Tips for PC users
Accessibility tips and software for Microsoft products such as Internet Explorer, Windows XP and Windows Vista are available on the Microsoft Accessibility website. The site includes step-by-step tutorials in making your PC easier to use, and information for specific types of impairment.
General accessibility tips are also available on the AbilityNet website.
Changing window colours in Word
Windows XP:
Changing the window colour
- From the Start menu go to Control Panel and choose the Display icon.
- A window called Display Properties will appear.
- Click on the Appearance tab, then choose the Advanced button.
- From the Item drop down menu choose Window, then choose a colour from the Color 1 drop down menu.
- Alternatively click on the Other button to choose from a wider range of colours
- Click Ok when you have finished.
Windows Vista:
Changing the Window colour
- From the Start menu go to Control Panel.
- In the Control Panel window choose Classic View and open the Welcome Centre.
- Under Getting Started with Windows choose Personalize Windows.
- From there click on Window Color and Appearance.
- In Window Color and Appearance choose Open classic appearance properties
- This will open a window called Appearance settings. Click on the Advanced button
- From the Item drop down menu choose Window, then choose a colour from the Color 1 drop down menu.
- Alternatively click on the Other button to choose from a wider range of colours
- Click Ok to confirm the changes.
Changing text colour in word
Word 2003
- The font colour can be changed by going to the Format menu.
- From there choose font, then font color in the window that appears.
Word 2007
The tool for changing the text colour can be found under the Home tab on the toolbar.
Changing these options will not change the appearance of webpages.
Viewing web pages
The accessibility of web pages can be improved by going Control Panel from the Start menu and choosing Accessibility options.
Choose the Display tab and tick the Use high contrast box, then click on the Settings button to see a list of different colour schemes.
Most of these colour schemes do not change the colour of the actual page, but ones that say that they are High contrast or High colour do.
Further changes can be made by going to the tools menu and choosing Internet options. The Accessibility button will allow you to switch off the web pages settings. The Fonts and Colors buttons will allow you to choose your own fonts and text colours.
Magnification: Use 'Ctrl+' or 'Ctrl -' to maginfy or reduce the display of any web page
Other accessibility tools
To change the line spacing when typing a choose Paragraph from the Format menu – you can put it back to single spacing before you print
Use the Autocorrect tool from the Tools menu. It is possible to add your own common mis-spellings to the autocorrect table, these will be automatically corrected when you follow the word with a space or full stop.
Use the Accessibility options (in the Control Panel) - including:
Sticky keys which allow you to use one finger to operate the shift, control and alt keys. The modifier key selected will apply to the next key used.
Key repeat rate - this defines the length of time a key is held down before it repeats on the screen
Mouse keys - this allows the mouse pointer to be moved around using the numeric key pad.
The RNIB web site has an excellent selection of documents on Accessing technology for the visually impaired. These include tips on using your PC and surfing the web.
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