In this section:
To provide input to your computer, you use a mouse, keyboard, or your fingers on a touchscreen. To make input easier if you have hearing, dexterity, or vision challenges, you can make good use of a variety of accessibility settings in Windows 8.
For example, if you have trouble hearing, you can adjust the volume of your system; all volume controls in software programs and Internet apps are then set against that system volume level.
If you have vision challenges, you can control the contrast setting on your screen and turn on a setting to make everything on bigger.
Finally, if hand dexterity is a challenge, there are two features you should check out. The first, caret browsing, is a setting by which you can use your keyboard to navigate a webpage rather than your mouse, if you find the keyboard easier to use. If you prefer an entirely hands-off approach, you can also explore a new means of input, Speech Recognition, to speak text and instructions to your computer.
A common mouse setting involves switching which buttons control right-click and left-click settings. Changing these can help left-handed individuals use their mouse and its right and left buttons more intuitively. In addition, experts recommend that those who use a computer often switch these settings to avoid carpal tunnel pain.
If double-clicking to get some things done presents a challenge because you have trouble clicking fast enough, you can adjust the speed at which the mouse responds to a double-click. Windows can then recognize a double-click even though the individual clicks occur at a longer interval. You can also modify how fast the mouse indicator moves across your screen so that you can follow its path more easily.
In the Control Panel (on the Start screen, type Control Panel and then click Control Panel), under Devices And Printers, click the Mouse link.
On the Buttons tab, drag the slider in the Double-Click Speed category to set the speed at which you want to double-click your mouse to initiate an action.
Drag the slider in the Motion setting section to adjust how fast or slow the pointer moves on your screen in response to mouse movements.
Click OK.
To make selections in dialog boxes simpler, you can set up your mouse pointer to move to the default selection, which is usually the most common option that people work with. You can also choose to display a trail on your pointer as it moves across the screen. If you typically have trouble locating your indicator on the screen, the shadowy trail can make it more visible.
In the Control Panel (type Control Panel on the Start screen, and then click Control Panel), click Hardware And Sound.
Under Devices And Printers, click the Mouse link.
On the Pointer Options tab, select the Snap To check box to move the pointer to the default choice in dialog boxes.
Select the Display Pointer Trails check box and then use the slider to select long or short mouse pointer trails.
Click Apply.
Click OK.
You have some control over how your touch keyboard functions; by making changes to keyboard settings you can make the touch keyboard easier to use. Commonly used settings include choosing the language for your keyboard when entering text and how your gestures are interpreted by the touchscreen. These settings will not appear if you have a computer without a touchscreen.
Press Windows logo key+I to display Settings panel.
Click Change PC Settings.
Click General.
Change the On/Off sliders to change any of the following self-explanatory settings:
Show Suggestions As I Type
Add A Space After I Choose A Text Suggestion
Add A Period After I Double-Tap The Spacebar
Capitalize The First Letter Of Each Sentence
Use All Uppercase Letters When I Double-Tap Shift Key
Play Key Sounds As I Type
Make The Standard Keyboard Layout Available
One of the computer settings that people commonly like to change is the system volume. If you’ve ever watched a TV show on your computer and cringed as the commercials come on full blast, you know what I mean. Changing system volume is therefore front and center on the Settings panel.
Press Windows logo key+I to display Settings.
Click the Volume button.
Drag the slider to raise or lower volume.
Tip
You can mute sound on your computer at any time by clicking at the bottom of the volume slider. Drag this slider up to unmute the computer.
Tip
If you want separate control over system volume and the volume of system sounds (such as an alert that an email has arrived), display the desktop, and then in the taskbar, click the Volume button. At the bottom of the Volume settings, click the Mixer button, and then use the sliders to adjust the volume for different types of sounds.
If you have difficulty seeing items on your screen, you might want to customize some visual settings. To help those with vision challenges, Windows provides settings for adjusting the screen contrast and making the items displayed on your screen bigger. Turning on High Contrast essentially turns the background of your screen black and the text white.
Tip
If you use a laptop computer, it’s often the case that the function keys that run along the top of your keyboard provide a way to make your screen brighter or dimmer. To use these keys, first tap the key labeled Fn (usually located in the lower left of your keyboard) and, without letting go of the Fn key, press the function key for brightness (often it shows the image of a sun).
Caret browsing is a setting by which you can use your keyboard to navigate a webpage rather than using your mouse. When you turn this feature on, you can use the Home, End, and Page Up, Down, Right, and Left keys to move from link to link or to select text. Caret browsing can help the mouse challenged enjoy their Web browsing experience more.
Press Windows logo key+I.
Click Change PC Settings.
Click Ease Of Access.
Click the On/Off slider for Tab Through Webpages And Apps Using Caret Browsing.
Note
See Also
Chapter 12, provides more information about using the Internet Explorer web browser and various techniques you can use for navigating the web.
Speech recognition has been around for several years, and the technology has made great progress in its ability to recognize voices and accents and deliver more accurate results. The WindowS Speech Recognition feature has become a practical alternative to entering text or commands with a keyboard, although you will still have to review text for misunderstood words and clean up punctuation a bit.
To get started with Speech Recognition, you first have to turn the feature on; then, you can make various settings for how it works.
On Start screen, begin to type Control Panel.
Click the Control Panel app.
Click Ease Of Access.
Click Start Speech Recognition.
Click Next to move on from the Welcome screen. (See the next task.)
Tip
There are four screens that appear when you click Next in step 10 of the preceding procedure. You don’t have to make any of these settings; they simply give Windows permission to monitor your documents or to use other ways to learn more about your speech to make Speech Recognition more accurate. If you like, you can simply move through these screens and accept the default settings to complete Speech Recognition setup.
After you have set up Speech Recognition, you can try it out. To do this, you’ll need to have a headphone attached to your computer to speak text and commands and you’ll need to learn to use the Speech Recognition controls.
After setting up Speech Recognition (see previous task), return to the Ease Of Access dialog in the Control Panel (follow steps 1-4 of the previous task) and click Start Speech Recognition.
Click the Microphone button on the Speech Recognition controls.
Speak commands into your microphone, such as “Open WordPad.”
Begin to speak a sentence.
Click the Microphone button again to turn Speech Recognition off.
Click the Close button on the Speech Recognition controls to close the program.
