Fusion FAQs

Fusion Basic FAQs

What is Fusion?

Fusion provides the features and benefits of having both ZoomText Magnifier/Reader and JAWS screen reader in one package. The two applications can be used together or separately to suit individual user preferences. To learn more, visit our Fusion product information page.

Who is Fusion for?

Fusion is perfect for individuals who, over time, want a smooth transition from using magnification to a full screen reader. It also benefits users with advanced or progressive vision loss who can take advantage of magnification and full screen reading at the same time.

What operating systems does Fusion work with?

Fusion installs and works with Windows 10, Windows 8.1, and Windows 7. Note that as Windows continues to change, new Fusion features may not be available in older versions of Windows.

What versions of Microsoft Office does Fusion work with?

Fusion works with Microsoft Office 365, or Microsoft Office 2016 and later. JAWS also supports older versions of Office (2013 and 2010), however, there are no further enhancements coming for these older versions.

What web browsers work with Fusion?

Fusion works with Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, and Internet Explorer. Support for Microsoft Edge is continuing to improve as well.

Does Fusion read PDF documents?

Yes, Fusion reads and tracks accessible PDF documents. It also includes an option to perform optical character recognition (OCR) on inaccessible PDF documents so they may be read. This feature is called Convenient OCR and is perfect for accessing PDFs that have been scanned as image files.

If an inaccessible PDF is opened in Adobe Reader, Fusion displays a dialog asking if you want to OCR the document. Choose Yes to have Fusion recognize and display the text for reading.

How is Fusion different than ZoomText Magnifier/Reader?

ZoomText Magnifier/Reader functions as a screen magnification application with some screen reading capabilities but does not function as a full screen reader. Fusion, however, includes the JAWS screen reader, which provides full speech, the ability to track using speech when navigating items on the screen, and the option of using a refreshable braille display. When Fusion is installed, you can choose to just run Magnifier/Reader, Magnifier by itself, or JAWS. This covers every possible option included with your Fusion license.

Is Fusion available in languages other than English?

Fusion is available in many languages, some of which can be obtained from the Freedom Scientific downloads pages. Additional languages are also available directly from your local distributor in many countries.

Licensing and Purchasing

Where can I buy Fusion?

Fusion is available from Freedom Scientific or your local Freedom Scientific dealer. Visit the Dealer Locator page to find out who serves your area.

If I own ZoomText or JAWS, can I upgrade to Fusion?

Yes. Contact Freedom Scientific or your local dealer for details and to place your order.

Are multi-user licenses available for Fusion?

Yes. Multi-user licenses for Fusion are available just as they are for JAWS and ZoomText.

Is there a Fusion demo available?

Yes. Like other Freedom Scientific products, Fusion can be installed, and if left unauthorized, will work as a demo in 40-minute mode. When the 40 minutes are up, you will need to reboot in order to use the demo mode once more. When an update is released, you will receive an alert and can download it just as you would with licensed software. Visit the Fusion downloads page for more information.

Upgrading to Fusion

Our organization has JAWS and/or ZoomText today. Why should we consider adding or moving to Fusion?

Purchasing Fusion provides a cost advantage over acquiring both ZoomText and JAWS as separate products. Also, you'll receive one license and a single installer for ZoomText, JAWS, and Fusion. This makes it easier to maintain your software and provide users access to whatever solution they need on every computer.

I'm still using JAWS and MAGic, where do I get info on upgrading to Fusion?

Contact Freedom Scientific directly or your local Freedom Scientific dealer to discuss upgrade options. Visit the Dealer Locator page to find out who serves your area.

User Experience and Training

How does Fusion's screen reading compare to using JAWS by itself?

Fusion offers all the same screen reading features and capabilities as JAWS. If someone is familiar with one, they will easily be able to transition to the other. And even JAWS trainers will be able to train low vision users on the Fusion product.

Is training material available for Fusion?

Yes. Fusion training materials are available on the Freedom Scientific training pages. Plus, all the material currently available for ZoomText and JAWS will benefit users of Fusion and can also be found on these pages.

I'm already using ZoomText, will Fusion be much different?

Since ZoomText is included with fusion, the user experience of this application will not change. Users who are unfamiliar with JAWS will benefit from the training materials which can be found on the FS training pages, along with training modules specific to ZoomText and Fusion.

How do I adjust magnification settings in Fusion?

Magnification settings can easily be adjusted in Fusion through the interface by left clicking the Zoom Level box on the Magnifier tab, then choosing the desired magnification level, or by navigating to it using the TAB key and pressing UP ARROW or DOWN ARROW to increase and decrease magnification. You can also zoom in and out by pressing CAPS LOCK+UP ARROW or CAPS LOCK+DOWN ARROW respectively.

Screen colors can easily be inverted by left clicking the Color button located on the Magnifier tab, or by navigating to it using the TAB key, then pressing ENTER. The hotkey for performing this task is CAPS LOCK+C.

How do I adjust speech settings in Fusion?

Speech settings can be adjusted in Fusion via the Fusion Reader tab on the user interface. You can perform a left mouse click on the Voice button or navigate there using the TAB key then press ENTER to activate it. Next, click the Settings command using the mouse or press DOWN ARROW to navigate there and press ENTER which will open the Voice Adjustment dialog box. Here, you can change speech settings such as Voice Rate, Punctuation, Voice Pitch, and more.

You can open the Voice adjustment dialog box using hotkeys by pressing ALT+R, V, then S while focus is in the fusion interface window. The JAWS menus also provide access to voice and other speech-related settings, and can be activated by pressing INSERT+J.

You can temporarily increase the voice rate in Fusion using the hotkey ALT+CTRL+PAGE UP and decrease it with the hotkey ALT+CTRL+PAGE DOWN. Adding the WINDOWS Key to this command will permanently adjust these settings.

You can learn more about adjusting speech settings by visiting this Fusion page.