JAWS V15 - Speech History

Speech History Mode in JAWS V15

It might be stating the obvious but - JAWS speaks a lot. And yet, sometimes, in the middle of all the stream of echo consciousness, we don't always catch the nuggets we need or we simply forget what JAWS said a few minutes back. Try and recall that information in speech and it's impossible - at least it was impossible until JAWS V15 came along.

Using the Speech History Tool in JAWS V15

Since JAWS V15, you can now use a function to navigate through a history of the speech output that JAWS has spoken in the current session. If you have JAWS V15 or above, try it out:

1. From inside MS Word for example, use the keystroke of INSERT SPACEBAR. You should hear a sharp click.
2. Use the single letter key of "H". A virtual viewer window will eventually open.
3. Your cursor focus should now be at the bottom of what might, potentially, be a long list. How long depends on how busy JAWS has been!
4. Use the UP ARROW to move back through all of the speech spoken in the current session. Remember the most recent speech will be at the bottom.
5. When you are in the virtual viewer, you can move straight to the top of the list with CONTROL HOME and move directly to the bottom of the list with CONTROL END.
6. When you have finished reading, close the virtual viewer with ALT F4.

Pretty neat isn't it? And clearing the speech history list can be achieved in a similar fashion too:

Clearing the Current JAWS Speech History List

1. Use INSERT SPACEBAR, you will hear a sharp click as before.
2. Instead of H this time, use SHIFT H.
3. JAWS will indicate that the list has been cleared.

And that is it - until next time, have fun!