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JAWS Scripts For Skype: 5.x | 4.x | 3.5 through 3.8
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JAWS Scripts For Skype 3.5 Through 3.8

Revision 653b

This is a minor update to the 653a scripts for Skype 3.8. This update contains the following changes:

• The scripts now compile under JAWS 11, which means that the installer can now be used successfully to install the scripts for Skype 3.8 into JAWS 11.
• The installer now uses Unicode and should work on 64-bit Windows versions.
• The installer may have told a few people inaccurately that they had no valid JAWS language folder. This should now be fixed.
• A double JAWSKey+F1 from within Skype launches the online Skype script manual just as it does in the scripts for Skype 4 and later.
• F2 and a new Chat Message Times option in Verbosity Options will now allow the user to suppress announcement of message times while reading chat messages with Alt+numbers or Alt+arrows. This also applies to virtualized messages.
• Removed a forgotten debug line that copied the Verbosity Options choice list to the clipboard on JAWSKey+V.
• If a console window such as cmd.exe, Clisk, or a terminal window is open behind Skype, JAWS should no longer speak changes to that console window when Skype is in focus.
• SkypeComp.bat should work again.
• olchar.jsl is no longer used and may be deleted.

Download: Revision 653b executable installer | Revision 653b source and JAWS 7-10 binaries

Revision 653a

This is a minor update containing a number of small improvements. This page documents the updates in both revision 653a (for Skype 3.x) and revision 40b (for Skype 4.0).

Updates In Both 3.x and 4.x Scripts

• Skype.jdf, the smilie dictionary, is included with the scripts now. This is the same skype.jdf that is separately available on my web site.
• New Ctrl+Shift+M command for bringing up a list of emoticons for selection.
• Better detection of when to update default_fs.jsb for SkypeWatch. This should keep SkypeWatch users from experiencing random issues after a JAWS in-place update. (SkypeWatch still only works with Skype 3.x though.)
• Several updates to the code used to name fields.
• Hopefully a fix to the problem some Vista users were having with the installer, where it refused to complete the installation for no obvious reason. Note that if you get an error during installation now, you may see a "trace" with a lot of strange info as part of the error box. This info would help me figure out the problem if you run into one. I don't expect many people to have problems with the installer though.

ChangesIn Skype 3.x Scripts Only

• New skypeupdate.jsm file for translatable messages that might speak during a default_fs.jsb update.

Changes in the Skype 4.0 update only

• Command c m is the Command key equivalent of the new Ctrl+Shift+M command.
• Better handling of the Call Phones edit box.
• A number of situations where JAWS announced the wrong contact list entry, conversation list entry, etc., should now be fixed. Examples: The first contact reported after switching focus into the list, the conversation reported as focused after the Delete key is used to delete one, and occasionally the contact or conversation reported when an arrow key causes the list to scroll.
• Cleanup of JAWSKey+H help text.
• The scripts should now compile under JAWS 6.20, which was not true in at least one earlier release.

A couple of warnings:

• If you currently use Ctrl+Shift+M to mute your mic, it will probably help to change that to a new hotkey. I discovered that Ctrl+Shift+M was a popular mute choice after I did all this. I decided to leave Ctrl+Shift+M as the emoticon list command because it's the same in MSN already.
• If you have created your own skype.jdf dictionary file, it will be replaced by this script update, so you might want to back yours up first. To date though, I know of nobody that has done this, except for those who copied the MSN dictionary over to use with Skype. The new skype.jdf file in these scripts will do all that the MSN file did and more, so that shouldn't be a problem.

Thanks to Maya from Russia, Gordan Radic, and others who helped me with this update by creating the Skype emoticon dictionary, the emoticon list for the Ctrl+Shift+M command, and some code from which I drew to create the actual Ctrl+Shift+M command.

Download: Revision 653a executable installer | Revision 653a source and JAWS 7-10 binaries

Revision 653

This is a minor bug fix release to follow revision 642. Revision 642 has by now been heavily tested, and since this revision does not introduce any large changes, it is considered production quality.

Fixes:

• A double press of the Skype Command key in Keyboard Help mode no longer sends the key through to the application.
• A few time-consuming window searches avoided.
• Error for failure to locate Technical Call Info window updated.
• A few line endings and code comments fixed.
• Copyright dates updated.
• Some unused code removed.
• CVS and Subversion ID tags removed to avoid dependence on Subversion.

Download: Revision 653 executable installer | Revision 653 source and JAWS 7-9 binaries

Revision 642

This update contains a number of fixes and new features compared to revision 618. This update is meant for Skype versions 3.5 and later 3.x versions and JAWS 6.0 and later.

This update is considered beta quality because it has not been tested by many users prior to release. Until the next release, the Known Bugs section below will list known bugs. If you run into a problem with this version, please check the Known Bugs section below, then if your problem is not listed there, report it to the SkypeEnglish mailing list. As further updates become available, this version will be replaced. The last version standing after sufficient user testing will become the production release.

Fixes and Improvements

Fixes and improvements:

• New system for virtualizing chat messages (details in the next section).
• Alt+numbers work from a chat buffer so you can check new messages while reading older ones.
• Typing status reporting is now language independent, which means it should work even if the Skype language is not English.
• No more complaints about creating a Scripting.FileSystemObject during Windows shutdown.
• Ctrl+Shift+O should no longer include Microsoft Outlook contacts as if they were online.
• Ctrl+Shift+O now calls the contacts it lists "visible" contacts instead of "online" contacts, because this better describes what is actually shown.
• A new set of Skype Command system key sequences have been added to allow listing contacts with each of the various online statuses:
  • [ o o for Online contacts.
  • [ o a for Away contacts.
  • [ o n for Not Available contacts.
  • [ o s for SkypeMe contacts.
  • [ o d for Do Not Disturb contacts.
• The usual cleanout of obsolete code.

Details On Chat Message Virtualization Changes

There are major improvements in how chat messages are virtualized when you type a double Alt+number:

• Double Alt+numbers virtualize the appropriate message but now with surrounding messages for context. The cursor will start on the message you requested. For example, Alt+5 will virtualize and place the cursor on the fifth-from-last message, as before, but will also virtualize up to 50 messages above that one as well as the four below it. Messages appear separated by blank lines for quick skimming via Ctrl+UpArrow and Ctrl+DownArrow.
• Each message's origin appears at the top of the message on its own line, so it will not be necessary to hunt for the beginning of the actual message. (This is sadly not true for action lines though.)
• All virtualized chat messages will include links where appropriate. Each link will appear on its own line. Items that become links include
  • URLs appearing in chat messages.
  • Email addresses appearing in chat messages.
  • "Continue last conversation with ..." lines at the top of a chat window.
  • Each option in the history options that can appear at the top of a chat window (these are the lines like, "Show messages from: this conversation | today | this week |last 30 days | beginning").
• Links for previous and/or next 100 messages will appear at the bottom of the buffer depending on whether there are messages to show before or after the ones currently shown.
• When a virtual chat view is open, the standard JAWSKey+F7 command will work, bringing up a list of the links from all shown messages.
• If you type any double Alt+number from the chat message list rather than from the input (edit) window, the currently focused chat message (along with its context) will be virtualized. This lets you virtualize any chat message you like.

Known Bugs

• Jsb files remain in the Zip file even though they must be recompiled during script installation. Fixed in revision 641.
• The Skype Command sequence for reporting the count and identities of "Not Available" contacts always reports that there are none. Fixed in revision 642.
• A double press of the Skype Command key sends the key through to the application even from within Keyboard Help mode. Fixed in revision 644.
• The error message for Ctrl+Shift+I when it can't find technical info was out of date. Fixed in revision 646.

Download: Revision 642 executable installer | Revision 642 source and JAWS 7-9 binaries

Revision 618

This is a major update over revision 550, and it comes with a slightly updated installer, a notable policy change regarding old JAWS versions, and a lot of new features, all of which are further explained below under separate subheadings. Some major new features include

• Typing alert sounds and announcements in Skype chat windows as for other messengers but with five volume levels for the typing sound,
• On-the-fly Skype Command Mode key change support,
• Semi-automatic SkypeWatch maintenance after a JAWS update,
• Reporting of incoming Skype Prime payment requests,
• Better handling of Options/Hotkeys checkboxes, and
• A SkypeWatch alert list that does not clear every time you restart JAWS.

Please Note: This script revision should only be installed in JAWS versions 6.0 and up. See the Policy Change Regarding Old JAWS Versions section below for more information.

Updated Installer

As of this release, I am managing the code for the script installer along with the code for the scripts themselves, with the eventual goal of including things like SkypeWatch script setup in the installer so we can greatfully dispense with the infamously complex-looking manual SkypeWatch installation procedure on the Script Installation Instructions page. This release does include automation of one part of SkypeWatch maintenance, as will be explained in the new features section below; but for now, the infamous manual procedure remains.

Installer fixes in this release:

• "JAWSMemDmp" no longer appears as a language choice during installation. This directory is sometimes created by JAWS when it crashes or is aborted by the user but has nothing to do with language support.
• A missing sound file for Skype Command mode exit is now included.
• Binary (jsb) files are not included in the installer but are instead generated during installation. Compilation during installation (using the executable installer) is no longer optional. The jsb files are currently still included in the zip file though.

Policy Change Regarding Old JAWS Versions

The new JAWS version policy, which is both a technical change and a philosophical one, is this:

• Code from now on is written using the style and support functions available in the latest JAWS versions, which makes it easier to read and maintain and also makes it run faster on current JAWS versions.
• New methods and calls are emulated for older JAWS versions with no performance penalty in newer ones. Emulation code is written as the need for it is discovered. This is a drastic change from the old methods of writing code with a lot of special exceptions for old JAWS versions which also had to run in newer ones, sometimes at a notable cost of speed and at a definite cost of code complexity.
• The official cutoff for JAWS version support is now 6.0, which is a change from 4.51. This change is made necessary by three things:
  1. A few functions I now need are not available or easily imitated in JAWS 4.51.
  2. The file structure before JAWS 6.0 was markedly different, and supporting it seriously complicates installation procedures like that for SkypeWatch, which I eventually hope to automate.
  3. The machine on which I develop Skype scripts is the last on which I have a JAWS authorization key old enough to support JAWS 5, and that machine is dying a slow death. Its replacement almost certainly will not run JAWS versions too old to work with an ILM key.

This script revision happens to compile and run under JAWS 5.10 but will neither compile nor run under JAWS 4.51. JAWS 5.0 has not been tested as of this writing.

New Script Features

Major new features, explained later in more detail:

• Just as for other messengers, it is now possible to hear when others in a chat window are typing. Both announcements and typing sounds are available, and there are five possible volume levels for the typing sound.
• The JAWSKey+V list now includes a way to change the Skype Command key on the fly, and the change will survive through future script updates.
• SkypeWatch, if installed and running, will now automatically try to update default_fs.jsb whenever JAWS is next started or scripts are re-initialized after a JAWS update. This only works in JAWS 6.0 and later.

Fixes, quick-to-explain features, and minor additions:

• JAWS should now say checked/unchecked as one scrolls through the Options Hotkey list. Previously, only SayLine and tabbing into the list said this.
• Alt+numbers in a chat window erroneously omitted some HTML escapes in URLs, like %20. This has been fixed.
• Several possible causes of spurious beeps have been eliminated.
• The "Automatically speak your online status" option was accidentally ignored in earlier script versions. It should now actually work.
• Skype Prime payment requests should now speak as they appear.
• The sound that should play when one exits a multikey Skype script command sequence was accidentally omitted from the original script revision 550 distribution. This is now fixed, and the sounds should now play as advertised. (The missing file was added to the revision 550 distribution some time after its initial release, so this only affects those who downloaded revision 550 soon after it went public.)
• Trying to read farther back in the SkypeWatch notification list than it goes will now announce that there aren't that many notifications to read, instead of beeping and reading the oldest one that is there.
• The keystroke for adjusting JAWS verbosity options, JAWSKey+V, should now again appear in the JAWSKey+H help text buffer. This was lost as a result of changes in JAWS 9 and Skype script code changes conforming to these.
• SkypeWatch notifications, such as for new chats, incoming calls, and sign-ins, are now saved across JAWS restarts, meaning you don't lose the notification list by restarting JAWS.

Major new features in more detail:

Typing indicators, both announcements and sound, are now available just as for MSN, Windows Messenger, Yahoo Messenger, and AIM. Since Skype allows a lot of people in one chat window though, there are a few items to note. Here is a description of how the new system works:

• Typing indications are controlled by two new options in the JAWSKey+V option list: Typing Announce and Typing Sounder.
• If you turn on Typing Announcements with JAWSKey+V, JAWS will say "so-and-so is typing" if someone named so-and-so starts to type in your currently active chat window. This is how things work in other messengers. Note that for this to work, both you and the typing user must be running sufficiently new Skype versions.
• If you turn on Typing Sounder with JAWSKey+V, a typing sound will be played while someone is typing. This should also be familiar to users of other messengers. In fact, the sounds used are modified versions of the sound JAWS plays when someone types in MSN Messenger. The Typing Sounder option actually allows the sound to be turned off or played at any of five volume levels.
• If more than one person is typing at once in a chat window containing several participants, the typing announcement, if enabled, will just say how many people are typing, rather than listing them. The typing sound, if enabled, will play while any number of people are typing.
• F4 will announce who is typing, or how many people are typing if there are more than one. This is also available for other messengers. A double F4 will actually list the users that are typing.
• If a chat window contains more than ten participants, there will be no automatic announcement of typing or typing sounds. F4 will still indicate how many people are typing though. This ten-user cutoff is arbitrary and subject to change based on user feedback, but a cutoff is necessary to avoid the hopelessly intense scanning and uselessly continuous reporting of typing status changes in, say, a chat containing 150 participants.

The Skype Command key, a left bracket ([) by default, can now be changed from the JAWSKey+V option list. To do this, press a space on the Skype Command Key option line, then when prompted, type the key or key combination you want for the new Skype Command key. The change will take effect immediately and will remain in effect even through Skype script updates. This feature is included to help people who need the default key for something else, such as when it is used to type a character in a non-English language.

When JAWS starts, if you are running SkypeWatch, a quick check will be made to see if your SkypeWatch installation includes an up-to-date default_fs.jsb file. This file is copied into the JAWS user folder from the shared-folder default.jsb during SkypeWatch installation, but it can go out of date if JAWS is updated. This can cause some difficult-to-trace problems, so I am trying to eliminate them by automating this check and update.

Download: Revision 618 executable installer | Revision 618 source and JAWS 7-9 binaries