JAWS Scripts For Skype - Frequently Asked Questions

This page is laid out with questions as headers and answers below them, so JAWS users can use h to skim through questions.

How should Skype be configured for maximum accessibility?

The following settings are recommended. This is based on Skype 3.5 and 3.6:

Why is this part of Skype now missing?

If one of the following items seems to have been taken out of Skype, or at least it's not possible to find it anymore, check that it is enabled in your View menu. Each of these items has a checkbox there to turn it off or on:

To make sure you see one of these, make sure its View menu option is checked. To remove one of these from view, uncheck its View menu item. To check or uncheck a View menu item, just press Enter on it.

Why does SkypeWatch not work

Note: If SkypeWatch stopped working after a JAWS update or repair, skip to the next question.

The following checklist is meant to catch most of the problems seen so far with SkypeWatch installations.

  1. Go into Skype, Type JAWSKey+V to open the JAWS Verbosity Settings for Skype, and see if the option called "SkypeWatch messages" is in the list. In JAWS versions before 9.0, it generally appears right before the "User Verbosity" option. Starting in JAWS 9, where the verbosity options are a tree, it appears just before the "General Options" category. If you do not see the "Skypewatch Messages" option, SkypeWatch scripts are not running, and you probably need to follow the Script Installation Instructions to load them properly. If you do see this option, continue with the next item.
  2. Make sure SkypeWatch Messages are turned On, not Off, in the Verbosity Settings. If they are Off, turn them On and see if that helps. If not, continue.
  3. If you are using a Skype script revision 442 or later, make sure the Skype alerts for items you want reported by SkypeWatch are turned on in Skype's Options dialog. They are all under Notification Settings:
    • To hear incoming calls, set the first option, which should be called something like "When someone calls me," to "Show Windows tray alert." The other option, "Show Skype call alert," will not work with SkypeWatch. Note: In at least Skype 3.5.0.107, it seems to be necessary to use the JAWS cursor to check the "Show Windows tray alert" radio button if it is not already checked. Attempting to use arrows moves focus to a "Show an example" link and does not change the setting.
    • To hear contacts sign in, check the box that says, "Display a notification in the Windows tray when someone comes online." If JAWS is having trouble reading field labels on this screen, the option may just be called "Comes online."
    • To hear the contact name and part of the chat line when someone sends you a chat, check the box called, "Display a notification in the Windows tray when someone starts a chat with me." You should then start hearing chat notifications as they appear. Keep in mind, though, that a chat notification will only appear if the corresponding chat window is not already open. If you have set up Skype to pop open chat windows automatically as chat lines come to you, you will therefore hear an alert message for only the first chat message sent to you by each person.
    There are several more possible notifications you can choose from that are not listed here. If you are sure you have enabled the appropriate alerts, continue.
  4. Test specific Skype alerts by causing them to happen when you have turned Screen Echo to All, which can be done temporarily by typing JAWSKey+S until JAWS says "All." (Remember to return this setting to "Highlighted" when done.) For example, to test the Skype tray alert for an incoming call, set Screen Echo to All, then have someone call you, and see if you hear text that sounds like "so and so is calling you." Try this from within any application in which it seems incoming call messages are not working. (Some users have reported incoming call message problems when they are in one application but not when they are in another.) If you do not hear these alerts from within any application, chances are the Skype alert is not turned on correctly; see the previous step. If you only hear the alerts in some applications but not others, report to the SkypeEnglish mailing list which applications do and do not work, so we might be able to figure out a pattern. If you hear the alerts in all applications you test, continue.
  5. If you reached the "Continue" part of every step above, and SkypeWatch still does not work, consult the SkypeEnglish mailing list for assistance.

Why does SkypeWatch no longer work after a JAWS repair or update?

Those who set up SkypeWatch by modifying the original default.jss file from Freedom Scientific will find that a JAWS repair or update will disable SkypeWatch. This is because the line added to default.jss is lost when default.jss is replaced during the repair or update.

Note that the recommended procedure for installing SkypeWatch was changed on June 2, 2007. Those who installed SkypeWatch using the newer procedure and who use JAWS version 6.0 or later should not have problems with SkypeWatch after a JAWS repair or update. If SkypeWatch stops functioning after installation via the newer procedure, reapply the new procedure to reinstall SkypeWatch. See the Script Installation Instructions page for details.

For users of Skype script revisions older than revision 442 who installed SkypeWatch via the older procedure of modifying the original default.jss file, the following procedure should be sufficient to restore SkypeWatch after a JAWS repair or update:

  1. From within Skype, type JAWSKey+0 (the 0 above the p key, not the 0 on the number pad) to open the JAWS Script Manager. Skype.jss will appear in the Script Manager window.
  2. Type Ctrl+Shift+D to open default.jss. You should find your cursor on a semicolon at the top of that file.
  3. Type the following line exactly, or paste it in from this page:
    use "skypewatch.jsb"
  4. Type Ctrl+S to compile default.jss. You should hear, "compile complete." SkypeWatch should also activate at this point.
  5. Type Alt+F4 to close the JAWS Script Manager.

Why does SkypeWatch announce my status every five seconds when I try to use the Windows Calculator?

This is a somewhat complex problem applying to JAWS 8 and older but not to JAWS 9. The problem description, as well as a workaround and a proper solution, can be found here.

Why do I get a message about an incompatible binary format when I try to use the scripts?

This can happen for JAWS 4.51 users when using the zip to install scripts, as opposed to the installer. The problem is that the zip file contains .jsb (binary) files for the scripts, but the binary format required by JAWS 4.51 is different than the format required by JAWS 5 through 9.

If this happens, the following steps should fix the problem:

  1. Close the error box by pressing Space, which should return you to Skype.
  2. Type JAWSKey+0 (the 0 above the p key, not the 0 on the number pad) to open the JAWS Script Manager. Skype.jss will appear in the Script Manager window.
  3. Type Ctrl+S to compile Skype.jss and create a proper Skype.jsb for JAWS 4.51.
  4. Close the Script Manager by pressing Alt+F4. This should return focus to Skype.
  5. Type Ctrl+Shift+C from within Skype to compile the remaining scripts. If no error messages appear, the scripts should now be ready for use. Press a key to close the compile results window and return to Skype again.

What can one do with a phone number edit ("phed" in Braille) control?

Edit like normal, or type Alt+DownArrow to open a list of country codes. Choosing a country code will prefix the number in the edit box with the code chosen. Warning: Pressing Enter from a country code list will save and close the entire page, not just close the drop-down list. To close the list and return to the page, press Tab or Shift+Tab instead.

Why are revision numbers so unlike normal version numbers?

The revision numbers associated with various Skype script versions are not perhaps what a lot of people are accustomed to seeing; they are simply integers like 349, not dotted sets of numbers like 4.0.3. They are also not at all related to Skype version numbers; so for example, revision 400 is not necessarily going to apply to Skype 4.0. These numbers are IDs, in effect, assigned by Subversion, the software package used to maintain all the code. Revision 349 is basically the 349th revision of the code since version control began. A number like 349 refers to exactly one entire set of files, which is very nice when working on bugs or providing technical assistance to a script user. However, the numbers do not really indicate the flow of development very well. A quick fix to revision 275 might get assigned the number 361 if there are already 360 revisions. The next revision of version 360 might then get the number 362. Now 361 is not related to 360 or 362; it just happened to get assigned that number. The same problem would be encountered if we were to use dates as version indicators.

This web site will detail which revisions belong where in the flow of development. A more traditional numbering system may one day be adopted, but for now, since this one has already been automated, this is what we have. As a quick fix, JAWSKey+Q should announce which Skype versions are supported by a particular script version.