LeaseyWord

LeaseyWord is an accessible word processor and document reading tool.
Its purpose is to provide a reliable writing and document searching environment with strong JAWS feedback, predictable keyboard use, bookmarks, spell checking, backups, and accessible rendering of common document formats.

To expand on this further, you can write documents in LeaseyWord. You can search for text, bookmark passages, select text and carry out many operations that could be accomplished with a basic word processing application.
However, as can be seen below, it also gives you the ability to be able to read documents in many different file formats. Where possible, the text is presented in an accessible way. Those rendered documents which have been converted can be edited and saved.

Please note: While LeaseyWord contains considerable functionality, tasks such as emboldening, underlining, and font changes are not available in this version and will not be in the official release of version 11.5.
Including such functionality would require a change in the main control area of LeaseyWord which may not be appropriate for users of Braille. There are some alternative applications available where the Braille output is not all that it could be.
This is a word processor which accomplishes many tasks with a high consideration to both speech and Braille-based output. It is meant to be fast and efficient.

Starting LeaseyWord

Press the Leasey Key followed by Windows+W.

LeaseyWord opens with a blank document.
The main editing area is a standard Windows edit field.
This is important for JAWS and Braille display behaviour.

The window title contains the current document name.
If the document has unsaved changes, an asterisk is shown after the document name.
For example:
test.txt * - Leasey Word

This means Insert+T in JAWS should tell you which document is active and whether it is modified.

Main Window

The main window contains the document text edit field.
Use this field to type, read, edit and search document text.

LeaseyWord can have more than one document open.
There are no visible document tabs for normal use, because repeated tab announcements can be distracting with JAWS.
Instead, use Control+F6 to move to the next open document.
You can also press Control+Tab.
Use Control+Shift+F6 to move to the previous open document.
You can also press Control+Shift+Tab.

JAWS should announce:

Document followed by the document name.

The status bar also shows the current line number.
This is intended as a quick visual and reviewable reference while editing or testing.

The Menu Bar allows you to access each and every option within the application.

Closing Documents

Press Control+F4 to close the current document.
You can also press Control+W.

If the document has unsaved changes, LeaseyWord asks whether you want to save it.
Yes is the default button.

Press Alt+F4 to exit LeaseyWord.
LeaseyWord checks each open document for unsaved changes.
When you have answered any save prompts, all open documents are closed.
Unlike many other text editors, LeaseyWord does not automatically reopen the previous set of documents on the next launch. This is a distinct advantage.

Creating a New Document

Press Control+N.

A new blank document is opened.

JAWS should announce:

New document

Opening a Document

Press Control+O.
Choose a document in the standard Windows Open dialog.

LeaseyWord can open:

These documents are rendered as plain text in the document edit field.
This makes them easier to read, search, copy, edit and save in an accessible way.

For plain text, log, Markdown and HTML files, Control+S can save back to the same file.
For formats such as PDF, EPUB, Word, PowerPoint and RTF, Control+S opens Save As so that the original source document is not overwritten by extracted text.

JAWS should announce:

Opened followed by the file name.

PDF and Complex Older Word Documents

LeaseyWord first tries to extract readable text locally.
For many PDF documents, this works well.

Some PDF documents are poorly structured.
Others are scanned images and contain no readable text.

If no readable text is found in a PDF, LeaseyWord says so and asks whether you want to send the PDF to ChatGPT to try to render it as accessible plain text.
This is intended primarily for scanned-image PDFs.
Older DOC documents can also be inaccessible, particularly if the text is contained in text boxes.
If LeaseyWord cannot read an older DOC file locally, it offers to send the document to ChatGPT to try to render it as accessible plain text.

Very large scanned PDFs are not sent.
As a simple guide, use this for scanned PDFs of about 40 pages or less.

If ChatGPT succeeds, the rendered text is opened as a new unsaved document in the LeaseyWord editor.
The rendered text opens as a new unsaved document with a suggested file name.
Pressing Control+S on that ChatGPT result opens Save As, so the original PDF, DOC or other source document is not overwritten.

JAWS should announce:

Sending document to ChatGPT

When the process finishes, JAWS should announce:

ChatGPT document analysis complete

If the process fails, JAWS should announce:

ChatGPT document analysis failed

Improving Reading Order with ChatGPT

Open a document.
Open the Tools menu and choose Improve Reading Order with ChatGPT.

If you open a supported file type into LeaseyWord, and if it contains readable text, there should be no difficulty in being able to work with the content of it.
However, there could be situations where LeaseyWord has failed to present the data correctly.
For example, if the document is laid out in a tabular way and the author has not created an accessible table but has instead just pressed the Tab key to denote visual column changes. This could mean that LeaseyWord does not present the data in a logical reading order.

For normal text-based documents of this kind, the above option sends the current document text to ChatGPT and asks for a clearer accessible plain text rendering.

For PDF documents and older DOC documents, LeaseyWord sends the original document file to ChatGPT so that text boxes, scanned content, and awkward layout can be analysed more directly.
For PowerPoint documents, if necessary LeaseyWord sends the original presentation file to ChatGPT so that slide content and speaker notes can be analysed more directly, although LeaseyWord will do a good job at giving you access to the content of slides with speaker notes.
The user cannot ask questions through this command.
It is only intended to improve reading order and make extracted document text easier to use with JAWS.
ChatGPT results open as a new unsaved document with a suggested file name.
Pressing Control+S on a ChatGPT result opens Save As, so the original document is not overwritten.

Very large documents are not sent.
As a simple guide, use this command for documents of about 40 pages or less.

LeaseyWord asks you to confirm before sending the text.
Yes is the default button.

JAWS should announce:

Cleaning document with ChatGPT

When complete, JAWS should announce:

ChatGPT cleanup complete

Saving a Document

Press Control+S.

If the document already has a writable file name, it is saved.
If it is a new document, or if the source format should not be overwritten, Save As is opened.

JAWS should announce:

Saved followed by the file name.

Saving As

Press Control+Shift+S.

The Save dialog supports:

Viewing HTML

If you are writing HTML, you can preview it as a rendered document.

Open the File menu.
Choose View as HTML.

LeaseyWord creates a temporary HTML preview and opens it in the default browser.
This is intended for checking how headings, links, lists, tables and other HTML elements may be presented.

JAWS should announce:

HTML preview opened

Markdown Documents

LeaseyWord edits Markdown documents as plain text.
This keeps writing and reviewing Markdown efficient with JAWS and Braille.

LeaseyWord can also use the Markdown Converter component to create rendered output.

To preview Markdown as HTML:

LeaseyWord creates a temporary HTML preview and opens it in the default browser.
This allows the user to inspect the rendered headings, lists and tables.

JAWS should announce:

Markdown preview opened

To export Markdown as HTML:

JAWS should announce:

Markdown HTML exported

To export Markdown as Word:

JAWS should announce:

Markdown Word document exported

Recent Files

Open the File menu and choose Recent Files.

A list of recent files is shown.
Choose a file and press Enter.

LeaseyWord keeps the last 10 recent files by default.
To change this, open Options with Control+Comma and change the Number of recent files setting.
The value can be set from 5 to 50.

If there are no recent files, JAWS should announce:

No recent files

Finding Text

Press Control+F.
Type the text to find and press Enter.

If the text is found, LeaseyWord selects it in the document edit field and speaks the line containing the match.

For example:

Found on line 12: Restore Leasey Settings to the Standard Location.

If the text is not found, JAWS should announce:

Text not found

Finding Next and Previous

Press F3 to find the next occurrence.
Press Shift+F3 to find the previous occurrence.

The matching text is selected and JAWS speaks the line containing the match.

Replacing Text

Press Control+H.

Type the text to find.
Tab to Replace with and type the replacement text.
Press Enter or activate Replace All.

JAWS should announce:

Replaced followed by the number of occurrences.

For example:

Replaced 3 occurrences

If the text is not found, JAWS should announce:

Text not found

Deleting Words

Press Control+Delete to delete the next word.
Press Control+Backspace to delete the previous word.

After the word is deleted, LeaseyWord announces the newly focused word.

For example:

to

If there is no word to announce, JAWS should announce:

blank

The deletion is placed into the normal edit control undo history.
Press Control+Z to undo it.
JAWS itself should report the undo action, so LeaseyWord does not add an extra Undo message.

Changing Case

Select text if you only want to change part of the document.
If no text is selected, the whole document is changed.

Press Control+U for upper case.
Press Control+L for lower case.
Press Control+T for title case.

JAWS should announce what happened.
For example:
Upper case applied to selection
Lower case applied to document
Title case applied to document

Spell Checking

Press F7.

LeaseyWord uses the LeaseySpell spelling component.

The Spell Check dialog contains:

When a misspelled word is found, JAWS should announce:

Misspelled word followed by the word and its letters.

For example:

Misspelled word receive, r e c e i v e

Move through suggestions with Up and Down Arrow.
When a suggestion is selected, LeaseyWord speaks the letters of that suggestion after a short delay.

Press Enter on a suggestion to change to that suggestion.
Press Delete to ignore the current word.
Press Control+R to read the sentence containing the current misspelled word.
Press Escape to cancel spell checking.

If no spelling errors are found, a standard message is displayed saying:

No spelling errors were found.

Word Count

Press Control+Shift+W.

JAWS should announce the number of words, characters and paragraphs in the current document.

For example:

Document has 245 words, 1320 characters, 6 paragraphs

Bookmarks

Move to the position in the document you want to mark.
Press Control+B.

Type a bookmark name and press Enter.

JAWS should announce:

Bookmark followed by the bookmark name, then set.

For example:

Bookmark Chapter 3 set

LeaseyWord stores the bookmark position, the line number, and nearby text around the bookmark.
This helps the bookmark follow the intended text if other text is inserted above it later.

Moving to a Bookmark

Press Control+G.

The Bookmarks dialog opens.
Move through the bookmarks with Up and Down Arrow.
Press Enter to move to the selected bookmark.

JAWS should announce:

Bookmark followed by the bookmark name.

If the original position no longer contains the expected text, LeaseyWord searches for the stored nearby text.
If it finds that text, it moves to the new position and updates the bookmark.
If the text cannot be found, LeaseyWord falls back to the saved line number and announces that the position is approximate.

Deleting a Bookmark

Press Control+G.
Select the bookmark.
Press Delete.

JAWS should announce:

Bookmark followed by the bookmark name, then deleted.

LeaseyPoints

LeaseyWord has full support for setting and locating LeaseyPoints rather than using the Bookmarks management tools described above.
As usual, press the Leasey key then Control+1 through to Control+0 to set LeaseyPoints 1 through to 10.
Press the Leasey key then 1 through to 0 to locate LeaseyPoints 1 through to 10.

Concluding Notes on Bookmarks

Using the Bookmarks specific to LeaseyWord is preferred over LeaseyPoints since you can give them meaningful names. You will then not forget the text associated with each bookmark.

LeaseySelect

LeaseySelect is available in this application.
Press the Leasey key then Comma to mark the start point of a selection and the Leasey key followed by full-stop or period to mark the end point.

Where Am I

Press Control+Shift+I.

LeaseyWord gives a short description of the current document position.

For example:

test.txt, line 12, 245 words, modified

If the document has no file name yet, the document name is announced as Untitled.

Where Am I also works in LeaseyWord dialogs where practical.
For example, it gives basic information in Find, Find and Replace, Spell Check, Bookmarks, Document Backups, Options and Leasey Command Centre.

Leasey Command Centre

Press Control+Shift+C.

The Leasey Command Centre is a searchable list of LeaseyWord commands.

When the dialog opens, focus is in the Command edit field.
Type part of a command name, such as find, save, spell, bookmark or options.

Press Tab to move to the Matching commands list.
Use Up and Down Arrow to review the commands.
Press Enter to carry out the selected command.

Each command in the list includes the command name and its shortcut key where one exists.

In the Leasey Command Centre, Control+Shift+I reports whether you are in the Command edit field or the Matching commands list, and gives the number of matching commands.

Document Backups

LeaseyWord keeps backups for individual saved documents.
When a saved document is saved again, LeaseyWord backs up the previous saved version before overwriting it.

To restore a document backup:

A list of backups for the current document is displayed by date and time.
Move through the list with Up and Down Arrow.
Press Enter to restore the selected backup.

LeaseyWord asks you to confirm the restore.
Yes is the default button.
Before restoring the selected backup, LeaseyWord backs up the current editor text.

If the restore succeeds, JAWS should announce:

Document backup restored

The restored text is marked as modified.
Press Control+S to save it.

Options

Press Control+Comma.

Options contains:

If Restore last cursor position is checked, LeaseyWord returns to the last known cursor position when opening a document.

The option Number of recent files has already been described.

Changing the LeaseyWord Data Location

This observes exactly the same protocol as for other Leasey applications. The Data Manager takes care of this by pressing the Leasey key then Control+Shift+B.

File Explorer Entries

The intended workflow is similar to Leasey Media Centre.
Options contains a button called:
Register File Explorer entries

When activated, this will register LeaseyWord with Windows so supported documents can be opened from File Explorer using LeaseyWord.
This adds LeaseyWord to Windows Open With choices and adds an Open with LeaseyWord entry for supported document types.

JAWS should announce:

File Explorer entries registered

Supported Formats and Known Limitations

LeaseyWord can currently open and render the following formats as plain text:

RTF support is basic.
If Microsoft Word is available, LeaseyWord asks Word to read the RTF document.
Otherwise it uses a simple fallback which may not preserve all formatting.

Older binary PowerPoint files, PPT, are not yet supported.