Access Advice 

The web, as it was created, was envisaged as a place where everyone had full access to information. We take this seriously and as such, provide the following information on web access based on the World Web Consortium's Web (W3) Access Initiative.

In general when using a PC there are various ways users can control their computer's work environment.

This website is aimed predominantly at Microsoft end-user operating systems and browsers, although we try to develop our solutions to be as platform independent as possible.

Windows 2000 and XP have many features and settings (Display, Keyboard, Mouse & Sound) that assist people with disabilities. These can be accessed through the Control Panel. There are also features such as the

and

accessible via Start, Programs, Accessories, Accessibility specifically designed to help those with disabilities.

For more information on Microsoft’s Accessibility Solutions, please visit their site at

Most monitors can be adjusted to improve contrast and colour – often there is a simple series of buttons on the front or side of the monitor to help you do this.

Some users may find it difficult working with the mouse, the settings of the mouse can be changed such as speed, cursor size and mouse trails. There are often keyboard alternatives for many mouse actions that can help users who have difficulty working with the mouse (such as page up/down to scroll pages). Again visit the www.microsoft.com/enable site for further information.

Microsoft provide various keyboard features such as:

– this feature allows users to access keyboard functionality using an on-screen display and a mouse, helpful for people who have difficulty using a keyboard.

- this feature allows you to set a modifier key such as SHIFT, ALT or CTRL to stay on until another key is pressed. This helps people who cannot press two keys simultaneously.

- this feature instructs the keyboard to ignore keys repeatedly pressed or keys touched momentarily. The rate at which the keyboard repeats a pressed key can also be modified from a control panel.

- this feature can be set to that the system plays a high sound when any of the LOCK keys are pressed and a low sound when deactivated.

Microsoft Internet Explorer Browsers allow you to change the way web sites are viewed. Within the options panel (tools/internet options) you can change the fonts, colours and accessibility settings. You can also customise your icon bar to display a font size tool. This enables a user to increase or decrease the font size displayed in web pages.

If you feel we can still improve this web site, please send your feedback and suggestions to