Customising our website

1. Open the ‘View’ menu with the mouse.
2. Click on ‘Text Size’.
3. Choose your preferred text size with the mouse, or use the up and down arrow keys and press 'Enter'.

Firefox (1.0, 1.5, 2.0)

1. Open your Firefox browser.
2. Open the ‘View’ menu.
3. Click on ‘Text Size’.
4. Click on ‘Increase’. A quicker way to increase the text size is to hold Ctrl (Cmd in Mac OS X) and scroll down with your mouse.

Opera (9.0)

1. Open your Opera browser.
2. Open the ‘View’ menu.
3. Click on ‘Zoom’.
4. Click on your required zoom level

Safari (3)

1. Open your Safari browser.
2. Open the ‘View’ menu.
3. Select the “Make text larger” menu item.

Note: If this does not work it could be because your computer settings cannot be changed due to local IT policies - contact your local IT support for further help.

If increasing the text size via the browser or Windows options does not make text easy to read another solution is to magnify your screen. All recent versions of Windows include magnification software, which can make it easier to read text on the screen.

The Windows magnifier lets you increase text to a very large size. It is, however, restricted to a small portion of the screen so most visually impaired people find that they require fully-functional magnification software.

Windows 95, 98, 2000, Me, XP, Vista

1. Open the Start menu by clicking on the Start button or by pressing the Windows logo key (located between the Ctrl + Alt keys on most keyboards) alternatively press Ctrl + Esc.
2. Click on Programs or alternatively press P on the keyboard until Programs is highlighted and then press Enter.
3. Click on Accessories or press A on the keyboard until Accessories is highlighted and then press Enter.
4. Click on Accessibility or if you are using the keyboard, it will already be highlighted so just press Enter.
5. Click on Magnifier or press M and when Magnifier is highlighted, press Enter on the keyboard.
6. The magnifier is now turned on and the settings box appears.
   You can click in the magnification level box to change the level of magnification, or use the up and down arrow keys.
7. You can minimise the magnifier settings box by clicking the minimise button or by pressing Alt + Spacebar and then press N.

Mac OS 8, 9, OS X
For users with the Mac OS 8 or 9 operating system the magnifier CloseView is available. Users running OS X will need to use the inbuilt zoom feature.

Mac OS 8 and 9

1. To open the Closeview magnifier follow these steps.
2. Select the Apple Menu.
3. Navigate to the “Control Panels” sub menu and select “Closeview”.
4. Follow the on-screen prompts to magnify your viewing area.

Mac OS X

1. Select the Apple Menu.
2. Select the “System Preferences” option from the menu.
3. Select the “Universal Access” icon.
4. Select the “Seeing” tab.
5. Select the “Turn on zoom” option.
6. To zoom in press the Alt, Apple and + Sign on the keyboard.
7. To zoom out press the Alt, Apple and - Sign on the keyboard.

Note: Your maximum and minimum zoom levels can be set from the “Zoom Options…” button.

For some people certain text and background colour combinations are difficult to read. Some internet users also prefer to always have a specific colour such as white text on a black background. In either case it is easy to set your own colours.

Internet Explorer (5.0, 5.5, 6.0 and 7.0)

1. Click on the Tools menu
2. Click on 'Internet Options', or press 'O'
3. Click on the 'Colors' button, or press Alt+O
4. Choose to have your Windows colour scheme reflected by selecting the "Use Windows colors" option with the mouse or by pressing Alt+W
5. Alternatively, select either the Text button with the mouse (or by pressing Alt+T), or the Background button with the mouse (or by pressing Alt+B)
6. Select the colour with the mouse or by using the arrow keys
7. Click the 'OK' button twice, or press Enter twice

Firefox (1.0, 1.5 and 2.0)

1. Open the ‘Tools’ menu with the mouse or press Alt+T
2. Click on ‘Options’ or press 'O'
3. Select the button 'Fonts & Colours'
4. Choose to have your Windows colour scheme reflected by ‘Tabbing to the Use System Colors option’ or  click on the ‘Text’ or ‘Background color’ option and choose an alternative colour

Opera (9.0)

1. Open the ‘View’ menu with the mouse or press Alt+V
2. Click on ‘Style’ or press 'S'
3. Click on accessibility layout or press “C”

Mac OS 8 & 9 and Mac OS X
Text and background colours can also be changed in the Mac operating system. This can help to ensure sufficient contrast when viewing the site

Mac OS 8 & 9

1. Select the ‘Apple’ Menu
2. Select the ‘Control Panels sub-menu and choose ‘Appearance’
3. Select the ‘Appearance’ Tab
4. Select a colour from the drop down menu next to ‘Highlight Colour’
5. To change the menu and control colours select a colour from the variation drop down menu

Mac OS X
Mac OS X comes with an inbuilt high colour contrast scheme. To activate this scheme follow these steps.

1. Select the ‘Apple’ Menu
2. Select ‘System Preferences’
3. Select the ‘Universal Access’ Icon
4. Select the ‘Seeing’ Tab.
5. Click the “Switch to white on black’ option
6. The desktop appearance will now change