WordWeb.

WordWeb is a dictionary which can be downloaded to the computer. The program has a full dictionary and thesaurus for American, British, Canadian, Australian, Indian, and global English. The WordWeb program does not form part of the Leasey installer, but it can be downloaded at no cost from the organisation's website. Leasey ensures that the program is very accessible.

WordWeb can be launched by selecting it from the Windows Start Menu in the same way that you would launch any other Windows program. Note that in WordWeb's Settings dialog, (activated by pressing ALT+O then P), an option exists to start WordWeb when Windows is launched, if you wish to activate it.

One way of using WordWeb is as follows:

  1. Find a word for which you wish to know its meaning. This can be done from within any application.
  2. Copy it to the Windows Clipboard by selecting it first and then pressing Control+C. Note that in many cases, selecting the text is sufficient. However, JAWS often presents text in a virtual environment, such as when browsing web pages. Therefore, the safest option is to copy it to the Windows Clipboard.

    3. When copied, press the shortcut key for WordWeb, ALT+Control+W. This brings the WordWeb program into focus and the first definition will be announced automatically now Leasey has been installed.

  3. Press the Down Arrow key repeatedly to work through all the definitions for the word. These will be announced.
  4. You do have the option of pressing the Tab key to move through the choices. JAWS has been scripted so as to read all the information, including the series of tabbed pages available. For example, if you press the Tab key to readh the Tabbed Pages, you may find the Synonyms Tab, the Antonyms Tab, and so on.
  5. When any Tabbed Page is selected, press the Tab key once more to focus on a list of words relative to the Tabbed Page which are associated with the original word.
  6. Use the Up or Down Arrow key to move through the list. When you reach the desired word, press Enter, and again you will be automatically focused in the list of definitions.

You may like to work through the following example:

  1. In a document, type the word, "ridiculous".
  2. Select the word so it is highlighted, and then copy it to the Clipboard with Control+C.
  3. Press ALT+Control+W so as to launch WordWeb.
  4. The list of definitions is available. Use the Up and Down Arrow keys to move through (and hear) them.
  5. Press the Tab key. You will note you are focused on the Synonyms Tab. You can if necessary press Tab once more to focus upon a list of Synonyms.
  6. Press Enter on a word to review the definitions for that word.
  7. Alternatively, while on the series of Tabbed Pages, press Right Arrow. You will find that focus is now on the Antonyms Tab.
  8. If you wish, press Tab to move into this Tabbed Page. As before, locate the desired word with the Arrow keys and press Enter to explore the definitions.
  9. To close the WordWeb window, press ALT+F4. This does not exit WordWeb. You can repeat the above procedure at any time by copying a word to the Clipboard and pressing ALT+Control+W so as to browse definitions.
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