Accessibility Tools

Microsoft Windows and Mac OS contain many accessibility tools and features that can assist computer or tablet users that are blind or vision impaired. Visit the Assistive technology page for more information on equipment that can assist you.

Skip to Content link

A skip to content link is available at the top of every page. This link enables users with screen reading software to skip over navigation links and jump directly to the textual content of a page.

Adjusting text size

You can use the following options within your browser to adjust text size:

Microsoft Edge – Windows 10 / 11

  • Go to the ‘…’ menu in the top right hand corner of the window.
  • Go to ‘Zoom.
  • Select the ‘+’ icon to increase the text size on the web page or ‘-‘ to decrease the text size.

All browsers – Windows 10 / 11

  • Hold down the ‘Control’ key on your keyboard.
  • Press the ‘+’ key to make the text bigger or the ‘-‘ key to make the text smaller.

Safari – Mac OS

  • Hold down the ‘Apple’ key on your keyboard.
  • Press the ‘+’ key to make the text bigger or the ‘-‘ key to make the text smaller

FireFox – all platforms

  • Hold down the CTRL key on your keyboard.
  • Press the ‘+’ key to make the text bigger or the ‘-‘ key to make the text smaller.
  • Keep repeating step 2 until the text is at a suitable size.

Adjusting colours

Windows 10 and 11

The easiest method to change the colours is to use the built-in ‘High contrast’ mode. This will invert all the colours on screen. To set this up:

  • Select the ‘Windows’ key on your keyboard or select the ‘Windows’ icon at the bottom left of your screen.
  • Select ‘Settings’.
  • Select ‘Ease of Access’.
  • Select ‘High contrast’.
  • Select ‘Turn on high contrast’.

If you need to turn the mode on or off press and hold the following keys on your keyboard at the same time: left ‘Alt’, left ‘Shift’ and ‘Print screen’.

Microsoft Edge – Windows 10 and 11

If you only want to change the colours in your browser Microsoft Edge has a feature called ‘Immersive Reader’. This feature enables you to change the appearance of a web page by removing the advertisements, changing the text and background to your preferred colours and change the font type amongst other features. To access this feature:

  • Press ‘F9’ on your keyboard or select the ‘Immersive Reader’ icon in the address bar.
  • Select ‘Text preferences’ in the menu at the top of the screen.
  • Select the page theme that best suits your needs.

Mac OS

The easiest way to change the colours is to use the built-in ‘reverse’ feature in Mac OS 10.4 Tiger or higher. This will reverse all colours on the screen. This option can be selected by holding down the ‘Control’, ‘Option’ and ‘Apple’ keys while pressing the number ‘8′. Repeat these steps to change the colours back to normal.

Text-to-Speech Access

Windows 10 / 11:

JAWS
You can purchase an additional software program such as JAWS (Job Access With Speech) which is a screen reader which will read aloud web pages to you. For more information, please contact us or visit the JAWS/Freedom Scientific website (link opens in new window).

NVDA
NVDA (Non Visual Desktop Access) is a free screen reader that can read aloud web pages. More information is available on the NVDA website (link opens in new window).

Narrator 
“Narrator” is a basic built in screen reader available for windows 8 and 10 free of charge. To start or stop Narrator, press the Windows logo key + Enter or access Narrator through “Ease of Access Center” (Windows logo key + U).

To see all Narrator commands, press Caps Lock + F1.  Further information about Narrator can be found on the Microsoft accessibility (link opens in new window) website.

Microsoft Edge – ‘Read Aloud’

The ‘Read Aloud’ function in Microsoft Edge will read text on a web page from the top of the page. This feature can be started in any of the following ways:

  • Pressing the following keys at the same time: ‘Control’, ‘Shift’ and ‘U’.
  • Right click on your mouse anywhere on the page and select ‘Read Aloud’.
  • When using the ‘Immersive Reader’ feature select the ‘Read Aloud’ icon at the top of the page.
  • Select the ‘Read Aloud’ icon in the address bar.

Mac OS

Mac OS 10.4 Tiger and higher have a built-in program called VoiceOver which can read aloud text on your computer screen, including web pages. To turn on VoiceOver, hold down the ‘Apple’ key and press the ‘F5′ key. Further information about VoiceOver and other accessibility tools are available on the Apple website (link opens in new window).

How to get support

Please complete the form below to make an initial enquiry about accessibility tools, our low vision services and support we can provide. Our Client Experience Team will contact you to discuss your individual needs, both now and into the future.

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