Re: a last ditched effort with JAWS and SPSS
- From: "Meared A. Reta" <meared@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <jfw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 23 Oct 2006 18:14:02 -0400
Hi, Patricia,
I'm not user of SPS myself. However, I know that, there is a topic talking
about Jaws and SPS under the Jaws' help specifically, in the "Popular
Applications....."
Here is little portion from that topic:
Navigating the Data Entry Grid
Use INSERT+F1 for a reminder of useful keys when in the data editor. The grid
is much like a spreadsheet, which can be navigated using the ARROW keys.
LEFT ARROW and RIGHT ARROW will move you between columns (variables). The
contents of the cell will be spoken, and the variable name announced.
The HOME and END keys move you to the first and last variable in a row.
Move between rows (cases) with UP ARROW and DOWN ARROW. Page Up and page Down
move by a screen at a time.
CTRL+LEFT ARROW and CTRL+RIGHT ARROW move to the first and last variable
respectively.
CTRL+HOME moves to the First variable, first case.
CTRL+END moves to the last variable, last case.
PAGE DOWN and PAGE UP scrolls down and up a page.
CTRL+PAGE DOWN and CTRL+PAGE UP scrolls right and left a page.
If no data is entered in the grid, the speech will not be able to indicate your
position. There is a function provided with the keystroke INSERT+Z that
can be used to insert a number of blank cases (or rows) to make the data entry
grid speak better as you enter the data. It is suggested that you use this
to insert Say 90 Cases (or how many is appropriate) right at the beginning,
almost the first thing that you do.
Label-Data Entry Grid, Other Keys
To hear a full description of the cell you are on, press INSERT+C.
Sometimes you may be working across a row looking for a variable. To switch the
order of the announcement of the cell contents and cell description, use
INSERT+A. This function is a toggle; so pressing it again will switch it back
to the original setting.
If a variable has value labels set, then you can access these with SHIFT+F2.
Search for data with ALT+F5.
Use F2 to edit cell contents. Finish the editing and press ENTER.
You can use the SPSS to increase the size of the text shown in the data grid.
From the Menu bar select View, Fonts. JAWS will speak the contents and cell
locations as long as they are both shown on the screen. You can have the screen
display big text with as few as five rows showing.
The Dialogs
The dialogs in SPSS use graphical buttons for setting up statistical
calculations, transformations, and graphs. We will call these Arrow buttons,
and they
are used to add an item from a list box to another. For example: you may select
a variable and add it to the dependent list box when performing a means
calculation.
A sighted person would choose a variable from the first list box in the dialog,
and then select the Arrow button that points towards the section where they
wanted to insert it. This section is often another list box. When the Arrow
button is selected, the variable is removed from the first list box, and added
into the second.
There could be a number of these Arrow buttons in a dialog (up to five). You
can find out how many there are and what they do by pressing INSERT+F1.
How do you set up a calculation using these dialogs?
Begin by selecting the variable that you are concerned with from the first list
box in the dialog. Then you can add the selected variables to list boxes
in three ways.
List of 1 items
1. Press INSERT+F7 for a menu of list boxes.
list end
Press the TAB key to move around the dialog to find the Arrow button you want
and press SPACEBAR to activate the Arrow button. However, the keyboard support
in these dialogs varies, and sometimes a number of the Arrow buttons are not in
the tab order.
List of 2 items
1. You can move very quickly between the Arrow buttons using INSERT+N and P for
next and previous Arrow buttons. This avoids the problem in 2 above. Press
SPACEBAR to activate the Arrow button.
2. To jump to the first variables list box from anywhere in the list box use
INSERT+L.
list end
Note: To reset dialogs to an empty form press ALT+R.
The button may be grayed if the variable selected is not valid for that
particular parameter of the calculation.
These buttons can also be used to remove variables from the target lists. Use
INSERT+P or INSERT+N to find the associated arrow button and press it. This
should place the selected variable back in the first list box.
The Output Navigator
The Output Navigator shows the results of calculation and graphs. The tree
structure is intended to allow you to move between the various outputs that you
have produced in this session. The display does not lend well to speech output.
You may be able to move through the tree with the UP/DOWN ARROW keys. However,
a better method is likely to be outputting the information to another program,
and reading it there. From here you can save it, add it to a document or print
or emboss it as required.
The output will be exported in the currently selected format, which is text by
default. Switch between the modes with INSERT+M. Excel is recommended for
reviewing tables with speech. If you are using a Braille display, these are
best looked at in WordPad after they have been exported as text.
INSERT+E starts the export function. Choosing Last Output will be a frequent
choice.
To view the exported information, use INSERT+SHIFT+E. Text documents are read
with WordPad, and HTML documents in Excel or Word.
Troubleshooting
SYMPTOM
The speech says, "No data or variable entered in this cell."
SUGGESTIONS
If no data is entered, then the speech cannot track the cursor. You need to
load a data file, or enter variables and data before the speech in the data
grid has anything to tell you. If you move outside the area of the grid that
has data entered, then you will get the same message.
For best results with the speech, first set up your variables. Then move down
about 100 rows and enter something there. Now the speech will be satisfactory
in the lines above, even where there is no data entered. Use the INSERT+Z
function to do this.
If there is data there and you still get this message, perhaps JAWS was started
after SPSS. Quit SPSS and reload it. You may need to quit JAWS and restart
it as well.
It is possible that the hardware acceleration is not set to Full. Change this
in Start/Settings/Control Panel/System/Performance/Graphics.
SYMPTOM
In the output navigator the speech says, "Could not locate the navigation
arrow."
SUGGESTIONS
You may need to switch the Outline Size to Medium. You can do this with ALT+V,
Z, M. It may be that the left side of the window needs to be increased in
width. This can only be done with the mouse. You can still look at your output
in an editor without selecting the specific items by choosing last output.
SYMPTOM
A table you created has disappeared from the editor you use to view the output.
SUGGESTIONS
The editor uses a temporary file for you to view the output. If you want to
keep a copy of the tables, then you will need to save the tables under different
names, or copy and paste them into another application.
----- Original Message -----
From: Patricia
To: jfw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Thursday, October 19, 2006 6:41 PM
Subject: a last ditched effort with JAWS and SPSS
Hi all:
Now I am working with SPSS and finding it extremely difficult to say the
least. I've been told by sighted people that it looks really similar to Excel,
but as I am navigating through supposed cells all JAWS says is "no variable in
this position" even if there is a variable present. yet, as I input data i can
get jaws to read it to me with a say line. I had asked about the accessibility
before, and didn't get very encouraging responses. I just thought I'd check
again before giving up. this is a frustrating matter that's for sure. Reference
Manager was just as bad. I am using JAWS 7.1, SPSS version 14.0, and yes, the
scripts are from 1999 but they haven't seemed to help me much. I will try again
in the coming weeks. yes, weeks. 4 looooong weeks of SPSS. I'm going to check
on the web to see if there's anything i can find regarding the issue, but I
thought I'd see if anyone has any solutions first, or if I should just label
this program, along with Reference Manager, as inaccessible for blind and
visually impaired JAWS users.
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