HELPFUL GUIDE FOR ENHANCED ACCESSIBILITY

 

SET YOUR COMPUTER TO READ WEBSITES ALOUD

Most modern operating systems are capable of text to speech voice synthesizing. This allows you to have your computer read entire webpages or selected text on your screen out loud to you. Remember to check that your speaker/volume setting on your computer is not on mute or set too low to hear.

​

• For Windows, hold the Ctrl key and press the Escape key, then type "narrator" and then press the Enter key.

• For Mac OS X, click the Apple menu in the top-left corner of your screen and go to "System Preferences", then choose "Dictation & Speech", then click "Text to Speech". Check the "Speak selected text when the key is pressed" checkbox.

• Third party software is also available.

 

ZOOM YOUR SCREEN VIEW

Most modern operating systems are capable of zooming your entire screen. This may be a good alternative if increasing font sizes alone is not sufficient.

​

• For Windows, click the "Start" menu in the bottom-left corner of your screen and then go to "All Programs", then "Accessories", then "Ease of Access" and then click "Magnifier". Click the "Options" button and then move the slider to adjust the zoom increment. For more information about Windows' zoom accessibility features click to visit their website.

• For Mac OS X, click the Apple menu in the top-left corner of your screen and go to "System Preferences", then choose "Accessibility", then click "Zoom". You can assign keyboard shortcuts or trackpad gestures.

• Third party software is also available.

 

MAKE THE TEXT/FONT SIZE LARGER

Most modern web browsers are capable of increasing/decreasing font sizes while on a webpage. For detailed instructions please see the WCAG documentation page that opens in a new site.

​

• To increase the font size, hold the Ctrl key (Command key on a Macintosh) and press the + (plus) key.

• To decrease the font size, hold the Ctrl key (Command key on a Macintosh) and press the - (minus) key.

• To revert to the default font size, hold the Ctrl key (Command key on a Macintosh) and press the 0 (zero) key.

 

You can also set font-sizes universally for all pages that you visit in some browsers.

​

• For Internet Explorer, press the "Alt" key on your keyboard. A new menu will appear below the address bar, click "View" and select "Text Size".

• For Safari, click the "Safari" menu in the top-left corner of your screen, then select "Preferences". Then click "Advanced" and check the "Never use font sizes smaller than" checkbox under "Accessibility". Set this to your liking.

• For Chrome, click the "Menu" icon at the top-right of your window (3 horizontal lines) and then select "Settings". Scroll down and click "Show advanced settings". Scroll down to "Web content" and adjust to your liking.

• For Firefox, click the "Menu" icon at the top-right of your window (3 horizontal lines) and then select "Preferences". Select "Content" from the left-sidebar. The "Fonts & Colors" section can be adjusted to your liking.

 

CHANGE TEXT AND BACKGROUND COLORS

Most modern web browsers allow you to override fonts with your own formatting.

​

• For Internet Explorer, click the "Tools" button and then click "Internet Options." Then click the "General" tab and then click "Accessibility". Check the following checkboxes "Ignore colors specified on webpages," "Ignore font styles specified on webpages," and "Ignore font sizes specified on webpages." Then click "Ok" and change the fonts to your liking.

• For Internet Explorer, click the gear icon at the top-right of your window and then select "Internet Options." Click the "General" tab and then click the "Colors" button under "Appearance." Uncheck "Use Windows Colors" and change the colors to your liking.

• For Chrome, search the Chrome Extension Web Store for a suitable extension.

• For Firefox, click the "Menu" icon at the top-right of your window (3 horizontal lines) and then select "Preferences". Select "Content" from the left-sidebar. Click "Colors..." in the "Fonts & Colors" section and adjust the colors to your liking.

 

MAKE YOUR CURSER LARGER

Lowering your screen resolution may help you keep track of your mouse cursor. Alternatively, most modern operating systems allow you to increase the size of your mouse cursor.

​

• For Windows, click the "Start" menu in the bottom-left corner of your screen and then type "Mouse" (may need to click "Search" first if using Windows 8 or later). Select the "Mouse" option. Click the "Pointers" tab and adjust the size to your liking.

• For Mac OS X, click the Apple menu in the top-left corner of your screen and go to "System Preferences", then choose "Accessibility", then click "Display". Adjust the "Cursor size" slider to your liking.

 

NAVIGATING A WEBSITE VIA KEYBOARD

• Keys Move forward through items on a page → Tab

• Move backward through items on a page → Shift + Tab

• Press a selected button → Space bar

• Navigate radio buttons → Arrow keys

• Select and deselect checkboxes → Spacebar

• Open a dropdown menu → Alt + Down arrow

• Go to the previous tab → Ctrl (or Cmd) + Page Up

• Go to the next tab → Ctrl (or Cmd) + Page Down

• Go to the top of the page → Home

• Go to the bottom of the page → End

• Close the current tab or window → Ctrl (or Cmd) + W

• Refresh the page → F5 or Cmd + R

​

​