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BOOT CAMP 304 (09/12/03)
ACCESSIBILITY part 1
Several emails from
readers with physical impairments reminded me that it’s been a while since we
looked at the various ‘Accessibility’ features that are included in Microsoft
Windows. These are not well advertised, nor are they enabled by default on older
versions of Windows; XP is a lot better in this respect but they are still quite
well hidden and you may not come across them during normal use. Nevertheless
they are worth getting to know because even the healthiest of us are only
temporarily able-bodied…
We’ll begin this week
with Windows 98, SE & ME, there are a few accessibility options in Windows
95 but they’re fairly limited so if you are still using it and have difficulty
driving a PC you should consider upgrading or wait for part two when we look at
Windows XP and the various third-party add-ons that are
available.
Windows Accessibility
features fall into three categories, addressing problems with vision, hearing
and mobility. It’s a good idea to install all of them at the same time since
they take up very little hard disc space. Open Control panel and double click
the Add/Remove Programs icon, select the Windows Setup tab and click
Accessibility. Check both items, click OK and follow the prompts. This may
involve loading your Windows installation CD-ROM, so make sure you have it
ready.
Time for a brief guided
tour. Double-click the Accessibility Options icon that should now appear in
Control Panel. The contents of the Keyboard tab should be displayed and this has
three choices.
StickyKeys is designed
to help you with common keyboard shortcuts, like Ctrl + Al + Delete (Close
Program menu), Ctrl + Z (undo), Ctrl + C (copy) etc., that involve pressing and
holding down two or more keys. Once enabled instead of pressing them all at once
you simply tap them in sequence.
If you suffer from
trembling or involuntary hand and finger movements select the FilterKeys options
and repeated accidental key presses will be ignored. The Toggle Keys feature
switches on a bleeper that sounds when you press the Caps Lock, Scroll Lock or
Num Lock keys. Incidentally, this is heard through the PC’s built-in speaker,
which not all models have these days, and it may not work properly with some
laptops.
For those with hearing
problems there are two options on the Sound tab. SoundSentry makes the caption
bar, active window or desktop flash whenever Windows makes a warning sound.
Alternatively, select ShowSounds, which displays an on-screen caption for any
sound that your PC makes.
The facilities on the
display tab can be helpful if you have trouble reading text or data on screen.
Here you will find a switch for selecting a high-contrast, bold-coloured display
scheme with larger menus, icons and mouse pointers. If you find using a mouse
difficult the Mouse tab switches pointer movement and mouse control to
designated keys on the numeric keypad. You can alter cursor and mouse settings
from the Mouse icon in Control panel.
Accessibility features
can be set to turn off after a set period of inactivity from the General tab;
there’s also a facility to assign sounds to the Accessibility options and a
switch for non-standard keyboards.
The Windows Screen
Magnifier can help those with impaired eyesight. To switch it on go to Start
> Programs > Accessibility and click Magnifier. This splits the screen into two, with a
magnified version of the lower part of the screen at the top. The magnification
factor (x2 to x9) and various other parameters can be adjusted from the dialogue
box that appears. You can drag the
‘separator bar’ up or down with the mouse pointer to alter the size of the two
screens. It’s fairly basic and not especially easy to use but there are better
ones available, more details next week.
If others share your PC
you can assign Accessibility options to your User Profile so that they will only
be selected when you log on with your password. To enable this feature click the
Password icon in Control Panel and select the User Profile
tab.
Finally, if you prefer,
you can select your Accessibility options using a simple to follow ‘Wizard’,
which helps you to choose the features that best suit your particular needs. To
use it go to Start > Programs > Accessories, > Accessibility and click
the Wizard icon.
Next week – Windows
Accessibility, part 2
JARGON FILTER
DISPLAY SCHEME
A preset selection of colours, sizes and text formats
assigned to Windows screen elements
SEPERATOR BAR
Moveable horizontal or
vertical dividing line between two adjoining windows
WIZARD
Helper
program designed to guide novice users through a configuration or setup
routine
TIP OF THE WEEK
You’ll find an overview and a comparison chart of the
Accessibility features available in the various versions of Windows on the
Microsoft web site at: http://www.microsoft.com/enable/
Products/chartwindows.aspx
There’s a useful set of disability guides, step-by-step
tutorials, case studies and articles about Microsoft’s work in this area at: http://www.microsoft.com/enable
Microsoft also publishes a free monthly newsletter called
Accessibility Update with details of the latest accessibility options and
assistive technology developments. To subscribe go to: http://www.microsoft.com/enable/
news/subscribe/default.asp
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