Moderated Jaws key
Hi, Suzanne. It sounds as if the function keys on these laptops are set to Media Action Mode in the BIOS. Depending on what type of laptop these are, you may need sighted help to go into the BIOS, and disable Media Keys in the configuration of the BIOS. If either of them are Dell, you can reverse this behavior by holding down the FN key, and pressing the ESCAPE Key. A temporary work-around is to hold down the FN key as well as the JAWS key when using the function keys.
Sent: Monday, January 30, 2023 6:37 AM
To: main@jfw.groups.io
Subject: Jaws key
Hello everyone. For some reason both my student's laptop and my laptop won't recognize the JAWS key when I use it. For example, if I am on a webpage and I press caps lock + F6 because I want the list of headings, the volume adjustment comes up. I have it set to laptop mode. Any ideas?
Suzanne M. Proctor
Teacher for the Blind, Visually Impaired and DeafBlind
Prince William Public Schools
I haven't come across a laptop that doesn't have the media and other function control keys active by default in ages. Dell and Lenovo both have ways to reverse this without going into UEFI/BIOS, but most makers don't. A standard part of my machine setup protocol when setting up a laptop for a screen reader user is to make sure that the function keys will behave as function keys, and that generally means a UEFI/BIOS settings change.
It's simple to do, once you know how to do it, and provided you don't need screen reader support to do so. Screen readers don't enter the scene until Windows has booted, and UEFI/BIOS tweaks occur way earlier in the boot process than loading Windows does.
Bill is also correct that holding down FN + whatever function key, along with whatever other modifier key(s) might be needed, will work around this, but it's not a practical permanent situation.
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Brian - Virginia, USA - Windows 11 Pro, 64-Bit, Version 22H2, Build 22621; Office 2016, Version 16.0.15726.20188, 32-bit; Android 12 (MIUI 13)
It’s not lack of contact with the world off campus that leads to the liberal views common in academia — it’s being trained to think critically and practicing this craft daily as we look at the world around us that makes us the libs conservatives so dislike.
~ Eliot A. Brenowitz, Seattle; New York Times, Letters, Tales of Town and Gown: Is the Campus Isolated?, August 20, 2022
Sent: Monday, January 30, 2023 5:39:49 PM
To: main@jfw.groups.io <main@jfw.groups.io>
Subject: [External] Re: Jaws key
Hi,
Samsung does not reverse the F keys.
Some laptops will let you press FN+ESCAPE to toggle the state of
function keys, if you're lucky that is.
In that case, you won't need sighted help to change their function.
Otherwise, everything Bill and Brian said is correct..
Regards,
Nermin
We have HP, I believe-
If you happen to have an EliteBook or ProBook (not likely, but) then see: https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/ish_5878386-5878668-16
These models support toggling of action keys (which is what HP calls it) from the keyboard.
If you have pretty much any other HP laptop, hitting Esc about once every second at boot time (provided fast startup is not enabled, if it is then at restart time) will trigger UEFI/BIOS menu to appear. You'll use the F10 option to enter BIOS. Navigate to the Advanced tab to switch "Action Keys Mode" from <enabled> to <disabled> to allow f1-f12 to act as function keys as opposed to action keys. You will use the Save and Exit option after doing so to make this change stick going forward.
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Brian - Virginia, USA - Windows 11 Pro, 64-Bit, Version 22H2, Build 22621; Office 2016, Version 16.0.15726.20188, 32-bit; Android 12 (MIUI 13)
It’s not lack of contact with the world off campus that leads to the liberal views common in academia — it’s being trained to think critically and practicing this craft daily as we look at the world around us that makes us the libs conservatives so dislike.
~ Eliot A. Brenowitz, Seattle; New York Times, Letters, Tales of Town and Gown: Is the Campus Isolated?, August 20, 2022