If you missed Brad Dunse’s article on Text Analyzer, I recommend you check it out either before or after you read this article. Today I’ll be focusing on another feature in JAWS that most don’t know about. It is called Speech and Sound Schemes.
What Are Speech and Sound Schemes?
This is a feature in JAWS that can help make editing documents quicker and easier. You can also have some fun with many different voices by using the Web RentACrowd scheme, but I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s start with a simple example. When you’re editing a document and you want to make sure your quotations are correct, JAWS has a preset scheme that can help you do just that. Once you activate the Classic with Quotes scheme, your quoted text will be read in a different voice. This way, you can quickly determine where your quoted text is without turning on all the punctuation settings and driving yourself crazy! These schemes can also use sound to indicate things. As an example, some people don’t like to hear the word “Link” all the time on the web. If you could have a scheme play a sound whenever a link was encountered, then, whenever you heard that sound, you’d know there was a link to be activated.
Accessing JAWS Schemes
To see the list of all of the built-in schemes, press ALT+INSERT+S. Note: you will need to replace CAPS LOCK with INSERT if you are using the Laptop Layout of JAWS.
Once you do this keyboard shortcut, you will get a list of all schemes created for JAWS. Now just arrow to the scheme that you want to activate and press ENTER. You can also use first letter navigation to jump to a scheme of your choice, such as pressing W for the web schemes.
Once you press ENTER on a scheme, you will be placed back into the window or program that you were in before, with the new scheme active. If you want to return JAWS back to the standard behavior, simply bring up the Scheme dialog box again and select the Classic scheme. Note there are several schemes with the name Classic in them, so be sure that you select only Classic without anything extra in the name to return JAWS back to its normal reading mode. Also, if you are in Word, you will probably want to select the Word Classic scheme, as it has special features set up to read various formatting information in Microsoft Word that is helpful when attempting to proofread documents.
Quick Reference
Open the Select a Scheme dialog: ALT+INSERT+S
Return to default behavior: select the Classic scheme
For Word documents: use the Word Classic scheme
FAQ
What exactly does a scheme change?
A scheme changes how JAWS speaks or plays sounds for different text attributes or page elements. For example, a scheme can use a different voice for quoted text, play a sound when a link is encountered, or change how JAWS reads bold or italic text.
Will a scheme affect all programs?
No. Many schemes are designed for specific contexts. Some are for the web, some are for Word, and some are more general. JAWS will apply the scheme to whatever context you are in when you activate it.
How do I go back to normal after trying a scheme?
Bring up the Scheme dialog again with ALT+INSERT+S and select Classic. If you were in Word, select Word Classic.
Can I create my own scheme?
Yes. You can edit, delete, and create your own schemes within the JAWS Settings Center. I have created a few for my customers, such as schemes to read text that is bold, underlined, and/or italicized.
Scheme On!
Well, we’ve reached the end of this short article. If there is enough interest, I will do a part 2 and cover creating and editing custom schemes.
Qapla!
Good text.