Java Accessibility Guide > Enabling and Testing Java Access Bridge
Java Access Bridge is a technology that enables Java applications and applets that implement the Java Accessibility API to be visible to assistive technologies on Microsoft Windows systems. See Java SE Desktop Accessibility for more information.
The following topics are covered:
Java Access Bridge is included with Java SE Runtime Environment (JRE) Release 7 Update 6 (7u6) and later. Java Access Bridge 2.0.3 is included with JRE 7u6. By default, Java Access Bridge is not enabled.
To enable Java Access Bridge, run the following command (where %JRE_HOME%
is the directory of your JRE):
%JRE_HOME%\bin\jabswitch -enable
Alternatively, in Windows Vista and later, you can enable Java Access Bridge through the Control Panel:
Note: After enabling Java Access Bridge, you must restart your assistive technology software and Java applications that use the accessibility API.
To disable Java Access Bridge, run the following command:
%JRE_HOME%\bin\jabswitch -disable
Note: You cannot disable Java Access Bridge through the Windows Ease of Access Center.
To test Java Access Bridge, follow these steps:
The Java Access Bridge testing tools Java Monkey and Java Ferret are not shipped with the JDK. These tools are included in Java Access Bridge 2.0.2. Download this version from Java Access Bridge Downloads.
The following lists the minimum version requirements of the assistive technologies JAWS and NVDA on 64-bit operating systems (when using them in conjunction with Java Access Bridge):
Note: If you are using the 64-bit version of JAWS with the 32-bit Java Runtime Environment (JRE), JAWS may not read values correctly. If this is the case, install the 64-bit JRE and restart JAWS.
The JDK contains a private JRE. This is required to run tools included with the JDK. Private JREs do not register themselves with the system; no files are copied to other locations and no registries are created. Unlike the public JRE (which you can install separately from the JDK), the private JRE does not copy the dynamic link library (DLL) file required by Java Access Bridge to your Windows system32
directory.
If you want to use Java Access Bridge with the private JRE, copy the file named WindowsAccessBridge*.dll
from the directory <JDK installation directory>\jre\bin
to your Windows system32
directory.