Zoom Scripts for JAWS for Windows!

Zoom is a fairly accessible and easy to use conferencing client which has become widely used by visually impaired people in recent years. It provides plenty of opportunities for visual and audio interaction, together with screen-sharing and recording capabilities, to name but a small number of its features.

Despite the level of accessibility included, there are a number of features which the scripts provide so as to make it more convenient for you to host conferences with confidence. By far the best of these is the ability to suppress alerts from being spoken automatically, when a person enters or leaves the room, if you are using the computer audio, if a chat message has been sent or if someone raises their hand for example. While these are undoubtedly useful things to know, they do mean that they can interrupt the flow of presenting as they can be disconcerting to the speaker. Moreover, if you are delivering a presentation which involves the audience hearing the output from a screen-reader, it is not acceptable for listeners to hear such messages. These can be disabled, and you can review the most recent of these quickly.

Other features are also included, such as the ability to only hear who has raised and lowered a hand, (perhaps in anticipation of asking a question). You can also quickly review text chat messages.

Full documentation is included, giving details of how to install and use the JAWS scripts, together with a full list of Zoom keystrokes and those specific to the scripts. Technical Support is also available if a problem is encountered. As with all Hartgen Consultancy training documentation, it is laid out for quick and easy reference using a Heading structure.

While there are some free Zoom scripts available which have been produced by ourselves at Hartgen Consultancy, unless a significant change occurs to the Zoom conferencing platform they will not be updated. The scripts which can be purchased from this page are updated usually on a monthly basis. Feature suggestions are most welcome. Please email them to brian@hartgenconsultancy.com.

These scripts can be used with JAWS for Windows Home and Professional together with Zoom Basic and Professional.

What are the differences between the free scripts and those which you pay for?

• Many accessibility improvements in the Zoom client including ensuring JAWS does not over-talk in the Participants List.
• Alerts sent by Zoom to the JAWS program can be suppressed globally, rather than just within the Zoom application itself.
• There is considerable control over text chat message alerts. Select between hearing them automatically when they arrive or no automatic reading.
• Keystrokes exist to place the content of the focused control into the JAWS Virtual Viewer for closer inspection and to display all messages in the current session.
• Enable or disable a setting which advises if a person has raised a hand or who have entered or left the Waiting Room.
• Hear audio cues denoting people who have raised a hand in the Participants List or whose audio is muted. This makes hosting conferences much easier.
• Press a keystroke to place a summary of your current settings into the JAWS virtual Viewer for closer inspection.
• Press a keystroke to place a summary of the window title into the JAWS virtual Viewer for closer inspection.
• Keystrokes exist to move to the text chat edit field and the history list, together with admitting participants from the Waiting Room.
• A keystroke is available to bring all the Zoom default keystrokes into a vertical list. Activate any one of them by pressing Enter.
• Many accessibility improvements.
• Braille Mode, so you can read alerts on the Braille display but they are not spoken.
• Full documentation and technical support included.
• Updates will be made to the scripts as and when new features are requested.
• A support Email list is available to all users.

Hear an audio demonstration of the Zoom Scripts.

The JAWS Scripts for Zoom are priced £30 which is approximately 42 American Dollars.

Please enter your JAWS or Fusion serial number here.

Take control of Zoom more effectively when using the new JAWS Scripts!