Making Your Computer Easier to Use

Are the words on the screen too small to read easily? Do you wish the icons were larger? Does it take you a while to locate the insertion point because it is so skinny? Windows Vista includes these utilities (small programs) to assist people with visual or auditory disabilities:

• Audio Description narrates videos as they play, if this feature is available within the video file.

• High Contrast changes the display of your screen from the usual muted Windows Vista colors to a starker color scheme that makes individual items stand out on the screen.

• Magnifier opens a magnification panel in which the screen under the mouse pointer is displayed, magnified up to nine times. You can adjust the size and location of the magnification panel.

• Narrator is a text-to-speech tool that works with Windows setup, the Windows desktop, Control Panel programs, Windows Explorer, Notepad, and WordPad. It reads menu commands, dialog box options, and other screen features out loud, telling you what options are available and how to use them. It also reads your keystrokes to you as you type them and tells you the pointer location as you move the mouse around.

• Sound Sentry flashes the screen element you specify (your choices are the active caption bar, active window, or desktop) every time the system's built-in speaker plays a sound.

You can turn off unnecessary animations and background images; specify how long notifications stay open (the default is seven seconds); and change the size of text, icons, the focus rectangle, the cursor, and the mouse pointer. Windows Vista also supports text captions for spoken dialogue and text narratives for videos, if they are available for the content you are working with.

The traditional method of entering information into a computer document is by typing it using the keyboard. However, mobility problems can make typing difficult. Windows Vista includes a variety of tools to help with entering information, including the following:

• On-Screen Keyboard displays a visual representation of a keyboard from which you can select individual keys by using your mouse, pen, or other device.

• Speech Recognition allows you to control Windows, control open programs, and dictate text by speaking into a microphone.

• Sticky Keys makes it easier to use the keyboard with one hand by making the Ctrl, Shift, and Alt keys "stick" down until you press the next key.

• Filter Keys causes Windows to ignore brief or repeated keystrokes, or slows the repeat rate.

• Mouse Keys enables you to move the cursor around the screen by pressing the Arrow keys on the numeric keypad.

• Toggle Keys sounds an audio signal when you press the Caps Lock, Num Lock, or Scroll Lock key. A high-pitched sound plays when the keys are activated, and a low-pitched sound plays when the keys are deactivated.

You can also make the keyboard shortcut for a command more obvious by underlining the letter in the command name that corresponds to the shortcut key, and you can activate a window by pointing to it rather than clicking it. If your hardware supports handwriting recognition, you can write, draw, or otherwise record information within variety of programs, because Windows Vista includes the Tablet PC functions that were previously available only in Windows XP Tablet PC Edition.

You can turn on the Narrator, Magnifier, High Contrast, On-Screen Keyboard, Sticky Keys, or Filter Keys features before logging on to Windows Vista by clicking the Ease Of Access icon in the lower-left corner of the Welcome screen (or by pressing Windows logo key+U), selecting the options you want, and then clicking Apply or OK.

After logging on to Windows Vista, you can control the accessibility settings from the Ease Of Access Center. To open the Ease Of Access Center:

When you first open the Ease Of Access Center, an audio guide reads aloud the text at the top of the screen, and provides mouse-free access to the Magnifier, Narrator, and On-Screen Keyboard utilities, or to switch to a high-contrast display.

You can turn off the audio guide and/or scan functions if you don't need them.

To optimize a specific type of element, you can select from the groups of settings at the bottom of the Ease Of Access Center.

If you want Windows to help you determine what settings will improve your computing experience, click Get Recommendations To Make Your Computer Easier To Use near the center of the window to begin a simple, five-part questionnaire about your eyesight, dexterity, hearing, speech, and reasoning. (Don't worry; your results are private.) Based on the issues you indicate, Windows Vista recommends and describes adjustments that might be helpful. Some are accessibility features and others are simple adjustments to Windows settings.

You can enact any suggested change by selecting its check box and clicking Apply or Save.

The tools available with Windows Vista provide only a minimum level of assistance for users with special needs. Most users with disabilities will need specialized programs with more advanced functionality for daily use.