Keyboard Shortcuts

Students testing with certain types of assistive technology may find it helpful to use keyboard shortcuts to navigate within the digital exam. Open the More menu in Bluebook™ to see keyboard shortcuts listed for your operating system. No separate configuration is needed to use keyboard shortcuts.

Move (Drag) Calculator and Reference Sheet with Keyboard

The built-in calculator and reference sheets in Bluebook can be moved with the keyboard. Navigate to the Move (Calculator or Reference) button with the Tab key. Place the Move button into a draggable or “pressed” state by pressing the Space bar or Enter key.  

Note for JAWS and NVDA Users: Users of JAWS and NVDA must “pass through” the Space bar or Enter keystrokes to put the button into a pressed state. 

JAWS Users

  • Press Insert (JAWS key) + 3 and then press the Enter key or Space bar to put the move button into a pressed state.
  • To move the calculator or reference dialogs, JAWS users may want to force PC cursor mode by pressing Insert + Z and then move the window with the Arrow keys. 
    • Press Insert + Z again to return the virtual PC cursor.

NVDA Users

  • Press Insert + Space for focus mode so the Enter or Space keys can put the move button into a pressed state.
    • Press Insert + Space again to return to browse mode.


iPad Only: Keyboard Navigation with Special Characters and Answer Options

  • Keyboard-only users can open the special characters when focus is in the Free Response Editor by pressing Command + Control + /.
  • When the special characters are displayed, keyboard-only users can navigate with the Tab key when using an external keyboard. 
  • Keyboard-only users can press Enter to choose a special character that is focused. The choice will be added as a textual value within the Free Response Editor.

iPad Only: Navigating Multiple-Choice Answer Options

  • Keyboard-only users can navigate to a Radio button option with the Tab key.
  • Subsequent radio button options can be accessed with the Tab key along with the Space bar to make an explicit selection.
  • Alternatively, keyboard-only users can navigate through multiple-choice options with Option + Arrow keys or Control + Arrow keys.

Related Topics