Commands for Reading the Screen This section includes commands for Reading the screen and also Text elements: Keyboard Help: INSERT+1. This is a toggle key. The first time you press it, it turns on keyboard help. Press it a second time to turn off keyboard help. When keyboard help is turned on, you can press any key to hear what it will do without actually doing anything. It is great for typing practice. Also, if you press a JAWS command key such as Insert+Up Arrow to read the current line, it tells you what the keystroke will do without actually doing it. Say Window Title: Insert+T. Pressing Numpad Insert with the letter T reads the title of the document or web page that you are on, and then tells you which application you are in. For this reason, many people call it the Where Am I command. Say Character: Numpad 5. Speaks the character under the cursor. If you tap Numpad5 twice quickly, it speaks the military alphabet character. This is handy if you didn’t understand the character; for example, whether JAWS said B or D. Pressing numpad5 twice will say Bravo or Delta which makes it clear. Say Prior Character: Left Arrow. You can use the standard left arrow key, or the left arrow key on the number pad which is 4 when the NumLock key is turned off. The NumLock key is the top left key on the number pad. Say Next Character: Right Arrow. You can use the standard right arrow key, or the right arrow key on the number pad which is 6 when the NumLock key is turned off. The NumLock key is the top left key on the number pad. Say Word: Insert+Numpad 5. This keystroke speaks the word where the cursor is located. Spell Word: Insert+Numpad 5 pressed twice quickly. This keystroke spells the word where the cursor is located.
Word Commands for Moving Around a Document These commands allow you to move around a document using the cursor keys and Shortcut Keys that are available in Microsoft Word. Shortcuts for saving your document are also given. Move one character left: Press Left Arrow key. Moves left one character and speaks it. Most people use the standard arrow keys with the Word commands, but the NumPad arrow keys will work as well. Move one character right: Press Right Arrow key. Moves right one character and speaks it. Move to the start of the next word: Press Control+Right Arrow. Moves right one word and speaks it. This is normally used when editing text. For example, suppose that you are using the Down Arrow key to proofread your document by moving down one line at a time. Assume that you hear JAWS say a word that doesn’t sound right. Press Control+Right Arrow to quickly move across the line one word at a time. You can then edit the word. When done, it is a good idea to press the Home key to move back to the left side of your screen. Continue using the Down Arrow key to move through your document one line at a time. If you hear another word that you need to correct, you know that pressing Control+Right Arrow will always locate the word that you want to correct. Move to the start of the previous word: Press Control+Left Arrow. Moves left one word at a time and speaks it. When editing, this command is used to move backward through your document one word at a time. Move up one line: Press Up Arrow. Moves up one line and speaks it. Move down one line: Press Down Arrow. Moves down one line and speaks it. Move to the end of the current line: Press End. Moves to the end of the current line. Suppose that, when proofreading a document, you hear an incorrect word that is near the end of the line. Just press the End key; then use Control+Left Arrow to move left word by word until you hear the word that must be corrected. When done, press the Home key to move to the beginning of the line, then continue pressing Down Arrow to proofread the document. Move to the beginning of the current line: Press Home. Moves your working cursor to the beginning of the current line. Move one paragraph up: Control+Up Arrow. Moves to the beginning of the prior paragraph and speaks it.