Below is a list of the types of controls you will find in Dialog Boxes, E-mail applications and on web page forms. It is necessary to become very familiar with how to interact each type of control as they are encountered often. It is nearly impossible to work within the Windows environment if one is not able to quickly and efficiently identify a control and interact with it if necessary.

Control Types are often confusing to those learning to use Dialog Boxes, particularly with JAWS. The type of control is the computer’s substitution for how you will answer its question. Just as the Label on the control provided a place for the computer to ask you a question in an abbreviated format, the type of control allows you to know in what form the computer expects your answer.

Edit Box

Used to type a known value or setting for the control. If the control is asking for number of copies, the user has that information and communicates it by typing into this type of control. When an Edit Box receives the focus of attention the text in it, the default setting, is usually selected and can be replaced by typing the desired setting. Common Cursor Movement keys can be used to edit the default settings as well.

Edit Combo

Used to type a known value or setting for the control. It is also used in combination with a list of choices. Hence, it is an Edit Combo. The desired setting is either typed in the Edit Box portion of this control or the choice is made from the List Box portion of it. The Edit Box portion has the same functionality as an Edit Box alone and the List Box portion behaves as do other List Boxes. (See List Boxes below.)

Combo Box

This control is used to present a list of items to select from. With a Combo Box there is always a default choice suggested. It is necessary to press ALT+DOWN ARROW to pull down the list of items before selecting an item that is different than the default. A good example of a Combo Box is found in the Save As Dialog Box where the Save As Type: Combo Box is found.

Check Box

Used like an on-off switch for turning a setting on or off based upon the user’s choice. When the focus of attention is on a Check Box the control is activated, or “clicked”, by pressing the SPACEBAR.

Radio Button

This type of control is provided when there is a limited number of possible setting choices that can be grouped together. When presented with a group of settings where Radio Buttons are used, only one choice from the group can be selected at a time. The ARROW Keys are used to move between the available Radio Buttons in this type of control. They function as one control when TABBING through a Dialog Box. There is not rule about whether or not the LEFT and RIGHT ARROWS or the UP and DOWN ARROWS will be needed.

Button or Command Button

These are a core control in Dialog Boxes. They let the user complete the command, cancel the command, offer additional choices to the original set of controls, and sometimes simply let the user communicate: “Do it now!” When a Command Button receives the focus of attention, it is pressed using the SPACEBAR. The ENTER key can also be used to “click” a button that has the focus of attention. Most Dialog Boxes have a default Button that is pressed if the ENTER key is pressed even when another control has the focus of attention. JAWS will announce the default button in a Dialog Box when INSERT + E is pressed.

List Box

Provides a list of items for the user to choose from. Selecting desired files is a frequent use of a List Box. But, List Boxes are also used for choosing from a list of things that are available on that computer such as Fonts or Styles. Received e-mails appear in a List Box in an e-mail application. The UP and DOWN ARROW keys are used to move through the items in a List Box. As each item receives the focus of attention it is highlighted. Knowing the first letter of the desired item in a long list can help get the focus to that item more quickly. Other Cursor Movement keys such as HOME, END, PAGE UP and PAGE DOWN can also aid in moving through List Boxes. Note that when the My Documents folder is open, the list of files contained in it are presented using a List Box control.

Multi-select List Box

This is a type of List Box that enables the user to choose more than one item at a time. It is used when doing so is appropriate to the situation. For example, if the user wants to move several files around at a time, having the ability to select them all at once saves time. They ordinarily behave exactly like List Boxes except that, when necessary, the user can choose more than one item. These are common when copying and moving files from one folder to another. The CTRL key is used in combination with the ARROW and other Cursor Movement keys when selecting multiple choices in this type of control.

Tool Bar

This type of control is used when the programmer wants choices presented as graphical buttons instead of using other control types. The items found on a Tool Bar are usually commands rather than settings for a command. There is no set generalities for the types of commands issued when a Tool Bar Button is pressed. Tool Bar buttons should be treated like Command Buttons and clicked by pressing the SPACEBAR. In some situations, clicking a Tool Bar button will cause it to act like a Combo Boxes and a pull down list will emanate from them the button.

Spin Box

These controls are simply an Edit Box combined with visual buttons that are intended for changing the setting incrementally. The Number of copies Edit Spin Box in the Print Dialog Box is a good example of this type of control. It can be changed from 1, its default setting, to 2 or 3 or more by pressing UP ARROW Key. Typing in the Edit portion of the box produces the same results. Slider – A Slider control is used when an incremental setting is offered to the user. Making changes to the volume of speech output programs or other types of audio players is a good example of a use of the Slider control. The ARROW keys and other Cursor Movement keys are used to manipulate this type of control.

TAB Sheet, TAB Control, or Property Sheet

This type of control isn’t really a control at all but a way of describing the contents of a Dialog Box. Some Dialog Boxes do have multiple TAB Sheets, or Property Sheets. These multiple sheets allow displaying only a given number of controls at one time, hiding all of the others in that Dialog Box. The TAB Control is the label area of the TAB Sheet where the user can switch from one TAB sheet to another. Switching from one TAB Sheet to another is also easily done by pressing CTRL + TAB. Only one TAB Sheet within a Dialog Box can be visible at a time and each contains different controls.