Welcome to the Accessible Equation Editor!

JAWS

We have identified a bug that applies to all braille displays for JAWS version 17 and earlier. Pressing Dots 456, the underline symbol, does not currently produce a printable character. If you are entering a Nemeth expression that contains Dots 456, it is necessary to add Dot 7. For example, to begin a mixed number, enter the whole number, then press Dots 4567, followed by Dots 1456, and the mixed number expression will be displayed. Enter the fractional part of the expression, and then use Dots 4567, followed by Dots 3456 to close the mixed number.

NVDA

By default, there are certain special keys and key combinations that some braille displays do not support with NVDA. The following gestures are recommended for more convenient equation editor usage, and may be added to the NVDA gestures.ini file. These gestures define Space with Dots 26 as Escape on the BrailleNote, and Space with Dots 24 as Ctrl+NVDA+Space for all supported displays except the BrailleNote. (Because Space with Dots 24 was unavailable on the BrailleNote, Ctrl+NVDA+Space was mapped to Space with Dots 35.) They also define shifted arrow keys (Up, Left, Right, Down) using Space and Dot 7 with Dots 1, 3, 4, and 6, respectively. You can download a sample gestures.ini file containing these gestures that can be included in your local user configuration directory. To locate this directory, open the Start Menu, choose All Programs, navigate to the NVDA folder, and choose Explore NVDA User Configuration Directory.

The applicable gestures have been listed below, in case you prefer to edit the Gestures.ini file independently. Where keystrokes have been defined for multiple braille displays, you need only list your model.

  • kb:escape = br(brailleNote):space+d2+d6
  • kb:Control+NVDA+Space = br(baum):space+dot2+dot4, br(brailliantB):space+dot2+dot4, br(hims):space+dot2+dot4, br(brailleNote):space+d3+d5
  • kb:shift+upArrow = br(baum):space+dot1+dot7, br(brailliantB):space+dot1+dot7, br(hims):space+dot1+dot7, br(brailleNote):space+d1+d7
  • kb:shift+leftArrow = br(baum):space+dot3+dot7, br(brailliantB):space+dot3+dot7, br(hims):space+dot3+dot7, br(brailleNote):space+d3+d7
  • kb:shift+downArrow = br(baum):space+dot4+dot7, br(brailliantB):space+dot4+dot7, br(hims):space+dot4+dot7, br(brailleNote):space+d4+d7
  • kb:shift+rightArrow = br(baum):space+dot6+dot7, br(brailliantB):space+dot6+dot7, br(hims):space+dot6+dot7, br(brailleNote):space+d6+d7