lock! I've never been keen on the "num lock" echo which sounds like a wrestling move to me. Anyway, until next time, have fun!