That certainly makes it sound intriguing. And I will check it out from the link
you provided. I’m just not sure I really need a package of tweaks that keep me
from having to tab a few times to get to what I want.
But as I said, I will definitely check it out.
From: blind-philly-comp-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:blind-philly-comp-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of David Goldfield
Sent: Friday, November 09, 2018 9:04 PM
To: blind-philly-comp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-philly-comp] Has Anybody Tried Using Leasey With JAWS?
I'm just curious as to whether anybody has used the Leasey program. When I
purchased my annual JAWS home license I also splurged and purchased Leasey from
Hartgen Consultancy <http://www.hartgen.org> in the U.K., the company which
produces the software.
It is very difficult to concisely describe what Leasey is and what it does,
because it does so many things. I'll do my best.
Leasey is actually a set of cleverly written scripts for the JAWS screen
reader. This means that you need to have JAWS running in order for Leasey to
function. You can't use it with other screen readers.
Leasey adds a huge amount of tools and services to JAWS to enhance its
functionality and, ideally, enhances your productivity. It can be purchased as
two separate programs.
The first is called Leasey Total Package, costing a little over $100.00. This
is really designed for a very new and/or inexperienced computer user. After
JAWS begins running, you are placed in a menu containing a variety of tasks,
such as Write a Document or Letter, Visit a Web Page, etc. You arrow through
the menus and the items are announced in actual human-narrated speech. Because
it is designed for a new user, there is no start menu or desktop to deal with.
In fact, if you attempt to open your start menu or desktop Leasey takes over
and displays her own menu of options. This means that new users can't
accidentally leave Leasey and go somewhere else because Leasey takes over
Windows and becomes its own operating system. There is always context-sensitive
help, no matter where you are, which is also read by Leasey's human voice. Even
though you can't access the start menu or desktop you can still access all of
your computer's programs. For example, if you choose the option "write a
document or letter", Leasey opens Microsoft Word, assuming that you've
installed it onto your system. Once you're in Word, JAWS takes over and Word
functions as it always did. However, Leasey does offer some modifications such
as a slightly more intuitive spell checker experience, similar to what you had
with older versions of Word.
The other version of Leasey is called Leasey Advanced, which is the version I
bought. It costs around $65.00, making it considerably more inexpensive. Leasey
Advanced has the same modifications found in Leasey Total but it does not
include the human narrated menus or human narrated help and it does not include
the Daisy training material found within Leasey Total. It also, by default,
does not lock you into Leasey's walled garden but allows you to use your
computer normally with your start menu, taskbar, desktop, etc. JAWS is needed
to do all of the talking, making it ideal for users who are already comfortable
with Windows and with JAWS.
So, what does it do? I'm brand new to it and am still learning its features and
so there are still some things, many things in fact, that I am still learning.
Essentially, it's a huge list of tools and utilities, as well as modifications
to JAWS to make JAWS even more powerful.
Here is what I've learned so far.
Leasey Clips. This is, essentially, the ability to paste up to twelve different
pieces of text onto twelve different clipboards, any of which can be pasted in
any order within a document. These clipboards or Leasey clips are even saved
when you restart your computer.
Leasey Alerts. If a Web page contains certain pieces of text Leasey will play a
sound and then move the cursor to that point on the page. The example they give
is with Google. When you perform a search on Google, the page containing your
results has a heading titled "Search Results." If you press the letter H a few
times JAWS will eventually take you to this heading. However, with Leasey
Alerts you can set up the phrase "Search Results" as an alert phrase on Google.
This means that, after you perform a search on Google, Leasey plays a sound and
then moves your cursor right to that heading, avoiding the need to find it.
Leasey Texts. These are pieces of text that you can save with short titles that
you can paste anywhere. As an example, I might have a Leasey text titled
"Signature" with my name, title and Web site address. When I want to insert my
signature, I can bring up the Leasey texts list, find "signature" and press
enter to paste it. I can also assign an abbreviation, such as "sig" to paste
it. Microsoft Word contains these features already but Leasey can do this
anywhere, in any file where you enter text.
Leasey Search. This allows you to perform searches on a variety of Web sites
from anywhere. As an example, from Word I can invoke the Leasey Search dialog,
type in a phrase and it performs a Google search, without my having to open my
Web browser first.
In Word Leasey has an option to open your document and move your cursor to the
last place you were reading, rather than at the top of the file.
And, honestly, that's just scratching the surface with what this program does.
It's just awesome.
You can read more about it by going to Leasey Central,
<http://www.leaseycentral.com> which contains the full manual, audio demos,
little tutorials called Leasey Bites and demonstration versions.
--
David Goldfield, Assistive Technology Specialist Feel free to visit my Web site
WWW.DavidGoldfield.Info <http://WWW.DavidGoldfield.Info>
