JAWS V12 and AdobeReader (for PDFs)

Here are some walkthroughs with JAWS and Adobe Reader, specifically Adobe Reader Version 9 and JAWS Version 12. We'll be covering everything from basic reading of an accessible PDF document to using placemarkers.

Before you follow the step through guides make sure you have an accessible PDF to work with. If you don't have one, download RNIB's Annual Report 2010/11.

Reading a PDF

Using JAWS you essentially approach a PDF in the same way as you do when reading a webpage. You can take control of the virtual cursor in the usual fashion, exactly the same as in Internet Explorer:

1. When the PDF opens in Adobe Reader, silence speech straight away using the Control key.
2. Press the Control Home keystroke to move the virtual cursor to the top of the document.
3. Now use Insert Down Arrow to run a Say All or, alternatively, press the Down Arrow to move the virtual cursor through the page(s).

Basics of moving around the PDF file

You can treat the PDF file as you would any normal HTML or Word file - many keystrokes you are already familiar with can be used here:

1. To move to the beginning of the PDF document, press Control Home.
2. To move to the end of the PDF document, press Control End.
3. To move to the next page press the keystroke of Control Page Down.
4. To move to the previous page press the keystroke of Control Page Up.

Moving to a specific page

Similar to MS Word and other programs, you can use a Go to a Page keystroke to help you skip through lengthy documents:

1. With a PDF document open, press the keystroke of Control Shift N.
2. Type in the page number that you need to move focus to and press the Enter key to confirm.

Copying and pasting text into an MS Word document

Copying text from a PDF is achieved in exactly the same way as copying text with the virtual cursor from a webpage:

1. Move the virtual cursor to the start of the text that you want to copy. (Check your focus if necessary using Insert Up Arrow.)
2. What you do next really depends on what you are selecting - characters, words or whole paragraphs. If you want to select characters then hold the Shift key down and press the Right Arrow, notice that JAWS announces what you are selecting. If you need to select words then press and hold the Control key and the Shift key before pressing the Right Arrow. If you need to select a paragraph at a time, use Control Shift and Down Arrow.
3. When you have selected everything you need, you can confirm the selection by getting JAWS to read it back to you. Press the keystroke of Insert Shift Down Arrow to do this. Also, if you need to spell the selection, then press Insert Shift Down Arrow twice.
4. With everything selected, press the Control C keystroke to copy the selection to the clipboard.
5. Now open MS Word, or use Alt Tab to focus the application if it is already open. Place the cursor as necessary in the document.
6. Though it is tempting to just use Control V to paste the content in remember that this will also paste in the formatting of the text selected. The better option is to paste in the content only and this is done using the Paste Special option in the Edit menu. So, press Alt E to move into the Edit menu, arrow down to the Paste Special option and press Enter.
7. In the Paste Special dialog box, focus will be in a listview. Use the arrow keys to select the 'unformatted text' option and press Enter to confirm.
8. Focus will return to the document with the selection now pasted in. Note that the formatting will be as your existing Normal style, in other words ignoring all the formatting carried through in the Copy operation.

Setting and using placemarkers

As in Internet Explorer, you can set placemarkers in a PDF file. If you are already using these in Internet Explorer then you can use the exact same techniques in Adobe Reader. Being able to set placemarkers can make longer PDF files considerably easier to navigate:

1. Move the virtual cursor to the piece of text in the PDF that you want to bookmark. Confirm the current location using Insert Up Arrow if necessary.
2. Press the keystroke of Control Shift K to open the Placemarker dialog box.
3. Press the Tab key to move to the Add button and press the Spacebar.
4. Provide a name for the placemarker or accept the default name supplied. Use the Enter key to confirm and close the dialog box.
5. Go to the beginning of the PDF file using Control Home and press the single letter keystroke of K to move the virtual cursor to the first placemarker. To move to a previous placemarker use Shift K, exactly the same as in Internet Explorer.

Deleting a placemarker

Everything that you can do with placemarkers is managed from the main placemarkers dialog box. For example, to delete a placemarker do the following:

1. Open the placemarkers dialog box with Control Shift K.
2. Highlight the appropriate placemarker you need to delete in the list view.
3. Press the Tab key until you have focus on the Remove button. Now press Spacebar to delete the highlighted placemarker and close the dialog box.
4. If you want to delete all of the placemarkers for the current file move to the Remove All button and press Spacebar. A small message box will appear asking you to confirm the operation, choose the yes button to delete all placemarkers and close the dialog box.