[gui-talk] Skim reading in Jaws: Where are instructions?

[Geetha Shamanna]

Joel,

Not sure whether anyone answered this to your satisfaction already, but here 
is what Jaws help says about skim reading:

Skim Reading
The Skim Reading feature lets you quickly browse through long documents by 
reading the first part of each paragraph. To begin skim reading in a 
document, press CTRL+INSERT+DOWN ARROW. By default, JAWS reads the first 
line of each paragraph, but you can choose to read the first sentence of 
each paragraph instead or set up your own skim reading rules. To change your 
skim reading preferences, press CTRL+SHIFT+INSERT+DOWN ARROW. For more 
information on these options, see Skim Reading Dialog.

Tip: While skim reading, you can begin reading the entire document by 
pressing INSERT+DOWN ARROW to carry out the Say All command. To begin skim 
reading again, press CTRL+INSERT+DOWN ARROW.

Skim Reading Dialog
Press SHIFT+CTRL+INSERT+DOWN ARROW or choose "Skim Reading Tool" in the List 
of JAWS Managers (INSERT+F2) to display the Skim Reading dialog box. Use 
this dialog box to define how you want JAWS to skim through the current 
document. You can choose to read either the first sentence or line of each 
paragraph. Alternatively, you can create text rules to search for lines, 
sentences, or paragraphs that contain specific words or phrases. The options 
available in the Skim Reading dialog box are described below.

When you press CTRL+INSERT+DOWN ARROW, JAWS begins skim reading from the 
current location of the cursor to the end of the document. However, one of 
the most useful aspects of the skim reading feature is the ability to create 
a summary of the current document. To generate a summary using your current 
skim reading settings, choose the Create Summary button.

The summary displays in the Virtual Viewer and contains all the text that 
matches the criteria you defined. Each segment of text is a link, and each 
is individually numbered. You can move to a segment and press ENTER to jump 
to its location within the document. Once you create a summary, it remains 
available until you generate another, even if you switch to a different 
document or program. You can press WINDOWS Key+INSERT+DOWN ARROW to review 
the last summary that you created in the Virtual Viewer. However, you can 
only use the links if the summary was created from the active document.

Use Rule Type
Select one of the following radio buttons to choose the skim reading mode 
you want to use:

  a.. Read First Line of Paragraph - When you press CTRL+INSERT+DOWN ARROW, 
JAWS reads the first line of each paragraph.
Note: The other options in this dialog box are not available if you select 
this radio button.

  a.. Read First Sentence of Paragraph - When you press CTRL+INSERT+DOWN 
ARROW, JAWS reads the first sentence of each paragraph.
Note: The other options in this dialog box are not available if you select 
this radio button.

  a.. Text Rules Apply for Reading - When you press CTRL+INSERT+DOWN ARROW, 
JAWS searches for text according to a text rule that you define. JAWS then 
reads the line, sentence, or paragraph that contains the matching text, 
depending on the option you have selected in the Speak Unit list.
  a.. Attributes and Color Rules Apply for Reading - When you press 
CTRL+INSERT+DOWN ARROW, JAWS searches for text according to the selected 
text color and attributes. The selections made are cumulative, meaning that 
if you select bold and red text, JAWS will only search for text that is red 
and bold. If you add the italic attribute, then JAWS will only search for 
text that is red, bold, and italic. Any text that lacks any of these 
attributes or color is ignored by JAWS.
Rules History
This combo box allows you to create a new text reading rule or select an 
existing text reading rule. Text rules are logical expressions that tell 
JAWS to search for specific text when skim reading. JAWS then reads the 
line, sentence, or paragraph that contains the matching text, depending on 
the option you have selected in the Speak Unit list. You must select either 
the Text Rules Apply for Reading radio button or the Attributes and Color 
Rules Apply for Reading radio button if you want to use text rules while 
skim reading.

If you are creating a new text rule, select <New> from the combo box and 
then enter the appropriate search pattern, color or attribute rules, or 
speak unit rules. Once the rule is configured, press the Start Skim Reading 
button to save and start the new skim reading rule.

<New> is the default setting for this combo box.

Text Search Pattern
In the Text Rule edit box, enter a word or phrase that you want JAWS to 
search for while skim reading. Optionally, you can use a regular expression 
to further refine your search. There are many different ways to create these 
expressions. If you only want to search for text units that contain two or 
more words, separate each word with ".*" (that is, a period followed by an 
asterisk with no spaces between the words or symbols). For example, you can 
use the following expression to search for text units containing both the 
words "JAWS" and "MAGic":

JAWS.*MAGic

If you want to search for text units that contain any of several different 
words, separate each word with "|" (that is, a vertical bar with no spaces 
between the words or symbols). For example, you can use the following 
expression to search for text units containing either the words "JAWS" or 
"MAGic":

JAWS|MAGic

You can create more advanced expressions as well. For example, you can use 
the following expression to search for text units containing any year 
starting with "19":

19\d{2}\s

Tip: For more information on creating complex expressions, refer to the 
section Regular Expression Language Elements in the MSDN Library.

After you enter some text or a regular expression, type a name for the text 
rule in the Rule Name edit box. Choose OK to save the text rule. You can 
select which text rule you want to use in the Text Rules list.

Color or Attribute Rules
  a.. Text Color edit box - Use this combo box to select or enter a specific 
color that a passage of text uses. You can use the UP and DOWN ARROWS to 
cycle through a list of text colors,
  or you can type a color into the combo box. JAWS uses word prediction to 
predict the color that you want. An asterisk appears as the default setting.
  b.. Background Color edit box - Use this combo box to select a background 
color to be used for the skim reading rule. You can use the UP and DOWN 
ARROWS to cycle through a list of text
  colors, or you can type a color into the combo box. JAWS uses word 
prediction to predict the color that you want. An asterisk appears as the 
default setting.
  c.. Attribute Check Boxes - Select an attribute check box to search for 
the type of selected text in a document or Web page. Each attribute can be 
used inconjunction with any other text attribute. The following attributes 
are available: Bold, Italic, Underline, Strikeout, Double Strikeout, 
Superscript, Subscript, Shadow, and Outline. These check boxes are only 
available when the Attributes and Color Rules Apply for Reading radio button 
is selected.
Delete Rule
To delete a text rule, select it in the Rules History list and then choose 
the Delete Rule button.

Delete All Rules
To delete all your saved text rules, choose the Delete All Rules button.

Speak Unit
Select whether JAWS should read the paragraph, sentence, or line containing 
any text that matches the currently selected text rule.

Use Regular Expression
A regular expression is a search string that uses special characters to help 
you define the search and match text patterns. This feature is used 
primarily by advanced users. Do not select this check box if you are simply 
performing a plain text search. This check box is unchecked by default and 
is only available if the Text Rules Apply for Reading radio button is 
selected.

Skim Reading Indication
If you select this check box, JAWS notifies you when skimming past units of 
text that do not match the currently selected text rule. JAWS beeps once for 
every 20 units that it skips.

Start Skim Reading
Choose this button to save your changes and begin skim reading from your 
current location.

Create Summary
Choose this button to create a summary of the current page in the Virtual 
Viewer. This summary contains all the text you would hear if you began skim 
reading from your present location using your currently selected options. 
The summary remains available until you create another, even if you switch 
to another document or program. You can review the summary in the Virtual 
Buffer at any time by pressing WINDOWS Key+INSERT+DOWN ARROW.

Close
Choose this button to close this dialog box and save your changes.