Easier Reading in Windows 7 Programs

Transcription

1 Easier Reading in Windows 7 Programs The Key Mada Assistive Technology Center Tel: Fax: info@mada.org.qa

2 Contents Introduction... 3 Using a scroll mouse or laptop trackpad to change text size in MS Office programs... 3 Make text larger in Ms Office Programs using Zoom... 3 Zooming in Internet Explorer and Firefox... 4 Minimise visual distraction... 4 Change the font style... 4 Setting a document template... 5 Changing Line Spacing... 6 Using the select tool to read a line at a time... 6 Vu-Bar... 7 Spr-Ot... 7 SsOverlay... 7 Free Text to Speech Natural Reader... 8 How computer adjustments affect other users of a shared computer... 8

3 Introduction Many people find the text on screen difficult to read. This could be because it is too small, the lines are too close together or the screen is too crowded. This document helps you to make reading text on screen easier using built in windows tools and free software. If you need to enlarge more than just text, please see Information Sheet, Enlarging the screen display in Windows 7. To change screen colours see Information Sheet Changing screen and text colours in Windows 7 Note: Instructions for mouse users have black bullet points Instructions for keyboard users have arrow shaped bullet points Using a scroll mouse or laptop trackpad to change text size in MS Office programs Go to the desktop or open one of the MS Office programs and open a document as this is where scroll mouse will work. If you have a mouse with a Scroll wheel, hold the Control key down and move the wheel, you will see the text become larger or smaller. If you have a laptop with a trackpad you may be able to enlarge the text size by sliding 2 fingers apart on the trackpad and to make text smaller slide 2 fingers together. If this doesn t work you may need to turn Trackpad Scrolling on, please see the Information Sheet, Changing how the mouse works in windows 7. If you do not have a scroll mouse there are other ways to change text size, please see below. Make text larger in Ms Office Programs using Zoom In Microsoft Office 2007 and 2010 programs (MS Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook etc.) you can adjust the size and layout of the text to make it easier to see and read; doing this does not change the size of the text when printed.

4 To do this Click on the Zoom Slider at the bottom right of the program window and drag it to make text larger or smaller. Press Alt + V then Z. Press the cursor keys to move between the % size options Tab to the %size box Then use the cursor keys to change the size. Press Enter when you have the size you want. If the slider is not visible right click on the status bar, at the bottom of the program window and you will see a long menu click on Zoom and Zoom slider at the bottom of the menu. Zooming in Internet Explorer and Firefox Both web browser programs have a zoom slider in the bottom right hand corner of the program window you can click on. If you do not see the zoom slider, use the keyboard shortcuts given below. Press the Control key and + for bigger text Press the Control key and - for smaller text Minimise visual distraction Some people find the MS Office Ribbon visually distracting and want to turn it off, this can be done temporarily. Press Control key and F1 to hide it Press Control key and F1 to bring it back If the menu is visually distracting in Internet Explorer or Firefox Press Control key and F11 to hide it Press Control key and F11 to bring it back Change the font style Some people find different font styles make it easier or harder to read on screen, serif font such as Times New Roam can be harder to read on screen especially if you have a visual impairment. Calibri is the standard font in Ms Office and not always easy to see. Below are some example fonts. This is an example of Times New Roman size 12 font

5 This is an example of Arial size 12 font This is an example of Calibri size 12 font This is an example of Comic Sans size 12 font (not bold) To change font style in Ms Office documents Click on the font style box in the Home menu and click on a font you want to try. Click on the size box if you want to change font size Press the Alt key then H for Home You will see lots of letters next to the menus Press FF for font style then down cursor to choose a Font then press Enter To change Font size press the Alt key then H for Home Press FS for font size then down or up cursor to choose a size Some people find making the text bold can also be very helpful. Setting a document template If you want every document to have the font size and style you have chosen you can easily do this. Click on the right hand corner of the Font box for font controls in the Home menu Press the Alt key then H for Home The FN for font controls

6 In the Font menu Click and set the font, style and size you need Click on Set as Default Click OK Click set all documents based on the normal template Click OK Press the down or up cursor key to choose a Font Tab to Font Style and use the cursor keys Tab to Size and use the cursor keys to set the size Tab to Set as Default or press Alt and D Press down cursor key to switch on Set all documents based on the normal template, the press Enter Changing Line Spacing Adding space between the lines can make reading on screen much easier and less tiring for many people. To do this Highlight the text you want to change with the mouse Click on the line spacing icon in the Paragraph group on the Office Ribbon and choose a line spacing option. Press Control + A (highlight All text) use the shift and cursor keys to highlight text you need Press Control + 5 (for 1.5 line spacing) Press Control + 2 (for double line spacing) Press Control + 1 (to go back to single line spacing Using the select tool to read a line at a time Some people who have trouble keeping their focus on one line of text use the line select tool to highlight one line of text at a time when reading. This will work in Ms Office programs and may work in others as well. Put the mouse pointer at the beginning of the line and make sure it is in the shape of an arrow, click once, it should turn the text pale blue.

7 Free Resources Vu-Bar A unique piece of software, provides an on-screen, slotted ruler. This is useful when the user skips lines or drops from one line to the next. The user can select the bar width, 25%, 50%, 75% or 100% of screen width and set the slot height to the required font size. The user can lock the bar onto the mouse pointer for movement, as well as improved keyboard movement options. vu-bar free download Spr-Ot Spr-Ot, or spread sheet slot a tool for use primarily with spread sheet applications. The bar can be flipped between vertical and horizontal use, moved, hidden and restored by either the menu or keyboard shortcuts. The bar can also be adjusted for height and width and locked onto the mouse for quick and easy movement. To use the mouse, simply click and hold to drag or right click for the menu. free download for Spr-Ot SsOverlay SsOverlay (the ss stands for Scotopic Sensitivity), places a coloured overlay onto the screen blocking out parts of the screen that the user finds visually distracting.. The colour and transparency levels can be adjusted to suit the user. SsOverlay free download

8 Free Text to Speech Natural Reader Free Natural Reader will read text aloud in MS Office and Internet Explorer. It can be downloaded from free download natural reader It can also be used to hear your words as you type. And you can use it for proof reading. How computer adjustments affect other users of a shared computer Any changes made may affect other people who use the computer, especially if there is no log on screen. Please tell other people what you have changed so they understand what is happening If you have your own computer logon, changes will just affect your computer use Please see the Information Sheet on Themes and User Profiles in Windows 7 on setting up the computer for different users For further information contact the MADA Qatar Assistive Technology Center, 7 th Floor, Al Nasr Tower B, Al Corniche Road, West Bay, Doha, Qatar. P.O. Box Ph: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.We request attribution to Mada and all other authors of original materials is retained