JAWS Scripts For Skype 5.x

Revision 55a

This is the first script release specifically aimed at Skype 5.5. It will also support Skype 5.1 through 5.3 unless otherwise indicated. Some features of these scripts will not work with Skype 5.0, and these scripts should not be used with anything 4.x or older. Facebook integration may not work perfectly in Skype versions before 5.5.0.115. A JAWSKey+Ctrl+V should tell you your current Skype version number.

This script version is dynamic, meaning that updates to it will be made "in place," as was true for versions 5.0b through 5.3a. Newer revisions will replace older ones, and I will add change notes to this section as changes are made. In these scripts, the information announced for JAWSKey+Q will include not only the version number (5.5a) but also the exact revision number of the scripts you are running, such as 672.

Important note: This script version comes with a new installer (described here) along with the old installer used for older Skype scripts. Please read the section describing this installer before deciding which installer to use. The new installer will soon replace the old installer and the zip file, since it can also be unzipped with a 7Zip-compatible unzipper.

Here are the changes in release 5.5a, most recent first. In JAWS, use the h or 3 keys to move through changes by release date, or Tab to jump straight to the download links.

Revision 699, released February 1, 2012

A very minor change for translators: There are new constants in skype.jsm to translate: ksViewMenu for Alt+V and ksSkypeHome for k. These are used by Ctrl+8 to activate the Skype Home page, but the keystrokes may changed based on the Skype language in effect. For English Skype users, this update holds no further benefits.

Revision 698, released January 15, 2012

On arrow keys, sliders in Options/Audio (for recording and speaker levels) should now read correct values. This should also apply to the sliders obtained by pressing the Check Settings button in a live call.
Checkboxes in Options/Sounds should now speak correctly in Skype 5.7, though they may double-speak on Space.
The listbox near the end of Options/Sounds will now say "ListBox" instead of "CheckBox." It may also beep once though.
Tabbing to a 'Learn More' link in Options/Privacy Settings should now say "Learn More link" instead of saying nothing.

Revision 689, released October 13, 2011

This is the first script release with specific support for Skype 5.6.
This is also the ffirst Skype script release that should install and function correctly under JAWS 13. Warning: This script set will only work starting under the third public beta release of JAWS 13, released on October 13, 2011, and possibly under the second one, released on September 26. If you try to run these scripts under older JAWS 13 releases, the scripts will not work correctly.
To simplify translation of these scripts into other languages, the references to the WT_LIST and IT_CHUNK constants are removed. For some reason, these constants are missing in some non-English JAWS versions.
SkypeWatch will report your status changes in Skype 5.6 just as in older Skype 5 versions.

Note: Due to a tiny little oversight on my part, those who use the zip file to install revision 689 rather than using one of the executable installers may find that Insert+Q says "Revision 690" instead of "Revision 689." This is still revision 689 of the code. Sorry for any confusion.

Revision 686, released September 8, 2011

Only one change here: Call durations are again announced for non-conference calls. (I don't currently see a way to make them announce for conferences.)

Revision 685, released September 7, 2011

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+E is no longer used for helping translate emoticons, as this command interfered with SkypeTalking. Translators should now use the Skype Command key followed by m and then Ctrl+E. SkypeTalking users should no longer hear "0" when trying to use that command from within a Skype window.

This update also fixes a very minor bug in the code for changing the Skype command key, and the Skype Command key sequence for broadcasting the screen reader flag, Command m s, now appears in the help for the Skype Command system..

Revision 683, released September 7, 2011

The Profile mood text edit box, when opened, will no longer repeat all of its contents on every key you type into it. Also, the Choose Emoticon command, Ctrl+Shift+M, now uses the same names for emoticons as Skype itself.

Revision 679, released September 4, 2011

This is a small fix to make the Connect to Facebook button easier to find on systems where the text in the Facebook tab wraps to more lines than I originally thought possible. If you downloaded revision 672 or 678 and still did not hear "Connect to Facebook button" when typing Ctrl+7 while not already connected to Facebook, try this update.

Revision 678, released September 4, 2011

This is a quick update to revision 672 but is important for anyone who uses the Skype Command key system and changes the Command key from its default.

Changes since revision 672:

The code for changing the Skype Command key from the Verbosity Options dialog sometimes lost keys when making the update. This is no longer true, and the update runs much faster besides. Anyone who uses the Skype Command key but changes the Command key from the default should install this script version. The Command key should automatically change to match your preference as soon as you switch to Skype after installing this update. If you found before that some documented Skype Command key sequences did not work, try them again. Thanks to Gianluca for help finding this bug.
The JAWSKey+H keyboard help now refers to the Facebook area of the Skype interface as "the Facebook tab," rather than as "the Facebook HTML area."

Revision 672, released September 3, 2011

This update mainly addresses Skype-Facebook integration in Skype 5.5 and is a minor update. Translators should note, however, that there are significant changes in skype.jdf, the JAWS dictionary for emoticons and country flags.

Changes in this version from version 5.3a revision 658:

Ctrl+7 goes to the Facebook tab in Skype versions that include that tab. This has been tested under Skype 5.5.0.115 and should, but may not work in older Skype 5.5 beta versions.
Focus is placed on the "Connect To Facebook" button automatically when appropriate. Previously it was difficult to activate this button from JAWS.
The JAWS dictionary of Skype emoticons and country fflags has been rewritten to use Skype's own names for emoticons, and to include the word "emoticon" after each one to set emoticons apart from typed text. Some new emoticons provided by Skype 5.5 are also added, and the leading word "the" is removed from names of country flags. Translators of these scripts are urged, rather than hand-translating these emoticon names, to look them up in Skype itself and use those names, just as was done for the English scripts.

Download: Revision 55a new experimental executable installer | Revision 55a original-style executable installer | Revision 55a source and JAWS 7-12 binaries

Revision 53a

Important Notes:

Users of Skype script versions 5.2a or 5.0b who use Skype 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, or 5.5 are strongly urged to upgrade to this script version, as it contains fixes that can avoid crashes and/or lockups.
Users of Skype versions older than 5.3 are urged to upgrade to Skype 5.5 and then upgrade the scripts to this version to avoid quality and security problems in older versions.

This is the first script release specifically aimed at Skype 5.3 and 5.5. It will also support Skype 5.1 and 5.2 unless otherwise indicated. Some features of these scripts will not work with Skype 5.0, and these scripts should not be used with anything 4.x or older. A JAWSKey+Ctrl+V should tell you your current Skype version number.

This script version is dynamic, meaning that updates to it will be made "in place," as was true for versions 5.0b and 5.2a. Newer revisions will replace older ones, and I will add change notes to this section as changes are made. In these scripts, the information announced for JAWSKey+Q will include not only the version number (5.3a) but also the exact revision number of the scripts you are running, such as 657.

Important note: This script version comes with a new installer along with the old installer used for older Skype scripts. Please read the section describing this installer before deciding which installer to use. The new installer will soon replace the old installer and the zip file, since it can also be unzipped with a 7Zip-compatible unzipper.

Here are the changes in release 5.3a, most recent first. In JAWS, use the h or 3 keys to move through changes by release date, or Tab to jump straight to the download links.

Revision 658, released June 11, 2011

This fixes an error in the previous quick release that broke the Ctrl+5 command in some cases.

Revision 657, released June 10, 2011

Numbers do not repeat continuously as you type when you are trying to enter a telephone number to call directly.
The menu that pops up when you press "Add To Conference" now reads and is navigable.

Revision 656, released May 9, 2011

The scripts again compile under JAWS 10.0 and older.
JAWSKey+Q reports correctly that the scripts are for Skype versions 5.1 through 5.3, rather than 5.0 through 5.2.

Revision 654, released May 8, 2011

The Skype Help/About dialog no longer requires two Alt+Tabs to read, no longer produces an ascending tone sequence, and reads automatically on appearance. Pressing Esc to close the box and/or its virtual view of it should no longer crash Skype.
JAWSKey+H help is updated and reorganized to describe all keystrokes currently available.
Fixed a bug that caused the JAWS Verbosity Options dialog to show Skype-specific information for some non-Skype-specific options.
Ctrl+3, when typed while no live conversations exist, will now just say that instead of switching focus uselessly to an empty list that Tab can't get to anyway.
Some commands, such as the PC Cursor command, should operate faster than in earlier script versions.
The installer will reload scripts on successfully updating scripts, so the user need not relaunch JAWS or type Ctrl+JAWSKey+Esc after installing an update in order to make the updated Skypewatch code take effect.

Download: Revision 53a new experimental executable installer | Revision 53a original-style executable installer | Revision 53a source and JAWS 7-12 binaries

Revision 52a

This is the first script release specifically aimed at Skype 5.2. It will also support Skype 5.1 unless otherwise indicated. Some features of these scripts will not work with Skype 5.0, and these scripts should not be used with anything 4.x or older. A JAWSKey+Ctrl+V should tell you your current Skype version number.

This script version is dynamic, meaning that updates to it will be made "in place," as was true for version 5.0b. Newer revisions will replace older ones, and I will add change notes to this section as changes are made. In these scripts, the information announced for JAWSKey+Q will include not only the version number (5.2a) but also the exact revision number of the scripts you are running, such as 620.

Important note: This script version is the first to come with a new experimental installer along with the old familiar installer used for all the Skype scripts up to now. Please read the section describing this installer before deciding which installer to use.

Here are the changes in release 5.2a, most recent first. In JAWS, use the h or 3 keys to move through changes by release date, or Tab to jump straight to the download links.

Revision 640, released February 19, 2011

This update includes one enhancement for the scripts themselves and several improvements to the new installer. The old-style installer is not changed.

Script enhancements:

The Ctrl+Accent and Ctrl+Shift+Accent commands for moving among screen areas in a Skype window are now better at finding areas and focusing meaningful controls in each one.

New installer enhancements:

The first release of the new installer put the wave files for typing sounds etc. in the wrong place. This installer update fixes that.
The installer will offer to launch the uninstaller if it finds that this is necessary, rather than requiring the user to do that manually.
The Start menu shortcut is just "JAWS Scripts For Skype," without the version code. This makes it easier for future installers to find the uninstaller for older script versions.
If any installations fail, a log of what happened will appear in a Notepad window when the installer exits. This will make it easy to copy all or part of the log to an email to the in case this might help in diagnosing the cause of the installation problem.

Revision 621, released February 14, 2011

One correction over revision 620: Arrows in Contact and Conversation lists again report position and item count information.

Revision 620, released February 13, 2011 (first 5.2a release)

This is a major update, including a new experimental installer, some new features, and some bug fixes, all explained below.

New Experimental Installer

This script version comes with an installer like has always been used, but also with a new, experimental installer with the following features compared to the old one:

The installer is much smaller.
Skypewatch is installed automatically, and in a way that should work with any existing scripts that also intercept default.jss.
The installer will allow you to install the scripts into any or all JAWS versions and JAWS languages currently installed on your system, all at the same time. The default is to install into all of the JAWS versions and languages at once. Note: Installing the scripts into a non-English language does not install language-specific scripts; it simply installs the English scripts into the non-English JAWS user folder. For scripts tailored for a specific non-English Skype language, you will need a translated script set.
If there are any errors during installation, you will be told which JAWS version(s) and language(s) failed and will be able to see the exact compiler errors in an output listbox. This listbox would be a useful thing to paste to the SkypeEnglish mailing list in the event of an installation problem.
There is an uninstaller that will appear in your All Programs group in the Start menu.
The scripts (and a few other installer files) may be extracted from the installer file without running the installer, using any current version of 7Zip or presumably anything else capable of unpacking files from that archive format. Because of this, it is likely that I will stop providing a separate Zip file of scripts.

Things you should be aware of before using the new experimental installer:

The Skypewatch installation should work in all cases with which I am familiar. However,
- If you are running Skypewatch via the "old method" of installation, that being a modified copy of the standard JAWS default.jss, use of this experimental installer is not recommended. This is because if you then run the uninstaller, you will start getting JAWS script load errors because JAWS will try to load the Skypewatch scripts you just removed. JAWSKey+Q should tell you which way Skypewatch is running, or if it is not running at all.
- There may be installation cases that did not come to my mind when I was designing this installer. You use the new installer at your own risk. That said, of course I would like to hear how well it works for people.
Because of the Skypewatch installation, you should either restart JAWS or type Ctrl+JAWSKey+Esc once after running the installer, in order to make JAWS load the updated Skypewatch scripts into memory.
To upgrade scripts via this installer in the future, you will first need to uninstall the old scripts by using the Uninstall item in your Start menu for this. The installer will inform you if and when this is necessary.
A side effect of the above requirement is that, if you get a new JAWS version and want to install the scripts in it using the new installer, you will first have to run the uninstaller to remove your existing scripts from your system before the installer will let you install into the new JAWS version. Ideally, this issue should be fixed, but at present I have no quick solution.

New Features

Note that all of the following features can be had without using the new experimental installer just described. The scripts are the same, regardless of which installer you use (or if you use the Zip file, for that matter).

New features since 5.0b revision 601:

Use these scripts with Skype 5.2 or 5.1. Use with 5.0 is discouraged, and use with anything older will not work.
Message time information will appear after messages that otherwise have none, such as calls, voicemails, action lines, etc., if the user wants times spoken.
The Add People function in a live call is accessible: Press Add People, Tab to the list of checkable contacts, check the ones you want, Tab to the "Add to Call" button, and press Space.
The percentage on the live call Volume button now reads, and Up and Down arrow keys will adjust the volume up and down in 10% increments. You can of course still press Space on the button to open the volume slider and then adjust that with arrows, but the slider itself will not report percentages.
If you arrow in a chat window's message list to a file transfer entry, you will hear, in addition to what was already said, an indication of how much of the file you have received, how much remains to download, and how fast the transfer is moving.
The JAWS SayWindowTitle command (JAWSKey+T) and the commands that list conversation names will now include status information about the conversation when the conversation is a call. This includes
- An indication of whether the call is muted locally.
- An indication of whether the call is held locally or remotely.
- An indication of whether the call is voice or video, and for video, whether it is both ways or just in or out.
- The call duration if available on screen.
This works in both Default and Compact views. If you share your screen through Skype by using the Share Your Screen button, or if you press the Popout button however, this may not work.

Bug Fixes

Bug fixes since 5.0b revision 601:

Pressing F2 on a Contact list entry to rename the contact, then pressing Esc to cancel the change, will return focus to the entry being edited, instead of switching focus to the Conversation list.
The commands for counting and listing contacts with a certain status, such as Online, will include any contacts matching the status from the Live Call area.
The JAWS SayLine command (JAWSKey+UpArrow) will use the correct name for a chat input box if the box is empty, instead of saying things like "Send file."
The scripts should compile again under JAWS versions older than 8.0. (Tested in 7.0 and should work in 7.10 also, and hopefully in 6.x.)

Download: Revision 52a new experimental executable installer | Revision 52a original-style executable installer | Revision 52a source and JAWS 7-12 binaries

Revision 50b

This is the first script release specifically aimed at Skype 5.0 Gold. It will not support any older Skype version. As of revision 564 (see below), these scripts also support Skype 5.1 and 5.2 beta. A JAWSKey+Ctrl+V should tell you your current Skype version number.

This script version is dynamic, meaning that updates to it will be made "in place." Rather than posting new versions like 5.0c, I will update the 5.0b files and add change notes to this section as changes are made. The newest changes will appear first. This will make it easier for me to release fixes quickly. In these scripts, the information announced for JAWSKey+Q will include not only the version number (5.0b) but also the exact version control revision number of the scripts you are running, such as 539.

Here are the changes in release 5.0b, most recent first. In JAWS, use the h or 3 keys to move through changes by release date, or Tab to jump straight to the download links.

Revision 601, released February 11, 2011

This script revision was tested with Skype 5.2 beta and found to work fine.
More problems with Alt+arrows and Alt+numbers in chats eliminated. For example, sometimes file transfer entries became multiple items for Alt+numbers.
More problems with the Send Contacts list checkboxes eliminated.
When the user tries to open an IM window for an old-style (Skype 3.x or Clisk-created conference and Skype displays a message saying there is no IM group for it, JAWS will announce this text.
The Choose Emoticon window works: The four arrows move among and speak emoticon names. Skype does not support search by letter though, so for now at least, the Ctrl+Shift+M alternative, which uses hard-coded JAWS dictionary names for the emoticons, also remains available.

Revision 587, released February 5, 2011

Alt+arrows, Alt+Home, Alt+End, and Alt+NumPad5 work again in chats to move through a chat message list without requiring you to put focus in it. I only managed to test this under Skype 5.1.0.112 though, so your milage may vary if you use an older Skype 5.1 or 5.0 version. The Alt+number commands still work as always.
If you open a Technical Call Info dialog from the Call menu, it is now possible to navigate through and read the list of information that appears by using arrows. Since this capability is now a menu option in Skype, I also removed the old and for a long time completely useless Ctrl+Shift+I keystroke.
The Send Contacts dialog is much more accessible. This is the one you get by choosing "Send Contacts" from the Context menu for an entry in the Contacts or Conversation lists.
- JAWS will announce the list of potential contacts to send when you Tab to it, instead of saying nothing.
- JAWS will indicate which entries in the list are checked by saying "checkmark" before them. Unchecked items will say "corner" instead; this is because that's what JAWS calls that symbol.
- Pressing Space on an entry, which normally only selects it in Skype, will check or uncheck it now.

Revision 577, released January 24, 2011

This update is all about fixing problems you might encounter when trying to update your Profile in Skype 5.1:

Fields name themselves appropriately and provide tutorial text explaining how they are used. In a nutshell, you press Space on a link or combo box to open it for changing. A bit of advice: When saving to an edit field, do not just press Enter to close the pop-up edit box, instead press Tab to get to the Save button, then press Enter. Otherwise, focus can land in an inconveniently distant location. This is a Skype issue.
Pop-up lists for Gender, Birthdate day/month/year, etc. should read better on arrowing.
The buttons for changing how visible a field will be will tell you to which field they apply.

Additionally, JAWS should no longer say "Group box" numerous times if you examine a user's profile with the JAWS cursor, and JAWSKey+Q will indicate that these scripts work with Skype 5.1.

Revision 567, released January 7, 2011

The JAWS tutor message, "Type in text," should no longer speak on every keystroke in Skype 5.1 chat input boxes. This problem only applied to people who leave the tutor announcements at their default settings.
The checked/unchecked states of items in the list of sound events in the Sounds page of Options should again speak correctly in Skype 5.1. This is a workaround for the fact that Skype 5.1 somehow stopped informing JAWS of the states of these boxes. This problem has been reported to Skype for internal resolution, but this script update gives us back this functionality in the mean time.

Revision 565, released January 7, 2011

This version is the first one recommended for use with Skype 5.1. It also works with Skype 5.0.
Typing in Skype 5.1 chat windows will not cause huge amounts of extra speech. This problem was caused by a bunch of unexpected FocusChange events generated by Skype 5.1 that are not generated by Skype 5.0.
A number of Skype 5.1 controls are recognized properly even though their window class names have changed since Skype 5.0.
JAWS will now try harder to make sure Skype is aware that a screen reader is running every time Skype receives focus. This should help anyone who still experiences strange accessibility problems if Skype loads before JAWS or if JAWS has to be restarted at some point.
F6 and Shift+F6 should recognize more control groups.
This revision fixes an "unknown function call" message that could appear on a double press of an Alt+number to virtualize a chat line.
The dialog and JAWS help for inserting an emoticon into a Skype chat no longer refer to "flags," since flags are not part of this system in the first place.

Revision 553, released November 3, 2010

Ctrl+4 from a live call lands in the chat input edit box, not an invisible edit box unique to live calls.
Ctrl+Shift+D should work even if the DialPad button is obscured by something.
There is a new skype_jcpdict.jsm included in the scripts that contains one constant that needs to be translated for other languages. This should solve the problem of JAWS saying "selected" in two languages in some non-English script translations.

Revision 549, released October 29, 2010

It is no longer necessary for translators to alter skype.jkm. This was previously required to make the commands for announcing lists of contacts (online, away, do not disturb, etc.) work.

Revision 548, released October 29, 2010

A double press of JAWSKey+F1 goes to an online manual version geared more specifically to Skype 5.0 instead of to the version written for Skype 4.x.
The Skype script installer no longer claims that these scripts are for Skype 4.x.

Revision 545, released October 29, 2010

Enter works as it should to go into Forms mode on a Skype HTML page like Skype Home or the Friend Finder.
In the Friend Finder, JAWS will now announce most changes as they occur.
If you ever set Screen Echo to All with JAWSKey+S this update will eliminate a lot of double speech in that mode.

As of this script version, the following procedure is recommended for adding contacts in Skype 5.0:

Open the Friend Finder, such as by activating the Contacts menu and then Add a Contact.
Find the field you wish to fill out, such as Skype Name or Full Name, and enter Forms mode in it.
Type the field value, such as Skype name or person's name, then wait a few seconds. Skype will begin searching the moment you start typing and should stop and show results within five to ten seconds after you stop typing. Do not leave the field too quickly.
If there are multiple matches, a "View" link will appear, and JAWS will say "View" at the end of its announcement of the page changes. Tab until you find the View link, and press Enter.
If there is only one match, some of the matching person's details will appear. You can use the virtual cursor to review what has appeared, then press Add at the bottom of the page to add the contact, or press the link consisting of the person's name to get more details. If you do that, the details appear under a new Heading level 1.

Revision 539, released October 27, 2010

F2 allows editing of a contact name if pressed in the Contact list, instead of toggling chat message time announcements on/off like it does from other locations.
JAWSKey+Q no longer incorrectly says the scripts support Skype 4.1, 4.2, and 5.0 beta.

Revision 535, released October 27, 2010 (first 5.0b release)

Ctrl+4, the command for focusing the typing area of a chat, works again.
Ctrl+Shift+D, the command for bringing up the Dial Pad quickly in a live call, works again.
Ctrl+8 moves to the Skype Home area of the Skype window from any other part of the window. Note that this is sometimes accomplished by activating a menu option, so sighted JAWS users may see a menu appear and disappear quickly, and JAWS may occasionally say, "Leaving menus," as focus moves to the Skype Home area.
Skypewatch no longer reads the buttons that come up on call notifications, making the notifications much easier to understand in time.
The Help/About screen now comes up in a JAWS virtual buffer, which makes it possible to review.
JAWS should name the "Search contacts, groups, and conversations" edit box correctly.
JAWS should again, as in previous Skype and script versions, avoid using an incorrect name for the edit box used to rename a contact. (This box has no name.)
When possible, Alt+numbers and arrows for chat reading will include any extra elements of a chat message, like for sent contacts, voicemails, file transfers, etc., if they exist in MSAA.
Arrowing through a list of chat messages will read messages in the same way as Alt+numbers/arrows, avoiding a fair amount of redundancy and confusion.
The message count announced as you arrow through a chat message list should again be correct.
Ctrl+Tab should work again to switch among chat windows in JAWS 11 and 12 and Skype Compact view even when a chat window has automatically popped open due to an incoming chat. The method used to solve this problem requires that your Task Bar icons are not grouped by similarity however, which means this fix will fail unless you have changed that setting in Windows from its default. This fix may also fail for chats with very long names.

Download: Revision 50b executable installer | Revision 50b source and JAWS 7-12 binaries

Revision 50a

These scripts are intended for users of Skype 5.0 beta 1 or 2, Skype 4.2, and Skype 4.1 versions as far back as 4.1.0.136. These scripts also work with Skype 5.0 Gold but are no longer recommended for that Skype version, as there are newer scripts for that. These scripts will not work with Skype 4.0, 3.8, or older versions. A JAWSKey+Ctrl+V should tell you your current Skype version number.

Important note: This script version is the first version that will work with Skype 5.0 beta 2 and Skype 5.0 Gold. Older scripts, such as version 4.2e, will not work with those Skype versions.

The changes that apply only to Skype 5.0 beta 2 and Skype 5.0 Gold appear first below, followed by the changes that apply to all supported Skype versions. A list of known issues appears at the end of this section.

Changes for Skype 5.0 beta 2 and Skype 5.0 Gold:

The following script functionality has been revived, having become possible because of changes in the second Skype 5.0 beta:
- Ctrl+Shift+O again lists online contacts, provided that you have at least once typed this command while the contact list is showing on screen. The related Skype Command key sequences for listing contacts by status (online, away, etc.) again work similarly.
- JAWSKey+PgDn again reads total online user count even from within a chat window.
- SkypeWatch notifications of contacts going on or offline, birthdays, etc., work again, because Skype revived the required MSAA for these functions in the second Skype 5 beta.
- Ctrl+3 for moving to the Live Conversations list. Note that the script version 4.2e function of jumping between non-live and live conversations with arrow keys is no longer supported.
These scripts support Alt+number and Alt+arrow chat navigation as for older Skype versions. Script versions 4.2e and older will not support this navigation under the second public Skype 5 beta.

Fixes since script version 4.2e for all supported Skype versions::

Ctrl+A in edit boxes should again speak as it would normally do. This should also apply to other text selection commands.
For those who occasionally experience the problem of Skype forgetting that a screen reader is running, usually due to multiple screen readers being run at once, there is a new command, Ctrl+Shift+S, for making Windows "broadcast" the state of the so-called screen reader flag to Skype (and all other running applications). If you suddenly find that you are unable to move through contact, conversation, or chat message lists after running or loading/unloading a screen reader, try this command to see if navigation starts working normally again in a few seconds.
Some users reported system lockups when attempting to read or move through messages in a chat window. This script release should fix that problem as far as the author can tell.
For the few users who have experienced the annoying case of typing sounds never stopping in a chat window, the scripts are now more careful to avoid making sounds for typing indicators that remain in the system but cease to be visible.
The "Insert Emoticon" dialog is now more appropriately called "Insert Emoticon or Flag."
Ctrl+A and other text-selecting commands should speak properly in a Skype chat input box.

Known issues with Skype 5.0 beta 2 and Skype 5.0 Gold:

Shift+Tab works better than Tab when you're editing your profile. I am filing bugs against the new Profile screen because I find it hard to use.
The scripts don't tell you things like "call on hold," "muted," and call duration in a live call in this Skype version. This is a scripting issue that I hope to address as time permits.
If you delete the selected contact from Contacts or Conversations, you will end up on the Skype Home page, which is a new HTML area inside of the Skype window. You can use Ctrl+1 or Ctrl+2 to get back to the list from which you came. Skype knows about this issue.

Download: Revision 50a executable installer | Revision 50a source and JAWS 7-11 binaries