Access
This page describes how to get most things on this site read to you, then it lists the access keys that are available, and finally it explains how to alter the size of text.
Accessibility features
Voice
This web site is equipped with its own text-to-speech facility. This allows you to get the content read to you without having to download any software or play around with your browser. You can start the reader off either by clicking on the yellow and green Listen icon at the top item, or by using the L access key. If there are multiple items on the page the reader will start reading from the start of the item nearest your cursor position. To stop reading simply close the reader’s pop-up window.
The built-in listen feature here can read most of the content on the site, but we haven’t set it up to read all the navigation links or the partner list. We have gone for something simple that most people will find very easy to use.
But if you find text-to-speech valuable there is another approach which will give you much greater control of what is and what isn’t read - but it requires you to install software on your own machine.
The latest versions (9 upwards) of the free Opera browser have a very good voice feature built in. This will let you read whole pages or selected portions of a page, and puts you in full control once you have familiarised yourself with how it works. We have tested this site with Opera and it works well, and you can also use this more expert tool successfully with most modern sites on the Internet. You can download Opera free. The voice feature requires Windows 2000 or XP, and doesn’t yet work with other versions of the browser.
For other screen reading software we recommend reading up on the subject at Abilitynet, particularly if you are considering spending your own money. This is now a fast-moving area of technology, and some of the older products are looking expensive in comparison to new free or low-cost rivals.
Access keys available
| KEY | MEANING |
|---|---|
| L | = Listen to this item. |
| S | = Skip to content. |
| 1 | = Home |
| 2 | = What’s new |
| 3 | = Site map |
| 4 | = Search this site |
| 5 | = Find your nearest business support |
| 8 | = Your privacy |
| 9 | = Contact us |
| 0 | = Access key definitions (this page) |
Access keys are an attempt to make it easier to use the web if you have trouble controlling a mouse. Instead you use your keyboard to navigate around the site, pressing combinations of keys to get to important locations. That’s the theory at least, but the whole approach has suffered from a lack of clear standards and patchy support from browser vendors.
How to use Access Keys
This depends on your browser
- Internet Explorer (most PC versions): Hold down the ALT key, press the number or letter of the access key, release both keys then press ENTER
- Firefox: Same as Internet Explorer up to version 2, then confused. You now need to hold down both SHIFT and ALT plus the access key. There were initial problems getting this to work with the numeric keys, but this has been fixed in the latest versions. Message: you must use the latest version of Firefox if you intend to use access keys.
- Opera: Has the best support. Pressing SHIFT and ESC together lists all access keys used on the page. You then just press the key. So to get to the home page on this or other UK sites you go SHIFT ESC, release them then press 1
- On a Mac: Press the CTRL or Control key together with the number or letter of the access key. There’s no need to hit ENTER.
The big problem with access keys is that other software you may be running (especially your browser) may well want to use the same key combinations.
To reduce the possibility of a clash happening we use mostly numbers rather than letters, as the number combinations are less used by other software. Where possible we try to give the keys similar meanings to those popularised by UK government web sites and the BBC.
Changing text size
This web site is designed to work well in different sizes of text, which you can control using either your browser’s menu system or a wheel mouse.
If you have a wheel mouse, you should be able to resize text by scrolling the wheel of the mouse while holding down the Ctrl key. If this doesn’t work the wheel mouse is probably not using the correct driver.
You can also use the menu system of your browser to change text size. Exactly how depends on the browser.
- Internet Explorer: View menu > Text size
- Firefox: View menu > Text size
- Opera: File menu > Preferences > Fonts > Minimum font size (pixels)
Further information
The BBC has produced a very useful guide together with Abilitynet into what you can do to make browsing easier by changing the settings on your own computer.
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