Markdown With Leasey.

Introduction.

Markdown is a lightweight markup text language that can be used to add formatting elements to documents and other text areas. Created by John Gruber in 2004, Markdown is now one of the world's most popular markup languages.

When you create a Markdown formatted file, you add syntax to the document which represents the attributes or formatting you wish to create. There are special codes for applying bold text, headings, even tables. However, it is not always possible to remember the syntax or spacing to use in order to gain the effect you want. The precision of how Markdown is applied is essential so that when it is converted to an alternative format, such as a Word document, the conversion tool interprets it correctly and can apply the necessary formatting.

Markdown can be used when composing web sites, Microsoft Word documents and even podcast Show Notes in some cases. There are also other tools to create journals which support Markdown. To repeat, it is widely used and accepted.

Why would you want to create a Markdown document rather than use a tool such as Microsoft Word? Markdown is cross-platform. If you create a Markdown document, then it is likely it will be accepted whichever application you try to import it into. Admittedly in some cases, a small amount of adaptation is sometimes required, but it does make sharing documents much more viable. It is also completely accessible since you can read the necessary code with your screen-reader. Once you become familiar with reviewing it, you will know that the required formatting has been applied and you can ensure the end result will be of a good standard.

How Does Leasey Help With Markdown?

Leasey gives you three ways to assist with composing Markdown text. Before these are described, Leasey contains what is referred to as the Markdown key. This is similar to the Leasey key in operation. You press a key on the keyboard, release it, and then press a number or letter key. The Markdown key is the ALT key and the Leasey key pressed together.

The ways of accessing Leasey Markdown functions are:

1. Through a menu system. Press the Markdown key then M. All the items described in this Chapter can be found on the Markdown menu.
2. Through shortcut keys. While using the Markdown menu is good, we hope you will over time begin to use the shortcut keys. Using these keys mean that the flow of writing is not interrupted.
3. Through BrailleEas. When using BrailleEas on a Braille display, described in its own Chapter of this documentation, you can enter abbreviations into BrailleEas to carry out the formatting. This is one of the features which really makes Markdown stand out; the fact that, without using any complex key sequences, you can create some very well formatted documents with not too much effort.

Viewing The End Result.

Creating a beautifully formatted document using Markdown can be done as described above, but how can you as a blind person check the finished result to ensure it is what you intend? One possible method if you have Microsoft Word is to use a Plugin called Writage which can be found at writage.com. This is a tool which can be easily installed once downloaded. Once done, and you open a document with an >MD extension, Word interprets such a file as a Markdown document and Writage will convert it for you as if you had created it in Microsoft word. You ought then to be able to use any technique within JAWS to verify formatting has been correctly applied. Pressing Insert+F (or Caps Lock+F if using the JAWS laptop layout) is a good starting point.

A Markdown document can be created and saved using any text editor. Notepad or EdSharp would be good examples of text editors with no frills which can be used to compose a Markdown compatible file. You do not need anything special in order to create or save it. You save the file with its name and an .MD extension. The title of this document for example might be Leasey.MD. You would type that into your text editor's "Save As" Dialog Box.

How To Apply Formatting.

You can use any of the Leasey Markdown functions before you type text or you can apply it to text you have already composed. In order to do the latter, you will need to select it first. For example, if your document contained the sentence "This is my first Markdown document", and you wanted to embolden the word "First", you would select that word and then apply the command for bold. You either do that through the Markdown menu, (Markdown Key then M), through one of the provided shortcut keys, or using an abbreviation typed into BrailleEas. Don't forget that the Markdown key is Leasey Key together with ALT. Think alternative Leasey commands.

Creating a New Paragraph.

To create a new paragraph in a Markdown document, just press Enter twice.

The Markdown Menu.

Press the Markdown Key then M.

BrailleEas Abbreviation: menu.

This contains a list of all the items you can apply in Markdown. Use first letter navigation or the Up or Down Arrow keys to find the item you want. Then press Enter. The Markdown menu also contains a reminder of the shortcut keys in the hope you will over time remember them for more efficient use.

Headings.

Press the Markdown key then numbers 1 through to 6.

BrailleEas Abbreviation: headinga through to headingf, where the word heading followed by letter A represents heading 1.

To create a new heading, just activate this item before the text for the heading. For example, press Markdown key then 1 followed by the text "This Is My Heading". Then press Enter twice to create a new paragraph which terminates the heading.

Bold.

Press the Markdown key then B before and after the text to be emboldened.

BrailleEas Abbreviation: bold.

If text is selected, the necessary characters to indicate emboldened text are placed before and after the selection.

Italics.

Press the Markdown key then I before and after the text to be italicised.

BrailleEas Abbreviation: italic.

If text is selected, the necessary characters to indicate italicised text are placed before and after the selection.

Bold and Italics.

Press the Markdown key then L before and after the text to be italicised.

BrailleEas Abbreviation: both.

If text is selected, the necessary characters to indicate bold and italicised text are placed before and after the selection.

Block Quote.

Press the Markdown key then Q before the text to be included in the block quote. Pressing Enter twice terminates this.

BrailleEas Abbreviation: quote.

If text is selected, the necessary character to indicate a block quote is placed at the start of the text to be included in the quotation.

Creating a Link.

Press the Markdown key then K.

BrailleEas Abbreviation: link.

Selecting this option asks for two pieces of information.

You are first asked for the full URL (or web page address) of the Link you wish to create. You should type it and press Enter to move to the next stage. A good example would be http://www.mydomain.com/test.

Leasey Tip: If the URL of the page you wish to point to is a long complicated one, it may be an idea to ensure this is on the windows Clipboard first, prior to invoking this item. In that way, you can paste the URL into the first Edit Field when prompted.

The next question asks for the text you would like to be placed on the Link. A good example might be, "Please activate this link to contact me". Type this and press Enter. The text is inserted surrounded by the necessary Markdown code.

Note that if text was selected prior to invoking this option, the second screen will not appear, since the selected text is assumed to be the link title.

Numbered or Ordered List.

BrailleEas Abbreviation: ordered.

There are two ways of approaching the creation of a numbered list.

Method 1.

1. Prior to creating the numbered list, first activate the item by pressing the Markdown key then O.
2. Item 1 is created with a number at the start.
3. Type the text for item 1 and press Enter.
4. The moment you press Enter, item 2 is created. You do not need to enter the new numbered value for this and any subsequent paragraph which requires it.
5. When you reach the final item in the list, do not press Enter. Use the same command again so as to terminate the list, such as Markdown key then O. You can then proceed by pressing Enter twice so as to create a new paragraph.

Method 2.

1. Write each item first but do not include the actual numbers for the text to be included in the list. Be sure to separate each item with a line break by pressing Enter.
2. Using any text selection method of your choosing, select all of the text you have just written.
3. Use the item to create a numbered or ordered list, such as the Markdown key then O.
4. Leasey works through all of the items within the selection and preceeds each of them with a number.

Bulleted or Unordered List.

BrailleEas Abbreviation: unordered.

A bulleted list means that a bullet will be placed at the start of each list item. A numbered list means that the figures 1, 2, 3, etc, will be placed at the start of each list item. You will observe in our documentation that we always use numbered lists where step-by-step examples are given, but bulleted lists when highlighting a series of points to consider where you should not follow a particular routine.

Go ahead and select a bulleted or numbered list option from the Markdown menu. Alternatively, press the Markdown key then U for an unordered list, a bulleted list, or Markdown key then O for an ordered list, which is a numbered list. You are asked for the first item to be placed on the list. Type it in and press Enter.

The text is inserted surrounded by the necessary Markdown code.

Press the Markdown menu key, Markdown key then M. Rather than taking you back into the list of options with which you will already be familiar, Leasey knows that you are in the middle of creating a list, so she just asks you for the next item to be placed on it. Type it in and press Enter. Repeat the process as many times as necessary so as to complete your list.

You will notice each time you are asked for the next list item, you also hear this prompt: "Please Type the next Item of the Numbered List, then press Enter. To end the list, type the word, end."

So, as instructed, when you wish to end the list, into the Edit Field type the word, "end", and press Enter. Your list is now created and Leasey has terminated it with the necessary tag.

You could encounter a situation where you have already composed text and you would like it to be formatted as a list. In that case you should work through the following procedure:

1. Select the line of the prepared text you would like to use as the first list item.
2. Press the Markdown menu key and choose one of the list types. Press Enter to select. Don't forget you can press the Markdown Key then U for an unordered list or O for an ordered list.
3. When asked for the first list item, type the word, "text", instead. Indeed Leasey prompts you to do this if you wish. Press Enter.
4. You should now see that the text which had been previously selected is now surrounded with Markdown code.
5. Go ahead and select the next line for the list.
6. Press the Markdown menu keystroke again. Review the text in the Edit Field, which should consist of the text you had previously selected, then press Enter. Repeat as many times as necessary.
7. When you wish to terminate the list, press the Markdown menu keystroke once more, and this time, type the word, "end", then press Enter.

Tables.

Press the Markdown key then T to create a new table.

BrailleEas Abbreviation: table.

Whether Microsoft Word or an alternative text editor is used, the creation of tables is one of the more difficult word processing tasks. Using Leasey and Markdown it should be super easy!

Prior to creating your table, you may like to give some thought as to how many columns will be required for it. The number of rows does not matter as much but you will want to think about the number of columns. If you have a table recording a person's name and the number of points in a match that person has obtained, this would be a three column table: First Name, Last Name and Total.

1. Start the table creation process from the Markdown menu or by pressing the Markdown key then T.
2. You are guided through the process of creating the table. Type the first column title, such as First Name, then press Enter.
3. When you are ready to type the next column header, press the Markdown key then T again. Type it in, such as Last Name, then press Enter.
4. When you are ready to type the next column header, press the Markdown key then T again. Type it in, such as Total, then press Enter.
5. Now we need to tell Leasey that we have finished entering column titles. Press the Markdown key then T again, but this time, type the word Stop, then press Enter.
6. It is now necessary to type the cell data for each of the columns. Press the Markdown key then T. JAWS announces the title of the first column so as to remind you of what it is you are meant to be typing in this space. Type the person's first name, such as Joe, then press Enter.
7. Press the Markdown key then T again, type the word Johnson, and press Enter. If you forget which row and column you are in, press the Markdown key then C. BrailleEas Abbreviation: column. You will hear the column number together with the column title.
8. Press the Markdown key then T again, type the number 200 to represent the total, and press Enter. If you forget which row and column you are in, press the Markdown key then C. BrailleEas Abbreviation: column. You will hear the column number together with the column title.
9. Now we will move to the next row of the table. Press the Markdown key then T again. Before being prompted for the next item to be placed in the First Name column, JAWS announces that you are starting a new row of the table.
10. Repeat as necessary until all of the information in the table is entered.
11. To complete the table, press the Markdown key then T a final time. On this occasion, type the word End, and press Enter. This is a very important step so that the table can be concluded.

Footnotes.

Press the Markdown key then `F.

BrailleEas Abbreviation: foot.

Footnotes are notes that are placed at the end of a document and used to reference parts of the text (generally using superscript numbers). Writers use footnotes for several purposes, including citations, parenthetical information, outside sources, copyright permissions, background information, and more.

Now that you understand what footnotes are, you might be wondering: why use them? The truth is, long explanatory notes can be difficult for readers to work through (especially when they occur in the middle of a paper). Providing this information is necessary, but doing so in the main text can disrupt the flow of the writing.

There is a specific procedure within Leasey you need to follow in order to create Footnotes.

1. Write the text in the document. If the text has already been written, place the cursor at the point in the text where you wish the Footnote to appear. For example you may have this sentence: I use a screen-reader.
2. This is where we want the Footnote. Invoke the Leasey option for this, for example, press the Markdown key followed by F.
3. This takes you into a list of three items. Select the first option, Create Footnote, and press Enter.
4. Type the number for the Footnote. In our example, this will be achieved by typing number 1, just above the letter keys. Then press Enter. Why don't we number the items for you automatically? Simply because Footnote references do not need to be numbered. If you wanted to, you could call it, "My Wonderful Footnote Number 1", if you were so inclined. But 1 will do just fine for now.
5. Having pressed Enter, you are asked for the text to represent the Footnote. This will be placed at the end of the document. We will come to that later. Type it into the Edit Field. We will type, It is called JAWS for Windows. Then press Enter.
6. In the document, you will now see the Footnote reference number but not the text relating to the Footnote.
7. Now write this sentence: It is used to help blind people.
8. Invoke the Leasey Footnote item once more by pressing the Markdown key then F.
9. This takes you into a list of three items. Select the first option, Create Footnote, and press Enter.
10. This time, type the number 2 to represent the Footnote reference number and press Enter.
11. Type the text to represent the Footnote. We will type, like me. Then press Enter.
12. Continue to work through this procedure as necessary.
13. When you have completed the document, you need to insert all your Footnote explanations. Be sure that the cursor is at the end of the document. press the Markdown key then F once again.
14. This takes you into a list of three items. Select the second option, Insert Footnotes, and press Enter.
15. All your Footnote references are then entered into the document.
16. Finally, go back to the Footnotes area, Markdown key then F. This time, select the third item down, "Clear Footnotes From Leasey", and press Enter. If you do not do this, the next time you create a document containing Footnotes, the old Footnotes will be inserted into the new document together with any newer items.