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Hart District Council
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Accessibility


Viewer downloads

Hart white papers require Adobe Acrobat Reader to view. Unless you already have this installed you will need to download this software from the Internet and install it prior to viewing white papers.

You can obtain Adobe Acrobat Reader from the Adobe website. Please follow the instructions given on the Adobe website to download and install the software.


Ease of use

This site's layout is designed to accommodate users who are visually impaired or have difficulties using a mouse. It is fully compatible with popular screen reading software and can be navigated using a keyboard. If you have any problems finding the information you require try using the keyword search located at the top right navigation on every page.


Access Keys used on the site

This site features "access keys". These are shortcuts allowing you to get to parts of a site or web page quickly. This is useful if you have difficulties using a mouse or prefer to use these shortcuts. We have used access keys to locate the main links on the site and also to access text boxes and buttons.

We use the UK Government access keys standard, as recommended by the Office of the E-Envoy. The access keys are:

S skip navigation
1 home page
3 site map
4 search
8 terms and conditions (including privacy statement)
0 accessibility

How you use these access keys depends on whether you use a Windows or Mac machine, and also depends on your choice of browser.

For a Windows based operating system (PC):-

Internet Explorer 5 + :

  1. Press and hold down the ALT key
  2. Then press the number or letter (see the access keys as listed above) and press Enter (or Return) key

Internet Explorer 4 :

  1. Press and hold down the ALT key
  2. Then press the number or letter (see the access keys as listed above)

Netscape 6 + :

  1. Press and hold down the ALT key
  2. Then press the number or letter (see the access keys as listed above)

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For an Apple Mac:-

Internet Explorer 5 + :

  1. Press and hold down the Control key
  2. Then press the appropriate number or letter (see the access keys as listed above) and press Enter (or Return) key

Internet Explorer 4.5 :

  • Access keys are not supported

Netscape 6 + :

  1. Press and hold down the Control / CTRL key
  2. Then press the appropriate number or letter (see the access keys as listed above)

Netscape, earlier versions :

  • Access keys are not supported

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Setting the screen resolution

The screen area setting is an important factor in how much information your monitor can display. Have you noticed how everything looks really big on your screen, or that many of the web pages you view require you to scroll left to right in addition to down? This is because your screen area is set too low, allowing only a certain amount of information to be displayed. By increasing the number of pixels your monitor is capable of displaying, you can view more on your screen regardless of its actual dimensions!

Instructions for Windows based operating system (PC)

  1. Click the Start button (bottom left corner of screen)
  2. From the Settings menu, click on 'Control Panel'
  3. Double-click on Display to open
  4. Click on the Settings tab
  5. Drag the Display or screen area slider to the right until it reads 1024 by 760 or larger. If this resolution is not available on the computer you are using, choose 800 by 600. [Note that you will need to scroll more on web pages when using this lower resolution)
  6. Click on OK to save changes
  7. After the screen resizes, click the OK button again to confirm the new screen size

OR

  1. Minimize all open windows
  2. Right click anywhere on the desktop as long as it is not on an icon
  3. Select Properties from the pop-up menu
  4. From the window that appears click on the Settings tab
  5. You will see a slider titled Desktop area. Move the slider up to 800 x 600 pixels, click on OK
  6. A pop-up window titled Display Properties will appear with the text: Windows will now adjust your display settings. This could take a few seconds, during which your screen might flicker. If Windows does not reappear correctly, wait 15 seconds, and your original settings will be restored
  7. Click on OK to see your display change and Windows will ask: Do you want to keep this setting?
  8. Click Yes

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Instructions for Mac OS X

  1. Exit all applications and choose Control Panels/Monitors from the Apple menu
  2. Click on the Monitors & Sound button
  3. Under the Resolution option, click the 800x600 setting, or the closest one to that
  4. Close the Monitors window

(Note: Some Mac monitors will NOT allow a setting above 640 x 480)

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Browser configuration

You can change features on your browser and control the way that web pages appear. This is useful if you have low vision, need larger fonts, or need high-contrast or different colours from the ones set. Using options available in your browser, you can change:

  • The size, style and colour of fonts
  • The background colours of web pages
  • The colour used to indicate hyperlinks, active web links and visited web links

How you do this depends on what browser you use. Below are the steps for making these feature changes in Internet Explorer and Netscape.

Internet Explorer 5.x (for Windows based operating system - PC)

To edit colours

  1. Click on Tools from the browser menu options
  2. Select Internet options
  3. Click on the Colours button at the bottom of the pop-up screen
  4. Choose the colour options that you find best, then click on OK to save the changes

To edit fonts

  1. Click on Tools from the browser menu options
  2. Select Internet options
  3. Click on the Fonts button at the bottom of the pop-up screen
  4. Choose the font options that you find best, then click on OK to save the changes

To change text size

  1. Click on View from the browser menu options
  2. Select Text size, and choose the option that is best for you

To over-ride the design settings of a web page

  1. Click on Tools from the browser menu options
  2. Select Internet options
  3. Click on the Accessibility button at the bottom of the pop-up screen
  4. Tick any of the options that you want to over-ride and click on OK to save the changes

Note For Internet Explorer 4, the options can be accessed by selecting 'View' from the browser menu options

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Internet Explorer 5.x (for Apple Mac)

To change text size

  1. Click on Edit from the browser menu options
  2. From the options menu which appears, select Preferences
  3. Click on Web content
  4. Deselect the button marked Show style sheets
  5. Return to the list of preferences
  6. Click on Web browser
  7. Select Language/fonts
  8. Select the font size you require

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Netscape (all versions and operating systems)

  1. Click on Edit from the browser menu options
  2. Select Preferences
  3. Open the Appearance group of options

To edit colours

  1. Click on Colours
  2. Choose the colours that you want for text, background, visited and unvisited links
  3. To override the colours used by the designer of the web page, select the option to use your chosen colours
  4. Click on OK to save changes

To edit fonts & font size

  1. Click on Fonts
  2. Next to Fonts for should read 'Western', to tell the computer which types of letters and symbols to use
  3. From Size select the size of font that suits you (for example, 18)
  4. Select the fonts you prefer from the drop down boxes
  5. To override the fonts used by the designer of the web page, select Use my default fonts overriding document specified fonts or uncheck Allow documents to use other fonts
  6. Click on OK to save changes

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Operating system configuration

You can choose your own colour and font preferences, though there are more options available for changing the settings in Windows.

Windows

  1. Click on Start (bottom left corner of screen)
  2. Select Settings, and then Control Panel
  3. Open the Display section either by double left clicking on the icon, or by highlighting the icon and pressing Enter
  4. Click on the Appearance tab to see the options available in this section
  5. Then either -
    a. Click on the arrow in the 'Colour scheme' box to display the colour scheme options available
    b. Scroll down the list to see each one previewed above and, when you find one that is suitable, press Enter to select it. (Some of these colour schemes have large font versions)

    Or

    a. Click on the arrow in the Item box to display all the objects whose colour you can change
    b. Select the item that you want to change, then open up the colour options by clicking on the Colour button. (Clicking on other inside the Colour box will give you the full range of colours available on the system)
    c. Choose the colour you want for that item
    d. Repeat this for every item whose colour you want to change, then click on OK to save you're the changes to your system

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Mac OS 8.5, 9.x

The main way to change your Mac's appearance is by using the Appearance section within the Appearance control panel. It lets you choose a variation colour for windows and a highlight colour for text. (The highlight colour is the colour you see when you select text in a program or click on an icon and hit return to rename it. The variation colour is, as it says below the pull-down menu, the colour that is used when you select an item in a menu.)

  1. Select Appearance Control Panel from the options along the top of the window
  2. Select Appearance
  3. Click on Highlight colour drop-down menu to display the colour options
  4. Click on the Variation colour drop-down menu to display the colour options

To change the fonts on the system

  1. Select Appearance Control Panel from the options along the top of the window
  2. Select the Fonts tab
  3. Select your options from the drop-down menus for Large system font, Small system font and the Views font

[The Large System Font is used in the title bar of windows, the menu bar and menus, and tabs. The Small System Font is for "explanatory text and labels." The Views Font is what's used for filenames. ]

When you have made all the selections, click on 'Save theme' to save your changes.

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Mouse settings

Windows

You can change three settings of the mouse settings.

  1. Click on the Start button in the bottom left corner of the screen
  2. Select Settings, and then Control Panel
  3. Open the Mouse section either by double left clicking on the icon, or by highlighting the icon and pressing Enter

To change the click speed, and whether for right or left-handed use -

  1. Click on the Buttons tab
  2. Select right- or left-handed
  3. Select single or doubleclick for opening items
  4. Drag the slider along to choose the speed for double-clicking
  5. Click on Apply to save your changes

To change the visibility and size of the mouse 'pointers' -

  1. Click on the Pointers tab
  2. Choose the scheme of pointers from the drop-down menu (previewed in the box to the right)
  3. Click on Apply to save your changes

To change the motion of the mouse -

  1. Click on the Motion tab
  2. Drag the slider along to choose the speed you want for the mouse
  3. Select the acceleration that you prefer
  4. Click on Apply to save your changes

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Mac OS X

The Mac has various accessibility features including: an adjustable keyboard, an ergonomic mouse, CloseView screen magnification software, Easy Access system software (StickyKeys, SlowKeys, MouseKeys), electronic documentation, key-repeat disable, text-to-speech synthesis and voice recognition (PlainTalk), sticky mouse, and visual alert cues. All of these features are included as part of the Mac's system software (System 7.x, 8.x, and 9.x), details of which can be found at: http://www.apple.com/accessibility/.

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Keyboard settings

Windows

You can change

  • The time that elapses before a held down key starts repeating
  • How quickly characters are repeated when you hold down a key
  • The rate at which the cursor blinks

To change any of these:

  1. Click on the Start button in the bottom left corner of the screen
  2. Select Settings, and then Control Panel
  3. Open the Keyboard section either by double left clicking on the icon, or by highlighting the icon and pressing Enter
  4. Select your speeds using the three sliders
  5. Click on Apply, then on OK to save your changes

Mac OS X

See above under 'Mouse settings'.

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Useful links

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See Also
Useful Websites
HDC is not responsible for the content of external websites
Contacts
Hart Webmaster
webmaster@hart.gov.uk
Tel: 01252 774246