A guide for Jaws users, written by Chorlton Workshop for hsbp.
Some common uses of dialog boxes are:
Dialog boxes contain the following components:
To read the complete contents of the Dialog box at any time, press INSERT + B.
The overall actions buttons are a small group of buttons for choosing the overall action of the dialog. They're normally along the bottom or right hand side of the dialog box.
One of these buttons is set as the Default button, and is the most likely action for the dialog box. It is indicated visually by a bold outline, and Jaws tells you the name of the button if you press INSERT + E. In general, irrespective of which control has the focus, you can press the default button by simply pressing ENTER — you don't have to move to the button to press it. An exception to this occurs when the focus is on a button other than the default button. In this case, either the button with the focus temporarily becomes the default button, or the default button is undefined. In either case, to press the original default button you can either move to a control which isn't a button and press ENTER, or move to the default button, and then press it.
There is normally a Cancel button, which closes the dialog box without taking any action. Irrespective of which control has the focus, you can always press the Cancel button by pressing ESC. In fact, even if there isn't a Cancel button, you can always close a dialog without taking any action by pressing ESC.
These are some examples of the overall action buttons:
This section describes most of the types of control that occur in dialog boxes.
A button is used for starting some action. It's normally rectangular, and has a label such as OK, Yes, No, etc.. To press a button, press ENTER or SPACEBAR.
Radio buttons are used for choosing between a small number of options, when only one of the options can be selected. The options are arranged in a list, and next to each option is a radio button, which is a small white disc. The selected option is indicated by a black dot in the centre of the white disk next to that option. To change the selected options use UP or DOWN ARROW.
A check box are used for choosing whether a particular option or property is set or not set. The check box is a small white square next to the option. If the option is set, then there is a black tick mark in the box, and it is said to be checked. To change the state of the check box, press SPACEBAR.
An edit box is used for entering or editing text, and is also known as a text box. It's appearance is a rectangular area, which contains any text. Within the edit box you can use all the usual keystrokes for moving about, selecting and editing text. When Jaws comes to an empty edit box, it says the label for the text box, edit, type in text. If there is already text in the edit box, then Jaws says this text after the word edit.
A list box is used for selecting a single item from a list. It's appearance is a rectangular box which contains a list, and it sometimes has a vertical scroll bar. You can change the selection using UP and DOWN ARROW, HOME, END, and the first letter of the item.
A combo box is used for selecting a single item from a list. Note that what Jaws calls a combo box is normally known as a drop-down list box. In its closed state it appears as a rectangle containing the selected item, and has a down arrow at the right hand end of the box. In its open state, the list appears below the current selection. You can change the selection using UP and DOWN ARROW, HOME, END, and the first letter of the item. After you have changed the selection, press TAB to move to the next control. This ensures that if the combo box was open, it will be closed.
In the remaining part of this section, there are the details of the opening and closing of combo boxes, explaining why pressing TAB after changing the selection of a combo box is recommended. Only read this if you really want to!
Opening combo boxes:
Closing combo boxes. The drop down list closes if you press TAB to move to the next control, ALT + UP ARROW, or ALT + DOWN ARROW.
From the above, you can see that after you've changed a combo box, it's difficult to work out whether a combo box is open or closed. The safest bet is to press TAB to move to the next control. This will close the combo box if it was open.
An edit combo box allows the user either to type in an entry, or choose an item from a list. It consists of a text box and either a list box, or a drop down list box - Jaws does not differentiate between the two. The focus is in either the text box or the list box, an it's initially in the text box. If you type in text, the focus is in the text box, and if you press UP or DOWN ARROW, the focus is in the list. Here are some ways to change the selection:
After you have changed the selection, press TAB to move to the next control. This ensures that if the list box was a drop-down list box, and it was open, it will be closed.
There are some important differences when making a selection in an Edit combo box, compared with a combo box:
An edit spin box allows the user to either type in a value, or move through ( spin through ) a set of ascending or descending values. It consists of a text box with the addition of a pair of up and down buttons at the right hand end. For example, the Page set up dialog in Microsoft uses them for setting the margins of the page. To move through the supplied set of values, use the UP and DOWN ARROWS.
A slider is used for setting a value in a continuous range, for example volume. It looks like a ruler, with an arrow to indicate the current value. To change the value in small increments press LEFT or RIGHT ARROW. To change the value in large increments, use PAGE UP, or PAGE DOWN.