Technology is a tool for everyone, so Microsoft has made several vital improvements to Windows 10 to help people with disabilities perform better.
Most of the priority features built into Windows 10 are based on requests and user feedback as the company strives to make its products accessible and easier to use for everyone.
If you have problems such as hearing loss, poor vision, limited dexterity, and other disabilities, you can access all of these great Windows 10 accessibility features and see if they improve your user experience or the work of a disabled person you know. </ P>
Narrator
For those who are blind, color blind, or visually impaired, Windows 10 Narrator helps them read aloud text as they type, websites, notifications, in-app content, and specific snippets.
It also plays audio prompts when you click on apps or new pages, and reads prompts for buttons or controls that will push visually impaired users in the right direction.
You can access Narrator by going to Settings> Ease of Access> Narrator and have your computer read text to you.
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Here, you can also customize additional Windows 10 accessibility settings, such as announcer voice, speech reading, pitch, and more, to suit your personal preference.
Magnifier
This accessibility feature in Windows 10 will help anyone with low vision or difficulty reading the screen. You can find it in the list of accessibility features by going to Settings> Accessibility> Magnifier.
Additional settings are available that allow you to turn the tool on or off, invert the colors in the magnified area, and determine what you want to magnify. You can also choose whether Magnifier will follow only the keyboard or mouse selection, or both at the same time.
When enabled, a magnifying glass appears on the screen, and you can zoom in or out by clicking the + or – icon or selecting View to launch the application in pinned, full screen, or lens mode.
High contrast
People with visual impairments or color blindness can use this feature to change the overall color scheme to make text, images, icons, and application windows easier to read. Items on the screen also become more distinct and easier to identify.
You can choose from four high contrast themes by going to Settings> Ease of Access> High Contrast.
With a theme selected, customize and change colors for text, selected text, hyperlinks, disabled text, button text, or background, and then click Apply for Windows to update your settings.
Translation and Explanation
If you find it difficult to read white subtitles in a video, movie or TV show, especially against a light background, you can use the closed captioning feature to change the colors and background of any subtitle text.
Go to Settings> Accessibility> Closed Captions and change the settings to your liking.
Other Windows 10 accessibility options that you can adjust include transparency, size, style, and signature effects, although you can only use eight colors. A preview of your changes is displayed at the top of the screen whenever you make a change, and your settings will apply to subtitles in supported local media players.
Speech Recognition
This app is useful for navigating menus, dictating documents, and browsing the web. It listens to your spoken words and translates them into actions on the screen. You can enable it by going to Settings> Speech and scroll down to Dictate Text and control your device using only your voice.
Note. Speech Recognition is only available in English (US, UK, Canada, Australia and India), French, German, Japanese, Chinese (Traditional Chinese and Simplified Chinese), and Spanish.
You can also use dictation to speak instead of typing. You can also set up and use Cortana – the Windows digital personal assistant – with speech recognition for a variety of tasks. These include sending text messages or emails, adding appointments to your calendar, receiving appointment reminders, performing calculations, or searching the web for you.
Cortana can also provide you with information on local weather, news headlines, map routes, traffic conditions, stock market updates, and even sports news from your favorite teams.
Note. Dictation is available in US English only and requires an internet connection. You can use Windows Speech Recognition to dictate in other languages. Cortana can also be disabled on business computers in managed IT systems.
Keyboard
This is one of the striking features of Windows 10 as it offers many customization options for people with disabilities or special needs that make the keyboard easier and more comfortable to use. There are four mini-tools on the keyboard to help make Windows 10 more accessible:
- Sticky Keys allows you to hold one key at a time instead of multiple keys for keyboard shortcuts such as CTRL + ALT + DELETE. It is ideal for those who find it difficult to maintain finger mobility for extended periods.
- Filter keys check for repeated keystrokes, so you don’t have to use the backspace key every time to go back to what I wrote. If you find it difficult to control your hands on the keyboard, this tool will come in handy.
- On-screen keyboard allows you to use the mouse to enter characters from the graphical keyboard on the screen.
- Toggle Keys help you know if Caps Lock is activated or not by playing a sound each time you press the Num Lock, Scroll Lock, or Function Lock keys.
Color Filters
People with photosensitivity or color blindness can use the color filters feature in Windows 10 to increase the contrast to make it easier to see what’s on the screen. You can also customize the color palette of the screen to distinguish elements by color or not entirely.
To enable color filters, click Start> Settings> Accessibility> Color Filters, and set the Enable Color Filters switch to On.
Filters are available: inverted, grayscale, inverted, protanopia, deuteranopia and tritanopia.
Mouse
If you find it difficult to see the mouse pointer on the screen, you can make it more visible by changing its size and color, and enabling features to make it easier to use.
To change the size and color of the pointer, go to Settings> Accessibility> Cursor & Pointer.
Instead of using a mouse, you can enable mouse keys and use the numeric keypad as a secondary mouse and move the pointer around the screen.
Go to Settings> Ease of Access> Mouse> turn on Mouse Keys and customize the way you like.
Eye control
This is a fairly new feature from Microsoft that uses eye tracking software to help people with disabilities communicate by typing responses with their eyes.
To get started with eye control, you’ll need a compatible (supported) eye tracker, Windows 10 Fall Creator’s Update (version 1709 or later), and someone to help you set up devices and change eye control settings by clicking Settings> Ease Access> Eye Control.
One of Microsoft’s success stories with this feature is Otto Nock, a Power BI expert who was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Knoke discovered Eye Control in Windows 10, and since then, he says, it has helped him communicate and be more productive.
Conclusion
The ease of access in Windows 10 is pretty organized, although its features might be more useful. That’s why Microsoft has created a Help Desk for People with Disabilities, among other things, to get feedback and provide technical assistance over the phone and chat.
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