Keyboard navigation
It is also possible to move around on the website only using the keyboard. If you press the ‘Tab’ key, the focus moves to the next item, and the currently active item is marked with a box surrounding it. To activate the focus link, press the ‘Enter’ key on the keyboard.
Zooming content
Web browsers
We recommend using built-in features for web browsers in order to enlarge the content.
In all popular web browsers, you can zoom in and out on a website by holding down the ‘Ctrl’ key (the ‘Cmd’ key in OS X operating system) and pressing the ‘+’ or ‘-’ key, respectively. Another convenient way to zoom in or out on a website is to hold down the ‘Ctrl’ key while moving the mouse scroll wheel. You can return the screen image to its normal size by pressing ‘Ctrl’ and ‘0’ at the same time.
Browser extensions
Zoom extensions have also been created for web browsers to complement the available functionality of the web browser. For example, the Firefox extension Zoom Page allows you to enlarge both the entire page and only the text at the same time. There is a similar extension available for Chrome called AutoZoom.
Standalone programs
The zooming of the content displayed on the screen can be adjusted in all common operating systems.
Windows has a program called Magnifier for this purpose. To open it in Windows 10, click the button with the Windows logo at the bottom left and simultaneously press the plus sign (+) key on your keyboard as many times as you want to enlarge the content. To reduce the size of the content, click the button with the Windows logo and press the minus sign (-) key on your keyboard at the same time.
To open the Magnifier program in Windows 7, click the start menu button at the bottom left, start typing the word ‘Magnifier’ (the first few letters are enough) and then press the ‘Enter’ key. A small window will open displaying everything as zoomed in. By default, the program tracks the position of the mouse cursor.
In Windows XP, you can find Magnifier by following these steps: Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> Accessibility -> Magnifier.
To use the zooming feature on Apple computers, please follow these steps: Apple Menu -> System Preferences -> Accessibility (or Universal Access) -> Zoom.
Using Screen Reader
A screen reader is a program that tries to understand what is displayed on a computer screen and transfers such content in other forms, such as audio commentary. In particular, it is a tool for the visually impaired.
Selection 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
These topics are covered more in detail on the English website at http://www.abilitynet.org.uk/mcmw.