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Has a JAWS default been changed, or am I not remembering this correctly?


 

Hello All,
?
For as long as I can remember, when using JAWS with a web browser JAWS would auto-switch from browse to focus mode when you landed in any control (edit box, checkbox, button) when focus landed upon it.
?
Today I was working with a new client using JAWS (2024, I think, I forgot to confirm version) with the amazon.com webpage.? I had her do "my usual thing" of hitting E to throw focus to the one and only edit box on the page, the search box.? It worked as far as throwing focus there, but it did not automatically switch to forms mode to allow typing, and I could swear it used to.
?
The client swears that she has made no changes to JAWS and I definitely believe her.? Has the default changed or have I just forgotten that the default is NOT to switch between browse and focus mode when focus lands on a control?
--
Brian ?¡¤ ¡á? ¡¤ ???? ¡¤ ?Virginia, USA?-?Windows 11 Pro, Version 23H2, Build 22631;?M365 Family; Android 13 (Xiaomi HyperOS 1.0.2.0)

It is well to open one's mind but only as a preliminary to closing it. . . for the supreme act of judgment and selection.

?????? ~ Irving Babbitt


 

¿ªÔÆÌåÓý

I would check the forms mode defaults just to be sure.

?

So far, in 2022, it switches automatically.

?

I seem to remember once while training someone that it was randomly changed, and so we had to change it back.

?

Thanks,

Justin

?

?

From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Brian Vogel via groups.io
Sent: Thursday, August 8, 2024 5:53 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [JAWS-support] Has a JAWS default been changed, or am I not remembering this correctly?

?

Hello All,

?

For as long as I can remember, when using JAWS with a web browser JAWS would auto-switch from browse to focus mode when you landed in any control (edit box, checkbox, button) when focus landed upon it.

?

Today I was working with a new client using JAWS (2024, I think, I forgot to confirm version) with the amazon.com webpage.? I had her do "my usual thing" of hitting E to throw focus to the one and only edit box on the page, the search box.? It worked as far as throwing focus there, but it did not automatically switch to forms mode to allow typing, and I could swear it used to.

?

The client swears that she has made no changes to JAWS and I definitely believe her.? Has the default changed or have I just forgotten that the default is NOT to switch between browse and focus mode when focus lands on a control?

--

Brian ?¡¤ ¡á? ¡¤ ???? ¡¤ ?Virginia, USA?-?Windows 11 Pro, Version 23H2, Build 22631;?M365 Family; Android 13 (Xiaomi HyperOS 1.0.2.0)

It is well to open one's mind but only as a preliminary to closing it. . . for the supreme act of judgment and selection.

?????? ~ Irving Babbitt


 

Thanks, Justin, both for confirming that what I recall is the norm as well as pointing me to exactly where I need to check in settings.
--
Brian ?¡¤ ¡á? ¡¤ ???? ¡¤ ?Virginia, USA?-?Windows 11 Pro, Version 23H2, Build 22631;?M365 Family; Android 13 (Xiaomi HyperOS 1.0.2.0)

It is well to open one's mind but only as a preliminary to closing it. . . for the supreme act of judgment and selection.

?????? ~ Irving Babbitt


 

Brian,

I have the latest released version of JAWS 2024 on Windows 10 22H2. I
went into the default settings center and copied the JAWS help message
about forms mode, so this is basically from the horse's mouth:

Use the radio buttons in this group to select how you wish to get in
and out of Forms Mode.
When set to Auto, JAWS automatically enters Forms Mode when you press
TAB, SHIFT+TAB, or the ARROW keys to move to a control that requires
Forms Mode in order to interact with it, such as an edit field or
combo box. To indicate you have entered Forms Mode, you will hear a
"pop" sound, or you can use the status cells in Braille. When you
finish working with a control, you can press ESC to exit Forms Mode,
or press UP or DOWN ARROW to move away from the control and exit Forms
Mode. This functionality can be very useful for new and sighted JAWS
users and is the default setting.
Selecting Manual prevents JAWS from ever putting you into forms mode
as you navigate using any of the commands including the TAB Key. This
means that when you move into an edit field or combo box control, you
must press ENTER first to type text or select a value. To manually
exit Forms Mode, press NUM PAD PLUS or ESC.
Semi-auto is a mode in between Auto and Manual. You will only enter
Forms Mode if you land on a control while navigating with TAB or
SHIFT+TAB. Forms Mode will not be activated if you navigate with the
ARROW keys or Navigation Quick Keys. You must manually exit Forms Mode
when Semi-auto is active. Semi-auto and Manual Forms Mode may be
better suited for experienced users, or when using Smart Navigation.
Note: When Forms Mode is on, Say Line or Say All reads all text on the
current line. This includes labels and descriptions.

hth
Gene...

On Thu, Aug 8, 2024 at 5:52?PM Brian Vogel via groups.io
<britechguy@...> wrote:

Hello All,

For as long as I can remember, when using JAWS with a web browser JAWS would auto-switch from browse to focus mode when you landed in any control (edit box, checkbox, button) when focus landed upon it.

Today I was working with a new client using JAWS (2024, I think, I forgot to confirm version) with the amazon.com webpage. I had her do "my usual thing" of hitting E to throw focus to the one and only edit box on the page, the search box. It worked as far as throwing focus there, but it did not automatically switch to forms mode to allow typing, and I could swear it used to.

The client swears that she has made no changes to JAWS and I definitely believe her. Has the default changed or have I just forgotten that the default is NOT to switch between browse and focus mode when focus lands on a control?
--
Brian ¡¤ ¡á? ¡¤ ???? ¡¤ Virginia, USA - Windows 11 Pro, Version 23H2, Build 22631; M365 Family; Android 13 (Xiaomi HyperOS 1.0.2.0)

It is well to open one's mind but only as a preliminary to closing it. . . for the supreme act of judgment and selection.

~ Irving Babbitt


 

Gene,
?
Thanks.? You've definitively confirmed that someone, somewhere tweaked that setting away from default.? It really threw me for a loop when we started to type in the Amazon search edit box and the characters were being interpreted as browse mode single letter commands.
--
Brian ?¡¤ ¡á? ¡¤ ???? ¡¤ ?Virginia, USA?-?Windows 11 Pro, Version 23H2, Build 22631;?M365 Family; Android 13 (Xiaomi HyperOS 1.0.2.0)

It is well to open one's mind but only as a preliminary to closing it. . . for the supreme act of judgment and selection.

?????? ~ Irving Babbitt


 

Brian,

In a way I can understand that. Once I understood what forms mode was
and how it worked, I switched it to manual.

Gene...

On Thu, Aug 8, 2024 at 6:22?PM Brian Vogel via groups.io
<britechguy@...> wrote:

Gene,

Thanks. You've definitively confirmed that someone, somewhere tweaked that setting away from default. It really threw me for a loop when we started to type in the Amazon search edit box and the characters were being interpreted as browse mode single letter commands.
--
Brian ¡¤ ¡á? ¡¤ ???? ¡¤ Virginia, USA - Windows 11 Pro, Version 23H2, Build 22631; M365 Family; Android 13 (Xiaomi HyperOS 1.0.2.0)

It is well to open one's mind but only as a preliminary to closing it. . . for the supreme act of judgment and selection.

~ Irving Babbitt


 

On Thu, Aug 8, 2024 at 06:33 PM, Gene Warner wrote:
Once I understood what forms mode was and how it worked, I switched it to manual.
-
Which I know a number of people have done.? I know a number of NVDA users who've done the analogous tweak away from auto mode changing, too.? This is one of those things that's a distinctly personal preference, and that choice should be supported.
?
It's not that I think the default is the "best choice," it's just that, until today, it was as predictable as the sun rising in the east.? I just wanted to be absolutely sure that there had not been a reversal in that default with JAWS 2024, and apparently there has not been.
--
Brian ?¡¤ ¡á? ¡¤ ???? ¡¤ ?Virginia, USA?-?Windows 11 Pro, Version 23H2, Build 22631;?M365 Family; Android 13 (Xiaomi HyperOS 1.0.2.0)

It is well to open one's mind but only as a preliminary to closing it. . . for the supreme act of judgment and selection.

?????? ~ Irving Babbitt


 

Brian,

That default has never changed since I started using JAWS in December 2013.

You can always double check this by running JAWS with the /default
command line option, it runs JAWS using the factory default settings
without altering the users settings so it's easy to return JAWS to how
the user had it set up by simply running JAWS again without the
command line option.

Gene...

On Thu, Aug 8, 2024 at 6:39?PM Brian Vogel via groups.io
<britechguy@...> wrote:

On Thu, Aug 8, 2024 at 06:33 PM, Gene Warner wrote:

Once I understood what forms mode was and how it worked, I switched it to manual.

-
Which I know a number of people have done. I know a number of NVDA users who've done the analogous tweak away from auto mode changing, too. This is one of those things that's a distinctly personal preference, and that choice should be supported.

It's not that I think the default is the "best choice," it's just that, until today, it was as predictable as the sun rising in the east. I just wanted to be absolutely sure that there had not been a reversal in that default with JAWS 2024, and apparently there has not been.
--
Brian ¡¤ ¡á? ¡¤ ???? ¡¤ Virginia, USA - Windows 11 Pro, Version 23H2, Build 22631; M365 Family; Android 13 (Xiaomi HyperOS 1.0.2.0)

It is well to open one's mind but only as a preliminary to closing it. . . for the supreme act of judgment and selection.

~ Irving Babbitt