E- ACCESSIBILITY: MICROSOFT’S
APPROACH
Vincent Mugambi
Developer & Platform Lead– East & Southern Africa
Microsoft
MICROSOFT CONFIDENTIAL
© 2009 copyright Microsoft Corporation 2
WINDOWS 7 ACCESSIBILITY
• Accessibility is the epitome of usability
• Accessibility has been key throughout the
engineering of Windows 7 onwards
• Goal: Windows 7 is the most accessible
operating system Microsoft has ever
produced.
© MICROSOFT CORPORATION
3
ACCESSIBILITY OPTIONS FOR:
• Vision Impairments
• Dexterity and Mobility Impairments
• Hearing Impairments
• Learning Impairments
• Language and Communication Impairments
EASE OF ACCESS CENTER
Quick access to
start accessibility
tools
Get
recommendations
via questionnaire
Explore all
settings
Winkey + U
© 2009 COPYRIGHT MICROSOFT
CORPORATION
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VISION IMPAIRMENTS
Windows:
• Make items on screen appear bigger with Magnifier
• Choose screen resolution to enlarge items
• Hear text read aloud with Narrator
• Use speech recognition to operate windows and programs
Microsoft Office:
• Hear text read aloud with Mini Translator
• Accessibility Checker
• There is an add-in for Microsoft Word to convert documents to
DAISY format.
DEXTERITY AND MOBILITY
IMPAIRMENTS
• Make the mouse easier to use
• Use Mouse Keys to move the mouse pointer
• Use Windows keyboard shortcuts
• Change keyboard settings
• Type without using the keyboard (On-Screen
Keyboard)
• Use speech recognition to operate windows and
programs
• Interact with your computer by touch
HEARING IMPAIRMENTS
• Change computer sounds/Adjust Computer
Volume
• Use alternative Office features for hearing
solutions: eg Lync for chat
LEARNING IMPAIRMENTS
• Make it easier to focus on tasks
• Hear text read aloud with Narrator
• Turn on Sticky Keys, Toggle Keys, and Filter Keys
• Reduce visual distractions
LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION IMPAIRMENTS
• Use Office features to focus on tasks
• Check spelling and grammar in Office programs
• Use the Speak text-to-speech feature
• Hear text read aloud with Mini Translator
ADDITIONAL ACCESSIBILITY GUIDES
• Education. how to integrate accessible technology into schools
• Businesses (Business Decision Makers and IT Pros). help
businesses provide technology for employees and customers
who have accessibility needs.
• Government: create policies and programs that promote broad
digital inclusion and provide people of all abilities better access
to education, employment, and public services.
• Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs): work to raise
awareness about the importance of accessibility and to better
understand the technology needs of people with disabilities.
ACCESSIBLE PRODUCTS
WINDOWS TOUCH
Windows Touch & improved
handwriting recognition
provide new and more direct
ways of interacting with your
PC
Gestures mirror the way you’d
interact with a physical object
In Internet Explorer 8, you
scroll through a Web page by
dragging a finger up or down
the screen, as if you were
nudging a newspaper across
the table
A double click is a double tap
on the screen
“Simply touching the screen
is a more intuitive and direct way to work
with my PC”
Note: Touch capability is dependent
on PC hardware capability
WINDOWS TOUCH
Watch a video of Windows Touch in action
(3:55)
Download and
install
Windows
Media Player
Show captions
© 2009 COPYRIGHT MICROSOFT
CORPORATION
14
ACCESSIBILITY DEVELOPER NETWORK
VIDEO: ACCESSIBILITY
Microsoft technologies have
opened doors to experiencing life
in new ways —delivering new
opportunity, convenience, fun, and
value to our lives
RESOURCES
• Microsoft Accessibility Website
www.microsoft.com/enable/
• Microsoft Accessibility Update
newsletter
www.microsoft.com/enable/news/su
bscribe/