JAWS - Unable to read Word document in protected view

JAWS - Unable to read Word document in protected view

Problem

A customer has received a document which they cannot read because it opens in protected view.


Applies to

  • JAWS
  • Fusion

Detail

When receiving a Word document from a third party or downloaded from the Internet it is possible the document may open in Protected View which disables the editing cursor, this results in the JAWS user being unable to read the document.  

Resolution

  1. Protected view in Microsoft Word is a security mechanism that attempts to sheild a user from a document that contains malicious code by giving a sighted user sight of the document based upon which they can choose to enable editing of the document (disabling Protected View).  
  2. For a JAWS or Fusion user this causes them to be unable to read the document until they enable editing.
  3. See below options for dealing with Protected View documents.

Method 1 - Allow document editing per document

  1. Open the document as usual. 
  2. When you hear the Protected a JAWS cursor can press JAWSKey+T to query the document name and decide if it is safe to allow editing or not.
  3. Upon deciding the document is safe press F6 key, then right arrow to the Enable Editing button.
  4. Then press SPACEBAR to enable editing on the document, this will then allow the cursor to freely read the document. 


Method 2 - Disable Protected View globally


Warning!
Disabling protected view carries an inherent risk from documents containing malicious code.  Any document you load from an external source can immediately run code once the document is opened.  Protected mode is intended as a last defense. against opening a potentially dangerous file.
  1. Open File > Options > Trust Centre > Trust Centre Settings (button).
  2. Then choose Protected View in the category list.
  3. Then uncheck each of the options below to completely disable Protected View then click OK to save changes:
Enable protected view for files originating from the Internet.
Enable Protected View for files located in potentially unsafe locations.
Enable Protected View for Outlook attachments.


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