JAWS supports standard Windows applications and other popular applications with little or no customisation. Some of these include Microsoft® Office Suite 2007 and 2003, Internet Explorer, Corel® Word Perfect, Adobe® Acrobat Reader, and many more.

JAWS also outputs to refreshable Braille displays, providing unmatched Braille support among screen readers on the market.

Features

• JAWS installs with an enhanced, multilingual software speech synthesizer, Eloquence for JAWS. Languages include:
• American English, British English, Castilian Spanish, Latin American Spanish, French, French Canadian, German, Italian, Brazilian Portuguese, and Finnish.
• Includes RealSpeak Solo, SAPI 5 synthesizer CD with American English, British English, Australian English, Latin American Spanish and Castilian Spanish languages.
• Supports Internet Explorer with special features: links lists, frames lists, forms mode, reading HTML tables and graphic labels and more.
• Includes a unique scripting language for further customisation with non-standard Windows applications and proprietary software.
• New tools for easier customisation without the need to write scripts.
• Authorisation and registration can be accomplished over the Internet. Alternative authorisation and registration can be arranged for those without Internet connections.
• Support is provided for user-specific and shared profiles for JAWS configuration settings.
• JAWS supports remote access via Citrix and Terminal Services (extra authorisation is required).
• Support is provided for JAVA applications.
• The interactive talking installation lets the user set up JAWS quickly without sighted assistance. New users will appreciate the Basic Training Tutorial with text and audio instruction to help them understand how to navigate the Windows environment with JAWS. The tutorial is included and can be installed along with the software.

System Requirements

• To use JAWS for Windows, you need a personal computer running a version of Microsoft Windows operating system with the following:
• A processor capable of handling the requirements of the operating system in addition to any other programs you want to use with JAWS.
• Enough memory to run the operating system and any programs you want to use with JAWS.
• Additional memory will improve system performance while JAWS is running.
• JAWS requires less than 200MB of hard disk space for program and settings files. Additional space is required for the operating system, other programs, and the Windows swap file.
• A display adapter capable of at least 800 x 600 screen resolution with 16 bit colour (1024 x 768 screen resolution with 32 bit colour is recommended). 
• If you intend to use the Eloquence for JAWS software synthesizer, you need a sound card compatible with the version of Windows you are running. If you choose not to use Eloquence for JAWS, then you must have a JAWS compatible software or hardware speech synthesizer, or a refreshable Braille display.

Note: If you do not have a sound card, JAWS does not provide speech during installation.

Proper JAWS licensing is required to run JAWS on the different versions of the various Windows operating systems. The JAWS licenses are either Professional or Standard.

JAWS Professional licensing can be used with the following operating systems: Windows Vista Ultimate, Windows Vista Enterprise, Windows Vista Business, Windows Vista Home Premium, Windows Vista Home Basic, Windows XP Professional, Windows XP Home, Windows XP Media Center Edition, and Windows 2003 Server*.

JAWS Standard can be used with Windows Vista Home Premium, Windows Vista Home Basic, or Windows XP Home*.

*Windows Vista (32-bit) support is only available with JAWS 9 or higher.

*Windows Vista (64-bit) support is only available with JAWS 10.0.1142 or higher.

*Windows 7 support is only available with JAWS 11.0.734 or higher.

Note: For a list of Windows Vista requirements, contact Freedom Scientific for more information.

Note: While JAWS supports the Windows XP Media Center Edition operating system, support for Media Center applications is limited to areas where Microsoft Active ® has properly exposed adequate information.