Google Help › Gmail Help › Your Messages › Reading › Using Gmail with screen readers  

Notes

1. Gmail iterates frequently with new releases, so the exact process may vary from the instructions given here.
2. The standard view of Gmail works best with screen readers and browsers that support ARIA.

Background

Standard view of Gmail uses Java script. It has some advanced features such as chat which uses liveregents.

Contents

• Signing in
• Page structure
• Reading messages
• Conversation list page
• Conversation page
• Sending messages
• Searching
• Archiving
• Settings
• Labels
• Filters
• Creating a Gmail address

Signing in

Once you have a Gmail account, you can follow these steps to sign in to the standard view:

1. Go to http://www.gmail.com
2. The initial focus is in the Username edit box. Press ENTER to go into Forms mode, type in your username, and then TAB to the Password edit box.
3. Type in your password, and press ENTER. You are taken to your Inbox in the standard view.

Page Structure

Almost all the Gmail web pages use the same overall page structure. So before going on to describe how to read and send messages, this section describes this overall structure and how to navigate it. Each page in the standard view contains the following elements or sections - it's only the main content section that varies from page to page, everything else is present on every page:

• Your email address, and the links report issue/slowness, Settings, older version, Help, and Sign out.
• A level 1 heading: Gmail logo.
• Search controls: A level 2 heading, followed by an edit box, Search Mail button, Search the Web button, and a Show search options link. These are described in the Searching section.
• Navigation section, which is described in the next section. Chat window: A level 2 heading containing an edit box for searching, adding, or inviting a buddy, your name, status of your Chat contacts in your Chat list, their names, and an options menu. Note that the Chat window is only open if Chat is turned on.
• Name: a level 2 heading containing an edit/combo box for searching/adding/inviting someone for chat. Note that if Chat is turned off, this section has the user's name as h2 and the edit box. However, if Chat is turned on, the h2 is "Chat" and the edit box is part of the chat window.
• Labels: A level 2 heading containing a list of existing labels, which are shown as links and an "edit labels" link.
• Invite a friend: A level 2 heading followed by a "give Gmail to" edit box, send invite button, number of invites left, and preview invite link.
• Main content section. This varies from page to page, and normally contains a level 2 heading.
• A link to turn on/off chat.
• A link to switch to the basic HTML view. Note that this is not present if you're signed in at mail.google.com/mail/h/.
• Miscellaneous bits and bobs.

Navigation section

The navigation section contains the following elements:

• A Compose Mail link.
• Inbox: for conversations that contain incoming messages.
• Starred: for conversations that you've marked as especially significant.
• Chats: for chat history.
• Sent Mail: for conversations which contain messages you've sent.
• Drafts: for conversations that include a message you were writing and haven't yet sent because you saved the message as a draft, the internet connection failed, or the computer crashed.
• All Mail: This contains a list of conversations, including all the messages you've received, sent, or archived, and haven't been deleted.
• Spam: For incoming messages which have been judged to be spam by Gmail or messages that you've marked as spam. After 30 days in this folder, a message is automatically deleted completely.
• Trash: When you delete a conversation or a message (except from this folder), it's moved here. After 30 days in this folder, it's automatically deleted completely.
• Contacts link
• Chats: a level 2 heading followed by a combo box for searching/adding/editing, your name, a menu for setting your status, any chat invite requests from others, list of contacts and their status, and an options menu. Note that this window is only shown if Chat is turned on.
• Labels. A level 2 heading, followed by links for any labels you've created. - Some of the folder and label links can have a number in parenthesis after them; this number indicates that the folder of label contains that number of conversations with unread messages.

  Page navigation

  • The heading structure of the pages is useful for navigation. In particular, using the quick navigation key 2 takes you through the following headings: Chat, Labels, Invite a friend, and conversations. Note that the heading "conversations" comes twice in a sequence. The first one marks the beginning of the section and the second one marks the end of the section.

  Reading messages

  This is an outline of how to read the messages in one of the folders:
  1. Open one of the folder links. After you first sign in, you're automatically taken to your Inbox folder, so to immediately read the messages in your Inbox, you can omit this step.
  2. You're taken to a page which contains a list of conversations in that folder, and pages like these will be referred to as Conversation list pages. The list of conversations is, in fact, formatted as a table, with the columns giving various details about the conversations. To view a particular conversation, move to the subject of the conversation and open it by pressing enter.
  3. You're taken to a page that contains all the messages in the conversation, and these pages will be referred to as Conversation pages. On this page you can easily navigate to the messages which you want to read.

  The next two main sections describe Conversation list pages and Conversation pages in detail.

  Conversation list page

  When you open any of the folders, you're taken to a page containing a list of the conversations in that folder. This section describes the structure and navigation of a Conversation list page. In fact, as described latter in the guide, when you choose to view the conversations with a particular label, or search for messages, you're also taken to page containing a list of conversations, and these pages all have the same structure. A Conversation list page has a title that describes the list of conversations, for example, Inbox. Its main content section contains the following elements:
  • A level 2 heading: a name for the list of conversations, "conversations". The same name is used for all views.
  • A series of action buttons, which are described in the Action buttons section below.
  • More actions menu: which can be used to add/remove labels etc? Note that this is read as text however, it has a tab stop and it is keyboard accessible.
  • Refresh link.
  • The range of conversations shown in the table which follows, for example "1 - 50 of 402". In addition, when appropriate, there are links to take you to other ranges of conversations. The links which may be present are: « Newest, < Newer, and Older >, and Oldest ».
  • Select options: links for the following are available, all, none, read, unread, starred, and unstarred.
  • A table containing details of the conversations, described in the Conversation table section below.
  • A repeat of the action buttons, the refresh link, and the range of conversations displayed.

  Conversation list page navigation

  • To move to the start of the Conversation table, press CTRL + HOME, then X, since the checkbox on the first row of the table, is the first checkbox on the page. Navigating around this table is described in the next section.

  Conversation table

  Each row in the table contains the details of a conversation. The table has six columns, and up to 100 rows. The columns of the table are as follows:
  1. A checkbox, which by default is unchecked. These checkboxes are used together with the Action buttons as described in the Action buttons section below.
  2. A blank column.
  3. In most lists of conversations, the third column contains the names of the senders of the messages in the conversation. If there is more than one message in the conversation, then the number of messages is given in parentheses after the names.
  4. A blank column.
  5. The subject of the conversation, which is a link. To open a conversation, press enter; you're then taken to a Conversation page. If you're viewing conversations other than those in the Inbox, then if the conversation is also present in the Inbox, then the subject is prefixed with the word Inbox.
  6. A list of names of the attached documents in the conversations.
  7. The last column contains a time if it refers to today, or a date. The time listed depends on which folder is being viewed. For example, for the Inbox, the date/time refers to when the latest incoming message in the conversation was sent. For the Sent Mail folder, the date/time refers to when the latest outgoing message in the conversation was sent. The conversations in the table are ordered by this date/time.

  Conversations that contain unread messages are highlighted to sighted users by making the background color of the row a different color, and using bold text. This information is not available to Jaws users, and Jaws does not announce if a conversation contains unread messages. But, you can easily get a list of the conversations containing unread messages by clicking on the unread link located below the first conversations heading or by using Gmail's search, which is described in detail in the Searching section. To get this list:

  1. Move to the search edit box.
  2. Press ENTER to go into Forms mode, type is:unread, and then press ENTER. You're taken to a Conversation list page containing the conversations which have unread messages.

  Conversation page

  When you open a subject link in the Conversation table of a Conversation list page, you're taken to a Conversation page. On this page, you can read all the messages in the conversation, and both act of the conversation as a whole, and the individual messages in the conversation.

  The title of a Conversation page is the subject of the conversation, and the main content section contains the following elements:

  • A link back to the Conversation list page, for example « Back to Inbox.
  • Actions buttons. These are often the same set of Action buttons which appeared on the Conversation list page. These buttons are used to apply actions to the whole of the conversation.
  • The number of the conversation in the list of conversations, eg "4 of 314". In addition there are < Newer, and Older > links, when appropriate, which take you to the next newer or older conversation in the list respectively.
  • Two or three links which act of the whole conversation. If there is more than one message in the conversation, then there's either an Expand all or a Collapse all link, as described in the Messages section below. There are always Print and New Window links, which print the conversation and open the conversation in a new window, respectively.
  • A level 1 heading: the subject of the conversation. This is followed by a link to the Inbox if the conversation appears in the Inbox, and any labels.
  • The messages in the conversation, which are described in detail in the next section.
  • Repeat of the Action buttons, and the number of the conversation in the list of conversations.

  Conversation page navigation

  • The subject of the conversation is the second level 1 heading on the page. Immediately before this heading are the links and Action buttons which are used for applying actions to the whole conversation.
  • In all the expanded messages, the name of the sender is a level 3 heading, so you can use these headings to browse through the expanded messages.
  • If you need to read any of the collapsed messages, rather than expanding them individually, it's often easier to open the Expand all link, and then use the level 3 headings of the expanded messages to find the ones you want to read.

  Action buttons

  The Actions buttons which appear both before and after the Conversation table are used together with the checkboxes in the Conversation. Note that these buttons are recognized as text not buttons however, they can be activated using the keyboard. For example, to delete one or more conversations in the Inbox:
  1. In the Conversation table, check the checkboxes of the conversations you want to delete.
  2. Move to the Delete and press it.

  The number and the actions of these buttons depend on which list of conversations is being viewed. The general pattern is:

  • There may be one or more buttons for the most frequently used actions.

  For example, for the Inbox, there are buttons to Archive, Report Spam, and Delete.

  Messages

  Messages can be in one of two formats: expanded or collapsed. In the expanded format, the message text and all relevant information is given, whereas in the collapsed format only the sender, date, and whether the message has one or more attachments is given.

  When you first move to a Conversation page, the last message and all unread messages are expanded - the rest are collapsed. Because only expanded messages have a heading, this makes it easy to find the unread messages in a conversation.

  If one or more of the messages is collapsed, then there's an Expand all link, which expands all the collapsed messages. If all the messages are expanded, then there's a Collapse all link, which collapses all but the last message.

  Expanded Message

  An expanded message contains the following elements:
  • The name of the sender and the email address of the sender in parenthesis.
  • "to" followed by the email address/addresses the email was sent to.
  • "Show details" which is keyboard accessible. Clicking enter on "show details" will expand the following details; from field, to field, date, subject, list of any mailing lists if the email was sent to any mailing lists, mailed-by, and signed-by.
  • The date and time when the message was sent. If the email was not sent the same day then the number of day/days ago the email was sent is also shown.
  • An attachment graphic, if the message has one or more attachments.
  • A link, Reply.
  • The text of the message.
  • If the message has one or more attachments, then there are links for viewing and downloading attachments. These are described in the Downloading attachments section below.
  • There is a repeat of the series of links: Reply, Reply to all, etc.

  Collapsed message

  A collapsed message contains the following elements:
  • The name of the sender which is clickable (but not a level 3 heading). If you press enter on the sender's name, the message is expanded.
  • An attachment graphic, if the message has one or more attachments.
  • Starting of the content of the email.
  • The date and time when the message was sent.
  • Note that when there are a large number of collapsed messages, these are sometimes merged into a single collapsed message, which contains text such as "17 hidden messages -", followed by a Show link. If you open this link, all the hidden messages are shown as individual collapsed messages.

  Downloading attachments

  As described above, whether a message has one or more attachments is indicated by "attachment" just after the date and time when the message was sent. In an expanded message, the links for viewing and downloading the attachments appear after the text of the message.

  The following information and links are given for each attachment:
  • Name of the file.
  • Size of the file.
  • For some file types, for example .html and .txt, there's a View link, which opens a new window, and displays the attachment. For some other file types, for example .doc and .pdf, there's a View as HTML link, which opens a new window, converts the file to HTML, and displays the attachment. For some other file types, for example .mp3 and .zip, there is no such link.
  • Either a Scan and download link, or a Download link, depending on whether you're using Internet Explorer or FireFox. If you open this link, then a dialog opens which gives you the choice of either saving the file or opening it with its default program.

  In addition, if there's more than one attachment, then before the information about the individual attachments, there is the number of attachments, followed by either a link to Scan and download all attachments, or Download all attachments, depending on whether you're using Internet Explorer of Firefox respectively. If you open this link, then a dialog opens which allows you to either open or save a zip file containing all the attachments.

  If you're in a message that contains one or more attachments, then a useful method of moving to the links to view or download the attachments is to use the links list dialog, to find the next link beginning with Scan, if using Internet Explorer, or Download, if using Firefox, and move to that link.

  Sending messages

  There are a number of ways of composing a message which you want to send. Most of these use the Compose Mail page, which is described below.

  To compose a message using the Compose Mail page:
  • A new message from scratch. Open the Compose Mail link to go to the Compose Mail page.
  • Replying to a message. Any expanded message on any Conversation page has a reply link just above the message text and a series of links below the message text. If you open the reply link, then you're taken to the Compose Mail page, where the To: and Subject: fields have been filled in for you. In addition, the message edit box already contains a copy of the message to which you're replying.
  • Forwarding a message. This is similar to replying to a message, as described in the previous option. Open the Forward link, and you're taken to the Compose Mail page, where the Subject: field has already been filled in, and the message edit box contains a copy of the message, proceeded by the words Forwarded message.

  Compose Mail page

  The Main content section in the compose mail page contains the following elements:
  • Send, Save now, and Discard buttons.
  • The Compose Form.
  • To and subject edit boxes.
  • "Attach a file" link
  • Message edit box.
  • Send, Save now, and Discard buttons.
  So to send a message:
  1. Once you're taken to the Compose Mail page, jump to the To: edit box.
  2. Carry on pressing TAB to move between controls, and typing into the edit boxes. Adding attachments is covered in the next section.
  3. After you've typed your message in the message edit box, simply TAB to the Send button and press it. Note that the label for the message edit box is read as "change language".

  Adding attachments

  To add attachments, you click on the link "attach a file" which is between the subject: and message edit boxes: You will now see the choose file window.

  If you want to attach only a single file to a message:
  1. Move to the attach a file link and press enter.
  2. An edit box as well as a 'browse' button shows up.
  3. Enter the location of the file in the edit box or click on the browse button.
  4. A Choose File dialog opens, which has the same format as a standard Open dialog. Select a file, and press ENTER.
  5. You are returned to the Compose page, with the focus on the subject edit box.
  If you want to attach multiple files to a message:
  1. Press enter on the Attach another file link . Note this text only shows after you have clicked on the "attach a file" link and added the first attachment.
  2. A series of edit box, browse buttons, and remove links are present.
  3. Either enter the location of the file or click on the browse button.
  4. Once you have attached all of the files, click on the done button.
  5. Below the subject edit box there are now a series of checkboxes for the attached files.

  Drafts

  If you open a conversation in the Drafts folder, then what happens depends on the number of messages in the conversation:
  • If the conversation only contains a single message, which is the message you were writing, then when you open the conversation you are taken to the Compose Mail page.
  • If the conversation contains one or more messages, then you're taken to a Conversation list page. The message you were replying to is expanded, and has A compose mail form following it, even if it isn't the last message in the conversation. This is always the first reply section on the page, so the easiest way of continuing to write the message is to press ctrl+home and then use the e key till you find the to: edit box.

  Searching

  Google Mail's search is extremely flexible and powerful. To perform a simple search:
  1. Move to the Search edit box, which is the first form control on the page.
  2. Press ENTER to go into Forms mode, type in one or more words, and press ENTER.
  3. You are taken to a page which contains a list of the conversations which contain messages which match the search words.
  The defaults for searches are:
  • All the messages in the All Mail folder are searched, that is, all the messages you're sent or received, but have not deleted. However, the Spam and Trash folders aren't searched.
  • The matches are case insensitive
  • The search words are matched against words in the subject, To, and From fields, and in the message text.

  To perform more advanced searches, you can either use search operators in the text you enter into the search edit box, or you can use a form for entering various search options. These methods are described in the following two sections.

  Search operators

  By default, words used for searching are matched against the words in all the fields of the message and in the message text. Search operators allow you to specify a single field of the message for matching, and also other attributes of the message, for example whether it's been read, which folder it's in, etc.

  Most of the operators are fairly straightforward, but the use of parentheses can be more difficult to grasp. The following sections give some simple examples, then some examples using parentheses, and finally the definitions of all the search operators.

  Simple examples

  • is:unread, matches messages which are unread.
  • from:david, matches messages whose sender includes the name David.
  • from:pluto@disney.com, matches messages from the email address pluto@disney.com.
  • from:david subject:concert, matches messages whose sender includes the word david, and whose subject contains the word concert.
  • rock OR concert, matches messages which contain either rock or concert. Note that OR must be spelled with capitals.
  • "audio books from librivox". Messages containing the exact phrase "audio books from librivox".

  Examples using parentheses

  Parentheses are used for grouping words to ensure that search expressions have the intended meaning. Here are some examples:
  • subject:(rock concert), matches messages in which the subject contains both rock and concert. In the absence of the parentheses, it would match messages in which the subject contains rock, and in which concert occurred anywhere.
  • subject:"rock concert", matches messages in which the subject contains the exact phrase "rock concert". Parentheses are not needed here, because the phrase acts as a single unit.
  • (rock concert) OR bananas, matches messages which either contain the words rock and concert, or contain the word bananas. Without parentheses the expression would match messages which either contain the words rock and concert, or contain the words rock and bananas.
  • from:( (mickey mouse) OR (donald duck) ), matches messages in which the from: field either contains mickey and mouse, or contains donald and duck. Note the need for both parentheses.

  Definitions of all search operators

  Operator	Definition
  is:unread, is:read	messages which are unread or read respectively
  from:someone	Specifies the sender. "someone" can be either one or more names, or an email address. Examples: from:susan, from:(mickey mouse), and from:pluto@disney.com.
  to:someone	Specifies the recipient. "someone" can be either one more names, or an email address.
  subject:something	subject includes "something".
  label:something	label is "something". If the label consists of more than one word, you have to put hyphens between the words, for example label:donald-duck.
  has:attachment	messages with one or more attachments
  filename:some filename	messages with the attachment "some filename", for example, filename:jokes.txt.
  filename:some file type	messages with an attachment of the type "some file type", for example filename:pdf. OR matches something or something else. OR must be in capitals
  quotes	matches an exact phrase, for example, "paris in the spring"
  parentheses	used for grouping words, for example subject:(blues OR jazz).
  Hyphen	not. For example, -bananas, messages which don't contain the word bananas.
  in:anywhere	messages anywhere in your account, including spam and trash which are excluded by default.
  in:inbox, in:trash, in:spam	messages in inbox, trash, or spam
  is:starred	messages which are starred
  cc:someone, bcc:someone	Specifies either cc: recipient or bcc: recipient. "someone" can be either one or more names or an email address.

  Search options

  To use the search options:
  1. Open the Show search options link, which comes shortly after the Search edit boxes.
  2. You are taken to a page with the title Search Options. In the main content section there are a number of form controls for setting various search options, starting with a From: edit box. After these controls, there's a Search Mail button. Set some options, and then either press ENTER if you're in an edit box, or TAB to the Search Mail button, and press it.
  3. You're taken to a page containing a list of the conversations which contain messages which match your search options. The level 2 heading of the main content section is "conversations", where the search options are expressed in terms of the search operators described in the previous section. Note that the main content section also includes the form controls for setting search options - they are before the level 2 heading.

  Archiving

  In addition to being able to delete conversations or individual messages, Gmail allows you to archive conversations from your Inbox. If you archive a conversation, the conversation is removed from your Inbox, but not from the All Mail folder, which contains everything which you haven't deleted.

  After you have archived a conversation:
  • You can still find the messages in the conversation by searching for them, because the All Mail folder is used for searching.
  • If the conversation contains messages sent by you, it still appears in the Sent Mail folder.
  • If the conversation has a label applied to it, then it still appears when you view the conversations which have that label.

  So archiving allows you both to have a small number of conversations in your Inbox, and to still have old messages available.

  Settings

  The settings for Google Mail are divided into a number of different categories, and each category has its own page. This section gives an overview of these pages, and how to navigate to them. The Labels and Filters pages are described in detail in the Labels and Filters sections of this guide.

  The settings categories are:
  • General
  • Accounts
  • Labels
  • Filters
  • Forwarding and POP
  • This includes settings which allow you to connect an email client, such as Outlook Express, to your Google Mail account.
  • Chat
  • Web clips
  • Labs
  • Any additional tabs depending on what features the user has enabled in labs.

  To move to the Settings:general page, open the Settings link.

  All the settings pages have the title Settings. The main content section of all the settings pages contains the following:
  • A level 2 heading: Settings
  • The categories: used for moving to the various category pages.
  • Various elements which vary from category to category.
  So, for example, to move to the Settings:Labels page:
  1. First move to General settings page, as described above.
  2. On this page, move to the level 2 heading Settings.
  3. Read through the categories, until you get to the Labels link, and open it.

  Labels

  Google Mail enables you to create your own labels, apply one or more labels to conversations, and use these labels for finding conversations.

  The labels which you've created appear immediately after the level 2 heading Labels in the navigation section. In addition, in any Conversation table, if a conversation has one or more labels, then these appear before the subject of the conversation.

  The Settings:Labels page

  On the Settings:Label page, you can view, rename, remove, and create labels (how to go to the various settings pages is described in the Settings section above).

  The main content section of the page contains the following:
  • A level 2 heading: Settings
  • A list of the settings categories; used for moving to the other category pages.
  • Details about each existing label as follows:
  • The name of the label: This is followed by the number of conversations having this label.
  • Links, rename and remove.
  • A Create a new label edit box, followed by a Create button.

  Create a label

  On the Settings:Labels page, to create a new label:
  1. Move to the Create a new label edit box.
  2. Press ENTER to go into Forms mode, type in a name for the label, and press ENTER. The page refreshes, and the new label appears.

  Searching using labels

  You can get a list of the conversations with a particular label by using the label links which are immediately after the level 2 heading Labels. If you open one of these links, you are taken to a page containing a list of the conversations with this label. The title of the page is Label:name.

  You can search using labels by using the search operator label:, as described in the Search operators section. For example, here's an alternative method for getting a list of conversations with a particular label:

  1. Move to the search edit box, which is the first control on the page.
  2. Press ENTER to go into Forms mode, type label:name, where "name" is a label, and then press ENTER.
  3. You are taken to a page containing a list of the conversations with this label. The title of the page is Search results for: Label:name.

  Filters

  In Google Mail, you can create your own filters, which help you to organize your incoming messages. A filter automatically applies one or more actions to incoming messages which match some criteria.

  The Settings:Filters page

  On the Settings:Filters page, you can view, edit, delete, and create filters (how to get to the various settings pages is described in the Settings section (above).

  The main content section of the page contains the following:
  • A level 2 heading: Settings
  • The categories. All categories are links, and are used for moving to the various other category pages.
  • For each filter which you've created there are:
  • "Matches:" followed by the criteria, which are expressed using the search operators.
  • "Do this:" followed by one or more actions.
  • edit and delete decorated buttons which are keyboard accessible.
  • A Create a new Filter link.

  Creating a filter

  Creating a filter involves two stages: specifying the matching criteria, and then specifying one or more actions that will be taken on the messages which match the given criteria.

  On the Settings:Filters page
  1. Press the Create a new Filter link.
  2. The page is refreshed. The main content section remains unchanged, but a group of elements for specifying the filter criteria now appear after the heading level 1, Gmail logo. These elements are:
  • 5 edit boxes, and a check box for specifying criteria.
  • Cancel, Test Search, and Next Step buttons. Enter the criteria using one or more of these controls.
  3. If you want, you can check which existing messages match this criteria. To do this, press the Test Search button, and the page refreshes. In the main content section there is now:
  • A level 2 heading: conversations: "criteria" where criteria are your filter criteria defined using the search operators described in the Search operators section.
  • A Conversation table containing the conversations which contain messages which match the criteria.
  4. Once you are happy with the criteria, press the Next Step button.
  5. You're taken to a page where you can specify the action to be taken on the messages that match your criteria. After the heading level 1, Gmail logo is:
  • 5 checkboxes for selecting actions. After the Apply the label: checkbox, there's a Choose label combo box, and after the Forward it to: checkbox, there's an email address edit box.
  • A checkbox for also applying the filter to the existing messages which match the criteria. The conversations which contain these messages are shown in the Conversation table which is in the main content section of the page.
  • Cancel, Back, and Create Filter buttons. Specify one or more actions using the controls, and press the Create Filter button.
  6. You are returned to the Settings:Filters page, where the new filter is now listed.

  Keyboard shortcuts

  Keyboard shortcuts are provided in Gmail for power/keyboard users. However, they can be used by screen reader users as well. Keyboard shortcuts is an option that can be turned on or off as described below.

  Turning on Keyboard shortcuts

  If keyboard shortcuts are not turned on, they will not work. However, Gmail can be used normally without keyboard shortcuts even if they are turned on.

  1. Log-in to Gmail.
  2. click on the "settings" link.
  • Settings section has an h2.
  3. In the general tab, which is the tab that is open by default, navigate to the "keyboard shortcuts option.
  4. Check the "keyboard shortcuts on" radio button and click on "save changes" button.

  Using keyboard shortcuts

  Once the keyboard shortcuts are turned on, any of the shortcuts can be used by following these steps:
  1. Turn off virtual cursor.
  2. Press any of the shortcuts.
  3. Either turn on virtual cursor and navigate normally. Or keep the virtual cursor off and navigate by tabbing.

  Available keyboard shortcuts

  Escape

  Shortcut Key	Definition	Action
  c	Compose	Allows you to compose a new message. Shift+c allows you to compose a message in a new window.
  n	Next message	Moves your cursor to the next message. You can hit to expand or collapse a message. (Only applicable in 'Conversation View.')
  p	Previous message	Moves your cursor to the previous message. You can hit to expand or collapse a message. (Only applicable in 'Conversation View.')
  o or Enter	Open	Opens your conversation. Also expands or collapses a message if you are in 'Conversation View.'
  u	Return to conversation list	Refreshes your page and returns you to the inbox, or list of conversations.
  x	Select conversation	Automatically checks and selects a conversation so that you can archive, apply a label, or choose an action from the drop-down menu to apply to that conversation.
  !	Report spam	Marks a message as spam and removes it from your conversation list.
  r	Reply	Replies to the message sender. Shift+r allows you to reply to a message in a new window. (Only applicable in 'Conversation View.')
  a	Reply all	Replies to all message recipients. Shift+a allows you to reply to all message recipients in a new window. (Only applicable in 'Conversation View.')
  f	Forward	Forwards a message. Shift+f allows you to forward a message in a new window. (Only applicable in 'Conversation View.')
  #	Delete	Moves the conversation to Trash.
  l	Label	Opens the Labels menu to label a conversation.
  .	Show more actions	Displays the 'More Actions' drop-down menu.
  ?	Show keyboard shortcuts help	Displays the keyboard shortcuts help menu within any page you're on.
  /	Search	Puts your cursor in the search box.
  k	Move to newer conversation	Opens or moves your cursor to a more recent conversation. You can hit enter to expand a conversation.
  j	Move to older conversation	Opens or moves your cursor to the next oldest conversation. You can hit enter to expand a conversation.
  e	Archive	Archive your conversation from any view.
  m	Mute	Archives the conversation, and all future messages skip the Inbox unless sent or cc'd directly to you.
  s	Star a message or conversation	Adds or removes a star to a message or conversation. Stars allow you to give a message or conversation a special status.
  Escape from input field	Removes the cursor from your current input field.
  Ctrl+s	Save draft	Saves the current text as a draft when composing a message. Hold the ctrl key while pressing s and make sure your cursor is in one of the text fields -- either the composition pane, or any of the To, CC, BCC, or Subject fields -- when using this shortcut.
  v	Move to	Moves the conversation from the inbox to a different label, Spam or Trash.
  Shift+i	Mark as read	Marks your message as 'read' and skips to the next message.
  Shift+u	Mark as unread	Marks your message as 'unread' so you can go back to it later.
  (	Archive and previous	Archives your conversation and moves to the previous one.
  )	Archive and next	Archives your conversation and moves to the next one.
  z	Undo	Undoes your previous action, if possible (works for actions with an 'undo' link).
  Shift+n	Update current conversation	Updates your current conversation when there are new messages.
  q	Move cursor to chat search	Moves your cursor directly to the chat search box.
  y	Remove from Current View*	Automatically removes the message or conversation from your current view. From 'Inbox,' 'y' means Archive From 'Starred,' 'y' means Unstar From 'Trash,' 'y' means Move to inbox From any label, 'y' means Remove the label * 'y' has no effect if you're in 'Spam,' 'Sent,' or 'All Mail.'

  Combo-keys

  Shortcut Key	Definition	Action
  tab then Enter	Send message	After composing your message, use this combination to send it automatically. (Supported in Internet Explorer and Firefox, on Windows.)
  y then o	Archive and next	Archives your conversation and moves to the next one.
  g then a	Go to 'All Mail'	Takes you to 'All Mail,' the storage site for all mail you've ever sent or received (and have not deleted).
  g then s	Go to 'Starred'	Takes you to all conversations you have starred.
  g then c	Go to 'Contacts'	Takes you to your Contacts list.
  g then d	Go to 'Drafts'	Takes you to all drafts you have saved.
  g then i	Go to 'Inbox'	Returns you to the inbox.
  g then t	Go to 'Sent Mail'	Takes you to all mail you've sent.
  * then a	Select all	Selects all mail.
  * then n	Select none	Deselects all mail.
  * then r	Select read	Selects all mail you've read.
  * then u	Select unread	Selects all unread mail.
  * then s	Select starred	Selects all starred mail.
  * then t	Select unstarred	Selects all unstarred mail.

  Within settings

  Shortcut Key	Definition	Action
  ctrl+left or right arrow keys	Switching between settings tabs	Navigating between the settings tabs. Note: Forms mode would first need to be turned on by placing the cursor focus on any of the tabs and then pressing enter.
  Tab	Navigating within labels	Navigating to the specific items in the labels tab.

  A complete list of available shortcuts can be found,
  • From Gmail settings:
  • Log-in to Gmail.
  • Click on the "settings" link.
  • Navigate to the Keyboard shortcuts option in the general tab.
  • Click on the "learn more" link located right below the text "keyboard shortcuts",.
  • In the resulting page, a list of commands and their functions are provided.
  • From the Gmail help center:
  1. Log-in to Gmail.
  2. click on the "help" link.
  3. In the resulting window, enter "keyboard shortcuts" in the search edit box and press enter.
  4. One of the search results will be a link to the list of keyboard shortcuts.

  Creating a Gmail address

  The process of creating a Google Mail account includes verifying that you're a human being rather than some malicious software, by getting you to listen to some audio, and type in the numbers which are spoken. If you use the Firefox browser, and you haven't got the Quicktime plug-in already installed, then you are prompted to install this plug-in so that you can listen to the audio. So unless you've already got Quicktime installed, or really want to install it, it's best to use Internet Explorer for creating a Gmail account.

  To get to the application form, go to mail.google.com, and open the link "Sign up for Google Mail", or "Sign up for Gmail". You're taken to a page with the title Google Accounts. The following sections describe the various sections of the form.

  • Change language combo box..
  • This will probably be set to English, by which it means US English.
  • First and last names
  • When you get to the First name edit box, press ENTER to go into forms mode, type in your first name, then TAB to the next control, which is the Last name edit box. Type in your last name, and then TAB to the next control.
  • Desired login name
  • Your login name is both the name you use for signing in to your account, and the part of your email address which appears before the @ sign. Note that in most countries, your email address will have the form login name@gmail.com, but in a small number of countries, including the UK, it will have the form of login name@googlemail.com. Your login name has to be at least 6 characters long. Many login names have already been taken by other people, so part of choosing a login name involves checking the availability of potential names:
  1. Type a name into the Desired Login Name edit box, TAB to the check availability! button, and press it.
  2. The page refreshes, you are taken out of Forms mode, and the focus remains on the check availability! button. Read line by line the text that has now appeared below the button. If the name is available, then it says "name" is available. You can then carry on reading down to choose a password which is described in the next section.
  3. If the name is unavailable, is says "name" is not available, and displays radio boxes, with suggested names which are available. If you're happy with one of these, just press SPACEBAR to set it, and then carry on reading down to choosing a password, which is described in the next main step. If you want to try another name, press SHIFT + E to move back to the edit box, press ENTER to go back into Forms mode, and try again.
  • Choose a password
  • Your password must be at least 8 characters long.
  1. At the Choose a password edit box, press ENTER to go back into Forms mode, and type in your password.
  2. TAB past the Password strength link to get to the Re-enter password edit box, and type in your password again.
  3. TAB to the Stay signed in checkbox, and set as desired.
  4. TAB to the Enable Web History checkbox. The following text appears above the checkbox: "Web History is a feature that will provide you with a more personalized experience on Google that includes more relevant search results and recommendations." Set the checkbox as desired, and then TAB to the next control.
  • Security question
  • You have to set up a security question and answer which Google will ask you if you ever forget your password.
  1. When you get to the security question combo box, select one of the options for the question. Note that the last option which is immediately after "What was your first teacher's name" is "Write my own question". When you select that option, Jaws does not read the option, but an edit box is created below the combo box for you to type in your question, and the focus is moved to the edit box. If you want to move back to the combo box, press SHIFT + TAB.
  2. Once you've selected a question, or written your own, TAB past the learn more link to the Answer edit box, and type in your answer.
  3. TAB to the next control.
  • Secondary email
  • If you have another email address, Google can use it if there are problems with your account. When you get to the Secondary email edit box, type in an existing email address if you've got one, and want to, and then TAB past the learn more link to the next control.
  • Location
  • The Location combo box, contains a large number of possible locations. It helps to use the first letter of the location to find it more quickly. Once you've found your location, TAB to the next control.
  • Verification
  • To check that you're a human being filling in this form, and not some automated process set up to create millions of spurious accounts, Google gets you to either type in the distorted characters in a picture, or to type in the numbers which are spoken in an audio recording which also contains a background of distracting speech. In this recording, a series of single digit numbers are spoken, a clear voice says "once again", and then the series of numbers is repeated. To perform the audio verification:
  1. When you get to the "type the characters you see or numbers you hear" edit box, TAB to the "listen and type the numbers you hear" link graphic, and open it.
  2. You are taken out of Forms mode, and the focus is placed back in the previous edit box. The audio recording starts. Press ENTER to go into Forms mode, and then type the numbers that you hear. Because Jaws talks over the start of the recording as you're moved back to the edit box, and then go back into Forms mode, you may find it easier to wait till the voice says once again before typing the numbers in.
  3. If you don't get the hang of it the first time, just TAB to the "listen and type the numbers you hear" link graphic, open it, and try again.
  • Terms of Service
  • To read the Terms of Service, Press NUMPAD PLUS to come out of forms mode, and then read a line at a time. You'll first pass over some links and text to do with the verification, an introduction to the terms of service, a printable version link which opens in a new window or tab, and then the terms and conditions in an read-only edit box.
  • Once you've read as much as you want in the edit box, navigate to "I accept. Create my account button."
  • Create an account button
  • Assuming you accept the conditions, press the button. The two cases of the account creation being successful or unsuccessful are described below.
  1. If the account creation is successful, then you're taken to a page with the title Introduction to Gmail, and with the words Introduction to Gmail, and Congratulations! near the top of the page. There's also a "I'm ready - show me my account" link, which can take you to you're Inbox. There'll be one message in your Inbox, welcoming you to Gmail or Google Mail.
  2. If the account creation is unsuccessful, then you're returned to the same page. Possible problems include:
  • You've left one or more of the required fields blank. After one or more of the edit boxes, there will be the words "Required field cannot be left blank".
  • The entries in the Choose a password and Re-enter password edit boxes weren't the same. After the Choose a password edit box, there will be the words "Passwords do not match".
  • You have entered the wrong characters in the word verification. Note that after making the corrections, you have to repeat the verification stage, and re-enter your password twice, before pressing the create an account button again.