JAWS (screen reader)

JAWS ("Job Access With Speech") is a computer screen reader program for Microsoft Windows that allows blind and visually impaired users to read the screen either with a text-to-speech output or by a refreshable Braille display.

JAWS is produced by the Blind and Low Vision Group of Freedom Scientific, St. Petersburg, Florida, USA.

A July 2015 screen reader user survey by WebAIM, a web accessibility company, found JAWS to be the most popular screen reader worldwide; 30.2% of survey participants used it as a primary screen reader, while 43.7% of participants used it often. This level of usage is significantly lower than that found in the January 2014 survey, where the respective figures for JAWS were 50% and 63.9%.

JAWS supports all versions of Windows released since Windows Vista. There are two versions of the program: the home use edition for non-commercial use and the professional edition for commercial environments. Before JAWS 16, the home use edition was called Standard, and only worked on home Windows operating systems. A DOS version, sometimes also known as JDOS, is free.

The JAWS Scripting Language allows the user to use programs without standard Windows controls, and programs that were not designed for accessibility.

JAWS was originally released in 1989 by Ted Henter, a former motorcycle racer who lost his sight in a 1978 automobile accident. In 1985, Henter, along with a US$180,000 investment from Bill Joyce, founded the Henter-Joyce Corporation in St. Petersburg, Florida. Joyce sold his interest in the company back to Henter in 1990. In April 2000, Henter-Joyce, Blazie Engineering, and Arkenstone, Inc. merged to form Freedom Scientific.