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North Carolina Online Test of Computer Skills

Installation/Setup Instructions for using NCDesk with JAWS

CAUTION: As of 12/13/2005 NCDesk is NOT fully JAWS compatible. Check this page for JAWS compatibility status.

BETA JAWS Version For Windows Computers

• Download >  NCDesk_JAWS_Beta.exe (Install Application 1.6 Mb 12/13/2005 10:15 AM)
• DO NOT INSTALL on computers to be used for administration of the Online Test of Computer Skills
• There will be no support for this product at this time -- just this page.
• Install Java 5.0_03 before installing
• Install Java Access Bridge
• Read notes below
• Known issues:
  • Application title may be played more than one time
• Vision impaired students should use the following keystrokes to navigate through NCDesk's applications.
  • Tab = Navigate forward to the next component
  • Shift + Tab = Navigate backward to the previous component
  • Ctrl + Tab = Navigate forward out of components that display tabs
  • Ctrl + Shift + Tab = Navigate backward out of components that display tabs
  • Alt = Transfer focus to the menus

Background:

In order for assistive technologies, like JAWS, to provide access for programs written in the Java programming language, they need a bridge between their native environment(s) and Java’s Accessibility API. In addition to installing JAWS and NCDesk, you will need to install a copy of the Java Access Bridge .

Java Access Bridge:

NCDesk requires version 1.2, the latest stable release, of the Access Bridge . You may download a copy of the Access Bridge for Windows platforms from Sun Microsystems at: http://java.sun.com/products/accessbridge/ .

JAWS Compatibility Issues:

Older versions of JAWS (4.51 and 5.X) are dependent upon an older version of the Access Bridge (1.1), which is no longer available. These older versions of JAWS encountered several problems with the latest Access Bridge (1.2). Specifically, our testing showed older JAWS versions were unable to read menu items and dialog messages. We recommend using JAWS 6.10 with the latest Java Access Bridge (1.2).

Installing Java Access Bridge:

Once you’ve downloaded and unpacked the accessbridge-1_2.zip file, run the installer ( Install.exe ) located in the AccessBridge-1.2\installer\ directory.

This scans your system for installed Java virtual machines, tests them to see whether they support the Java Access Bridge , and then allows you to install the Java Access Bridge into each of those Java virtual machines.

Occasionally, we’ve noticed that the installer does not recognize the JVM (1.5.0_03) required by NCDesk. Usually, this occurs when multiple versions of Java exist on the same machine. In this case, we’ve successfully installed the Access Bridge after uninstalling the older Java versions (prior to 1.5.0_03).

This file was modified on Wednesday, August 29, 2007; at 2:51:45 PM