Functions Menu of the Jieshuo Screen Reader

The Jieshuo screen reader’s functions menu is a feature that includes tools primarily related to text selection and editing, as well as text and image recognition. By default, the menu is assigned to the “swipe up, then right with one finger” gesture. It is also accessible from the Main Menu and can be activated via the Voice Assistant, or assigned to other gestures.

Functions Included in the Functions Menu

The functions menu provides several options, along with a sub-menu called the recognition menu. Most of the functions available in this menu, as well as those in the recognition submenu, can also be activated directly from the main menu, assigned to gestures, or accessed through the voice assistant.

Below are the available options:

• Clear: This option clears all input in a text box.
• Select: The selection mode differs between the free and pro versions of Jieshuo.
  • In the free version, the focused element is divided into words, and users can select any word by double tapping it.
  • In the pro version, the mode offers more granularity, allowing selection based on other units like characters. Double-tapping an item checks or unchecks it, while double-tapping and holding starts a selection that ends with the next long-pressed item. This checks both items as well as any in between.

  Tapping Select All reverses the selection—checked items become unchecked, and vice versa. Users can copy or export the selected text to a text file, which is saved in the “Notes” folder inside Jieshuo’s main directory.

• Copy: This option copies the focused text to the clipboard. The copied text is also saved in the clipboard history for later access.
• Append: This option appends the focused text to last copied content. Note that the append function only works with text copied using Jieshuo, not by other means.
• Paste: This option pastes the last copied text into the text box. The text box does not need to be in focus for the text to be pasted, as long as it is visible in the current window. Additionally, the paste function works with text copied through Jieshuo or by other means.
• Clipboard History: The clipboard history contains all items copied using Jieshuo’s functions. For more information, refer to the Clipboard History guide.
• Favorites: This section displays texts that users have added as favorites. Tapping New allows users to type or paste new text. Double-tapping any item pastes it into the text box. Long-pressing an item provides options to copy, edit, delete, or save it either as a local note or a cloud note. Tapping Manage enables the selection of multiple items for deletion or backup of favorite items. Favorites can also be added directly from the clipboard history.
• Granular Editing Mode: This has been discussed in detail in the Granular Editing Mode guide.
• List Copying: This pro feature starts copying items from the current focus to the end of the list. It is useful for copying all available items, especially in apps where scrolling occurs automatically. Once the copying process is complete, Jieshuo announces its completion along with the number of copied items, and provides options to either copy the items to the system clipboard or save them as a local text file in Jieshuo’s notes folder. Navigating back or tapping Cancel retains the copied items in the clipboard history as the most recently copied text by Jieshuo.
• Open Keyboard: Based on my tests, this option displays a numeric keyboard near the bottom of the screen. The keyboard cannot be closed without tapping the Close button and remains visible even when no text box is present.
• Input: Currently, this does not result in any action, at least on my device.

The Recognition Menu

The recognition menu, found in the functions menu, provides options primarily related to text and image recognition. Its options are as follows:

• Translation: Translates the text of the focused item and copies the translation result.
• Scene Recognition: Performs a basic analysis of a photo to identify the available elements. This feature provides limited information.
• Text Recognition: Originally designed to recognize and translate the text of the focused item. Currently, it only recognizes text from the current focus.
• Face Recognition: Captures a screenshot of the current focus and informs the user whether there are people in the photo. If people are present, it uses AI to describe the image. If no people are detected, it announces this and, based on my tests, also provides a brief description of the captured image.
• Recognize CAPTCHA: tries to identify text of CAPTCHAs that still use this type of verification.
• Recognition Results: Displays results from inquire by voice functions, translations, OCR recognition of current focus, and image description functions. Note that the list is cleared after each Jieshuo restart.
• Slider Verification: attempts to solve captchas that use a sliding mechanism. I couldn’t test this feature myself.
• Exam Recognition: An OCR-based text recognition function. Its differences from other recognition functions are unclear at this time.
• Describe Currently Focused Item and Describe Current Screen: These functions use AI to provide a brief description of either the currently focused element or the entire screen.
• Detailed Description of Focused Item and Detailed Description of Entire Screen: These functions also act on the focused element or the entire screen. However, they provide richer, more comprehensive descriptions compared to the basic descriptions from the previous functions.
• Enquire by Voice: These functions are demonstrated in the Inquire by Voice functions guide.
• Video Description: This function has been explained in the Video Description related guide.

Note: Items found in the recognition menu can only be used by Pro subscribers.

Adding Actions and Dynamic Focus-Related Options to the Functions Menu

When an item has accessibility actions these actions can be displayed in the functions menu when the item is focused. To enable this, go to Screen Reader Settings, then Advanced Settings, and finally Menu Customization Settings. Check the Show Actions in the Functions Menu checkbox.

Additionally, focus-related options, such as links (when the focus contains links) or the “Adjust Slider Value” option (when the focus is on a slider), can also be added to the functions menu. To enable this, check the Show Additional Dynamic Focus-Related Options in the Functions Menu checkbox, also located in the Menu Customization Settings section.