Problem
A JAWS customer would like to use Smart Navigation
feature in JAWS.
Detail
Smart Navigation is feature in JAWS that changes the way navigation occurs in web pages and PDF documents which is designed to make navigation more efficient. When enabled JAWS will no longer navigation by character or word and instead will navigate by control or table element.
Resolution
To engage Smart Navigation press the keystroke which toggles between the four options shown below:
- Off – Smart Navigation disabled
- Controls – Enable Smart Navigation for web page controls
only.
- Tables – Enable Smart Navigation for tables only.
- Controls and tables – Enable Smart Navigation for
both controls and tables.
Smart Navigation Settings in detail
Off
This setting disables Smart Navigation, JAWS will navigate as normal through web and PDF documents.
Controls
When set to Controls JAWS navigates by controls including, but
not limited to, buttons, links, edit fields, list boxes, and tree views, are
treated as single units when navigating by character or word, like moving
through a menu bar with RIGHT
and LEFT ARROW. If you wish to return to navigating by character/word
press Say Character, Say Word, and Say Line command twice quickly while focused
on a control, JAWS then switches to character and word navigation so you can
use the traditional navigation by character, word, line, sentence, and
paragraph to review a control, such as the text of a button or link, in greater
detail. Smart Navigation by controls automatically resumes when you move to
another control using TAB
or UP or DOWN ARROW. If you encounter a
table, you will still use the table reading commands (CTRL+ALT+ARROW keys) or the
Table layer (INSERT+SPACEBAR, T)
to navigate the table.
Tables
When enabled JAWS will navigate tables in the following manner:
When focused inside of a table, the RIGHT and LEFT ARROW keys move between columns while the UP and DOWN ARROW keys move between rows.
If you press RIGHT ARROW to move from the last column in the current row to the first column of the next row, or LEFT ARROW to move from the first column in the current row to the last column in the prior row, JAWS plays a sound to indicate the new row.
Controls and Tables
When Controls and Tables are enabled and when JAWS is focused in a cell and it contains any controls, such as a link or an edit field, pressing the Say Character, Say Word, or Say Line commands twice quickly will switch to control navigation, and performing these commands again twice quickly will switch to character and word navigation. If the cell does not contain controls, you can only switch to character and word navigation. Moving focus away from the current table cell using LEFT or RIGHT ARROW will switch back to the prior navigation level, for example, pressing RIGHT ARROW while in character and word navigation will return to Smart Navigation in tables as soon as you move to a different cell.