Accessibility

This page provides information about possibilities how to achieve better accessibility by configuring some browser and operation system tools.

A more detailed help page on the same topic can be found at http://www.abilitynet.org.uk/mcmw/

Zooming in and out

There are three main ways to zoom in on a webpage - using your browser built-in capabilities, using your OS built-in capabilities, or installing a special plug-in for the browser. Our recommendation is to use the easiest way - browser built-in zoom.

With a browser

All popular browsers allow zooming in and out by pressing the Ctrl (Cmd in OS X) and + or - keys. Or alternatively hold down the Ctrl key and scroll up or down with the mouse.

In your operating system

  • Windows 7 includes “Magnifier”, a program that allows zooming. Press the “Start” menu and type “Magnifier” (first letters should do it) and press Enter. A small overlay window appears that can be moved around with the mouse and zooms everything in it.
  • In Windows XP, go Start > All Programs > Accessories >  Accessibility > Magnifier.
  • In Apple computers, go Apple menu > System Preferences > Accessibility (or Universal Access) > Zoom.

Browser plug-ins

Browsers have plug-ins that extend the zooming capabilities. For example, “Zoom Page” for Firefox https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/zoom-page/, “AutoZoom” for Chrome https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/autozoom/ocdkpkoaonnchdakgkmmc....

 

Using a screen reader

A screen reader is a software application that attempts to identify and interpret what is being displayed on the screen. This interpretation is then re-presented to the user with text-to-speech, sound icons, or a Braille output device.

A choice of popular screen readers:

JAWS (Windows) http://www.freedomscientific.com/
VoiceOver (OS X, free, built-in)
NVDA (Windows, free) http://www.nvaccess.org/download/
SystemAccess (Windows) http://www.serotek.com/systemaccess