Category: JAWS Power Tip

Google Docs is a part of the Google Workspace suite of applications and is widely used in schools and in the workplace to create, edit, and share documents.

Learn how to quickly open a file in Microsoft Word with JAWS and enhance your productivity efficiently.

OneDrive is Microsoft’s cloud-based storage where you can save, access, edit, and manage files from any computer or mobile device. You can access it online by visiting OneDrive.com and signing into your Microsoft account. When navigating OneDrive online, it often helps to turn off the JAWS Virtual PC Cursor for many tasks so you can navigate the page much like you would the OneDrive desktop app; however, when uploading a file, turning this cursor on makes the page easier to navigate by enabling you to use Quick Navigation keys. You can toggle the Virtual PC Cursor on or off by pressing INSERT+Z if using Desktop keyboard layout, or CAPS LOCK+Z if using Laptop layout.

Smart Glance highlights in JAWS are visually distinctive pieces of text on a web page, such as bold, colored, or uniquely formatted content that stands out from the rest. JAWS detects these highlights to help you quickly find important information that might not be marked as a heading or link. This feature is especially useful for catching key points, warnings, or visually emphasized content that could otherwise be missed.

Page Explorer is a JAWS feature that provides a quick summary of any web page. It tells you about the page’s layout, main content, important links, and gives you tips for navigating the page efficiently.

Formulas determine how values are calculated in Excel. When navigating to a cell containing a calculation, JAWS will speak the calculation result and let you know a formula is present. JAWS can also read the formula, which helps ensure accuracy, especially when checking for errors or verifying results. Reading formulas is also important when auditing someone else’s spreadsheet, since it allows you to confirm that calculations are logical and correct. It can also help you learn Excel syntax by hearing how formulas are structured, and makes troubleshooting easier when results don’t look right.

Form fields are used in online forms, such as sign-up pages, contact forms, and surveys, to collect information from you. With JAWS, you can quickly find and move between these fields to fill out forms efficiently. You can list all the form fields on a web page using JAWS. This is useful because it lets you quickly find out what information is required, easily jump to each field to fill it out, and later review your answers to make sure everything is correct. Listing form fields helps you stay organized and ensures you don’t miss anything important on forms.

Comments are used to make suggestions in a document without changing the text. Visually, they appear in balloons inside the margins. You can read, reply to, and delete comments using keyboard commands. Here’s how to navigate among comments from any location in your document using JAWS.

In Microsoft Word, revisions refer to edits made to a document that are tracked and displayed using the Track Changes feature. This allows users to review, accept, or reject modifications such as insertions, deletions, and formatting changes. You can quickly review all tracked revisions using the JAWS Virtual Viewer. This is a fast way to check edits and formatting without manually searching through your document.