As you can imagine, the ability to command the functions of the Windows operating system using a Braille entry keyboard, usually integrated into a Braille display where the regular Windows keys are not at your disposal, is not easy. While a concept built into JAWS can make this possible, it is not particularly easy to learn. Moreover, the ability to easily find text in documents is not straightforward. We hope that all of these issues are addressed in Leasey and will be described here.
BrailleEas has been tested using the Focus range of Braille displays, the Humanware Brailliant range and the BrailleSense. However, BrailleEas can be modified to work alongside almost any display with a Braille input keyboard. If you have an unsupported model, please ask us to work with you so that BrailleEas can work with your particular model.
Braille displays give you a lot of flexibility in order that you can use your favourite Windows applications while on the go. However imagine using only 8 keys to perform all those Windows functions you take for granted. The concept on the Focus line of displays is that you press various keyboard combinations to effect Windows keystrokes. So if you want to execute ALT+F4 to close a program down, you hold down dot 8 with space which says to the display "I want to do a Windows keystroke now", and you also press dot 6 which represents "ALT", and dot 1, which means "A function key is now going to be pressed". Release those keys, and press letter "D", representing 4. Furthermore, if using the BrailleSense connected to your computer, it is completely impossible to control all Windows functions or screen-reading commands using the Braille entry keyboard alone. This is likely to be the case with other models of display.
Leasey makes this much easier. We call this functionality BrailleEas. It gives you complete control of your device without the need to remember complex key sequences, and it also means you can do so within a matter of minutes. That is how it should be. You've purchased a sophisticated device and you want to get up and running as quickly as possible. BrailleEas allows you to do this while you get to learn the more complex Braille input keys, if that is what you wish to do.
The concept is that you press a key on the keyboard which is "Of-Sign Chord", or dots 1-2-3-5-6 with the Space Bar.
You are now in a Dialog Box entitled "Keystroke?" BrailleEas is now waiting for you to control the device with an appropriate command.
Type a command, such as : windows D That is windows space d, and press the Enter key. When you press the Enter key, in our example this sets focus to the Windows Desktop. Now use the same procedure to run a windows application. Press Dots 1-2-3-5-6 with the Space Bar, wait for the dialog, and type windows R, that is Windows space R, and press Enter. The Run dialog box appears, into which you can type Notepad and then press the Enter key to launch it.
Please note that when you are typing instructions into the Edit Field, computer Braille is required.
Here are some other commands you may like to enter. You can of course substitute these strategies for other keyboard commands.
Control Space F4.
ALT Space F4.
Control Space Shift Space P.
Windows Space E.
ALT+Windows+RightArrow.
You can also carry out any JAWS screen-reading command. Provided you know the keyboard action to perform the command, you can enter it on the device. Here are some examples.
Insert Space F7. Brings into view a list of links on a web page.
Insert Space UpArrow. Reads the current line.
Insert Space F11. Brings into view a list of icons in the System Tray area of Windows.
It is possible to abbreviate any one of the above keystrokes. This saves a great deal of time when controlling your device, since the full word of the keyboard action does not need to be spelled out, such as Windows. The abbreviations are:
Windows equals W.
ALT equals A.
Control equals C.
Shift equals S.
I equals Insert.
Here are some examples of how you might use these abbreviations.
W Space R. Brings into view the Run dialog box.
I Space F7. Presses the keystroke Insert+F7 so as to bring into view the list of links dialog box.
Finally, Leasey-related keystrokes can be entered by substituting the Leasey key for the abbreviation, L E. Here are some examples:
LE Space Control+L. This brings into view the list of LeaseyCuts.
LE Space Control Space Semicolon. This brings into view a list of LeaseyCuts pointing to web pages.
LE Space F1. Copies text to LeaseyClip 1.
There are a small number of utilities built into Leasey which can be accessed in this way.
If you enter the word "Start", the Leasey Start Menu appears. Please refer to the section of this documentation relating to the Leasey Start Menu.
If you type the word "AddStart" into BrailleEas, the focused application will be added to the Leasey Start Menu.
BrailleEas also contains a number of commands specifically for use with Markdown. Please see the relevant section of this documentation in relation to using Markdown to create text documents.
Now we have outlined the basic principles of using BrailleEas for BrailleSense, we will go onto describing how it can become more sophisticated and how you can make it do tricks.
The above discussion is all very well if you are content to type out the various keystrokes in full, but this can be a little time consuming. However BrailleEas gets a little better, because you can customise your own shortcuts and abbreviations to carry out a number of tasks.
This is done by launching BrailleEas using dots 1-2-3-5-6 with the Space Bar and typing the word, braille, then press Enter. This opens up a file in notepad, a simple text editor. We have provided a sample file for you. You can delete or change any entry in this file, and we encourage you to create your own entries so the device will do what you want it to do with the minimum of effort.
The concept is that you specify the abbreviation you would like to type, then write an equals sign, and follow it up with the action you would like to carry out as a result.
Below, you will find contents of the sample file provided, and we will go through it with you here so that you can see some of the actions which are possible. It will also teach you how this file should be constructed so you can create your own abbreviations and shortcuts.
Conventional windows keystrokes.
desk=windows+d
run=Windows+R
close=alt+f4
What does this all mean? Simply this. If you add such an entry to the Elegance file, in the future you can just type the abbreviation to carry out the task. You do not even need to press Enter so as to terminate the special mode. In the above examples, if you pressed dots 1-2-3-5-6 with the Space Bar, then the term Desk, you would automatically be focused on the Windows desktop. If you pressed dots 1-2-3-5-6 with Space, and typed the word Run, the Windows Run dialog box would appear.
Let us now look at some other examples.
JAWS keystrokes
sp=Control+NumPad5
If you used this abbreviation, pressing dots 1-2-3-5-6 and Space Bar, followed by the characters SP, would cause JAWS to read out the current paragraph. The default command for that on an display device by the way is LEFT SHIFT+RIGHT SHIFT+DOTS 2-3-5-6-7-8, so it's quicker and easier to do it this way.
links=insert+f7
If you used this abbreviation, pressing dots 1-2-3-5-6 and Space Bar, followed by the word Links would cause the list of links dialog box to appear.
For the TWBlue Twitter client
rt=alt+windows+rightarrow
lt=alt+windows+leftarrow
Whenever you press Of-Sign Chord followed by RT, you would advance to the next buffer in a Twitter application, such as TWBlue.
It is even possible to run specific files if you care to create abbreviations for them.
For ElNotes
ElNotes=C:\Program Files (x86)\Elita Group\ElNotes\ElNotes.exe
This means whenever you type Of-Sign Chord followed by the word ElNotes, the ElNotes application will launch.
What we are doing here is specifying in our elegance.ini file the abbreviation, an equals sign, then the full path of the file to be launched.
Finally, if you have created LeaseyAbbreviations which are attached to LeaseyTexts, you can even type those through this feature. For example, if you had an abbreviation assigned to the characters SIG, this may type your signature, such as name, company position, etc. There is a LeaseyBite audio tutorial on how to create abbreviations. In this example, you would press Of-Sign Chord, followed by the characters SIG, to reproduce the signature.
When you have added your various abbreviations, press Control+S to save the file, followed by ALT+F4 so as to close it. As soon as the file is saved, you can begin using the abbreviations.
It could be that you enter Elegance or Brilliance Mode with Of-Sign Chord, and then change your mind. For example, you may enter the mode and misspell the word Control, to represent the control key. That is not a problem. Just press Z-Chord, or Z with Space, and this mode is terminated. You will hear a sound to indicate it has been terminated.
Finally, there is a conventional Windows Desktop keyboard shortcut which allows you to enter Elegance or Brilliance mode. This is ALT+Windows+F12. This allows anyone to test this functionality using a standard Desktop keyboard if necessary.
If you prepare files in a word processor, you are going to want to find text quickly. There will always be words or phrases you need to locate. Using the display by default, you would have to press the keystroke for Control+F, (dot 8 with space and dot 3), then F, type in the phrase, press Enter, then Z chord for escape. You then should be on the correct instance of the word. If you are not, you will either need to press Shift+F4, remembering you need to locate the Braille equivalent first, or maybe F3, depending on the word processor. We can just press F with Shift 1 on the display. Type what you wish to search for, press Enter, and the cursor is on the desired line and it is spoken. If that is not the correct instance, press letter N together with Shift 1 for next.
Still in a word processor, delete the current word with D chord, or D with space. Delete the current line by pressing shift 2 with letter D. Select text by pressing dots 2 3 4 5 6, or With sign chord to mark the beginning of the selection, move to the end of the text, and then press Of sign chord or dots 1 2 4 5 6, whereupon you can manipulate it in whichever way you wish.
Finally, if you have created LeaseyTexts and associated them with LeaseyAbbreviations, you can type the series of characters and then press Shift 2 with dots 4 5 and 6. This is the Abbreviation Lookup key. This means that you can create your own Braille shorthand, reproducing even long passages of text with the minimum number of keystrokes.