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Accessibility tips
and features Select a section:
About
accessibility
What is accessibility and why does it matter?
To
be accessible a website must be as easy to use and understand for as many visitors
as possible. We comply with the World Wide Web Consortium's (W3C's) Level A guidelines
for accessibility and we are committed to improving. Top
Text size and colour Can I change
font sizes and the colours of the website?
Yes. This may be useful for
you if you have low vision, and need larger fonts or high contrast colours. You
can change the font size, style and colour, and choose an alternative colour for
links. You can also change background and foreground colours. How do
I do that on a PC?
If using Internet Explorer on a PC, select the View
menu at the top of your window. To change font size, scroll down and select the
Text size option. To ignore font and background colours choose the Internet options
from the Tools menu at the top of the window. On the general tab of the window
that appears, click the Accessibility button. This takes you to a menu where you
can choose to ignore the way the page is formatted. Then return to the Internet
options menu, and use the Colours and Fonts buttons to set your preferences. How
do I do change text size on an Apple Mac?
From Internet Explorer, select
Preferences from the Edit menu at the top of the window. From there, click on
Web content and uncheck the Show style sheets option. Then return to the list
of preferences and choose Web browser. Then click on Language/fonts and choose
the size you need. Top
Keyboard navigation Q Do I have to use
a mouse to navigate the website?
A No. Use your arrow keys to scroll up
or down the page. You can use your Tab key to move between links, and press Return
or Enter to select one. To go back to the previous page, use the Backspace key.
Top
Speech enabling Q Is the website
speech enabled?
A Yes, follow the link to the Browsealoud site. Browsealoud
is a Windows application and can be used with Internet Explorer 4 and Netscape
Navigator 4 upwards. Simply click on the logo to switch on the reader and follow
the set up instructions. If you have any problems, there is a page which sets
out full instructions on installing and uninstalling Browsealoud. When installed,
position your cursor at the start of a paragraph and it will start to read automatically.
To stop the reader at any point, simply press the Ctrl key. Q Can I customise Browsealoud?
A
Yes. Once plugged it in, look for the Browsealoud icon in your system tray, which
is usually at the bottom right hand corner of your screen. Right click on the
icon and choose 'open Browsealoud settings' from the menu that appears. The speech
tab on the settings window enables you to choose a male or female voice, and change
the speed, pitch and volume of the reader. To read the entire page from where
your cursor points, check the 'Continue reading from pointer' box. Otherwise Browsealoud
will only read the individual sentences you point to. Additional voices can be
installed from the speech engines page on the Browsealoud website. Q Why speech enable the website?
A
Speech enabling the website provides an additional way of accessing our content
for people who find it hard to read. They include those with dyslexia or learning
difficulties, those for whom English is not their first language, or those with
mild visual impairment. It is not designed to replace other screen readers. To
help those using it, Browsealoud will highlight each word as it reads. Q
Does it work on all pages?
A Browsealoud will read every webpage on dh.gov.uk
and its subdomains on performance data, advisory bodies, caring about carers,
and the Care Standards Tribunal. It can also read PDFs in Adobe Reader Version
6.0 onwards. This meets the World Wide Web Consortium's (W3C's) Level A guidelines
for accessibility. Top
Browsealoud troubleshooting Q How
can I stop it reading?
A You can stop Browsealoud reading the page at
any point by pressing your 'Ctrl' key. Q Browsealoud does not recognise
a particular word, abbreviation or acronym on the page I am reading.
A
We can define how Browsealoud reads complicated, abbreviated or uncommon words.
As far as possible, we have tried to do this for all acronyms and technical terms
across the website. If you find a word unfamiliar to Browsealoud, please contact
the Webteam so we can fix the way it reads. Q Why does Browsealoud read some PDFs on the website,
but not others?
A Browsealoud will read documents in Adobe Acrobat Version
6.0, but not previous versions. From November 2004 we will endeavour to ensure
that all new PDFs are in Version 6.0. Q Why won't Browsealoud read the
file I have downloaded?
A What format is the file? If your PDF is not
being read, it is probably in an older version of Adobe. Although we cannot update
this, all our PDFs will be in Adobe Acrobat Version 6.0 from November 2004. Browsealoud
won't read documents produced in other file formats. Q How can I uninstall
Browsealoud?
A Full instructions on installing and uninstalling can be
found on Browsealoud's website. Top
PDF accessibility Q Is there anything
I can do to make PDF documents more accessible?
A Useful information about
services to make Acrobat documents more accessible is provided on Adobe's website. Top
Downloading documents Q What formats
are downloadable documents provided in?
A Downloadable documents on the
site are provided in a variety of formats. The most common are PDF, Word and Excel. Q
What if I don’t have the software to open the document?
A Most computers
already have the software to open these document formats. If you do not have Adobe
Acrobat Reader (for reading PDFs), it is available from the Adobe site. Q How do I save documents to my computer?
A If you have a PC, right-click on the link to the document. If you use
a Macintosh, hold down the mouse button over the link. In both cases, a popup
menu will then appear. Scroll down the menu and click on ‘Save target as’.
You will then be asked to choose a folder on your computer where you can save
the document.
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