I’ve discussed with you so far some of the major features of Leasey version 10, but let’s focus upon some little things because they are often used and people appreciate them.
There are two other major parts of Leasey which have been completely rewritten.
RSS Feeds. The validation of RSS feeds now is more reliable. This is Leasey’s own RSS feed tool to both validate and process the feeds, so we’re all hoping for better results with this one. At least if something does not function as it should, something can be done about it quickly.
The content of the feed is displayed in the default web browser. The structure should be identical to that which you would have previously experienced.
Time Conversion Utilities. We’ve stepped away from the previous API we were using for this service. You should now find the retrieval of information detailed, fast and reliable. Remember, you can find a time in any location on earth and convert the time between two different locations on a specific date.
Pressing the Leasey key then Control+Shift+T presents you with a convenient list of AI-related tools you can open in your web browser: Leasey’s ChatGT interface, ChatGPT on the web, CoPilot, Ask Microsoft Accessibility, FSCompanion, Innosearch and Google Gemini.
Pressing the Leasey key then Windows+Comma from within any application will append the focused line of text to the Windows clipboard. This is useful for copying multiple text segments from different sources.
Pressing ALT+Windows+M from within an Outlook calendar appointment will launch the Zoom or Teams meeting automatically if it exists.
Pressing ALT+Windows+U from within the body of an Outlook Email message will play an MP3 audio file if it is an attachment. This assumes there is only one audio file attached.
Product Authorisation. As previously discussed, we now have a new Leasey authorisation system in place this time. If for whatever reason the product does not activate, you can ask for a manual activation key which can be Emailed to you. An opportunity does exist for you to paste the activation key into an edit field.
Mozilla Thunderbird.
This version contains the first enhancements to Mozilla Thunderbird, described below.
A small number of enhancements have been provided for use within Mozilla Thunderbird. Microsoft Outlook Classic is still the recommended option for efficient Email management.
The following keys can be press from within an Email message.
- ALT+Windows+1 through to ALT+Windows+5 will read header information in relation to the message which is open. For example, ALT+Windows+1 will read who the message is from. ALT+Windows+2 will read the date of the message.
- Pressing the Leasey key then Control+Shift+E will copy the sender’s Email address to the Windows Clipboard.
Automatic Message Reading.
JAWS provides an option within Quick Settings so as to read Email messages automatically when they are opened by pressing Enter. Leasey will eliminate unimportant speech and skip the first line, which is always a repetition of the subject.
To enable automatic reading:
- With Thunderbird open, press JAWS Key+V.
- Into the Search Edit Field, type the phrase, “Auto Read”.
- Arrow down and you will find the only result returned: Auto Read Message.
- If it is not checked, press Space Bar to check it.
- Press Enter twice to save.
Moving to Core Thunderbird Components.
Pressing Control+Comma will set focus to Thunderbird Preferences.
ALT+Windows+L will move to the next available list, such as a list of messages in a mail folder.
ALT+Windows+T will move to the next Tree View, such as a list of folders.
Setting the Default Inbox.
Thunderbird does not provide a mechanism to launch the Inbox for a specific mail account when the program starts. To achieve this, please work through the following process:
- Be sure that the focus is located on the Inbox name. You will find this in the list of folders, such as Inbox, Sent Items, etc.
- When focus is on the Inbox, press ALT+Windows+D.
- After a short pause, a shortcut should be placed on the Windows Desktop. The Shortcut is called, Leasey Thunderbird. You can always rename it if you like by pressing function key F2, however the shortcut itself must remain intact.
Whenever you wish to launch Thunderbird, just use the new shortcut.
Spell Checking.
When spell checking an Email message, you can press ALT+Windows+I. This will speak and spell the incorrectly spelled word.