Silver Surfer Guide
Lesson 5: Accessibility Tools For Disabled Users
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Both Windows XP and Vista have some really handy tools for people with various degrees of disability; however, in Windows XP the tool options are somewhat scattered and not all that easy to locate. Windows Vista, on the other hand, places these tools in one spot - the Ease of Access Center. From here you can quickly start the On Screen Keyboard, Magnifier, Narrator, Set up High Contrast or tweak individual settings to suit the severity of the disability. So, if you are having problems seeing text or simply using the mouse and keyboard then the Ease of Access Center in Windows Vista's Control Panel is the place to head for.
Fig: 1 Ease Of Access Screen
Bigger the Better
For those user's with sight problems Windows offers a magnifier which splits the screen to create separate areas on the screen. At the top of the screen (see Fig: 2) is a magnified section. By default this is positioned at the top of the screen, but you can have it placed at the bottom, right or left of your screen depending upon your preferences.
Fig: 2 Magnifier positions itself at the top of the screen
Below this magnified section is your normal screen. The magnifier is mouse controlled, therefore, wherever you move the mouse on the normal screen that area will be magnified in the magnification pane.
By default magnification is set at X2 but this can be increased to a maximum of X16 should you find it necessary.
Speak to Me
If you are partially sighted you may find it useful to actually have screen text and the position of your mouse pointer read out to you; this is the job of the Narrator. (See Fig: 3)
Fig: 3 Changing the narrator settings
The Narrator informs you when your mouse hovers over a particular button or, if you are typing in a word processor application such as Microsoft Word, exactly what letters you are typing, including any spaces between the letters, punctuation and even when you hit the Enter key.
The voice of the Narrator is that of Microsoft Anna. Unlike previous attempts at creating a machine based voice, Microsoft Anna has quite a pleasant tone. She can, however, become a bit monotonous, especially if you are typing at a relatively fast speed when she has a tendency to judder.
Visual Typing
For those who are unable to use a conventional keyboard but can use a mouse Microsoft offer an On Screen Keyboard. This floats above your desktop or open application and performs just like a normal keyboard; the only difference is that you use the mouse to click on each letter rather than using a conventional keyboard. (See Fig: 4)
Fig:4 On Screen Keyboard
Just select the letter you want to type with your mouse and click the mouse button. The letter you have chosen will now appear in your document. From the on screen keyboard settings you can change the way you select each letter from the default of 'clicking' on the letter to simply hovering your mouse pointer over the letter you require. If you decide to use the hover option you might also like to enable the 'use click sound' so that the keyboard clicks when a letter has been selected. There is usually a minimum one second lapse between you hovering your mouse pointer over the letter you require and it appearing on screen. Again, however, this can be changed if you need a longer lapse time.
Exploring the Settings
The Ease of Access Center has plenty more useful options hidden under its hood, and you can find these out by taking a look at the Explore all Settings section (see Fig: 5).
Fig: 5 Change settings to make the computer easier to use
The settings area has seven main options enabling you to change the settings for Using the Computer without a Display; Make the Computer easier to use; Use the computer without a mouse or keyboard; Make the mouse easier to use; Make the keyboard easier to use; Use text or visual alternatives instead of sounds, and Make it easier to focus on tasks,
If you have ever had problems trying to press the Ctrl and Alt and Delete keys together the Ease of Access Center offers you an option called 'Sticky Keys' which enables you to press each of the above keys one at time rather than in unison.
Fig 6 Changing the contrast of the display
You can also change the contrast of your monitor by Clicking on the Set up High Contrast button (See Fig: 6) in the main window of the Ease of Access Center and making the necessary changes.
Fig: 7 Change the size and colour of mouse pointer
So whether you want to magnify your screen, change the colour and size of our mouse pointer (See Fig: 7), use the on screen keyboard, or just listen to Microsoft Anna's dulcet tones the Ease of Access Center has something to offer all.