QUILL Lite: free AI help, in an editor that talks to you
QUILL Lite is a small, free text editor for Windows, made for people who use a screen reader. If you have used Notepad or WordPad, you already know most of the keys. It also has free AI help. Put your cursor in a paragraph, press two keys, and it can summarize, rewrite, proofread or explain it for you. You don't need an account, a password or a card.
Version 1.1.2, released September 30, 2026. You need Windows 10 or later, 64-bit. Not sure which download to pick? Choose the installer. It adds QUILL Lite to your Start Menu. It can also add QUILL Lite to the Open With list for .txt and .rtf files, but it never makes itself your default editor. The portable ZIP keeps everything in its own data folder, so you can run it from a USB stick. Both downloads are digitally signed.
Your first minute
Open QUILL Lite and you get one window with an empty document called "1: Untitled". Start typing. Press Ctrl+S when you want to save. That is really all you need.
Three keys help you find your way:
- F1 tells you where you are and what the thing you are on does. It works everywhere.
- F6 takes you to the status bar. Arrow along it to hear your line, word count and more. Press Escape to go back to your document.
- Ctrl+Alt+F1 opens nine short spoken lessons. Each step tells you what to press and what you should hear.
QUILLBee's shortcut
Forgotten where something lives? Press Ctrl+Shift+P and type a word, like "sort" or "print". You don't need to know which menu it's in. Every command in the list shows its key beside it, too, so you pick up keys without really trying.
Your first AI answer, in about a minute
AI help is off until you say yes. Here is how to turn it on and try it.
- Open the agreement. Press Ctrl+Alt+Shift+K, or choose Tools, AI, Privacy Agreement.
- Read it, and choose I Agree. That turns AI help on.
- Connect this computer. The Connect window opens by itself and reads you an eight-character code. Press Open the Connect Page. Your browser opens with the code already filled in. Press Confirm. You only do this once.
- Try it. Put your cursor in any paragraph and press Ctrl+Alt+G. Choose Summarize and press Send. The answer opens in its own window, and you can read it with the arrow keys.
What the AI help does for you
- Five things. It can summarize, rewrite, proofread or explain your text. It can also answer a question about the document you have open. Ctrl+Alt+G opens the AI pad. Ctrl+Alt+Z opens it ready for a question about your document.
- You see what is sent. Before anything leaves your computer, the pad shows you the exact text, so you can read it first.
- Your document only changes when you say so. The answer waits in its own window. It goes into your document only when you press Replace or Insert, and Ctrl+Z takes it back.
- Your words are not kept. The service counts how many requests you make and how big they are. It does not keep what you wrote or what came back.
- It's free. No account, no password, no email address and no card. There is no trial that runs out.
Your ChatGPT plan, pictures described, web search, and dictation
The release notes and the AI guide walk you through each of these, step by step.
Use My ChatGPT Subscription (Alt+F5)
If you already pay for ChatGPT, QUILL Lite can use your plan for its AI help. Choose Continue with ChatGPT, and your browser opens. Say yes there, and you are done. You don't need a key, and there is no extra bill.
Ask About an Image (Ctrl+F5)
Pick a picture, such as a JPEG or PNG. You can ask a question about it, or just ask what it is. You hear a description, and any text in the picture, word for word. Insert Below puts the description in your document. Ctrl+Z takes it out again.
Web search, when you want it
With your ChatGPT plan, the AI can look things up on the web, such as today's news or a price. It is off until you turn it on. Press Alt+F5, then Alt+W, then Space.
Dictation, and Tidy Dictated Text (Ctrl+F11, Ctrl+F3)
Press Ctrl+F11 and talk. When you pause, you hear what was written. Nothing you say leaves your computer. If it mishears you, select the text and press Ctrl+F3. The AI fixes the mistakes and leaves everything else alone. Coming in 1.2: you can dictate in Spanish too (how to switch it on). The complete dictation guide has every key, every spoken command and every setting.
How the AI help works
What gets sent
If you have selected some text, that is what is sent. If you haven't, the paragraph your cursor is in is sent, so you don't have to select anything. In a document with headings, you can choose to send the whole section instead. A box in the pad always shows you the exact text that will go. Nothing else from your document is sent.
Asking about a whole document
When you ask a question about a long document, QUILL Lite doesn't send the whole thing. It looks through it on your own computer and picks the three passages most likely to have your answer. Each one is about 180 words. Only those are sent, with your question, and the pad shows you which ones before you press Send. So it is fine to ask about a document with a hundred pages.
What happens to the answer
The answer opens in its own window. You can read it with the arrow keys. Under it are buttons to replace your selection, insert the answer below, copy it, or try again. Ctrl+Z undoes any change. If you edited your text while you waited, Replace is not offered, so the answer never writes over the wrong words. You can keep working while you wait.
How much you can use
There is a free allowance each month, with smaller daily and hourly limits. A request only counts if you get an answer. A newly connected computer has a smaller allowance for its first 48 hours, and then it goes up by itself. Press Ctrl+Alt+Shift+F9 to see how much you have used and what is left. If you need more, for a class or a book, use Get Help from Support and ask. Support can raise your allowance.
Your privacy
The text you ask about goes to QUILL's service, and from there to OpenAI, which writes the answer. The service keeps a count of your requests and how big they were. It does not keep what you wrote or what came back. It doesn't know your name, because there is no account. Nothing is sent while you type or in the background. ai.community-access.org explains the service and shows what it costs to run.
The editor itself
The keys you know from Notepad and WordPad work the same way here. The difference is that QUILL Lite tells you more about what is going on.
- A status bar you can read. Press F6, then arrow through your line, word count, encoding and line endings.
- Help wherever you are. F1 tells you what window you are in and what the control you are on does.
- Headings and lists speak up. You hear things like "Heading 2, Installing" or "Bulleted list, 5 items" as you arrive.
- Spell check spells the word out. You can hear it letter by letter or in the phonetic alphabet, because "receive" and "recieve" sound the same.
- Plain text, Markdown, HTML and rich text. Each has its own formatting keys. When you save, your file comes back exactly as it was, apart from your changes.
- Lessons you can listen to. Nine short tutorials (Ctrl+Alt+F1) say what to press and what you should hear.
- Change any key. The Keyboard Manager tells you if a key is already in use before you take it.
QUILLBert noticed
There's a switch in Tools > Customize Features (Ctrl+Alt+F10) that's easy to miss. Turn on Go To Anything, and Ctrl+Alt+Shift+A opens one box that finds commands, bookmarks and, in a rich text document, headings, all together. It starts off, because each of those already has a key of its own. QUILLBert turned it on anyway. Of course he did.
Documentation
User guide
Start here. Installing, every menu, every key and every setting.
Tutorials
The nine spoken lessons, written out. Each step says what to press and what you should hear.
The AI guide
Every AI command, what is sent, the answer window, limits and privacy.
Announcement
The QUILL Lite 1.0 announcement: the free AI help, the one-minute setup, and the editor.
Release notes
What is new in each version.
Changelog
Every change: what was added, what changed and what was fixed.
Product requirements
The design document, for people who want to know why QUILL Lite works the way it does.