Using the JAWS Scripts For Audible
Doug Lee
Last Revised August, 2020

This Guide provides tips for using Audible for Windows 10 (Audible) with JAWS For Windows and these scripts. When the scripts are installed and Audible is open and focused, this document can be opened via a double press of JAWSKey+F1 (or Insert+F1).

Table of Contents

• System Requirements For JAWS Users
• Script Installation Instructions
• Key Sequences
• Using Audible With JAWS and the Scripts
  • JAWS Script Commands and Features
  • Native Keyboard Shortcuts
  • Useful Tips
• Known Issues
• Revision History

System Requirements For JAWS Users

For correct operation with Audible, these scripts require

• JAWS 18.0 or greater. (JAWS versions prior to 18.0 do not support scripting Universal Windows Platform (UWP) applications.
• A screen resolution sufficient for the interface. Very low screen resolutions, such as 800x600. can cause the Audible app to change control names and organization away from what is scripted.

Script Installation Instructions

To install these scripts on a new system:

1. Load JAWS if this has not already been done. This will require administrative privileges on the computer.
2. Run JAWS as the user for whom the scripts are to be installed. This and the following steps must be performed for each user of the computer who will be using JAWS with these scripts.
3. Download and run, or run directly, the JAWS scripts for Audible, and follow the on-screen directions. Be sure to install the scripts in the currently running JAWS version if a JAWS version list is presented.
4. To verify successful installation, type Insert+Q while Audible is in focus. Part of the JAWS spoken response should be a revision number. If you do not hear a revision number, the scripts are not correctly loaded.

Key Sequences

These scripts incorporate commands that consist of sequences of keystrokes, all beginning with a common prefix, or "command keystroke." This approach allows many script commands without the risk of conflicting with application keystrokes. See the "Multi-Key Command Sequences" section of the "Common Script Elements" document for further details, including how to explore the available script commands (similar to exploring a menu system), and how to change the Command keystroke if necessary.

By default, the Command keystroke for these scripts is [. This document may refer to this keystroke as [ or Command; so, for example, [ Tab and Command Tab both refer to typing the prefix keystroke, then separately the Tab key. Some sequences may consist of more than two keystrokes, or "levels"; for example, [ d r would refer to typing [, then d, then finally r.

Using Audible With JAWS and the Scripts

This section and its subsections provide tips for using Audible with JAWS and these scripts.

JAWS Script Commands and Features

The scripts provide the following commands:

• Command T brings up a list of pages for selection. This is a fast way to switch among Search, Library, Channels for Prime, etc.
• Command V virtualizes (displays in a JAWS virtual view) the text from the current screen. This makes reading of some screens, such as the keyboard shortcut list in Help, easier than with the standard JAWS command for reading the current dialog or screen, Insert+B. Press Esc to close the virtual view when finished reading.

The scripts also provide the following features:

• Many controls are better named. This notably includes controls in three media player displays that can appear.
• JAWS is better at avoiding announcement of "code names" (control names that are names of elements of the application source code rather than actual control names).
• JAWS speaks changes on arrows in a closed combo box and also avoids spurious focus change notifications caused by Audible itself while a combo box is in focus.
• Enter on a page name, such as Search or Library, switches to the appropriate screen by clicking on the page icon.
• Enter on a Settings page name opens the corresponding Settings page.
• Enter on an entry in the Help list opens the corresponding screen.
• Enter on the Back button works as expected.
• The Application or Menu key, and also its Shift+F10 alternative, will open the Context menu for list items, such as in the Library, where right-clicking a button inside the item is normally required. In the Library list, this facilitates marking books as finished and other functions.
• The popups for changing volume and narration speed speak appropriately.
• The Space bar is silent when pressed, regardless of user preference for key announcement, so that it will not disrupt play/pause of an active book. This is also true of Enter, for rewinding and fast-forwarding during play.
• The JAWS SayWindowTitle command, Insert+T, announces whichever of the following items are relevant to the current screen, in addition to the Audible app's actual title:
  • The title of the active page, e.g., Search or Library. When a Settings page is open, the Settings page name is announced.
  • The name and remaining duration of the playing audio file when applicable. The specific announcement for this depends slightly on which media player display is visible.
• JAWSKey+Q, along with announcing the active configuration name, will announce the revision number of these scripts.
• Typing Insert+F1 twice in quick succession will open this document.
• Typing Ctrl+JAWSKey+V three times in quick succession brings up a JAWS virtual view listing all Audible versions seen on this machine while JAWS and these scripts were running over time. (JAWS itself makes a single press of this command speak version information and a double press virtualize it.) Each version is shown with the date on which it was first seen by the scripts. This can help in diagnosing problems and establishing whether they represent script bugs or problems caused by a silent Audible update to a not-yet supported version.

Native Keyboard Shortcuts

Audible supports a number of keyboard shortcuts. To display a list of these

1. Activate the Help screen, such as by selecting "Help" from the Command T page list.
2. Arrow to and press Enter on the "Keyboard Shortcuts" entry in the list that appears.
3. Use the scripted command sequence Command V to virtualize the screen. This will place the keyboard shortcut list in a JAWS virtual view. Press Esc to close this view when finished reading.

The following outline shows the keyboard shortcuts supported as of Audible for Windows 10 version 10.5.0.54 (July, 2019):

• Navigation:
  • Search: Alt+S
  • Library: Alt+L
  • Recommended: Alt+R
  • News: Alt+N
  • Stats: Alt+T
  • Shop: Alt+P
  • Settings: Alt+E
  • Help: Alt+H
  • Toggle left navigation panel: Shift+Space
• Controlling Audio:
  • Play and pause audio: Space
  • Jump back 30 seconds^*: Ctrl+Left
  • Jump forward 30 seconds^*: Ctrl+Right
  • Skip to previous chapter: Ctrl+Shift+Left
  • Skip to next chapter: Ctrl+Shift+Right

Useful Tips

If script commands seem not to work, use Insert+Q to check whether JAWS has loaded the Microsoft Edge scripts in order to handle embedded web content. If this happens, use Ctrl+Tab or Ctrl+Shift+Tab to move focus out of the web content area and thus re-enable the commands provided by these Audible scripts.

Some pages such as Shop have subpages whose names appear in the page list when you press Enter to activate the page. Once the new pages are added to the list, the scripted [ T sequence will show these pages along with the others for activation.

When a file or stream is playing or paused, Space from most anywhere in the application will play/pause rather than acting on the focused control. Use Enter to press buttons etc.

In the Library list, there are two alternative views: List and Grid. Both work with JAWS and the scripts, but the List view shows more information about each entry in the library.

The standard Insert+B JAWS command for reading a dialog is useful for reading popups in this application. However, it may sometimes be more efficient to use the sequence Command V to show the screen text in a JAWS virtual view. The "Book Details" display is an good example.

Navigation among items in some lists requires use of Left and Right arrows rather than Up and Down arrows. Using Up and Down may work but may miss items in the list. The Library list is an example.

Navigation among pages such as Search and Library require use of Tab and Shift+Tab even though the items are rendered to screen readers as list items. As an alternative, use the scripted command sequence Command T to pick a page from a JAWS popup list.

When changing the narration speed in the full player, press Enter on the Narration Speed button, use arrows to change, then use Esc (not Enter) to return to the player.

If Tab from an episode list in a book or channel does not reach the Play/Pause button, move up and down in the list and then Tab again. Enter should also work without requiring direct focus on the button.

Known Issues

Issues shown in this section may be fixed in future script and/or Audible revisions but are not addressed as of this writing.

JAWS may sometimes fail to speak on the press of an arrow key in a combo box. Much effort has been put into preventing this, but Audible can send spurious events while a combo box is active that confuse JAWS. The speech failure occurs when the user happens to press an arrow key at the precise moment when Audible sends one of these spurious notifications. The notifications occur roughly once every two seconds.

Changing the sort order of the Library list may sometimes cause the list itself to become unreachable via Tab and Shift+Tab until the sort order is changed back.

Some screens include points in the tab order that say nothing, because for those points, Audible does not indicate any location of focus.

Some button names appear oddly in Braille at this time.

The currently playing book title is not available to JAWS in the full player, though it is in the compact player and the player that overlays other screens. This is because, in the full player, the book title appears as part of an image of the book's cover art.

JAWS may sometimes say "checked" as you arrow through the Library list. This is caused by a Zoom control that contains the list.

Revision History

This section presents the revision history of these scripts, most recent revision first.

Revision 74, February 22, 2021, tested against Audible app version 10.5.0.67

• JAWS again reports combo box values accurately and also avoids announcing spurious focus changes while a combo box is in focus. Audible sends a spurious event approximately once every two seconds while a combo box is in focus.
• Enter is silenced along with Space so it can be used to rewind and fast-forward audio without disruption to what is playing.
• Fixed a bug that could cause some localized strings not to be spoken where expected.
• Keystroke names in this document are more consistent, and there are other minor documentation improvements.
• Many behind-the-scenes updates to code that is used to name fields, and minor updates to improve support for JAWS 2021 and to remove code for very old JAWS versions.

Revision 64, August 02, 2020, tested against Audible app version 10.5.0.61

• Arrowing through the Context menu for a book in the Library list is much faster.
• Close buttons are named properly.
• Pressing Enter on the Close button in the Chapters tree popup closes the popup.
• The "Add Clip" button in the compact player is better named.
• Screen readers respond better to activation of Table of Contents links in this document.
• In this document, a near-top table of tested Audible app versions is removed in favor of listing the Audible app version(s) tested with each script release in the Revision History section.
• Documented how to reach subpages under pages that have them, such as Shop.
• The messages for these scripts are now distributed in XML rather than jsm files so that translators can create translations with no need for script source recompilation. See the Script Translation Procedure document for details on how to translate these scripts, including how to update the XML message file.
• For those who need to change the Command key, the left bracket ([) by default, the system is significantly improved, so that you need not type the key or key combination out as a name or string of key names. You may edit the keystroke names before accepting them, but JAWS will type them out for you now. The system is documented in more detail in the Multi-Key Command Sequence section of my Common Script Elements page.
• The installer contains version and product information visible from the Details tab in Windows Explorer, to better identify its contents. This update is being applied to all projects.
• A "directives" text file is included that provides information on how to install this set of scripts manually. See "Handling Directives Files" in the "Common Script Elements" document for further information.
• Fixed a rare cross-project bug that could cause JAWS to speak or Braille out-of-date information about the current screen. For technical details on the bug and fix, refer to The JAWS Script Cache Life Cycle (CLC) Bug and Resolution.

Revision 55, September 20, 2019, tested against Audible app version 10.5.0.54

• JAWS speaks changes on arrows in a closed combo box.
• The mouse is no longer forced to follow Tab and Shift+Tab.
• The Command D key sequence for reading a book description while it is playing is removed, as it appears to be obsolete. To get information about a book, use the Book Details option in the full player or in the Context menu for the book's Library list entry, then virtualize the details with Command V to facilitate reading the information.
• Enter works as expected on items in the list that appears for Help.
• The Application (or Menu) key opens the Context menu for items in the Library list and possibly items in other lists.
• Command V virtualizes the current screen's text for easy review. Using this command after activating the Help page and then the keyboard shortcuts item, for example, makes review of Audible's native keystrokes efficient.
• This document includes a list of the native Audible keyboard shortcuts supported as of this writing.
• The Narration Speed popup speaks appropriately on open, arrows, and close with Esc.
• Several commands are protected from executing while a JAWS virtual view or dialog is open.
• This document is more consistent in its names for the three available media player variants (full, compact, and overlay).

Revision 44, September 15, 2019, tested against Audible app version 10.5.0.54

• Buttons in all three of the Audible media player variants speak their names.
• Insert+T includes information about what is playing in all player variants, including the percentage through a book when shown by a progress bar.
• JAWS reads many list items more completely, including Library list entries and Settings page information such as current sign-in id and device name.
• Group items in the Library list, such as "This week" or "Less than 3 hours," read properly instead of appearing as application code names.
• Enter on a Settings page name opens the corresponding Settings page.
• Enter on the Back button works as expected.
• The Space bar is silent when pressed, regardless of user preference for key announcement, so that it will not disrupt play/pause of an active book.
• JAWS is better at avoiding announcement of "code names" (control names that are names of elements of the application source code rather than actual control names).
• When a Settings page is open, Insert+T indicates the page name.

Revision 21, August 12, 2018, tested against Audible app version 10.5.0.34

• Command T brings up a list of the available pages, such as Search, Library, and Channels for Prime, for quick switching among them.
• This document includes more usage tips.
• Buttons that can have values, such as a Show button that can be set to List or Grid, are presented more intuitively.

Revision 17, August 11, 2018, tested against Audible app version 10.5.0.34

First test revision released for public inspection. Thanks to Jessica McKenzie for visual assistance and to Jessica Hodges for help using the app.