This is because JAWS will now (since version 17) automatically shut down when there is a "not responding" issue with a particular program. I see this most often when switching into or out of Adobe Acrobat. JAWS does not seem to play well with that program on my system, and I often have to wait that 20 or 30 seconds for JAWS to start up again.
Does your employee hear the "JAWS Home Edition" or "JAWS Professional Edition" after the long delay -- then it is indeed JAWS restarting after such a shutdown. In the Shared Settings folder there is a default.jcf file that you can edit with notepad. On my system it is located: C:\ProgramData\Freedom Scientific\JAWS\2018\Settings\enu\Default.JCF Near the end of this file is a section titled [AutoRestart] where you can disable this "feature" or extend the time before JAWS shuts down and restarts. A following section also lets you decide how long to delay for specific applications. See if disabling or changing the delay times helps. Be sure only to edit this file in a simple editor like Notepad to avoid inserting other ASCII characters. Dave Oregonian, woodworker, Engineer, Musician, and Pioneer ----- Original Message ----- From: "Mike Mote" <miketmot...@gmail.com> To: <jaws-users-list@jaws-users.com> Sent: Thursday, March 08, 2018 08:17 Subject: [JAWS-Users] JAWS freezing when switching between programs Good morning all! I'm trying to help with one of our employees here at work on an issue where JAWS freezes unexpectedly when switching from one window to another using the Alt Tab key. The issue is difficult to resolve because it doesn't happen every time he switches windows. It does happen two to three times a day on average, and is hindering his efforts to perform his job. I have offered several solutions, but nothing has worked yet. When JAWS freezes, he has to wait some 30 seconds before speech comes back. I wanted to reach out to the list to see if any of you had any ideas as to how I could minimize this behavior. I would appreciate any feedback. Thanks very much! Mike Mote Manager of Accessibility and Workforce Development, Human Resources IFB Solutions Our Vision is Working - see more at <http://www.ifbsolutions.org/> www.ifbsolutions.org Email <mailto:mm...@ifbsolutions.org> mm...@ifbsolutions.org Work Phone (336) 245-5650 Mobile Phone (336) 793-6006 Shipping: 7730 North Point Dr Winston-Salem, NC 27106 *Large font facilitates reading for people with low vision For answers to frequently asked questions about this list visit: http://www.jaws-users.com/help/ For answers to frequently asked questions about this list visit: http://www.jaws-users.com/help/