Overview

Johnny Tools is a free set of add-on utilities for two widely used screen readers: JAWS and NVDA. It is designed to be extensible, flexible, and feature-rich, improving both reading experience and efficiency.

Key Features for JAWS

1. Google Translate: multilingual translation with speech output and detailed results.
2. Character Descriptions: detailed character and text information in Virtual Viewer.
3. Research It Integration: adds Johnny Tools lookup sources to Research It for quick access to live information.
4. Chinese Speech Support: RealSpeak Solo Direct, Vocalizer Expressive, SAPI 5X (32/64-bit), Microsoft Mobile voices.
5. Braille Features: BRITE (Braille Instant Translation Editing) and Super Cantonese Braille.
6. Festival Reminders and Hong Kong Weather Reports.
7. Speech Recognition (Google Speech Recognition).
8. Playlists (RTHK) and AI Model List
9. Optimized factory JAWS settings.
10. Yahoo Dictionary: English–English, English–Chinese, Chinese–English lookups.
11. AI Writing / AI Translation / AI Dictionary & Thesaurus Lookup.

Key Features for NVDA

1. Character Descriptions: detailed reads in Browse Mode.
2. Playlists (RTHK) and AI Model List.
3. Festival Reminders and Hong Kong Weather Reports.
4. Google Translate with speech output and detailed results.
5. Yahoo Dictionary (English–Chinese).
6. Today’s Lunar Calendar Lookup.
7. AI Writing / AI Translation / AI Dictionary & Thesaurus Lookup.
8. AI Luck Trend feature.

These features significantly enhance the capabilities of JAWS and NVDA, making them more powerful and practical for everyday use.

Network & Privacy Notice: Some features (translation, weather, dictionary, speech recognition, and AI) require Internet access and may send selected text and/or voice input to third-party services for processing. Do not submit sensitive, confidential, or personal data.

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System Requirements

Supported Operating Systems (64-bit)

• Windows 11
• Windows 10
• Windows Server 2022 / 2019 / 2016

Required Software and Hardware

• JAWS for Windows: Version 15 or later (for JAWS features)
• NVDA: Latest stable version recommended (for NVDA features)
• Java Runtime Environment (JRE) 1.8 or later (if required by specific features)
• Microphone (required for speech recognition features)
• Internet connection (required for online features)

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Installation & Uninstallation

Installing Johnny Tools

1. Download the setup file and save it to your hard drive.
2. Use the Tab key to navigate to the JohnnyTools Setup (.exe) program file and press Enter to start the setup process.
3. Follow the prompts to select your preferred installation language.
4. Use the Tab key to navigate to the Next button and press Enter to continue.
5. Read and agree to the License Agreement to continue the installation.
6. Select the screen reader software to install the script for, then follow prompts to complete installation.
7. After installation, restart the screen reader software for changes to take effect.

Uninstalling Johnny Tools

1. Open the Start menu and select Control Panel (or Settings > Apps).
2. Choose Add/Remove Programs or Programs and Features.
3. Find Johnny Tools in the installed programs list and select Remove (or Uninstall).
4. Follow prompts to confirm removal.

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How to use?

JAWS Usage Instructions

1. Select the Pollinations AI Models and Google Translate Languages
   1. Press Ctrl+Alt+S to open the Settings dialog.
   2. Select the primary Pollinations AI model, choose OK; then the secondary model, choose OK.
   3. Select the translation source language choose OK and target language, choose OK.
2. Google Translate
   1. Select text, then press Ctrl+Alt+T to speak the translated result from the clipboard.
   2. In an edit field, press Ctrl+V to paste the translated text.
   3. Press Ctrl+Alt+T twice quickly to display detailed results in Results Viewer.
3. Character Descriptions
   1. At the active cursor, press Ctrl+Alt+F to speak phonetic pronunciation for Chinese or English.
   2. Press Ctrl+Alt+F twice quickly to open detailed information in Virtual Viewer.
   3. Press Esc to close Virtual Viewer.
4. Character Dictionary
   1. Open Character Dictionary to look up or edit explanations.
   2. Press Ctrl+S to save changes, then Alt+F4 to close.
5. Research It Integration

   Johnny Tools adds lookup sources to Research It (e.g., blind organization news, Hong Kong weather, RTHK). See JAWS documentation for Research It usage.

6. BRITE (Braille Instant Translation Editing) and Braille Support

   Refer to official BRITE documentation for braille editing and display features. Super Cantonese Braille is supported for real-time display on braille devices.

7. Festival Reminders
   1. When JAWS starts, it announces the festival reminder and greeting for the day.
   2. Use the Johnny Tools Settings Center to add or edit reminders.
8. Hong Kong Weather

NVDA Usage Instructions

1. Character Descriptions
   1. Press Ctrl+Alt+F to speak information for the text at the current cursor.
   2. Press Ctrl+Alt+F twice quickly to display detailed descriptions in Browse Mode; press Esc to close.
2. Playlists and AI
   1. Playlist (RTHK): Insert+N to open the NVDA menu → Johnny Tools → RTHK Playlist → select channel and press Enter.
   2. AI Model List: Insert+N to open the NVDA menu → Johnny Tools → AI → select model and press Enter.
3. Hong Kong Weather
   1. Press Ctrl+Insert+F12 for Hong Kong weather forecast.
   2. Press Shift+Insert+F12 for current Hong Kong weather (press twice quickly for forecast).
4. Today’s Lunar Calendar Lookup
   1. Press Ctrl+Alt+F12 for Today’s Lunar Calendar lookup.
5. Select the Pollinations AI Models and Google Translate Languages
   1. Press Ctrl+Alt+S to open the Settings dialog.
   2. Select the primary Pollinations AI model, then the secondary model, choose OK.
   3. Select the translation source language and target language, choose OK.
6. Google Translate
   1. Select text, then press Ctrl+Alt+T to speak the translated result from the clipboard.
   2. In an edit field, press Ctrl+V to paste the translated text.
   3. Press Ctrl+Alt+T twice quickly to display detailed results in Browse Mode.
7. Yahoo Dictionary (English–Chinese)
   1. Select an English word.
   2. Press Ctrl+Alt+D to display results.
   3. Press Esc to close.
8. Festival Reminders
   1. When NVDA starts, it announces the festival reminder and greeting for the day.
9. AI Writing / AI Translation
   1. AI Writing / AI Translation: select text, press Ctrl+Insert+F7 and choose a mode; results appear in Browse Mode.
   2. Quick AI Translation: Insert+Ctrl+Shift+F7 to translate and speak clipboard result; press twice quickly to show detailed results in Browse Mode.
10. AI Dictionary & Thesaurus
    1. Select a term, press Insert+Shift+F7; results appear in Browse Mode.
11. AI Luck Trend

    Open from the Johnny Tools menu or press Ctrl+Alt+Tab; information appears in Browse Mode.

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Keyboard Shortcut Reference

JAWS

• Ctrl+Alt+D: Yahoo Dictionary (English–Chinese / Chinese–English)
• Shift+F1: Yahoo Dictionary options (English–English / English–Chinese)
• Ctrl+Alt+S: Pollinations AI model settings and Google Translate language selection
• Ctrl+Alt+T: Google Translate (speaks clipboard result); press twice quickly for detailed results
• Ctrl+Alt+F: Character description/word explanation; press twice quickly for Virtual Viewer details
• Ctrl+Alt+F5: Set speech recognition language
• Ctrl+Alt+F6: Speech recognition (copied to clipboard and spoken)
• Ctrl+Alt+F7: Speech recognition (multiple candidates in Virtual Viewer)
• Insert+Space, R: Open Research It
• Insert+Space, [: Playlist (RTHK)
• Insert+Space, ]: AI model list
• Shift+Ctrl+Insert+F12: Current Hong Kong weather; press twice quickly for forecast
• Ctrl+Shift+J: About Johnny Tools
• Ctrl+Insert+F7: AI Writing / AI Translation
• Insert+Shift+F7: AI Dictionary & Thesaurus

BRITE (Braille Instant Translation Editing)

• Ctrl+L: Align left
• Ctrl+E: Center
• Ctrl+R: Align right
• F12: Save As
• Ctrl+Shift+F: Font settings
• Ctrl+Shift+P: Paragraph properties
• Alt+Shift+P: Speak page number
• Insert+Delete: Speak row and column
• Alt+Shift+B: Speak braille mode
• Alt+Shift+W: Speak window status
• Insert+H: BRITE hotkey help
• Insert+W: BRITE navigation tips / Windows key help

NVDA

• Ctrl+Alt+F: Character description/word explanation; press twice quickly for details
• Ctrl+Insert+F12: Hong Kong weather forecast
• Shift+Insert+F12: Current Hong Kong weather; press twice quickly for forecast
• Ctrl+Alt+S: Pollinations AI model settings and Google Translate language selection
• Ctrl+Alt+T: Google Translate (speaks clipboard result); press twice quickly for detailed results
• Ctrl+Alt+D: Yahoo Dictionary (English–Chinese)
• Ctrl+Alt+F12: Today’s Lunar Calendar lookup
• Ctrl+Insert+F7: AI Writing / AI Translation
• Insert+Ctrl+Shift+F7: AI Translation (Quick); press twice quickly for detailed results
• Insert+Shift+F7: AI Dictionary & Thesaurus
• Ctrl+Alt+Tab: AI Luck Trend

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Features

• Compatible with JAWS and NVDA screen reading software.
• Supports symbol and character descriptions for Chinese and English.
• Translation support for 250+ languages with spoken results.
• Detailed results available in Results Viewer and Braille devices; results can be copied to clipboard.
• Johnny Tools Lookup Sources added to Research It (blind organization news, Hong Kong weather, RTHK news, etc.).
• Multilingual installer, small installer size, and low resource usage.
• Supports various Chinese speech engines and BRITE braille editing.
• Festival alerts, Hong Kong weather reporting and RTHK playlists.
• Yahoo Dictionary and AI-powered features (writing, translation, dictionary & thesaurus).
• Supports Windows 64-bit and 32-bit where applicable.

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Download

Johnny Tools version 2026 [2026.2601.28] was released on Sunday, 18 January 2026.

Download now

If you would like to support the project, please consider making a donation to the author.

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History Version

1. Johnny Tools 1.1.0.0
2. Johnny Tools 1.8.0.2008
3. Johnny Tools 2.0
4. Johnny Tools System 3.0
5. Johnny Tools System Version 4.0
6. Johnny Tools System Version 5.0
7. Johnny Tools System Version 5.0 update
8. Johnny Tools 6.0
9. Johnny Tools 7.2
10. Johnny Tools 8.X
11. Johnny Tools 2018 - 10/15/2017
12. Johnny Tools 2018 R2 - 1/8/2018
13. Johnny Tools 2019.1809.22 - 2018-09-03
14. Johnny Tools 2020.1909.02 - 2019-09-02
15. Johnny Tools 2021.2011.14 - 2020-11-14
16. Version 2022.2112.24.400 - 2021-11-08
17. Version 2023 [2023.2304.24] - 2023-04-24
18. Version 2024 [2024.2401.4] - 2024-01-18
19. version 2025 [2025.2412.20] - 2024-12-20
20. Latest Johnny Tools version 2026 [2026.2601.28 - 2026-01-18

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