Accessibility in Aurora
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Accessibility in Aurora

Q:  Is Aurora setup for accessibility and can I use a screen reader software?

Here is a list of helpful information on the best way to navigate and use Aurora with JAWS screen reader.  It includes keyboard navigation through Aurora pages and helpful hotkeys for easy functionality.

General TipsGeneral Tips

General Tips

Hot Key

Function

Tab

Navigates through each page in Aurora.

Alt + H

Accesses the Home tab of the Aurora ribbon.

Alt + F

Opens the File backstage page of Aurora.  When the backstage page opens, use the up and down arrow keys to navigate to Project, Account, or Options.  Use Tab to navigate to the specific options for Project and Account.
Alt  + F4 Close the Aurora window or any child window of Aurora. 

Ctrl + T

Quickly changes tabs in Aurora.

Ctrl + W

Closes the current tab in Aurora.

Ctrl + O

Opens an Aurora project.

Ctrl + S

Saves the current Aurora project.

F1

Opens Help and defaults opening the corresponding Help page to the current page you are on in Aurora.  For example, if the Zonal Input table is opened and you press F1, the Help will open the Zonal Input Help page.

Ctrl + H

Opens the Accessibility in Aurora Help page.

Welcome WindowWelcome Window

  1. Use Tab to access Recent Projects.  
  2. Welcome Window Hotkeys:  

Welcome Screen

Hot Key

Function

Shift + F10

Opens context menu for Recent Project items.

Ctrl + E

Opens Welcome page in Google Chrome.

Status WindowStatus Window

  1. Use the up and down arrow keys to have JAWS read each line in the Status window.
  2. If there is an error, the Status window will automatically become activated and the line that has the error message will be read by JAWS.  You may have to use the up and down arrow keys  to read other lines that might have appeared from the error message.  

Project SetupProject Setup

  1. JAWS will announce when Project Setup options become enabled or disabled.  Any Project Setup options which are disabled will be skipped.
  2. When the Browse button is selected in Output and the database type is SQL Server, a dialog will appear to choose a new SQL Server database. Use Tab to navigate through this dialog but use the up and down arrow keys to switch from a Windows Authentication to using SQL Server Authentication. 
  3. Project Setup Hotkeys:

Project Setup

Hot Key

Function

Alt + A

Go to Active Study Type group options

Alt + P

Go to Study Period group options

Alt + C

Go to Study Cases group options

Alt + O

Go to Output Group options

Simulation OptionsSimulation Options

  1. Use the up and down arrow keys to navigate through the Navigation list box to select pages to open, then use Tab to access the options on those pages. 
  2. When Table Selection is selected, a Report Sets ribbon tab will appear.  
  3. In the Table Selection section, for Select Table Types Dialog, Importing Report Sets, and Exporting Report Sets, in the list box, use arrow keys to move between options, then use Tab to access the checkbox and select or deselect the option. 
  4. In Table Selection, for Output Tables to Report, use arrows keys to navigate through the list box.  JAWS will read out the table name and if the Year, Month, Day, Hour, SubHour, and Study Summary are None, Selected, or All. 

Simulation ProgressSimulation Progress

  1. When the Simulation Progress page is opened, JAWS will read out the status of the current simulation, if one has already been started.  You can use Tab to select specific messages about the simulation progress.  
  2. Use Ctrl+M to access the Memory table data grid.  Use Tab to enter the list view of Memory tables, use the up and down arrow keys to select a table, and press Enter to open the table.  

Simulation Progress Page

Hot Key

Function

Ctrl + M

Go to Memory tables

Enter

Opens selected Memory table

Zonal and Nodal Input TablesZonal and Nodal Input Tables

  1. To turn on accessibility for Input Windows, go to File -> Options -> Accessibility tab and select Input and Data Table Accessibility.  
  2. Open the Zonal Window and use Tab to enter the data grid containing the input table information.  You can use Tab or the arrow keys to navigate the data grid.  
  3. Both Zonal and Nodal Input windows have an Input ribbon tab associated with them
  4. For In Study and Reporting columns, when this cell is selected, you must hit Tab to be able to select or deselect the check box.  
  5. When you move to a different row, JAWS will announce the table type for the row and if it is a required table type.  
  6. If a cell is empty, JAWS will announce “Blank”. 
  7. For the table selection dialog used in Add Tables, Import Tables, and Link Tables, in the list box, use up and down arrow keys to move between options, then use Tab on the selected row to access the check box and select or deselect the option.
  8. For the Delete Tables dialog, use Tab to navigate through the dialog.  Once in the Input Tables table, use the up and down arrow keys to navigate through the rows.  Use Tab on a selected row to select or deselect deleting a table.
  9. Zonal and Nodal Input Hotkeys:

Zonal and Nodal Input Tables

Hot Key

Function

Shift + F10

Opens context menu

Ctrl + A

Add table of selected table type

Ctrl + E

Edit selected table

Ctrl + C

Copy selected table

F2

Rename selected table

Delete

Delete selected table

Ctrl + R

Reload selected table

Ctrl + F

Filter Change Sets for selected table

Ctrl + U

Update link reference for selected table

OutputOutput

  1. Use the arrow keys to navigate through the Output table grid.  The row number, column name, and cell value will be announced by JAWS.
  2. Output has an Output ribbon tab.  
  3. Output Table Hotkeys:

Output

Hot Key

Function

Shift + F10

Opens context menu 

Ctrl + E

 Opens selected table

Ctrl + P

 Opens pivot table

Ctrl + Q

 Query table

Delete

Delete table

Data TablesData Tables

  1. To turn on accessibility for data tables, go to File -> Options -> Accessibility tab and select “Input and Data Table” accessibility.
  2. All Input, Memory, and Output tables will have a Data Table ribbon tab associated with it.
  3. You can use Tab or the arrow keys to navigate through the data tables.  JAWS will announce column name, row number, and cell value.  
  4. If you select multiple cells, JAWS will announce the value of the top left cell and the bottom right cell.  
  5. When you make an edit to an input data table, JAWS will announce the name of the new change set that has been created or the name of the activated change set has unsaved changes. 
  6. All dialogs in data table ribbon buttons are accessible, except for Chart.  
  7. For Filter, Save as Quick View, and Export to Excel split buttons in the data table ribbons, use Alt + down arrow to open the button drop-down menu.  
  8. Data Table Hotkeys:

Data Tables

Hot Key

Function

Ctrl + N

Announce active change set

Ctrl + R

Announce frozen columns

Ctrl + D

Focus on data table tab

F2

Edit a cell

Ctrl + E

 Open the row referenced in the cell value. This will open the data table in a new window.

Shift + F10

Opens context menu

Alt + R

Add one row

Alt + Shift + R

Delete selected rows

Alt + C

Add column

Alt + Shift + C

Delete selected column

Alt + M

Add multiple columns

Alt + Up Arrow

Go to first cell in the column
Alt + Down Arrow

Go to the last cell in the column

Ctrl + C

Copy selected cells

Ctrl + V

Paste copied cells

Ctrl + Z

Undo edit

Ctrl + Y

Redo edit

Alt + S

Opens Sort dialog

Ctrl + F

Opens Filter dialog

Alt + Ctrl + F

Filter on selected cell

Shift + Ctrl + F

Clear current filter

Alt + Shift + Ctrl + F

Filter on selected cell and keep previous filter

Alt + Ctrl + B

Filter back to previous filter

Alt + Ctrl + N

Filter forward

Ctrl + O

Organize columns

Ctrl + G

Select column group

Alt + V

Save current view as Quick View

F11

Export to Excel

Ctrl + P

Print

Change SetsChange Sets

  1. This tool window will have a ribbon tab for Change Set specific functions. 
  2. When the Change Set Window is selected, use the down arrow key to navigate the change set tree.  If a Folder or Change Set is collapsed, use the right arrow key to open it.  To close a Folder or Change Set, use the left arrow key.  
  3. When Delete Change Sets is selected in the Change Set ribbon, a dialog will appear that allows you to delete multiple Change Sets at once.  In the Change Set tree view, use the down and up arrow keys to navigate through the tree. Use the right arrow key to expand a folder or Change Set.  Use the left arrow key to close a folder or Change Set that is expanded.  Each item in the tree view will have a “Checked” or “Not Checked” option.  When Jaws announces this, you can check or uncheck the item using the Space bar.
  4. When Merge Change Sets is selected in the Change Set ribbon, a dialog will appear that allows you to merge multiple Change Sets into one Change Sets.  Use Tab to navigate through the dialog.  For the Merge Change Set table, use the up and down arrow keys to navigate the rows, then the Tab key to select the Change Set to be merged and in what order. 
  5. For Import and Export Change Set dialogs, use Tab to navigate.  Once in the change set list box, use the up and down arrow keys to navigate to different change sets.  Once a change set is selected, use Tab to access the checkbox to select a change set to be imported or exported.
  6. The context menu is not available without using the right click button on a mouse, so hotkeys were added to allow you to access the same functionality
  7. Change Set Hotkeys:

Change Sets

Hot Key

Function

Delete

Delete selected folder, change set, or table.

F2

Rename selected folder, change set, or table.

Ctrl + A

Activate change set

Ctrl + D

Deactivate change set

Ctrl + P

Apply unsaved changes to selected change set

Ctrl + Shift + S

Save selected change set

Ctrl + C

Copy selected change set

Ctrl + R

Revert selected change set

Ctrl + Shift + H

Open change set history

Ctrl+ F

Filter on selected folder, change set, or table name.

Ctrl + E

Open change set table

Ctrl + V

View and edit change set table differences

Ctrl + B

Change table reference

Ctrl + M

Move items and remove folder

Change Set Diff Window/Change Set History Diff WindowChange Set Diff Window/Change Set History Diff Window

  1. Use Tab to navigate through the page.  However, once you are in the Changed or Base table, Tab will only switch you between those two tables.  Use Alt+ H to access the ribbon at the top of the window or Ctrl + E to jump to the Edited Tables List box.
  2.  Use Alt + H to jump to the ribbon in the Change Set Diff and Change Set History Window.  Use Tab to move through the different ribbon options.  To skip moving through the ribbon options, use the down arrow key.
  3. In the data table, it will announce if a cell has been modified and what the original value of the cell was if you are in the Change Set table or what the new value of the cell is if you are in the Base table.
  4. Change Set Diff Window Hotkeys:

Change Set Diff Window/Change Set History Diff Window

Hot Key

Function

Ctrl + E

Go to Edited Tables list box

Ctrl + R

Read frozen columns

Ctrl + N

Announce change set

Ctrl  + W

Close the diff window

Shift +F10

Opens context menu

Change Set History DialogChange Set History Dialog

  1. To merge Change Set History items, select multiple history items and then select Merge Selected Items from the context menu
  2. Change Set History Dialog Hotkeys:

Change Set History Dialog

Hot Key

Function

Shift + F10

Opens context menu for history item.

Ctrl + W

Close Change Set History dialog.

Parameter SetsParameter Sets

  1. For the Parameter Sets list box, use the up and down arrow keys to select Parameter Sets.
  2. For Import and Export Parameter Sets dialogs, use Tab to navigate.  Once in the parameter set list box, use the up and down arrow keys to navigate to different change sets.  Once a parameter set is selected, use Tab to access the checkbox to select a parameter set to be imported or exported.
  3. For Add Parameters dialog, use Tab to navigate.  Once in the Add Parameters tree view, use the up and down arrow to navigate through the parameter options.  Use the right arrow key to expand an option and the left arrow key to collapse an expanded option.
  4. For Tabbing through each parameter, the screen reader will announce the Original Value first, but then you can tab through to announce the Category, Parameter Name, New Value, and Original Value.

Quick View WindowQuick View Window

  1. Use Tab to navigate to the “Quick View Manager” button in the Quick View window and the Quick View tree view.  The Quick View tree view will show all the Quick Views in the project. 
  2. Use the up and down arrow keys to navigate in the Quick View tree view.  Use the left arrow key to collapse a category or the right arrow key to expand a category. 
  3. You cannot open the right click context menu of the Quick View tree view using the keyboard.  It does not work when a tree view data structure is used.  Instead, hot keys have been added to let the user still access the same functions without opening the context menu. 
  4. Quick View Window Hotkeys:

Quick View Window

Hot Key

Function

Enter

Opens selected Quick View

Ctrl + Q

Opens Query window

Delete

Delete selected Quick View

Ctrl + M

Opens Quick View Manager window

Quick View Manager WindowQuick View Manager Window

  1. Use the up and down arrow keys to navigate in the Quick View tree view.  Use the left arrow key to collapse a category or the right arrow key to expand a category. 
  2. For Import Quick Views dialog, in the list box, use up and down arrow keys to move between options, then use Tab on the selected row to access the check box and select or deselect the option. 
  3. The “Make User Default” button in the Quick View Manager ribbon has a drop-down option.  To open the drop-down, use Alt + Down Arrow.
  4. You cannot open the right click context menu of the Quick View tree view using the keyboard.  It does not work when a tree view data structure is used.  Instead, hot keys have been added to let the user still access the same functions without opening the context menu. 
  5. Quick View Manager Hotkeys:

Quick View Manager Window

Hot Key

Function

Ctrl + Q

Opens Query window

Delete

Delete selected Quick View

CDS TablesCDS Tables

  1. Use Tab to enter the Compute table grid, then use the arrow keys to navigate through the different rows and columns.  The data grid will have slightly different announcements than the Input and Output table grids, however the screen reader will still announce the column name, row index, and cell value. 
  2. CDS Table Hotkeys:

CDS Tables

Hot Key

Function

Shift + F10

Opens context menu

HelpHelp

  1. To have the Aurora Help be accessible in JAWS, go to File -> Options -> Accessibility tab and select “Open Help in Google Chrome”.  This will open the Help in Google Chrome, which has very good screen reading capabilities with JAWS.  If you open the Help in our default browser, JAWS will not be able to read it.  
  2. Help Hotkeys:

Help

Hot Key

Function

F1

Opens Help

Ctrl +H

Opens Accessibility in Aurora Help Page

Pages Not Fully Supported by a Screen ReaderPages Not Fully Supported by a Screen Reader

  1. Zonal System
  2. Nodal System
  3. GIS
  4. Bus Diagram
  5. DBCompare
  6. Scheduler
  7. Scripting
  8. Web Scraper
  9. Chart
  10. Pivot Tables
  11. Query Builder

For further assistance, please contact Aurora Support.

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