Making Your Computer More Accessible

There are several ways to magnify the size and appearance of the print and icons on the screen so you can see them better. These solutions range from free or low cost to various expensive options. Make sure you try them all and determine which one(s) works best for you before making a large financial investment.

Changing Computer Settings

WINDOWS accessibility settings

The newer Windows operating systems offer a wide variety of menus to change the appearance of icons and text on the screen. This includes changing the font and type, contrast, location of icons, shape of mouse pointers and cursors.

Windows VISTA has an Ease of Access Center that includes quick access to common tools, a questionnaire to get recommendations for accessibility settings and tools, and the ability to explore all accessibility settings in seven categories. The Ease of Access Center can be found in the Control Panel in Windows Vista or by selecting Windows logo key+U. The Ease of Access icon is also available when you are logging into Windows Vista. The Ease of Access Center replaces the Accessibility Wizard and Utilities Manager in previous versions of Windows.

Windows XP provides a relatively easy way to modify accessibility options via a simple-to-follow "wizard." To locate this wizard:

1. Go to the Windows Start Menu, click on Programs, All Programs, Accessories.
2. The first option should be Accessibility and the first item here will be Accessibility Wizard.
3. Follow this wizard and experiment with the various possibilities to see which one works best for you.

Also, it is important to organize your "active desktop" by keeping the icons in the same place at all times so that you will be able to locate the icon you need easily. Remove visual clutter from your active desktop screen by only having the icons which you use on a regular basis visible.

The Windows Magnifier

Starting with Windows XP, a simple, no frills magnifier is included in the program. To access this utility:

1. Click on the Start Button, Programs, All Programs, Accessories and Accessibility.
2. The second item should be Magnifier.

Keep in mind that this magnifier does not replace the full-featured magnification programs we will describe later. However, depending on your degree of vision loss, it may just work for you and — the price is right — it's free!

MAC accessibility settings

On the MAC running the Leopard OS, use The Universal Access System Preferences pane to browse and set accessibility features. All of these preferences can also be turned on and off with control keys.

Increasing the Text Size of your Browser

All browsers let you change the text size. Here's how to do this in each of the popular browsers:

Internet Explorer

1. Go to the menu item View.
2. Select Text Size and choose Largest.

FireFox

1. Go to the menu item View.
2. Select Text Size and choose Increase.
3. Using Windows you may also press Ctrl+ to increase the text size.
4. On a Macintosh you may also press Command+ to increase the text size.

Netscape

1. Go to the menu item View.
2. Select Text Size and choose Increase.
3. On a Macintosh you may also press Command+ to increase the text size.

Opera

1. Go to the menu item View.
2. Select Zoom and choose %.
3. On a Macintosh you may also press Command+ to increase the text size.

Safari

1. Go to the menu item View.
2. Select Make Text Bigger.
3. On a Macintosh you may also press Command+ to increase the text size.

Screen Magnification Software

There are several software products that magnify the computer screen. See our list of these software products.

Additional Resources

For a more in-depth step-by-step tutorial on configuring Windows for low vision users, check out the May 2005 issue of AccessWorld, a magazine published by the American Foundation for the Blind in New York. You may find the article titled Redoing Windows: A Guide for Customizing Windows for Users with Low Vision [link opens in new window] especially helpful.