Making text larger or smaller in your Web Browser
The two most popular browsers are Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator.
Below you will find a step-by-step guide to enlarging the text in these
browsers. If you have also changed the settings in your operating system
and find that this does not magnify the text enough to be useful, then
it may be worth investigating screen
magnification software.
These instructions are for use with the browser versions listed below,
however they may also work with other versions of the same web browser.
Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0,
5.5 and 6.0
- Open your Internet Explorer Web Browser
- Choose the drop down menu at the top of the window of the
browser marked View
- A list of options will appear in the drop down menu, choose
text size
- Next another drop down menu should appear with options including
small, medium, large, largest
- Select largest
Alternatively, Internaet Explorer users who use a mouse with a wheel
may be able to increase or decrease text size by holding down the Ctrl
key and rolling the mouse wheel up and down.
The text in your browser window should now appear larger. If this is
still too small for you then it may be that you need to look at other
ways of enlarging the text on your screen, such as screen
magnification software software.
Netscape Navigator 6.2, 7.0 and above
- Open your Netscape browser
- Hold down the Ctrl button on your keyboard and press
the plus (+) key
- You will find that this will enlarge the text, to enlarge again
repeat the procedure
- Keep repeating until the text is enlarged to your requirements
- If you need to make the text smaller press ctrl on your keyboard
and the minus ( - ) key
The text in your browser window should now appear larger. If this is
still too small for you then it may be that you need to look at other
ways of enlarging the text on your screen, such as screen
magnification software software.
Opera
The range of visual impairments is broad and Opera addresses symptoms of low vision and blindness by providing features specifically designed to aid visually impaired users.
Low vision can incorporate color blindness, contrast sensitivity, and difficulty in changing focus. Users may have problems reading colored text and links, and experience eye strain with flashes and video display.
Low vision users
Zoom graphics and text
Zoom the contents of a document (text and images) from 20%-1000% either from the drop-down zoom box at the top of the browser or by simply pressing + to zoom in or - to zoom out.
Change colors, text size and increase buttons
from the Preferences menu.
To change the color of text and links:
Go to File > Preferences > Fonts and colors
Change the fonts and colors of the text and links, background color, and minimum text size to a style that better suits you
Disable animations and video display
Opera lets you disable GIF animations, video displays, and Java plug-ins that can be obtrusive if you have difficulty changing focus or experience eye strain.
Press G to toggle images on/off on a page. This allows you to only view text and the page will load much faster.
To disable GIF animations go to File > Preferences > Multimedia and uncheck the "Enable GIF animation" box in the images section.
To disable video displays, Java, and plug-ins go to File > Preferences > Multimedia,
then to the "Media types" section, and uncheck the actions you want to disable
Implement your own style sheet
You can specify your own style sheet and disable the document's style sheet, which will let you view the page with the colors and fonts you prefer.
In File > Preferences > Page style, you can select that Opera displays the pages with the colors, fonts, and link style that you choose. Select "My style sheet", "My fonts", etc., and insert the file of the style sheet you have authored and/or customized.
You can switch between the "User mode" or "Author mode" style sheet by pressing Ctrl+G, or by clicking the User mode/author mode icon you find on each page.
The "User mode" style sheet lets you customize the color of the font and the background, as well as the text size. For example, if black text on a white background strains your eyesight, you can change the background to black with a green font for easier reading. The "Author mode" displays the Web pages as the Web designer or author intends it to be seen.
Blind users
Sound alerts
Opera lets users implement sounds for several actions performed while surfing. Any sound can be installed for various movements, such as Opera start-up and exit, page loaded, transfer done, failure, instant message received, and follow link.Go to File > Preferences > Sounds and choose a sound file for each event.
These guidelines are adapted with permission from the Royal National
Institute of the Blind (RNIB). and http://www.opera.com/features/access/visual/#lowvision. For more information on web accessibility
issues, visit
the RNIB website.
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