Welcome to the demonstration of the Ease of Access Center in Windows Vista.
The new Ease of Access Center in Windows Vista provides a convenient, centralized location to adjust accessibility settings and programs to make your computer easier to use.
Open the Ease of Access Center in Control Panel by pressing the Windows Logo key + U.
Or, select:
The Ease of Access Center includes:
The Quick access to common tools section lets you quickly start Narrator, Magnifier, On-Screen Keyboard and High Contrast.
The list is read aloud and scanned automatically.
Start any of these four tools from the Quick Access Center, and they will turn off after you log off or shut down.
To start these tools automatically every time you log on, turn them on under the "Explore all settings" categories.
"Narrator" is a text-to-speech program that reads what is displayed on your screen, the contents of the active window, menu options, or the text you have typed. Narrator lets you customize the way screen elements are read.
Choose the text Narrator reads aloud such as:
And, choose Narrator voice settings including:
(Narrator voice)
EASE OF ACCESS CENTER: MAKE YOUR COMPUTER EASIER TO USE
"Magnifier" is a magnification program that enlarges a portion of your screen in a separate window to make it easier to see.
Choose the magnification level from 2 to 16 times the original.
For convenience and better visibility:
"On-Screen Keyboard" displays a visual keyboard with all of the standard keys on the screen. Instead of relying on the physical keyboard to type, you can select keys using the mouse or another pointing device, a small group of keys, or just one key. Several keyboard layouts and views are available to promote faster typing, or to give access to the maximum number of keys.
Choose from:
Three different typing modes can be used in On-Screen Keyboard:
In Clicking mode, click the on-screen keyboard keys to type text.
In Hovering mode, use a mouse or joystick to select a key by hovering over it. In Scanning Mode, On-Screen Keyboard continually scans the keyboard highlighting a line of keys. Pressing any keyboard key, or a single switch, selects the line. Then, On-Screen Keyboard begins scanning the individual keys in the line and the desired key is selected with the same keyboard key or switch.
To make the On-Screen Keyboard keys easier to see, change the font, font style, and font size from the Settings menu.
Turn on ClickSound to hear a sound when keys are pressed.
"High Contrast" is a display option that heightens the color contrast of some text and images on your computer screen, making those items more distinct and easier to identify.
There are a number of color scheme combinations to choose from.
An optional questionnaire is available when "Get recommendations to make your computer easier to use" is selected.
Questions relate to:
Based on your answers, a custom list of recommended settings is provided to make it easier to see, hear, and use your computer.
Under "Explore all settings" are seven categories of accessibility settings and programs.
Detailed demonstrations of each of these categories are available.
This concludes our demonstration.
Tutorials are provided for the accessibility settings and programs demonstrated.
For more information, visit the Microsoft Accessibility Web site at: www.microsoft.com/enable/