Leasey Version 11.5 Guidance Notes.

Transcribe audio to text, available from the ChatGPT menu.

There are two options in the build you currently have. This is now just one option which takes you into the new interface.

This is no longer displayed in a browser.

When it is launched, you have the following controls through which you can Tab.

Audio file path edit field.

A full path can be pasted here which you could have copied from File Explorer with Control+Shift+C and pasted with Control+V.

Browse button. Allows you to browse to a file instead.

Two radio buttons: Transcript with speaker separation and Plain transcript.

Finally, the Transcribe button.

Progress messages are given during the file upload.

When complete, you are advised of this, and an edit field is available with the transcript together with the following controls.

Upload Document to ChatGPT.

This is no longer displayed in a browser.

When it is launched, you have the following controls through which you can Tab.

Document file path edit field.

A full path can be pasted here which you could have copied from File Explorer with Control+Shift+C and pasted with Control+V.

Browse button. Allows you to browse to a file.

When complete, you are advised of this, and an edit field is available where you can submit your question.

Type it in and press Enter.

When the response is received, JAWS says, "Answer Ready". You can read it in the edit field.

Other controls include:

Image Creation via ChatGPT.

This is no longer displayed in a browser.

When launched you are presented with two edit fields. The first requires the file name you would like. The second asks for a detailed description of the image.

A combo box allows you to select from some predetermined image sizes:

A Submit Button then follows.

Once generated, a Save button allows you to save it to the computer in a location of your choosing.

Audio Translate from a language other than English.

This interface is identical to the option to translate from a regular audio file to text.

Markdown Converter, Available from the Markdown Menu.

This serves two purposes. It converts a Markdown document to Microsoft Word format. Unlike other plugins and tools, it obeys my rules and formats headings, lists and tables correctly for Word.

The second purpose is to create an HTML rendering of the Markdown document. The difficulty with Markdown is that you cannot appreciate as a blind person the true nature of the document. The HTML view should give you an immediate appreciation of what it might look like.

The other advantage of course is that you could potentially create content for a blog post or web page in Markdown and have it converted to HTML.

The interface is very similar to some of the items discussed above. You browse to a Markdown file. You select from a group of two radio buttons whether you would like Word or HTML.

When converted, which is almost immediately, you have the opportunity of saving that output.

The Leasey Start Menu, currently available with the Leasey key then Windows+S.

This has been re-worked so it is similar to what will be contained on the BrailleNote Evolve, only better.

The Leasey Start Menu is intended to make it easier to find and launch applications, especially when using JAWS.

It displays a list of applications found in the Windows Start Menu, and I do mean, all the applications. You can filter the list, launch an item, remove items you do not want to see, add your own files or portable programs, rename items, and rearrange the order of the list.

The main window is deliberately simple.

It contains:

Moving Around the Main Window.

Press Tab to move through the controls.

Useful shortcut keys include:

The most important controls are the Filter edit box and the Applications list.

Filtering Applications.

When the app opens, focus is placed in the Filter edit box.

Start typing part of an application name. The Applications list is narrowed as you type.

For example, typing word should find entries containing word.

From the Filter edit box:

Using the Applications List.

When focus is in the Applications list:

You can also type letters while focused in the list.

For example, typing W should move to an entry beginning with W.

Typing WO quickly should move to an entry beginning with WO, such as Word.

Launching Applications.

To launch an application:

The app asks Windows to launch the item maximised. Some applications may honour this request better than others, but the intention is that the launched app should be easy to find and use immediately.

Removing Items.

If there is an item you do not want on the Leasey Start Menu:

You can also use the Remove button.

Removing an item does not uninstall the application from Windows. It only hides it from the Leasey Start Menu.

JAWS should announce that the item has been removed.

Restoring Removed Items.

To bring back all removed Windows Start Menu items:

JAWS should announce that removed applications have been restored.

Adding a File or Portable Program.

You can add a file, shortcut or portable program if you know where it is located.

To add an item:

The new item should appear in the Applications list.

Examples of things you might add include:

Renaming Items.

To rename an item:

You can also use the Rename button.

Renaming changes only the name shown in Leasey Start Menu. It does not rename the real Windows shortcut or application.

JAWS should announce the old and new names after the rename is saved.

Rearranging Items.

You can change the order of items in the Applications list.

Move to the item you want to reposition.

Use the Move Up or Move Down buttons.

The shortcut keys for these buttons are:

JAWS should announce where the item has moved. For example:

LeaseyConnect, currently available by pressing Leasey key then ALT+L.

LeaseyConnect is an address book for storing and reviewing contact information.

The main window contains:

The design is intended to be simple and keyboard-friendly. The main emphasis is on finding a contact quickly, reviewing its details, editing it if necessary, and copying useful pieces of information such as phone numbers, email addresses and social media usernames.

Moving Around the Main Window.

You can press Tab to move through the main controls in order.

The most important control is the contacts list.

When focus is in the contacts list:

If there are no contacts stored, LeaseyConnect should make that clear.

Filtering the Contact List.

The Filter contacts edit field allows you to narrow the list.

Type part of a first name, last name, company name, city, country, phone number, email address, X username or Mastodon username.

As you type, the list should update automatically.

Creating a New Contact.

Press Control+N or activate the New button.

The contact dialog contains standard edit fields for:

Press Tab to move through the fields.

Press Shift+Tab to move backward.

Press Enter on the Save button to save the contact.

Press Escape to cancel.

Viewing a Contact.

Find the contact in the list and press Enter, or activate the View button.

The contact is displayed in a read-only edit field so that you can inspect the stored information without changing it accidentally.

Escape closes the review window naturally.

Editing a Contact.

Find the contact in the list and press ALT+E, or activate the Edit button.

The same dialog used to create a contact is displayed, but populated with the existing information.

Change any field as needed, then save the contact.

Deleting a Contact.

Find the contact in the list and press Delete, or activate the Delete button.

You should receive a confirmation prompt before the contact is removed.

Copy Commands.

LeaseyConnect includes commands to copy commonly used contact details.

The available copy commands are:

If more than one email address or phone number exists, you may be asked which one you want to copy.

LeaseyDiary, currently available by pressing the Leasey key then Control+Shift+Y.

General Layout.

LeaseyDiary is built around three main views:

You can move between these views with:

or by selecting the appropriate radio buttons from the main LeaseyDiary screen. Note that the Radio Button group contains four items, the fourth being LeaseyTasks. This is described in a later section of this document.

One of the nicest features of LeaseyDiary is that JAWS announces useful information automatically as you move around. When you switch to a different view, JAWS speaks the number of appointments in that period. For example, when you move to Day view, Week view or Month view, you are told how many appointments are in the selected day, week or month.

If you use Go to Date with Control+G and move to another date, JAWS also announces the number of appointments for that day automatically. Similarly, if you move through the days, weeks or months manually by selecting them from the provided Combo Box, JAWS will always announce the number of appointments for the selected range. This makes it much easier to check quickly how busy a date is without having to explore the screen manually.

Moving Around the Main Window.

The main window contains date and view controls and the appointments list.

You can press Tab to move through the application systematically. Listen to the keystrokes JAWS announces as they will speed up navigation. For example, ALT+D will focus upon the day picker combo box.

Alt+L moves focus straight to the list of appointments for a given day, week or month.

When focus is in the appointments list:

If there are no appointments in the selected period, LeaseyDiary will tell you.

Useful Navigation Commands.

Ctrl+G opens Go to Date.

Go to Date accepts ordinary numeric dates according to your selected date format, and it also accepts entries such as:

If you enter a month and day without a year, LeaseyDiary assumes you mean the next matching date from today onward.

You can also press Control+F. This allows you to enter a search string which must be present in the Subject field or appointment notes.

You can then press Tab to reach three possible options:

Search From This Date Forward. Selecting this option will take you to the next occurrence of an appointment containing the text string.

Search From This Date Backward. Selecting this option will take you to the previous occurrence of an appointment containing the text string.

When the choice has been made, press Tab to reach the Search button or press ALT+S.

If you have chosen the second or third of these options, press F3 to move to the next occurrence or Shift+F3 to move back.

The Tools Menu

The Tools menu can be opened with Alt+Comma.

Most tools have direct shortcut keys applied so that accessing this menu is not necessary.

Useful Tools commands include:

Creating a New Appointment.

Press Control+N to create a new appointment.

The appointment dialog includes the following fields:

About the Appointment Fields.

Start Date and End date:

Time type:

Start time and End time:

Subject:

Meeting link:

Meeting attachment:

Repeat settings:

Create Advanced Reminder. Checking this box allows you to specify the number of days ahead you would like an appointment set. An edit field is available allowing you to enter the number of days ahead. Checking this box will not create a reminder. It will create an appointment in the diary the specified number of days ahead.

Notes:

Opening and Reading an Appointment.

Press Enter on any appointment in the list to open its details.

The details window gives a read-only view of the appointment information. If a meeting link or an attachment has been added, you can reach those controls by pressing Tab.

This makes it easy to review the appointment and then move to the link or attachment.

Reminders.

LeaseyDiary includes reminders for timed appointments.

To set a reminder:

There are two reminder methods:

If Speech is chosen, you can enter the message that should be displayed in a dialog box.

If Sound is chosen, you can browse for a sound file.

Reminders are intended to be practical and flexible. For example, you might want a spoken reminder saying what the appointment is, or you may prefer a sound alert.

Important note: If you wish reminders to be monitored when your computer starts, the Check Box to allow LeaseyDiary to reside in the system tray should be checked. This is found on the main LeaseyDiary screen as the last option in the Tab order.

Editing An Existing Appointment.

Time Display.

Under Tools there is also a Time display setting.

You can choose either:

This affects how appointment times are announced and shown in the app, while still allowing timed entries to be entered in a flexible way.

Importing Calendar Entries From Old LeaseyDiary.

From the LeaseyDiary main window press ALT+Z. The conversion should then happen automatically. You will be advised how many appointments have been converted.

Duplicating appointments

If you wish an appointment to be duplicated, first find the appointment concerned.

Press Tab to reach the Duplicate button or press ALT+U.

You are then presented with a Combo box. The caption reads Choose when the copied appointment should take place. The copy will then

open in the normal editor for review.

Options include: One week from original date, Two weeks from original date, etc.

The final option is Custom Date.

Select one of the choices, Tab to the Continue button and press Enter or Space.

The New Appointment window is displayed. You can press Tab to move through the elements and modify as necessary. Activate the Save button so as to save the appointment.

LeaseyTasks, available from within LeaseyDiary by pressing ALT+4.

LeaseyTasks is built into LeaseyDiary. It is a simple task list designed to work in the same accessible style as the diary itself.

It allows you to:

Opening LeaseyTasks.

From the main LeaseyDiary window press ALT+4.

The Tasks view contains:

Moving Around LeaseyTasks.

Press Tab to move through the controls.

The most important control is the Tasks list.

When focus is in the Tasks list:

Tasks are spoken in a useful order so that the task name is heard first, followed by its status and possible completion date.

If present, JAWS will also speak the category, priority and percentage complete.

Filtering Tasks.

The Status, Category and Priority filter combo boxes allow you to choose which tasks you wish to review.

Status options include:

The Category filter is based on the categories you actually use in your tasks.

For example, if you create tasks using categories such as Work, Finance or Education, those categories will appear in the filter automatically.

Priority options include:

This means you can quickly review only completed tasks, only high priority tasks, only work tasks, and so on.

Creating a New Task.

Press Control+N or activate the New button.

The task dialog contains:

About the Task Fields.

Task:

Possible completion date:

Task status:

Task category:

Task priority:

Percentage complete:

Task reminder:

This is useful if you want to be reminded about a task on a particular day and at a particular time, whether or not the task itself has a due date.

Reminder method:

Reminder message:

Reminder sound:

Task attachment:

Notes:

Editing a Task.

To edit a task, move to it in the Tasks list and activate the Edit button with ALT+E.

Changing the Status of a Task.

You do not have to edit the entire task just to alter its progress.

Move to the task in the list and activate Change Status by pressing ALT+S.

Choose the new status and confirm it by pressing Enter.

If a task has a reminder waiting and you mark the task Completed before the reminder time arrives, the reminder will not be given.

Deleting a Task.

Move to the task in the list and press Delete, or activate the Delete button.

You will be asked to confirm the deletion.

Opening and Reading a Task.

Press Enter on any task in the list to open its details.

The details window gives a read-only view of the task information.

If an attachment has been added, you can press Tab to reach the Open Attachment button.

If a reminder has been set, its details are also shown in the read-only task information.

Global Shortcut Keys.

The following global shortcuts are available:

Computer Report, currently available by pressing the Leasey key then Control+Right Bracket.

Put simply, this generates a report of your computer in HTML format. You do have the opportunity of saving the report if you wish to a location of your choosing.

The report content will vary, but it could include:

Leasey Music Recognition.

This tool allows music to be recognised which is output to a sound source on your computer. This could be music which is playing from a radio station, an online video, etc.

Press the Leasey key then M to enter Leasey Music Recognition.

From the Combo Box which appears, select a sound source from which the music is playing. If this is the Windows default sound source there is no need to make a selection.

Press Tab to reach the Recognise button and press Enter or Space.

JAWS announces that recording has started. We need to record a 30 second sample.

Try not to press any other keys on the keyboard if possible while the recording is taking place. If JAWS is speaking through the same source as the music being played, the recording is likely to be contaminated. In practice this should not make too much of a difference but try not to do so.

At the end of the process, JAWS automatically announces that the recording has stopped and that Leasey is recognising the audio.

When recognition is complete, a web page is produced in the browser containing the results. A web page was chosen because the results include links to various sources where the song can be purchased or previewed.

Leasey Media Centre.

The purpose of the Leasey Media Centre is a vehicle for working with radio stations, podcasts, audio files and playlists. It is launched by pressing the Leasey key then R or Leasey key then Shift+P at present, since these are keystrokes familiar to Leasey users.

You may feel that the explanation of the Media Centre below is quite daunting with a raft of shortcut keys included. However, you do not need to remember them all if you do not wish to. Most controls can be moved to by pressing Tab repeatedly and then Enter or Space to activate. However, the app has been designed so that it contains many shortcut keys for those who wish to move around the application quickly.

When Leasey Media Centre opens, the first control is a combo box called Task.

At present this contains:

Use Up and Down Arrow in this combo box to choose the area you want to work with.

Focus remains in the combo box as you move between the three tasks, so you can easily change your mind before tabbing into the selected area.

You can also move directly to an area with Alt+1 for Radio, Alt+2 for Podcasts and Alt+3 for Audio and Playlists. As you press one of these keystrokes, JAWS speaks the area you have moved to.

General Movement.

Press Tab and Shift+Tab to move through the controls.

Press ALT+F4 to close Leasey Media Centre.

Escape does not close the program. It is used to return to a previous part of the interface, especially in Podcasts.

Control+Comma opens Options.

Control+O opens a local audio file from the computer.

Options.

Open Options with Control+Comma.

The most important setting is the radio player preference, manipulated with the first control.

Using four Radio Buttons you can specify the radio player you would like to use. You can choose between:

While all the settings under Options are listed here, we do not need to be concerned with them at this stage.

Options also contains the volume step percentage.

This controls how much the volume changes when using the volume shortcut keys. The minimum step is 1 percent which is very gradual. 5 Percent is a good working environment. The volume can be adjusted from within the application or through global shortcut keys.

Options also contains the Recording folder. This is the folder where radio recordings are saved. You can type a folder path or activate the Browse button to choose one. A Combo Box is alongside this option entitled Recording Format. The choices are MP3 128K, MP3 192K, MP3 320K or Wav.

There is also a check box called Minimise to system tray on exit. If this is checked, closing Leasey Media Centre keeps it running in the Windows system tray rather than closing it completely. This is useful if you want scheduled recordings to take place. When this option is checked, Leasey Media Centre also creates a Windows startup shortcut so it can start automatically when Windows starts. ; the same as LeaseyDiary.

If the check box is unchecked, the startup shortcut is removed.

Other options include:

You should be particularly careful about associating Leasey Media Centre with audio file types. Remember that Leasey Media Centre will only function when JAWS and Leasey are in use.

The whole point of taking you into Options now is so you can specify which player to use and possibly changing the sound source.

Hopefully, you will choose the new Leasey Media Player to use.

Radio.

The Radio area contains:

Useful Radio Keystrokes.

ALT+C moves to the LeaseyRadio category list.

Locate a category with Up or Down Arrow.

You can either then press Enter to move to the list of stations in the category or press ALT+L; like LeaseyDiary.

Control+F moves to the Find or Search edit field.

ALT+L moves to the station list as previously documented.

Enter on a station plays it.

Delete removes a station only when you are viewing Favourites, and you will be asked to confirm this.

ALT+A adds the selected station to Favourites.

ALT+V view Favourites.

ALT+P set a preset.

ALT+R listen to the most recent station you were hearing. This can also be activated with the Leasey global keystroke of Leasey key then ALT+Dash which has always been the case.

ALT+G opens Scheduled Recordings.

Control+Shift+R also opens Scheduled Recordings from anywhere in Leasey Media Centre.

The Radio Category List.

The first control in the radio screen is the category list, which you can always reach by pressing ALT+C.

This represents the 10 LeaseyRadio categories within the existing product. Use Down Arrow to select a category of interest. You can either then:

  1. Press Enter to move to the stations in the category.
  2. Alternatively, press ALT+L, like LeaseyDiary.

The stations are arranged in alphabetical order. Press Enter to begin playing a station.

Radio Searching.

The search is intended to feel like one directory, even though more than one source is checked.

Leasey recommended stations are checked first.

Radio Browser is checked next.

Shoutcast is checked after that.

This means that you should not need to worry too much about where a station comes from.

If you type a search such as classical, country or a station name, results from all available sources should be placed in the same station list.

Shoutcast Categories.

Activate the Shoutcast Categories button to browse categories supplied by Shoutcast.

Choose a category from the list and press Enter.

The stations in that category should then appear in the station list.

Working With LeaseyRadio Favourites.

To add a station to Favourites, select the station you wish to add and press ALT+A or activate the Add to Favourites button. You do not need to be listening to the station first. Selecting it by pressing Down Arrow is enough.

To view your Favourites, press ALT+V or activate the View Favourites button.

The stations are presented in a list. Press Down arrow to select one or use first letter navigation. When the desired station is located, press Enter to play.

Radio Presets.

Move to a station and activate Add Preset or press ALT+P. You do not need to be listening to the station first. Selecting it by pressing Down Arrow is enough.

You can choose preset numbers 1 through to 20.

The program creates a preset which you can launch using any one of the standard LeaseyRadio global keystrokes for doing so.

To access any of the 20 presets directly, press the Leasey Key followed by Windows+1 through to Windows+0 for the first 10 presets, with Windows+1 representing preset number 1 and Windows+0 representing preset number 10. To access presets 11 through to 20, press the Leasey key followed by ALT+1 through to ALT+0. Simply press any one of the preset keystrokes to begin playing the assigned station. You will hear the announcement, “Connecting to”, followed by the station name. Those keystrokes have been standard Leasey practice for a long time.

Scheduled Radio Recordings.

Leasey Media Centre can record radio stations to 128K, 192K, 320K MP3 or Wav files.

There are some particular advantages when recording stations with Leasey Media Centre.

  1. You do not need to listen to the station while the recording is ongoing.
  2. You can listen to another station while the recording is being made at the same time.
  3. When you restart the computer, assuming the Check Box to keep Leasey Media Centre running in the System Tray is checked, the recording will still take place. You do not need to have opened the application first.
  4. If the stream is disconnected mid-broadcast, Leasey Media Centre will check periodically during the scheduled time to see if it can be recovered. If so, the recording will continue in a separate file.

Scheduled recordings are based on stations in your favourites list. If you want to schedule a station, first add it to favourites.

To create or review schedules, activate the Scheduled Recordings button in the Radio area, or press Control+Shift+R from anywhere within the application.

The Scheduled Recordings dialog contains:

Activate the Add button to create a new schedule.

The Add Schedule dialog contains:

The start date must be entered in the format of Year dash Month dash Date. For example, a date might be:

The time is entered using the Hour, Minute, and AM or PM combo boxes. This avoids the need to type 24 hour times.

Complete the fields as necessary by pressing the Tab key to move through them.

When the OK button is activated, focus returns to the list of scheduled recordings.

This gives you the opportunity of viewing which programmes are scheduled to record. The station name is given together with the date, time and duration.

If you ever want to refresh your memory as to what is scheduled, just press Control+Shift+G at any time and examine the schedule list.

If a recording is in progress, Leasey will display this information, otherwise you will see it is scheduled.

Press Escape to close the dialog. Don't forget that you can delete any item by finding the programme in the schedule list, and press the Delete key. You can also edit an existing scheduled item by activating the Edit button.

When the scheduled time arrives, JAWS announces that the recording has started. When the recording finishes, JAWS announces that the scheduled recording has finished. The file is saved in the Recording folder specified in Options. It contains the station name together with the start date and time.

Podcasts.

The Podcasts area contains:

Search episodes edit field, allows you to search the displayed feed for key words in the show notes. This is an existing Leasey feature.

Episode list

Show notes edit field

Show Notes in Browser

Play episode button

Download button

Close button

Useful Podcast Keystrokes.

Control+F moves to the episode search edit field so as to search by key words in the show notes as described above.

ALT+L moves to the episode list.

Enter on a podcast feed retrieves episodes for that feed.

Enter on an episode plays it.

Escape clears the episode list and returns focus to the podcast feed list.

Escape should never close Leasey Media Centre.

ALT+B renders the show notes in a browser. Many show notes contain links and this is the best way of handling that situation.

ALT+Y searches the iTunes directory.

ALT+D deletes the selected podcast feed. You can also press the Delete key when focused on a feed title.

ALT+F downloads the selected episode file to your computer in a location of your choosing.

Adding Podcasts from the Directory.

Activate the Search Directory button by pressing Tab to it and then press Enter or Space. You can press ALT+Y.

Type the name of a podcast you wish to search for and press enter.

A list of matches is displayed.

Move through the matches with the Up and Down arrow keys and press Enter on one which sounds promising.

Leasey Media Centre then retrieves a preview of the podcast.

This includes the podcast description and some sample episodes.

If it is the podcast you want, activate the Add button.

Podcast Episodes.

Press Up or Down Arrow to move through your podcast feeds.

To open one, press Enter on the feed.

The episode list is filled with available episodes.

As you move through the list, new episodes should be identified. Unlike the existing incarnation of podcasts within Leasey, you do not need to move into a separate area just to determine which episodes are new, so it is less confusing. So as you arrow up and down through the list of episodes within a feed, JAWS might say, New episode, NPR News: 05-01-2026 7AM EDT, 01 May 2026

You will also notice that as you move through the list of feeds, you will hear which feed contains new content. This is helpful so that you do not need to move into each feed to determine what is new. For example, JAWS will say, 1 New episode: NPR news now.

It might also say, 2 new episodes, Access On.

The show notes edit field follows the episode list in the tab order, so pressing Tab once from the episode list should place you in the show notes. If you wish to place these into a web browser, press ALT+B or Tab to the Show Notes in Browser button and press Enter or Space.

To stream an episode from the web, find an episode from the list and press Enter to do so.

Downloading Podcast Episodes to the Computer.

Move to an episode, press Tab to reach the Download button and press Enter or Space. You can also press ALT+F for File.

You will be asked where you want to save the file.

Specify a location by browsing to it and press Enter.

JAWS should announce that the download has started and also when it has completed.

Audio and Playlists.

The Audio and Playlists area contains:

Useful Audio and Playlist Keystrokes.

Control+O opens a local audio file.

ALT+P moves to the playlist list.

ALT+L moves to the tracks in the playlist.

Control+N creates a new playlist.

ALT+A adds one or more files to the selected playlist.

ALT+D adds a folder to the selected playlist.

Enter on a playlist starts playing it.

Enter on a track plays that track.

Delete on a track removes it from the playlist.

Creating a Playlist.

Activate New playlist, or press Control+N.

Type the playlist name and press Enter.

Activate Add files, or press ALT+A, to add one or more audio files. This will allow you to browse to the files to add.

If you wish to add an entire folder, press ALT+D or activate the Add Folder button.

The tracks are shown in the Tracks list.

Alternatively, find the file using File Explorer, copy it to the clipboard, focus back on the Playlist Viewer and press Control+V.

Managing Track Order.

Move to a track in the Tracks list.

Activate Move up or Move down; ALT+U or ALT+D.

JAWS should confirm where the track has moved, for example:

The Playlist order combo box allows you to choose:

Sequential plays the playlist in the displayed order.

Shuffle plays the items in a random order.

Repeat begins the playlist content again when it reaches the end.

Leasey Media Player.

The Leasey Media Player is the new player window used by the Media Centre when Leasey Media Player is selected, or when playing local files, playlists and podcasts.

The player contains:

Leasey Media Player Keystrokes.

Control+Space plays or pauses.

Up Arrow raises the volume by the configured amount, specified in Options.

Down Arrow lowers the volume by the configured amount, specified in Options.

When focus is on the volume slider, Up Arrow increases by one percent and Down Arrow decreases by one percent.

ALT+M mutes or unmutes.

Control+R starts recording the current radio station. If a recording is already running, Control+R stops it. The recording is saved in the folder you chose under Options.

Left Arrow skips back by the selected skip amount.

Right Arrow skips forward by the selected skip amount.

Page Up moves to the previous track when a playlist is active.

Page Down moves to the next track when a playlist is active.

Control+Left Arrow moves to the previous chapter when chapter marks exist.

Control+Right Arrow moves to the next chapter when chapter marks exist.

X moves back to the start of the file.

Numbers 1 through to 9 move to 10 percent through to 90 percent of the file, if the length is known. This also applies to podcast which are streaming.

ALT+Shift+T speaks elapsed time.

Control+Shift+T speaks remaining time.

Control+J opens Jump to Time.

One thing you will notice. The number of controls in the audio player differs depending upon the environment. For example, in radio, we do not have the speed control because you cannot vary the speed of playback for a live broadcast. So there is no sense in having it there.

Manual Radio Recording.

When you are listening to radio using the Leasey Media Player, the player contains Record and Stop Recording buttons. You can also press Control+R to start or stop recording.

Recordings are saved as MP3 or Wav files in the Recording folder specified in Options. You are not asked for a file name each time. Leasey Media Centre creates a file name using the station name and the date and time.

JAWS announces when recording starts. When recording is stopped, JAWS announces that the recording has been saved.

Jump to Time.

Press Control+J in the Leasey Media Player.

Type the time to move to.

For example:

This means 12 minutes and 30 seconds.

You can also type hours, minutes and seconds if necessary, such as:

This means 1 hour, 5 minutes and 20 seconds.

Playback Speed.

The Speed combo box changes playback speed.

This is especially useful for podcasts and audio books.

Chapter Marks.

Some podcast files contain chapter marks.

When a local file contains chapter marks, the player title includes the words:

Use Control+Left Arrow and Control+Right Arrow to move through the chapters.

Saved Positions.

Saved positions are file specific.

This is useful for audio books or long recordings.

When a local file is paused, stopped or closed, the current position is saved.

If you open the same file later, you can return to the saved position.

Press ALT+Windows+K globally to resume the saved position, if you have not changed the shortcut in Options.

Inside the player, Control+K also resumes the saved position.

If the file has finished playing, the saved position is reset to the start.

Bookmarks.

Bookmarks are also file specific.

They are intended for important points in a long recording or audio book.

Control+B sets a bookmark.

You will be asked for a bookmark name.

Control+G opens the list of bookmarks and lets you move to one.

You can also activate the Bookmarks button.

Control+D opens the bookmark list so you can delete one.

When you are in the bookmark list, pressing Delete also removes the selected bookmark.

Determining What Is Playing.

To hear the song title and artist, or file title such as a podcast, press Insert+T, the standard keystroke to read the window title with JAWS. The window title has been kept free of content apart from the name of the item which is playing. So it is not going to state the name of the audio player.

Global Player Hotkeys.

Open Options with Control+Comma and activate the Global Hotkeys button.

These shortcuts work while Leasey Media Centre is running, even if focus is in another application.

The default global player hotkeys include:

Please note that global shortcut keys may need adjustment if they conflict with other software.

You can change these keystrokes if you prefer. The process for adjusting them is very simple. The dialog contains a list of edit fields. Press Tab to reach each one in turn. Each edit field is populated with the global keystroke until you change this. It is simply a matter of editing or replacing the text.

Examples of hot keys I have configured look like this:

It is very difficult to get this wrong. Most similar applications expect you to press the keystroke you want. However this often causes conflicts particularly for JAWS.

If you wish to remove a global hot key entirely, remove all the text by pressing Backspace so that the field is empty.

At the end of the dialog is a button, Restore to Defaults.

Audio Tools, Leasey Key then A.

Audio Sound Source Properties.

Advanced users of Windows may wish to jump directly into the properties so as to manipulate various sound sources. In order to do this, from the LeaseyAudio menu select "Sound Card Settings". This will move directly into the Windows dialog box for controlling such devices, whereupon adjustments to levels and other characteristics of input and output for each device can be made.

Adjust the Volume of Individual Running Applications.

You may wish to adjust the individual volume of applications which are in use, such as JAWS for Windows or particularly the sound coming from your web browser. Select the option in the audio menu, "Volume Settings". Press the Tab key to move through all running applications and the Up and Down Arrow keys to change their volume. Press ALT+F4 to exit.

LeaseyNotes.

You do not need to open a word processor to create a LeaseyNote. From any application, press the Leasey Key followed by alt+windows+"N".

LeaseyNotes is a simple notes manager designed for keyboard use and for clear speech with JAWS. Very careful thought has gone into both the design of the application and particularly confirmation messages given by JAWS. Unlike similar notetaking applications, there should be no room for doubt as to what has happened when a command is actioned.

The main window contains five main areas, followed by field copy buttons when the selected note has advanced fields:

Press Tab to move from one area to another.

The Notes tree view is first. This contains categories and notes.

Categories can contain notes, and they can also contain other categories.

LeaseyNotes remembers whether each category was opened or closed, so the tree view should return to the same opened or closed state the next time the application starts.

LeaseyNotes also remembers the last note or category you used. When the application starts, focus returns to that item in the Notes tree view.

If that item is inside a closed category, LeaseyNotes opens the necessary parent category so the item can receive focus.

If the item has been deleted, LeaseyNotes falls back to the first visible item in the tree.

Because it is a standard tree view control, JAWS announces whether a category is opened or closed. If JAWS says "Closed", press the Right Arrow key to expand a category. Press the Left Arrow key to close. You may need to press Left Arrow twice depending upon where you are located in the tree view.

Next is the Note text edit field, where you type or read the text of the selected note.

The Attachments list shows files attached to the selected note if there are any.

The Links list shows web pages attached to the selected note if there are any.

The Related notes list shows other notes linked to the selected note.

If the selected note has advanced fields, Copy buttons for those fields appear after the Related notes list.

Moving Around LeaseyNotes.

Press Tab to move through the main areas in this order:

Press Escape from the Note text edit field to save the current note text and return to the Notes tree view.

Press Escape from the Attachments list, Links list, or Related notes list to return to the Notes tree view.

This is useful because most note management commands begin from the tree view.

No extra JAWS confirmation is spoken when Escape is pressed, because moving focus back to the tree already gives enough context.

Creating a Note.

Press Control+N.

Type the note title and press Enter.

If focus is on an expanded category, the new note is created inside that category.

JAWS should announce:

Adding note to category followed by the category name.

Unlike similar notetaking applications, LeaseyNotes will not add a note to the end of a category or the tree view itself. It respects the focused position.

For example, if you have 20 notes in a category, and you wish to add the note to position 7, place focus on note 6. The new note is added immediately below the sixth note.

If you do want to add a note to the end of the category, be sure the focus is on the final item.

This saves a great deal of time in terms of sorting notes after they are created.

If focus is on a closed category, the new note is created immediately after that category at the same level.

If focus is on a note inside a category, the new note is created immediately after the focused note in the same category.

If focus is on a top-level note or category, the new note is created immediately after the focused item at the top level.

After the note is created, the new note remains selected in the Notes tree view and focus moves to the Note text edit field so you can begin writing.

JAWS should announce:

Note added: followed by the note title.

Creating a Category.

Press Control+Shift+N.

Type the category name and press Enter.

If focus is on an expanded category, the new category is created there.

If focus is on a closed category, the new category is created immediately after that category at the same level.

If focus is on an item inside an existing category, the new category is created immediately after the focused item in that same category.

If focus is on a top-level item, the new category is created immediately after the focused item at the top level.

After the category is created, focus remains in the Notes tree view on the new category.

JAWS should announce:

Category added: followed by the category name.

Writing and Saving Notes.

Move to a note in the Notes tree view.

Press Tab to move to the Note text edit field.

Type or edit the note.

Notes are saved automatically when you move to another note, press Escape from the Note text edit field, or close LeaseyNotes.

You can also press Control+S to save manually.

There is no LeaseyNotes character limit for the main note text. It uses a standard Windows edit control, so the practical limit is set by Windows and available memory rather than by LeaseyNotes.

When saved manually, JAWS should announce:

Notes saved

Renaming Notes and Categories.

Move to the note or category in the Notes tree view.

Press F2.

Type the new name and press Enter.

JAWS should announce the old and new names.

For example:

Renamed May 1 to Food Log May 1

Deleting Notes and Categories.

Move to the note or category in the Notes tree view.

Press Delete.

You will be asked to confirm the deletion.

If you delete a category, everything inside that category is also deleted.

When deletion is complete, JAWS should announce:

Deleted followed by the note or category name.

Copying a Note.

Move to a note in the Notes tree view.

Press Control+C.

This copies the entire text of the selected note to the clipboard.

This command is intended for use from the Notes tree view. When you are in the Note text edit field, Control+C behaves as a normal copy command for selected text.

JAWS should announce:

Copied note followed by the note title.

Moving Notes and Categories.

Move to an item in the Notes tree view.

Press ALT+U to move it up.

Press ALT+D to move it down.

JAWS should announce where the item has moved.

For example:

Moving May 2 to below May 1

If the item cannot move any further, JAWS should announce:

Cannot move any further

Sorting a Category.

Move to the category in the Notes tree view.

Press Control+Alt+S.

The immediate items in that category are sorted alphabetically.

If focus is on a note inside a category, Control+Alt+S sorts that parent category.

JAWS should announce:

Sorted followed by the category name and alphabetically.

For example:

Sorted Food Logs alphabetically

Moving a Note or Category to Another Category.

Move to the note or category in the Notes tree view.

Press Control+M.

A category list is displayed.

Choose the category and press Enter.

There is also a Top level option if you want the item moved out of a category.

JAWS should announce:

Moved followed by the item name and the destination category.

For example:

Moved May 2 to Food Logs

Finding Text in the Current Note.

Press Control+F.

Type the text to find and press Enter.

If the text is found, focus moves to the Note text edit field and the found text is selected.

JAWS should announce the line where the result was found.

For example:

Found on line 3: Breakfast, coffee and toast.

This is deliberately more useful than simply saying Found.

It should give enough context to know whether you have found the correct occurrence.

If the line is very long, LeaseyNotes shortens the spoken message so JAWS does not read too much text.

Finding the Next or Previous Occurrence.

After you have searched for text:

Again, JAWS should announce the line where the result was found.

For example:

Found on line 7: Lunch, vegetable soup and an apple.

If no match is found, JAWS should announce:

Text not found

If you press F3 before entering any find text, JAWS should announce:

Find text is empty

Find and Replace in the Current Note.

Press Control+H.

Type the text to find.

Press Tab.

Type the replacement text.

Press Enter.

LeaseyNotes replaces all occurrences in the current note.

JAWS should announce how many occurrences were replaced.

For example:

Replaced 3 occurrences

Searching Across All Notes.

Press Control+Shift+F.

Type the text to search for and press Enter.

The Search All Notes dialog also contains check boxes so you can narrow the search. This is optional.

The choices are:

By default, all of these are checked so LeaseyNotes searches everything. Uncheck the items you wish to exclude.

If inadvertently you make a mistake and uncheck everything, LeaseyNotes searches everything.

If matching notes are found, a Search Results list is displayed.

Move through the list with Up and Down Arrow. You will hear the details of the note and, if it belongs to a category, the name of the category.

Press Enter on a result to open that note.

When the note opens, LeaseyNotes also finds the matching text in the Note text edit field.

JAWS should announce the line containing the found text, as described above.

If the match was found in something other than the note text, such as a note title, category name, attachment name, link, or advanced field, the result tells you what matched.

If the search result is not the occurrence you wanted, press F3 to find the next matching occurrence in that note.

Press Shift+F3 to move to the previous occurrence.

If no notes match, JAWS should announce:

No matching notes

Changing Text Case.

Move to the Note text edit field.

Press Control+U for upper case.

Press Control+L for lower case.

Press Control+T for title case.

If text is selected, only the selected text is changed.

If no text is selected, the whole note is changed.

JAWS should announce what has happened.

For example:

Upper case applied to selection

Lower case applied to note

Title case applied to note

Word Count.

Move to a note or its Note text edit field.

Press Control+Shift+W.

JAWS should announce the number of words and characters in the current note.

For example:

Note has 245 words, 1320 characters

Attaching a File to a Note.

Move to the note.

Press Control+Shift+A.

Choose the file in the standard Windows file dialog.

The file is copied into the LeaseyNotes attachments folder and appears in the Attachments list.

JAWS should announce:

Attached followed by the file name.

Opening an Attachment.

Move to the Attachments list.

Select the attachment.

Press Enter.

You can also press Control+O.

LeaseyNotes asks Windows to open the file using the default application for that file type.

For example, a Word document should open in Microsoft Word.

JAWS should announce:

Opened followed by the file name.

Opening the Attachment Folder.

Press Control+Shift+O.

If an attachment is selected, the folder containing that attachment is opened.

If no attachment is selected but a note is selected, the attachment folder for that note is opened.

JAWS should announce:

Attachment folder opened

Move to the note.

Press Control+Shift+L.

You are asked for two items:

The title is the friendly name which appears in the Links list.

The web address is the actual page address.

If you type an address such as:

JAWS should announce:

Link added: followed by the link title.

Move to the Links list.

Select the link.

Press Enter.

LeaseyNotes asks Windows to open the address in the default web browser.

JAWS should announce:

Opened link: followed by the link title.

Move to the Links list.

Select the link.

Press F2.

You can change either the friendly title or the web address.

JAWS should announce the old and new link titles.

For example:

Renamed link Victorian street lamps to Street lamp reference

Move to the Links list.

Select the link.

Press Delete.

You will be asked to confirm the deletion.

JAWS should announce:

Deleted link followed by the link title.

Move to the Links list.

Select the link.

Press Control+C.

JAWS should announce:

Copied link address

Moving Directly to Main Areas.

LeaseyNotes has direct focus commands for the main areas of the window.

Press Control+Alt+N to move to the Notes tree view.

Press Control+Alt+E to move to the Note text edit field.

Press Control+Alt+A to move to the Attachments list.

Press Control+Alt+L to move to the Links list.

Press Control+Alt+R to move to the Related notes list.

These commands are intended to reduce the amount of tabbing needed during daily use.

Field copy buttons do not have fixed shortcut keys because their names and number depend on the selected note.

If a note has fields, reach those buttons by pressing Tab after the Related notes list.

To reiterate, to quickly move to fields, press Control+Alt+R followed by Tab.

JAWS should announce a short confirmation such as:

When focus moves to the Attachments, Links, or Related notes list, JAWS should first speak the native control label and list box information.

LeaseyNotes then gives a short delayed count through Accessible Output, such as:

Exporting Notes.

LeaseyNotes can export a single note, a category, or all notes to one file.

This is particularly useful for examples such as food logs, where several daily notes may need to be sent together.

To export the selected note or category:

To export all notes:

The exported file includes headings for categories and notes.

If a note has attachments, the attachment names and paths are included.

If a note has links, the link titles and web addresses are included.

If a note has related notes, their note titles are included.

If a note has advanced fields, those fields are included under an Advanced fields heading.

JAWS should announce:

Exported to followed by the file name.

Advanced Note Fields.

This is designed for notes where the information is best kept in separate named blocks.

For example, you may want fields called:

Press Control+Shift+D to open Advanced Note.

The Advanced Note window contains:

If the note already has fields, the window also contains:

Add creates a new named field.

Rename changes the field name.

Delete removes the selected field.

When you move to a field in the Fields list, its text appears in the Field text edit field.

Type or edit the text there.

Copy Field copies only the text from the selected field.

You can also press Control+C from the Fields list to copy the selected field.

You can press Delete from the Fields list to delete the selected field.

Copy All copies all fields as one block, with each field name followed by its text.

This is useful if you want to paste structured material into an email message.

If a note has no fields, the Field text edit field and the field action buttons are hidden until you add the first field.

There is no LeaseyNotes character limit for field text. It uses a standard Windows edit control, so the practical limit is set by Windows and available memory rather than by LeaseyNotes.

Suggested Workflow For Adding Fields.

  1. Locate the note of interest.
  2. Press Control+Shift+D. The Advanced Note dialog box opens.
  3. Press Enter or Space on the Add button.
  4. Type the name for the field, such as Subject, and press Enter.
  5. Type the text for the field, such as, Thank you for purchasing this product. Do not press Enter. Fields can contain multiple lines. So press Tab to reach the Close button and press Enter or Space. return to the tree view since
  6. If you wish to add another field, activate the Add button
  7. Repeat the process for adding the field name and field text.
  8. If at that point you have completed adding fields, press Escape. The fields are automatically saved.

Suggested Workflow for Copying Field Information.

While it is true that you can copy individual field components from the Advanced Note list, there is an easier way.

  1. Find the note of interest.
  2. Press Control+Alt+R for Related Notes. This is the closest control we can move to prior to reaching the fields.
  3. Press Tab through the fields. Each field is denoted by a button, such as, Copy Subject.
  4. Press Enter or Space on the button you wish to copy. JAWS announces that the Subject field has been copied.

Assigning a Note to More Than One Category.

Move to the note.

Press Control+Shift+M.

The dialog is called Assign to Category.

Choose or type the category and press Enter.

The note is not copied.

It is the same note appearing in another category.

If you edit it from any category, the same underlying note is changed.

JAWS should announce:

Adding note to category followed by the category name.

Assigned followed by the note title and category name.

If the note is already in that category, JAWS should say so.

Removing a Note from a Category.

If a note has been assigned to more than one category, the additional category entry is shown in the tree with the word assigned after the note title.

This tells you that the tree item is another category connection to the same note, not a separate note.

When focus is on an assigned note, pressing Delete removes that category connection.

The original note is not deleted.

You can also press Alt+R.

If focus is on a normal note inside a category, Alt+R moves that note out of the category and places it at the top level.

JAWS should announce:

Removed followed by the note title and category name.

Or, for a normal note moved out of a category:

Moved followed by the note title, top level, and the category name.

Related Notes lets one note point to another note.

This is useful for things like writing projects, research boards, maps, or crime-board style connections.

The main LeaseyNotes window contains a Related notes list.

Move to this list with Tab, or press Control+Alt+R.

Arrow through the related notes and press Enter to open the selected note.

Press Alt+Left Arrow to return to the previous note after opening a related note.

To manage related notes press Control+Shift+R.

Use Add to choose another note to relate to this one.

Use Remove or Delete to remove the selected related note.

Press Enter on a related note to open it.

When a related note is opened, the Notes tree view changes to that note and the Note text edit field is loaded.

Quick Note.

For a very fast note, press the Leasey Key followed by Control+Windows+N. If you have spontaneous thoughts, or you need to take down something quickly, this is the tool for you. While LeaseyNotes is excellent at what it does, you do need to think about where the note is going to be located.

Pressing this keystroke opens LeaseyNotes in a minimal Quick Note window.

It contains:

Type the note, press Tab to reach the OK button and press Enter or Space.

The note is saved in a category called Inbox.

If Inbox does not already exist, LeaseyNotes creates it.

The note title is the date and time in a friendly form, such as:

JAWS should announce:

Quick note saved to Inbox followed by the note title.

At your leisure, you can return to the note in the Inbox and do a number of things: