July Update to Fusion Suite 2024

The July updates to Fusion Suite 2024 offer innovative enhancements that provide powerful, unprecedented functionality. Fusion Suite refers to the Freedom Scientific software products JAWS, ZoomText, and Fusion.

Visit the What’s New pages for JAWS, ZoomText, and Fusion 2024 to learn more about this exciting new software. Here are three new enhancements you will want to begin using right away.

Updates to Picture Smart AI

This update offers even more improvements to Picture Smart AI thanks to the great feedback we continue to receive from users. Now you can press INSERT+SPACEBAR, P, then ENTER for a description of an image based on your current application and context. For example, if an image on a web page is in focus, JAWS describes the image in the context of the web page.

If you already have basic knowledge about an image, you can include ALT with any Picture Smart command to request more details. For example, if you are shopping online for an Air Fryer and want to know if the product has physical buttons or a touch-activated display, you could press INSERT+SPACEBAR, P, ALT+C, then type your question followed by ENTER. Picture Smart AI attempts to answer the question about the selected image instead of just providing a general description.

Access to the New Outlook

JAWS now offers initial support for the New Outlook app from Microsoft, which is intended to replace the Windows Mail and Calendar apps later this year. While support will continue to improve in the coming months, several keystrokes are now available when reading messages. Visit the JAWS What’s New page for a list of these keystrokes.

UEB Math Support – Early Adopter Program

When MathCAT is enabled through the Early Adopter Program, you can choose between Nemeth or Unified English Braille (UEB) Math for displaying math content and entering equations in the Braille Math Editor. Visit the JAWS What’s New page for details.

Fusion Mouse Mode in Picture Smart AI

Use Mouse Mode in Picture Smart AI to select a specific area of a picture for analysis. Picture Smart AI describes only that area instead of describing the entire picture or screen. For a Fusion user, using the mouse to select items on the screen can be faster than using keyboard commands. The mouse also offers greater control when selecting specific parts of a picture. You can activate Picture Smart Mouse Mode by pressing CAPS LOCK+CTRL+P.

Fusion Mouse Mode in Convenient OCR

Convenient OCR (Optical Character Recognition) is a JAWS feature that recognizes text in inaccessible PDF documents, screen images, and image files. Many keystrokes are associated with using Convenient OCR, but you can bypass them by pressing CAPS LOCK+CTRL+O to launch Convenient OCR in Fusion, which offers Mouse Mode. You can use your mouse to select a portion of text displayed on your screen, have it recognized and processed by Fusion, and have it read back to you.

Visit the Fusion What’s New page for additional details on Mouse Mode enhancements.

Download the July Update of Fusion Suite 2024

To download and install the July update of JAWS, ZoomText, or Fusion 2024, follow these steps on a computer connected to the internet:

  1. Select any of the following links to automatically download the software update: JAWS, ZoomText, or Fusion
    Note: Optionally, visit the Freedom Scientific website and locate these links under the heading for “Software Releases” found near the bottom of the home page.
  2. Save the setup file to a location where you can easily find it (for example, your Downloads folder).
  3. Put the focus on the setup file, and press ENTER to run it.
  4. Follow the installation instructions that are displayed. The language automatically matches that of your operating system.

Note: If you are running the latest version of Fusion Suite 2024 and automatic updates are enabled, you can start the download and installation process from that notification.

Training Resources

Our User Education and Outreach team offers outstanding resources for learning your Freedom Scientific software in our Training Center, which includes videos, FAQs, and instructions for getting started.

Watch this blog and check out the Freedom Scientific Training schedule page for news of upcoming live training webinars and other events.

For questions, email us at training@vispero.com.