Accessibility & User Preferences ~ Help in Making Our Website Look the Way You Want

We want everyone to benefit from Volker's website and services, so we have designed and built our site to meet the needs of all users, particularly those with impaired vision. As volker.co.uk is fully compliant with level "A" accessibility rules, due to come into force in October 2004, users can adjust settings such as font size and background colour to improve visibility and make the most of our site.

Our website has been written in such a way that any changes you've already made in your web browser prior to visiting us are automatically reflected.

The following information will not only help you to change the colours, text size and style of our website, but will also explain how these changes can be made to affect every site you visit if you so wish.

This section includes information on the following:

• Changing the size of the text
• Changing the style of the text
• Changing text and background colours

Before we can give you instructions on how to make these changes we need to know which browser you are using. Please select one of the following:

• Internet Explorer
   
• Netscape Navigator
   
• Opera
   

Internet Explorer

Changing the Size of the Text:

Follow these steps to increase or decrease the size of the text on our site:

1. Open the View menu with the mouse or by pressing Alt+V.
2. Select the Text Size option with the mouse or by pressing T.
3. Choose your preferred text size with the mouse or by using the up and down arrow keys and pressing Enter.

The text on our website should now have changed to reflect your choice.

Some websites have "hard-coded" the size of their text and as a consequence these websites will not reflect the change you have just made. If you would like your preferences to be reflected on other sites you visit please follow these steps:

1. Open the Tools menu with the mouse or by pressing Alt+T.
2. Select the Internet Options option with the mouse or by pressing O (see fig1, below).
3. Select the Accessibility button with the mouse or by pressing Alt+E (see fig 2, below).
4. Check the "Ignore font sizes specified on web page" checkbox with the mouse or by pressing alt+Z.
5. Select the OK button twice with the mouse or by pressing Enter twice.

fig 1 (Internet Explorer Internet Options dialog box)

fig 2 (Internet Explorer Accessibility dialog box)

Changing the Style of the Text

We have chosen a clear non-seriffed font which should be more easily read by those with a visual impairment or dyslexia than other font styles (such as, for example, Times New Roman). However,you may wish to impose a different text style browser setting as many websites you visit may not have text in a style you find easy to read. The following steps will also override the style they have chosen with that of your preferred choice:

1. Open the Tools menu with the mouse or by pressing Alt+T.
2. Select the Internet Options option with the mouse or by pressing O (see fig 1, above).
3. Select the Accessibility button with the mouse or by pressing Alt+E (see fig 2, above).
4. Check the "Ignore font styles specified on web page" checkbox with the mouse or by pressing alt+S.
5. Select the OK button with the mouse or by pressing Enter.
6. Select the "Fonts" button with the mouse or by pressing Alt+N (see fig 3, below).
7. Select a web page font of your choice with the mouse or by pressing Alt+W and arrowing through the list.
8. Select the OK button twice with the mouse or by pressing Enter twice.

fig 3 (Internet Explorer Fonts dialog box)

Changing Browser Settings of Text and Background Colours

Although we have tried to retain a good contrast at all times, you may wish to impose a different combination of text and background colours. For example, some people with a visual impairment may prefer white text on a black background.

Please follow these steps to change the colours on our site:

1. Open the Tools menu with the mouse or by pressing Alt+T.
2. Select the Internet Options option with the mouse or by pressing O (see fig 1, above).
3. Select the Colors button with the mouse or by pressing Alt+O (see fig 4, below).
4. Choose to have your Windows colour scheme reflected by selecting the "Use Windows color scheme" option with the mouse or by pressing Alt+W.

OR:

1. 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).
2. Select the colour of your choice with the mouse or by using the arrow keys.
3. Select the OK button twice with the mouse or by pressing Enter twice.

fig 4 (Internet Explorer Colors dialog box)

Some websites have "hard-coded" their text and background colours and as a consequence these websites will not reflect the change you have just made. If you would like your preferences to be reflected on other sites you visit please follow these steps:

1. Open the Tools menu with the mouse or by pressing Alt+T.
2. Select the Internet Options option with the mouse or by pressing O (see fig 1, above).
3. Select the Accessibility button with the mouse or by pressing Alt+E (see fig 2, above).
4. Check the "Ignore colors specified on web page" checkbox with the mouse or by pressing alt+C.
5. Select the OK button twice with the mouse or by pressing Enter twice.

Netscape Navigator

Changing the Size of the Text

Follow these steps to increase or decrease the size of text on our site:

1. Open the View menu with the mouse or by pressing Alt+V.
2. Select the Text Zoom option with the mouse or by pressing Z.
3. Choose your preferred text size with the mouse or by using the up and down arrow keys and pressing Enter.

Some web sites have "hard-coded" the size of their text and as a consequence these web sites will not reflect the change you have just made. If you would like your preferences to be reflected on other sites you visit please follow these steps (Please note: If you are using Netscape v7 then the following steps are not necessary):

fig 1 (Netscape Font Preferences Dialog box)

1. Open the Edit menu with the mouse or press Alt+E
2. Click on Preferences or press E to open the preferences dialog box.
3. Click on, or use the arrow keys, to select the Font heading underneath the Appearance category. If you cannot see the Font heading, you may need to expand the Appearance category. Do this by either double clicking on Appearance, or selecting Appearance with the arrow keys and pressing the right arrow key (See fig 1).
4. Using the mouse, or the Tab key, navigate to the Minimum Font Size box on the right hand side. Click on the arrow and choose a new font size, or press the up arrow, choose a new font size and press Enter.
5. Now click OK or press Enter to return to the page you were viewing.

Changing the Style of the Text Browser Settings

We have chosen a clear non-seriffed font which should be more easily read by those with a visual impairment or dyslexia than other font styles (such as, for example, Times New Roman). However, you may wish to impose a different text style as many web sites you visit may not have text in a style you find easy to read. The following steps will also override the style they have chosen with that of your preferred choice.

1. Open the Edit menu with the mouse or by pressing Alt+E.
2. Click on Preferences or press E to open the preferences dialog box.
3. Click on, or use the arrow keys, to select the Font heading underneath the Appearance category. If you cannot see the Font heading, you may need to expand the Appearance category. Do this by either double clicking on Appearance, or selecting Appearance with the arrow keys and pressing the right arrow key (See fig 1).
4. Using the mouse, or the Tab key, navigate to the box labelled "Allow documents to use other fonts" and press the space bar or use the mouse to ensure that this option is not checked.
5. Use the mouse, or the tab key, to navigate to the Proportional drop down box.
6. Press the up or down arrow keys and Enter to choose the font you wish to use, or use the mouse and click on your chosen font. A proportional font is one in which the letters are of varying widths, like this paragraph. You can either choose Serif or Sans Serif.
7. Once you have chosen the default proportional font, you can set the default size. Press Tab or use the mouse to click in the size box immediately after the proportional font. Press the up or down arrow keys and Enter, or use the mouse, to choose the font you want.
8. Tab once more, or use the mouse, to navigate to the Serif box. Press up or down, select the font you want to use and press Enter, or use the mouse to click on the font that you want to use (this will only be used if you selected Serif as the Proportional font in stage 5).
9. Tab once more, or use the mouse to navigate to the Sans Serif box. Press up or down, select the font you want to use and press Enter, or use the mouse to click on the font that you want to use (this will only be used if you selected Sans Serif as the proportional font).
10. Tab once more, or use the mouse to navigate to the Cursive box. Press up or down and then Enter to choose the font you wish to use, or use the mouse and click on your chosen font. This is used when someone has specified a cursive font on their page.
11. Tab once more, or use the mouse to navigate to the Fantasy box. Press up or down and then Enter to choose the font you wish to use, or use the mouse and click on your chosen font. This is used when someone has specified a Fantasy font on their page.
12. Tab once more, or use the mouse to navigate to the Monospace box. Press up or down and then Enter to choose the font you wish to use, or use the mouse and click on your chosen font. This is used when someone has specified a monospace font on their page.
13. Now click OK or press Enter to return to the page you were viewing.

Changing Browser Settings of Text and Background Colours

Although we have tried to retain a good contrast at all times, you may wish to impose a different combination of text and background colours. For example, some people with a visual impairment may prefer white text on a black background. Please follow these steps to change the colours on our site:

fig 2 (Netscape Colors Preferences Dialog Box)

1. Open the Edit menu with mouse or press Alt+E
2. Click on preferences or press E
3. Click on, or use the arrow keys, to select the Colors heading underneath the Appearance category. If you cannot see the Colors heading, you may need to expand the Appearance category. Do this by either double clicking on Appearance, or selecting Appearance with the arrow keys and pressing the right arrow key (see fig 2).
4. Choose to have your Windows colour scheme reflected by Tabbing to the Use System Colors option and pressing space to select it, or click it with the mouse OR
5. Click on the Text or Background color option and choose an alternative colour, or press Tab until the Text or Background color box is highlighted, press the space bar, use the arrow keys to choose an alternative colour and press space to confirm this colour.
6. Press Enter to return to Netscape.

Some web sites have "hard-coded" their text and background colours and as a consequence these web sites will not reflect the changes you have just made. If you would like your preferences to be reflected on other sites you visit please follow these steps:

1. Open the Edit menu with the mouse or by pressing Alt+E
2. Click on, or use the arrow keys to select the Colors heading underneath the Appearance category. If you cannot see the Colors heading, you may need to expand the Appearance category. Do this by either double clicking on Appearance, or selecting Appearance with the arrow keys and pressing the right arrow key (See fig 2).
3. Use the mouse or press Tab to select the "Use my chosen colours, ignoring the colours and background images specified" option and press space to select this option.
4. Press Enter to return to the page you were viewing.

Opera

Changing the Size of Text and Images

Unlike Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator, Opera can increase the size of images as well as text.

You can quickly increase or decrease the size of both text and graphics using the numberpad + and - keys. Each press will increase or decrease the size by 10%.

However, these changes will not be remembered next time you open Opera.

Follow these steps to increase or decrease the size of the text permanently:

1. Open the File menu with the mouse or by pressing Alt+F.
2. Select the Preferences option with the mouse or by pressing R.
3. Select "Page Style" from the list with the mouse or by using the down arrow key (see fig 1, below).
4. Select the "Default Zoom" of your choice with the mouse or by pressing Z and using the up and down arrows.
5. Select the OK button with the mouse or by pressing Enter.

fig 1 (Opera Preferences page styles dialog box)

The text on our website should now have changed to reflect your choice.

Some websites have "hard-coded" the size of their text and as a consequence these websites will not reflect the change you have just made. If you would like your preferences to be reflected on other sites you visit please follow these steps:

1. Open the File menu with the mouse or by pressing Alt+F.
2. Select the Preferences option with the mouse or by pressing R.
3. Select "Page Style" from the list with the mouse or by using the down arrow key (see fig 1, above).
4. Select the "Default Zoom" of your choice with the mouse or by pressing Z and using the up and down arrows.
5. Select the "My fonts and colours" option with the mouse or by pressing Alt+C.
6. Select the OK button with the mouse or by pressing Enter.

Changing the Style of the Text

We have chosen a clear non-seriffed font which should be more easily read by those with a visual impairment or dyslexia than other font styles (such as, for example, Times New Roman). However, you may wish to impose a different text style as many websites you visit may not have text in a style you find easy to read. The following steps will also override the style they have chosen with that of your preferred choice:

1. Ensure the "My fonts and colours" option is selected as described in the previous section.
2. Open the File menu with the mouse or by pressing Alt+F.
3. Select the Preferences option with the mouse or by pressing R.
4. Select "Fonts and Colours" from the list with the mouse or by using the down arrow key (see fig 2, below).
5. Select the type of text you want to redefine (e.g. "Normal") from the list with the mouse or by pressing Tab and using the up and down arrow keys.
6. Select the first Choose button with the mouse by pressing Tab and Enter (see fig 3, below).
7. Select from the subsequent dialog box the text style of your choosing with the mouse or by using Tab and the arrow keys.
8. Select the OK button twice with the mouse or by pressing Enter twice.

fig 2 (Opera Preferences fonts and colors dialog box)

fig 3 (Opera Preferences fonts selection dialog box)

Changing Text and Background Colours

Although we have tried to retain a good contrast at all times, you may wish to impose a different combination of text and background colours. For example, some people with a visual impairment may prefer white text on a black background.

Please follow these steps to change the colours on our site:

1. Ensure the "My fonts and colours" option is selected as described in the previous section.
2. Open the File menu with the mouse or by pressing Alt+F.
3. Select the Preferences option with the mouse or by pressing R.
4. Select "Fonts and Colours" from the list with the mouse or by using the down arrow key (see fig 2, above).
5. Select the type of text you want to redefine (e.g. "Normal") from the list with the mouse or by pressing Tab and using the up and down arrow keys.
6. Select the first Choose button with the mouse by pressing Tab and Enter.
7. Select from the subsequent dialog box the text colour of your choosing with the mouse or by using Tab and the arrow keys (see fig 3, above).
8. Select the OK button with the mouse or by pressing Enter.
9. Select the second Choose button with the mouse or by pressing Tab and Enter.
10. Select from the subsequent dialog box the background colour of your choosing with the mouse or by using Tab and the arrow keys.
11. Select the OK button twice with the mouse or by pressing Enter twice.

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This site is fully compliant with WAI level "A" accessibility rules. If you need help with text sizes or layout, please click here.