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Argumentation.io How-To

Use Argumentation.io with a Screen Reader

Argumentation.io provides keyboard commands for creating, editing, and navigating argument maps. These commands allow a screen reader to follow the logical relationships among boxes.

See Keyboard Commands for the complete reference. You can also select Key commands in the Argumentation.io toolbar to open the in-app list.

Use Argumentation.io’s map-navigation commands rather than your screen reader’s ordinary webpage-navigation commands:

  • On Windows, use Shift+Alt with the arrow keys.
  • On Mac, use Shift+Option with the arrow keys.

These commands move among a selected box’s parent, children, and siblings. This follows the logical structure of the argument, which may differ from the order in which a screen reader encounters elements on the webpage.

To move among the main contentions of a map containing multiple trees, press Shift+Alt+M on Windows or Shift+Option+M on Mac.

Hear and edit the contents of a box

When a box is selected, the screen reader announces information about it. If the box has a color tag, the tag color is also announced.

To place focus in the box’s text area, press Shift+Alt+Enter on Windows or Shift+Option+Enter on Mac. Enter or edit the text, then press the same command again to leave text-editing mode and return focus to the box.

JAWS virtual PC cursor

When using JAWS, you may need to turn off the virtual PC cursor while working with the map so that Argumentation.io receives its keyboard commands. Freedom Scientific provides an explanation of the virtual PC cursor and instructions for turning it on or off.

Screen-reader compatibility

Argumentation.io supports NVDA, VoiceOver, and current versions of JAWS. Some older versions of JAWS may not recognize Argumentation.io’s map-navigation commands.