Accessibility in Windows 7 Accessibility in Windows 7 Published by Microsoft Corporation Trustworthy Computing, Accessibility Group One Microsoft Way Redmond, Washington 98052-6399 Copyright 2009 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. No part of the contents of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without the written permission of the publisher. For permissions, visit www.microsoft.com. Microsoft and Windows are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. Find further information on Microsoft Trademarks (http://www.microsoft.com/library/toolbar/3.0/trademarks/en- us.mspx). www.microsoft.com/enable/ 2 Accessibility in Windows 7 Introduction Windows 7 includes accessibility options and programs that make it easier to see, hear, and use your computer. Accessibility is the epitome of usability and was a key tenet throughout the engineering of Windows 7. Windows 7 gives you more ways to interact with your PC by taking advantage of new strides in speech recognition and touch technology. Windows 7 includes accessibility options and programs that make it easier to see, hear, and use your computer including ways to personalize your computers and use keyboard shortcuts. Included in this document, you will discover how to: Make Your Computer Easier to Use (Ease of Access Center) ................................... 5 The Ease of Access Center is a central location where you can get quick access to explore and manage accessibility options. Explore how: Use the computer without a display ........................................................................... 7 Make the computer easier to see .............................................................................. 9 Use the computer without a mouse or keyboard ........................................................ 11 Make the mouse easier to use ................................................................................. 13 Make the keyboard easier to use ............................................................................. 15 Use text or visual alternatives to sounds .................................................................. 17 Make it easier to focus on task ................................................................................ 19 Use Accessibility Tools .......................................................................................... 21 Windows 7 introduces significant improvements to the accessibility tools. Magnifier now includes a lens mode and full-screen mode. On-Screen Keyboard can be resized to make it easier to see and includes text prediction. Learn how to: Make items on the screen appear bigger (Magnifier) .................................................. 22 Type without using a keyboard (On-Screen Keyboard) ............................................... 26 Hear text read aloud with Narrator .......................................................................... 29 Use Speech Recognition ......................................................................................... 34 Personalize Your Computer ................................................................................... 36 Personalize your computer so it looks just the way you want it. Find out how to change and personalize: Themes ................................................................................................................ 36 www.microsoft.com/enable/ 3 Accessibility in Windows 7 Aero .................................................................................................................... 36 Sounds ................................................................................................................ 37 Desktop Background .............................................................................................. 37 Screen Saver ........................................................................................................ 37 Font Size .............................................................................................................. 37 User Account Picture .............................................................................................. 37 Desktop Gadgets ................................................................................................... 38 Tutorials ................................................................................................................ 39 These tutorials provide both keyboard and mouse steps to help you set up your computer and start using the accessibility features in Windows 7. Keyboard Shortcuts ............................................................................................... 72 Get the complete list of keyboard shortcuts for Windows 7. Keyboard shortcuts can make it easier to interact with your computer, saving you time and effort as you work with Windows and other programs. www.microsoft.com/enable/ 4 Accessibility in Windows 7 Make Your Computer Easier to Use (Ease of Access Center) The Ease of Access Center is a central location where you can turn on and set up accessibility settings and programs available in Windows. You can adjust settings that make it easier to see your computer, use the mouse and keyboard, and use other input devices. You can also answer a few questions about your daily computer use and accessibility requirements and have Windows recommend settings and programs for you. Figure 1: Ease of Access Center: Make your computer easier to use www.microsoft.com/enable/ 5 Accessibility in Windows 7 The Ease of Access Center is available through a Control Panel icon, and can be opened by selecting the Start button , clicking Control Panel, clicking Ease of Access, and then clicking Ease of Access Center. You can also press the Windows logo key +U and the Ease of Access Center will open. The Ease of Access Center includes: • Quick access to common tools • Get recommendations to make your computer easier to use, and • Explore all settings Quick access to common tools Start Narrator, Magnifier, On-Screen Keyboard, and High Contrast quickly from Quick access to common tools in the Ease of Access Center. When you start these tools from the Quick Access section, the tools will turn off after you log off or shut down. If you want these tools to start automatically every time you log on, turn them on under the Explore all settings categories. Get recommendations to make your computer easier to use This optional questionnaire provides a personalized list of recommended settings that can improve your ability to see, hear, and comfortably use your computer. The Ease of Access Center questionnaire takes the guesswork out of selecting settings. Based on your answers to a series of questions about routine tasks, a custom list of recommended settings is provided so you can choose which options you want to try. You can complete the questionnaire and adjust your settings as often as you like. You can find the questionnaire in the Ease of Access Center (in Control Panel) by selecting Get recommendations to make your computer easier to use. Explore All Settings Instead of looking for accessibility settings in various places on your computer, Windows 7 brings all those settings together and organizes them into categories that you can explore in the Ease of Access Center. You can explore seven different categories of accessibility settings and programs: Use the computer without a display ................................................................................ 7 Make the computer easier to see .................................................................................... 9 Use the computer without a mouse or keyboard .............................................................. 11 Make the mouse easier to use ....................................................................................... 13 Make the keyboard easier to use.................................................................................... 15 Use text or visual alternatives to sounds ......................................................................... 17 Make it easier to focus on tasks ................................................................................ 19 www.microsoft.com/enable/ 6 Accessibility in Windows 7 Use the computer without a display Windows has many features that enable you to use your computer without a display. For example, you can have screen text read aloud by using Narrator or you can have Windows describe screen activity to you. You can turn on or adjust settings for these features by clicking Use the computer without a display page in the Ease of Access Center, then select the options that you want to use: • Turn on Narrator. This option sets Narrator to run when you log on to Windows. Narrator reads aloud on-screen text and describes some events (such as error messages appearing) that happen while you're using the computer. More on Narrator. • Turn on Audio Description. This option sets Audio Description to run when you log on to Windows. Audio descriptions describe what's happening in videos. • Turn off all unnecessary animations. This option turns off animation effects, such as fading effects, when windows and other elements are closed. • How long should Windows notification dialog boxes stay open? This option sets how long notifications are displayed on the screen before they are closed. www.microsoft.com/enable/ 7 Accessibility in Windows 7 Figure 2: Ease of Access Center: Use the computer without a display www.microsoft.com/enable/