Catching Up With Leasey Series 2. – Hartgen Consultancy

The practical training course for making the most of Leasey 11.5.

Leasey has had an extraordinary year. In 2025, we celebrated Leasey's tenth birthday with Catching Up with Leasey Series 1, a training course designed to help users get to grips with the powerful features introduced in Leasey 10. That course was created because Leasey had grown far beyond its original beginnings. It was no longer simply a collection of helpful tools. It had become a suite of applications, utilities and services designed to make Windows, JAWS and everyday computing more efficient, enjoyable and productive.

Since then, Leasey has moved forward again. Leasey 11.5 is not a small update. It is one of the most ambitious releases we have ever produced, bringing new applications, rewritten features, major improvements to long-established tools, and new ways of working with audio, social media, documents, notes, databases, clips, text, spell checking, ChatGPT and much more.

There is a lot to explore, and that is why Catching Up with Leasey Series 2 is being produced. This course is designed to help you understand the most important new features introduced during the Leasey 11.5 cycle and, more importantly, to learn how they can be used in real situations.

The documentation is detailed, and we strongly encourage everyone to read it. But documentation and training serve different purposes. Documentation tells you what is available. Training helps you understand why it matters, how to approach it, what to try first, what to customise, and how the different features can fit into your daily work. Catching Up with Leasey Series 2 is intended to bridge that gap.

Why This Course Is Needed.

Leasey has always been about making tasks easier. But as Leasey has grown, the range of tasks it can perform has become enormous. You can write and read documents, manage notes, create text shortcuts, store and retrieve clipboard entries, manage files, listen to radio and podcasts, play audio files, work with social media, spell check text in many applications, talk to ChatGPT, create databases, work with clips, diary entries, appointments and tasks, and customise sounds, shortcut keys, speech, Braille and behaviour.

That is wonderful, but it can also be a little overwhelming. Even experienced Leasey users may not immediately know where to begin with all the new material. Some features have been completely redesigned. Some behave differently from earlier versions. Some are brand new. Some are deceptively simple at first but become far more powerful when you understand them properly.

This course will help you catch up. It will not merely list features. It will explain them, demonstrate them, suggest sensible ways to start using them, and show where the real value lies.

What Makes Leasey 11.5 Different?

The previous major period of Leasey development gave us features such as Leasey Sports and Games, together with ChatGPT implementation. Those were exciting additions which opened new doors for entertainment, information and AI assistance.

Leasey 11.5 is different. It has been about rebuilding and refining many of the features people already depend on, while also adding several substantial new ones. In other words, this is not only about novelty. It is about maturity.

Long-standing Leasey features have been reimagined. New applications have been introduced. Established workflows have been made clearer. Braille support has been strengthened. Speech messages have been refined. Options have been expanded. Power-user features have been added without abandoning the needs of beginners.

That combination is exactly why training is useful. Some of these features can be used very simply. Others reward a deeper look. Catching Up with Leasey Series 2 will help you decide which features matter most to you and how to begin using them productively.

What We Hope to Cover.

The course will comprise approximately four hours of audio training, accompanied by text documents. There is more new material in Leasey 11.5 than can be explored exhaustively in four hours. The aim will therefore be to cover as many major features as possible, concentrating on practical use, important concepts and examples which help you get started.

The exact content may change slightly as the course is prepared, but the following gives a strong indication of the areas we expect to include.

Leasey Texts and Clipboard History.

Leasey Texts has been completely rewritten. Long-standing Leasey users will remember that it has been possible for many years to store pieces of text and reproduce them when needed. That remains true, but the new Leasey Texts application is far more flexible.

You can create stored text items, organise them, assign categories, and use abbreviations to insert text quickly from almost anywhere in Windows. This is particularly useful for email signatures, postal addresses, standard replies, technical support messages, reference numbers, frequently typed phrases, templates for forms, and short pieces of text you use many times a day.

The abbreviation system is much easier to use than before. You can type an abbreviation, press Space, and Leasey inserts the full text. It can speak what has happened, send confirmation to Braille, play a sound, add a trailing space and expand before punctuation such as a comma or full-stop or period.

Clipboard History is new. It allows recently copied text to be stored and retrieved. You can review clipboard entries, paste them again, mark entries, paste marked entries in a chosen order, convert a clipboard entry into a Leasey Text, or convert it into a Leasey Clip.

This is not intended to compete with every specialist clipboard manager in existence. It is intended to provide a straightforward, JAWS-friendly clipboard history feature inside Leasey, which is especially helpful in workplaces where Leasey may already be approved for installation but other clipboard tools may not be. In the course, we will look at practical examples of using Leasey Texts and Clipboard History so you can understand how these features can save time every day.

Leasey Media Centre.

Leasey Media Centre is one of the largest and most exciting parts of Leasey 11.5. It brings together radio, podcasts, audio files, video soundtracks, playlists, recording and sound controls in one accessible application.

In the course, we expect to concentrate on the most useful areas rather than trying to cover every command. We will look at listening to radio stations, using favourites, returning to recently heard stations and exploring the song history when stations provide artist and title information.

We will also spend time on podcasts, because this area has grown considerably. Leasey can stream podcast episodes directly from the internet, but it can also create temporary playback copies. That is an important improvement because it can make bookmarks, saved positions, chapter marks and movement through an episode more reliable.

If you listen to long podcasts, lectures, audio courses or radio programmes, saved positions and chapter navigation can be extremely valuable. One of the most exciting developments is podcast chapter marks. Chapter marks allow long audio to be navigated in a more structured way. Unfortunately, many podcasts do not include them. Leasey can help by examining a transcript and suggesting chapter marks where none exist.

For blind people, this kind of structure can make long-form audio far easier to explore. We will also look at audio notes, saved playback positions, player information and the ability to mark and copy a section of a local audio file into a new file.

LeaseySocial.

LeaseySocial has been one of the most popular features introduced in Leasey 11.5, far more popular than we ever imagined. It provides a fast, keyboard-friendly, JAWS-friendly desktop client for Mastodon and Bluesky.

The aim is not to replace every possible social media client. The aim is to make the core experience practical, comfortable and efficient for blind users. LeaseySocial includes timelines, posts, replies, direct messages, profiles, bookmarks, favourites, boosting or reposting, searches, hashtags, notifications, mentions, soundpacks, global hotkeys, Braille status messages and many customisation options.

In the course, we will focus on the practical route into the application: reading posts, moving between timelines, opening a post, replying, creating a new post, spell checking before posting, following users, working with hashtags, using quick navigation keys, understanding notifications, and customising speech, Braille, sounds and shortcut keys.

LeaseySocial is a good example of the Leasey 11.5 design philosophy. It is powerful, but it should also be approachable. The course will help you understand what to learn first and which advanced features can wait until you need them.

LeaseyWord.

LeaseyWord deserves attention because it has become a very capable reading and writing environment. It is not intended to replace Microsoft Word. It is designed to give Leasey users a fast, accessible way of reading, writing, reviewing and working with many kinds of documents.

Depending on the time available, we may look at opening documents, reading text comfortably, working with headings and links, using JAWS Key+F6 for a list of headings, using JAWS Key+F7 for a list of links, using ChatGPT Text Tools, translating text, working with PDF or converted content, creating and editing documents, and using bookmarks or points to return to important places.

LeaseyWord is especially useful because it brings together document reading, writing, navigation, AI assistance and accessibility in one environment.

LeaseyNotes.

LeaseyNotes is one of the features many people may come to rely on heavily once they understand it. It allows you to create quick notes from anywhere, organise notes into categories, attach information, record audio notes and restore notes to an earlier point if something goes wrong.

The restore system is particularly important. Notes often contain information we cannot easily recreate, so having a way to return to an earlier version can provide reassurance.

We may also touch on fields. Fields are useful when a note contains labelled pieces of information, such as an account number, phone number, web site, renewal date or other structured detail. LeaseyNotes has been designed so that you know exactly which field you are copying, rather than being faced with a vague Copy button and hoping the correct piece of information went to the clipboard.

LeaseyCuts.

LeaseyCuts have existed since the very first version of Leasey in 2014. They have now become much more flexible while preserving familiar ideas for long-standing users.

LeaseyCuts can help you quickly open folders, files, applications, web sites and other locations. They can be organised into categories and used as a personal launching system. In the course, we may show how to create useful LeaseyCuts for everyday tasks and how they can reduce the time spent searching through Windows.

Leasey Spell Check.

Leasey Spell Check gives JAWS users a consistent way of checking spelling in plain text, regardless of which application was used to write the text. This is particularly useful in email messages, web forms, social media posts, chat windows, text editors and other places where the built-in spell checker may not be comfortable or consistent with JAWS.

The feature has also improved since its first introduction. You can now select text, run Leasey Spell Check, make corrections, and have the corrected text replace the original selection. That is much smoother than relying on a clipboard round trip.

Talk to ChatGPT.

Talk to ChatGPT has also become more conversational. Rather than recording a prompt, waiting for it to be submitted and then receiving a response, the experience is now much closer to a live conversation.

You start the conversation, speak naturally, listen to the response, and then ask a follow-up question. If current information is needed, Leasey may search the web. The transcript can be reviewed and copied.

This can be useful for quick questions, writing help, planning, explanations, research, summaries and follow-up conversations where you do not want to type everything.

Leasey Database Manager.

Leasey Database Manager is intended to help people who need structured information but do not want to design a complex database in a conventional database application.

It can be used for many purposes, including books, recipes, equipment, contacts, music collections, medical information, accessible products, shopping lists and movies. The key idea is that each record contains the same kind of information. For example, a book database might include title, author, format, genre, rating and notes.

This is a feature which many people may not immediately think they need, but once understood, it can be extremely useful.

Leasey Diary.

Leasey Diary has also continued to develop. Diary and task management have been part of Leasey since the earliest days, but new features make it easier to plan and maintain information.

One useful addition is holiday importing. Leasey Diary can retrieve holidays for a selected country and year, then allow you to import only the ones you want. Imported holidays are created as all-day appointments, do not set reminders and are marked so they do not take part in conflict warnings.

This is especially useful when preparing a diary for a new year.

Leasey File Manager.

Leasey File Manager provides a JAWS-friendly way of working with files and folders. It includes features for copying, moving, renaming, searching, creating documents, using JAWS tools, opening OCR functions and carrying out file-related tasks in a predictable way.

Depending on time, we may look at some of the newer improvements, such as saving Outlook attachments directly into the folder you are viewing and accessing JAWS Settings from the JAWS Tools menu.

Other Features and Improvements.

Leasey 11.5 contains many more improvements than can be described fully on this page. There are refinements to Braille support, speech messages, options, shortcut keys, help, soundpacks, media playback, social media posting, translation, document handling and much more.

One of the most important things about this release is not only the number of features, but the way they are connected. You can write in LeaseyWord and send text to LeaseySocial. You can use ChatGPT tools inside writing workflows. You can spell check text before sending it. You can use Leasey Texts to insert stored content into many applications. You can use Clipboard History to retrieve something you copied earlier. You can listen to audio, take notes, create clips and return to saved positions.

The value is not only in the individual applications. The value is in the way Leasey helps create a more complete working environment.

How the Training Will Be Delivered.

Catching Up with Leasey Series 2 will comprise four audio files and accompanying text documents. These will be delivered in October and November. Those people who have pre-ordered will receive each lesson as it is produced.

The audio files will allow you to hear features being demonstrated, with explanations of what is happening and why. The text documents will allow you to review the material later, search for topics, copy commands into your own notes and work through sections at your own pace.

This combination of audio and text is important. Audio gives you the flow of a real demonstration. Text gives you a reference you can return to.

Who Is This Course For?

This course is for existing Leasey users who want to understand what has changed in version 11.5; long-standing users who know older Leasey features but want to learn the redesigned versions; users who have heard about LeaseySocial, Leasey Media Centre or Leasey Texts and want a guided introduction; people who prefer learning through demonstrations rather than documentation alone; users who want to understand how Leasey's newer apps fit together; trainers and support workers helping others learn Leasey; and anyone who wants to get more value from the product they already own.

You do not need to be an advanced user. You should have a basic familiarity with Leasey and JAWS, but the course will explain the features carefully and practically.

Why Take This Course?

You could read all the documentation yourself, and we certainly encourage you to do that. But training gives you something different. It gives you a route through the material, shows which features are worth trying first, explains why particular options matter, lets you hear examples, helps you avoid missing features which may be extremely useful but not obvious, gives you a reference to return to, and helps you turn a large release into practical daily use.

Leasey 11.5 is rich enough that many users will discover features months after installing it. This course is designed to bring those discoveries forward.

Pricing and Availability.

The cost of Catching Up with Leasey Series 2 is £80 which is approximately $109 US.

Alternatively, you can request an invoice by sending an Email to brian@hartgenconsultancy.com.

Conclusion.

Leasey has always been about making Windows and JAWS more powerful, more personal and more productive. Leasey 11.5 continues that tradition on a larger scale than ever.

It gives us new ways to write, read, listen, organise, communicate, store information, retrieve information, check text, work with audio, use social media, manage notes and bring AI into practical tasks. Catching Up with Leasey Series 2 is your opportunity to take a guided tour through that new world.

You will not need to learn everything in one sitting, and you will not need to use every feature immediately. But by the end of the course, you should have a much clearer understanding of what Leasey 11.5 can do, which features matter most to you, and how to begin making them part of your everyday routine.

If Series 1 helped people catch up with Leasey 10, Series 2 is here to help you catch up with one of the most exciting Leasey releases we have ever produced.

Leasey has moved forward. This course will help you move forward with it.