Zoom With JAWS FAQ

This page will evolve over time and is designed to answer frequently asked questions concerning using Zoom with JAWS.
You should check back periodically to see if anything has been added.

What is the first thing I should do when the Zoom client is launched?

Press ALT+Windows+1. This will set focus to the Home tab and to the first control within it. This is a good orientation keystroke you can use at any time to set you back on the right path. Thereafter, press Tab.

Is there a way of making Zoom less cluttered so it gives a minimal user experience as it was in the good old days?

No. Zoom navigation has become a very cluttered experience. This is complicated by the fact that a Calendar View appears on the Home tab and the Calendar tab. Moreover, banners frequently appear with special offers which you may or may not wish to read.

If a banner appears, such as, “You need a bigger room”, Tab to the “Dismiss” button and press Space.

If you press Tab repeatedly, at some point focus will be in the calendar area. JAWS identifies this by saying, “Calendar Area”. You can always press ALT+Windows+1 so as to move back to the start of the Home tab.

What is the best way of managing my meetings?

Zoom does have a calendar tab. While it is accessible, particularly with the JAWS scripts, it is not particularly efficient to navigate. The best thing you can do is:

  1. Press ALT+Windows+1 so as to move to the Home tab.
  2. Press Control+Windows+S to move to a web page containing your scheduled meetings.
  3. From here, you can see a list of upcoming meetings. You can launch each meeting, edit it or delete it.

What is the best way to copy the details of a Zoom meeting to send them to someone else?

  1. As previously directed, press ALT+Windows+1 to focus on the Home tab, then move to the page containing your list of upcoming meetings; Control+Windows+S.
  2. Find the meeting in which you are interested.
  3. JAWS announces the word “Link”, followed by the title.
  4. Press the Space Bar to expand the meeting.
  5. You should then be able to read all the details including the link to share.

How do I schedule a meeting?

Scheduling a meeting can be achieved from the aforementioned list of upcoming meetings page.
However it can also be done by:

  1. Pressing ALT+Windows+1 to move to the Home tab.
  2. Press Tab repeatedly until you reach the “Schedule” Button, then press the Space Bar.
  3. This is a simple form you can work through by pressing Tab. JAWS will announce any special instructions relating to completing a specific field.

What are some good strategies to be used when hosting meetings?

When hosting a meeting, and people raise hands so as to potentially ask questions or offer comment, the last thing you want to do is to keep them hanging around while you find out what is going on. It does not make for a good listening experience for your audience. So here are some strategies to keep your meetings flowing nicely.

  1. Move into Hotkey Help with Insert+H.
  2. Enable Abbreviated Mode. A link exists in the help screen so as to enable this mode. Press Enter on it. This significantly reduces a lot of the verbal clutter when moving through the Participants list.
  3. Use sound cues if appropriate. Links also exist in the help screen so as to enable specific sounds, for example to denote if a hand has been raised.
  4. Press ALT+U to bring into view the Participants list.
  5. Participants who have raised a hand should be at the top of the Participants list.
  6. If focus has moved away from the Participants list, press ALT+Windows+P to get back there.
  7. To mute or unmute the focused user in the Participants List, press the Grave Accent key followed by M.
  8. To lower the hand of the focused user in the Participants List, press the Grave Accent key followed by H.

How do I close Zoom?

If you press the usual key combination of ALT+F4, this is unlikely to close Zoom. To do so, press ALT+Windows+F4.

How do I check the Zoom scripts build number?

Press Insert+Q or caps lock+Q.

How do I find a keystroke for a specific task?

To find a keystroke, press ALT+Windows+F. Ask a question such as, “How do I mute my audio?” You should get a response such as: To mute or unmute audio, use the keystroke Alt + A.

How Do I Download the Zoom Scripts if Check for Updates does not work?

Check for Updates should perform well unless you are on an older build of the scripts which does not contain the new update facility.

When you purchased the scripts, you were sent a link to the documentation which contains two methods for downloading the scripts. A link to that documentation is also found in Hotkey Help.
There is also a link on the web site’s Home Page, JAWS Scripts for Purchase and Download. The scripts are located there. So they have always been there for anyone to download.

However you can use this procedure.
The following notes describe how to locate your JAWS Settings/ENU folder where all your JAWS scripts live. This will allow you to place the JAWS scripts into the required location in order that the screen-reader can use them.

  1. First of all, download the zipped archive of the scripts.
  2. If you are using the standard unzip utility for Windows, pressing Enter will open up this file.
  3. Press Control+A so as to select the contents of the entire zipped archive.
  4. Press Control+C to copy the contents of the zipped archive to the Windows clipboard.
  5. Press Insert+J to move to the JAWS window.
  6. Press ALT+U for the Utilities menu.
  7. Locate the item, Explore Utilities Folder, found on the Utilities menu and press Enter. Alternatively, press the shortcut key, letter X.
  8. From the list of folders which appears, select, Explore My Settings and press Enter.
  9. This is the folder you need to place the scripts into. Press Control+V to paste the content of the zipped archive into this folder. If Windows prompts you as to whether files should be replaced, press the Space Bar on the Replace All Button.
  10. Finally, press ALT+F4 to close the Settings/ENU screen and then restart your computer.